About this story: Here is the second chapter! We open the morning after Tentoo's and Rose's new first date. I welcome reviews and suggestions! This is just a story to fill the whole this sailing ship left in my fangirl heart. Hopefully you enjoy. I'll be adding new chapters sporadically, but often!
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They belong to BBC and Doctor Who.
Early the next morning I turn over in the hotel bed to find Mum, but she isn't there. I spring up and look around the darkened room, and suddenly the light flips on, blinding me.
"Wonderful, you're awake," Jackie Tyler is fully dressed and standing in the little bathroom at the foot of the bed, "I wanted you to get as much rest as you could. Now get up and dressed, we're all leaving in thirty minutes. I'll go check the Doctor and we can all go down for breakfast."
"Love you, Mum," I mumble as the door shuts. I tumble out of bed and stretch before throwing my jeans back on. After I run my fingers through my hair in an attempt to make it somewhat presentable, I sling my jacket across my arm and open the door.
Mum and the Doctor are dressed and ready, standing outside. "Hiya," the Doctor pips out, a bit too cheery for 5am.
"Are we all ready, then?" I ask and Mum nods, so I shut the hotel room door and lead the way down the hall.
We all head for the dining room, which is all but empty, excluding the staff. Each of us grab a scone and cuppa tea, then sit and wait for our car to arrive and take us to the airport.
"Everyone sleep alright?" The Doctor asks, sipping his tea slowly, and taking huge bites of his food.
"I slept all night," Jackie states, "And it was glorious. Although, I would've liked to have had a bite before I conked out," the last is directed at me. Her tone is teasing, but I answer her seriously.
"Mum, I tried to wake you, but you were all but dead to the world the moment your head hit the pillow," I smile, all good nature, and pat her shoulder, "Don't worry. The Doctor and I ate some chips just for you," I turn to the Doctor, "And how was your night?"
He smiles and shrugs, "Well, I slept off and on. I'm not used to this human physiology yet. It'll probably take a while until I'm fully acclimated. I trust you slept well, Rose."
"Yes, I did, thank you." I drink a little tea before Mum asks;
"Well, you both came down for dinner, right? How was it?"
After our waiter brought our chips, the Doctor and I took turns telling stories about our time apart. Just the light, fluffy stuff; we are saving the heavier bits for a time when it's just the two of us. At least I am. When we walked back up to our rooms, the Doctor had leaned down and kissed my cheek very sweetly, before stepping through his door.
I glance at the Doctor, and he smiles over at me. I answer Mum; "We had some dinner, but neither of us could focus much, so it was an early night. Trust, you didn't miss any excitement."
"Oh, Lord, if I could miss every bit of excitement from now on, it wouldn't be soon enough. Let me tell you," Jackie rolls her eyes and finishes her scone before continuing, "This girl right here has been running all over Europe working for Torchwood. You can't get her to bloody sit still. Not even on holidays! And then, she's always running into trouble, getting hurt, going to the hospital," I shoot my mother an angry glance, "Well it's the truth! Never a broken bone in your life until the last five years," She turns to the Doctor, "She dislocated her right shoulder twice. And don't get me started on all the other injuries—"
"Then don't, Mum."
My voice is curt, and I can tell I've hurt Mum's feelings, but I don't want to go through all of that right now. I finish my tea and refuse to look at anyone.
"Mrs. Tyler, your car is here."
Mum stands and gathers her things and bee-lines straight for the door. I stand, grab my jacket, and watch the Doctor gather his things. He's slung his blue suit coat over his arm, and his pants and maroon shirt look even more rumpled than last night. I reach for his hand, and he takes mine gratefully.
"I didn't mean to make her upset," I say in a hush, "But I want to tell you about all that later. Alright?"
"Yes. Rose, I completely understand. There are things you need to know about what happened to me, too, but I agree. Now isn't the time." He leads us out of the dining room, through the lobby, and outside. The sun is beginning to rise, and a black car sits in the carport, waiting. I climb in first and sit beside Mum, taking her hand.
She turns to me, her expression a mix of annoyance and disgruntled acceptance. "I know you don't like hearing about the last few years. I know it's hard for you," She shifts her gaze as the Doctor slides into the car beside me, looks back at me and lowers her voice, "But you should know it's hard for me, too."
My hand squeezes hers in an attempt to comfort her. "I do know, Mum. I'm sorry." There's a lot more I'd like to say on the subject, but it's too early. And I'm too tired to fight or form full sentences, so I lean my head on her shoulder, and close my eyes.
The Doctor's hand finds my free one, and he laces our fingers together on the seat between us. I smile with my eyes closed and tighten my grip on him. His thumb traces circles on the back of my hand, and I feel myself lulling to sleep. For the first time in years, the two most important people in my life are holding my hands beside me. I can't remember the last time I felt so safe.
I jolt awake as the car comes to a halt, and look out the window to see the airport just outside the car doors. We all pile out of the car and I take the Doctor's hand again as we make our way to check-in. The zeppelin airline is owned by Torchwood, and since Pete is now the head director it makes our lack of identification simply a wave of the hand. We are escorted through security, through the airport, and to an empty terminal where a small passenger zeppelin sits waiting at the gate.
We board, walk down the hall to the back compartment and pile in. There are two bench seats on the interior walls. Mum plops down on one and stretches her feet out on the cushion, "We won't be in the air too long," she says as the Doctor and I sit on the opposite bench, "Have you ever ridden in a zeppelin before, Doctor?"
Before the Doctor can answer, we feel the ground shift, and we all look out the window to see the world start to fall away, as we are lifted into the air. A computer screen beside the cabin door outlines our flight plane, and informs us the flight should only be one hour and thirty minutes.
Mum settles into her seat and smiles at the Doctor and repeats her question, "Ever rode in a zeppelin, Doctor?"
He nods slowly, "Yes, yes. Only once, and it was nothing like this. This one is brilliant, very state of the art, isn't it? I'd love to get a look at the main controls, if I could? Maybe later?"
"Dad is an executive owner of this particular zeppelin airline," I begin telling him, "And we travel via zeppelin all the time. You'll have loads of chances to poke about."
The Doctor smiles at me broadly, "You know how much I like poking about."
"Oi," Jackie raises her eyebrows, "I don't want to hear nothing about any poking going on, alright? I always figured you two were…well, I don't want to hear. Mummy ears, remember?"
"Oh, Lord, Mum!" I feel my face flush as I rush to correct her, "No, no. The Doctor and I never…"I chance a glance at him, but he's looking up at the ceiling, so I push forward, "We've never had sex, Mum!"
"Good heavens, Rose!"
"Well! I don't want you thinking we have. When we travelled together it was as friends, Mum. That's it!"
Mum looks at me like I'm daft, "Rose. For Pete's sake, you love him. You mean to tell me you two were just friends all those times you left me? You never, I don't know, tried it out? Gave him a go?"
"Mum! Please!"
"Yes, please Jackie," The Doctor chimes in, his voice higher pitched with nervous energy, "This isn't a conversation I'd like to present for, if you don't mind."
Jackie rolls her eyes but graciously accepts our protests, "Oh, alright."
Some time passes as we fly through the air, and none of us say much for about twenty minutes, but I can tell something is eating away at Mum, and I begin to wonder how long it will take her to break the silence.
As if she is capable of reading minds, I no sooner think about her need to question things, and she's started talking; "Well, Doctor, I know you're nervous about all of this human business, but I was just wondering, though, how does it all work? I mean, obviously, you're you, and the other Doctor is you as well. But there can't be two people who are exactly the same right?"
I sit back to watch the Doctor's face, because this is one of the things I'd wanted to talk with him about as well. He fishes for answers, finds them, and begins talking a million miles per second; "Well, I was created from a piece of myself that had been cut off during the battle with the Sycorax (my handy hand, you remember that, right Jackie?), but I wasn't created intentionally. You see, I, er, well, the other Doctor was about to regenerate, but I, he, didn't really need to. It's terrible business, regeneration. You see, the Doctor's essence still lives on, but it's almost like you die, and a completely different man walks away with your memories. So to avoid it, he used the spare hand to absorb the excess energy.
"But Donna Noble, my good friend Donna, was in trouble. Grave, dangerous trouble and I was the only one that could save her. When she reached out for the spare hand, something happened. Something wonderful. There was a human-Time Lord metacrisis. The first one in all of the existence of the cosmos," He pauses for breathe, and to make sure he hasn't lost any of us. Mum's brow is furrowed, but she waves for him to continue, "And I was, well, born is a good word, I suppose. I was born half-human, half-Time Lord. Like I said on the beach, I have the Doctor's mind. Donna also got a bit of Time-Lord DNA as well in the transfer, and, subsequently, my human DNA comes directly from Donna. I guess," His nose scrunches a little, "She's kind of like my…mother.
"But, to get back to the point; until the metacrisis, I was the Doctor. 100% Time Lord, no question. The Oncoming Storm, the Master of Time and Space. And quite a hit with the ladies," He winks at me and presses on, "When the metacrisis happened, when Donna and I shared DNA, and when I was born from excess regeneration energy, the Doctor and I split into two separate people. We have the same memories, up until the point where his conscious split into my conscious. So, while we are the same man, the fact that I am human, and he is fully Time Lord, is what makes us completely different," His eyebrows knit together, his eyes full of worry and anxiety, as he looks from Mum to me, "I hope that isn't too confusing."
Mum raises a hand and asks; "So, you're you, but, because you're part human and can't regenerate anymore, you're not you?"
"Precisely," The Doctor grins at her, "That's me. Me, but not me. Very accurate description, Jackie, top notch."
"I need a drink," Mum mumbles, standing and exiting our cabin to hunt down a stewardess.
The Doctor's eyes meet mine. "Was it something I said?"
I smile in a reassuring way, "It's just an awful lot to take in, is all. You being you, but not being you. She needs a moment to process, but she'll be fine."
The Doctor grabs my hand and turns to me, his knee brushing mine, "And for you? Is it too much for you?"
Worry is etched into the lines of his face, and I can't stand it. I reach up and cup his cheek in my palm. "It is a lot. But I'll be fine. Really," I run my thumb along his cheekbone before I let my hand drop, "I just need you to continue being here beside me. As long as you're here, I can do anything."
"I don't plan on going anywhere." The hand that isn't gripping mine in a vice reaches for me. I sit completely still, my eyes locked on his, as he brushes my hair behind my ear. His hand rests against the side of my face, and his expression softens into an easy smile. "Rose"—
The door slides open abruptly, and the Doctor and I spring apart. Mum enters with a glass of wine in hand, and smiles at us, "I can't get enough of people in this universe. They all treat me like the Queen when they hear I'm Pete's wife." She shuts the door and sits down across from us again and sips her drink quietly.
The Doctor's hand still has mine captured, but I don't mind in the least. He begins tracing circles into my hand again, and I sigh quietly and stare up at his face. He is staring out of the window, at the clouds and the ocean below us. His eyes are full and bright, and I want to know every thought that passes through him, but I don't want to break this perfect, peaceful moment. So I bite my lip, scoot closer to him, and take our hands into my lap. He tightens his grip, and leans into me, but he continues staring out the window. I wonder what he sees, but again I don't speak. I simply turn my gaze to the clouds, and try to imagine what this new life will have for us.
*Alright! There is chapter two! I hope you like it. Cheers to the reviews I've gotten from the last chapter. I hope you continue enjoying what I've got here. More is on the way, I promise. Reviews and suggestions welcome! Next chapter is on it's way :D