Unto the Universe

Chapter Forty-Seven: Torn in Twain: UNIT Calling

By Lumendea

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any spinoff material, and I gain no income from this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.

AN: I'm very excited about this original episode! It wasn't in my early outlines, but I decided to give deviation a go and indulge a little as I loved the idea. Thanks to my discord group, the Galligang, for assuring me that it's okay to deviate from the plans from time to time.

….

The Doctor was torn. He smiled as he watched Rose's thinner fingers manipulate the cleaned parts back into place under the TARDIS console. While not quite as confident as Jack when it came to the workings of the TARDIS, she was proving to be a quick study at helping with the Old Girl's repairs. But her helping meant that there was no violin playing or stream of chatter from Rose in the background. She was too focused on the task at hand to even hum. As wonderful as it was having her beside him and helping repair their wonderful time ship, he rather missed the music. So, yes, he was a little torn.

Rose glanced his way, noticing him staring. A soft blush appeared on her cheeks. His smile only widened at the sight of it as he drank her in. He wanted to burn this moment, lots of moments, into his brain so he'd never forget what she looked like. Just enough sweat on her brow that the deep golden strands were curling against her skin and the light catching the flecks of gold in her eyes.

"You're staring," Rose said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"You're beautiful," he replied softly.

"Considering I'm human?" Rose asked, giving him a tongue and cheek smile.

"No, beautiful full stop." It was the Doctor's turn to blush. "Sorry about that. You… uh…"

Rose laughed, the sound echoing in the console room. "I'm teasing; I knew what you meant back then. Even if you weren't ready for me to know."

The Doctor smiled before he started thinking of places they could go where Rose could wear that dress again. Now that their relationship had developed, he could have the pleasure of taking it off of her. They slipped out from under the console, both of them managing not to hit their heads. There was a bit of oil on Rose's cheek and the Doctor raised his hand to her cheek as they sat on the grating to wipe it off with his thumb. Rose's soft amber eyes met his gaze and she offered him a soft smile. It wasn't his favourite smile, that was her tongue touched smile, but he did love having such a warm expression directed at him.

"I love you," Rose told him.

"Love you too." The words still weren't easy to say exactly. Part of the Doctor still expected the universe to crack open or something equally dramatic. Still, he was trying to have a little faith and trying to be open with Rose. While her leaving was inevitable, perhaps it could be delayed.

Rose had a bad feeling she knew what the Doctor was thinking about. He got a look in his eyes sometimes, distant and sad when he looked at her. At first, she'd thought he was thinking about Gallifrey, but that was a different broody expression. This was his 'thinking about Rose leaving' face and she hated it. Leaning forward, Rose cupped his cheek and pressed a firm kiss to the Doctor's lips. He responded to the kiss at once and Rose shifted closer to him.

The ringing of her mobile broke the kiss as Rose turned away in confusion. A soft huff from the Doctor made her chuckle. She kissed his cheek before scrambling to her feet and heading for the jump seat where her jacket was waiting. Rose fished her phone out of her pocket and checked the caller.

"Hi, Sharon," Rose greeted.

"Hi, honey." There was a note to Sharon's voice that immediately put Rose on edge. "Sorry but this isn't a check-in and catch-up phone call."

"Are you okay? Is Shareen alright?"

"We're both safe," Sharon assured her. "But UNIT really needs you and the Doctor back on Earth. There's this… well it looks like a rip in the world. It's outside of London thankfully and there's nothing dangerous yet."

"A rip." Rose's body tensed. "Can you… can you hear anything through it?"

"Yeah. Someone screaming." There was a pause from Sharon. "Malcolm's been monitoring it, but most of what he's getting makes no sense."

"What's the date and location?" Rose asked. Something in her tone must have alerted the Doctor because he'd slipped out from under the TARDIS and was standing up. "Really? The old UNIT HQ?" The Doctor started plugging in the location and Rose quickly gave him the date. "We're on our way," Rose promised. When the call ended, Rose joined the Doctor and frowned. "There's one of the time rips on Earth by the sounds of it. They… they heard the woman screaming too."

"I getting really tired of those rips," the Doctor grumbled. "Not a good sign."

"Do you think it's from the Time War?" Rose asked.

The Doctor paused and frowned. "Maybe… that's possible. Feels like it could be something else…" He shook his head. "Can't remember, but I feel like I should."

"We'll figure it out." Rose touched his arm. "We always do."

"What's going on?" Jack asked, walking into the console room. He was still in the process of pulling on a clean shirt and judging from his damp hair had just gotten out of the shower. "I thought it was a maintenance day?"

"Call from UNIT," the Doctor replied. "Another of those rips has appeared."

Jack's expression turned serious and he nodded. He grabbed the blue bomber style jacket he'd been fond of for the last week or so and pulled it on. Rose marvelled at how quickly Jack could switch into business mode. Then again, she supposed that she and the Doctor could do the same. It was one of those things you learned quickly and Jack had joined them already having that skill honed.

The Doctor landed with a solid thud, but they all stayed on their feet. Rose headed for the door first and stepped outside. They'd landed on the drive on the old UNIT headquarters. The old brick building loomed behind her and the new outbuildings that had been constructed over the years lined the drive up to them. Jeeps and a remote station truck were parked nearby though Rose only spotted a handful of soldiers. All of them had stopped what they were doing and were looking at the TARDIS and the Doctor as he stepped out behind Rose.

"Rose!" a family voice called. Rose turned to see Malcolm coming out of the main building. "Doctor!" The Welshman was wearing his usual white lab coat and jogging over to them with wide eyes that were made even larger by his glasses. There was a burn mark on the right sleeve of his coat and a coil of wiring wrapped loosely around his neck. The man looked exhausted but very pleased to see them. "Thank you for coming!" Rose smiled and stepped forward. Malcolm beamed and opened his arms, giving her a tight hug. "So good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Malcolm." Rose basked in the warmth filling up her chest. She didn't talk with Malcolm as much as she should given how much support he gave her before she left Earth. His belief in her had meant a lot. "Everyone okay?"

"What?" Malcolm let go of her. "Oh yes, no one's been harmed yet, but we're at a loss for what it is." He shook his head. "Our instruments are getting some information, but I'm sure there's a lot we're missing." Looking at the Doctor who was smiling a little, Malcolm blinked in surprise when he spotted Jack. "Oh, hello. I didn't realize that you'd picked up another companion." Then he paused. "Wait, no that's wrong. I heard it from… oh was it Shareen or Sharon?" He shook his head. "You must be Jack."

Jack grinned at the man and Rose glared at him, trying to warn him off flirting with Malcolm. That was just… no, that wasn't allowed. Not that she'd ever observed Malcolm to have any interest at all in that sort of thing. But Malcolm was sort of her adoptive uncle and Jack flirting with him was not allowed.

"Jack, this is Doctor Malcolm Taylor," Rose said. "He's one of UNIT's top scientific advisors."

"Well, excluding the Doctor, of course," Malcolm said with a hint of a flush.

"Nice to meet you," Jack replied. He seemed to have gotten Rose's hint because it was the most neutral hello she'd ever heard from him.

"Good to see you," the Doctor added. "But we best focus on this rip. We've been running across them, but haven't figured out the cause yet." The Doctor glanced up at the sky. "Where is it?"

"Other side of the building," Malcolm said. "About half a mile off near the outer fence." He shook his head. "I don't like the coincidence of it being so close to the old headquarters."

The Doctor frowned thoughtfully. "Might not be a coincidence. We've been seeing these rips and they might be more likely to form in locations where time travel has taken place. This whole area was once ripped to the antimatter universe so it could be vulnerable in that regard."

"Ah, yes, I've heard about that incident," Malcolm said. "Well, follow me. We have a mobile station close to it. I've been measuring and recording everything I could think of."

"Good man." The Doctor did smile now and gestured for him to lead on. Malcolm's eyes were bright at the compliment and he all but skipped away, drawing a soft chuckle from Rose. "Who is in command?"

"General Lethbridge-Stewart and Doctor Stewart are both on-site," Malcolm replied. "Though, they're in a meeting with Geneva right now. I'm sure they'll check in as soon as they are free."

"Good, folks who can listen." A little of the tension in the Doctor's shoulders eased.

"Another rip," Jack said. "Another chance of neverweres."

"Maybe," the Doctor said. "But the rip on Saturnyne gave them an escape from the Time War." He paused. "Then again, they were in the midst of the Time War. These all seem to link into that." Malcolm gave him a curious look but didn't ask.

"What about the Time Lock?" Jack asked. "Is this weakening it?"

"Maybe." They followed after Malcolm and Rose could see the tension taking over the Doctor's body. She didn't blame him for that. "Can't say for sure. It shouldn't be something easily reversed."

The rips had been a concern for a while, but his point regarding the Time War was alarming. The Doctor using the Moment had cut Gallifrey off from the universe and broken the chains binding the power of the Gold Guardian. Rose knew that it was the only reason Black and White had been able to attempt pushing forward on a plan to have a new Gold Guardian rise. Nibbling at her lower lip, Rose tried to keep her worry in check. It was too soon to assume that something was wrong with the Time Lock. But it did make her wish that she had an easy way to reach White and Black. Superphones were a tempting idea, but Rose didn't want to ask the Doctor to give either of them that kind of access to the TARDIS.

To Rose's surprise and worry, they entered the building itself and headed through the pale green corridors. Rose hadn't been here in some time, but it looked as if UNIT was using the old building more than they used to. Rose approved of that. As nice as the base in London was, it was in the centre of a major city and that would always make Rose uneasy.

"It's inside?" the Doctor asked sharply.

"Yes, hence why we wanted to call you. This place has seen some times and we thought it could be connected to an incident from your past."

"Maybe," the Doctor agreed.

"A lot of these rips have been centred on Earth." Jack's voice sounded uneasy and Rose glanced back to find him taking everything in with a sharp gaze.

Malcolm led them down into the basement, one of the least used places that were several degrees colder than the upstairs. In addition to the normal lights which were one, strands of additional lights had been hung through the staircase and corridors. Old boxes were shoved out of the way and there were signs of things having been completely removed. Thick cabling was laid across the cement floor, leading to rows of computers and scanning equipment. A simple lab table was covered with supplies. Four guards were positioned around the massive room behind thick protective barriers. Half constructed block and cement walls were already in place, built around the support columns, and more supplies were stacked and waiting.

And near the far wall was the rip in time and space. Swirling colours of every shade churned around a small dark centre. It shuddered and shifted constantly, never holding a set shape. And as they got close, Rose heard the same screaming she'd heard when they visited Susan. It was louder this time. It sounded closer.

"It was found yesterday," Malcolm explained. "Guards were checking the building and heard the screaming." He shuddered. "We don't know what to make of it."

"You need to keep guards on it," the Doctor said. He pulled out the sonic screwdriver and it whirled as he scanned the rip. A soft sigh of relief escaped him. "It isn't big enough yet that we need to worry about neverweres yet."

"I should probably still stay near it," Rose said.

"We don't need to worry about that yet," the Doctor replied. He took her hand and squeezed, drawing her closer to him. "If we can't shut it quickly then that will become an issue. Better for you to rest until then."

"But we are going to close it, right?" Jack asked.

"Eventually," the Doctor said. They eyed him with hints of confusion. "These things have been popping up all over the place. In the old days, you'd see a major distortion of this scale maybe once a century and it never had much power. If this one stays small a bit longer then maybe I can get a clue as to why this is happening."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Malcolm asked. He was looking between the Doctor, the equipment, and the rip. "To wait, I mean?"

"Most of these have been near Earth," the Doctor explained. "If it's a symptom of a greater problem with time then the more I know, the better I can keep something really dangerous from happening." He nodded at the computers. "Show me what you have, and we'll go from them. I have equipment in the TARDIS that can help us as well." Malcolm and the Doctor hurried over to the computers and the Doctor loomed behind Malcolm as the man pulled up graph after graph. "This shouldn't be happening and yet it is."

Rose looked over at Jack. He was watching the rip with fierce intensity. "You okay?" Rose asked softly. "Jack."

"The screaming…" Jack shook his head. "I don't like it. That makes me think these are connecting to the same point."

"Given the Neverweres that keep coming through, it makes sense that it's the Time War," Rose whispered. "And… it fits that someone would be screaming."

"I know. The sound, that voice… it feels familiar. Makes my stomach twist." Jack shook his head. "Not sure why."

"Well, is a disembodied voice." Rose shivered herself. "That's the sort of thing that freaks folks out." She dropped her voice. "Glad it isn't just me."

A burst of static made them both look towards the computer set up. Malcolm gave Rose a quick apologetic look and grabbed an old school intercom.

"Sorry, this place isn't wired for newer communications," he said quickly.

"Doctor Taylor," Kate's clear voice came through the intercom. "You didn't check-in, is the Doctor with you?"

"Ah," Malcolm reddened and reached for the intercom. "Sorry, ma'am. Yes, the Doctor is with me near the anomaly. We're going over the data now. Apparently, he's been seeing more of these events than is normal and is concerned about the source."

"I see." There was a pause. "Except now we may have a problem."

"What's wrong?" the Doctor asked.

"Another TARDIS just appeared in your old lab," Kate answered. "Da- the General went to check it out, but it seems possible that another you are here."

"That's…" the Doctor eyed the rip. "That could actually be a good thing. An unpleasant thing, but a good thing. I'll be right up."

"Thank you, Doctor."

The intercom beeped off and the Doctor shifted back from the computers. "Right. You need to barricade that thing as much as possible. Looks like you're working on walls and you should finish those as soon as possible. The more you can control the space in case something comes through, the better."

Malcolm nodded. "The crew was taking a break to let the cement dry. They're due to resume within the hour. The plan then was to reinforce it with metal and bulletproof viewing windows."

"Good." The Doctor nodded his agreement. "But keep the windows small. And make sure any access door is solid and has a backup."

"Uh, yes, of course." Malcolm's excitement was fading into true nervous fear.

"Jack, stay and give them a hand. Rose…" The Doctor hesitated.

"Do you want me here or with you?" Rose asked. She could tell that he was uneasy with the unfolding situation.

"With me," he answered a moment later. "I don't think it's dangerous just yet. Do you?"

Rose paused and looked towards the rip. She could feel something, but it lacked the sharp cold feeling and deep dread that she'd become familiar with thanks to these things.

"No," she agreed. "Not yet."

"Okay."

The Doctor nodded and glared at the rip one more time before heading for the staircase. Malcolm was already on the intercom, talking with someone about adding another layer and door to the room under construction. Rose followed the Doctor up the stairs, staying close and trying to contain her excitement and worry about meeting another incarnation of the Doctor.

Kate was waiting for them at the top of the staircase. "How bad is it, Doctor?"

"It's not good," the Doctor said. "I need to figure out the source of these rips. Been seeing a lot of them, but plus side, I can set up a device to gather temporal energy and stitch it closed."

"How long will that take?"

"Depends on a lot of variables." The Doctor sighed. "But it another me is here, that will make it go faster."

"Good." Kate nodded down the corridor. "Seems to be you according to Dad."

"Yeah." The Doctor tapped his head. "I can feel me."

Kate glanced at Rose and then turned to lead them through the building. The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and held it tight as they came to one of the offices. Kate knocked and opened the door when Alistair called for her to come in. The Doctor shoved the door open before Kate could and peered inside.

In front of the General's temporary desk stood a familiar man with curly dark blonde hair and wearing a brightly coloured coat. Beside him was a young woman with short brown hair. They both turned to look at the new arrivals.

"Well," the blond Doctor said. "What have you gotten us into now?"

Rose pressed her lips together tightly, holding back either back a laugh or a sigh. She wasn't sure which. Today had just gotten a lot more complicated.