Life After Death

Chapter 5: The Doctor Gets A Job

A/N: I apologize for the length of time it's taken me to get another chapter up, but I've been home on Thanksgiving break and my dad yells at me almost every time he sees me online. It means I generally resort to getting online fairly late at night (which is just wonderful…not). Seriously…you'd think I was still a kid. Oh well. More should be coming soon, I have a general idea where I want this to go for the next couple of chapters.

It didn't take long for the Doctor to get settled into the life he would be having for the next six months. The TARDIS was safely camouflaged in Cardiff; a flat was leased; and within two weeks of his arrival, he and Rose were living just a few blocks away from the Tyler residence. Much to his dismay, Rose was the main breadwinner, continuing to work at Torchwood. The well-placed investments he'd had before didn't exist here, which was a shame; between the various technology investments alone, he had enough money to live five or six human lifetimes in complete comfort. It paid off to know exactly when to invest in IBM, Microsoft, and Google.

He amused himself with walking around the area for the first few days. There was a library not far from the flat, and he took the opportunity to read up on the history of the alternate Earth, finding out where it differed. Apparently, the helicopter had never really taken off (no pun intended), and the Hindenburg hadn't crashed, thus explaining the presence of zeppelins everywhere.

Within a week, this grew tiresome, and he took to tinkering with the plumbing and electric in the flat, trying to "improve" them. Nine days after they had moved in, Rose arrived home to find quite a lot of excessive moisture all over the kitchen floor, and a soaking wet, very guilty looking Time Lord throwing all the towels he could find on it.

"Doctor…" Rose groaned. She dropped wearily onto the couch. It had been a long day, and she had been hoping to come home to someplace that, at the very least, was dry.

"Sorry," started the Doctor guiltily, but Rose cut him off. She sighed. "Come on. We're going to Mum and Dad's for dinner."

They ate dinner with Pete and Jackie, and after dinner, Pete and Rose slipped off to Pete's office, leaving the Doctor alone with Jackie. It was the longest fifteen minutes of his life, and in over 900 years, he'd experienced his fair share of long fifteen minutes..es…

Finally, after sitting on the couch opposite Jackie and attempting to make polite small talk with her while hoping she didn't decide to kill him (Jackie Tyler and hormones were not a good mix) for what seemed like an eternity, Rose and Pete came back. Rose slipped onto the couch beside him and curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder.

Pete took the lead in a conversation, commenting on various things and gradually working the subject over to Torchwood. "Elizabeth Patton's going on maternity leave next week," he said, shaking his head. "I don't know what I'm going to do without her, she's one of the best people in the alien technology department. She's got a real knack for it. I was wondering if you might be willing to step in for a few months, Doctor?"

The Doctor laughed. "You're so obvious," he said, shaking his head.

Pete gave a slightly embarrassed smile. "Well, Rose talked me into it. Not that I took much convincing, mind you. I really could use some help in the next few months, and who would be better than an actual alien?"

The Doctor was silent for a minute. Finally, he sighed. "Pete, I appreciate the offer, but I have to admit I'm a little worried about it."

"Why don't you try it?" Pete asked. "I could really use you, and you're welcome to leave at any time. You'll be given the run of the place."

The Doctor was silent for another moment. Finally, he nodded his head. "All right."

BLURB: I'm starting a DW bulletin board that's going to be primarily Doctor/Rose oriented. I'm planning to include space for pretty much everything. If you would be interested in joining this board, or would have suggestions for what you would like to see, please review this and mention it in your review!