Doctor 10.5 and Rose find a rift in the universe and time is about to collapse. What happens when they travel back to their own universe, only to bump into a new Doctor and the Ponds? I don't own DW. If I did, Donna would still be around. I do, however, have the Doctor Who theme (series 1-2) as my ring tone, so I feel ridiculously cool whenever I get a call.
Explanations of Sorts
Amy's head hurt. Really, it was pounding and she felt miserable. She looked between the Doctor and the Pinstriped man, to the blonde revealed to be Rose Tyler. John, the man had said. John was his human alias. She eyed her carefully. Rose was pretty, she had to admit, with her soft blonde hair, large eyes, and full lips. It was obvious why the Doctor would be attracted to her. So, she was the one the Doctor couldn't bear to mention, the one who sent him off into staring into space. Why, though, she had no idea. She soured slightly upon remembering the way the Doctor had pushed her away when she had kissed him. Of course, that had been idiotic on her part, but part of her was still hurt. She didn't know who she wanted to strangle-Rose or the Doctor. Hmm, she definitely wanted to strangle the Doctor. As far as she knew, John and Rose had done nothing wrong.
Pinstripes, er, John, was at Rose's side constantly. Her head rested on his shoulder, his arm wrapped about her waist. She had to admit that she found him quite attractive. He had a nice face and was tall and gangly without being awkward. They were currently seated in the console room of their TARDIS, not the look-alike that Rose and Pin-John had come in. The Doctor kept staring at Rose longingly, and she would have found it funny if it weren't so bloody depressing. Rory looked on, afraid to say anything. She recalled the meeting at the beach, and she was still confused. Rose hugged the Doctor and John shook his hand. They asked to look around the old TARDIS, so they were let in.
"It looks different," Rose commented, looking around.
John sniffed the door before licking it, "Tastes the same."
Rose let out a tinkling laugh, hanging onto John's arm. She brushed her hand over the door and she pressed her ear to the TARDIS. She closed her eyes, as if letting the sound overwhelm her. John glanced about.
"Why's it different?" he asked the Doctor.
"Erm, you see, during my latest regeneration...it kind of...how do I put this?" he scratched the back of his head, "...exploded."
Rose opened her eyes and started at the Doctor. Amy watched. What did he mean by 'regeneration'? Obviously, they had forgotten that she and Rory existed.
"Exploded?" John raised a brow.
"I, er, you, we didn't want to go," hell, how was he supposed to talk to his clone? He wanted nothing more than shoo them away and hide, but he couldn't, because it was Rose.
Rose's eyes suddenly widened with realisation, "You," she pointed at the Doctor.
"Me?" he said.
"You were saying goodbye to me, weren't you?" she asked softly.
"What're you talking about?" John asked, looking between the two. How could they have met? She was just as surprised to see him in a new body.
"New Years, 2005. You were in the street and I thought you were sloshed. You asked me what year it was, and then you said I'd have a good year," Rose explained, putting her hand over her mouth.
John rubbed her back, staring down the Doctor. The two Doctors' eyes met and Amy could have sworn she saw a flash in both. Rose turned and hugged John tightly, her body wracking with sobs. John whispered in her ear quietly until the tremors subsided. She wiped her eyes and turned around.
"Sorry," she apologised, "I s'pose I didn't realise how much being here would have an affect on me."
"Not that I don't enjoy your company, why are you here?" the Doctor tried to ask delicately. Of course he didn't mind Rose's company. He wanted nothing more than to keep her with him forever, but knew that it was impossible. He tried to look at it rationally-he would distnace himself emotionally. He used to be quite good at that.
John and Rose looked at each other. He ran a hand through his hair and she shifted on her feet.
"There's a rift. We were trying to get back to Earth to get the usual crew and see if they knew anything. You know, Jack, Martha, Mickey. I dunno if Martha's still at UNIT, though," John babbled. The Doctor had forgotten how much his tenth self could talk for hours on end. Now that he was also part Donna, Rose probably had a difficult time getting him to shut up. On the other hand, Rose could go on and on as well.
"We're on Earth," a confused Rory piped up.
"No, we're on a parallel Earth," the Doctor corrected his companion.
Amy and Rory exchanged looks of disbelief.
"Rift, carry on," the Doctor waved off his companions.
"Hold up, why'd she call you Doctor?" Amy pointed at John.
"I am, was, the Doctor," John started.
"He's my clone," the Doctor said at the same time.
"What's a regeneration?" Rory chimed in, echoing one of Amy's questions.
"Time lords don't die. We regenerate. That," the Doctor pointed at John, "was how I looked in my tenth incarnation. This is my eleventh. There's only so many times I can regenerate, though." He wasn't sure how he could act so calm, answering all of these questions when all he wanted to do was retreat to his room and have a good pity party. She was happy with his clone, exactly what he had wanted. Yet, seeing them together made the pain of losing her all too real.
"So you're immortal?" Amy queried.
"We die eventually," John said, "At least, I'll die. I'm half-human now."
Amy clutched her head, utterly lost. She didn't even need to ask 'how?'.
"Donna, one of my companions, touched my hand from my tenth incarnation that had been cut off during an encounter with the Sycorax, and I was created," John explained sadly. He sniffled slightly. Rose clutched his arm, looking sorrowful once more. The Doctor sobered too, the stoic look he had mastered transforming into pain.
"What happened to her?" Rory asked quietly, noting the solemn looks on their faces.
Rose hid her face in the lapels of the brown jacket John wore.
"She became brilliant, even more brilliant than she already was," John said quietly, "but if she remembered me, her brain would burn and she would die."
The words hit Amy and Rory like bricks, and they recoiled at the revelation. They knew traveling with the Doctor was dangerous, but death? Sure, Amy almost died when Rory was a Roman, but the Doctor fixed it. He fixed everyting, didn't he?
"She's fine, she just doesn't remember me," John said sadly, "she was my best friend."
Amy marvelled at the differences between the two Doctors. Here was this man who was so open, so to the point, and brave. Yet, the Doctor was reluctant to share even the most trivial aspects about himself.
The Doctor's face was stoic and blank. Gone was the cheefulness he tried to convey. He pretended to be happy and cheeky. He now looked as defeated as he felt. How long would he continue lying to her, and to himself?
"Are you travelling in your TARDIS, then?" the Doctor asked.
Rose nodded.
"It might be easier for all of us to go together," John suggested.
"We can't leave the TARDIS here," Rose pointed out. She didn't want to stay here. The Doctor had obviously moved on and she didn't want to intrude.
"Amy, Rory, can you give us a minute," the Doctor looked to the couple.
"I want to poke around a bit, love," Rose murmured quietly to John, kissing him on the cheek. She walked off with Amy and Rory up the stairs, noting the differences between the TARDISes.
"So, you were a companion," Rory tried to make awkward small-talk.
"Yep," Rose answered tersely. She didn't know if they knew about the Time War, so she kept her mouth shut.
"How old were you?" Amy asked. At first, she thought the Doctor pushed her away because she was too young.
"Nineteen," Rose answered.
Amy raised a brow. That was even younger than her, and by the looks of it, the Tenth Doctor or John, was quite a bit older than that. They continued walking in an awkward silence. Amy wanted to interrogate her, find out what made her so special, and why the Doctor acted like a lost puppy when she was around. Never had she seen him like that.
Rose tried her hardest not to cry as they reached a door.
"Mine and Rory's room is just down..." Amy trailed off, noticing Rose stop. "I don't know what's in there."
"My room," she choked, "I can't believe he's kept it."
She jostled the door open, flinging it to reveal happy pink walls, clothes strewn about, a fuzzy carpet, a vanity and dresser, and pictures of a man in a leather jacket and John. She walked into the middle of the room, looking around.
"That was the Doctor, when I first met him," she pointed to a picture of the man with the leather jacket. She gave a distressed laugh as she crossed the room to pick it up. She ran her fingers lightly over the picture, all defensive walls breaking down. She slid against the dresser, clutching the photo to her chest. She had loved him, even then with his mean voice, leather jacket, and big ears. She watched happily as he grew warmer and kinder, showing her a side he showed no one else.
Amy sat down in front of her, pained to see someone the Doctor loved so much in so much despair. Rory touched her shoulder in comfort.
"It's okay to cry," he said quietly.
Rose looked up at him, smiling sadly through the tears.
"I killed him that time," she admitted, "if I hadn't been stupid, he wouldn't have regenerated, I wouldn't have killed him. I was so scared he'd hate me," she shuddered as if the Doctor's hatred was the worst fate that could befall anyone.
Amy hugged her. Rose Tyler was a virtual stranger, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She patted her back soothingly as Rory looked on helplessly.
"Why'd you leave him?" Amy asked after a few minutes.
Rose let out a bitter laugh.
"I didn't. I let go of a lever at Canary Wharf. I was going to die, but my dad caught me and took me to the parallel world, this world" she attempted to explain as simply as possible, "he burnt up a sun to say goodbye. Then I found my way back and John was created. I thought I would stay with the Doctor, but he just dropped me back here with John. I was afraid John would leave me, too," she took a pause to wipe her tear stained cheeks, "I love John, too much, really," she smiled at the memory of their wedding.
Amy didn't know what to make of Rose. She loved the clone, but that meant she had to have loved the Doctor, too.
"You too care for the Doctor, yeah?" she asked the couple. They nodded in the affirmative, "Good. He means well, but watch your heart," she looked to Amy before looking at Rory, "you too."
The Doctor and John stood facing each other, arms crossed. The Doctor fidgeted. Every time he looked at his clone he remembered leaving Rose on that very beach. All he could get out was "Rose Tyler". He was too afraid to tell her how he felt. His brash, emotional clone had no such trouble. He whispered in her ear and she kissed him. It was apparent that he confessed his love. He almost didn't notice her look of heartbreak as he and Donna walked back to the TARDIS. Ever so often, he would dream that she had picked him, but that wasn't fair to his clone. He loved Rose unconditionally, and deep down, the Doctor knew that he couldn't give her the life she deserved. The Doctor knew his downfall was his fear of expressing himself, and trying to be too distant. John loved her fully and completely. She would never come second, and for that the Doctor was glad that the pair were happy together.
John reached into his pocket and took out the sonic screwdriver he had been working on. He figured they should break the ice instead of staring each other down.
The Doctor tried to fight a smile as he took out his newer model.
"Oh, what is that? Why in bloody hell is it green?" John scoffed, taking his glasses from a pocket and pushing them onto his nose.
"I see you've been busy," the Doctor gestured to the blue sonic.
"It only opens doors and scans. It's not as sonic-y as the old one," he muttered.
"Sonic-y?" the Doctor raised a brow, "I had almost forgotten I made up words."
"Wibbly wobbly timey wimey is a classic, boy o," John rolled his eyes.
"I'm sure," the Doctor deadpanned.
"What's with the bowties? Let me guess, you wear fezzes, too?" John chuckled, recalling that his seventh incarnation liked hats of various sorts. He wouldn't be surprised if this one liked a different kind of hat.
"Bowties and fezzes are cool. Better than the gallons of gel to get that 'I just look like this naturally' look," the Doctor countered.
"Look, enough. Can Rose and I tag along with you, or should we do this on our own?" John asked in exasperation, "I'm just wondering what two TARDISes traveling in the same universe would do," he expressed his fears.
The Doctor acknowledged that it might pose a problem.
"How'd you know about the rift? I didn't even notice."
"We work at Torchwood," John admitted, noticing the look of shock in the Doctor's eye.
"And you've kept it from everyone," he guessed.
"That's about right," John affirmed the speculation.
"Why don't you head to UNIT with Rose, while I take Amy and Rory to Cardiff. We'll meet there," the Doctor said, "it'll be quicker that way."
"Fine."
Rose jogged down the stairs, Amy and Rory in tow. She tugged on John's arm.
"You never told me you kept my room," she accused.
"Erm, well, you see," he stuttered.
"Never thought I'd see you speechless," Rose tutted.
"Hey, if her room's still here, did you keep my room of suits?" John asked suddenly, "these pockets are incredibly small." He dug his hands into the pockets to prove a point.
Rose shook her head, glad to hear the distraction. John knew just how to get her to laugh and forget what was bothering her. She looked at Amy and Rory and gave a small nod and smile as a thanks for listening to her unload her emotional baggage. She had no one to talk to at home, of course. Only another companion would understand.
Please review, I'd really appreciate feedback. I feel like I had to get everything out so they could go onto Earth. I figured it'd be better for them to travel seperately so Amy can start interrogating the Doctor. Rose didn't give her the whole story, now, did she? She gave what I like to call the "Sparknotes version".