Something I've been planning for a while, hope you all enjoy it. This is set somewhere between 'The Doctor Dances' and 'Boom Town'.
Also, quick note, this is not going to be for Doctor/Rose fans. If you are one, there's this button in the left hand corner of the screen that will take you away from this story. I assume you know how to use it.
To everyone else, enjoy.
The TARDIS
The Doctor was tinkering with the console, only half listening to Jack's story as the former conman told The Doctor and Rose about what one of his adventures.
"And then I turned to him and said 'well, at least it's not Parliament'," Jack said and Rose broke into laughter.
The Doctor fought the smirk that threatened to cross his face. While Rose considered herself smarter than anyone her age, she was still fairly young and didn't realize that Jack's stories were a bit embellished. Ah, to be young.
"So, where to now, Doctor?" Jack asked, turning over to the Time Lord.
"Wherever you want, we have all of time and space to explore," The Doctor said glibly.
Jack opened his mouth to speak but, before he could get a word out, there was a ringing sound as the scanner flashed.
"What's that?" Rose asked as she walked over and The Doctor frowned.
"I believe I'm getting a call," The Doctor said uneasily.
"Who could call The TARDIS?" Jack wondered.
The Doctor was silent, wondering the same thing. After the Time War, the list of people capable of contacting the TARDIS was next to non-existent. Warily, The Doctor answered and the screen then showed a dark haired woman, smirking at him malicious.
"Hello, Doctor. It's been a long time," the woman said and The Doctor stared at her impassively.
"Who are you?" The Doctor demanded and she laughed.
"I must look quite different, since I last Regenerated. But I'm surprised you haven't figured it out. Surely you didn't forget about me after the Time War, or did being the sole survivor go to your head," the woman mocked and it came to The Doctor then.
"Rani," The Doctor said and she smirked. "When last we met, you were under house arrest by the Tetraps."
"Yes, and you were a bumbling buffoon. How times change us, Doctor," The Rani noted mockingly.
"Um, who is this?" Jack asked,, he and Rose looking confused.
"The Rani. She's a rogue Time Lord. You might call her a fanatic," The Doctor explained.
"What you call fanaticism, I call science. But that's neither here nor now. Doctor, you remember the legends of the crystal of Asgard, do you not?" The Rani inquired.
"Of course, under the right circumstances, it can be used to prolong life. What of it?" The Doctor asked.
"You're going to head to Asgard and bring it to me," The Rani said and The Doctor stared at her blankly before laughing hysterically.
"And why would I do that?" he asked once he gained control of his laughter. "Why in the name of Gallifrey would I ever help you? You head from planet to planet, causing untold misery in the name of your perverse experiments which you call 'science'. Why would I ever help you?"
The Rani gave him a smirk that caused an unsettling feeling to come over The Doctor before pressing a button. The image of her vanished from the secret, replaced by a barrage of images.
First, a picture of an old man with two people, a dark haired man and woman. The image then showed the man and woman, now much older, restrained, looking fearful. The words 'Ian and Barbra' appeared on the screen above them.
The next image was of a younger man with dark hair in a suit standing next to a younger man in a military uniform. The image changed to the military man, now much older, restrained, looking around wearily, the word 'Brigadier' appearing above his picture.
The next image was of a man with greying brown hair talking to a young, pretty blond haired woman. The image then changed to the blond woman, now much older, looking around a room with a mix of fear and curiosity, the word 'Jo' appearing above her picture.
The image then showed a dark haired mean with a dark coat and a scarf standing next to a dark haired woman who seemed the same age as him before it showed that same woman. As with all the others, she was much older and restrained, looking around with some nostalgia, 'Sarah-Jane'' appearing above her.
The next image was of a blond haired man in a white suit with a stick of celery sticking out of his pocket with two young women. One was dressed in a stewardess uniform with a pink hat while the other was a dark haired woman with kind green eyes. The image flickered to show both woman, now restrained, looking torn between fear and annoyance as they glanced at each other, clearly happy to see one another. 'Nyssa and Tegan' appeared above their picture.
The next picture was of a man with blond, curly hair with a red haired woman before it flashed to the woman, again far older, restrained but looking around with a curious glint in her eyes. 'Mel' appeared above her.
The last one was of a man holding an umbrella and wearing a hat with a blond girl with a jacket. It flashed again, showing the woman looking annoyed as she was restrained, 'Ace' appearing above her.
The Doctor was silent, blood draining from his face and his skin growing paler with each image shown as Jack and Rose looked over at him, confused and concerned. Rose was about to speak when The Rani's image took over the screen once more.
"You've been traveling the universe a long time, Doctor, with many different people. That gives you a long list of people you care about, and me a long list of people to leverage over you," The Rani said and The Doctor found his voice, his entire body practically trembling with rage.
"If you hurt them, if you've harmed them in any way-" The Doctor began angrily.
"I have not done anything beyond acquiring them as leverage. And I have no reason to, provided you do as I say. Give me a crystal from Asgard, and I shall return your friends to you," The Rani said and The Doctor was silent for a long moment.
"How will I contact you to make the exchange?" The Doctor finally asked and The Rani's smirk seemed to widen.
"Oh, I'm sure you're smart enough to record this signal and back track it once you have the crystal. Don't keep your friends waiting, Doctor," The Rani taunted before the screen went blank.
Once the screen was gone, The Doctor let out a roar of rage that startled his two Companions before he whirled around, tossing his screwdriver at the wall. It hit the wall and fell to the floor with a thud. The room was silent for a moment.
"Did that help?" Jack asked.
"No," The Doctor said as he walked over and picked up his screwdriver. "But now I can think without wanting to hit something, so I got what I wanted."
"Who were all those people? How do you know them?" Rose finally asked the question that had been burning on the tip of her tongue since the slide show had started.
"Haven't you figured it out by now? They used to travel with The Doctor, just like us. What, did you think we were the first people he'd taken on a tour of the universe?" Jack asked with a laugh. "He's over nine hundred, and he's clearly not new at this."
"I thought…I thought we had something special," Rose said, looking at The Doctor hurt and he almost sighed.
This was why he'd stopped traveling with the young ones. They always thought they were more important to him than they actually were, sometimes they fell in love. Time to nip that in the bud.
"We do. All the people I travel with are special to me. Rose, you're not any less to me that you were before. But I'm over nine hundred years old. All those men you saw my friends with? They were me. Time Lords, we have a sort of trick to cheat death. We survive, but we change," The Doctor explained to the stunned Rose. "You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend the rest of my life with you. And eventually, you'll want someone who can give you the things I cannot: stability, children, a family."
"I don't care about any of that," Rose said immediately and The Doctor smiled at her in a way that was almost pitying.
"Maybe not now, but you will eventually. Eventually, you'll want a man who can marry you, who can settle down, give you children. And that will never be me."
Rose looked at him, tears forming in her eyes as he looked at her sadly before Jack spoke.
"What now?" Jack asked and The Doctor was silent.
"We head to Asgard. The Rani has my friends, and will never let them go unless I give her what she wants," The Doctor said as he walked over to the console, quickly charting a new course. "We go get the crystal, and then we go get my friends."
"Are you really going to let someone like The Rani have that kind of power, Doctor?" Jack asked in a little disbelief and The Doctor looked at Jack for a long moment.
"She has my friends," The Doctor said simply before pulling the lever, beginning the materialization process.
The Rani would be played by Katie McGrath.