Chapter One
What About Us?
When Rose awoke, she felt the most rested and relaxed than she had done in the past few months. She'd slept all through the night, without any nightmares. Maybe it was better, sleeping with a friend (not in that sense!), rather than sleep alone. She stirred, her eyes opening, sighing in bliss. She was thankful that Jack had stayed, even if a little surprised. She looked at the clock on her bed stand, and saw that it read 9AM. She'd set it for Earth time, just in case. She looked down at Jack, smiling when she saw that he was still fast sleep.
She smiled warmly at the sight, sitting up in the bed, careful not to wake him, and got to her feet. She tied her hair up in a loose bun, and climbed into the shower. She changed into a pair of sweatpants, a plain tank top and a baggy jumper. She felt refreshed, more alive than she had done in months. But there was still the fear in the back of her mind, even though Jimmy was now dead. Seeing the Jack was waking, she sat on the edge of her bed, smiling as he woke up.
"Good morning sleepyhead," she chuckled, watching as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. "I take it you slept well?"
"Did you?" he shot back, then shut up, remembering the previous night. "Sorry. Didn't mean to come out like that." He paused. "Did you sleep well last night?"
She gave a small smile. "For your information, yes, I did sleep well. Better then I have done for a long time. Thank you for staying with me."
He smiled back. "It's not a problem. I'm glad you slept well. How are you feeling?"
Rose shrugged. "Tired. Well, a lot better now that I've had a decent sleep for once. Breakfast?"
Jack jumped off the bed, catching her arm as she walked to the door. "You know I can't pretend last night didn't happen, Rose. The Doctor needs to know."
She looked down. "Do you really have to? It was just a one off; I was feeling the aftermath of a bad day. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?"
Jack was torn. She had a point. But could he trust her? Maybe he should just keep a closer eye on her.
"Right. Course not. Wouldn't want to hurt him anymore then he already is." He perked up. "Breakfast. Let's go."
Breakfast was a quiet affair. Jack was munching on an overflowing large sized bowl of cereal, milk flowing off the rims. Rose had opted for dry toast, not really hungry for anything else.
The Doctor suddenly bounded into the kitchen, a grin on his face as he grabbed a banana. Rose was mesmerized, watching as he peeled the fruit and ate it in less than five seconds flat. She must've been staring, for he beamed at her.
"Want one?" he asked, grabbing another banana out the fruit bowl.
"No thanks," she said, still mesmerized.
He shrugged. "Your loss, they're an excellent source of potassium, you know," he insisted, before dashing to the cupboard, and grabbing a box of cereal, and reaching into the fridge, pulling out an empty carton of milk. He sighed heavily, looking at Rose who picked at her toast, and then Jack, with his overflowing bowl of cereal and milk. "Jack, where's all the milk gone?"
Jack, who had a mouthful of cereal, shrugged. "I dunno."
The Doctor glared. "How am I supposed to eat my cereal without any milk?" he demanded, a little peed off. "It's the third time this week you've done this, and I'm just about sick of this!"
Jack watched Rose, who sighed heavily, rolling her eyes and pushing her plate away, barely even touching her toast.
"You OK Rose?" he asked, finally swallowing his mouthful of cereal, ignoring the Doctor and his protesting.
"I'm fine," she mumbled, not really wanting to talk to anyone right now.
The Doctor seemed to pick up on what was happening. He looked down at her untouched breakfast. "You really need to eat something, you've probably not eaten since the whole thing with Jimmy, that was yesterday -"
Rose ignored him, pushing her chair back, and quickly leaving the room. Jack glared at him.
"What?!" he asked defensively, noticing his look. "She needs to eat!"
"I know, but you could've been a little more sensitive about it, considering what's recently happened to her! She was assaulted for God's sake, she's not gonna forget about it easily."
The Doctor looked down at the kitchen counter. "Maybe it's me that's trying to forget, I feel partly responsible for agreeing to let her meet him in the first place. I should've said no, Jack, then all this could've been prevented."
Jack felt sorry for the man, having this burden on his shoulders. "Look, all she needs right now are people who love her, close friends, family, that kind of thing, yeah? Why not take her home for a bit? I'm sure she'd love to see her Mum. And I'm sure Jackie would be thrilled to see her too."
He sighed. "I suppose you're right. Hey, since when did you become a guy so good at his choice of words?"
Jack held his arms up in defence. "I've been around, Doctor, and by that, I don't mean just girls. I pick up on things. Trust me. Something's you don't wanna know."
Judging from the Doctor's grimace, he really didn't want to know. Leaving Jack to finish his breakfast, he picked up yet another banana, and went to find Rose.
Looking for Rose was easier said than done.
The Doctor checked in the most obvious places to start with, hoping to narrow his search down; her bedroom, the garden (a computer stimulated room for people to relax), the library (she'd been known to go there when she was feeling down or upset). No. She wasn't in any of those rooms, he triple checked. He wasn't worried, not yet, the TARDIS would alert him if she'd vanished entirely. It wasn't as if she could disappear, since they were currently drifting in the vortex. He also knew the TARDIS had bonded with Rose more so than other companions, and knew that she would help her find a hiding place if she didn't want to be found. Thinking this is what would've happened, he placed his hand on the wall, softly stroking it. Had Rose seen this, she would've teased him for it.
"Hey old girl, I know Rose probably wants some time alone, but I'm worried about her. We need to talk about what's happened, it won't be good for her if she doesn't talk, you know that. Please, if you're helping her hide, please help me find her. For Rose's sake." In the corridor he was standing in, a door appeared at the end of it. He smiled softly. "Thanks old girl."
The Doctor opened the door, and stepped inside, and realised it was the wardrobe room. He frowned, why was Rose hiding away in here? The room was huge, with three floors connected with spiral staircases, full to the brim of clothing from every period, planet, you name it.
"Rose?" he called out quietly, hoping to hear her reply. But there was nothing. He walked further into the room, listening intently. That was when he heard it, the sound of someone sniffling, and sobbing quietly.
He followed the sound, and in between a rack of clothes dated the 15th century, he found her, huddled against the wall, mascara smeared tear tracks falling down her face. Her knees were pressed to her chest, and she clutched something tightly in her hands, something draped over her lap like a blanket. As the Doctor got closer, he saw it to be the battered black leather jacket, his previous regeneration had worn. One that he knew Rose had grown to love.
She didn't seem to know he was there, until he crouched down on his hunches in front of her. "What are you doing here?" she asked, wiping her eyes hurriedly, smearing more mascara on her face.
"I wanted to talk, I'm worried about you Rose. Can I join you?" She sniffed, and nodded. He sat down beside her, studying her carefully.
"How come you hide in here?"
"I feel alone," she murmured after a while, her fingers brushing the leather jacket fondly. "And I feel closer, to the other you. The one before. When you regenerated, it felt like he died. One minute he was here, then you came, and he was dead. You're the same man, I know, but after the regeneration, it was like everyone had forgotten him. You, Mum, and Mickey. They all forgot. Everyone except me."
"He's still here, Rose, he never left," the Doctor said gently, a hand over both hearts, then hers. "And he's here too. He'll always be alive if you remember him. He'll never leave."
Rose nodded, still looking down at the jacket in her lap. "I just wish I could see him again, one last time."
"You can't," he said sadly. "To do that would mean crossing my own time line, and you know from experience what happens if we do that."
"Then this," she indicated the jacket. "Is all I really have left of him?"
He nodded. "And the memories. Just remember; I'll always be here, and so will he if you keep remembering." He paused. "Blimey, I'm getting old. Oh, and you can keep it."
She frowned. "Keep what?"
He smiled. "The jacket. It's yours. He'd want you to have it."
"Really? You mean, I can keep it?"
"Of course. I mean it. Now, what's say we go and see your Mum? We can even stay for a few weeks if you want?"
She beamed, and despite all the tears and mascara, the Doctor still thought she was gorgeous. "That'd be brilliant."
The Doctor grinned back, and jumped to his feet, pulling her up, the jacket clutched tightly in her hand. "Excellent. Why don't you pack a bag then and I'll set the coordinates?"
"Doctor?" she waited until he turned, mid step. "Thank you. For the jacket, I mean."
"No need to thank me, Rose. It was yours ever since I changed."
Rose smiled the smile he came to know and love, and for once, it looked like things would be back to normal. For now at least.
AN: I know, I know, it's been a while. But don't freak out, it's not the end! I've always wanted a scene with the Doctor's leather jacket, since nine/Rose are my original OTP, but ten/Rose are a very close second. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and eagerly await more. Please review!
AN#2: Here's a challenge. For those of you lovely reviewers who overflowed my review box on the first installment of this story and are currently following this one, then how would you feel making a movie trailer/music video for it? Here are the rules:
Music: Lithium by Evanescence
Actors:
The Doctor = David Tennant
Rose Tyler = Billie Piper
Jimmy Stone = Laurence Fox (no reason, I just like him!)
Victoria Black = Emilia Fox (she's amazing as well!)
Mickey Smith = Noel Clarke
Captain Jack Harkness = John Barrowman
Jackie Tyler = Camille Coduri
- It's got to be at least 3 minutes long, to describe the storyline.
- It can have clips from other TV shows the above actors have done; Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Lewis, Silent Witness (Emilia), Torchwood etc. But it can include Doctor Who as well.
- The effects can be however you like. The choice is up to you.
DEADLINE for all entries: 1.03.13
Email the entries too: rebeccabullock1992 .uk
Have fun! J I can't wait to see if you respond!