Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or Torchwood, both belong to the BBC and their respected writers. But I do own Gaia! :b
Thanks for the review SeddieShortBus, I'm glad your liking it. I would have had this chapter up yesterday but FanFiction wouldn't let me log in properly, but its here today. Hope you like it. :) x
"Doctor, what's going on? Where are we going?" Rose yelled holding on for dear life as the Tardis plummeted through the vortex. Her pilot was running around the console like a mad man, a look of determination on his face.
"We're following a distress signal, a very important distress signal. That's all you need to know." The Doctor said, pulling a lever. "Now hold on!" The Doctor yelled as the pair we're thrown around the Tardis like rag dolls in a tumble dryer.
The Doctor was in his blue stripped suit, his brown hair wild on his head and a pair of red converse on his feet. His expression was of one of deep determination, yet his eyes showed the pain and loss of 100's people. Yet he could save this one, it would be so easy and he had too. He had put so much work into it, worked so hard to keep it safe, it couldn't just fall because of one person's death. No he had to save her, there was no questioning that.
The Tardis landed with a thud and the pair fell to the floor. The Doctor was instantly on his feet running over to the door, leaving Rose slightly dazed on the floor next to the console. He opened the doors and held out his hand. "Come with me." He said to the stranger then pulled her into safety. The Doctor then slammed the doors shut and ran over to the console leaving the stranger at the door and put the Tardis back into the safety of the vortex.
After a somewhat calmer flight the Tardis finally stabilized in a deep part of space. The Doctor just stood there shocked at how easy it had been. Rose stood up and brushed herself down then finally looked up at the stranger the Doctor had gone through all of this effort to save.
It was a young girl, maybe a couple of years younger than herself. She had dark brown curly hair with bright blue highlights running through it. But they weren't highlights per say. In every 100 strands of hair or so a single hair would be blue, the brightest of blue and also the bluest of blues. Her eyes were a dazzling, a very natural green which stood out in vast contrast to her pale skin. She was fairly small built; about 5 ft and at a guess Rose would say she was a size 6 at a push a size 8 and she was wearing what Rose deemed as fairly normal clothes: A pair of blue jeans and a white vest top with a long black jacket. Her shirt was stained with a mixture of dirt and blood and looked as if the Doctor had pulled her out of a war zone, but, knowing the Doctor as well as Rose did (or she thought she did), it wouldn't surprise her if he had.
The Doctor turned from the console and faced the young girl. He knew immediately who this girl was and what was at risk if she had died in that warzone. But he looked at her, so frail, so small and on the verge of tears. He walked over to the small frame and opened his arms. She fell into them sobbing. "Sh. It's alright, your safe." The Doctor said, stroking the girl's hair. The girl didn't hug the Doctor in return, here arms were fixed at her chest also as if, if she had let go she would fall to pieces.
Rose slowly approached the pair. "Doctor, who is she?" Rose asked sheepishly. The Doctor didn't answer. The girl raised her head from the Doctor's chest. "Sorry you probably think I'm being stupid." The girl said wiping the tears away.
"Oh, no, no, no. You've just lost... well a lot, it can only be expected." The Doctor said wiping the tear of the girl's cheek.
"But I'm not the only one who has lost something Doctor." The girl said looking at him straight in the eyes.
Rose felt a pang of jealousy arise in her chest. Who was this girl? And how did she know the Doctor? The Doctor was never that close to her, why was he to this complete stranger? Is she an ex? I bet she's an ex! But she looks so young she can't be. Stop it Rose your being stupid.
The girl seemed to sense Rose's jealousy and turned to her. "Sorry Rose Tyler you probably think it's beyond weird a girl turns up out of no where and knows everything about you and the Doctor." The girl said. Rose blinked, shocked how the girl knew her name.
"Who are you?" Rose asked softly.
"Gaia." The girl said simply and then she turned back to the Doctor some how knowing he was going to talk next.
"Gaia go and get changed your filthy. Then we can drop you off at your Earth if you like." The Doctor said. Gaia nodded.
"Thanks." She said and then gave him a kiss on the cheek, slyly whispering in his ear. "She's a keeper." The Doctor smiled and she drifted off down the corridor looking for the wardrobe.
Once Gaia was out of ear shot Rose said what was on her mind. "So who's she?" She asked. The Doctor turned to face her, a huge grin on his face.
"You probably know her best as Mother Nature." The Doctor said skipping like a child over to the console. He had done it, wasn't the hardest of feats but he had done it. He had saved someone and this time no one had got hurt, no one had sacrificed themselves. He couldn't help but feel elated.
"Mother what? Doctor, Mother Nature doesn't exist." Rose said, following him over to the console.
"Yes she does. Gaia is her, literally her." The Doctor said fiddling with the monitor. "You see there's a race, The Planet-keepers and well they do what is says on the tin, they keep planets." The Doctor bashed on the monitor trying to get it too work, to Rose it looked completely fine.
"But what do you mean keep planets?"
"Well not so much keep." The Doctor stopped for a moment as he shoved his hand down the back of the console. He felt around for a bit and pulled out the object which had been causing him an annoyance. It was an apple with a smiley face carved into it. He had no idea how it had got there, no idea where he had even got it, he just put it in his pocket and turned back to the monitor.
"You see when a planet is formed or a moon comes into orbit a child is born on Starnet, the Planet-keepers planet. And that child is linked to the planet or moon." The Doctor explained now leaning against the console facing Rose, apparently given up at whatever he was doing with the monitor.
"Linked, linked how?" Rose asked rolling her eyes as the Doctor got the apple out of his pocket to admire the smiley face, then, after sniffing it, took a bit.
"Part of us is the planet. We can feel everything on it, sense everything that happening. We know everyone that's ever stepped foot on it, their past, their present and to some extent their future. We age as the planet ages. And to some extent we can even control it. Only partially though." Gaia said walking back into the room. She had changed into some clean clothes, a pair of jean shorts and a chequered shirt with a white vest top underneath. Her hair still hung naturally around her face and her eyes were alight. By her look you could easily be deceived, but time travel opened your eyes. Rose turned to face her; still feeling a bit disgusted at the fact the Doctor was eating what could possibly be a century old apple.
"So the planet you're linked too... is Earth?" Rose asked. Gaia nodded walking up the steps to the console.
"I was born on the day of the Earth's creation." Gaia admitted.
"But that makes you billions of years old?"
"And I'm looking good." Gaia laughed. Rose joined in.
"What happened? I mean we pulled you out of a war zone, where were you?" Rose asked knowing this may be a tetchy subject for Gaia.
"The Daleks happened." Gaia said quietly. The Doctor's fist curled.
"What?" Rose asked, not hearing what Gaia said. The Doctor stepped in saving Gaia from the heartache.
"The Daleks, before they attacked Gallifray, my planet, they attacked the planet that watched Gallifray. Starnet. Every planet has a keeper, including Gallifray and the only way to attack Gallifray was to kill its keeper. And they succeeded, but the Dalek creator, Davros, got greedy he just kept going, until all of Starnet fell. He just needed Gallifray to fall and they would have had the universe in his grasp and well they never got that far." The Doctor said.
"Oh, did anyone survive? The Planet-keepers I mean." Rose asked only realising the fault of her question after saying it.
"No one knows, but we can say one defiantly did." The Doctor said putting one arm round Gaia's shoulder and rubbing it. Gaia was crying again.
"Who was it?" The Doctor asked softly. Rose looked puzzled. "I don't need to be a telepath to know you lost someone close. It's better to talk about it, it'll hurt and I can't guarantee the pain will go away, but it'll help." The Doctor said getting down to Gaia's eye level and wiping away a tear.
"Luna, my daughter." Gaia croaked. "Linked with the Earth's moon, she was ecstatic when humans landed on it in the 1960's. Brilliant little girl, so bright. She had blonde hair that use to cascade over her shoulders her eyes were bright green like mine and she loved to travel. Always wanted to leave Starnet and see her Moon for herself." Gaia's breathing hitched. "I guess she never will now." Gaia said, tears now rolling freely down her face. The Doctor hugged her.
"Better?" He asked softly. Gaia nodded in his arms.
There was a sudden jolt causing Rose to loose her balance and fall to the floor. Gaia and the Doctor had also fallen to the floor, there limbs tangled within one another's. "And I do believe we have landed." Gaia said unravelling herself from the Doctor and wiping away her tears she walked over to the door. She swung them open and the view of Cardiff bay came into view.
"Cardiff? Why did you bring us to Cardiff old girl? 1990 as well, boring year, boring decade to be honest." The Doctor said looking at the monitor, trying to lighten up the previous dark atmosphere.
"Oi, I grew up in the 90's." Rose argued. The Doctor chuckled and patted the console.
"Still, why here old girl?" He murmured.
"Because that's where I need to be." Gaia said taking in the salty sea air coming off the bay. She would never admit it to the Doctor but this was in fact her first time on Earth. She had seen it dozens off times, through people eyes, through her daughter's eyes but never with her own.
She walked over to the Doctor and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you." She murmured then walked over to Rose and whispered in her ear. "Go get 'em tiger."
"I'll be seeing you later." Gaia said to the Doctor, standing by the door again.
"I'll be looking forward to it." The Doctor said with a smile, leaning against the console.
"I have to admit though Doctor, knighted and exiled on the same day, that's an achievement even for you." Gaia joked.
"Well you know, the royal family seem to have a problem with me, not sure why to be honest." The Doctor admitted.
"Let's just say the virgin queen wasn't so virgin." Gaia murmured so that only the Doctor with his heightened hearing could hear. He looked beyond confused. "Never mind. Just be careful. Acts although done with a good heart have consequences and with you these consequences are usually pretty big." Gaia admitted. The Doctor stood there trying to take in what Gaia had meant. "Until the next time." Gaia said. With a final sweeping look of the Tardis and its inhabitants she left and went in search for an old friend, a certain Captain Jack Harkness.
"Well that was different." Rose said turning back to the Doctor.
"Could say that again." The Doctor said running his fingers through his hair, still trying to understand what Gaia had meant.
"Doctor, how come, you know, you're so close to her?" Rose asked tentatively, not sure how the Doctor would react. The Doctor looked up at Rose then turned to the console.
"Oh, well I'm not from Earth, obviously, so to even step foot on Earth Gaia has to well, accept me. If not then the Earth would do everything in its power to get me off." The Doctor explained, putting in the coordinates for their next adventure.
"So you were being a teacher pet." Rose said with a smirk.
"Being a what?" The Doctor asked, turning around abruptly from the console completely dumbfounded from Rose's metaphor.
"You know sucking up to her, getting on her good side." Rose teased.
"Never thought of it like that." The Doctor confessed with a smile turning back to the console.
"Shame on you." Rose said waggling her finger jokingly. The Doctor shrugged.
"Anyway I promised you the 2012 Olympics, let's go and have a look shall we?" The Doctor said flipping a switch. The Tardis took off, the Doctor and Rose off on a brand new adventure.
Et volia, the first proper chapter of the story. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated. :) x