Child of Earth
By Lumendea
Chapter Eleven: Black Archives: Club Expands
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.
AN: Quick reminder, if you enjoy my fanfiction please consider supporting me through my original work as well: The Iron Soul series by J.M. Briggs. Thank you.
….
Liz climbed out of the UNIT car first and eyed the Chesterton house with a certain air of worry that Rose found a touch amusing. Rose climbed out and waited calmly on the pavement next to her until Liz turned around and asked the driver to take her bags to a nearby hotel. He nodded and a moment later the car was pulling away leaving the two women standing near Sarah Jane's mint green Nissan Figaro.
"Do they know I'm coming?" Liz asked, sounding confident, but Rose thought she detected a hint of worry in the older woman's voice.
"I texted Barbara," Rose assured her. "It'll be fine even if she hasn't checked her phone."
"Rose!" a high pitch voice all but squealed and Rose looked towards the door as a blur of blue and brown came towards her.
The next moment she knocked back a couple of steps as Skye collided with her and wrapped her long arms around her waist. Rose thought the physical twelve-year-old had already gained another inch since she last saw her. She could certainly see Rani's influence in the jewel tone loose tunic shirt the girl was wearing, but it suited her.
"How are you Bright Spark?" Rose asked warmly as she wrapped the pre-teen in a hug.
"Wonderful!" Skye answered happily as she bounced out of Rose's arms and caught her hand. "School is so much fun! There's just so much to learn! Earth is really incredible Rose, there's just so much going on all the time!"
"I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying it," Rose remarked with a chuckle as she looked towards Liz who looked surprised but amused. "Liz this is Skye Chesterton-Smith," Rose introduced with a grin as she set a hand on Skye's head fondly. "She's Sarah Jane and Johnny's daughter, her grandparents live here," she explained with a nod towards the house.
"Hi there," Sky greeted cheerfully as she looked at Liz. "Nana said you were coming. Did you really know the Doctor? Which one? What was he like then? What was your favourite adventure?"
"Skye, calm down sweetie," Rose laughed as she tugged the girl a little further away from Liz. "Sorry about that. She's still in the 'I want to know everything' phase."
"This is an amazing planet," Skye insisted as she twisted to look up at Rose. "It's so pretty and there is so much to learn."
"Oh the teachers have got to be loving you," Rose chuckled as she gestured towards the door. "Come on let's get inside."
"Uh is she not human?" Liz asked in a low voice as they walked up to the front door as she eyed Skye.
"I was grown on the Fleshkind planet," Skye explained as if that was all Liz needed to know. "But I was a bomb until the Doctor defused me. Mum and Dad adopted me. I like Earth much better, especially after rainstorms. It smells so nice."
The door was standing open for them and Sarah Jane was waiting with a wide smile on her face, clearly holding back a laugh.
"You get the rainstorm thing from your godmother," Sarah Jane laughed as she looked at Rose. "Suppose you could have gotten worse things."
"Godmother?" Liz repeated and Rose just shrugged.
"Yeah, I'm Luke and Skye's godmother, though Barbara and Ian would take the kids if anything actually happened. Alistair is their godfather."
"Please come inside," Sarah Jane greeted, pulling her daughter inside to make way for them. "Don't let Skye scare you off."
As they stepped inside, Sarah Jane closed the door behind them and held onto Skye's shoulders. Rose smiled warmly at the pair, leaning forward to get a quick one armed hug from Sarah Jane without crushing Skye.
"Doctor Liz Shaw this is Sarah Jane Chesterton-Smith, she travelled with the Doctor you knew at UNIT and his next incarnation."
"A great pleasure to meet you," Sarah Jane greeted with a warm smile and a handshake. "I heard a bit about you from UNIT Doctor Shaw."
"Just Liz please," Liz told her quickly with a chuckle as the others joined them in the entry.
"This is Johnny Chesterton-Smith," Rose introduced with a smile as Johnny stood up from his seat. "And his parents Professors Ian and Barbara Chesterton."
"Very nice to meet you, Liz," Ian announced as he moved across the room and shook her hand. "Welcome to our home."
"I was a bit surprised by Rose's invitation," Liz admitted. "I hope I'm not intruding."
"Of course not," Barbara assured her with a smile. "We originally had companion dinners with Rose on Sundays and later added Sarah Jane to the mix."
"And whoever else happens to be the country at the time," Ian added. "We only switched to Saturdays because of the children," he explained with a nod to Luke and Skye. "It's too long a drive between London and Cambridge on a school night. Talking of which I know you've met Skye, but this is our grandson Luke."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Shaw," Luke greeted politely as he shook the older woman's hand. "I hope your first encounter with Rose wasn't too traumatic."
"Watch it, Luke," Rose chided though she couldn't help but smile a little as she hugged the teenager.
"Uh no not comparatively I suppose," Liz admitted sounding a touch overwhelmed. "Though… Rose and the Doctor-"
"Oh, what did he do this time?" Barbara asked with sparkling eyes. "And which one was it?"
"From the funeral," Rose provided as she hung up her own coat and reached for Liz's. "The flirty one."
"Ah the one that didn't even bother to remove his wedding ring," Ian observed with a smirk.
"So he and Rose are really a couple?" Liz laughed. "I half thought he was just playing a joke on me."
"Yeah sorry about that," Rose apologised though she still smiled a bit. "In that body he sort of likes to show off our relationship. Bit of a pain sometimes and could mean trouble with the timelines in the future, but he enjoys it."
"I'm sorry I don't understand."
"It's temporally complex," Ian offered as he escorted Liz into the living room. "Rose and he are out of synch with each other. She's dating one incarnation of him, will be married to the incarnation you met today but will start travelling with an even earlier incarnation of him."
"Some tea Liz?" Barbara asked from the doorway into the kitchen. "Or something stronger?"
"Uh tea would be lovely," Liz answered as she sank onto the sofa.
"Everything go alright today?" Ian questioned as he looked towards Rose. "You're alright?"
"I'm fine," Rose assured him as she sat down on the loveseat and Skye jumped up to sit next to her. "It didn't end too well and the Eclipse group is definitely going to be a problem for me before I leave."
"Before you leave?"
"I'm scheduled to leave Earth after I finish uni," Rose explained with a shrug. "The Doctor, an earlier incarnation than the one you met today, is supposed to pick me up so I can travel with him." She held up the chain with her TARDIS key. "He asked me to come with him a couple of years ago, but I delayed it."
"It's rather hard to believe that you risked the chance to travel in space," Liz observed.
"Well I worked really hard to get into Cambridge," Rose explained with a laugh. "You can't tell from my accent anymore, long story," she added cutting Liz off, "But I wasn't exactly born into a Cambridge family. I knew I'd regret it and was pretty confident he'd come back for me when the time was right."
"I suppose that's fair given what I witnessed today," Liz remarked with a small smile while Rose groaned and the others looked much more interested.
"Dare I ask what he did today?" Ian asked with a chuckle.
"Well, I never expected to witness the Doctor… snogging someone like that," Liz admitted with a faint blush.
"We understand," Barbara laughed brightly as she handed Sarah Jane her cup of tea. "We knew him in his first life soon after he left Gallifrey with Susan-"
"Susan?"
"His granddaughter from his first marriage," Rose supplied calmly. "And before you ask, yes I know a bit about his first wife, not that he has any fond memories of her. Relationships on Gallifrey were arranged affairs and fairly… detached."
"I see," Liz said slowly. "I suppose then I can't believe you don't know what you're getting into."
"I had that concern," Ian admitted to Liz. "But Rose probably knows far more about the Doctor now despite not travelling with him then the rest of us."
Rose shifted in her chair, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the way they were gossiping about her. The Doctor was absolutely right about the lot of them on that front. As much as they loved hearing about the adventures there was always a strange glee that emerged when they were talking about her relationship with the Doctor. Liz gave her a slightly sympathetic look in the corner of her eye.
"Maybe," Rose agreed with a small shrug. "Well probably yes, but there are things he just doesn't talk about."
"Ian and I travelled with him for years and he never mentioned Susan's grandmother," Barbara pointed out with a smirk.
"He's never mentioned her by name," Rose replied. "But anyway Liz just retired from the UNIT Moon base, we should be asking about that don't you think."
"Ian, get your laptop," Barbara suggested, talking over Rose. "It's not so late that some of the others won't be available for a web call."
"Of course dear," Ian agreed as he stood up and kissed Barbara's cheek. Under other circumstances, Rose might have enjoyed it and the disgusted face that Skye made while Sarah Jane and Johnny smiled.
"Seriously?" Rose pressed before turning to Liz. "So Liz what is your favourite adventure? The Autons? I read the file about that, your first job with UNIT wasn't it?"
"Yes," Liz agreed, but she was glancing at the door that Ian just vanished through. "It was, I thought the General was a bit mad, to be honest at first. I irritated him a bit when I gave the Doctor back his key to the TARDIS."
"Really? He was trying to leave Earth?" Rose questioned, straightening up in interest. "He's never shared that bit before?"
Then sadly Ian returned with the laptop and set it on the coffee table. There were already a couple of screens popping up. A sleepy looking Jo, Ace in a suit with her hair up in a bun and Mel with a steaming cup of coffee in her hands and all of them were looking curiously through the screen.
"Hello ladies," Ian greeted pleasantly. "I know this isn't our regular call time, but Rose brought a new companion to visit."
"Uh hello," Liz greeted a touch nervously. "I'm Doctor Elizabeth Shaw."
"Oh my goodness," Jo beamed. "I'm Jo Jones, formerly Jo Grant! It is a pleasure to meet you, darling."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Jones," Liz replied.
"I'm Dorothy McShane," Ace introduced with a smile and wave. "You can call me Ace, the Professor always did."
"And I'm Melanie Bush," Mel added with a wave and a giggle. "Just call me Mel."
"Nice to meet you both."
"Sorry the call is so small," Jo told her with a grin. "There's several more of us, but we're scattered across the globe." She beamed at the camera. "A great global society bound together by one man. Did you see him today? Is that how you meet our Rose?"
"Yes I saw him today with Rose as a matter of fact."
"Which body?" Ace questioned.
"The flirt from the funeral," Sarah Jane offered with a laugh at Rose's expression.
"Oh!" Mel gasped as her eyes widened. "Did he flirt with Rose in front of you?"
"Mel!" Ace called. "No!"
"Oh come on then Liz," Jo laughed. "Tell us all the details!"
"Jo!" Ace snapped with a shudder. "Some of us don't enjoy hearing the details of our father figure snogging a friend of ours."
"Oh deal with it Ace," Mel called back. "So what happened Liz?"
"Well…" Liz looked more than a little stunned but laughed. "He definitely flirted with her, called her Darling and they joked him his wife."
Standing up from her seat, Rose gulped down the last of her tea and strode across the room and down the corridor. She already felt cooler and could feel the blush beginning to fade from her cheeks as she moved past the dining room and into the kitchen. Leaning against the counter, Rose gave herself a moment to smile and catch her breath. She loved her and the Doctor's friends, she absolutely did, but they were a bit much sometimes.
The kitchen was nice and quiet and Rose took a deep breath, trying not to laugh. She could smell the roast that was in the oven and smelling lovely and looked around to see if there was anything she could help with while the others gossiped. Rose could hear their slightly muffled voices and heard a squeal that could have only come from Mel. Smiling slightly, she shook her head and reached up to one of the cupboards for a glass so she could get some water. There was a loud giggle that she recognised as Jo that was suddenly louder as the door opened. She turned to find Luke lingering in the doorway with his hands in his pockets.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," Rose laughed, "Just a bit embarrassed."
"They mean well," Luke assured her.
"Oh, I know that sweetie," Rose assured him with a smile. "Think of it like the embarrassment you feel when your Mum talks about how clever you are." Luke blushed a little and Rose knew he understood. "Hey," Rose called to Luke softly. "How are you doing? With Skye?"
"It's been an adjustment," Luke admitted in a low voice as he glanced towards the door. "But she's sweet and curious. And it's not so bad being a big brother," he told her with a small smile. "Even if sharing Mum and Dad is still weird."
"I bet," Rose agreed with a smile. "But your Mum loves you like crazy Luke. You brought such new life to her. You were a turning point for her and Skye doesn't change that."
"I know," Luke answered with a small smile. "Clyde and Rani are both only children so they can't really give me advice on this one."
"Don't worry about it too much, Skye is bright and sweet. You two will find some shared interests soon. That'll help."
"Yes it will," Barbara announced as she strode into the room with a smile. She checked the oven and nodded to herself before handing a stack of plates to Luke. "Rose is right Luke. I have no doubt that with a little time you'll be very grateful for your little sister. I was always a bit sad that we never managed to have another child, but given the mutations we underwent we were lucky just to get your father."
"Yes Gran," he agreed with a quick nod.
"And Rose, we're done with the initial torture," Barbara informed her. "And Liz is looking a touch overwhelmed."
"Alright alright, I'll go back in," Rose chuckled as she winked at Luke. "The things we put up with."
"We are hardly the greatest difficulty of your life," Barbara scoffed earning a grin from Rose.
"Oh I don't know Barbara, you might be surprised. Alien threats are easy, but the Companion Club is more than a little intimidating."
Before Barbara could throw anything at her, Rose ducked out of the kitchen and returned to the living room. Liz was looking at the screen of Ian's computer with a forced smile, looking more than a little overwhelmed. In a moment of pity, Rose sat down on the sofa next to her and smiled at the associated video windows of some of the other companions. It immediately had the desired effect and everyone turned their focus and questions on Rose. In the corner of her eye, she saw Liz give her a grateful smile before the woman chuckled warmly and settled in to listen to Rose being interrogated. Again.
….Next Time…
"Go your butt to London," Sharon ordered around a happy laugh. "This medical student doesn't have to work tonight or tomorrow!"
"Oh do we have plans then?" Rose asked affectionately.
"You got engaged," Sharon reminded her and Rose smiled to herself. "And we have yet to celebrate it! I don't want the universe to think I'm a terrible mate!"