Thank you to those who have favourited, followed and reviewed so far! Writing as a Whovian is still quite new to me so I'm making up the technobabble as I go along. Someone also said it was a pity this story died after just two chapters... I've only been writing it for a few days! It ain't going anywhere yet! Also the thing I talk about at the end was something I got from an interview with Billie Piper and I thought it was an interesting perspective...
So yes. Please read, review and enjoy! Tell your friends! :D
Disclaimer: Nope. Doctor Who still isn't mine!
As soon as Pete entered with the blue suited man in tow, the entire top floor office of Torchwood fell silent. It had only been with the promise of ideal TARDIS growing conditions that the businessman had even managed to persuade the sort-of-Doctor to even set foot in the place after the disastrous events back in the other universe. The long limbed half human cast his eyes warily around as he lingered in the doorway, half suspecting to be jumped upon (figuratively speaking) and captured by Daleks within seconds. Nothing happened except one bespectacled man at the back of the room fainted in surprise – apparently, the sort-of-Doctor thought wryly, his reputation preceded him. Again. Pete coughed.
"Team, this is the Doctor...sort of. When he's here, leave him be – he's working with me and me alone. There's no need to pester him with questions," he said, nodding with finality and beginning the long stride across the office to the door at the other side. His words were met with murmurs, but his staff heeded him.
"I don't mind if they want to ask me questions. I could help them," the sort-of-Doctor muttered as he trailed behind Pete, still not convinced that this Torchwood was not a carbon copy of its destructive twin. 'Help', in this case, was code for 'find out what you're all up to in here'.
"Nah. Most important thing right now is that you grow that new TARDIS of yours. Didn't even know those things were grown, I thought they were built… It's a machine, isn't it?"
"More of a living organism really… Time Lord technology; hard for the human brain to understand. That's why it's imperative that she has the desktop theme – looking at the true TARDIS would… Well, melt your mind, really."
"Right. Nice. I-"
"Brilliant, actually! Just brilliant. Not the melting your mind part, obviously, but if you consider that all of time and space can be accessed by this little tiny piece of coral – brilliant. It'll all grow from here. The time rotor, the console, the swimming pool-"
"Doctor!" Pete cried, slamming a door behind them that the sort-of-Doctor hadn't even noticed walking through. "Will you shut up?"
"No! You shut up, earth boy!" he screeched in reply, bobbing his head in a most un-Doctor-ish manner before looking utterly horrified. "Pete, I'm so sorry! Seems like a bit of Donna pushed out there. Her attitude isn't easy to keep repressed. Looks like I'll be even more rude than ever. Just brilliant."
Later that evening, the sort-of-Doctor returned to the Tyler mansion with Pete; he had never been this fatigued. He still hadn't slept properly – after Rose had departed that morning he had been too eager to be busy that anything more than a quick nap had been out of the question. Seven hours in Torchwood later and he was really edging towards the hysterical side of exhausted, his situation made worse by the fact that he kept forgetting his new body needed regular nutritious meals. No longer would the odd jar of jam or banana split satisfy his hunger for a few days (much to his dismay). More than anything, he was looking forward to a meal, a shower and a good long sleep.
However, the minute he entered the mansion he was accosted by a fussing Jackie, who pulled off his jacket and pushed him unceremoniously into the smaller of their sitting rooms. He was then almost knocked over by a blow to the abdomen – little Tony throwing himself at him in a bone-crushing cuddle. Clearly, this child was the type to get attached quickly, the sort-of-Doctor thought fondly.
"Hello!" he laughed, freed as quickly as he had been grabbed – Jackie, materialising from what seemed to be nowhere, scooped her son up and dumped him on the pillow and blanket covered couch, laughing at him.
"Leave the Doctor alone, he's just home! Me and your dad'll be in in a second – won't be long 'til Rose gets here with the pizzas," she grinned, ruffling the boy's hair before looking up at the sort-of-Doctor. "Get your bum settled in here, we're watching a film. Friday night is family night," she added almost aggressively, shoving him towards the sofa. He gave her a tight smile.
"I'm not- I'm not family," he said softly. Jackie's eyes softened infinitesimally.
"You're family if I say you're family, you plum. Don't forget I've already adjusted to finding a second copy of a person I thought I'd never see again. You're not all that impressive as far as little ol' me is concerned," she shot back with a smile so like her daughter's. Before a reply could be given, a voice from the hall cried, "Pizza's here!"
A few minutes later, Rose entered the sitting room carrying five cardboard boxes of various sizes, the smell of melted cheese and various topping saturating the warm air. She grinned at Tony and nodded politely at the sort-of-Doctor, not letting her eyes linger on him. Tony was straight away at her side, clamouring for the smallest of the boxes.
"Here you are, sweetheart," she grinned, passing it down to him. "Wait until mum and dad are in and sat down before you eat, mind," she added. The little boy nodded and placed his box carefully on the coffee table in front of him, keeping his eyes fixed on it as though it might run away if left unattended.
"Got you your favourite – is chicken and mushrooms still your favourite? Sorry, should have asked. Yours might be different," Rose murmured apologetically, passing the sort-of-Doctor a box with her eyes sorrowfully downcast. He took a deep sniff and felt his mouth begin to water.
"Smells fantastic. Can't wait to taste it – new, new, new tongue and all that," he grinned, winking at her without properly processing the action in his still brilliant mind. She blushed a little, setting the boxes alongside Tony's on the table and leaving the room with an unintelligible mutter.
Soon, they were all seated with their pizza box on their lap, watching the opening credits of that nights viewing – Beauty and the Beast, as promised. Tony was wedged in between Rose and the sort-of-Doctor on the comfy old couch, looking in his element to be in between his big sister and new best friend. Pete and Jackie sat curled on the loveseat nearby, the picture of young love (even if they were no longer that young). They sat in companionable silence, now and again indulging in brief, light hearted conversation or laughing at some silly remark made by Tony. At one point the sort-of-Doctor just had to speak – his gob was still quite unstoppable, hard as he may try.
"Of course, a feat such as that could be achieved in the real world by simply overhauling the cellular matrix of the object in question, escalating the core processors tenfold and creating a shield around-"
"You're making that up!" Rose laughed, reaching over the head of her little brother and ruffling the sort-of-Doctor's hair in an offhand kind of way. The man grinned back.
"Watch the hair! That takes me ages! And anyway, I am not making it up, it's simple physics. I could do it right now."
"Prove it."
"Well, I can't right this second but as soon as I've got the equipment… Just you wait, Rose Tyler," he laughed, feeling his heart stutter as she gazed back at him open mouthed.
For a brief moment, time seemed to stop for her. There he was, her Doctor. He seemed to make appearances just when she was least expecting him to. The cocky grin, the sexy little smirk, the way he said her name. It just made no sense. This man wasn't him – and yet, back in the old world, when they had talked and laughed on board the TARDIS with the other companions… It was enough to drive a girl mad, and having been close to the brink quite a few times in the last several years, it wasn't a road she wanted to hurry down again anytime soon. Barely two days had passed since the metacrisis, and she'd gone through more emotions than she could count; vacillating between yearning to be near him and craving as much distance as she could get. Rose was growing more certain by the second that a few days completely removed from the situation would prove beneficial. She returned her attention to the film, resting her cheek on the top of Tony's head – his fluffy blonde hair tickled her nose and comforted her. In turn, the little boy snuggled into the sort-of-Doctor, who smiled gently down at him.
"Getting sleepy, boss man?" he asked, his voice soft and low.
"Nope…" Tony replied, nodding his head ever so slightly.
"Film is nearly finished. It's nearly time for your favourite song; once that's done you can go to bed," Pete laughed at his son.
"Can I skip the kissy bit?"
"I think the kissy bit happens after, sweetheart," Jackie giggled, deliberately leaning up from her position reclining on Pete's chest to kiss her husband's cheek.
"Mummy! Stop it!"
"Sorry sweetheart," she laughed, sliding her arm around Pete's waist and cuddling closer. Rose glanced over at her mother and sort-of-father with a wistful smile. They looked so at peace, so happy with one another. She wanted that.
Tony chose that moment to begin squirming in delight – his favourite song had begun. The household objects danced around the colossal ballroom, cleaning, tidying and singing about how wonderful it would be for them to turn back into humans. Out of the corner of his eye, the sort-of-Doctor could see Rose's body shaking slightly with supressed mirth and he turned his head slightly to see what all the hilarity was. The young woman turned her eyes towards him, biting the insides of her cheeks to keep herself from laughing out loud – with a jolt, he realised she was laughing at him. He supposed he could see the joke – his Time Lord self had been nothing more than an angry little clock, who had now been turned into an angry little human. Really, though, it was quite funny. Grinning back at her, the sort-of-Doctor shook his head and tried to concentrate on the screen, but to no avail. She continued to titter into her palm, earning some very irritated glances from her little brother.
"Rosie you're ruining it!" he squealed, kicking his little legs unhappily and crossing his arms, turning his back on his sister and falling face first onto the sort-of-Doctor's chest. "Tell her to shut up, Doctor," he muttered into the fabric of the man's red t-shirt, curling his legs up towards his own body and apparently losing all interest in the film. The sort-of-Doctor gasped, pretending to be scandalised. He looked pleadingly at Jackie, realising quickly that Rose would be no help – she was now howling with laughter, the corners of her eyes crinkling adorably.
Jackie jumped in straight away. "Tony Tyler! That is no way to speak to your big sister! Say sorry to her this instant!"
"Won't."
"Tony!"
"Make her say sorry first!"
"Rose Tyler, apologise to Tony!"
Rose managed to supress her laughter under her mother's terrifying gaze. Several deep breaths later she schooled her features into a regretful mask and leaned down to the little figure next to her. She rested the side of her head on his and rubbed his back gently, fighting back a giggle as she spied the sort-of-Doctor holding his breath so he didn't laugh along with her.
"I'm sorry Tony. I didn't mean to ruin your favourite song."
"You're a bad sister."
"But you're a brilliant brother," she whispered, leaning down further and nudging his tiny ear with the tip of her nose. He turned his face towards her a little then, the briefest suggestion of a smile beginning to play on his lips.
"You're not a bad sister," he amended. "I'm sorry I asked the Doctor to tell you to shut up."
"That's alright, ya plum. Give me a hug," she chuckled, scooping him into her arms and crushing him to her chest; leaning heavily on the sort-of-Doctor as she did so.
They watched the next ten minutes of the movie in this posture – the sort-of-Doctor wedged into the corner of the couch, arm around the back, Rose settled in at his side with her legs tucked underneath her and Tony snuggled on her lap, quickly falling into a peaceful sleep. They refused to acknowledge their turbulent feelings for a while – this brief interlude was comfortable, calm and companionable (the sort-of-Doctor came up with that himself and was very pleased with the alliteration), and only allowed it to be broken when Tony emitted a soft snore.
"Best get the little terror to bed," Jackie smiled, sitting up and stretching as Pete crossed the room and bundled his son into his arms, departing swiftly and silently so as to not wake him. "I'll go make some hot chocolate. Either of you two fancy some? Might as well see the end of the bleedin' film now," she added, not pausing to find out if they did want the drinks – it seemed she was going to make them regardless.
Once they were alone, Rose sat up straight and edged towards the opposite end of the couch, trying to ignore the faint fluttering in her stomach. She scolded herself – she wasn't a kid anymore, this kind of reaction wasn't acceptable. The film wore on and the Belle confessed her love for the Beast. The sort-of-Doctor leaned forward, concentrating hard as the creature rose into the air and changed into a man; glowing lights erupted from his fingers and toes as his form changed, his cellular make up re-writing from the inside out. Almost like regeneration. The silence – so comfortable only a moment ago – became heavy and loaded with tension. When Belle looked into the Prince's eyes and exclaimed, "It is you!" before kissing him passionately, the sort-of-Doctor made a strange sound: a rumbling groan from deep in his chest. Rose couldn't bear to look at him.
How had Belle accepted this change so easily? Didn't she mourn for the loss of the Beast she had fallen in love with? It seemed remarkably heartless to completely forget the creature he had been before, or the events that had gotten him into that particular sticky situation in the first place. The sleepy contentment that had washed over her that evening immediately disintegrated and she jumped to her feet, eager to get home and have a good old scream into her pillows.
"Rose?" the sort-of-Doctor asked, startled at her sudden shift of mood and position. She didn't look at him.
"It's getting late. I promised my friend Mandy I'd have lunch with her tomorrow so I want a good sleep – haven't seen her for ages. Will you be here next week?"
"Um… Well, I… I know you want me to go but the TARDIS is ensconced at Torchwood now and I really can't leave her… I'm sorry," he muttered, standing up and planting his feet widely on the plush carpet. She noticed how strange it was to see him without a tie and with his arms bare – another change she might never get used to.
"S'fine. Pretty sure you shouldn't be left on your own anyway… You heard the Doctor. You're dangerous."
Before he had the change to open his famous gob to make a most Donna-ish reply, Rose had turned on her heel and left. He closed his mouth with a click and dropped back to the couch, defeated.