A/N: okay, maybe it took longer than a week, 3 chapters turned into 7 :)
Pronunciation:
Nineoplan = nin E O plan
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Bonds Chapter 4: Barcelona
As they walked down the street, Rose noticed a cute little dog. A dog that had no nose.
"Oh, my god, did we actually make it to Barcelona?" she asked incredulously. They had tried once after the Doctor's regeneration, but wound up saving an early Earth colony from a flood.
"Oh, yes!" the part human Doctor exclaimed. "I love it here."
"See?" the Time Lord said from the other side of her, "You did have all of the information you needed to identify this planet."
He put his hand in hers, and she almost went to give in to the connection when she realized that she wasn't compelled to do so anymore. Then she decided to leave herself open to the Doctor, so that if he wanted to anyway, he could.
Almost to her surprise, he did, and she almost sighed with the feeling. When had she become so dependent on the telepathy? After a moment's thought, she realized that she had been all along. She actually had a headache in the other universe that lessened considerably with telepathic contact.
"So, this is Barcelona, the capital city of Barcelona, the planet," the Doctor started his usual time and place lecture. "This planet was actually named Barcelona before humans found it, and was part of the reason that people found it and settled down after the solar flares of the 29th century roasted the Earth. The people had to evacuate for a while."
"People leave Earth that soon?" Rose asked as they stepped onto a small foot bridge. She looked down into the water, which was incredibly clear. She could see some colorful fish in the water. The most common ones were purple with green stripes.
"Oh, yes," the part human Doctor took over. "Actually, that's the second great migration of humans. In the 24th century, a rather large group, mostly Americans and Canadians, left and terraformed a cluster of dozens of planets with hundreds of moons."
"But, back in the 29th century," the Time Lord broke back in. "When it became apparent that the flares were going to wipe out most life on Earth, A group of people were chosen to go into stasis and leave Earth for a few thousand years, until it was habitable again. They were supposed to restart humanity. The people were chosen based on skills and genetics. Sarah Jane was there when that group returned to Earth. There was a...problem, and it took twice as long as it should have for anyone to wake up," the Doctor reminisced fondly.
"I'll have to ask her about it sometime." Rose mused.
"Anyway, after that group left," the Doctor in blue continued, "the rest of the people began leaving in droves. Massive space ships all leaving Earth to find a new home. We'll have to take you to see one sometime. They're not at all what you'd expect."
The Doctor in brown took over the lecture there. "So, Spain's ship reached the orbit of a nearby planet, Nineoplan, 358 years after they took off. The small group who went down to the surface of Nineoplan came back with information about an uninhabited planet nearby called Barcelona, and the people took that as a sign."
"So, do the dogs have a sense of smell?" Rose asked curiously as she watched one of them, a small, black dog that looked much like a chihuahua scratch itself with its hind leg. The dogs she had seen so far had acted like any other Earth dog.
"See the extra long hairs at the tips of their ears?" The Doctor in Brown asked, pointing at one of the animals.
"Yeah."
"That's how they smell. They're somewhat similar in appearance as a cat's whiskers, but they're in a denser cluster and are actually exposed neurons. The placement allows them to smell where something's coming from."
"That's neat," Rose commented.
"Ah, here we are!" The Doctor in blue suddenly said. "You're gonna love this, Rose."
They went into a swanky restaurant next to the river they had just walked over. The trio were led downstairs to a glass room under the river.
"Ooh, you were right, I do love this," Rose sighed as she watched the colorful fish that swam around the clear room. She had seen pictures of similar types of places on Earth before, but had never been in one herself. The effect was even better in person.
They took their seats and ordered.
They ordered empanadas with a beef-like meat and white cheese that Rose couldn't identify, a savory coca, which was much like a pizza, and small pieces of marzipan.
Their waiter left and came back with small bread rolls and several versions of mojo, which Rose and the part human Doctor had to try a bit of each sauce. The other Doctor didn't touch any of the hot sauces, he already knew that this tongue didn't like spicy.
When their meal came, the three of them pushed their plates toward the center of the table, so that all three could reach everything. It didn't matter who ordered what. Even back when the Doctor was all leather and ears and still one man, they rarely kept their tableware to their own plates all the time.
"Mmm," Rose moaned when she took her first bite of one of the empanadas.
"Best empanadas this side of Earth," the Time Lord said, around a bit of some.
"No running your trap when your mouth's full, ta," his twin admonished him. "I don't wanna see it after it goes in." He then took a bite of the coca, which mostly had grilled vegetables on it. Rose giggled at the Doctor's affronted look.
The part human swallowed his bite and grabbed another piece of the coca. "Here, try this out," he told Rose as he held it out to her. She opened her mouth and he popped the pizza-like morsel in her mouth.
"Good, yeah?" he asked, smugly. "This place gets the best meats, cheeses, and vegetables from all over. None of it's been processed, trans-matted, or anything unnatural, a rarity in this time." He took a bite of the baked and filled bread.
They ate the traditional Spanish food and watched the colorful fish while they told Rose more stories from their previous bodies, which included a fishing trip gone awry in his fourth body, and an incident where he decided to join in on the Running of the Bulls.
During a comfortable lull in the conversation, a rarity with one of the biggest gobs in the universe times two around, Rose saw a small boat pass overhead. She watched it in fascination, the oars made most of the fish run away from them, but several fish trailed along behind it.
"I just realized that's the first boat I've seen here," she commented.
"Oh, yeah, only small, people-powered watercraft are allowed on this particular waterway, and no fishing," the Time Lord said.
"Why's that?" she asked curiously.
"You'll see," he enigmatically said. "It's allowed several rooms like this to be built under the river, and allowed it to be a very clean waterway."
Rose was hand in hand with the Doctor as they stepped out of the restaurant. They walked forward to the edge of the river and she looked down into the clear water.
"I can't see the room we were just in, and I know it's right there," she pointed out.
"You wouldn't," the other Doctor lectured from behind her as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "the underwater rooms have a coating on them that keep them from being seen from above."
"Sort of like a two way mirror?" Rose asked.
"Sort of," he agreed. "Except it isn't reflective."
"Come on, then," the Doctor in brown said as he pulled softly on Rose's hand. "You'll want to see this."
The Doctor in blue pulled back from Rose and took her other hand. "Oh, yes," he agreed with a predatory grin that gave Rose a shiver.
For no reason at all, they ran, laughing all the way. People looked at them oddly or got out of the way as they went down the sidewalk on their way to wherever they were going.
The Doctor with two hearts, who was in the lead, slowed down as they turned on to a different street. The sun was in a downward trajectory in the sky, and it would be maybe 45 minutes before darkness set in. Just before they got to the next turn, he stopped and turned toward Rose.
"Close your eyes," he told her.
She gave him a suspicious look, but closed her eyes anyway. The Doctors each took a hand and led her forward and around the corner. The trio walked for what must have been two or three blocks before they stopped. Both Doctors kept their thoughts carefully shielded, but she could feel a bit of excitement from them.
"Okay, you can open your eyes now," one of the Doctors told Rose.
She opened her eyes and was greeted with a beautiful sight. The river ended in a waterfall that was just high enough to make a mist at the bottom of it. The water went into the edge of a small lake.
She turned around to look at the city, then back to take in the lake. No doubt about it. It looked like civilization ended right there at the waterfall.
"This is a protected area," the Time Lord said. "And the reason that the waterway above is restricted."
"'Sbeautiful," Rose breathed out. She'd never get used to seeing gorgeous places unexpectedly-she hoped.
The part human Doctor then reached down into the river and waved his hand in the water, like he was checking it. He then went over to the edge of the cliff and stood on the huge rock there, overlooking the lake.
"Careful," Rose warned. The rock looked dry and stable, but you could never really tell.
"Oh, don't worry, Rose," he assured her. "Even were I to fall, the water below is deep enough to keep me from being hurt." The confidence he displayed relieved her. "Come up here?" he asked and held his hand out.
She took his hand and stepped up on the large rock with him. She looked over, and was glad that she wasn't afraid of heights.
"People like to jump off this waterfall," the Doctor in brown informed her. "It's good fun, if you like an adrenaline rush," he added as he joined them on the rock and looked over. "You know, I just had a great idea," he said with amusement.
"Really?" Rose asked, "None of us are exactly dressed for that, are we?"
"Nope," the other Doctor, "but if you were dressed for it, you'd be improperly dressed according to local laws."
"Oh, so that's why all the women are wearing full length skirts!" Rose realized, glancing back at the city.
"Yep," one of the Doctors said from behind her.
"It's almost dark, we'll freeze," Rose warned, barely keeping a straight face.
"Water's warm, and once we get out, we'll be dry quickly," the part human replied in a sing song voice.
"The stuff in our pockets will get wet," she advised with a lifted eyebrow.
"Nah," the Time Lord replied, "one of the benefits of trans-dimensional engineering."
Rose allowed herself to grin and backed up from the edge of the cliff. The twin Time Lords knew what she was about to do and stepped aside to make sure she had plenty of room. She ran forward, yelling, "Geronimo!" and jumped out over the cliff face. She flipped in the air and squealed on the way down. It wasn't her most graceful fall ever, but she did manage to go in straight.
When she landed in the water, her skirt and hair billowing out around her, she took a moment to get her bearings, then swam to the surface. Her lungs burned before she broke the surface of the water and took a deep breath. As she figured out which way she faced now, she wondered- if she could regenerate, would her next body have respiratory bypass? The Doctor, the one who still had it, could stay underwater for a really long time and not even seem out of breath.
Rose had to turn around to look up at the Doctors, who both stood at the edge of the cliff watching her. She raised her arms in triumph to let them know she was okay, then remembered that they were all telepathic and she could have done that before she even came out of the water.
She swam backwards away from the cliff face and told them, "Come on in, the water's fine."
A moment later, both of them were falling toward her. The one in blue opted for a feet first landing, His arms were flapping like he was trying to fly, and Rose laughed at it. The Doctor in brown was going in head first. His hands were together in the classic dive position.
The two of them disappeared underwater at almost the same time. The Doctor in blue came up first, which was no surprise, as he didn't have the respiratory bypass and the way he hit the water meant he wouldn't have gone quite as deep as the other one would have. His previously spiky hair now laid plastered to his scalp, and rivulets of water ran down his forehead and over his nose. They giggled and swam over toward each other.
"Okay, now, where is 'e?" she wondered, more to herself than anything.
"Oh, I dunno," the Doctor replied nonchalantly, "somewhere down there."
He wasn't fooling her for a second. Before she could accuse them, she felt something brush her ankle and she jumped. The action in water caused her to slip under for a moment, and she came back up coughing and sputtering. The water next to her surged up, and the Time Lord broke through the water.
"Whoops. Sorry 'bout that," he apologized.
She glared at him, and without warning, shoved a wall of water in his face. And the fight was on. Their clothes dragged them down, though, and it didn't last long before they all climbed out of the water, laughing. The sun was almost down, and the area under the cliffs were in deep shadow. They were cooling off fast and Rose shivered. They dried off quickly thanks to the sonic. She didn't understand how that worked, but it warmed her up while she was being dried.
When that was finished, the first stars were coming out, and they watched more and more stars appear in the sky as it got darker. Not as many as they would see if they got farther from the city, but there were a lot of stars.
"You know, no matter when and where I was and what was going on around me, I've always loved looking up at the sky and watching the stars," Rose told the other two.
"Yeah?" one of the Doctors said behind her.
"Oh, yes. I used to go out on the roof and watch the stars. I've done that since I was, I dunno, eight, nine? Probably woulda done that sooner, but that's when I got the idea to sneak out."
She heard both Doctors chuckle behind her and turned to watch them.
"This place was so worth the wait," she told them with a smile and was rewarded with matching grins. She turned her gaze back to their surroundings and both Doctors came up to her, took a hand, and laced their fingers with hers. They stood there, enjoying the sights for a moment before they headed off to the TARDIS.
Once they got there and in the Vortex, they all went to the lab where the TARDIS coral grew. There, they added the items they had picked up in Crespallion to the rest of the collection of future parts and started jiggery pokerying them into TARDIS parts.
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Kudos to MirrorFlower and DarkWind, who picked up on my Easter Egg in the last chapter of The Next Doctor.
Also a huge shout out to everyone who reviews, follows, and whatnot, I probably wouldn't have kept this series going so long without you :)