Doctor Who FanFic: Not the Only One - Doctor/Rose
Title: Not the Only One
Character/Pairing: Doctor/Rose
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Doctor Who is owned by the BBC. I own nothing.
Summary: Rose struggles to come to terms with recent events.
****SPOILERS THROUGH JOURNEY'S END****
Author's Note: This was my way of working through my issues with the finale. Started out exploring the sorrow and bitterness Rose seemed to be feeling (and I definitely was feeling) during the beach scene and grew into me falling completely in love with this new Doctor and being more than a bit angry with the old one. :|
It was several weeks before Rose realized she wasn't the only victim in this situation.
She spent most of her time fluctuating between sorrow over losing him again and anger over him abandoning her. Their conversation from long ago played through her mind over and over again.
~~
You just leave us behind. Is that what you're going to do to me?
No, not to you.
~~
Not to you.
“Then what do you call this?” she thought bitterly. “Saving me? Protecting me? Giving me a consolation prize? You left me! You got into the bloody TARDIS and you left! You didn't even say good-bye!”
She couldn't bring herself to return to work. What was the point? There was nothing left to try for.
The strange new Doctor with only one heart and one life was given a room at the Tyler mansion, but Rose didn't have much to do with him. She spoke with him, she was polite to him, but she didn't open up to him. She couldn't. He wasn't her Doctor.
One afternoon, she came back from a walk to find the new Doctor sprawled out in the yard with a dismantled telescope, various tools and gadgets, and the makeshift sonic screwdriver he had fashioned in that first week after the beach. He had the spare glasses he had found in his suit pocket perched on his nose and was listening to a u-pod (no i-pods in this universe). Rose walked carefully over to him.
“What are you doing?” She asked. He didn't look up. “Hey!” She tapped him on the shoulder causing him to start. He looked up at her and took out his headphones. She could hear the music blaring out of them crystal clear.
“Blimey! About gave me a heart attack! I only have one of them now you know.”
Rose tried to ignore his last statement. “Sorry. Maybe you should turn the volume down.” The new Doctor shook his head.
“Nah, I like it loud. It drowns out the quiet.” Rose couldn't see how anywhere around this house could be considered quiet. Not with a three-year old boy running around everywhere.
“I just wanted to know what you were doing.”
“I'm trying to modify this telescope so it amplifies better and shows the stars and planets more clearly.”
“Why?” The new Doctor just shrugged.
“They're too far away.”
Rose looked up at the sky and thought she couldn't agree more. She didn't tell him that, though. She simply said, 'Alright. Good luck with it” and turned and walked into the house. She went upstairs to her room, thinking about what he said. The stars did seem far away, much more so since she'd been trapped here. She couldn't just jump into the TARDIS with the Doctor and pop across the universe to some star that had caught their fancy.
Rose stopped.
The TARDIS.
Suddenly things began to make sense. The Doctor, the new Doctor, the one outside right now, he may not technically be the Doctor, but he still shares all of the Doctor's memories. He remembers traveling through time and space, all across the universe, centuries of it. He's used to always having the TARDIS with him.
She remembered how much trouble she had sleeping in the beginning without the hum of the TARDIS filling her room. She wondered how much harder it must be on him. He wasn't just missing the sounds of the TARDIS, he was missing his psychic link to her.
Rose bit her lip at this realization. That's why he was down there with loud music and a telescope. It was his meager attempt at coping. He had always carried on, joking with her parents, entertaining her brother, talking to her whenever she actually let him. She never once thought to question how he was doing. Never once thought he was anything but completely satisfied with their situation.
She suddenly felt incredibly guilty and selfish and, if possible, even more angry with the Doctor who left them here. How thoughtless could he be? This newly grown Doctor may be half human, but he was still half Time Lord, and Time Lords need to be out exploring the universe. Not trapped here in a parallel world without even a proper sonic screwdriver.
Rose made her way back downstairs and outside. She needed to check on him. She didn't care who he was. Anyone who's traveled the stars and suddenly finds himself stuck in one place had to be hurting.
She stepped out onto the porch and a wave of uncertainty washed over her. She wasn't sure what to say. She couldn't just go up and ask “Are you miserable being trapped in one place and time?” Instead, she hung back and just watched him.
He was sitting cross-legged now, using the makeshift sonic on what looked to be the lens from the telescope. His hair was ruffled like he had run his hands through it, frustrated. His glasses were slightly askew and the tip of his tongue poked out in concentration. Rose watched as he made an adjustment to the screwdriver and switched it back on. The screwdriver sparked and singed his fingers. He let out a string of foreign syllables that Rose recognized from the hours she had spent watching him tinker with the TARDIS console as Gallifreyan curses. He then stuck his fingers in his mouth and frowned down at the offensive tool.
Rose's heart clenched at the familiarity of this transgression, and she found herself sitting down on the grass next to him before she even realized she'd moved.
“Here let me look at it,” she said, reaching for his hand. The Doctor looked over at her surprised.
“I thought you went inside,” he said, removing his headphones.
“I did, but then I changed my mind.” She picked up his hand and examined his injured fingers. “Doesn't look too bad. Probably just sting for a bit.” She released his hand. “What happened?”
The Doctor removed his glasses and ran his hands through his hair. “Well, I was trying to activate the Pruvvilyl particles in the glass, but they weren't quite lining up right so I altered the setting on the sonic screwdriver but then it short-circuited and shot sparks at me.” He let out a long sigh. “Maybe I should just chuck it all.”
“Nonsense, you just need to repair the sonic screwdriver, that's all.” She reached down and picked up said object. “You'll get it working.”
The Doctor stared at her as if trying to read her thoughts. Rose held his gaze and offered him a small smile. Finally, he turned away. “I can't. I don't have all the parts.”
“Well, what do you need? Maybe I know where we can find them. If it's something hard to find or alien, we could always check at Torchwood. We've got loads of scavenged alien machinery there.”
The Doctor's eyes lit up just a fraction. “Really?” he asked in this small, hopeful voice that broke Rose's heart.
She smiled and nodded. “Yeah.” The Doctor's whole face lit up then, and he broke into a huge grin.
“Well, let's get started then.” He popped his glasses back on and started examining the screwdriver still in Rose's hand.
“Shouldn't we get some paper and pen so we can make a list?” Rose asked.
“Oooo, good point.” He started rummaging through his suit pockets. “Ah, ha! Here we go! Here you write down the parts that I tell you.” They traded objects, and he started taking apart the sonic screwdriver. “Let's see we're going to need a new triple-wire transducer, and a stabilizing.....”
Rose scribbled down the parts he was naming and looked back up at him. She smiled again watching her Doctor at work.
Perhaps, it would be okay after all.
Character/Pairing: Doctor/Rose
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Doctor Who is owned by the BBC. I own nothing.
Summary: Rose struggles to come to terms with recent events.
****SPOILERS THROUGH JOURNEY'S END****
Author's Note: This was my way of working through my issues with the finale. Started out exploring the sorrow and bitterness Rose seemed to be feeling (and I definitely was feeling) during the beach scene and grew into me falling completely in love with this new Doctor and being more than a bit angry with the old one. :|
It was several weeks before Rose realized she wasn't the only victim in this situation.
She spent most of her time fluctuating between sorrow over losing him again and anger over him abandoning her. Their conversation from long ago played through her mind over and over again.
~~
You just leave us behind. Is that what you're going to do to me?
No, not to you.
~~
Not to you.
“Then what do you call this?” she thought bitterly. “Saving me? Protecting me? Giving me a consolation prize? You left me! You got into the bloody TARDIS and you left! You didn't even say good-bye!”
She couldn't bring herself to return to work. What was the point? There was nothing left to try for.
The strange new Doctor with only one heart and one life was given a room at the Tyler mansion, but Rose didn't have much to do with him. She spoke with him, she was polite to him, but she didn't open up to him. She couldn't. He wasn't her Doctor.
One afternoon, she came back from a walk to find the new Doctor sprawled out in the yard with a dismantled telescope, various tools and gadgets, and the makeshift sonic screwdriver he had fashioned in that first week after the beach. He had the spare glasses he had found in his suit pocket perched on his nose and was listening to a u-pod (no i-pods in this universe). Rose walked carefully over to him.
“What are you doing?” She asked. He didn't look up. “Hey!” She tapped him on the shoulder causing him to start. He looked up at her and took out his headphones. She could hear the music blaring out of them crystal clear.
“Blimey! About gave me a heart attack! I only have one of them now you know.”
Rose tried to ignore his last statement. “Sorry. Maybe you should turn the volume down.” The new Doctor shook his head.
“Nah, I like it loud. It drowns out the quiet.” Rose couldn't see how anywhere around this house could be considered quiet. Not with a three-year old boy running around everywhere.
“I just wanted to know what you were doing.”
“I'm trying to modify this telescope so it amplifies better and shows the stars and planets more clearly.”
“Why?” The new Doctor just shrugged.
“They're too far away.”
Rose looked up at the sky and thought she couldn't agree more. She didn't tell him that, though. She simply said, 'Alright. Good luck with it” and turned and walked into the house. She went upstairs to her room, thinking about what he said. The stars did seem far away, much more so since she'd been trapped here. She couldn't just jump into the TARDIS with the Doctor and pop across the universe to some star that had caught their fancy.
Rose stopped.
The TARDIS.
Suddenly things began to make sense. The Doctor, the new Doctor, the one outside right now, he may not technically be the Doctor, but he still shares all of the Doctor's memories. He remembers traveling through time and space, all across the universe, centuries of it. He's used to always having the TARDIS with him.
She remembered how much trouble she had sleeping in the beginning without the hum of the TARDIS filling her room. She wondered how much harder it must be on him. He wasn't just missing the sounds of the TARDIS, he was missing his psychic link to her.
Rose bit her lip at this realization. That's why he was down there with loud music and a telescope. It was his meager attempt at coping. He had always carried on, joking with her parents, entertaining her brother, talking to her whenever she actually let him. She never once thought to question how he was doing. Never once thought he was anything but completely satisfied with their situation.
She suddenly felt incredibly guilty and selfish and, if possible, even more angry with the Doctor who left them here. How thoughtless could he be? This newly grown Doctor may be half human, but he was still half Time Lord, and Time Lords need to be out exploring the universe. Not trapped here in a parallel world without even a proper sonic screwdriver.
Rose made her way back downstairs and outside. She needed to check on him. She didn't care who he was. Anyone who's traveled the stars and suddenly finds himself stuck in one place had to be hurting.
She stepped out onto the porch and a wave of uncertainty washed over her. She wasn't sure what to say. She couldn't just go up and ask “Are you miserable being trapped in one place and time?” Instead, she hung back and just watched him.
He was sitting cross-legged now, using the makeshift sonic on what looked to be the lens from the telescope. His hair was ruffled like he had run his hands through it, frustrated. His glasses were slightly askew and the tip of his tongue poked out in concentration. Rose watched as he made an adjustment to the screwdriver and switched it back on. The screwdriver sparked and singed his fingers. He let out a string of foreign syllables that Rose recognized from the hours she had spent watching him tinker with the TARDIS console as Gallifreyan curses. He then stuck his fingers in his mouth and frowned down at the offensive tool.
Rose's heart clenched at the familiarity of this transgression, and she found herself sitting down on the grass next to him before she even realized she'd moved.
“Here let me look at it,” she said, reaching for his hand. The Doctor looked over at her surprised.
“I thought you went inside,” he said, removing his headphones.
“I did, but then I changed my mind.” She picked up his hand and examined his injured fingers. “Doesn't look too bad. Probably just sting for a bit.” She released his hand. “What happened?”
The Doctor removed his glasses and ran his hands through his hair. “Well, I was trying to activate the Pruvvilyl particles in the glass, but they weren't quite lining up right so I altered the setting on the sonic screwdriver but then it short-circuited and shot sparks at me.” He let out a long sigh. “Maybe I should just chuck it all.”
“Nonsense, you just need to repair the sonic screwdriver, that's all.” She reached down and picked up said object. “You'll get it working.”
The Doctor stared at her as if trying to read her thoughts. Rose held his gaze and offered him a small smile. Finally, he turned away. “I can't. I don't have all the parts.”
“Well, what do you need? Maybe I know where we can find them. If it's something hard to find or alien, we could always check at Torchwood. We've got loads of scavenged alien machinery there.”
The Doctor's eyes lit up just a fraction. “Really?” he asked in this small, hopeful voice that broke Rose's heart.
She smiled and nodded. “Yeah.” The Doctor's whole face lit up then, and he broke into a huge grin.
“Well, let's get started then.” He popped his glasses back on and started examining the screwdriver still in Rose's hand.
“Shouldn't we get some paper and pen so we can make a list?” Rose asked.
“Oooo, good point.” He started rummaging through his suit pockets. “Ah, ha! Here we go! Here you write down the parts that I tell you.” They traded objects, and he started taking apart the sonic screwdriver. “Let's see we're going to need a new triple-wire transducer, and a stabilizing.....”
Rose scribbled down the parts he was naming and looked back up at him. She smiled again watching her Doctor at work.
Perhaps, it would be okay after all.