Fic: If You Were I: "John" 3/5
Title: If You Were I: "John"
Author: alex_caligari
Beta: jellybean728
Characters/Pairings: Doctor!Rose, Companion!Nine
Rating: PG
Summary: A blonde, an explosion, and a leather jacket.
Disclaimer: All puppets still firmly attached to the BBC.
Author's Notes: About a year ago, I was given a prompt about a gender/role-swapped Doctor and Companion, called "If You Were I". I decided that it needed to be fleshed out, and here is the result. With enough motivation it might become a 'verse all of it's own.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2
I stopped.
I stared.
I backed up.
I could see the outside of the box, barely four feet across, at the same time I could see the woman smiling at me from a room bigger than my flat. She beckoned me forward. “Come on, it’s safe.”
I walked back inside and up the ramp a little ways. Colours of bruised green and bored blue sulked in the corners, but the centre was dominated by yellows and oranges, colours that welcomed and invited. It reminded me of when I was backpacking through Europe and I wandered across a Byzantine church. Saints, angels, and apostles covered the walls and ceiling, and the sight of all those watching eyes filled me with the same kind of terror-struck awe that this machine did.
For it was clearly a machine. From the centre rose a tall column surrounded by a hodgepodge of gadgetry. I could hear a strange buzz like that of generators in the background. I realized that I was hardly breathing.
“Welcome to the TARDIS,” the woman said. “Could you get the door, if you don’t mind?”
I stumbled out of my daze and closed the door, feeling the ordinary wood under my hand. “TARDIS?”
Her voice came from very close by. “Time And Relative Dimension In Space. You alright?”
I turned towards her. “Yeah, of course. I mean, it’s just bigger on the inside, defying all laws of physics, but who hasn’t seen that? They always mention that in adverts for compact cars, don’t they? Roomier than it looks and all sorts.”
“You’re babbling,” she pointed out.
“Aliens,” I breathed, “you fight aliens with something alien. How’d you get this?”
She shrugged. “I was a local where they built it.”
I groaned and sank to the floor. “Oh, God. You’re alien too. I knew it was too good to be true.”
She crouched in front of me. “Is that alright?”
I looked up. Her face was a foot away from mine and filled with concern. Human-yet-not eyes watched me closely. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s alright.” I braced myself against the door and stood on shaky legs, waving off her offered hand. With a last uncertain look back at me, she went up to the column.
Slowly, I followed her. I saw that the column was a sort of control centre, like the bridge of a ship. She moved around it, pulling levers and switches. It was clear she knew every inch of that centre by the way her fingers trailed over it. She came to a port and pulled out the remains of my mobile from her pocket. It was then attached by a series of wires to the control centre.
I looked more closely around me. Curving struts rose out of the grating and supported the circular walls. It was a beautiful mixture of organic structures blending with functional machinery. Any architect would be envious of its builder’s skill.
I leaned against one of the struts and asked, “What else is there to know about it?” At her glance I shrugged in turn. “I’m an electrician. I like knowing how things work.”
“I always prefer showing rather than telling. Hold on to something,” she said and flipped a switch.
I was instantly jolted away from the strut. I lurched forward and held on to the railing while she whooped in delight. “What the hell is happening?” I yelled over the noise of the column grinding itself to pieces. She only laughed in return.
The shaking stopped as suddenly as it started. “What was that?” I asked.
“Look outside,” she said as she bounced past. She threw open the door and waited for me. I joined her and blinked as sunlight off the river blinded me. The river. I looked up and down the street and saw that we were at least six kilometres away from where we started. “How...?”
“It teleports,” she stage-whispered in my ear.
I jumped away from her like I had been electrified. “Okay, hold on for a moment. I have to stop and take this all in. You need to explain over a coffee or a drink, preferably a drink, because right now, this is too much. Living dummies and bombs and boxes and aliens everywhere! I need to think about this.” I had stepped away from her and knew I looked crazier than I ever thought she was.
“John,” she said slowly, as if she was calming an animal, “you can handle this. Trust me.”
“I’m just an electrician,” I said helplessly.
“No you’re not.” I focused on her gentle smile instead of her disconcerting eyes. “If you were just an electrician you wouldn’t have followed me this far. Come on.” She held out her hand.
I breathed slowly, allowing my mind to accept what my gut had already decided. I didn’t say anything, just took her hand. She beamed like I’d saved her heart from being broken. It made me slightly uncomfortable. We started walking.
She pulled out her strange blinking device and began pointing it at various objects we passed.
“So what are we looking for?” I finally asked.
“Something big,” she answered.
“Glad I got that cleared up.”
“Remember those signals from your mobile? Something had to broadcast them. And to get as far as it’s reaching, it needs something powerful.”
“Like what?”
She was focused on her device. “Something tall. Maybe round, like a satellite dish.” She shook the device in frustration. “C’mon! Quit being so difficult. I know it’s around here somewhere, but I can’t pinpoint it.”
I looked across the river. “Like Big Ben?”
She turned and rolled her eyes at me. “Big Ben? Is that the best you can do? Aliens would never go for something so ostentatious. Think, John, think!”
“It’s London! Everything is ostentatious. Why do you think they call it Piccadilly Circus?” I nearly walked into her, she had stopped so suddenly. She was finally looking away from her device and towards something downriver. “Are you kidding me?” I said, following her gaze.
“It’s perfect,” she replied. Her smile outshone all the sights London had put together.
Chapter 4
Author: alex_caligari
Beta: jellybean728
Characters/Pairings: Doctor!Rose, Companion!Nine
Rating: PG
Summary: A blonde, an explosion, and a leather jacket.
Disclaimer: All puppets still firmly attached to the BBC.
Author's Notes: About a year ago, I was given a prompt about a gender/role-swapped Doctor and Companion, called "If You Were I". I decided that it needed to be fleshed out, and here is the result. With enough motivation it might become a 'verse all of it's own.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2
I stopped.
I stared.
I backed up.
I could see the outside of the box, barely four feet across, at the same time I could see the woman smiling at me from a room bigger than my flat. She beckoned me forward. “Come on, it’s safe.”
I walked back inside and up the ramp a little ways. Colours of bruised green and bored blue sulked in the corners, but the centre was dominated by yellows and oranges, colours that welcomed and invited. It reminded me of when I was backpacking through Europe and I wandered across a Byzantine church. Saints, angels, and apostles covered the walls and ceiling, and the sight of all those watching eyes filled me with the same kind of terror-struck awe that this machine did.
For it was clearly a machine. From the centre rose a tall column surrounded by a hodgepodge of gadgetry. I could hear a strange buzz like that of generators in the background. I realized that I was hardly breathing.
“Welcome to the TARDIS,” the woman said. “Could you get the door, if you don’t mind?”
I stumbled out of my daze and closed the door, feeling the ordinary wood under my hand. “TARDIS?”
Her voice came from very close by. “Time And Relative Dimension In Space. You alright?”
I turned towards her. “Yeah, of course. I mean, it’s just bigger on the inside, defying all laws of physics, but who hasn’t seen that? They always mention that in adverts for compact cars, don’t they? Roomier than it looks and all sorts.”
“You’re babbling,” she pointed out.
“Aliens,” I breathed, “you fight aliens with something alien. How’d you get this?”
She shrugged. “I was a local where they built it.”
I groaned and sank to the floor. “Oh, God. You’re alien too. I knew it was too good to be true.”
She crouched in front of me. “Is that alright?”
I looked up. Her face was a foot away from mine and filled with concern. Human-yet-not eyes watched me closely. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s alright.” I braced myself against the door and stood on shaky legs, waving off her offered hand. With a last uncertain look back at me, she went up to the column.
Slowly, I followed her. I saw that the column was a sort of control centre, like the bridge of a ship. She moved around it, pulling levers and switches. It was clear she knew every inch of that centre by the way her fingers trailed over it. She came to a port and pulled out the remains of my mobile from her pocket. It was then attached by a series of wires to the control centre.
I looked more closely around me. Curving struts rose out of the grating and supported the circular walls. It was a beautiful mixture of organic structures blending with functional machinery. Any architect would be envious of its builder’s skill.
I leaned against one of the struts and asked, “What else is there to know about it?” At her glance I shrugged in turn. “I’m an electrician. I like knowing how things work.”
“I always prefer showing rather than telling. Hold on to something,” she said and flipped a switch.
I was instantly jolted away from the strut. I lurched forward and held on to the railing while she whooped in delight. “What the hell is happening?” I yelled over the noise of the column grinding itself to pieces. She only laughed in return.
The shaking stopped as suddenly as it started. “What was that?” I asked.
“Look outside,” she said as she bounced past. She threw open the door and waited for me. I joined her and blinked as sunlight off the river blinded me. The river. I looked up and down the street and saw that we were at least six kilometres away from where we started. “How...?”
“It teleports,” she stage-whispered in my ear.
I jumped away from her like I had been electrified. “Okay, hold on for a moment. I have to stop and take this all in. You need to explain over a coffee or a drink, preferably a drink, because right now, this is too much. Living dummies and bombs and boxes and aliens everywhere! I need to think about this.” I had stepped away from her and knew I looked crazier than I ever thought she was.
“John,” she said slowly, as if she was calming an animal, “you can handle this. Trust me.”
“I’m just an electrician,” I said helplessly.
“No you’re not.” I focused on her gentle smile instead of her disconcerting eyes. “If you were just an electrician you wouldn’t have followed me this far. Come on.” She held out her hand.
I breathed slowly, allowing my mind to accept what my gut had already decided. I didn’t say anything, just took her hand. She beamed like I’d saved her heart from being broken. It made me slightly uncomfortable. We started walking.
She pulled out her strange blinking device and began pointing it at various objects we passed.
“So what are we looking for?” I finally asked.
“Something big,” she answered.
“Glad I got that cleared up.”
“Remember those signals from your mobile? Something had to broadcast them. And to get as far as it’s reaching, it needs something powerful.”
“Like what?”
She was focused on her device. “Something tall. Maybe round, like a satellite dish.” She shook the device in frustration. “C’mon! Quit being so difficult. I know it’s around here somewhere, but I can’t pinpoint it.”
I looked across the river. “Like Big Ben?”
She turned and rolled her eyes at me. “Big Ben? Is that the best you can do? Aliens would never go for something so ostentatious. Think, John, think!”
“It’s London! Everything is ostentatious. Why do you think they call it Piccadilly Circus?” I nearly walked into her, she had stopped so suddenly. She was finally looking away from her device and towards something downriver. “Are you kidding me?” I said, following her gaze.
“It’s perfect,” she replied. Her smile outshone all the sights London had put together.
Chapter 4