The Doctor was under the grates in the console room working on the Tardis with Layla passing him things as he requested when Rose came in quietly. Layla looked up. "Hey Rose. What's wrong?" She looked at her and seen that she was holding a picture frame to her chest and had her head tilted down. The Doctor sat up and looked at Rose, waiting for her to talk.
"Peter Alan Tyler, my dad. The most wonderful man in the world. Born 15th September 1954. Mum told me he died the 7th of November 1987, the day of Stuart Hoskins and Sarah Clarke's wedding. She said he would have loved to see me. So, I was thinking, could we, could we go and see my dad when he was still alive?"
The Doctor looked at her curiously. "Where's this come from, all of a sudden?"
"All right then, if we can't, if it goes against the laws of times or something, then never mind, just leave it." Rose started to leave the room.
The Doctor stood up. "No, I can do anything. I'm just more worried about you." But he looks to Layla looking a little unsure and sees her looking at Rose worried.
"I want to see him." Rose says firmly.
"Your wish is my command. But be careful what you wish for." The Doctor tells her solemnly. The Doctor takes them to one of the happier times in her parents time streams: their wedding.
"I, Peter Alan Tyler, take you, Jacqueline Angela Suzette Prentice." The registrar starts.
"I, Peter Alan Tyler, take you, Jacqueline Suzanne Suzette Anita." Peter tries, but fails spectacularly.
Jackie is giving him the stink eye, but sighs in the end and cuts in. "Oh, just carry on. It's good enough for Lady Di."
Layla and the Doctor and sniggering and leaning towards each other in their laughter while Rose is looking at her father with her head tilted to the side in slight confusion. "I thought he'd be taller."
"To be my lawful wedded wife, to love and behold till death do us part." The registrar finished.
Xxxxxx
"He died so close to home. Mum told me that no one was there when he died. That it was a hit and run driver. They never found who did it. He was dead by the time the ambulance got there. She had wished someone had been there for him when he died. I would like the be that someone. So, he doesn't have to die alone." She looks at the Doctor with tears in her eyes.
The Doctor is uncomfortable with this whole thing. He isn't sure if Rose can handle watching her dad, the man she has never known, die in front of her, not being able to do anything about it, and be there for him in the end. He knows she has seen people die, but they have not had a personal connection to her like this. But she is his friend, and he wants to do something nice for her. Layla is of the same mind as the Doctor. She thinks that it will be harder on Rose than Rose realizes, but she will be there to support her anyway she can.
The Doctor nods his head and goes to type in the date. "November the 7th?"
Rose nods her head. "1987." The Doctor puts in the year and the time rotor starts up and the Tardis takes them to their destination. When they walk out the doors, they see that it is a bright and clear day. Rose looks around in surprise. "It's so weird. The day my father died. I thought it's be all sort of grim and stormy. It's just an ordinary day."
"The past is another country. 1987's just the Isle of Wight. Are you sure about this?" The Doctor asked. He was starting to get a bad feeling about this whole thing.
Rose nods her heads jerkily and sighs. "Yeah." They walk towards the street where Pete died in silence. They wanted to give Rose the time to collect herself mentally to prepare herself to see her father die. When they get there, he had not pulled up yet. "This is it. Jordan Road. He was late. He'd been to get a wedding present, a vase. Mum always said, that stupid vase." A green car comes around the corner and pulls up to the curb. "He got out of his car and crossed the road. Oh god, this is it." Layla grabbed Rose's hand while the Doctor grabbed Layla's.
They watched as Pete got out of his car and they see a beige car come around the corner and drive straight into Pete with the driver shielding his face with his arms and keep driving without stopping and leaving Pete in the road. The vase had fallen to the ground, broken. Pete was trying to move.
"Go to him, quick" The Doctor whispers to Rose trying to encourage her to go to her dad. But she can't, and they hear sirens approaching.
"It's too late now. By the time the ambulance got there, he was dead. He can't die on his own. Can I try again?"
The Doctor nods and takes them back to the Tardis and goes back in time. They walk to the corner of the building and they see their past selves standing at the curbside. "Right, that's the first us. It's a very bad idea, two sets of us being here at the same time. Just be careful they don't see us. Wait until she runs off and they follow, then go to your dad." They see Pete park at the curb and hear the first Rose say "oh god, this is it."
"I can't do this." The current Rose says.
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to, but this is the last time we can be here." The Doctor warned her.
It seemed as if that triggered something inside Rose because the next thing he knew, Rose took off running, leaving him and Layla behind and running through their past selves and pushes her father out of the path of the beige car. "Rose! No!" The vase rolls away, unbroken and the earlier Rose, Layla, Doctor vanishes. The Doctor and Layla stare at Rose in horror and disbelief as they grip each other's hands tightly.
Rose is looking at her father gleefully and patting his arms. "I did it. I saved your life."
"Blimey, did you see the speed of it? Did you get his number?" Pete asked as he looked around.
Rose was too focused on looking at Pete though and her accomplishment. "I really did it. Oh, my god. Look at you. You're alive! That car was going to kill you."
Pete grumbles. "Give me some credit, I did see it coming. I wasn't going to walk under it, was I."
Rose grabs his hand and shakes it. "I'm Rose."
Pete gives her a smile. "That's a coincidence. That's my daughter's name."
Rose gives him a manic laugh. "That's a great name. Good choice. Well done."
"Right, I'd better shift." Pete looks around and picks up the vase. "I've got a wedding to go to."
Not wanting to be away from him yet, Rose asks. "Is that Sarah Clarke's wedding?"
Pete furrows his brows. "Yeah, are you going?"
She nods her head. "Yeah."
"Does your friend and her boyfriend need a lift?" Rose looks over and sees Layla and the Doctor holding hands and gives their hands a small pout, totally missing the looks they are directing at her. As they all pile into Pete's car, something with blood red eyesight flies over South London.
Xxxxxx
Pete opens the door to his flat and the time-travelers follow in after him. "Right, there we go. Sorry about the mess. If you want a cup of tea, the kitchens just down there, milks in the fridge. Well, it would be, wouldn't it? Where else would you put the milk? Mind you, there's always the window sill outside. I always thought if someone invented a window sill with special compartments, you know, one for milk, one for yogurt, make a lot of money out of that. Sell it to students and things." He pauses for a second. "I should write that down. Anyways, never mind that, excuse me. Got to go and change." He goes into his bedroom and closes the door leaving the Doctor leaning against the wall, Layla standing around awkwardly and Rose looking around in wonder.
"All the stuff mum kept. His stuff. She kept it all packed away in boxes in the cupboard. She used to show me when she's had a bit to drink. Here it is, on display. Where it should be. Third prize at bowling. First two got to go to Didcot. Health drinks. Tonics, mum used to call them. He made his money selling this Vitex stuff. He had all sorts of jobs. He was so clever. Solar power. Mum said he was going to do this. Now he can." Rose realized how quiet it was and turned towards the Doctor. "Okay, look I'll tell him you two are not together." Thinking that was the problem.
Layla was looking at the Doctor warily while the Doctor gave Rose a hard stare. "When we met, I said travel with me in space. You said no. Then Layla said time machine." Layla could hear the hurt he was trying to hide in his voice that he thought Rose used him and his Tardis to benefit herself, and her heart clenches in sadness wondering how many times it had happened in the past.
"It wasn't some big plan. I just saw it happening and I thought, I can stop it." The way Rose said it had the Doctor gritting his teeth. Like it was no big deal, that what she did was okay, that she didn't do anything wrong.
"I did it again. I picked another stupid ape. I should've known. It's not about showing you the universe. It never is. It's about the universe doing something for you." I only brought her along because at first, I thought that Layla might need her, but after the few adventures we have been on, she would have been fine without her. He looks towards Layla to see how she feels and Layla has a disappointed face directed at Rose. Good, at least she isn't upset with me.
"So, it's okay when you go to other times, and you save people's lives, but not when it's me saving my dad?" He is such a hypocrite, Rose thought naively.
"I know what I am doing! You don't! Two sets of us being there made that a vulnerable point in time."
"But he's alive!" She doesn't understand what she did wrong. She saved him, isn't that good? Shouldn't they try to save people?
"My entire planet died. My whole family. Do you think it never occurred to me to go back and save them?" The Doctor's breath hitched slightly at the remembrance of their deaths. He can feel Layla's hand slide into his and he squeezes it tightly in gratitude.
"But it's not like I've changed history. Not much. I mean he's never going to be a world leader. He's not going to start World War Three or anything." Layla gapes, does she not realize what having her dad alive means when it comes to her life?
"Rose, there's a man alive in the world who wasn't alive before. An ordinary man. That's the most important thing in creation. The whole world's different because he's alive." The Doctor's tries to explain, but Rose isn't listening, she never really was.
Rose looks at him betrayed. "What, would you rather him dead?"
"I'm not saying that."
"No! I get it! For one, you're not the most important man in my life." She shouts to him delusional.
The Doctor scoffs. He doesn't care about that. It would only bother him if Layla had said that. She is all he needs and wants. He only brought Rose along because he thought she would be a good companion and she was Layla's best friend. "Let's see how you get on without me, then. Give me the key. The Tardis key. If I'm so insignificant, give it back to me."
Rose takes it off from around her neck and slams it down into his awaiting hand. "Alright then, I will."
"You've got what you wanted, so that's goodbye, then."
Before the Doctor can move though Rose snaps back. "You don't scare me. I know how sad you are. You'll be back in a minute, or you'll hang around outside the Tardis waiting for me. And I'll make you wait a long time!"
The Doctor looks at her hard in the eyes. "See, that is where you are wrong, I have Layla, I'm not lonely anymore with her." He pulls Layla with him and she goes with him silently.
Rose looks at Layla in betrayal. "How could you side with him Layla? You don't know what it's like to not have a father, or even a mother. Wouldn't you want that if you could? Can't you see why I did it?"
The Doctor and Layla stop. Layla looks at her solemnly for a few seconds before she replies quietly. "No. Because I don't care about them Rose. Why would I care about people who are complete strangers, who never wanted me? They gave me up. I don't know them and they don't know me. I'm not going to waste my life pining over people who don't mean anything to me and trying to change what happened. It made me who I am. I am a strong, independent, woman and I don't want to change that. But what you did Rose, with your dad here, you won't be the same person you are now. He will help raise you and that could be different than how Jackie did. Besides, Jackie loves you, having one parent is better than none, and you weren't content with that, which is more than what others have." When she was done talking, the Doctor gently tugged her out of the flat.
Xxxxxx
The Doctor and Layla are walking back towards the Tardis still holding hands in companionable silence. The Doctor kept stealing glances at her to check on her to see how she was doing emotionally, but he couldn't really tell. He decided to just come out and ask to make sure she wasn't upset. "Are you alright?"
She looks at him slightly surprised. "Hm? About what happened at the flat? I'm fine about what I said, it really doesn't bother me. I'm more disappointed in Rose and what she did. I know that she had always wanted her dad around, but she should have been happy to at least have her mum, who did everything for her and loved her so much. I just hope there aren't any repercussions from what she did. What about you? Are you alright?"
"Me? I'm fine, I'm always fine." Was the Doctor's automatic answer for when someone asked him that question and looks away from her.
Layla squeezes his hand and looks at him knowingly. "Please don't lie to me Doctor, you don't have to tell me what's wrong, but don't lie to me."
The Doctor winces and rubs the back of his neck with his free hand. "Sorry, I'm upset with Rose, and I can't shake the feeling that something is wrong, but I don't know what."
"Well, whatever it is, I'll be here with you to help you figure it out. Are we really going to leave Rose?"
The Doctor's lips flatten. "I'm tempted, but even I took Adam home. I will at least do that for Rose if I decide to not let her come with us anymore." He looks at her hopefully as he says that, hoping that she would still traveling with him if he was to drop Rose off.
"That would be good, then maybe she would be able to earn your forgiveness and travel with us again." She gives him a smile and he beams back at her that she would still travel with him if he were to drop Rose off. He hasn't decided yet, but it is something to think on, maybe see if she apologizes after this nightmare.
They make it up to the Tardis and the Doctor stops and looks around feeling as if something was watching them. Not seeing anything he gets his key out and opens the door but stares in horror as he sees that the inside is just the inside of a regular old police box and not his magnificent spaceship. "Rose!" He tightens he hand on Layla's and pulls her towards the church knowing that is where Rose was going and takes off running.
Xxxxxx
After the Doctor and Layla leave Pete sticks his head out of his bedroom door. "Boyfriend trouble?"
Rose doesn't answer him and he goes back in and continues to change. She looks around the flat and sees that it is a mess and starts to clean up out of habit. She is thinking about the fight she had with the Doctor and subsequent Layla. She feels bad that she dragged Layla into it knowing about her past and how hard it was for her. She is putting peanuts back in their bowl when Pete comes out, changed into his wedding suit. "Excuse me, do you mind? What're you tidying up for?"
Rose comes out of the trance she was in and realizes that she had been doing what she would have been doing had she been at home. "Sorry, force of habit." I guess this thing with the Doctor has me more upset than I thought it would.
"Listen, don't worry about him. Couples have rows all the time." Pete tries to encourage her, misreading their relationship.
"We're not a couple. Why does everyone think we're a couple?" And by everyone means Pete and her mum, obviously. "I think he left me."
"What, a pretty girl like you? If I was going out with you…"
Rose cut him off not wanting her father to talk about dating her. "Stop right there."
"I was just saying." Pete protested.
"I know what you're saying, and we're not going there. At no point are we going anywhere near there. You aren't even aware that there exists. I don't even want to think about there, and believe me, neither do you. There for you is like, like the Bermuda triangle." Oh god, I wish Layla was here, she would have saved me from this verbal diarrhea and distracted my dad from talking about dating me.
"Blimey, you know how to flatter a bloke."
"Right, are we off?" Rose stands next to Pete and offers him her arm.
He looks at her oddly. "So, that wouldn't be a mixed signal at all?"
"Absolutely not." Rose looked at him like it should have been obvious.
Pete takes her arm and sighs. "I'll take you back to the loony bin where you belong. Except I'm sure I've met you somewhere before."
Xxxxxx
Pete and Rose get into Pete's car and they head for the church. Pete is telling Rose about some of the things he does for money. "I met this bloke at the horses, and he's cutting me in on copyright."
Rose looks at him in confusion, the stuff he is telling her isn't matching up with what her mum told her. But this is giving her a chance to get to know him. "But I thought you were a proper businessman and that."
"I wish! Oh, I do a bit of this, a bit of that, I scrape by."
Rose looks at him like he is a stranger, which he is to her, but he isn't the man her mum told her about. "Right. So, I must've heard wrong. So, really, you're a bit of a Del Boy?"
"Oh, shoot me down in flames." He says fake wounded. "You're not related to my wife by any chance, are you?"
Rose's mouth drops open as she just realizes something. "Oh, my god. She's going to be at the wedding."
"What, Jackie? Do you know her?"
She shifts, looking uncomfortable. "Sort of."
"What's she told you about me, then?" He was fully excepting the usually stuff that she always says, that he was a useless lump.
Rose gives him a dreamy smile. "She said she'd picked the most fantastic man in the world."
Pete looked at her like she lost her mind. "Must be a different Jackie, then. She'd never say that." All of a sudden, the radio station changes to a song that hasn't come out for that time period and Rose looks at it in confusion. Pete looks at like many older people look at younger generation music. "This stuff goes right over my head."
Rose shakes her head. "That's not out yet." Something's not right here.
Pete shrugs his shoulders awkwardly. "It's a good job and all."
Rose takes her phone out and fiddles with it. "I'm just going to check my messages."
He looks at the phone in wonder. "How do you mean, messages? Is that a phone?"
"Yeah." Rose messes with her phone but all she hears coming from it is. "Watson, come here. I need you. Watson, come here. I need you. Watson, come here. I need you."
They don't see the car that should have killed Pete is right behind them and as Pete turns the corner, it drives straight on and then vanishes. The beige car suddenly appears and drives towards them, Rose grabs the door handle and Pete's arm. "Dad!"
Pete swerves into the curb. "It's that car. Same one as before. It was right in front of us. Where's he done? You called me dad. What'd you say that for?"
They get out of the car and Jackie walks up to them. "Oh, wonderful. Here he is, the accident waiting to happen. You'd be late for your own funeral and it nearly was."
"No, damage done." Pete tried to calm her down.
Jackie looked at Rose suspiciously. "And who's this? What're you looking at with your mouth open?"
And she was, Rose was looking at her mum in surprise at how she looked. "Your hair." Rose stuttered out, but gave no other context.
"What?!" Jackie spent a lot of time on her hair and she thought it looked nice and here was this woman gawking at her.
"I've never seen it like. I mean, it's lovely. Your hair's lovely. And that baby you're holding. That would be your baby." That is me.
Jackie looks at Pete and sneers. "Another one of yours, is she?"
"She saved my life." He protested.
Jackie looks impressed. "Oh, that's a new one. What was it last time?"
"I didn't even know her. She was a cloakroom attendant. I was helping her look for my ticket. There were three duffel coats all the same. Somehow the rack collapsed. We were under all this stuff." Pete tried to explain to Rose even though he didn't know why he was trying to make her understand that he didn't cheat.
Rose looked at him in betrayal. "Were you playing around?"
Jackie now sneered at Rose. "What's it got to do with you what he gets up to?"
Now Rose thought he did indeed get up to something. "What does he get up to?"
"You'd know." Jackie accused her.
Pete scoffed. "Oh, 'cos I'm that stupid. I play around and I bring her to meet the missus. You silly cow."
"But you are that stupid." Jackie said slowly.
"Can we keep this stuff back home just for now." Pete asked quietly, he seen they were drawing attention and wanted to keep their argument private and not ruin their friend's wedding.
Rose was looking back and forth as her parent's argued and was becoming distressed. This was not how she imagined how they were when they were together. This was not how her mother described her father. This was not how she described their relationship. This is not what she wanted. "Stop it! You're not like this. You love each other." Rose was scratching at her scalp and tears started to cloud her eyes.
Jackie took one look at Rose then looked at Pete with pity. "Oh, Pete. You never used to like them mental. Or I don't know, maybe you did."
Pete reaches for her hand as Jackie starts to walk away. "Jackie, wait, just listen."
"If you're not careful, there'll be a wedding and a divorce on the same day."
Pete sighs heavily and then turns towards Rose. He picks up the vase and gives her the keys to his car. "Wait here. Give us a couple of minutes with the missus. Tell you what, straighten the car up. Stick it round the corner or something. Don't cause any more trouble." He walks off to talk to Jackie. Rose is just standing there struggling to comprehend what the hell is happening to her family and goes to deal with the car.
xxxxxx
Outside the church the wedding party and guests were standing around talking. Rose was standing around her mother, father, and little Rose, as they argued. Jackie turned her nose up in the air. "I'm not listening. It's just the duffel coats all over again."
"Jackie, sometimes a duffel coat is just a duffel coat. Things will get better soon, I promise." Pete was wrapping his arms around her trying to comfort her and Rose watched them still befuddled at how her parents were acting compared to how her mum told her they were when she was younger.
"I've had enough of all your daft schemes. I never know where the next meal's coming from."
"I'll get it right, love. One day soon, I promise you. I'll get it right. Come on." Pete tells her softly with a loving smile.
A young Mickey comes running around the corner scared and runs into the church. "Monsters! Going to eat us!"
One of the guests laughs mockingly at him. "What sort of monsters, Sweetheart? Is it aliens?"
The Doctor and Layla finally come up to the street where the church is and see Rose, but they see one of the creatures appear close by. "Rose! Get in the church!"
When Rose hears the Doctor shout her name, she smirks, thinking he has come back for her, until she realizes the urgency of his shout. She turns around and sees one of the creatures and it swoops for her. Luckily for her, the Doctor had knocked into her and pushed her into the ground just in time to avoid its talons.
The Doctor stands up and faces all the guests of the wedding. "Get in the church!" He pushes Layla inside wanting her out of harm's way and he is thankful that she doesn't fight him on this and goes in quickly.
Two more of the creatures appear and sort of just hover as if they are looking for the right victim. The guest that made fun of Mickey pales. "Oh my god, what are they? What are they?"
The Doctor ignores her. "Inside!"
The groom starts to leave the church looking for his bride who was standing outside. "Sarah!"
"Stay in there!" The Doctor snapped at him. Humans! The groom's dad tries to run away but gets pounced on by one of the creatures. Sarah, the bride, is blocked by the second one, but she screams and it flies off and it pounces on the vicar instead. The Doctor finally gets everyone else inside the church and slams the doors shut on the creatures. Through the windows the many creatures can be seen flying around. "They can't get in. Old windows and doors. Okay. The older something is, the strong it is. What else? Go and check the other doors! Move!" The Doctor takes charges since he is the most knowledgeable about what is happening.
Jackie marches up to him. "What's happening? What are they? What are they?"
"There's been an accident in time. A would in time. They're like bacteria, taking advantage."
Jackie scoffs. "What do you mean, time? What're you jabbering on about, time?"
The Doctor glares. "Oh, I might've known you'd argue. Jackie, I'm sick of you complaining."
She looks at him suspiciously. "How do you know my name?"
"I haven't got time for this."
"I've never met you in my life!" Jackie put her hand on her chest looking scandalized.
"No, and you never will unless I sort this out. Now, if you don't mind, I've waited a long time to say this. Jackie Tyler, do as I say. Go and check the doors." He snaps at her in an authoritative voice.
Jackie was shocked and seemed like she was about to salute him. "Yes, sir." She walks away to go do what he said.
The Doctor grins massively. "I should have done that ages ago."
Layla couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. The Doctor spun around quick and sees her hunched over close by laughing and realizes she saw his interaction with Jackie. "I would love for you to do that when we go back to the present and see if she gives you the same response! I bet you she would slap you again!" She cackles again and tears start to come out of her eyes at the image she sees in her mind.
The Doctor winces and rubs his cheek in reminder and then pouts, but he loves hearing Layla laugh. Layla calms down when the groom comes over. "My dad was out there."
Layla and the Doctor look at him with sympathy. "You can mourn him later. Right now, we've got to concentrate on keeping ourselves alive."
The groom realizes this, but that wasn't what he was trying to tell him. "No, my dad had…"
"There's nothing I can do for him." The Doctor looked pained as he said it. There isn't much I can do for anyone.
"No, but he had this phone thing. I can't get it to work. I keep getting this voice." He hands the Doctor the phone and he holds it up to his ear. "Watson, come here. I need you. Watson, come here. I need you."
The Doctor looks at the phone somewhat confused and amused. "That's the very first phone call. Alexander Graham Bell. I don't think the telephone's going to be much use."
"But someone must have called the police."
The Doctor shook his head. "Police can't help you now. No one can. Nothing in this universe can harm those things. Time's been damaged and they've come to sterilize the wound by consuming everything inside."
"Is this because? Is this my fault?" Rose asked timidly, but the Doctor just looked at her blankly before walking away letting her know without saying a word that yes, yes it was her fault.
Xxxxxx
Pete is standing at the window looking outside. "There's smoke coming up from the city but no sirens. I don't think it's just us. I think these things are all over the place. Maybe the whole world."
The beige care appears at the corner, turns, the driver covers his face and then it disappears again and repeats itself. Pete watches it. "Was that a car?"
The Doctor was watching it with him and already worked out what happened and what might have to happen to fix this situation. "It's not important. Don't worry about it.
Xxxxxx
Rose is standing by the altar when Pete comes over towards her. "This mate of yours, what did he mean, this is your fault?"
Rose shook her head, but wouldn't look him in the eyes. "Don't know, just everything."
Pete was looking at her intensely. "I gave you my car keys. You don't give your keys to a complete stranger. It's, it's like I trusted you. Moment, I met you, I just did. Wound in time. You called me dad. I can see it. My eyes. Jackie's attitude. You sound like her when you shout. You are. You are. You're my Rose. You're my Rose grown up." Rose nods with tears in her eyes and he hugs her tightly.
"Dad. My dad. My daddy." Rose finally has what she wants, to be able to hug her daddy and for him to know it.
Xxxxxx
A creature head butts a side door and the Doctor pulls the curtain aside and gets out his sonic screwdriver. The groom walks up to the Doctor. "Excuse me, Mister."
"Doctor." He corrected automatically after hundreds of years.
"You seem to know what's going on."
The Doctor nods slightly. "I give that impression, yeah." I might know what's going on, but don't have a way to fix it. Unfortunately.
"I just wanted to ask." The groom starts.
"Can you save us?" And the bride finished.
The Doctor stops messing with his screwdriver and gives them his full attention. "Who are you two, then?"
"Stuart Hoskins."
"Sarah Clark."
The Doctor looks down and can tell that Sarah is pregnant by the bump in her stomach. "And one extra. Boy or girl?"
Sarah rubs her stomach and smiles. "I don't know. I don't want to know, really."
"How did all this get started?" The Doctor was always curious about humans.
Stuart looked at Sarah lovingly. "Outside the Beatbox Club, two in the morning."
"Street corner. I'd lost my purse, didn't have money for a taxi." She was worried about having to walk home at night.
"I took her home."
"Then what? Asked her for a date?" He looked at Stuart.
Sarah pointed to the back of her hand. "Wrote his number on the back of my hand."
Stuart looked at her fondly. "Never got rid of her since. My dad said..." He trails off remembering that his dad is gone.
Sarah swallows harshly. "I don't know what this is all about, and I know we're not important."
"Who said you're not important? I've traveled to all sorts of places, done things you couldn't even imagine, but you two. Street corner, two in the morning, getting a taxi home." He looks over towards Layla and sees that she is with little Rose and smiles fondly. Sarah and Stuart see this and smile knowingly. "I've never had a life like that. Yes. I'll try to save you." The Doctor continues what he was saying as he looked away from Layla.
Xxxxxx
Pete was looking at Rose dumbfounded. "I'm a dad. I mean, I'm already a dad, but Rose grows up and she's you. That's wonderful. I mean, I supposed I thought that you'd be a bit useless, what with my useless genes and all, but. Well, I mean, how did you get here?"
Rose looks at him impishly. "Do you really want to know?"
Pete nods his head determinedly. "Yeah."
"A time machine." She says it simply, waiting to see if he believed her or not.
"A time machine." He repeated.
"Cross my heart."
He looks impressed. "What, do you all have time machines where you come from?"
Rose laughs. "No, just the Doctor."
"Did you know these things were coming?" He was wondering if that was why they came to this time period.
"No." She was starting to get worried. He was asking questions about why they were there and she doesn't want him to know that he was supposed to have died.
"God, I don't know, my head's spinning. What's the future like?" Luckily, for her, he changes the topic.
She shrugs. "It's not so different." Her heart clinches at the next question though. It was something she feared he would ask.
"What am I like? Have I gone grey? Have I gone bald? Don't tell me I've gone bald." When she doesn't answer he awkwardly moves on. "So, if this mate of yours isn't your boyfriend and I have to say, I'm glad, because being your dad and all, I think he's a bit old for you. Have you got a bloke?"
She totally ignores the first few questions and answers the last one, and while her and Mickey never officially broke up, she doesn't really consider them together anymore. She just hasn't told him that. "No, I did have one."
"Mickey!" Jackie shouts as he comes running up towards Rose and hugs her.
"Do you know him?" Pete asks her.
"I just didn't recognize him in a suit. You have to let go of me, Sweetheart. I'm always saying that." She pulls him off.
Jackie sighed. "He just grabs hold of what's passing and holds on for dear life. God help his poor girlfriend if he ever gets one." Oh, the irony of that and how true it was for Rose.
Pete looked at Jackie. "Me and Rose were just talking."
Jackie looked at him slightly hurt. "Oh, yeah? Talking? While the world comes to an end, what do you do? Cling to the youngest blonde. Come on, Mick." She guides Mickey out leaving Pete and Rose alone again.
Pete stands ready to tell Jackie about future Rose so she understands when Rose stops him. "You can't tell her."
He didn't understand though, this would keep Jackie from accusing him and cheating on her. "Why?"
"I mean, I really don't want you to tell her." She pleads.
"What, you don't want people to know?"
"Where I come from, Jackie doesn't know how to work the timer on the video recorder."
Pete waved his hand carelessly. "I showed her that last week." Rose just looked at him and he thought about it for a few seconds. "Point taken."
xxxxxx
Layla was sitting in one of the pews holding onto little Rose and tickling her belly. The Doctor stood back and watch her for a little bit smiling softly before he approached her and sat down next to her. He holds out his pointer finger and little Rose grabs it with her little hand and grips it tightly. Layla gives the Doctor a small grin. "I asked Jackie if I could watch her for a little bit. I used to babysit for a little bit at the estate and going to the parks I found that when you had a baby with you, it kept unwanted attention away from you for the most part. I was getting tired of the groomsmen chatting me up so I asked to borrow her. Works like a charm."
Layla had looked back down at little Rose and was making funny faces at her so she missed seeing the Doctor freeze because of what she said. He was angry for two reasons, one they were in danger and they were chatting up his Promised One and two, just because she had a baby with her, she was no longer worthy of their 'attention'? The Doctor had to shake himself off and relaxed. He put his arm around her on the pew bench and scooted a little bit closer towards Layla. He leaned in towards little Rose and gave her a soft grin and that gave him an excuse for the reason to be touching Layla more. Touching her more helped relax him more. And he had seen her making faces at little Rose and started to make some with her causing the baby to giggle. "Now, Rose, you're not going to bring about the end of the world, are you? Are you?" Rose walks over towards them and the Doctor straightens up but doesn't move away from Layla, his hand slides up though and rests on her hip.
Layla feels her heart jolt and feels the warmth of his hand through her clothes on her hip. She looks at Rose trying to distract herself. "Jackie gave her to me to look after."
"I'd better be careful. I think I just imprinted myself on Mickey like a mother chicken." Rose reaches down to run her fingers on little Rose's cheek when the Doctor grabs Rose's wrist and pushes it away.
"No. Don't touch the baby. You're both the same person. That's a paradox, and we don't want a paradox happening, not with these things outside. Anything new, any disturbance in time makes them stronger. The paradox might let them in."
Rose sighs heavily. "I can't do anything right, can I?"
"Since you ask, no. So, don't touch the baby." He says snidely and as if he was dumbing it down for her.
Rose narrows her eyes at him. "I'm not stupid."
"You could have fooled me." Rose looks at him hurt but the Doctor doesn't cave with an apology because what she did was stupid. "However, I wasn't going to leave you here."
"I know." Rose gives a slight smile.
"The entire earth's been sterilized. This, and other places like it, are all that's left of the human race. We might hold out for a while, but nothing can stop those creatures. They'll get through in the end. The walls aren't that old. And there's nothing I can do to stop them. There used to be laws stopping this kind of thing from happening. My people would have stopped this but they're all gone, and now I'm going the same way."
"If I'd realized."
"Just tell me you're sorry." The Doctor gives in just wanting to be done with this whole day.
"I am. I'm sorry." Rose had been thinking about Layla had said back at the flat. She had her mum. And her mum was fantastic and did everything for her and made her who she was. But because she saved her dad and wounded time, she is not only going to lose her dad, but now her mum too. So, she is sorry that she messed up. She should have just been content with what she had.
All of a sudden, they hear Layla gasps in pain but she is holding onto little Rose, she stands and thrusts her hip towards the Doctor. "Doctor, front pocket, get it out, hot, burning, fast, please." She couldn't reach it very well because it was in the pocket on the side where she was holding the weight of little Rose. She didn't want to try to pull it out and hold little Rose with only one hand and touch her burning Tardis key with the other, worried that because of the pain, she might drop her.
The Doctor doesn't know what is causing her pain but he quickly reaches into her front pocket of her jeans and pulls out the burning metal and tosses it to the floor as it burns his fingers. He sees that it is the Tardis key and it is glowing hot. Layla puts little Rose back in her carrycot and rubs her hand over the spot where the key was.
The Doctor takes off his jacket and picks up the key with it safely. "It's the Tardis key! It's telling me it's still connected to the Tardis!" He goes to the pulpit to make an announcement. "The inside of my ship was thrown out of the wound but we can use this to bring it back. And once I've got my ship back, then I can mend everything. Now, I just need a bit of power. Has anybody got a battery?"
Stuart stands up holding his dad's big arse mobile phone. "This one big enough?"
The Doctor beams. "Fantastic."
"Good old dad. There you go."
"Just need to do a bit of charging up and then we can bring everyone back." The Doctor uses his sonic with the key and battery while the creatures continue to batter the windows and doors. Layla had just got back from giving Jackie little Rose back and patted the Doctor on the back when the Tardis slowly started to materializes around the key.
"Right, no one touches that key. Have you got that? Don't touch it? Anyone touches that key, it'll be, well, zap. Just leave it be and everything will be fine. We'll get out of here. All of us. Stuart, Sarah you're going to get married, just like I said."
Rose walks over to where the Doctor and Layla were standing and started talking quietly trying to keep Pete from hearing. "When time gets sorted…"
"Everybody here forgets what happened. And don't worry, the thing that you changed will stay changed."
However, it was all for naught. Pete had come to his own conclusion and came over. "You mean I'll be alive, though I'm meant to be dead. That's why I haven't done anything with my life, why I didn't mean anything."
"It doesn't work like that." The Doctor tried to deny.
"Rubbish. I'm so useless I couldn't even die properly. Now it's my fault all of this has happened."
Rose shook her head and grabbed his arm. "This is my fault."
Pete grabbed her hand and squeeze it softly. "No, love. I'm your dad. It's my job for it to be my fault."
Jackie happened to be close by and heard what he said and not knowing that the adult Rose was her little Rose, came to the wrong conclusion. "Her dad? How are you her dad? How old were you, twelve? Oh, that's disgusting."
Pete walks to Jackie begging her to listen to him. "Jacks, listen. This is Rose."
Jackie's mouth drops open and pain enters her eyes and voice. "Rose? How sick is that? You give my daughter a second-hand name? How many are there? Do you call them all Rose?" The Doctor sighs heavily at the domestics playing out in front of him and grunts when Layla elbows him at his rudeness.
"Oh, for god's sake, look. It's the same Rose!" Pete said exasperated. He grabbed little Rose and thrust her into Rose's arms.
"Rose! No!" However, the Doctor was too late to stop her before they touched. The Doctor snatches little Rose away and gives her back to Jackie and a creature appears in the church.
"Everyone, behind me! I'm the oldest thing in here." The Doctor stand bravely in front of everyone in the church willing to sacrifice his life for them, but mainly for his Promised One.
"Doctor!" Rose shouts.
The creature circles around and Layla looks between it, the Doctor, the people in the church, and the Tardis. He is the only one who can pilot the Tardis and save these people. They can live without me, but not without him. Eyes set in determination, as soon as she sees the creature start to fly towards the Doctor she takes off and rams into him, knocking him to the floor and putting herself in his place. However, while she saved him, the creature got the last laugh. After it finished eating her, it flew around, into the materializing Tardis, causing it to disappear, before disappearing itself.
Everyone and everything froze. Everyone was hardly breathing least of all the Doctor. He just stared where he last seen Layla before the creature took her away. Someone finally moved across his vision and he looked and sees Rose run towards the Tardis key. "It's cold. The key's cold. Oh, my god. She's dead. This is all my fault. All of you. The whole world."
As soon as the words registered in his mind, he could feel his pulse elevate, his body started to tremble, and he clenched his teeth. He was leveling a lethal glare towards Rose. As if she could feel the heated look, she turned toward him and flinched and felt terror from the look he was giving her. It was a look where he didn't even need to say anything to express his emotions, and it was all her fault.
The Doctor slowly stood up and walked towards Rose. She was frozen and couldn't move and she was terrified. The others around were scared as well. This was the Oncoming Storm. This was who his enemies feared. He stops right in front of her and stares at her with cold, dead, eyes. Her eyes are wide and she is trembling. He reaches out and she flinches but all he does is grab the Tardis key, her key, from her and walks away. Everyone breaths a collective sigh of relief and Rose feels like she could collapse.
The Doctor goes to an area of the church where there is no one else, where he can fall apart without anyone around. Why? Why would she do that? His chest feels like it is caved in, his head falls forward and arms are resting at his sides limply. His eyes are starting to redden, to burn, to cloud with tears, and it doesn't take much before they start to fall and run down his cheeks. He makes no attempts to wipe them away and his breath hitches as he cries in pain. She was so young and had so much to live for. I am old jaded murderer; it should have been me. Not her. He leans forward with his elbows on his knees and head in his hands as he plays back images of her in his mind. That's it, she's gone, I'm alone. I can't do this without her. Not anymore. Not since I found her. I just found her and now I'm alone again. I found something worth fighting for and now she's gone.
Xxxxxx
Rose was in her own little world of despair though so she doesn't notice the Doctor in his. She thinks he is angry that because of her, their friend is dead, and his ship is gone, and everyone here is about to die. She has no idea that it is so much more than that to the Doctor.
Pete looks out the church window and sees the beige card drive around the corner again and again. He goes over to Rose and sits by her, getting her attention. "The Doctor, and Layla, they really cared about you. They didn't want you to go through it again, not if there was another way. Now there isn't."
"What are you talking about?" Rose asks slowly, dreading where he is going with this.
"The car that should have killed me, love. It's here. The Doctor worked it out way back, but he, er, he tried to protect me. Still, he's not in charge anymore. I am."
"But you can't." Selfishly, even though everyone is going to die, Rose still doesn't want to give up her daddy.
Pete looks at her softly. "Who am I, love?"
Rose chokes on a sob. "My daddy."
Pete looks towards Jackie. "Look at her. She's ours."
She finally understands what Pete has been trying to tell her this whole time. "Oh, of course." She pulls Rose into a tight hug.
"I'm meant to be dead, Jackie. You're going to get rid of me at last." Pete tries to be brave, in the face of death for his girls.
Jackie starts to tear up. "Don't say that." She is now regretting all the horrible things she has said to him lately and wishes she could take them back.
"For once in your life, trust me. It's got to be done. You've got to survive, because you've got to bring up our daughter. I never read you those bedtime stories. I never took you on those picnics. I was never there for you."
"You would have been." Rose is pleading, but she knows this has to be done to save the world.
"But I can do this for you. I can be a proper dad to you now."
"But it's not fair." Why can't I have him in my life?
"I've had all these extra hours. No one else in the world has ever had that. And on top of that, I got to see you. And you're beautiful. How lucky am I, eh? So, come on, do as your dad says. You going to be there for me, love? Thanks for saving me."
They all watch Pete run out of the church clutching the vase. One of the creatures spots him but doesn't move towards him. Pete runs to the corner where the car appears. The driver flings his arms across his face and Pete gets hit. The vase drops and breaks and the creatures vanish. Layla is pushing on Rose's back. "Go to him, quick." While Rose is running to her dying father, Layla goes towards the Doctor who hasn't realized what Pete has done, or that she has come back.
Xxxxxx
The Doctor is numb. He doesn't hear or see anything. He is stuck in a loop of memories, both good and bad, past and present. At least with these creatures, I won't have to live like this much longer, he thinks to himself. Now he understood why that Time Lord killed herself when her rejected Promised One died. It is agony. Missing part of your soul once you had found it.
He feels an odd sensation on his head at first that starts to drive away the numbness. It soothes an itch in his body. Caresses his soul. For the first time since Layla was eaten, he takes a clear deep breath and relaxes. He feels fingers running across his hair and down the back of his neck, scratching gently. His head is resting on someone's stomach and he can feel them humming. He freezes, waiting for the natural flinch from touching someone other than his Promised One, but it never comes. That's impossible, because even though she just died, it would still be a reflex. Hope filters through his hearts as he lifts his head slowly and sees her beautiful face looking down at him with a soft expression.
He chokes on a sob and quickly stands up and pulls her into a hug gripping her tightly. He puts his nose in her hair and smells her hair care products rejoicing that she is alive. Layla is rubbing his back under his jacket and hugging him tightly back. She didn't think he would be this upset with her being gone, but when she thinks about it, she remembers that he did come back from a war where he lost his family and friends and species. To lose a friend and companion probably hit close to home and brought back a lot of memories for him.
"It's okay, I'm okay. I'm sorry I brought back bad memories. I didn't mean to. You're safe. We're safe. Everything's okay." She kept saying these things over and over until the Doctor calmed down.
When he did calm down and registered her words, it took him a minute to understand that she is taking his reaction to her dying differently than it is. That she thinks it brought back bad memories, but she doesn't know about his feelings and the bond. It's a good cover to let her think that for now though. He decides to take a risk and gives her a kiss on the top of her head before he pulls away from her and wipes his face. "Don't ever, ever, do that again." He told her firmly.
"They needed you, Doctor. None of us could fly the Tardis. They could live without me, but not without you. From what I have seen, the universe needs you alive, and I will do what I can to make sure you are safe."
"I need you safe." He tells her seriously causing her heart to skip a beat.
"I promise to be as safe as I can."
"Thank you."
"Now, let's get Rose and go on a fun adventure and forget this tragic day." Her smile falters though at the flat look on the Doctor's face. "Doctor?"
"I think I should take Rose home."
"Because of what happened?" She looks at him thoughtfully. "Maybe she should have one more chance. She is only human, she didn't know the consequences of what she did, and it was an emotional thing, and humans do stupid, irrational things when emotions are involved. I mean this is her first mistake with time."
The Doctor thought about it, and had to think about it without his emotions. He can't use his emotions to make a decision like Rose did or he would be a hypocrite. Layla is right that it is her first mistake with time. "Fine, you're right. But this is her only chance. No more after this. This was a huge one too."
"I agree, she has a good heart when she is thinking rationally, I am sure when she calms down, she will apologize for the trouble she has caused. Let's go see how she is doing."
Xxxxxx
Layla and the Doctor walk out of the church with the Doctor refusing to let go of her hand. They walk over to Rose as she kisses Pete on his forehead and stands up. She walks over towards them wiping her eyes. She grabs Layla and hugs her tightly.
"I'm so sorry, it was all my fault you got eaten. And I'm sorry Doctor, that I saved him without talking to you first. It was stupid and I should have talked to you about it first so I would have known the consequences of it. It won't happen again." The Doctor gives her a forced grin accepting her apology. He can tell that she is sincere, but he is still upset about what she did and what he had come close to losing permanently.
"No, I made the choice. It's okay. I'm okay. I'm here." Layla was rubbing Rose's back with her free hand since the Doctor still wouldn't let go of the one. She wrapped her arm around Rose's neck and pulled her towards her side. "Let's go to the Tardis and watch movies and relax. How does that sound?"
Rose looks at her warily. "What kind of movies?" Rose's face makes the Doctor look at Layla curiously.
Layla gives Rose a devious smile. "Raunchy ones of course, I'm thinking borderline porn. Otherwise, what's the point?"
The Doctor chokes on his spit and his ears turn red and Rose blushes brightly. "No!"
Layla pouts. "Fine, we can watch Disney movies, that will make us happy and not horny." Layla laughs as she looks at their faces and she drags them towards the Tardis. "Relax prudes."