Chapter 12:
"So, you're the famous Rose then," Jezabell said. She and Rose were in the kitchen of the house while the two Doctors were examining the TARDIS. After a few long moments of confused and shocked stares, Rose finally asked how they got in their house, especially because it was impossible for them to get there. Apparently, Jezabell and her Doctor had somehow fallen through a crack in the rift and crash-landed right in the Smith's living room. Rose's Doctor went by John Smith here, so Rose was now Rose Smith.
Rose invited Jezabell into the kitchen for some tea after a small conversation, hurried by the Doctor.
"I'm famous?" Rose asked, pouring tea into a dark blue mug. The whole house had a blue theme. The kitchen matched the living rooms light blue, but it seemed a bit brighter. The table was a black wood and the cabinets and counters were also a darker wood.
"Well, the Doctor has talked about you a few times. Jack has mentioned you before too." Jezabell said, sipping her drink.
"Jack?"
"Captain Jack Harkness? He's a time agent."
"Oh Jack! Oh, how is he?"
"He's good. Just doing the same old timey-wimey stuff." Rose laughed. "What?"
"Nothing, it's just…John says 'timey-wimey' all the time. Did you get that from the Doctor?"
"No, actually I don't think I've ever heard him say it."
"Oh. So, how did you meet the Doctor? Was it like, I'm-in-sudden-danger-and-poof-here-he-is, or was it –oh-look-a-man-inside-a-box-lets-find-out-what's-i nside kind of thing?"
"I guess the first. I'm an artist and he kind of appeared at my art show,"
"He does like to appear."
"And it was mainly a showing of my newest sculpture which was an alien. He told me that the alien was real and there were more of them at the show wanting to steal my sculpture. There was this whole big thing because people tried to stop them from taking it. A lot of people died." Jezabell was thinking of Ashley.
"I'm sorry. But in a way, it's better to meet him that way. You're more prepared for the danger if you agree to go with him. So, did he ask you to leave with him that day?"
"I didn't see him again for nine months. He came for the day and then asked me to go. The idea of seeing the stars up close, and being part of history is just-"
"So amazing you can't even explain it?" Rose finished. Jezabell smiled and nodded. The two girls talked for a while, and they really seemed to get along. Jezabell noticed that on her ring finger, Rose had a ring with circles all around it.
"That's an interesting design." She said, nodding to the ring.
"Thanks! It's my wedding ring. And it's not a design, its Gallifreyan writing. It says 'Forever.' John's says 'Rose Tyler'" Rose looked at her wedding and engagement rings, smiling.
"That's adorable! Why do they say that?"
"Before we got- before I got sent to this universe, he had asked me how long I would stay with him and I said forever. Our forever had a quick ending. One day, I saw him, one last time. He was a hologram, but he was still the Doctor. The last thing he said to me was 'Rose Tyler.' Our forever was soon resumed though, when I was able to go back to him in his universe, but then he got a sort of clone and he shipped John and I right back here. I didn't get my forever with the Doctor, but I got something just as good."
"That's probably the greatest love story I've ever heard."
"And you haven't even heard the whole thing."
"Ladies, come in here a minute?" the Doctor called in. Rose and Jezabell got up and walked into the living room. It was weird for Jezabell to see to Doctors standing right beside each other. The only difference was that Rose's Doctor was wearing normal clothes, not the blue suit and converse.
"So," Clone-Doctor said. "We need to fix the crack in the rift, but there is a problem."
"We need both of us to do that." The real Doctor said. "And my TARDIS can't be here, otherwise, Jezabell and I will be stuck here as well."
"If only this happened two years ago," Rose muttered. Jezabell could tell that she was referring to the first time she was left here, without any Doctor.
"So, we might have to spend some time here while we figure out how to do this."
"Fine, I guess. How long?"
"I'm not sure. Could be a day, could be a week."
"How many rooms are in the TARDIS?"
"There isn't a set number. Let's just say a lot. Why?"
"I have a three bedroom house, Doctor. Two of which are occupied. If the two of you wish to share a room, fine. Or, one of you can have the room and the other on a couch, that's fine too. Or, you can just use the TARDIS."
"Don't people usually share a room when their married?" the Doctor asked. He seemed different around Rose. Jezabell couldn't quite place it, but something in his eyes changed.
"We do share a room. But the other room is technically occupied." Some sort of realization set in on the Doctor and Rose noticed it too. "Not by a person! It's being, um, renovated."
"Ah, well, I'm sure Jezabell and I can just stay in the TARDIS if we stay overnight. Thank you though."
"No problem." With that, Rose turned around and retreated back to the kitchen.
It was hard for her to have the Doctor standing in her living room. She couldn't figure out why. She had her own Doctor now, her own life, everything was just fine. Maybe it was the aura that the box let off. Just seeing it reminded her of all the adventures she had and all the excitement. A part of her missed it; the part of her that wanted the joy of running from weird creatures wanting to kill her, the satisfaction of knowing she helped people in moments of terror, and being part of something that will change the world.
Jezabell, having no interest watching the two Doctors examine the TARDIS, followed her into the kitchen. Off of one side of the room was a glass door that slid open to a large deck. Off the other side was a hallway. Curious, Jezabell peered down it and saw that these walls were painted a bright blue. She assumed every room in the house was some shade of blue.
"Why is everything so blue?" She asked Rose impulsively.
"I grew to love the color blue. It's because of the TARDIS really. And John liked it too, so we decided to make everything blue, as a reminder. My closet and the master bathroom are yellow and orange, also like the TARDIS." Rose explained. "Would you like to see the rest of the house?" Jezabell agreed, so Rose brought her down the hallway.
The first room was the guest room. The walls were sky blue and had white-wood furniture and a very pale blue bed set. Next to that room was a bathroom with white walls and a light blue trim. Across the hall was another room that looked like it was for a baby, but there were no babies.
"This is the one we're renovating." Rose explained. The walls were a baby blue and the furniture was all white with blue handles. On the far side of the room was a white cradle with a mobile that had planets and stars. The window was covered with a pale blue curtain and looked out to a small lake in the backyard. Along the wall under the window was a white shelf that held a few stuffed animals and toys neatly lined up. Jezabell could feel the plush blue carpet beneath her toes. Rose told her she was two months pregnant and they wanted to get started right away to make sure everything was perfect for their child.
"Do you know what you're going to name it?" Jezabell asked. She couldn't help but to glance at Rose's stomach.
"Since we don't know if it's a boy or girl, we're not positive. However, I do have choices. If it is a girl, she'll be named either Jacqueline or Jillian. If it's a boy, we'll name him Jack or Peter. My parents' names are Jackie and Peter, so I wanted my kids to be named for them."
"Those are great names. My mother's name was Jillian. She died when I was six."
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Do you mind if I ask how?"
"She got hit by a train." Rose gasped and her face had an expression that was a combination of horrification and sorrow. Jezabell was used to people giving her sorry looks when they find out members of her family died, but not one like this. For some reason she felt a strange connection to Rose. Rose could feel it too, but could not explain it. There was something about each other that made one trust the other in an unspoken bond.
Rose showed Jezabell the master bedroom next. The door was as blue as the TARDIS and even had the words Police Public Call Box written above the top. Inside the room, the walls were also TARDIS blue. The bed set was black, and most or the furniture was a dark wood. The closet was indeed orange and yellow with a round, light blue seat in the middle, almost like the console. The bathroom also had orange walls. Rose explained that since both her and John missed the feel of the TARDIS, they decided to make their bedroom most like it.
"Well it does feel like I just stepped into it. I like that the door is even the same."
"The best part about it, is that you can only see the words if you've seen the real TARDIS before. So only my parents, Mickey, John, and I can see them. Not even my children will." A small light of sadness and longing flickered in Rose's eyes. She was disappointed that the story of the Timelords and Galifrey will be just that; a story. There will only be one Doctor, and she will never see him again once his TARDIS is fixed. There will never be another day that she will hear the sound of that box landing. Her children, even if they are part Timelord themselves, will never know what she knew. Not even her own husband being only half of who the real Doctor was. She still loved him deeply, but she couldn't even bare to call him "Doctor." That was why he went by John Smith, so that he wouldn't see the pain in Rose's eyes and remember that he was only the next best thing.
"Rose," The Doctor called. "Can you help me with something?" The Doctor said, coming into the room. Then, Jezabell noticed the normal clothes and realized it was John, not her Doctor, and decided she should leave the room. She did so without anyone questioning her or calling her back.
She made her way to the living room where the TARDIS was sitting wide open and smoking slightly still. The noises coming from within indicated that the Doctor was inside. She stepped from the blue house into the familiar orange bigger-on-the-inside box. There he was, leaning over the center console, pressing buttons, in his blue suit and red converse sneakers.
"So how is she?" Jezabell asked, referring to the TARDIS.
"She's fine, just a little scratched up but we should be out of here tomorrow. How is she?" The Doctor replied. His question, however, referred to Rose.
"She's fine, just a bit knocked up." The Doctor looked at her. "She's pregnant, Doctor."
"I know what it means. I just- well that's-" He never finished. He just went back to his button-pushing.
"That's what?" No answer. "Wow, for once the Doctor is speechless."
"Oh shut up." But he didn't sound to enthusiastic. "I just want to fix this as soon as possible so we can leave."
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
"We shouldn't- I can't- look, we're in a parallel universe, Jezabell. We're not supposed to be here. Something could go wrong." There was something in his eyes that told Jezabell there was more to why he wanted to leave.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" She said after a moment.
"How do you mean?" The Doctor replied, but he knew what she meant.
"Seeing her here, living her life with someone that's not you, pregnant with someone else's child. It hurts to see her growing up without you." The Doctor didn't say anything. He kept his expression the same and continued messing with the console. "I understand how you feel."
"How is that?" He still didn't look up.
"When I was seventeen, I was in love with this guy. His name what Christopher, and he was just amazing. He proposed to me and I was so excited. Everything was just perfect, until he had to move to Australia. I said I could go with him or we could just get married sooner and he wouldn't have to go, but he didn't listen. Instead, he decided that was the moment to tell me he had been cheating on me for six months. The reason he proposed was because then maybe he could get himself away from the other girl, but then she became pregnant, so he couldn't leave her." Now the Doctor did look up.
"I'm sorry," He said.
"Don't be. It was a waist of two years. He was a jerk anyway." The Doctor looked at her for a moment longer before going back to his work. Jezabell tried to help him, but she didn't even know what he was doing. The best thing she could do was to sit and watch.