Bits in Between

Chapter Fourteen: Professor Chesterton

By Lumendea

AN: Follows Ian Chesterton's point of view through the end of Child of Earth.

…..

Professor Ian Chesterton considered himself a lucky man. An extremely lucky man who'd had the privilege of leading a fascinating life. Even as a young man, he'd known that being a teacher was his calling, but the echoes of the little boy he'd once been sometimes felt trapped by the routine of it all. He cared about his students, wanted them to do well in life, and liked his position at Coal Hill. Barbara Wright, the history teacher, had been a colleague that he respected, and he enjoyed numerous friendships, but it had still been a bit dull.

Then he and Barbara followed one student home. Susan was so gifted and yet strange and distracted. They'd only wanted to check on her and speak with her grandfather. Instead, they'd ended up in a police box that was bigger on the inside and kidnapped by her grandfather, who insisted they were aliens. It hadn't been easy dealing with the Doctor, who was stubborn, rude, overbearing, reckless, and irritatingly brilliant.

And yet, they'd all become friends with something more growing between him and Barbara. They'd had grand adventures in the past and seen worlds where no other humans would set foot on for thousands of years. It had been remarkable, and even when the chance to return to his own planet and time had come, part of Ian was still saddened by it. Part of him would miss the Doctor and that crazy box. But another part of him was eager to see what new adventures life on Earth would bring.

There had been adventures. For one, Barbara had married him, and they'd had a son. They'd both kept learning and expanding their knowledge until they were respected professors at Cambridge. He remained on the Coal Hill board just to look after the old place. It would always hold a place in his heart. Yet life as happy as it was did gradually become dull as Johnny left the nest to pursue his own life. Ian was grateful, of course, to still have Barbara, an interesting job, and the wonderful memories, but it was still a bit dull.

Then entered Rose Tyler. She was clever, to be sure. He hadn't been a part of her admissions process, but from the first class, he understood why she was there. Rose was already past the entry-level courses and had clearly read the textbooks, unlike many of her peers. Ian was fond of her. She knew how to learn and had imagination for her work, but also always had a sparkle in her eye. In some strange way, she reminded him a lot of Susan.

That was the only warning he ever got. Rose Tyler was hard to put into words; she was too much. Too much everything: too clever, too bold, too empathetic, and too sarcastic. She didn't like authority figures one bit until you earned some respect and knew exactly what she was capable of. A dangerous combination that rubbed many of his colleagues the wrong way. Still, he'd liked her, and Barbara had listened with a patient smile as he praised and complained about her that first month.

Rose Tyler, it turned out, knew the Doctor. In their vague contact with UNIT over the years, they'd learned a bit more about the alien, mainly that he protected Earth frequently. It was sometimes hard to Ian to reconcile the grumpy old man he'd known with the figure that UNIT described, but he'd managed. Rose made that picture even more complicated, but he didn't mind. Things were never boring, and with Johnny grown, he liked the bit of adventure.

Except things around Rose just got worse or better, depending on how you looked at it. He was fond of her, but she made him worry. Rose was always finding trouble or being called into it by UNIT. Her papers can in on time, but she missed lectures. Her test scores were great, but she seemed bored when she was present. For a girl so determined to graduate, it really was sometimes like she didn't want to be there. She drew a lot in the corners of her notes and stared up into the sky like she saw something the rest of them couldn't.

There wasn't really a moment where he became suspicious. Frankly, the idea that Rose and the Doctor were romantic was humorous and utterly ridiculous to him for the longest time. The Doctor was an old man with a grandchild, while Rose was a young human woman. But the other companions slowly made that image a bit murkier. He could become young, had become less grumpy and more outright fond of humans. With each story, his memories of the Doctor shifted. He was still fond of the old boy, but it opened the way for doubts and concerns.

Rose's status as something a bit different from all the other companions worried him the most. She had a TARDIS key hanging around her neck while many of the others, himself included, had never had one. Maybe the Doctor gave them out more freely, or maybe it was something else. There were quiet conversations about how odd Rose was amongst the companions. They all liked her, but she was just different enough from the rest of them.

Rose would brush over some details, shrug off questions, and had an odd little smile whenever the Doctor came up. When they met the Doctor after his faked death, Ian hadn't missed the worn golden ring on the alien's hand. Some part of his brain suggested that it might not be what he thought. After all, the Doctor he'd known had a ring he used from time to time, but this one struck him differently. No one else mentioned it, but the young look Doctor in suspenders had wanted a moment alone with Rose. Sure, timelines were a valid concern, but Ian just couldn't help but be suspicious.

It didn't make sense most days. They were different species; there was a huge age gap, and really what did they have in common. Then on other days, it made all the sense in the world. For the first time in a long time, Ian Chesterton was struggling to understand the facts in front of him. He didn't talk to Barbara about it. He didn't need her thinking he was crazy or worse, confirming his theory.

In truth, it bothered him a little. Rose was part of the family. Sure she was an adult and had her mother, but they saw her weekly during the school year. They laughed, talked about books or television, made meals together, and he encouraged her in school. It was a bit like how he'd envisioned being a grandparent would be. And now he had Rose and Luke. Everything fell into place. The empty, quiet parts of his life now had Rose, Sarah Jane, and Luke.

Ace called. She'd noticed things too, and he was both relieved and upset that someone else had noticed. It made it less likely that he was crazy but also meant that it was more likely to be true. This was the Doctor they were talking about, and the others could describe 'their Doctor' as much as they wanted, but to Ian, on some level, he would always be that grumpy old man.

They left it alone. He had no idea how to talk to Rose about it. She hadn't said anything and, without a doubt, had her reasons. Things just became more confusing when Rose got engaged. She'd never mentioned Richard Beckett, and yet she was marrying him. Ace was acting weird at the wedding, and Benton had apparently lost money on betting that Rose and the Doctor were involved. Again someone else had noticed.

Long story short, he'd watched an irritatingly young-looking Doctor snog Rose Tyler and then run off. Everyone else had been up in arms over it, but Ian had just felt old. Sometimes you didn't want to be right but knew that you were. Ace was much more at ease with the confirmation than he was. He tried to take heart in that. She clearly knew or had seen something that made her less concerned.

It wasn't his business. The others could probe Rose for information, but he stayed out of it. He was her teacher first and foremost despite the fondness he had for her. In his own way, he made sure that Rose was okay. She smiled brightly; she wasn't guarded around them anymore and occasionally slipped and gave information on her 'dates.' While his brain still couldn't fully process the Doctor being someone's significant other, Rose was happy.

Gradually his brain processed it. Gradually it really sank in that Rose wouldn't be happy on Earth. More than once a month, she had some kind of adventure. Sometimes the aftermath was hard, and sometimes, she just laughed things off. It was an up and down insane life, but it was hers, and she never seemed sad about it.

When they'd been taken into protective custody by UNIT and Ian had to hear his newest grandchild Skye chanting, he'd allowed himself to really think about all of it. Sure it was worrying to know that Rose was out there somewhere, but he wasn't afraid that she'd fail. Instead, he was just worried about her safety. He knew that she wouldn't stop, wouldn't let anything stop her until the children were safe. The Doctor he'd known had moments of heroism but also was pragmatic. He'd been told that the heroic streak had only grown over the years, and he wished that there'd been time for him to speak with one of the older/younger Doctors.

Maybe it did make sense. As odd as it was to him, maybe Rose and the Doctor worked in the ways that really mattered. After all, his own marriage had grown out of a friendship forged while time travelling. Barbara hadn't meant anything special to him before. Maybe they were based on the same thing, the shared experience of saving worlds, the shared understanding of what it was like to have the world depending on you. It was a terrifying thought, but as Skye began chanting again, he knew that it was part of it.

Ian hoped that it would work out somehow. The Doctor was ancient compared to Rose. She was just a blink of an eye to him, but apparently, he'd decided it didn't matter. He was still scared for Rose but would never say anything. Rose took responsibility for the safety of Earth and had earned the right to decide who she gave her heart to a dozen times over. Still, Ian wasn't sure that he'd ever fully understood it. He'd seen a wedding ring on the Doctor's hand and hoped that he'd be able to see the day Rose Tyler made that old bachelor a married man. Otherwise, he just hoped that despite all the obstacles the universe would throw at them that they'd be happy.

Now what he worried about was how the Doctor would deal with Rose's human lifespan. It wasn't Rose he found himself worrying about, but the Doctor who could only keep her for a century or so if they were lucky. Ian decided it was a good thing he was a science professor and not a literature one; otherwise, the tragedy in the making would have utterly broken his heart.