Disclaimer: sobbing hysterically - get the gist?
AN - So, I haven't updated in ages and I feel terrible but now I have written pretty much all of it (in 3 chapters, this being one of them, so it's all good). I hope that this story is still good and still getting read, coz despite the writers block i have had fun writing it.
Also, in the previous chapter it should have said red grass, not silver. So please use your imaginations coz I havent changed it yet.
Thanks for sticking with this story even though it's taken me so long and please please please review it if you have time! Hope you like it! Enjoy :)
Chapter 13 - The Secret Garden:
Expecting the scenery in front of her to swirl and change once more, Rose gripped the Doctor's hand tightly for support, but found she did not need it. They were still standing in the same memory. Rose realised that they must still be at the orphanage and yet, it didn't look anything like the interior of a building. They were standing, instead, in what seemed to be a small courtyard, surrounded by four tall walls.
"The dormitories are all around us," the Doctor indicated to the three bricked walls facing them, "I used to sleep up there". He pointed to a window with blue curtains. It was the only window with curtains, and seemed, at present, to be the only window with the shutters thrown open in hope of catching a non-existent breeze. Rose squinted at the window, hoping to spot the Doctor before realising a) that his memory-self would still be at lunch and b) that the blue curtains had small yellow bananas on them. Very the Doctor!
"So what is this, then, the playground?" Rose asked, taking in her surroundings. The small courtyard afforded very little room to move, although what it provided was rather impressive. The deep red grass that she had noticed out the front of the building grew in abundance. It added to the lushness of the garden which seemed more circular than square. She softly let go of the Doctor's hand and walked anti-clockwise around the space. Enormous trees were neatly lined up in a single ring around the garden; their faded-brown trunks had a slightly shimmering quality (like oil spilt on water), whilst delicate silver leaves sprouted from the branches. Rose had slipped off her shoes and was now enjoying the sensation of the warm grass underfoot as she reached out to touch the flimsy leaves gently. The Doctor watched her progress around the garden before kicking off his own shoes to join her. They walked in silence for a bit (about halfway around the ring) before Rose started talking again.
"So how come this place is so special?" she asked, curiosity barely hidden.
"Why? Don't you like it?" he asked, disappointment tainting his sentence.
"No, it's beautiful, I was just wondering if there was any particular, you know, sentimental reason for you liking it so much" she replied, trying to reassure him.
"It's kind of a long-ish story"
"I don't mind"
"Okay then, but don't say I didn't warn you." but Rose just smiled encouragingly.
"When I first came here, I was so alone. I had just run away from the Academy. I'd stolen the Tardis and zoomed off about the Universe for a bit to sulk and brood and whatnot. Then when I came here again, back to Gallifrey I mean, I remember why I had run away in the first place. I was different - I couldn't stand the conformity of it all"
Explains the banana curtains, thought Rose.
"That's what's so great about Earth and humans," he continued as though he hadn't heard her thoughts, "You're all so individual and creative and accepting… well, for the most part. Earth had always been my favourite place to visit. I suppose it helps that humans look pretty much the same in appearance to my own race. And that's why it annoys me so much when you lot stop thinking for yourselves. Always after the latest update, latest enhancement. Like with the ear pods on Pete's World.." he stopped, throwing a cautionary glance at Rose. Her expression remained unreadable. He thought that it was unusual for her not to defend her planet so he decided to continue with his rant.
"Anyway, I'm off on a bit of a tangent. Where was I?" he paused.
"Ah, yes. So I first came here and I was still alone. Nobody here fitted into society, mind you - we were orphans for a reason - but I had trouble getting on with these misfits. I was - and I don't mean to brag but - a bit cleverer than them and I used to get picked on for it. So I used to come out to this courtyard just to be by myself." He pointed at a small swing, hanging from a thick branch of one of the sturdy looking trees. "I used to sit there and read about the milky way - particularly about Earth and ancient human traditions. I found it all fascinating." Rose smiled at this. Good old Doctor, still amazed by humanity.
"One day, the matron came out and found me reading here all by myself. Like I said earlier, she seemed to take a special interest in me from the get go. But I think she just had a knack for guessing how others were feeling. She asked me why I was all alone, and when I wouldn't answer she looked at the book I was reading.
"'Earth and the Milky Way?' she'd said, 'why would you want to read that?' When I didn't reply, she got the message that I wanted to be alone. But the next day when I'd come out here to read, I noticed something different". The Doctor turned Rose's attention to a large oak tree hiding in a little corner behind all the silver leaved shrubbery.
"The matron planted that oak to let me know that I was welcome no matter where I was. She was a very strong believer in the phrase 'home is where the heart is'. Of course, she didn't know I had the Tardis in hiding, ready for when I wanted to leave here again. The Tardis is my real home, but for a while this place was like a sanctuary for me. That's why it's special." Rose looked at her Doctor, facing the oak with glazed over eyes. She slipped her hand into his, as she always did, letting him feel the cool amber-coloured ring on her finger. A tear slipped rolled swiftly down the Doctor's cheek. Just one.
Feeling a sudden surge of sadness deep in the pit of her stomach, that was part due to psychic link, part due to pity for her Doctor, Rose fastened her arms around his waist and held him in a warm hug. There was no romance, no lust, just a simple hug to let him know that she would always be there for him.
Well, no lust to begin with. After about a minute of resting his chin on Rose's head, reflecting on what had been and what he had lost, the Doctor realised that he should really make the most of what he has.
The scenery around them became fuzzy once more, and with an odd sensation in her head (a cross between a brain-freeze and the effects of a rollercoaster), Rose was back on her two feet in the real world once more. Until the Doctor swept her off her feet, that is, and carried her to their bedroom.
