Twists in Time
Chapter Twenty-Four: When, Where, and How: Tyler Oddness
By Lumendea
…
Rose stepped out of the TARDIS and was surprised to find her mum sitting in an outdoor chair with her arms crossed over her chest. She looked like a mum waiting by the front door to catch a child sneaking in. Not that Rose knew anything about that. Not at all. She'd become pretty good at sneaking in eventually.
"You're back then," Jackie said. She pulled out her phone and checked the time. "Under an hour. Good."
"I told you," the Doctor replied cheerfully. He patted the side of the TARDIS. "All sorted."
"Good. Mickey's already here," Jackie said turning her attention to Rose as she stood "Sharon and Shareen stopped to pick up a few things from me. So, clean up and say hello." Then she frowned and stepped closer, bringing a hand up to touch Rose's forehead. "You're hot, sweetheart. And you look tired."
"It was a bit longer to us, Mum," Rose admitted. "But everyone is alright and the ship is on its way out of the solar system."
"No permanent damage to ship or crew," Jack added quickly.
Jackie frowned at them with the expression of a mother who knows that something is being hidden from her but isn't sure what just yet. She wrapped a protective arm around Rose and guided her towards the house.
"Go and splash some water on your face," Jackie insisted. "Then sit in the kitchen with me. I'll make you a cuppa."
Her mum's tea really wasn't the solution to everything, but Jackie sure seemed to believe it was and Rose was more than willing to let her mum try and fix everything with a cuppa. She was tired. Rose couldn't completely ignore the lingering aches in her legs and arms and the soreness in her chest. Now that she'd left the TARDIS, it was worse again.
Rose went to the kitchen sink and obediently washed off her face and hands. Annoyingly, it did help a touch. When she finished that, she sank into one of the chairs at the dining table her mum kept in the kitchen. They had a proper dining room in this house, but her mum usually kept it closed off except for special occasions so she didn't have to heat it. A moment later, a blanket was thrown over her shoulders as her mum tutted at Jack and the Doctor.
"Honestly, can't you look after her properly," Jackie grumbled.
"She's alright, Jackie," the Doctor insisted. "Just a bit tired. But she helped a lot of people today. People who were trapped." He gave Rose a soft smile. "Couldn't have done it without her."
Rose rolled her eyes a little but smiled when the Doctor joined her at the table and sat beside her. Jackie paused and studied them for a moment before she went back to making tea. While she was still feeling the lingering guilt but had to admit that being back on Earth and knowing that the ship was safely on its way home was helping.
….
Martha was trying to be patient. She really wanted to find a way to corner the strange trio she was travelling with and make them answer all her questions. But she didn't think that would go well for her. Rose and the Doctor might go along with it for a few minutes, but Jack was likely to throw her over his shoulder or drag her away from the other two if he thought she was overstepping. And to be fair… if she tried to corner Rose and the Doctor, she probably would be.
But she had so many questions. When she got aboard the TARDIS, Martha thought that aliens would be the strangest thing that she saw. And they were… sometimes. But honestly, she was amazed at how similar so many of them were. They had medical concerns and needed her help. They got in trouble and helped each other and most even looked human. No, the strangest thing she'd seen was Rose's body knitting itself back together and her glowing slightly as she physically pulled a living being back into the proper time.
What the hell was a Guardian? Was it like a god? That brought up even more questions and Martha was very grateful that she'd never been religious. She had a feeling that the answers she wanted might not mix well with any set religion. At least not on her planet. Was Rose worshipped somewhere out there in the universe?
She glanced at Rose as she walked through the Tyler kitchen. Jackie had thrown a blanket around Rose and was chatting quickly as she made a cup of tea. Martha noted that the Doctor and Jack were lingering nearby with the Doctor answering the questions that Jackie threw his way. They were used to this apparently. It was almost domestic in a way how quickly Rose's mum shifted to providing them a space to relax and take care of her daughter. Though, Martha wasn't sure that the Doctor would like her pointing that out.
Rose and the Doctor's relationship didn't give off the sense that it was new. Rather it seemed very comfortable and settled in some ways but also unsure in others. Given what she'd learned regarding regeneration in the last couple of days, Martha supposed that made sense. How was something like that fitting into place? She almost laughed and stayed on course for the front of the house. Martha needed a little distance between her and the others or she was going to start throwing questions at Rose.
There was a tall man dressed in jeans and a dark t-shirt that showed off his broad shoulders and muscles standing in the living room. Judging from the layout of the room, he'd been shifting some furniture for Jackie. Martha smiled nervously as the tall, attractive man focused on her and crossed the room. He appeared in some of the photos on the main living room wall, but she hadn't had a chance to ask Rose about him.
"Hello, Martha," he greeted. "I'm Mickey Smith."
"Uh hello." Martha held out her hand and he took it, shaking it gently in greeting. "Did Rose tell you about me?"
"Something like that." His smile was a bit nervous now. "So, for context, I grew up with Rose and her mad friends Sharon and Shareen. At this point, I've been drafted into the role of a long-suffering older brother. The benefits are few except for Jackie's mothering, which is nice in reasonable doses."
The introduction was strange, but she was grateful for the background information. It was nice to have the sense that she knew what was going on again. Today had been weird. Good, but weird. And there hadn't been anyone trying to kill them which was a refreshing change.
"Well, my context is that I'm fairly new to all of this. Met Rose and the Doctor only a few days ago."
"You're just getting started right now. Yeah." Mickey nodded, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "It'll get easier."
"You sound sure that I'll stay." The words slipped out before Martha thought better of them. "Uh, sorry. I just… I'm still trying to decide."
Mickey blinked at her as if surprised by the answer, but then he nodded. "That's fair. It's a lot. I work for UNIT and deal with aliens from the perspective of protecting Earth. Occasionally we're roadside assistance too. I've never done the whole travel in the TARDIS thing."
"Have you ever wanted to?"
"Nah." Mickey shook his head. "I found out about aliens when I was barely an adult. Got roped into driving to help Rose in one of her adventures. Exciting to be sure, but I found my footing with UNIT pretty fast. For me, the blend of otherworldly while being on my home planet works. But it's different for everyone." He nodded towards Rose with a fond smile on his face. "That one was never gonna be happy on Earth. For others, like Sarah Jane, it's a balance. You spend some time seeing the stars and learn more about enjoying the wonders of Earth through that experience."
"So what is UNIT, exactly?" Martha asked.
"United Nations Intelligence Taskforce," Mickey replied. "It was set up decades ago after an incident with aliens. There are national groups connected to the local armed forces, but we all operate under Geneva's rules. The goal is to keep Earth safe under a shared set of standards. After all, there are no visible borders from space so when the chips are down, you need to be able to work together."
"Strange how so little is known about aliens," Martha replied.
"You're from 2008, right?" Mickey asked.
Martha blinked in surprise at the question. "Yes, did Rose tell you that?"
"Things are happening a lot around your home time," Mickey continued without answering Martha's question. "There's been a few things that people can try to write off, but there's gonna be things that folks can't ignore soon. UNIT as the international cooperative organization is better known now. Not everyone likes it, obviously, but we've been able to build trust." He nodded towards the kitchen. "And we have the Doctor on the payroll and Rose to drag him back to Earth when we need him."
"He's on the payroll?"
"Well… he never officially resigned as the head of the scientific division," Mickey replied with a grin. "Rose's contract at least had an end date when she finished uni."
"How much does he make?"
Mickey laughed. "It's more that he's paid in favours, though I have heard there's a bank account somewhere. UNIT looking after his former companions and such. I just heard about Nyssa's situation today at work. For example, she's being set up with a full new identity on Earth complete with credentials. Wouldn't surprise me if UNIT Australia tries to recruit her to join their science department after she settles a bit. And UNIT UK keeps an eye on Jackie. If the Doctor calls in a problem or needs something, we try to make sure he gets it."
"Sounds mental."
Mickey laughed and nodded. "It is. But that's how things tend to work. Let me give you my number," Mickey said easily. "In case you want to talk to someone used to… well mostly used to the crazy that follows Rose Tyler."
"I'm from a few years in the past," Martha explained. "I'm not sure it would work to try to call you."
"The TARDIS will send the call where it needs to go." There was a strange sort of smile on Mickey's face. Not bad, in fact, Martha rather liked it, but she wasn't sure what he was thinking. "If you ever connect at the wrong time, just tell me that you're a friend of Rose's. That's all I'll need to hear."
The way he said that sounded strange. She blinked and paused to consider the situation. Martha was a time traveller now. Was Mickey suggesting that he knew her from his past and her future? Even if only through the phone? Was that… why would the TARDIS do that?
"Alright," she said instead, putting aside those questions. She wasn't sure how to even start asking them.
Mickey reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple-looking business card with a vaguely familiar logo. He flipped it over, pulled out a pen and wrote on the back of it. Then he handed the card to her with a soft smile. Martha felt a little too warm as she took the card and smiled in return. She settled for saying thanks, but Martha had the sudden strong feeling that she was going to stay in the TARDIS and figure out what had just happened.
"Mickey!" Rose's happy voice called.
Martha jumped away from Mickey as Rose strode into the room. She seemed happier and more energetic at the sight of her friend. Mickey beamed and swept Rose up in a tight hug. For a moment, Martha felt her insides curl inward before remembering that Rose was with the Doctor. Then she grumbled at herself for even feeling that.
"Hey, boss," Mickey greeted the Doctor as if the alien was simply an old mate.
The pair fist bumped and Martha blinked. Maybe they were. Maybe things really were just like that with the Tylers and Sarah Jane and their friends. It was all still so new and strange, but Sarah Jane had told her that many people travelled with the Doctor for a bit and then went back to normal lives. The very idea seemed mad to Martha.
"Dare I ask what kept you?" Mickey asked the Doctor and Rose.
"Just a ship that got stuck in a bit of temporal distortion," the Doctor replied airily. "That loud sound a couple of hours ago was them so you can tell UNIT not to worry."
"Noted. I'll leave it at that then."
"Probably for the best." The Doctor glanced Mickey over. "Haven't' lost any limbs. That's good. Anything interesting lately?"
"Not really. Mostly been doing auto club stuff the last month or so. Had a ship do an emergency landing in Scotland two weeks ago. I was part of the team that went with Malcolm."
"Oh he must have loved that," Rose sighed happily. "His native Scotland and a ship to help fix."
"Yeah." Mickey nodded and smiled at Rose, looking a bit proud. "Best part was that they actually picked Earth for the emergency landing because they'd heard they could get help here."
"Really?" Martha stared at him in shock. "That's not what I would have expected."
"UNIT's been trying to work on building up a better reputation," Mickey explained.
Martha had so many more questions. But then the front door opened and two women about her age came striding in. Rose let out a squeal of happiness and threw herself at the nearest one who quickly put down some shopping bags. Staying back, Martha watched a round of hugs that Mickey stepped in to join after Rose hugged both of the women once first.
"It's so good to see you!" Rose said into the shoulder of one of the women. "Thanks for coming!"
"Course, hon," the brunette woman tucked a dyed strand of blue behind her ear. "Uh, Osgood and Ross are joining us later."
Rose glanced over at the dark-skinned woman. "I understand Ross, but why Osgood."
"I uh… I've been seeing her for a couple of months."
Martha watched with interest as Rose's eyes widened. "That's new. On multiple levels. Why didn't tell me?"
"Wanted to tell you in person." The brunette smiled. "Surprise."
"Okay. Well… I like Osgood. She's sweet." Rose nodded. "Yeah, okay." Then she turned towards the Doctor only to catch sight of Martha. "Oh, Martha, these are my mates Sharon and Shareen." Rose pointed to each of them in turn. "They work for UNIT in the medical division."
"Nice to meet you," Martha said, stepping forward with a hint of nervousness. Medical division with an organization that worked with aliens. "Are you doctors? Nurses? Researchers?"
"I'm a medical doctor," Sharon woman answered with a smile. Unlike Martha, her black hair was worn in small natural buns, the sort of hairstyle Martha hadn't worn since she was a child. "Mostly I work on humans, but I've assisted with aliens a few times after crashes."
"And my focus is psychiatry," Shareen explained. She was a pretty brunette woman with a streak of blue in her hair that was currently tucked behind her ear. "My focus is on helping everyone cope with the situations they face," Shareen smirked and nodded at Rose. "Got my start with this one."
Rose stuck her tongue out at them. Martha was trying not to say anything stupid. These two were full doctors then and worked with aliens. It was a career option that Martha didn't even known existed a week ago. They both smiled at her as if picking up on her sudden unease.
"Ah," Sharon said, looking the Doctor over. "Why weren't we told you regenerated?"
"Has everyone met this body already?" the Doctor grumbled.
"Yes." Shareen's smirk was a little evil. "And no, we won't give you details of when or why."
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I'm already aware that Rose and I's timelines are complicated."
"Complicated," Sharon laughed. "Yeah, that's one word for it, I suppose."
"I get no respect on this planet anymore."
"Sure you do," Mickey replied. He was smiling in clear amusement. "Just go and talk with Malcolm. He's still got that huge crush on you."
"That's true," Jack agreed.
"Besides," Shareen said. "You're dating Rose, our childhood best friend, we're required to tease you and poke at you."
"I'd love to see where that requirement is written," the Doctor grumbled.
For all of his grumbling, Martha could tell that the Doctor was enjoying the company. He might be a Time Lord and able to change his entire body with so much knowledge and information in his head, but here he was just a friend that they teased because he was dating Rose. Stepping back, she shifted closer to Mickey and away from the group, trying to give herself space to breathe. Still, she couldn't help but smile a little as Shareen and Sharon started teasing Rose and the Doctor a little about his new look. It was so very strange, but the Doctor put his arm around Rose's shoulders and Rose looked happy and relaxed again.
…..
The Doctor didn't do domestic. Not exactly domestic. Yes, he shared a room with Rose compromised with her regarding décor and talked with her about bringing new companions on board the ship. He helped make meals and clean up afterwards. And yes, he did occasionally come to visit her mum. That didn't make him domestic. Not exactly. He'd never be traditionally domestic. Not since that meant leaving the TARDIS. Maybe he'd be a little domestic in the TARDIS.
Jackie had maybe had a little too much to drink. She was swaying a little as she spoke excitedly with Martha and Mickey. Martha seemed dazed, but happy. That was good. He liked her. She was clever and knew how to keep her head. Their last few adventures had definitely been situations where a medical student's mindset and skills were useful. Even if she didn't stay, he hoped that she remembered how much she'd helped others on their trips. He hoped that she stayed. Rose and Jack seemed to like her. Even if it was still a little strange having a fourth person on the TARDIS.
But he gave Jackie a hand in the kitchen along with Jack to give Rose time with Mickey, Sharon, and Shareen. The temptation to stay close to her after the day they'd had was strong, but he reminded himself that with her status as a Guardian, she only got her Earth family for so long. Jackie prattled on about her friend Bev and Gita and the Doctor felt no guilt for ignoring all of that until the other guests arrived. All in all, it was a small gathering with Ross and Osgood arriving less than an hour later.
Osgood was wearing the scarf again. Well, a scarf. The Doctor recognized it as very similar to his old one, but it wasn't the same one he'd seen her the last time they met. This one had blue in it. TARDIS blue so he approved. He wondered if she knitted the scarves herself or commissioned them somewhere. The Doctor hadn't tried knitting yet in this body. If he wasn't good at it, then it might be worthwhile to find out where Osgood got her scarves. One could never have too many good scarves. This body wasn't much for wearing them, not yet at least, but Rose looked so sweet in scarves.
"Osgood!" He approached her with a grin. "It's been a while."
She squeaked and jumped. Then she blinked at him in confusion. "Uh?"
"Oh, the face." The Doctor gestured at his features. "Right, I'm-"
"Doctor." Osgood exhaled and nodded. "Of course, the incident with the Master…" She trailed off and swallowed. "I'm sorry you got so hurt."
"It's fine." The Doctor slipped his hands into his pockets, trying not to react too much. He hated discussions of any of his deaths. "Better one of mine than Rose's or the whole universe."
"Still… thank you." Osgood gave him a small smile.
"Is this the first time you've been to Jackie's?" the Doctor asked curiously. He considered pointing out that she hadn't worked with Rose very much in the past. While a fan of his, he doubted something like that impressed Jackie much. Then again, Jackie did seem to have adopted Mickey, Sharon and Shareen.
"Uh, a couple of times," Osgood admitted. "But this is only my second time since Shareen and I started dating." She glanced nervously towards Jackie. "I'm not sure if she likes me. I'm not the best in social situations so at least this setting is easier. Though, watching Mrs. Tyler do a conga line in the street is…"
"Yes," the Doctor agreed. "It is an… interesting experience." Then he paused and furrowed his brow. "So, you're dating Shareen?" Osgood, still blushing, nodded though she was also smiling a little. "She's one of Rose's closest childhood friends. I'm pretty sure that she's supposed to threaten you about treating Shareen right, but as her partner, am I supposed to do the same?"
He wasn't sure about this aspect of human social conventions. To be fair, he'd not had a long-term, human partner before. Osgood blinked at him and considered the question.
"I'm not sure. I don't think so," she said slowly. "Because by that logic, as Shareen's partner, I'd need to threaten you regarding Rose and that doesn't feel…." She looked a bit horrified now. "Uh, I don't think so."
"Right. Okay. Probably for the best." The Doctor nodded and glanced towards Sharon and Ross who were talking with Rose. "Because to be fair, I'd have to do the same with Ross. And it seems a bit late for that."
"Yeah, they're going on three years now, I think." Osgood nodded and the blush was finally fading. "There's a betting pool on when one of them will propose."
The Doctor laughed. "So, UNIT still has the betting pools?"
"Absolutely." Osgood laughed now and was relaxing. "We bet on everything. I did have money on Sharon asking him this summer, but once I started dating Shareen, I was determined to be ineligible. Bookie claimed that as Shareen's girlfriend, I was too likely to get inside information. Everyone's apparently been more mindful of that since Benton cleaned everyone out with his bet on-" She stopped herself. "Anyway. Yeah, it's a bit late for you to give him the shovel talk."
The Doctor couldn't help but smile. It was one of the strangest conversations he had ever had and that was saying something. Not exactly domestic. Definitely not. Then Osgood started talking about the ion drive ship they'd helped repair in Scotland and the Doctor was more than happy to discuss the development and frequency of such systems in the galaxy with her. That was much more familiar, less domestic, ground.
