The Doctor winced as the rose engraved door closed behind him. He fiddled with his fingers as the silence of the antechamber surrounded him. They had pulled him from the cell a few hours ago, washed him up a bit and gave him some rather embarrassing instructions. The Doctor could feel the blush threatening to rise up his cheeks at just the thought of what the female guards had told him not to do, and what to do.
A door at the other end of the small room opened slowly. Rose peeked her head out and her eyes lit up when they fell on the Doctor. He smiled. Rose swung the door open all the way and gestured for him to enter. He did, and watched Rose sonic the lock on the door behind them. His eyes widened a bit at her thin white nightgown. It was long and flowing and completely out of the stratosphere of what Rose usually wore, to bed or not. Her hair was down, out of the coils and braids it been in before. It was wavy and soft looking, falling below her shoulders.
She was stunning, he thought.
Swallowing, the Doctor glanced about the torchlit room, the twin moons light streamed in through shear curtains that hung from the ceiling. The light caught in the material of the canopy on the bed and the Doctor's eyes trailed down to the soft bedspread. His eyes widened at the spread of food there.
Rose noticed his look and nodded towards it. "Figured they weren't feedin' you right. Thought I'd have something brought up." Rose frowned at the spread of fruits, meats, breads and cheeses. "Think they over did it a bit." She shrugged and headed over to the bed where she sat at the head.
The Doctor grinned and flopped down on the end. Rose laughed as he bounced and shook all the food out of place. "Nice bed." He commented. It was very bouncy. Rose laughed again.
"'m glad you like it, I'll be sure to pass your comments along." She sobered a bit as she eyed him. "Are you okay then? They aren't hurting you are they?"
The Doctor shook his head as he picked up a weird grape looking fruit. He popped it into his mouth and said, "They don't want to kill us. This is Malivek isn't it?" Rose nodded. The Doctor groaned and rolled his eyes. "Almost as bad as Drahva or Magnus Elipson." The Doctor leaned on one elbow as he lounged across the foot of the bed. He frowned. "They all seem to hate me too."
Rose nodded. "Yeah, well, Malivek is no different. You're just lucky they don't know who you are yet." Rose leaned forward and poured herself something that looked like wine into a large gold goblet. The Doctor blushed and averted his eyes as her dress dipped forward with the movement. She frowned at him when she sat back up, eyeing the pinkness in his cheeks. "You alrigh' there, Doctor?"
The Doctor frowned and cleared his throat. "Wha'? Yes. Right. Right-ee-o. No — not that. Scratch that. Rose?" Rose raised an eyebrow and smiled amusingly. She nodded once and took a sip of her wine. "How did you manage this? They wouldn't let just anyone walk into their palace."
Rose nodded in agreement. "You're right, they wouldn'. But I'm not just anyone, I'm the Bad Wolf. One of the Golden Three Goddesses that they worship here." She picked up a piece of cheese and ate it while the Doctor digested that.
"I'm sorry." He sounded confused, and a bit miffed if Rose wasn't mistaken. "Are you telling me that you told them you're the Bad Wolf? Rose! That's incredibly dangerous! What if they hurt you?"
Rose rolled her eyes. "Please Doctor. They kiss the ground I walk on. They wouldn't raise a hand to me. You on the other hand." Rose made a face. "If they find out you're who you are, they'll never let you go." Rose stretched out across the head of the bed, mirroring the Doctors own position at the foot. "They hate you, and not because of anything you have or haven't done. 's 'cause you're a man." She ate one of the weird grapes. It was sweet and juicy, almost exactly like earth grapes. She had another.
The Doctor munched down on a cracker as he thought about that. "Why do they hate men? Must have a reason."
Rose shrugged. "I don't even think they know. I was in the library and get this. History starts 200 years ago. Before that? Nothing. But the world was already established, terra-forming complete, the whole works. Doesn' make sense."
The Doctor frowned as he tried to think back on Malivek's history. He hadn't visited it often, mainly because of their hate for men. So he really didn't know as much as he would for planets he'd faced dozens of times. "I'm not sure. But it is a human colony, that I am sure of. And humans, no matter what time, have never had a matriarchy to this extent. Even when women did have power over men, they never treated them like this."
"So what are you thinkin'?" Rose asked as she leaned her head on her hand. "Tha' the women took over? Why?"
The Doctor shrugged. "Probably they felt they were being mistreated. Or more plausibly they actually were being mistreated. That would account for the missing history. They wouldn't want to look back on the hardships they had to endure."
Rose nodded as she began to understand. "Then 200 years later, and no one even knows what really happened anymore." Rose picked at one of spike-y green fruits on the platter. She frowned at it and looked back at the Doctor. "But now the same thing is goin'ta happen to them isn't it, Doctor? The men will rebel."
The Doctor shook his head. "Not from what I can tell. It would either take a big push, or another couple decades and a loud voice to get these men to realize they don't need to be treated this way. Or a man from another time, one who already understands this is wrong. That could certainly work."
Rose nodded and pursed her lips. "Unless we do something." She mumbled. She looked up at the Doctor from beneath her eyelashes, lips plump.
The Doctor frowned at her as sternly as he could manage while she was looking at him like that. "Rose. You know we can't interfere with their timeline."
"As if that's ever stopped us before." Rose's pout turned into a small grin as she tried to cajole him into action. She sighed when he remained unmoved. "Fine." She took another sip of wine. The Doctor nibbled on another cracker as he watched her, knowing the argument was far from over.
"How about we discuss how we're going to get out of this mess?" The Doctor asked after a minute of silence.
Rose nodded and reached over to set her wine down on the side table next to the bed. The thin white material stretched across her skin and the Doctor looked heaven ward. She turned back around and quickly explained to him about the Auction and how he and Jack were on the list of items to be bought. She was going to buy them at the Auction.
The Doctor nodded. He liked it, safe and easy. Hop in the TARDIS and off they'd go. "Where are you going to get the money?" He asked.
Rose pulled up her skirts as she crawled towards the edge of bed. She leaned over and opened the door to the side table. When she turned back around to the Doctor, his face was red again. She eyed him curiously. "Are you sure you're okay?" He nodded but didn't otherwise respond. "'kay…" She dragged out the word, not believing him but not pushing the fact. She handed over the credit stick. "I'll pay with this."
The Doctor nodded, taking the credit stick looking it over intensely. "Why are they even having an Auction? Figure they'd do something like this a bit more under the table."
Rose picked her goblet back up and seated her self down more comfortably, with her legs curled to the side. "You're not wrong about that. Usually it's all hush-hush. But sometimes it's set up like it will be tomorrow night, a big celebration. I asked the Queen, she said it's to celebrate them figuring out how to reproduce without men."
The Doctor frowned and shook his head. "That doesn't make sense, they should already know that. Did we get our years mixed up?"
Rose shook her head. "Nope, they figured that out decades before Earth colonized on this side of the universe. Which means either they never got the memo…"
"Or that information got destroyed." The Doctor finished. "It fits the theory that the women were originally the ones being suppressed on the planet. The men would have destroyed the information, thus keeping an even stronger control over the women." The Doctor picked up a fruit before quickly spitting it out over the side of the bed. He stuck his tongue out and shook his head in disgust. "Apple taste." Rose laughed and plucked the alien fruit from his hand. She finished it off as he ate some of the cheese and crackers.
"Queen Ralaen also said something about them working on some other form of research as well. A way to manipulate genetics so that they never reproduce a man ever again." Rose tossed the alien apple core into an empty bowl on one of the platters. "But I know the rest of the universe has figured tha' one out, so I think they're just behind a bit."
The Doctor nodded as he frowned in thought. "But what about all those men? They've got hundreds of men down in their little dungeons. What will they do with them?"
Rose shrugged. "Dunno, but not really our problem is it." The Doctor looked at Rose, aghast. Of course it was their problem, if it wasn't their problem then who's problem would it be? Rose leaned forward over the platters of food. Her dress dipped again as she did so and the Doctor nearly chocked on his alien banana. "We're time travellers, we aren't allowed to interfere, remember?"
The Doctor stared at her, wide eyed with a banana halfway to his slack jawed mouth. He blinked, mumbled something incoherent and looked down at the bedspread. Rose frowned at him, wondering why her joke had fallen flat. "Doctor?" His head jerked up, eyes wide. "Are you sure you're okay?"
The Doctor took a deep breath. When he let it out, his entire body visibly relaxed. "Yes, Rose. I'm perfectly okay."
Rose smiled bright in response. She hopped off the bed and gestured to the food. "Done?" The Doctor glanced at the food, shoved the rest of the banana into his mouth and threw the peel into the bowl with Rose's apple core. He nodded. She picked up one of the big platters and placed it on one of the various side tables around the room. The Doctor helped her and soon enough the bed was cleared. He glanced at Rose as she finished putting the last platter away.
"Are we done with the important chatter then?"
Rose bit her lip and cocked her head to the side in that manner the Doctor found absolutely adorable. She thought over the question and shrugged. "I'll let you know if I remember anythin' else, yeah?"
"Wonderful!" The Doctor headed towards the double doors that led back to the antechamber.
"Uhmmm… Doctor?" He turned around at the sound of Rose's confused voice. "Where ya think you're goin'?"
The Doctor threw a thumb over his shoulder. "You said we were done."
Rose blushed prettily. "Yeah… But they don't know that." She gestured with her head in the same direction he had pointed.
The Doctor stared at her for a moment. "Oh…Oh!"
Rose waited for the blush she knew would arise, it didn't come. She stepped around the bed, closer to him. "You still don't get it do you?"
The Doctor rolled his one hand underneath the other one worriedly as he slouched his shoulders a bit. "No, actually, why can't I leave?"
Rose smiled at him endearingly. "They think we're in here Doctor." She gestured to the bedroom. The Doctor nodded. Rose took another step forward and she was standing in front of him. "All night."
The Doctor's mouth made an 'o' shape. "Right." He smacked his forehead. "Forgot that bit." Rose raised her eyebrows, deciding not to comment. "So…" He dragged out the word and glanced around the room. Well this was rather awkward wasn't it, he thought. His eyes fell on the bed and then suddenly lit up. He looked back at Rose and smiled charmingly. "Where were we, dear?"
Rose stepped toward her Doctor. She could smell Time surrounding him. "Well if I remember correctly, I think we were getting married." She raised her hand and gently grazed her fingers across his chest as they made their way around his neck. Her other hand joined quickly after and she leaned into the Doctor as he held her waist. His hands were cool through the thin material of her white dress, she shivered.
"Yes," the Doctor agreed, "I do believe we were." His eyes ghosted across her face. Her hazel eyes, so much more gold now then they had ever been before. Her pink cheeks and plump lips. Rose Tyler. "How did it go?"
Rose raised an eyebrow. "You were late." She informed him.
The Doctor laughed. "Oops."
Rose laughed with him though, not upset in the least. "Yeah, well, so was I." She stepped away from him and crawled onto the bed. The Doctor joined Rose and they leaned back against the pillows. He rested his hands behind his head and she laid on her side as she looked up at him. "Downfalls of an alien invasion." She explained.
"You're mother must have loved that."
Rose snorted. "You have no idea. But it sorted itself out in the end. Turns out the aliens were big on the whole nuptials thing. We were actually wed in space, on an enemy space ship and then we did it again on earth. After we got rid of the bad guys tha' is."
The Doctor's eyes widened. "Hope your mum didn't find out. She would have slapped me into another regeneration." He paused and looked down at Rose. "She didn't find out did she?"
Rose smiled her signature smile, all teeth and tongue. "You've regenerated haven' ya?" They laughed and Rose shook her head. "No, she never found out. It was our little secret. We never wanted that big of an occasion, or really an occasion at all. But mum was adamant, and if we didn' do somethin' then the papers were gonna say we eloped. An' mum was havin' none of that. So…" She shrugged.
"How was the reception?"
Rose smiled fondly. "Wonderful. The cake was covered in edible ball-bearin's, just like you like'd 'em. An' plenty of dancin', think you even danced with my mum a couple times." She scrunched up her nose as she thought. She nodded. "Yeah, I distinctly remember her stompin' on your foot when you said somethin' about hopin' the kids didn't take after her slap."
The Doctor gasped. "I didn't!"
Rose laughed. "Nah… but tha' would'a been amazing."
The Doctor didn't laugh. He looked down at Rose seriously. "And… uh… did they?"
Rose glanced at him curiously. Catching his look, she sat up beside him and smiled softly as she nodded. "'Course they did. That Tyler slap is hereditary." She pointed a finger at him in mock menace. "And don't you forget it." He smiled. She eased back against the pillows, resting her elbow against the headboard as she used her hand to prop her head up. "All them used it, at one point or another."
The Doctor gave Rose a look she couldn't really decipher. He had a small smile on his face, but his eyes were watery, and she couldn't tell if he was happy or sad. "All?" He asked. Hope, she thought, that definitely sounded like hope.
"Yeah, had a number of buggers you and me. Blame you for that by the way."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Why me?"
"Because I don't know!" Rose laughed. "Time Lords are supposed to be sterile, then add in the human genetics it was like the bloody opposite. I could have thrown you in a bleedin' plastic bubble for a month and I'd still end up pregnant." The Doctor clutched his stomach as he rolled onto his side, his entire body shook with laughter. "Doctor!" Rose punched his shoulder, none to gently. He simply continued to laugh. "'s not that funny, Doctor! It was awful! My ankles were humungous and I was the size of a house all the time!"
Once the Doctor's laughs finally subsided he turned to the woman beside him. She had her arms crossed and was staring stonily at the door. The Doctor bit his lip, well, what did he expect, really? "I'm sorry, dear. But I'm sure it wasn't that bad…" She glared daggers at him. "Alright, but are you really saying they weren't worth it?"
The fight left Rose instantly. "'Course I'm not sayin' that. They were worth every second. I'd do it again, and again, and again." She glanced over at him. "Did it five times and I really wouldn't mind doin' it five more." The Doctor smiled and gently brushed her hair away from her cheek. He held the side of her face and she leaned into the touch. Of course, they wouldn't be able to have children. Not only was the Doctor sterile, their lives simply couldn't accommodate children. Rose was sure they could manage if it happened, but it wouldn't. Rose knew that.
"What were their names?"
Rose smiled past the pain in her heart. "Well, first we had a boy. Found out 'bout him just before the weddin'. We kept it a surprise and when we told mum she was ecstatic. We named him Jackson." The Doctor groaned. "Oi! Don't be like that! Jack is a wonderful friend of ours." She flicked the Doctor as he rolled his eyes. "Way I heard it, he funded our first date." The Doctor made a face. "And he is one of our best friends." She repeated.
The Doctor shook his head. "I just can't believe I agreed to that."
Rose shrugged, her smile slipping a bit. "Well, in the other world. All those people were gone. Even if we did happen to find them in Pete's World, it wasn't really the same. It was sor' of our way of bringin' our past with us to our new home." The Doctor stared sympathetically at Rose. She really had lost so much because of him. His thoughts were abruptly cut off as Rose turned a mischievous grin on him. "You did regret it later on when you realized how much of a flirt Jackson was soon becoming. I don't really think it helped that we told them stories about who they were named after." Rose shook her head and laughed fondly at some random memory.
The Doctor smiled as he watched her think through her past. One day, he hoped, she wouldn't have any stories to share. He'd know them all. "Fourteen months later we had Michael." Rose nodded at the Doctor, who raised an eyebrow inquiringly. "Michael is wha' Mickey is short for." Rose lifted one of her shoulders in a half shrug. "I was really missin' him 'bout that time. 'Sides, felt a bit like fate," she grinned broadly at the Doctor, "they were born on the same day."
The Doctor smiled softly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Rose leaned into him and smiled when he kissed the top of her head. "That sounds absolutely perfect. And was he much like Mickey, then?"
Rose's shoulders shook a bit. "Not in the least. Tony was pretty grown by that point, headin' into adolescence. An' Michael idolized 'im. The two eventually became partners in Torchwood. Michael was Tony's right hand man when he became Director. The two were like two peas in a pod, they were. Bit like Mickey, I guess, but not really in the personality at all."
The Doctor nodded. "What did Jackson do?"
Rose laughed and turned away a bit. "Now there's an argument waitin' to happen… again." At the Doctor's confused look, Rose clarified. "Jackson didn't work. He travelled and did what he wanted. Helped lots of people in Africa for a long time. Lived place to place, no real money. Drove you nuts, it did. You'd always say 'He's got so much potential Rose! And look at him, wastin' it away on red head's in short skirts!'"
The Doctor huffed and shook his head. "Thank god he never met Amy." Rose threw her head back and laughed. The Doctor simply watched her with a small smile in place, waiting patiently for her to finish. "Alright then," he finally said, impatient, "who did we name our kids after next?"
Rose covered her mouth to try and stifle her giggles. "Righ', well we had James next. But we never called him Jamie, his brother's teased him enough for bein' named after a man in a skirt."
The Doctor didn't look amused. "A kilt is not a skirt Rose."
"Yeah? Try tellin' that to a couple of adolescent boys." She let out a short laugh and shook her head. "They were so much more human then Time Lord. I mean, brilliant, all of them. They could've ruled the world ten times over if they wanted to. But they roughhoused like children and bickered like me and mum, and oh my god." Rose dropped her face into her hands and shook her head. "I can't even tell you the amount of times we had to forbid them to see a girl because James was in love," she looked up at the shocked looking Doctor, completely exasperated herself, "and Jackson wanted a piece of her, which meant Michael had to get involved 'cause he didn't want to be left out." She outright laughed at the horrified look on the Doctor's face. She patted his arm. "Oh come on, Doctor. I'm jus' teasing. It wasn' that bad."
The Doctor shook his head, the shock quickly dissipating. "Were any of them like me?"
Rose nodded. "Ali."
The Doctor frowned as he thought back through the various humans, aliens and others that he had met over the years. "Ali?"
"Alistair." The Doctor's mouth formed an 'o' shape. "Yeah, he was just like you. Well, not you, so much as Time Lord. He was very studious, and definitely the most intelligent. All of them were geniuses, but Ali had that little somethin' about him that was just very…"
"Time Lord." The Doctor finished for her.
Rose nodded and smiled softly, little tears in her eyes. "He was my baby. Maybe he really was jus' like you, cause he was attached to my hip. Not as manic though, bit more calm and rational. And he had curly, sor' of wavy hair, and blue eyes. You always said he must have gotten it from your past self. The one before the Time War."
The Doctor nodded and tried to smile as his hearts constricted. "Did the others look like my past self then? And you?"
Rose shook her head. "Jackson did, he was the spittin' image of your last self by the time he was thirty five. Michael was blonde and green eyed." Rose shrugged. "Neither of us could figure out where he got the green eyes from. Said you'd never had nothin' but blue or brown." Rose grinned cheekily at her Doctor. "Guess I figured it out now."
The Doctor smiled and suddenly the weight of the universe disappeared. The planet stopped spinning and for one moment. Just one moment. Time froze. "He had my eyes."
Rose pushed up onto her knees and cradled the Doctor's head in her hands. She let her eyes ghost over his features, taking him all in. The cheek bones were similar, and even the nose. She didn't know why she hadn't noticed it before. But those eyes. "Exactly the same, Doctor." Rose stroked her thumb across his cheek. "He couldn't have been anyone else's. He was yours."
The Doctor raised his hand and placed it over top of Rose's, still holding his cheek. He glided his fingers across the knuckles of her own and sighed. "Thank you." He barely noticed when the tear slid down his cheek and over their hands. Rose's eyes engulfed him. The swirling gold flecks glowed, not with power, but with passion. The man before her was the kindest most sincere man she had ever met. Her husband. Rose leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead. She stayed there with her eyes closed, simply breathing in the Time Lord of her dreams. How had she ever gotten so lucky?
They continued to talk through the night. Rose retelling her stories from the alternate universe. Here and there, the Doctor would interject with a relevant story and Rose would laugh and smile. He was never sure if she'd heard the stories already, it was likely that she had considering she was married to him for so long.
Rose eventually talked about their last child, Susie. She was small and blonde with big brown eyes. Susie was all her mother, except for the eyes. Compassionate, stubborn and completely jeopardy friendly, she had thrown her older brothers and father through a loop. Susie had been born, surprisingly, a few years after her older brothers. By the time she had finally come round, the boys were old enough that they really took the protective brother roles to heart.
Rose was in the middle of explaining a story involving Michael,Susie, Jackson and a possible Zygon boyfriend when Rose abruptly stopped. The Doctor turned to her, worried. Rose looked around at the room and almost laughed. "Doctor, 's mornin'."
"What?" He glanced around and saw the light filtering in through the windows. His shoulders slumped. "I — I guess you're right." He turned and took her hands. "Sorry dear, maybe next time?"
Rose smiled. "'course." They climbed off the bed and went around to the double doors leading to the antechamber. "I'll be seein' you at the auction then, yeah?" The Doctor nodded and rubbed his hands together, he smiled at Rose. "Fantastic! And make sure you boys don't fight. Either of you draw any attention to yourselves and it could really muck this up."
The Doctor nodded and clapped his hands then pointed at Rose. "Got it." He turned to the door then stopped and turned back. "Uhhh, one last thing. Jack's been asking."
Rose frowned. "About wha', Doctor?"
"You know." He gestured to her and then made an abstract exploding gesture near his face. Rose raised her eyebrows. The Doctor let out a huff. "Everything. Bad Wolf, glowing, not aging, not dying. Not really being human anymore? Ring a bell?"
Rose ignored his snippy tone. "An' what did you say?"
"That he should ask you." The Doctor replied like it was blatantly obvious.
Rose shrugged and turned to grab her sonic screwdriver. She turned back. "I don't mind you tellin' him. It'd be pretty much the same considerin' how much you know." She soniced the lock on the door. "'sides, 'm pretty sure he'd like not bein' in the dark much longer."
"He was born in the dark." The Doctor grumbled. He was not looking forward to having this discussion with Jack.
"I thought that was Mickey?"
The Doctor rolled his eyes at Rose. "Please stay safe."
"Only if you do."
The Doctor frowned at that response, but he supposed it would do. He threw open the door and headed towards the second set that lead back into the hallway. Rose leaned against the door jam and eyed him. "Oh, and Doctor?" The Doctor spun around. Rose dragged her eyed down his completely naked form, taking him all in. Her lips curved upward in a mischievous smile. "Lookin' good." The Doctor preened a bit at that, then winked and sauntered the rest of the way out of the room.
Rose laughed, but her eyes didn't stray from his backside for a second.
The conservatory was magnificent. Climbing green plants spiralled around tall Grecian styled columns. The floors were stone with bits of lime coloured grass sprouting from between each step. Vibrant flowers of reds, yellows and oranges bloomed across an entire section of the space as if on fire. The colours contrasted against the blues and purples of the fruits across from it. An artificial breeze flowed through the room, making the plants move as if dancing with each other. The entire place was encapsulated by a dome of clear glass. It was breathtaking.
Rose sat in the centre of this room in a soft gold dress of thick material that draped beautifully over the pale white skirt beneath it. The skirt was larger than some of her others, but the entirety of the rest of the dress was simple in design. The only remarkable intent of style was the skirt, and the difference of material from the bottom and the top which acted like a jacket. The sleeves of the gold jacket were form fitting and pooled out above her elbows, similarly the rest of the jacket fit snuggly until it also pooled out into the heavy material draped across the skirt.
Rose revelled in the soft artificial breeze that swept through the conservatory. The materials of her clothing choices were making her feel overheated, and it was only breakfast. Queen Ralaen smiled at her guest from across the table. She'd invited Rose to her morning meal, almost exactly after the Doctor had left. Rose had gotten dressed and met the Queen outside the conservatory before they sat down with that glorious tasting tea again.
The Queen smirked over her teacup at Rose. "Had a good sleep?" Rose's face went bright red. Queen Ralaen laughed delightedly. "Oh, must have. A goddess blushing like a little girl. Never thought I'd see the sight."
Rose decided to take a passive aggressive stance on that comment. She was, after all, supposed to play the part of a goddess. She set her own teacup down and levelled an impassive and displeased look on the queen. Considerably chastised, the queen's smile dropped. Her lips pursed like a toddler not getting her way and her teacup clattered as it was roughly put on its saucer. "Well it's just a shame about the Auction." The queen said, her voice betraying her words. Rose's brows drew together and she tipped her head in silent question. "It's been postponed a few days." Ralaen's petulant face turned into a devious smirk. "But for good reason." A sigh escaped her, and she looked more happy then Rose had seen her so far. "We're almost there, your Majesty. We've almost got it."
"Got wha'?" Rose asked nervously.
Ralaen gave Rose an odd look. "What we've been striving for. I told you. Reproduction without them." The queen clapped her hands together like a child. "So close I can almost taste it."
Dread crept into Rose's heart. Why would they suddenly push the auction? What would have happened in their research to need the few extra days? More importantly, "Wha' are you goin'ta do with the men once you've figured that out?"
The Queen gave Rose a look not unlike the Doctor's own when she said something stupid. "We're going to get rid of them of course. Why on earth would we want those rodents on our planet if we don't need them?"
Rose held her breathe. Everything in her told her not to, but she had to ask. "Get rid of them?"
Ralaen raised an eyebrow and took a sip of her tea. "Why of course. As if we'd permit them to live if they're unnecessary." Rose picked up her tea and swallowed too much at once. She had to get those men off the planet, and she had to do it fast.
Rose leaned forward. "If we aren't to do an auction, do you think I could request some… services again?"
Ralaen's eyes lit up. "Had fun did we?" She threw her head back and laughed delightedly. Rose smiled politely, though she thought it probably looked more like a grimace. "Which one did you take? I'll have to try him out for myself."
Rose's fingers clenched around the teacup in her hand. Her teeth ground together as her mind quickly calculated how long it would take her to get out of her chair in her heavy skirts and slap the Queen across the face. Rose's eyes widened slightly and she stuffed her hands into her lap. What was she thinking? She couldn't slap the Queen, no matter how much the little witch deserved it. Rose bit her lip, trying to figure out when she'd become so possessive of the Doctor. Certainly not when they'd been married. Of course, when they'd been married Rose was positive that he was hers. Rose and the Doctor weren't together any more. Not like that. Nor had they discussed it.
"Your Majesty?"
Rose quickly snapped herself out of her thoughts and smiled at the Queen. "Sorry, mind wandered off a bit. You were sayin'?"
"You can choose a Companion after tea. They'll prep him for you tonight." Ralaen smiled. "I'm so glad you're enjoying our services. We have the finest collection, don't we?"
Rose smiled falsely and nodded. "Oh yes, of course." Rose paused, inwardly shrugged, and went for it. "But wouldn't it be such a shame to get rid of such a great source of… pleasure?" Her cheeks turned the colour of her name and Rose quickly hid behind the rip of her teacup as she took another sip of the tea.
Ralaen's eyes darkened. "A waste? A waste is the air they use in order to sustain life that is otherwise worthless. They are scum and should be treated as nothing but the dust beneath our feet that is produced by the ground up bones of all men. I will not have such filth disgrace my kingdom if it need not be there." Ralaen's slightly flushed face turned pointed and tight with the pinched outline of her mouth. "You are one of the Goddesses Three, do you honestly disagree with that?"
Rose shook her head quickly. "Of course not. I was jus'… testin' you." She licked her lips and prayed the beating of heart couldn't be heard across the table.
Ralaen frowned in confusion. "Testing me?"
Rose jumped up. "Yup! An' ya passed! Congrats!" Ralaen smiled childishly and clapped your hands. "You! Yes you, you are brilliant. Now… tea's done. I gotta pop off… use the loo. See you." Rose quickly left the table and made her way through the conservatory back into the main corridors of the palace. Not until she was safe behind the doors to her room did she finally sigh in relief. But Rose wasn't out of the woods yet. She had to get to the Doctor and Jack, and she had to do it fast.
"And then Rose found her way to you outside the universe?" Jack whispered to the Doctor, looking for clarification. The Doctor nodded, though his gaze never left the bit of the stone tunnel he could see through the bars of their cell. They were back in that little space with six other men and only the cold stone to comfort them. The Doctor had explained Rose's story to Jack, much to Jack's surprise. "Our poor girl." Jack whispered.
The Doctor turned toward his friend, eyes sad. "She's been through a lot." The Doctor's mind turned over the stories Rose had shared that night about her family and her life. "Not all of it was awful though."
Jack snorted lightly. "Please. She had to watch everyone she loves die. You and I know what that's like more than anyone else in the universe, Doctor. We know how awful that can be." Jack ran his hands through his hair roughly. He almost wished Rose had grown old and wasted away.
The Doctor dropped his head against the rusted bars to his side. "I should have known that would happen."
Jack looked up glaringly at the Doctor. "Why didn't you?" The Doctor was supposed to be a genius, yet he seemed to make a lot of stupid mistakes.
The Doctor closed his eyes and let Jack's hateful tone wash over him. He deserved it. He deserved every scathing remark and hateful look of every person he'd ever wronged. Someone would have to yell and curse him for what he'd done to Rose. Jackie was gone, so Jack would have to do. "I wanted her to be happy. I wasn't willing to check and see if she was different… if she couldn't be with those she loved, forever."
Jack's hands curled into fists. "Don't you think it would have all gone better if you had checked? If you hadn't been a coward, maybe she could have had a better life."
The Doctor opened his mouth, but no words came out. "No." Jack's eyebrows rose. The Doctor turned to his companion and breathed a sigh that was for once in his life, not filled with self loathing. "Rose married my clone, Jack. They had children and a family and Christmas. Those are things I can't give her. She got that." The Doctor took a deep breath. "And I would burn up a thousand suns for her to get that if I had to. She'll never get it again, but at least our Rose will never live this life with any regrets. She's lived on both sides of the fence, so to speak."
Jack sighed and leaned his head back against the stone wall. "I guess you're right. Doesn't mean I like it, but as long as she's happy, then I guess I'm happy too."
The Doctor raised a hand and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Yes well, I'm afraid she's quite happy right now. Playin' princess in her very own palace." The Doctor was still uneasy with that plan. He didn't like the idea of Rose using those Bad Wolf powers, not until he'd figured them out a bit more. He understood that the human him had helped Rose develop them and control them, but that him hadn't had access to the TARDIS. Once everything calmed down, once he found River and returned her home, then he'd figure Rose out.
Jack smiled ruefully. "Well we always knew she was princess worthy." The Doctor couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. If Rose was anything, she was certainly royalty. His mind wandered to when they'd met Queen Victoria, and Rose in her little jean dress. He missed those skirts. He shook his head when he thought of what Rose had been wearing all night, or rather, lack there of. That nightgown might as well have been on the floor. The Doctor shook his head again. His mind was definitely running away with him.
Jacks eye wandered over to an inmate he'd talked to last night whilst the Doctor had been with Rose. "So when we liberate this world."
The Doctor sighed and rolled his eyes. "We aren't supposed to."
Jack half shrugged. "Yeah but we will." He nodded to the older male with short cropped hair and a scar on his face. "We should elect him as leader." The Doctor gave the man a cursory glance than looked back to Jack. He seemed dubious. "Trust me. He's a good guy. Despite his rough exterior, he's intelligent. Name's Brickston, he's a Time Agent. He could definitely set things right again. And he's from the same relative time as myself. So you know he doesn't have gender equality issues." When his friend didn't answer, Jack turned back towards him. The Doctor had his head leaning against the bars again, his eyes narrowed as he stared at a few guards down the hall. "What's wrong?"
The Doctor's lips straightened into a tight line. "There are two guards down there that have scanners."
Jack frowned in confusion. "So?"
The Doctor glanced at his friend, displeasure clear on his face. "They're not very advanced, I'd hoped they were just preliminary. But it seems they might be able to do everything a normal body scan can do, it'll just take longer to process." As he said this, the two guards down the hall began opening up completed scans on their tech, searching through the data.
"What's the problem then?"
"The problem, Captain, is that the scans will reveal I'm sterile." His eyes darkened on his friend. "And someone like that won't last in a society like this."
Jack's eyes widened and flickered to the three amazons who stood at the door of their cell. One guard nodded to the other and they opened the door.
"Everyone out." She instructed. The men around the cell stood meekly and shuffled out of their prison. They stood in a line, shoulders slightly hunched. "You'll all be taken for selection." The guard nodded to the two others and they prepared to head down the stone corridor behind a longer line of other prisoners.
"Wait." The group paused. Jack and the Doctor both tensed. It was one of the guards who'd been searching through the data of the scans. She walked along the lineup of men and stopped beside Jack. She turned to the Doctor. "This one is with us." They took the Doctor and led him the opposite way. As the Time Lord passed his friend he gave him a hard look that Jack knew meant only one thing, "get Rose and get out".
One of the guards shoved Jack's shoulder, and the Captain shuffled along in line with the other men. Jack forced himself not to glance back at the Doctor. He had to get to Rose, get a message to her somehow.
They were taken into a large room with pales of lukewarm water where they were given five minutes to clean up. After that they were taken into another room where Jack remembered Rose had come to choose from their lineup the other day. Damn it. Jack thought, he didn't have time for this. He needed to get to Rose, or the Doctor, preferably both.
He looked around the room at the sunken in, dead looks of his peers. This was not okay. This was not the way society should function. Sue him, he was a 51 Century man, and he believed in equality. It never ended well with one dominant race. This back and forth would continue until they allowed themselves a revolution based off of enlightened ideas. Jack fought the smirk that threatened to emerge at the thought. They needed a French Revolution — minus the Reign of Terror, of course. He mentally shook himself. He didn't have time for that train of thought either.
Rose walked into the room. Jack watched as her eyes discreetly searched the men for the Doctor. They narrowed and did it again. Rose moved slowly towards the first man in the line and continued down the row, pretending to search for someone that would "please" her. She stopped in front of Jack, her eyes dark and worried. Jack's nervous gaze back did nothing for her nerves. She turned to the guard at the end of the line. "This one."
The guard nodded. "He will be sent at nightfall."
Rose frowned petulantly. "No. Now."
The guard's brows rose slightly. "Your Majesty, with all due respect…"
"With all due respect I am your Goddess. Are you denying me my wishes?" Don't smirk. Jack thought desperately. Don't smirk. Don't smirk. Don't smirk. "I want it. So I'll have it." Jack ducked his head to hide his smirk. "Immediately." With that, Rose spun on her heel and stormed from the room, her heart heavy with lead. Where was the Doctor?
She headed back to her rooms as quickly as she could without getting lost. Apparently she wasn't quick enough though, Gresta stood waiting by her door. Rose stopped by the rose emblemed entrance, wary. "May I help you?" She could feel everything slowly falling apart. Rose wasn't keeping up her act as well anymore, the Doctor was taken, and Gresta's obvious fears were starting to be confirmed. This was not good at all.
"I've been informed, my lady, that you've requested a companion out of time." Rose quickly assumed "out of time" meant during the day. Apparently this was a taboo. Well how was she to know? She needed to speak with Jack. Stupid laws, stupid sexism, stupid world.
"Is that a problem?" Rose replied arrogantly.
Gresta frowned. "It is simply not done."
Rose narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, a tint of gold seeped through from the pupil. "Are you suggesting that I abide by mortal rules?" Rose took a step closer towards the advisor. "Am I not good enough to be considered your Goddess anymore? Are you denying me? Oh," Rose sighed dramatically, "what will the Queen say when she hears of this."
Gresta glared stonily at the blonde before turning and storming down the hall. Rose swallowed and entered her rooms with a sigh. This plan was quickly falling apart. Gresta clearly thought she was an impostor, the Doctor was missing, and Ralaen had plans to commit mass genocide on the male population. Rose gently banged her head against the wood door. The Doctor was right. The Doctor is always right. Rose let out a soft laugh. Except for when he's completely wrong.
With that thought in her mind, Rose headed towards her wardrobe and quickly changed into leggings, boots and a loose blouse. She threw on a brown lace up corset over top, the front of which cut low and let the front of the blouse come through. It was supposed to be riding clothes, so maybe that meant they had horses somewhere on the planet? Or an equivalent of some kind, probably. Rose was just buttoning on a dark brown cloak when there was a knock at the door.
Rose hid her body behind the door as she let Jack in. She nodded at the guards. Very quickly she soniced the door and led Jack through to the main chambers, as she had with the Doctor, and soniced the second set of doors shut as well.
"Righ'," Rose said and moved towards the bed. She threw him the gold cloak she had worn the other day. "Put this on."
Jack raised an eyebrow but did as he was told. "Did the Doctor get a robe?"
Rose frowned. "Jack we don't have time for that. Where's the Doctor?"
Jack tied the string around his neck loosely, his face hardening as the Doctor came back into his mind. "They took him. Didn't say where or why. They just took him. I think the Doctor was onto it before it happened. He was mentioning scans, and infertility? That's a bad thing to be, I take it?"
Rose's eyes widened. "Sor' of, yeah." Rose pressed the heel of her palms into her eyes. "Damn it! I should have seen that comin'." She took a deep breath. "'s okay, they don't know who he is, just that he's infertile. Which means they'll study his biological structure before they kill him." Jack raised his eyebrows. That sounded…cheery.
"So he's still down there?" Jack followed.
Rose bit her lip. "Maybe?" Jack made a face and Rose dropped her head into her hands with a groan. "I don't know! But unless you've got a better idea?" Jack shook his head and shrugged. "Ugh… This wasn't supposed to happen." Rose paced back and forth worriedly. "Damn it! Why can't anything ever go according to plan?"
Jack smiled. "Because it's boring?"
Rose stopped pacing and gave the Captain a deadpan expression. "How about we get out of here and back down to the dungeons, yeah?"
Jack waggled his eyebrows and smirked. "Consider it taken care of." He stuck his hand out one of the arm holes of Rose's gold cloak and held up a compact laser.
Rose raised her eyebrows. She opened her mouth, closed it, then shook her head. "You know what. I'm not even gonna ask."
Jack smiled sheepishly. "Probably best that way." He glanced at the soniced door. "Ready?" Rose pulled out her sonic screwdriver and nodded. "Let's go stage a revolution, shall we?"
Rose laughed. "Wouldn't be our first."
"Oh it most certainly would not."
"Where am I?" The Doctor shouted at the guards as they fastened him down to a metal slab. "Oi! I'm talking to you! What is this place?" He looked around as he asked. There were test tubes and fetuses in jars. A little bit old science, a little bit new science. His eyes landed on the man on another metal slab beside him. And a lot of torture and experimentation.
The guards finished securing him and filed out of the room. "No!" The Doctor shouted. "You can't just leave! I have questions!" The silver door slid shut. "How am I supposed to get answers?" He dropped his head back against the metal slab with a dull thud. "Well this is boring."
The man beside him chuckled dryly. His voice was thick and rough. "Oh jus' wait. You'll figure it out soon enough, 'm afraid." He blinked his eyes open to reveal yellowed and tired eyes. The Doctor saw the slackness in his limbs, his pallor appearance. The man was beyond sickly. "Name's Tim."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "That's an earth name. You're a long way from home, aren't you, Tim?"
Tim nodded tiredly. "Got in a bit of mess with some aliens on earth." He frowned. "Time travelled too when I got into the Agency." He levelled a piercing stare on the Doctor. "I've messed up the timeline."
"How so?"
"I shouldn't be here."
The Doctor shrugged as best he could with his wrists bound to the table. "Time will compensate. You'd be surprised how many instances have seen time change its path and back again."
Tim shook his head. "But I can feel it. I'm supposed to be somewhere specific. An' I'm not. I'm supposed to live past this, but I don't think I can. Time can be changed, Doctor. But that doesn't mean it should."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Have we met?" Tim didn't answer. The Doctor leaned as far off the slab as he could to get a better look at the man. "Tim? I never mentioned my name, how did you know my name? Tim? Tim wake up!" He was dying. The Doctor struggled with the metal cuffs, wiggling his wrists to try and get out of them. "This would be so much easier with my sonic."
"You're sonic screwdriver?" Tim asked lazily. The Doctor looked up at the man and sighed in relief. Still alive. That didn't stop him from being completely malnourished though. The Doctor had to get him to the TARDIS, or he wouldn't survive much longer. "Swore I saw them fiddlin' with it." Tim weakly looked around the lab in search of the small device.
"We have met then?"
The man started to laugh, but was interrupted by the wet coughing fit that quickly overcame him. "Oh once… a very long time ago." Tim smiled at the Doctor. "You saved my life."
The Doctor smiled. "I've saved many lives—"
"Oh I know." Tim smiled dreamily, his eyes falling shut for a moment again.
"Do you?" The Doctor asked curiously whilst simultaneously hoping the man would stay awake. Falling asleep in the physical condition Tim was in would be nothing but another bucket of trouble. "Do you know what they're doing here?"
Tim hummed. "Experiments…" He mumbled.
The Doctor sighed. He thought as much. "It's alright Tim. I'm going to get us out. Then I'm going to save you, take you home, and let you live your apple pie life. Alright, Tim?" The Doctor looked back over to his friend. "Tim?" The man was silent. The Doctor froze and listened intently. There. He sighed with relief when he heard the soft sound of Tim's shuddering breath. He was still alive. The Doctor nodded and looked around. "Don't worry Tim. I've got this." He raised his head off the slab and searched the room for his sonic. But really? What was he going to do once he saw it? He wouldn't be able to get to it. "I really don't got this." The Doctor whispered to himself.
A door slid open. The Doctor stretched off the metal slab as far as his restraints would allow him. He caught sight of a bright golden cloak. "Rose?" Jack came around and smiled at the Doctor. He stuck his head around the table and caravan partition and nodded his head. Rose ran in a second later. The Doctor sighed and fell back. "Finally. I thought it was the scientists."
Jack grinned at his friend as Rose worked on the restraints with her sonic screwdriver. "What's the matter Doctor? Didn't feel like being a lab rat today?"
The Doctor scoffed. "A lab rat? These women are psycho, probably love a lab rat." He lightly banged his head against the metal slab before shaking it back and forth. "Humans are crazy."
"Oi!" Rose exclaimed at the same time Jack blurted out, "Hey!"
The Doctor looked back and forth between either of them. His brow furrowed and he gestured with his restrained hands. "Neither of you are human!"
Rose and Jack paused as they considered that. "Oh." They said together before nodding. Rose went back to her sonic whilst Jack turned around and gave the dying man a check. "Is he alive?" The Doctor asked worriedly.
Jack glanced over his shoulder at the Doctor and nodded. "Who is he?"
The restraints clicked open on both the men and Rose helped the Doctor into a seated position. The Time Lord rubbed his chaffed wrists as he considered Tim. "Hopefully not who I think it is. We've got to get him to the TARDIS though, or he's not going to make it." Rose nodded and unbuttoned the cloak she was wearing. She tossed it to Jack who wrapped the man in Doctor eyed Jack's golden cloak, and the other that Tim was quickly being bundled up in. "A robe? Where did you get a robe?" He turned around to look at Rose's blushing face. "Why didn't I get a robe?"
Jack spun around and pointed at Rose. "I knew it!"
Rose's face burned, but she was determined to stay serious. "We so don't have time for this. Now grab the man and let's get out of here."
The Doctor glanced around the room and found a pile of his belongings. "Ha!" Tim had been right, they'd been playing with his sonic, probably searching the pockets of his jacket and pants. "Let me at least put on some trousers." The Doctor raced to the pile of belongings and kissed his sonic screwdriver before quickly pulling on his trousers.
Jack glanced at the shallow breathing man. They really did need to get that guy to the TARDIS, but… "We're just going to leave all the other men here?"
The Doctor threw on his tweed jacket over no shirt and stared at the pale form of Tim. He sighed. "What else?" He stuffed his pockets with the psychic paper and sonic before grabbing Rose's hand, ready to go.
Jack exchanged a worried look with Rose. She shook her head. "We have to go, someone's goin'ta find us any minute now." Jack nodded and lifted the dying man into his arms. The group of them quietly exited the laboratory and entered the dark stone hallway of the dungeons.
Rose turned at the sound of voices hollering and saw a group of guards heading towards them. She pulled on the Doctor's hand and ran down the hall towards the cells. The Doctor paused by an archway and snatched a ring of keys. Rose gave him a look. "Why do you need those?" She questioned as they ran.
"For doors!" The Doctor exclaimed with a smile. "Never know when you'll face a lock."
Jack huffed behind them as he struggled to carry Tim and keep up. "Hopefully one that will lead us out of here?"
Rose turned around a corner and found one of the spiral staircases."How 'bout no door?" The Doctor threw his hands into the air excitedly. He lost hold of the keys and they flew out of his grasp. Rose rolled her eyes at him and grabbed his hand. They ran up a flight back onto the ground floor and were greeted with the drapes, gold, and finery that Rose had been living in."Righ'. Which way to the exit?" Rose's eyes glowed gold and they headed left down the hallway. They ran for another minute before they came across the main hall of the palace.
"Your Majesty!" The group stopped and turned. Rose stepped in front of Jack, the Doctor, and Tim protectively as she saw Queen Ralaen standing down the hall with an army of guards. A grinning Gresta beside her. "What is the meaning of this?" The Queen intoned.
Rose raised her chin defiantly. "Exactly what it looks like Ralaen. 'm not gonna let you hurt my friends." Ralaen gasped and murmurs broke out amongst the soldiers. "Yeah! You heard me, friends. Men aren't toys Ralaen, they aren't science projects and they aren't evil. Something isn't born evil. You choose who you want to be. No one is better than that and no one is worse than it either. You aren't a god, you can't decide who lives or dies."
Queen Ralaen's face darkened visibly. "And you're no longer our god." She nodded her head towards the group and the soldiers surged forward.
Jack nodded. "Right, and we're running." They turned and ran further down the hall towards the exit of the palace.
"Just a bit further!" Rose hollered at the men. She stumbled and the Doctor grabbed her hand. He pulled her forward and pushed them to go faster as he caught sight of the huge gold doors.
Jack stopped by the exit and turned to one of the paintings that had caught his eye. He whistled at the depiction of a naked Rose, burning gold in an open sky. "Now that is something I'd buy." He looked down at Tim in his arms. "Am I right?" Tim raised his eyebrows and nodded weakly.
"Oi!" The Doctor shouted at the two of them from the now open front doors. "I'll leave the lot of…" He froze at the sight of the painting.
Rose rolled her eyes. "Honestly! We need to move!"
Jack frowned and shook his head. "As much as I love the running, this guy isn't going to make it. So how about you use that vortex manipulator of yours for once?"
The Doctor and Rose both glanced down at Rose's wrist and blushed. They'd forgotten about that. Rose gave the soldiers, only a few meters away now, one last look before she pressed her vortex manipulator.
POP!
The Doctor grabbed the TARDIS key from Rose's back pocket. An action that had Rose squeak in surprise. The Doctor winked and opened the door. "Alright." He said happily with a sigh. "Now that that field trips over, let's get Tim back in ship shape, shall we?"
Tim sat on a bed in the med-bay of the TARDIS. His feet hung over the side, he wiggled his toes. He felt fine, better actually. The Doctor had fixed him up after arriving on the TARDIS. Something about 54th century medicine and 69th century practices with a bit of bad bedside manner. There was an apology thereafter, though Tim wasn't entirely sure what for. Then he'd been given some clothes and time to sleep.
The door to the med-bay opened and the Doctor waltzed in. He'd donned a striped shirt and bow-tie to match his tweed jacket. Tim raised his eyebrows. The Doctor smiled excitedly. "Feeling better?"
Tim nodded. "Very much so, thank you, sir." The Doctor noted the change in his speech, now that he wasn't dying and having trouble finishing sentences. Tim eyed the Doctor's attire again.
The Doctor made a face. "Oh. No… Sir. No 'sir's', just 'Doctor's'. Got that Tim?" Tim nodded. "Right, wonderful. Perfecto." The Doctor stood before the man and rubbed his hands together. He stared awkwardly at Tim.
"Are you still trying to figure out who I am… sir?" Tim smiled. Old habits, he thought fondly. "I must say, it was a bit more of a challenge for myself than it'd be for you."
The Doctor smiled and leaned back against the other bed. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Yes, well I imagine it would be, Timothy, wouldn't it? Different face on and all." The Doctor leaned toward the other man. "It is Timothy Latimer, isn't it?"
Timothy smiled and hopped off the bed. "You might have changed that face Doctor, but the intellect will never fail you." The Doctor inclined his head in acknowledgment of the compliment. "It's been a long time I take it?"
The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "You have no idea. But how about you? Agency? The Time Agency I take it? How'd you fall into that one?"
Tim shrugged. "I never forgot the things I saw from that watch, the things I learned from your mind. And then aliens came about again, as they are want to do. I helped out and a Time Agent offered me a position."
"And then you ended up on Malivek." The Doctor finished. Tim nodded. "Well I'm glad to be of service. Back to the Time Agency? Or…"
Tim frowned at the Doctor. "Sir?"
"You never really did get to see much of what the TARDIS can do, did you, Timmy?" The Doctor eyed Timothy as he let the offer sink in.
Tim smiled and shook his head. "You're right, I didn't. But I'm afraid I can't." The Doctor frowned. "I told you Doctor, I'm not in the right place or time. I'd felt it ever since joining the Agency. It's time I go home, and figure out where I'm supposed to be."
The Doctor looked around the med-bay. "That's not how it works Tim." He levelled the other man with a heavy stare. "You don't need to follow any rules. You are free to make your own decisions, change what you want, do what you can. Try what you can't. That's life."
Tim straightened his shoulders. For a moment, the Doctor saw that young man he'd had the privilege of teaching for a few months as a human. Smart, brave and incredibly intuitive. "That's how it works for everyone else, Doctor. But not for me. I was born with that 'low level telepathic field'. I can feel inside me where I'm meant to be, how things are meant to happen. How can I play with time like that, when things have already been set out?" Tim shook his head. "Not everything is meant to change. Somethings are fine the way they are. I'm very sorry Doctor, but I don't think I can go with you."
The Doctor stared at Timothy for a moment longer as the man's word's sank in. He straightened and held out his hand. Tim took it and shook it firmly. "Thank you, Timothy Latimer. As always, you're an inspiration." The Doctor nodded towards the door. "Now come on, let's get you back to where you're supposed to be. Shall we?"
They quickly made their way through the hall and down the stairs into the main console room. Rose and Jack were waiting by the console. Both had changed into more regular attire for themselves. Tim was surprised to note that Jack was wearing what he recognized as clothing he'd seen soldiers fighting in the army wearing recently — or recently relative to the 1930's.
Rose smiled brightly at the men as they entered. "So, Timothy, you goin' with us?"
Tim shook his head, but he smiled politely. "Unfortunately not, but I thank you for the offer." Rose rubbed his arm and smiled at him endearingly, like a mother to her child.
Tim turned back to the Doctor, a look of mild curiosity on his face. "Did Martha finally give up on you then?"
Rose and Jack laughed as the Doctor scowled. "Yes." He replied grumpily. He glared at Rose who quickly tried to stifle her laughter. "Anyways. Home. Let's get on that. Before my friends have a revolution of their own."
Jack frowned at the Doctor. "Seriously? That's it? We just leave all those men to be tortured and killed?
The Doctor scoffed. "Whoever said that?" He pulled a few levers on the console and pressed a button. The TARDIS groaned and shook as they dematerialized. Timothy laughed and grabbed hold of the console. "We can't do anything actively!" The Doctor hollered over the grind of the TARDIS. It quieted as they materialized on Earth, relative to Tim's time. "But I like to think we made a difference. Freed some men." He gestured to Tim. "Showed them their goddess could love, and so should they." He nodded to Rose.
Rose leaned her hip against the console and crossed her arms. She smirked at the Doctor. "Dropped some keys into a cell."
The Doctor froze and gave Rose a look of pure ignorance. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Brickston picked up the keys from the ground of his cell. The floppy haired one had accidentally dropped them though the bars of the cell. He raised an eyebrow. Accidentally. He was sure.
The man glanced over his shoulder at the other captives in his cell. He raised an eyebrow. "I think it's time for a judicial reform. How about you?"
Sorry for the wait. And I honestly don't think it was much worth it :/
But I do hope you enjoyed it, at least some what. Next is Let's Kill Hitler! So let's see if I can keep that episode in a form that actually makes sense XD
Thanks for reading!