House Call
Chapter 5
Location: castle
Amy and Rory discovered that Joe or Nine or whatever his name was, was a pretty fast walker. After he gave the bow-tied Doctor and Rose's direction one last forlorn look he was off in a huff. He muttered something about having no respect and completely ignored the couple like they weren't even there. However, Amy wasn't about to stand for that. She narrowed her brow and marched up to his side and startled asking questions she was dying to ask.
"So, you're like the Doctor. How is that?"
Irked, Nine replied, "I'm a half-human Time Lord. I just happen to know everything he knows up to a point."
"Yeah, but how? Are you like a clone?"
Rory did not like how this was going and sympathized with any creature that happened to be not real. He had spent about 2,000 years being not real as the last centurion. He knew you didn't have to be made of flesh and blood in order to feel.
"Um, Amy. Look, maybe we shouldn't be asking."
Annoyed, the redhead turned to him and said, "Rory, it's important. And besides, you don't mind, right?"
Nine rolled his eyes and sighed before saying, "Fine, you want the whole story?"
Amy nodded her head and answered, "Yeah."
Nine smiled brightly at the pair and patted her shoulder and said, "Well, too bad."
He then winked at her gaping face and pulled out his sonic screwdriver and gave it a twirl before strolling back down the hall. Meanwhile, Amy could not believe how—how doctorish this guy was being. He just completely shut her out and acted like it was ok.
"Well, he obvious doesn't know who he's dealing with," grumbled Amy. She then turned to her husband and said, "Come on, Rory. He isn't getting away that easily."
Amy dashed down the hall to catch up to Nine while Rory sighed at how stubborn his wife was being and followed reluctantly behind. Though, no one noticed the vines that were slowly creeping up across the floor and inched closer towards them in the dark.
XXX
Yet, in another part of the castle Rose and bow-tied Doctor were conducting their own investigation. They found a bunch of doors with empty rooms and not much else inside. It was a real mystery and there didn't seem to be any clues. However, Eleven did feel Rose eyeing him from behind. She kept biting her lip and checking out his rear. Curious, he tried to see what she was looking at, but didn't see anything.
"Rose Tyler are you staring at my bum?"
Rose snicker and attempted to hold back her laugh and shook her head. "No, I was just admiring your new look is all. You're just so different. When did you change?"
"Oh, not that long ago relatively speaking."
"Well, I'm glad you weren't alone."
"No, Amy and Rory weren't there. I hadn't met them yet. I met Amy back when she was Amelia Pond and she was kid back then."
Surprised, Rose said, "Oh, so you knew her for a long time."
"Well, to her it may seem that way, but I may have accidentally said I would be right back, but ended up returning after 12 years."
Rose laughed and said, "I can't believe it. You are such a bad driver."
Eleven smiled and knew they were bother remembering the same thing. It was just like the time that he returned Rose back to her mother after 12 months instead of 12 hours. It seemed his track record wasn't improving. It was probably getting worse.
Amused, he said, "Oh, I'm not that bad. And it's a lot better to be traveling with her now than if she were a kid. Plus, she has Rory. Rory the Roman. But, anyway since when do you travel with a gun? I thought you knew better than that."
Rose shrugged her shoulder and said, "It's standard at Torchwood. Not all aliens are friendly and Pete said he'd take away my command if I didn't. Joe didn't like it either, but he fixed me up with a stun gun instead." Rose pulled out the weapon and handed it to him for inspection. "See, it's Chula technology."
Eleven tossed the pistol from one hand to the other and swirled it around his finger like a cowboy and said, "Yes, Chula. That's the same kind of tech we encountered when we met Captain Jack. It's a very nice piece. Joe does good work. Though, speaking of Joe, who exactly is he?"
The Doctor watches as Rose slowly blushes and turned away to lean against the wall. He notes it's a habit she must have picked up from Nine. She crosses her arms over her chest and stares off into space and takes a deep breath. Causally, he joins her and mimics her stance.
She pulled back her hair and said, "It started back when it was still me and him."
"The human Time Lord meta-crisis."
She nodded. "Yeah, Doctor John Noble. It was the name he liked. He said it reminded him of Donna. He said she was sort of like family since it was her DNA that made him. Anyway, things started out great. Just like old times, but without time and space. We both worked for Pete's Torchwood and we helped out with aliens and new technology. We were good mates. We still are actually, but…"
"But?"
Rose turned and met his gaze and answered, "He said the words Doctor, but he didn't feel it. Not like I did."
Eleven paused for a moment and softly said, "I'm so sorry, Rose. I was only doing what I thought was best."
Rose shakes her head and rubs her eyes before she really starts crying and takes a deep breath. She didn't think she'd get this broken up by this again. She thought she laid all these feelings to rest, but somewhere in the corner of her heart they still lingered like cobwebs or lint. With a sad smile she replies, "No, I get it. It's ok. John's a great guy. He's brilliant. He's a good mate, but it just wasn't the same. He wasn't you, at least not completely."
Eleven felt his heart sink. He wasn't you. Those words weren't meant to be because John Noble was supposed to be him. He was supposed to be the one to give Rose Tyler everything. He was the one who was able to have the adventured he could never have. He was supposed to give her eternity. Eleven just couldn't imagine a part of him that wasn't in love with Rose. It just seemed unreal. Yet, fearful he wondered if maybe that was the answer to Joe. Was he meant to have the feelings John didn't?
"Rose, where did Joe come from?"
She met his glance and saw the panic in his ancient eyes. She knew what he was thinking and smirked. "Doctor, John didn't make him. My mate Richard Red made him."
Flabbergasted, Eleven asked, "Who?"
Rose giggled and answered, "Red's a Tellic. He's a psyche alien I met a few years back at Torchwood. He was working as a research analyst and was pretending to be human. He was temporarily taking John's place while he was away working on a special project and we hit it off."
"You liked him."
Amused, she said, "Yup, the man has great looks. I just didn't know he was psyche and that he kept picking up my thoughts and knew I kept comparing him to—well, you. He was mad and he got it in his head that I need a Doctor and so he made me one. He made me Joe. Joe has your ninth regeneration's personality, but has your tenth regeneration's looks. He's like my first and second Doctor rolled up into one."
In response, Eleven was both intrigued and slightly disturbed at the thought. Did Rose really want a bit of both the old him and the last him? He thought the two previous regenerations were fine and unique all on their own. They didn't need tampering with, but apparently Rose wanted it all. She wanted the German U-boat Captain attitude and his dashing good looks.
"Yes, but how did this Richard Red do it?"
"He used some genetic engineering. He said he made a genetic template from John and snatched the real Nine from my old universe. He said he used his psyche powers to copy his mind and downloaded it into the template copy form."
The bow-tied Doctor bounced off the wall and spun around at the sheer brilliance and audacity of such an idea. He ran his hands through his hair and exclaimed, "Oh that is bloody brilliant! Genetic template of a human Time Lord meta-crisis is simple for a cloned race like the Tellic. To someone like him it would be like baking a cake. And a psyche download across dimensions is a lot simpler than physically breaking through realities. Yes, that is a super plan!"
"Yeah, anyway that's how Joe was born. He's a man made just for me."
Eleven turned around on his heal and faced her and echoed, "A man made just for you…why would your friend the Tellic do that? Rose, Tellics are well know for their deceit."
Rose moved away from the wall and said, "No, Rich wouldn't do that. He said he deserted being a spy. He said that's why he came to earth because he was sick of lying. Rich gave me what I always wanted. He said he didn't like being psyche."
"All right, I get it. If Rich has your good word than he must be a good man." He then touched her chin and said, "Besides, you're the best judge of character I ever met, Rose Tyler, just look at me."
Though, out of nowhere a large vine wrapped itself around the Eleven's feet and pulled him down to the ground and dragged him into the dark hall.
Shocked, Rose ran after him and cried, "Doctor!" but it was too late. He was gone.
XXX
TBC
XXX
Thanks for reviewing: Saucy-Duck, Kabooshka, Dreamcatcher49 and MaryMatthesen.
Please read and review. Thank you.