The Night & The Storm
The Doctor narrowed his eyes at his companion, following her form back to the table as he remained leaning against the window sill, arms drawn across his chest. Rose had to admit it reminded her more of the Doctor's previous self than his current regeneration.
"I don't understand." He questioned, his features finally settling on a look of almost terror, "Those memories are sealed away behind barriers and shields, every single barrier in fact that my people knew how to create and then some-"
"You got me there," Rose wrapped her hands around the hot mug to warm them, her refusal to meet his eyes however causing him further unrest.
"Rose." His tone was steady which was surprising considering the plethora of scenarios running through his brain that would cause her mind to unravel in such a way.
"I don't remember much of it," She shrugged staring past him out the window. "Jus' singin' and then I heard you."
She gave him a lop-sided smile as he sat down across from her, his brow knitted together in concern as he leant his elbows against the table. She pulled her legs up against her chest, resting her mug on her knees as she continued.
"It-it was hard for me," She began hesitantly, "When you disappeared it was like somthin' snapped in my head as that last gap closed. I remember Mum callin' out an' I sorta felt like I was floatin' away."
"Turns out it was Micks though," She laughed a little, "He's never let me live it down since. Carried me back to the jeep an all. Don't remember much of the trip back to Pete's, just glimpses of their faces swimmin' in an' out of my vision, sorta like tryna watch the telly through a fish bowl ya know."
"Yea," He nodded with an uneasy smile, his concern radiating off him so much Rose was sure she could feel it closing in around her.
"Anyways," She shook the feeling off as she continued. "We got back and for the longest time I couldn't- I just- slept, if you could call it sleep what with all the screaming and- well anyways it was hard on the others, drove em' mad by the end I think."
"The end," His eyebrows flew up into his hair, "Rose-"
"No," She stopped him abruptly, reaching across the table to take the hand that clenched against the woodwork, "Nothin' like that, I promise-"
"I should hope not," He relaxed slightly, sighing in relief at the touch of her hand and gestured with a nod for her to continue.
"It was more like the beginning really," Her lip turned up in the hint of a smile, "It was the first time I'd dreamt since Canary Wharf, can you image it, no dreams for four whole months?"
"Well, coming from a species who only sleeps every few months I have very little to compare it to," He admitted uneasily, her face patiently awaiting a response. "But, then again my problem has always been quite the opposite as you can imagine."
"The Time War?"
"Amongst other things," He nodded with a sad smile, "But yes."
"I saw you, in my dreams." She commented softly, a slight blush colouring her cheeks. "And then you spoke to me, sorta never stopped really- they thought I'd gone barmy for a while."
"I don't follow," He shook his head in confusion, "Why did they think-"
"Because I answered back-" She replied as if it should've been obvious.
"Rose-" She rolled her eyes as he made a move to extract the sonic from his breast pocket.
"I'm not daft," She shook her head with a small laugh, "But I should have known that nothing is impossible when it comes to you."
"Are you sure you weren't-"
"How do you think I knew about Donna's parallel?" She asked conversationally, fiddling with the bottoms of her jeans. "Or more importantly how to design a machine made to travel in time and dimensions?"
"Torchwood," He reasoned, "I 'd just assumed they were-"
"Unravelling space and time as usual?" Rose smirked.
"Well," He sniffed, "Yea."
"In this universe, Torchwood consists of Me, Pete, Jake and Micks, well not anymore- but, the rest of the white coats in the lab when we arrived were uni students willin' to help out where they could."
"How is that even possible," He shook his head in equal measures of fear and wonder.
"Thought maybe that'd be more your field of expertise," She smirked, "Being the one with the superior mind meld abilities."
"Oh that's just rude," He raised an eyebrow at her, "Time Lords are in no way related to Vulcan's Rose what have you been reading?"
"Alright then," She rolled her eyes again, "As one of the most telepathic species in all the universes then, please enlighten me."
"More to the question though, why haven't you asked this other me what's going on?"
"Meant to but then everythin' sorta got a bit hectic what with the world gone half mad as it was then add in a hospital on the moon and a half baked old nutter runnin' about the place, Sontarans and bits an' peices falling out the rift left right and centre I thought maybe it could wait til later yea."
"Well when you put it like that I suppose-" He mused scratching at his chin.
"Didn't know what to think at first, but you saved us," She gave him a small smile, "You weren't even here and yet there you were savin' everyone once again, savin' me-"
"Not even I can save everyone all the time Rose." He replied sombrely.
"I know that," She nodded in agreement, "And we did lose some along the way."
"I'm sorry." He breathed.
"Nothin' to be sorry for," She smiled at him then taking his other hand, "They knew the risks an' we still saved the world."
"Can you still hear-"
"No," She shook her head glancing down at her knee caps, "Not since the last jump back to the other universe."
He was a little relieved he had to admit but the look of disappointment that passed across his companions face startled him.
"You miss it?" He queried perplexed.
"A little yea," She admitted not meeting his eyes again, "Sorta feels empty now ya know."
"Oh I know," He assured her releasing a breath he didn't realise he was holding. "Trust me I do."
"Thought you might." She murmured softly.
"I was there you know." He continued glancing out the window at the dark clouds about to open up over their heads and stood to place a few logs in the hearth and sonic them alight. "On the moon that is. It's where I met Martha."
"She seems great." Rose acknowledged, determined not to be bitter about it, she never wanted him to be alone.
"Oh she was," He nodded placing the teapot in the middle of the table and resuming his seat, "But she wasn't you, and she knew it. I was reckless and irresponsible without you."
"She fell in love with you didn't she." There was no accusation in her tone.
"I didn't ask her too, I never-"
"You don't have to Doctor," Rose smirked, "They can't help it, it's just who you are."
"Her mother slapped me too." He added rubbing his face at the memory. "They were trying to change what it was to be human, how could I resist? And so there we were, bad luck tux and all, and then we were running for our lives."
"Same here." Rose laughed. "Well minus the slap happy moment and replace Martha with Micks, knew the universes followed along the same sort of time streams only this one a little further along, so everythin' that's happened to you over there, well on Earth anyways, and in this time, would have happened for us first. It's confusing sometimes, what with the jumps between dimensions. Workin' out where and when you were, if we were getting closer to the right time line."
"We?" He prompted.
"Not we so much now," She murmured, "But you know, Pete, Micks an' Jake."
"Ah." He nodded in understanding.
"One thing I don't get though," She carried on, "Is how you could be in my head, or were there or whatever, but still not be able to translate anythin' properly. I mean do you know how frustrating it is to wake up to find scraps of paper about the place with nothing more than indistinguishable doodles over em'."
"I'll have you know Rose Tyler," He raised an eyebrow, "That my language is nothing like doodling, I mean really-"
"And then trying to translate it across into English," She sighed dramatically, "Was lucky I had you sittin' up here, but then again it'd be like you'd take over and then suddenly there it was, all written out plain as day."
"You're probably lucky your head didn't implode." He remarked dryly. "And that's what's concerning me right now."
"What?" It was her turn to be confused as she poured them both more tea, a loud crack of thunder over head diverting her attention momentarily and she spilt the hot liquid across the table.
"This morning," He continued pulling a cloth from the back of his chair to mop up with, "I felt- well not on purpose of course, and considering the barriers up in this old noggin' quite impossible but I could feel the terror, oh Rose-"
"You-you felt that?" She whispered, the pot in her hand shaking slightly at his nod.
"Is there somthing wrong with me?" She asked as he took the teapot and settled it back on the table.
"Wrong?" He raised a curious eyebrow at her, "You mean aside from the Ischemia, who knows, I'd have to have Idris run a full set of scans, well if she's capable of it of course, I mean what you're describing is as if for a time the two of us had taken up the same space, thus explaining why my presence may have brought an end to the connection. But the question we really need answered is was it something the Bad Wolf did, or is it something we do in the future to ensure our past plays out as it should."
"Why do I suddenly have this sinking sorta feeling?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "What did you do back on the gamestation? What's up here-"
"I'm not exactly one hundred percent sure, and may I also remind you that certain memories pertaining to the vortex have been hidden even from me, then factoring in the regeneration that immediately followed, wellll you can understand how I might have, erm- misplaced a few things."
"Doctor?" She warned.
"Blasted meddlesome TARDIS of mine too," He mused glancing off as his inner monologue seemed to cancel out the sound of her voice. "I bet she has something to do with this."
"Doctor!" She snapped her fingers in front of his eyes.
"What?" He stopped rambling and went cross eyed momentarily, "Sorry you were saying?"
"Oh you haven't changed a bit have you?" She snorted at his befuddled expression as the lights above flickered and went out, the only light source now coming from the hearth. Rose didn't even register a movement until he was beside her in the almost dark, the storm now raging over their heads. He gently took her hand.
"Let's see if Idris can't shed some light on the situation eh?" He waggled his eyebrows as he pulled her from the kitchen.
"Oh you're funny." She snorted, trusting his eyes in the dark over hers and soon enough she felt him guide her to the sofa and release her hand.
"Idris?" The screen flickered on and Rose watched him in the soft glow.
"Organic structural membrane transference at eighty-nine percent," Idris replied, "Power source uncompromised, functionality will return in approximately three hours forty-eight minutes."
"Ah, oh really?" Rose could see him beaming despite the dark, "Top banana, which means you should be able to provide me with a full body scan of one Rose Tyler?"
"Affirmative." Idris replied, her monitor switching back to standby.
"What's that mean," Rose whispered as he flopped down beside her on the sofa.
"She'll run some tests once she's done." It was his turn to pull the 'just drooled on your shirt' face.
"Don't be a plum. I know that." She snorted rolling her eyes at him. "Membrane transfer-"
"Oh, she's incorporating herself with the house," He explained almost giddily, "Once the transference is complete it'll be like being in the TARDIS again. Well, no shifting corridors or time travel but, well it's almost-"
"It's brilliant." Rose smiled softly at him taking his hand and wrapping it in her two smaller. "Just as long as it's with you."
"Yea?"
"Oh yes." She replied settling herself back again the sofa.
"So," He breathed, "Three hours forty-eight minutes, one hell of a thunderstorm, what do you have planned for today."
"Absolutely nothing," She grinned into the dark, "Tell me a story?"
"What would you like to hear?"
"Anything," She laughed contentedly, "Everything."
"Alright," He nodded turning himself to lay along the sofa, his head rest comfortably in her lap.
"You, Rose Tyler have seen but a small fraction of what's out in that big old universe, there are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream. But our story begins on a world with shining silver trees and the deepest darkest red fields of grass you have ever seen."
"It sounds wonderful." She murmured.
"Oh I promise you Rose," He swallowed heavily, "That was the dullest part of all, a world of wonders no Human has ever dreamt possible-" Rose groaned as the shrill ringing of her phone in her pocket interrupted what she had a sneaking suspicion was a story she'd always dreamt of hearing from him.
"Hello?" She answer. "Pete- wait- just slow down- yea he's here- alright hold on I'll put him on." She held the phone out to him which he took without removing himself from her lap.
"Pete?" He began sitting up as the voice on the other end gained momentum and volume, "What? Alright, just keep calm we'll be there as soon as we can, where are you? No I need co-ordinates." The Doctor stood and produced the jumper he had pocketed the day before, sonic in hand as he kept the phone to his ear with his shoulder.
"Alright," He finished, slipping the sonic back into his pocket, "Just don't do anything until we get there." He handed the phone back to Rose.
"Doctor what's wrong?" She moved to his side as the jumper glowed brightly.
"Time to save the world again eh Rose Tyler." He grinned, the device lighting the mischief in his eyes.
"Told you," She shook her head, "Trouble magnet."
"Oi," He protested as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "Am not."
"You so are," She smirked, his proximity making her feel a little light headed, "Why Doctor, is that a sonic in your pocket-"
"Rose Tyler. Time and place-" He chastised before slamming the jumper against his chest.
Whatever response she had planned died on her lips as they exploded into being before a rippling pool of nothingness. She watched the Doctor approach it cautiously reaching out towards it before snapping his hand away and taking several steps back towards her.
"Doctor what is it?" Rose called stepping back with him so he wouldn't trip over her.
"I was gonna ask the same question." Pete's voice came from behind, a familiar face to his right.
"Captain Magambo?" Rose frowned, "What's UNIT doin' here?"
"They called it in." Pete replied, "They knew we'd be able to contact the Doctor."
"How could you possible know that?" The Doctor frowned then something dawned on him, "No wait, I don't want to know."
"I didn't think so." The Captain replied knowingly, then nodded towards the eddy before them. "Any idea what that thing is?"
"It's a tear," The Doctor replied, his brow wrinkling in concern as he followed her line of sight back over Rose's head. "A whole in the fabric of reality. And something is very close to breaking through."