Child of Earth

By Lumendea

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Alignment: Teacups

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: This is it! We are in the final stretch! This is the first part of the season two part finale! Thank you so much for all the amazing support and great reviews. Remember that if you enjoy my work I'd really appreciate you picking my original books: The Iron Soul series by J.M. Briggs. My dream really is to write full time and each book is a small step towards that goal.

….

Rose Marion Tyler was barely twenty-two years old and was finally done with university. Papers had all been turned in. Final exams were in the past and her flat in Cambridge was almost completely packed up. A sigh escaped Rose as she stacked a box on top of a small stack of taped up boxes. Her eyes moved around the empty living room and she felt a small jolt of sadness.

She's had some good times here. This flat had been her temporary home and a sanctuary for the Doctor when he'd needed it. Gone was the sofa she'd snuggled and snogged him on. The things she wanted most had already been driven down to London by Mickey, but most of it was being put into storage for Luke. She didn't need it now and he'd be started university himself soon. Still, it was strange to think that within the hour this space wouldn't be hers anymore. Both sort of sad and exciting.

A slow breath escaped her. Rose wasn't about this nervous feeling in her stomach. She'd did it. She'd gone to Cambridge and was graduating with a concurrent degree. It had been the dream for years, to prove to herself that she could. Yet she'd sort of resented it keeping her from the Doctor too. But now it was done and she could leave Earth. Nervousness knotted in her stomach. Rose had no idea how to feel. On one hand she felt better knowing that the Doctor wasn't going to resent her future knowledge and relieved to have had the chance to talk with a later incarnation about it, but on the other hand, she wasn't happy to know that they'd only be friends. It was strange knowing that she'd miss their intimacy even as by his standards they built it for the first time.

Time travel made relationships complicated. Rose accepted that when it came to the Doctor, but that didn't mean that she always liked it. Or that her eighteen-year-old self had completely emotionally understood it. Shaking her head, Rose slid the small stack of books into the cardboard box and closed up the top. It was a bit late to be getting nervous about leaving. She didn't have second thoughts of course, but she didn't like the worry taking hold.

"That's the last of it out of the bedroom," Tegan said. She walked past Rose carrying a smaller cardboard box. "You had pretty much everything already packed up."

"Seemed like a good idea," Rose said. "Thanks for coming over to help, though." She forced a smile for Tegan as the other woman dusted off her hands and taped up the box. "I appreciate it."

"No problem Rose," Tegan said. "It's nice being in town and seeing Ian and Barbara. Besides, it's been great to finally meet Liz in person." Tegan shifted the box and stepped back. "So you're giving this all to Luke?"

"Ian and Barbara said they'd store it for him." Rose glanced at the remaining boxes. "All my personal stuff is already in London so this is stuff for him to use in his place. With his lack of a belly button Sarah Jane's encouraging him to live alone."

"Has he been accepted yet?" Tegan asked.

"Not yet officially, but he's still a bit away from that stage."

"With how smart that boy is I can't imagine him not getting into Cambridge," Tegan chuckled. "Sort of scary really. I'm not sure how Sarah Jane even deals with it."

"Well, he also applied to Oxford," Rose confessed. "Really made his grandparents huff and puff. I think he just wanted the option of going there if Cambridge didn't work out." Rose smiled and shrugged. "Or he might have been enjoying the chance to aggravate his grandparents. If so good for him."

"Has Ian been giving you trouble?"

"Not officially, but in the last month, he's made a point of calling me the wrong surname. He called me Rose Taylor all through exams," Rose said.

Tegan laughed, tossing her head back and clapped her hands. "Ah, sweet revenge for when the Doctor used to get his name wrong."

"Exactly." Rose shook her head. "Honestly I think Ian's going to miss me."

"Of course he's going to miss you, honey," Tegan said. She stepped forward and hugged Rose, rubbing her arms. "We all are. We're happy for you, but we might be a bit concerned about Earth."

"Earth will be fine," Rose said quickly. "Honestly I think half of the problems that come here are because of me." She shook her head before Tegan could say anything. "And besides you lot have my mobile number which means you can call me and I'll make the Doctor bring us back to Earth."

"Good luck with that," Tegan said. "In my day he could barely steer the TARDIS."

"Yes well the TARDIS has always preferred to pilot herself where she thinks he needs to go," Rose explained. Tegan gave her a doubtful look and Rose chuckled. "You never did appreciate the TARDIS Tegan."

"That box never took us where we wanted to go!" Tegan huffed.

"To be fair you did wander on," Rose teased. "You weren't exactly invited. That might have had something to do with it."

Tegan gave her a look and shifted the small fold up dolly to stack the boxes. Rose pressed her lips together to hold back a smile. As Tegan opened the door and headed out, Rose paused and looked around. The flat was completely bare now. Somehow it affected her even more than leaving the Powell Estate had. Her eyes jumped over to where the sofa had been and her heart hurt a little. She and the Doctor had talked, flirted and snogged on that sofa. He'd come by just to see her and they'd had dinner here. Strange as it was, she was going to miss this place. Plus she never had gotten his key back.

"Rose?" Tegan called. "Lift's here. Everything alright?"

"Yeah," Rose said. She stepped out the door and pulled it closed, letting it lock behind her. "Fine."

Tegan was chatty on the lift ride down. Rose nodded in all the right places as Tegan told her about recent developments in her work and how happy her kids were to be visiting their grandfather in Sydney. As they stepped outside, Rose froze as she caught sight of a flash of white in the corner of her eye. She turned quickly, but there was nothing and no one there.

"Rose?" Tegan was standing next to her SUV with a slight frown. "You sure you're alright?"

"Sorry, yes," Rose said. She smiled and rushed over to help Tegan with the boxes. "Guess I'm a bit nervous and overwhelmed. Finally done with university."

"And leaving with the Doctor," Tegan said. Then she gave Rose a searching look. "Are you sure you'll be okay travelling with him? I know I don't have all the details, but you two aren't in synch."

"I'll be fine," Rose assured her. "I… well Ace told you about New York right?"

"A bit yeah, said it was an older Doctor."

"It was and we talked a bit about that issue." Rose hefted another box into the back of the SUV. "And we'll be fine." Rose turned and looked up at the building. "I am going to miss that flat a little. I have some good memories there."

"And I don't want to know," Tegan said quickly. "Not at all. New subject immediately."

"Honestly Tegan," Rose chuckled. "Not everything is about-"

"No," Tegan repeated. "New subject."

"Fine, I don't like this weather," Rose pouted as she looked up at the grey clouds. "Just grey, but not going to properly rain."

Tegan laughed warmly at the statement. "You British and complaining about your weather," she teased.

"It's our national pastime," Rose informed her very seriously. She looked at the sky again. "But seriously, something about it feels off." Sniffing at the air, Rose curled her nose. "And smells weird too."

"Rose your ceremony is only three days away and then you're off with the Doctor. Don't go looking for trouble."

"I still can't believe you all are coming to my graduation," Rose said, changing the subject. "You really didn't have to come all this way."

"One, of course, we had to come to your graduation, you're about to vanish to who knows where for who knows how long and two don't go changing the subject," Tegan huffed. She gave Rose a warning look but was still smiling. "Pity you have to go to London tonight. We could have had a night on the town!" Tegan's smile widened almost evilly. "Had a few rounds and played some games!"

"No! Never again," Rose shuddered. "That hangover… no, never again."

"Oh come on Rose." Tegan laughed now. "Imagine how much fun we'd all have together."

"Sorry no, I'm imagining what would happen to my liver with all of you purposely playing never have I ever against me. Just you and Ace tag teaming me in Australia damn near killed me." Rose shuddered and swayed a little on her feet. "Just thinking about it is making me ill."

"Don't be a baby," Tegan said. "Besides I'm sure we'll drag you out after the ceremony." Tegan shoved the last box into the back of Rose's SUV. "Personally I'm curious about Jo's alcohol tolerance. She's such a little thing, but some of the things she's eaten really make me wonder about her constitution."

"All I know is never go in against an Australia in a drinking contest," Rose muttered. Reaching up to closed the back door as Tegan laughed. "As fun as this memory land trip is Tegan, I do have to get to London."

"What's your Mum's hurry?" Tegan asked as they walked around to the doors.

"I'm meeting her new boyfriend," Rose said. "Robert."

"You don't sound happy about that."

"Rita-Anne doesn't like him. I haven't found anything off about him online or anything, but I trust her judgement. Honestly, I'm bit frustrated that I haven't met him before now. Something always came up when I asked Mum."

"Well let's get all this to Ian and Barbara's, then you can head to London and find out for yourself," Tegan said.

…..

Pulling up into the drive of their Bannerman Road house, Rose let out a low exhale. Nerves churned in her stomach and she went over the little she knew about this Robert. Rita-Anne didn't think much of him, but on paper, he seemed fine. There was no sign of any car, course her mum still didn't drive, but Rose would have figured Robert would have something. Climbing out of her SUV, Rose pulled her shoulder bag back on and fished out her keys.

The house on Bannerman Road's entry way had a set of hooks full of her mum's coats and scarfs. Shoes and boots lined the wall and Rose toed a pair of flats out of the way as she stepped inside. The door closed with a soft thump, but her mum didn't come rushing in.

"Mum?" Rose called. "I'm back."

Still nothing. Rose headed deeper into the house, but there was still no one. Rose frowned and looked around the house carefully. It was all too quiet and still. Her mum was supposed to be here with her boyfriend ready for Rose to meet. Something about the house just felt wrong and Rose wasn't sure what it was. Stepping further down the hallway, Rose glanced into the living room. Still no sign of her Mum or Rita-Anne for that matter.

"Mum?" she called. "Rita-Anne? Anyone home?" Rose paused and glanced back at the front door. "Okay if you thought throwing me a surprise party was a good idea I'll ask you to alert me now so I don't hit someone when they jump out at me!"

There was no answer, not even a muffled giggle or groan. She moved into the kitchen and went right for her mum's phone. Already there were three waiting messages. Rose pressed the play button and looked around the kitchen. There was a pair of tea cups on the counter next to their electric kettle and box of her mum's favourite teas. One of the tea cups had a lipstick mark that looked like her mum's shade.

The first message was from Bev just making some small talk and telling Jackie to call her. The next message was from Gita wishing Jacki best of luck with Rose meeting Robert. Rose leaned against the counter and listened to the last message eagerly, but it was only cousin Mo. No surprise she was making subtle mentions of money. With a huff, Rose turned off the message machine as the bad feeling in her pit of her stomach kept growing.

Rose headed up the stairs and went straight to her Mum's room. The familiar red painted walls of Jackie's bedroom were dotted with framed photos of Rose, her Dad, Jackie herself and friends. Her bed was unmade and her mum's vanity was covered in her various makeup and hair products. The drawers of her dresser were closed and her laundry was tucked away in the closet. Everything was normal.

"Mum?" Rose called again. She opened the other doors in the hallway, including her own and checked the toilet just in case. Still no sign of her. "Mum?"

Going back downstairs, Rose went out into the garden. Her mum's flowerbeds were already bright with flowers and her small vegetable patch already had string peas growing up one of the support sticks. There was just no sign of her mum anywhere. Frowning, Rose went back inside and headed down the hall to Rita-Anne's room. The door was closed and Rose gently tapped on the door. Rita-Anne didn't answer, but Rose thought she heard something from inside.

She eased the door open and peered inside. Rita-Anne was lying on the bed, but her breathing was rough and her CPAP machine wasn't on her face. The old woman was still in her dark green dress with her shoes still on her feet, looking as if she'd almost collapsed on the bed. Worry rushed through Rose and she rushed over to Rita-Anne. Her breathing was uneven and strained with traces of foam around her mouth. There was a teacup on her nightstand and the old woman's fingers were digging into the duvet.

Rose gasped and pulled out her phone, dialling 999. Her voice somehow stayed even as she requested an ambulance for the house. While still on the phone, Rose turned on Rita-Anne's CPAP machine and gently held the mouthpiece over the woman's face. Her breathing evened out only a little and Rose's eyes moved to the tea cup suspiciously.

Setting her phone on speaker, Rose set it down on the nightstand and picked up the tea cup. She sniffed at it, but the bitterness of the tea masked any other smells. There was a faint smudge of lipstick on one side from Rita-Anne, but nothing else. Almost on autopilot, Rose stayed on the phone and glanced around for Rita-Anne's phone. She located it on the woman's vanity and snatched it up. Rose sent a quick text to Mickey and nibbled on her lower lip.

That bad feeling was a lot worse. Her gut said that Rita-Anne had been drugged to fall asleep with her mask missing and still in her clothes. That wasn't like the Old Battle Axe. And there was still no sign of her mum. Rose's eyes narrowed and a cold shiver went down her spine as she remembered the pair of tea cups in the kitchen. One had been her Mum's, but if Rita-Anne's was in here then someone else had been here. Someone who along with her mother was not there now.