So here we are folks. The beginning of the end for the Tenth Doctor, Rose and their family. Rewriting this story has shortened the length, but I think with as long as the chapters are it will make up for the smaller chapter count. I want to thank all the old and new followers of this story line for sticking with me on this rewrite. Hopefully you all will follow the third story to this series, with the Eleventh Doctor, Rose, and their family having adventures.
Disclaimer: I Don't Own Doctor Who!
Deep within the bowels of the Tardis, her family of travelers are fast asleep in their bedrooms. Yet there is one who is no longer awake. Her thief has been awake for the past twenty minutes, waking from the same foreboding that is seeping out from the time stream. Hidden within the foreboding is a psychic call for her thief from the Ood.
Standing in the doorway to their bedroom, the Doctor watches a sleeping Rose. She is laying on her left side with a body pillow tucked under her full-term belly, which is visible due to her night shirt riding up to just under her breasts. The blankets having shifted to her hips from her restless movements while trying to find a comfortable sleeping position.
Over the past week, Rose had been having Braxton-Hicks contractions, which had kept the Doctor on his toes. Two days ago, Rose had reached the end of the pregnancy, and now they are waiting for labor to begin at any time. Just last night Rose had another false alarm which had her stating that their daughter was causing more trouble than Jack did. This new addition seemed to think it funny to cause its parents to panic a bit.
Again, the Doctor felt the Ood calling to him, and he knew that he couldn't keep them waiting anymore. He had been running from their call since before the incident in Ancient Egypt, but now the Doctor had nowhere else to run. Resigning himself to answer the call, the Doctor slowly leaves his place in the doorway and makes his way to Rose's bedside.
"Rose." he whispers softly as he places his left hand on the bump that houses his child. "Rose, love. It's time to get up."
Rose's face contorts a little as the Doctor says her name again. She has been awake since he had first been standing in their doorway. The little one inside of her had begun to do in-womb movements whenever the Doctor was near, that was how she knew he was there. Letting out a small groan as her child gives a rather hard kick to her ribs, Rose opens her tired eyes.
"You know, every time you are near me the baby keeps me awake." She mumbles while trying to maneuver into a sitting position.
"I'm sorry, Rose."
The Doctor gives her a light kiss on the cheek as he places a hand over where their child resides. The look in the Doctor's eyes was all Rose needed to see to know something was wrong. She doesn't ask him, because she knows that he will tell her when he is ready. She watches in fascination as the Doctor places his forehead against her baby bump. The baby inside seems to become excited by this and begins to move, causing the bottom of a foot to appear underneath Rose's skin. Because of the stretching of her already taunt skin, Rose winces at the small burning sensation that results from the baby's foot.
The Doctor notices Rose's discomfort through their mental bond, but underneath his hand he can feel the muscles contract.
"You alright love?" The Doctor asks Rose before placing a kiss on the bump.
"Yeah. She seems to become more excited when you talk or even when you touch me. Nothing to worry about though."
Rose gives the Doctor a reassuring smile with as much energy as she can muster. She feels one of his hands grasp hers and knows he is about to tell her something important.
"I need to go away for a while."
The Doctor looks at Rose and watches for a reaction. When he sees curiosity and fear in her eyes, he knows he should tell her more. And that is exactly what he does.
"The Ood are calling for me to come see them. When I saw them last, Donna was with me and they told me that my song was going to end. I have been ignoring it for so long, but I can't any longer. I want to keep you and our children safe, but I have no idea what is coming. I don't want to put you all at risk. If the Ood are correct, and my song is coming to an end, then I want you all to be somewhere safe. Somewhere you can raise Jack and this little one without having to fear for their safety." The Doctor quickly pulls his hand away from Rose's and stands up before beginning to pace the floor.
"No." Rose sternly says to the Doctor as she gets up from their bed. She then walks over to him, with both of her hands holding her bump.
"You can't just send us away without consulting us about it first. We are a family, Doctor. Family means that we help each other and protect each other. I won't let you send me away again. You remember what happened the last time you tried."
The Doctor stops his pacing and turns to look at Rose. He can see that she means business and would most likely not listen to his reasoning behind wanting to send their family to safety.
"I can't guarantee your safety or Jacks', or even Jennys'. If something happened to either of them, or our unborn child, would be able to live with that Rose?" The Doctor asks, hoping that Rose will agree with his plan on sending her and their family to safety.
"Where you go we go, Doctor."
Sometime later that day…
The family of four exits the Tardis, dressed for the winter weather that is the Ood Sphere. Rose is wearing a light blue, heavy feather down coat which barely hides her baby bump. Jenny is beside her wearing a camo colored winter coat along with a gloves of the same color. The Doctor is wearing his usual brown pin-striped suit and his long, billowing coat. In the Doctor's arms is little Jack, who is wearing a miniature of what his father is wearing but his brown coat is much heavier for the cold.
As they begin to walk away from the Tardis, Jack notices an Ood standing alone.
"What's that?" Jack asks his father while at the same time pointing to the funny looking squid alien.
"Jack, it's rude to point." his father says and he lightly pulls the young boy's hand back down.
The Doctor stops walking when he is a few feet away from the Ood. Knowing the rest of the family is behind him, the Doctor introduces them to the Ood.
"Rose, Jenny, Jack. This is Ood Sigma. Ood Sigma, this is my family. I would have come sooner but you had told me that my song was ending so I took a while. Met up with Rose, gained a family. Which, by the way, is still growing." The Doctor said with a smile on his face.
"You should not have delayed." Ood Sigma said to the Doctor.
"Last time I was here, you said my song would be ending soon. And I am in no hurry for that." The Doctor replies with a bit of resentment in his voice.
"You will come with me."
"Hold on. Better lock the Tardis."
The Doctor sets Jack down on the ground before reaching into his coat pocket. Pulling the item out, he aims it towards the Tardis and his ship beeps. Turning back to look at Ood Sigma, the Doctor gives the alien a cheeky grin.
Ood Sigma, not understanding the joke that the Doctor was trying to make with locking the Tardis like a car on Earth, begins to walk away from the family of four.
"You seem to have made an impression, dad." Jenny said as she begins to follow Ood Sigma.
"What?" The Doctor asks as he watches his oldest follow the Ood. "I thought it was funny."
Rose places a hand on the Doctor's shoulder.
"You're still rude, Doctor. Now come on before we get left behind, yeah?" She lets her hand slide over to the other shoulder before grasping his free hand.
"You ready?" she asks, not only to the Doctor, but to Jack as well.
Little Jack nods his head and shouts, "Allonsy."
Both of his parents chuckle at his enthusiastic replication of the Doctor's favorite word. They too begin to follow Ood Sigma and Jenny through the snow. The group soon make it to the beginning of the city that the Ood now live in. Jenny let out a low whistle, while Rose and Jack let out a gasp. The Doctor, however, didn't seem to like what he was seeing.
"How long has it been since I was here with Donna?"
"100 years."
"100 years. You all did this. I don't like it. You are progressing too fast. Even your ability to call out to me is too fast for such a short time frame. Something is pushing your evolution." The Doctor turns to look at Ood Sigma.
"The Ood mind is troubled Doctor. It has been troubled for a long time. Every night, Doctor, we have bad dreams." was all Ood Sigma would say before walking again, but this time, towards a dwelling entrance.
Inside of the dwelling, Ood Sigma brings them towards a group of Oods, who were sitting in a circle. Jack, who is standing between his parents, begins to shake with fright. The Doctor notices his son's fear and sends soothing thoughts to the boy. As well as running a hand through his son's hair.
Rose, however, doesn't notice her son's shaking or fear because of the baby becoming more active than ever before. She places a hand on the heavily covered bump to calm the baby inside. Something feels off, not right; but Rose pushes her anxiety aside to try and focus on the here and now.
Ood Sigma noticed the two parents, each one trying to sooth an offspring. Yet he is fascinated that the older one hasn't shown any fear or worry. Only curiosity shows upon her face and in her eyes.
"Doctor. You will join the circle. Leave your offspring with your mate." Ood Sigma tells the Doctor.
The circle of Ood watch the Doctor's reaction to being invited to their circle.
The Doctor stops soothing his son, and tries to not run away from the impending fear of what is about to happen. As he begins to step away from his family, the Doctor hears Rose let out a gasp and turns to see her hunched forward a little.
"Rose?" He takes 3 large steps before coming to stand in front of her. He quickly places his hands over the bump. "Rose? Is it time? Rose?"
Rose shakes her head after a few seconds and several slow, deep breaths.
"No, it isn't time. She won't stop kicking, but the kicking is stronger than ever before." Rose covers the Doctor's hands with her own.
"We are okay. Go on and see what the Ood want so we can go back to the Tardis." She leans up and gives the Doctor a kiss before gentle pushing him away from her.
The Doctor nods to her before walking up to the circle of Oods.
"Hello. Bit of a camp fire chat here."
He allows the Oods to take his hands and it hits him. An image of the Master.
"He comes to us, every night." An elder Ood says. "I think all peoples of the universe dream of him now."
"That man is dead." The Doctor states with an intense voice.
"There is yet more. Events are taking place, so many years ago and yet changing the now. There is a man, so scared."
The sees an image of Donna's grandfather and can't help but feel worried.
"Wilfred. Is he alright? What about Donna? Is she safe?" The Doctor asks the Ood.
"You should not have delayed." The Ood elder says in reply. "For the lines of convergence are being drawn across the Earth even now. The king is in his counting house."
Another image appears in the Doctor's mind and he has no idea who the two people are.
"I don't know who they are."
"And there is another." The Ood elder says. "The most lonely of all. Lost and forgotten."
With the image of the crying female, the Doctor knows who she is.
"The Master's wife."
"We see so much, but understand little." Ood Sigma says to the Doctor. "The woman in the cage, who is she?"
"She was... It wasn't her fault. She was… The Master, he's a Time Lord, like me. I can show you." The Doctor tells the Ood before using his link with the Ood to further his explanation of who the woman, and the Master, is.
"The Master took the name of Saxon. He married a human, a woman called Lucy, and corrupted her. She stood at his side while he conquered the Earth. I reversed everything he had done, so it could never happen, but Lucy Saxon remembered. I held him in my arms as he died, and I burnt his body. The Master is dead!"
"And yet you didn't see."
"A part of him survived." The Doctor says with some trepidation as he sees a ring being picked up by a woman. "I have to go!"
"But something more is happening, Doctor. The Master is part of a greater design, because a shadow is falling over creation. Something vast is stirring in the dark. The Ood have gained this power to see through time because time is bleeding. Shapes of things once lost are moving through the veil. And these events from years ago threaten to destroy this future. And the present and the past."
"What do you mean?" The Doctor asks the Ood Elder.
"This is what we have seen. The darkness heralds only one thing, the end of time itself." The Ood Elder says in return.
In a hurry, the Doctor stands up and runs quickly out of the dwelling. This startles his family. Jenny and Jack rush after their father, but as Rose goes to follow Ood Sigma places a hand on her arm to stop her.
"You must keep yourself and the child you carry safe from what is coming, Bad Wolf. You cannot interfere with what is to come. The Doctor must face this on his own." Ood Sigma says to Rose. "The child you carry is an important key to the survival of the universe. She will take the important place, of the one who can't remember, as being the most important person in the universe. However, there are those who would shape her for their own devices and turn her to harm those she loves and the universe. Keep her safe, keep her hidden. Promise us, Bad Wolf."
"I promise." Rose says, feeling as the heavy weight of knowing just how important the child she carries is to the universe. "What about our son? Is he in danger as well?"
"When the time comes, he will take his father's place in the universe." Ood Sigma replies as he lets go of her arm. "Be careful, Bad Wolf. For if you follow the Doctor now, you may not survive what is coming. And all will be lost."
"My place is at my Doctor's side." Rose's eyes flash with a gold color before returning to normal. She also felt the power within her rise to just beneath the surface of the control that she has over it.
Seeing that the Ood have become startled at her display, Rose quickly leaves the dwelling. The child within her is now still and that stillness has Rose scared. She makes her way back to the Tardis to find the Doctor dashing around the console. Jenny and Jack are nowhere to be seen.
"Doctor?"
The Doctor stops by the hand break and looks at Rose with tears threatening to fall from his eyes.
"Oh Rose." His voice betraying his every emotion. "I can't let him."
Rose moves towards the Doctor and hugs him.
"I can't let him hurt you or our family. If the Master is coming back, I need to know that you and our children are safe." The Doctor leans down and kisses Rose with such passion that makes her wonder if this is their last kiss.
Rose breaks the kiss but keeps her head near his. "We are safest when we are with you."
"The Master, if he comes back and finds out about us." The Doctor moves away from Rose before continuing. "If he finds out, he will use you. All three of you, against me. I can't let him do that Rose. You understand, don't you?" He turns to look at her, to see what her response is.
Rose is shaking, and wraps her arms around her bump.
"Please don't leave us, Doctor. Jack and I can stay in the Tardis. Jenny too. The Tardis can keep us safe if this worries you so much." Rose tries to placate the Doctor, while her hormones show just how emotional she is over not being with the Doctor.
"I'm taking you to Torchwood. Jack Harkness has the medical equipment in case you go into labor. Plus, he has all those safety measures on the Hub. You will all be safe there. Please Rose. I need you to do this for me." The Doctor pleads, giving Rose the best imitation of a begging puppy.
When Rose nods her head in agreement, the Doctor heads over to the console and pulls a lever that sends them to Earth and Jack Harkness.
So, there is the first part of The End of Time Part One. I added a bit more, but also removed a few things that will be added to the next chapter.
Reviews are welcomed, cherished, and loved.
Selene