So the Lover Must Struggle for Words, Chapter 2 (of 2)
Rose was grateful Mickey and Jake had already told her everything she was supposed to be learning in her meeting. She couldn’t concentrate, could barely focus, knowing the Doctor was--really and truly--downstairs, with at least her universe seemingly still intact.
What the hell did he mean by coming? He’d told her it was impossible, that she’d never see him again-and he’d never said he loved her in spite of how his last sentence ha seemed to be going. For all she knew, he was going to repeat the remonstrance the first him had when he’d sent her away from the Game Station, telling her to have a fantastic life. As a means of moving on, that’s what she’d finally decided he was going to say that day, and she’d spent the intervening years trying very hard to do just that.
Pete had been able to build a rudimentary background for her, but Rose had wanted to earn her education herself. She’d sat her A-levels and, after a gap year spent doing some ‘research’ for Torchwood to keep her hand in, had gone to University. It was hard, not least because of the differences in the universes; she liked to learn by doing, and sitting in a class being lectured to by boring Dons was a daily test of concentration and willpower. Still, she had made it through most of the coursework, had just one term left to go before finishing her degree, and she was determined to see it through.
Her experiences with the Doctor had assisted in her gaining employ with Torchwood during her term breaks-although in truth it was more like being a specialized intern than an actual employee. No matter which division they put her in to work during her break, she invariably wound up in the centre of some misadventure; they’d finally decided to try her out with an ops team during this break, deciding she might ultimately be best suited to working in the field.
And now the Doctor had shown up and expected her to drop everything to come with him and his new companion.
She could feel her blood pressure rise every time she thought of it, the sheer, Doctor-y arrogance of the assumption. She wasn’t sure she wanted to drop everything she had worked so hard for, even if she still loved him-and she knew without a doubt she did. His touch, the brush of his breath against her ear, had confirmed that.
Damn the man. Alien. Whatever. She hoped Mickey gave all of the biscuits to Donna.
Donna. Well. Rose had admittedly not seen much interaction between the Doctor and the redhead but she thought Donna might just be a companion, in the friends-only sense. She didn’t know, though, and that uncertainty just added to her frustration with the entire situation.
She hoped Mickey didn’t even give the Doctor tea. Or, that if he did, he at least gave him some stone-cold, hours-old tea. With extra cream.
The meeting finally ended, and Rose made her way back to her desk with some trepidation. Jake didn’t know exactly what had happened downstairs, but he’d been keeping a close eye on her during the meeting. She’d been relieved when he’d dashed out the door before her, and finally let out a sigh of relief when she didn’t see him standing by her desk. Her relief was short-lived, as she noticed a small satsuma sitting next to the shoebox she’d abandoned there earlier.
She stared at the small fruit, waiting for it to do something alarming-that would be just like the Doctor. And what in hell had Mickey been thinking, bringing him up here? She felt another flash of anger, and nearly had a heart attack when she heard a throat clear behind her.
“What?” she snapped.
“He’s, ah, downstairs. With Donna. Nice lady, you’ll like her. Doesn’t take guff from him.”
She slowly spun to face Mickey. “You brought him up here?”
“No! I, ah…”
Rose closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. “How are you sure he hasn’t swanned off?”
“He won’t swan off. And Jake’s with him.”
She turned, pulled her chair out, and sat heavily. Her eyes focused once more on the satsuma, sitting innocently in the middle of her desk. “And how was tea?”
Mickey leaned against the desk and shrugged. “Alright. Took them to the cafeteria. Donna kept him from the biscuits, kept giving him nasty looks.”
Rose turned to look at Mickey. “And he snuck up here…when?”
Mickey looked embarrassed. “Said he was going to the loo.”
Rose shook her head, her eyes once more closed. Her meeting hadn’t been that long, and the Doctor had still managed to get into trouble. “Pete knows, then?”
“Yeah, he’s the one who found him. At least we know he got replacement psychic paper at some point.”
She smiled humourlessly, opening her eyes and looking up at Mickey. “Right. Time to pay a visit then. This should be fun.”
She stood, moved to walk away, then turned and grabbed the satsuma from the desk. “He back in the lobby?”
“Not quite. Holding.”
She did smile at that. “And the screwdriver?”
Mickey gave her a feral grin as he reached into a pocket and pulled it out. “Right here.” He handed it to her.
“Fantastic.”
__________________-
The Doctor looked miserable, thought Donna. Served him right, swanning off to go exploring. What had he been thinking? Torchwood might be different in this universe-Rose working there seemed a clear enough indication of that-but they were still Torchwood. He’d just been lucky it was Pete Tyler as had found him, and not some renegade cowboy-type.
“You going to stop pouting, then?” she finally asked, heartily sick of the tense silence in the small room.
“Time Lords don’t pout,” he said, sulkily, before returning to pouting.
“What’s that you’re doin’, then? Working out how to create world peace? You keep saying you don’t pout, but then that’s all you do when things don’t go your way. Pout, pout, pout. I’ve met children who’re better about it than you.”
He looked at her, his spine stiffening a bit as he processed her insult. That was more like it.
“Really, how you’ve made it to your age-that is, the age you claim to be, can’t say I believe you since you act like a two-year-old-with all of your sulking and whingeing when things don’t work out how you want them is beyond me.” Donna exaggeratedly shook her head. “Universe’s biggest children, the Time Lords. Can’t imagine what your planet must have been like. One big crèche, no doubt.”
Donna saw a light tinge of pink suffuse the Doctor’s pale cheeks as he slowly stood; he looked furious.
Good. It was better than the self-pitying sulk he’d been indulging in.
She continued. “How the TARDIS hasn’t done you in, I’ve no idea. Sulking, and then beating up on her when you’ve mucked something up. How Rose put up with it-“
“Stop it, Donna.” The Doctor’s voice was low and angry, his eyes dark.
“Or what? You’re going to sulk on me?” She held his gaze, challengingly. “So Rose didn’t fall at your feet, blessing you for coming to save her. It’s hardly the end of the world. What’d you think would happen, anyway? Rose would slowly run into your arms, throwing herself at you, grateful that you’d saved her from a life of misery?”
The Doctor glared at her. She snorted.
“You might be a high-and-mighty Time Lord, but you’re still a bloke through-and-through, ain’t ya. Expecting everyone else’s world to revolve around you.”
“She-“
“She’s at work, Doctor. She might have things to take care of before she can see you. I know you’re not much for nine-to-five jobs, what with your time machine, but most of us humans work in that kind of world.”
“She left us with Mickey!”
“Nice bloke he is, too. I could see why he’d drive you spare, what with thinking of Rose first. And you’re just miffed he took your…bleeper.”
“It is not a bleeper! He-“
The sound of the electronic lock disengaging interrupted the Doctor. Donna had been amused when Mickey had immediately requested the sonic screwdriver; without it, not even the Doctor could get them out of the room into which they’d been locked. Donna turned to the door, noticing the Doctor tense in anticipation. Mickey entered.
“Right, you lot are free on bail.”
Donna snorted.
“Where’s my screwdriver?” The Doctor’s voice held not an ounce of humour.
“Warden’s got it. Doctor, you’ve got to promise not to roam about unescorted. You’re not public enemy number one here, but nobody here knows you. Sayin’ you’re ‘The Doctor’ will only get you sectioned.”
“Who’s our escort, then?” Donna asked, when the Doctor remained stonily silent.
“Rose, o’ course.” Donna saw a brief wave of emotion cross the Doctor’s face before it returned to stony neutrality. Mickey took a step closer to the Doctor. “But, Doctor. You gotta…She’d never expected you to be back. You almost broke her that day, y’know? Took a lot of willpower on her part to put the pieces back together, to build her life. Then you show up? Bit of a shock.”
The Doctor remained impassive, and Donna cleared her throat meaningfully. He finally spoke. “It’s not like this was easy, you know!” Mickey’s gaze hardened, and the Doctor finally relented. He shoved his hands in his pockets and slumped his shoulders. “Can I see Rose now?”
“Right this way.” Mickey walked out the door, Donna and the Doctor following. Rose was standing just outside the door, in the hallway; Donna didn’t miss how she flushed when she saw the Doctor.
The four of them stood, looking at each other in awkward silence. Mickey finally spoke. “I’ll, ah-Rose, I’ll be at my desk if you need anything.” He turned to Donna. “Nice to meet you.” He gave her a grin, and added, “Congratulations on not killing him.” He then faced the Doctor. “No more wanderin’ off.” Mickey emphasized the point by poking a finger into the Doctor’s chest. “And good to see you.” Donna watched him turn and walk down the corridor.
Rose cleared her throat awkwardly. “You all…you’re alright?”
“Right as rain,” Donna said, brightly. The Doctor looked lost, and Donna took pity on him. “Nicest holding cells I’ve seen in ages.”
A small smile graced Rose’s face. “Nice to see some things haven’t changed. Did he take you to Ooduf V?”
“The slugs?”
“Yes!”
Donna shuddered. “All for bananas. No fruit is worth the slugs. Or their holding cells.”
“Good source of potassium,” the Doctor said, softly. Donna felt her heart break a little for him; he looked so forlorn. Rose’s smile faded, and she returned once more to being briskly business-like.
“Just this way-don’t reckon you all want to hang about in the hallway all day.” She turned and walked in the opposite direction from Mickey. They passed through several doors, traversing a corridor and stairs as Rose led them through Torchwood. The entire walk was silent, the tension between the Doctor and Rose practically visible.
By the time they arrived in a plush corner office on one of the upper floors, Donna wanted to knock Rose and the Doctor’s heads together. How on earth had they ever…done whatever if they couldn’t even talk with each other?
Donna settled in to one of the cushy wing chairs in front of the desk as Rose picked up the phone on the desk, whispering hastily into it before hanging up. The Doctor was leaning against the wall, looking longingly at Rose when she wasn’t looking at him, but averting his eyes whenever Rose’s gaze drifted his way.
Donna huffed in impatience-this was ridiculous. She waited until Rose had settled into the chair opposite her-interesting that she didn’t sit behind the desk-before breaking the silence once more. “You two always like this, then? ‘cause I was made to believe that you were inseparable.”
Rose blushed, and Donna was surprised when it was the Doctor who answered. “She started it.” The truculent tone was back, and Donna fought back the urge to scream. Rose saved her the trouble, turning to face the Doctor fully.
“I started it? You swanned in, showing up on my doorstep after telling me I’d never see you again-ever!”
“I did the impossible to come back for you! And you tell me you have a meeting to go to when I ask you to come along? If you didn’t want to see me, all you had to do was say so!”
Donna had seen the Doctor in all of his ‘Oncoming Storm’ glory, but she didn’t think she’d ever seen him quite so…furiously hurt.
“You told me to have a fantastic life, once-when you sent me away! What was I supposed to do, sit and pine for you until the day you came back? You told me you were never coming back. I made a life for myself! I can’t just drop it!”
The Doctor began walking to the door, saying brusquely to Donna, “Let’s go.”
Donna’s jaw dropped; she saw Rose go pale out of the corner of her eye. “What?”
“You heard me. She doesn’t want to come with us. Let’s go.”
“Are you barmy?”
“I’ll leave without you.”
“Like hell you will.” Donna turned to Rose, who was sitting very still in her chair. “Why don’t you tell us what you’ve been doing?”
Rose swallowed, turning back to face Donna. Donna saw the Doctor stop, standing with his back to the room, behind Rose. He was curious-and if Donna could just get Rose to talk and the Doctor to listen, the two idiots might just have a shot at making things work out.
“I...I went back to University. Got my A-levels first, actually.”
“What’d you study?” she asked, trying to get Rose to talk more. The Doctor turned around.
“History. Took a lot of studyin’, that. Had to re-learn all sorts of things. Probably the only time I was glad I’d dropped out of school.” Rose’s voice was self-deprecating. Donna saw the Doctor take a small step towards them, his expression softening.
“That different, then?” Donna asked, genuinely curious.
“Oh, you can’t imagine. It was a nightmare-but I was never any good at maths, and science…Well, not even travelin’ all that time helped me with that. History, though-I could learn and memorise, and be just fine. I passed with a B.”
Donna caught the look of fondness which passed over the Doctor’s face. “Just history, then?”
“Oh, no. Languages, too. Lost the TARDIS bein’ inside my head, but still managed to find a knack for it. And it’s comin’ in handy, workin’ here. Not that aliens speak much Spanish-but we’re all over the world, so languages are a good thing to know.”
“What did you study at Uni?”
“Still studyin’-just a few months to go. Sociology, if you can believe it. Seemed a good thing to know, workin’ here. Not really workin’, of course-I’m only here over breaks, but they’ve been good about keeping a spot for me. Not many folks around here with the experience I’ve got, so that’s somethin’.”
The Doctor had slowly moved closer to them as Rose spoke, his face relaxing as he listened to her talk about her life.
“And what about your family? Your mum and Pete, right?” Donna recollected what the Doctor had told her about Rose’s life and who she had with her in this universe. She had often wondered if he was trying to make himself feel better, talking about her family, or if he genuinely thought she was better off in an alternate universe with a cobbled-together family.
Rose smiled then, a genuine smile. It transformed her, her eyes glowing with love as she thought of her family. The Doctor took another step closer, seeing the change in Rose’s body language; he was practically close enough to touch her now.
“Oh, my mum and Pete, they’ve been sickening. Can’t keep them apart, those two. Have a younger brother-“ Rose turned, seeming to know instinctively where the Doctor would be. “She named him after you. Well, sort of. Couldn’t name him the Doctor, after all-he’d be bullied.” Rose grinned, and the Doctor smiled softly back at her. “Named him Ian-no Johns here, so Ian was close enough for them.”
Donna was amazed at the change in the Doctor and Rose, and began to see why it was he’d risked everything to come find her. She was beginning to feel a bit superfluous, actually.
“Have a little sister now, too.” The Doctor’s eyes widened in surprise before he grinned.
“Blimey. Been busy, those two. Who would have suspected it of Jackie? She must not slap Pete.”
Rose laughed. “Just because she slapped you, doesn’t mean she slaps everyone.”
The Doctor beamed. “It sounds fantastic.”
Rose’s smile dropped, and the Doctor looked confused. “’s why I can’t-I just can’t drop everything and come with you. I…I have a life-a proper life-here. I’ve worked hard to build it, started from scratch and earned everything along the way. To just walk away from it…” Rose averted her eyes, sniffling slightly. “I didn’t think you’d ever be back for me.”
The Doctor had stuffed his hands in his pockets as Rose had spoken; in silence, he walked towards the windows overlooking the city.
“I want to come with you-“
“Then why don’t you?”
Rose looked incredulous. “Did you hear nothing I said?”
The Doctor spun on his heel, looking at Rose. Donna felt like she was watching a tennis match. “If you wanted to come, you’d find a way to do it.”
Rose was stunned silent; Donna stifled a sigh at the Doctor’s remarkable ability to step in it. Time to intercede.
“It’s been a bit of a shock, I should think, us popping up like this.” The Doctor turned to face the windows again.
Rose nodded. “Just a bit, yeah. I gave up dreaming of it years ago. Not worth it, not when it couldn’t happen.”
“Isn’t it just like a man to do that, though? Turn up when he’s least expected, then get all stroppy because it’s not convenient for the lady?” She shook her head. “This one here-“ she gestured towards the Doctor, “is the worst of the lot. For a Time Lord, he doesn’t half know what’s good timing.”
The Doctor faced Donna, affronted; as Rose turned to him, Donna gave him a slow wink. A look of confusion briefly crossed his features, before comprehension dawned.
“I…we could give you some time. If you like?” he asked, hopefully. Donna beamed at him, thrilled that he seemed to be showing some sense.
Rose shifted, uncertainly. “You’re not goin’ to run off? No sayin’ we’ll meet later, then swannin’ off never to return. Because I know you. You’d as soon run away as stay to talk.” The note of reproach was gentle, but Donna saw the Doctor stiffen in response, the hopeful smile fading from his face.
“For you, I’ll wait. A bit.” His voice was small, and Donna felt her heart twist.
“You…could come out to the house for dinner. If you like? Mum’d be thrilled to see you; I understand Pete already has.” A slight smile graced Rose’s lips as she couldn’t resist teasing the Doctor.
“Pete seems a nice bloke-he was polite as could be as he escorted us to our cell.” Donna said approvingly. “Not often you get that, of course. It’s always a pleasant surprise when someone who’s met the Doctor before doesn’t want him dead.”
Rose laughed. “Isn’t that just the truth?”
“How he does it, I’ll never know. Must be somethin’ to do with runnin’ at the mouth all the time.”
“You’re one to talk!” The Doctor said, indignantly. He moved back towards them.“You’re the one who got us thrown in jail on Prolfot’tusout! I told you to be quiet, but no, you had to ramble on and on about the robes and the shoes and the furniture!”
“That wasn’t entirely my fault,” Donna said, primly. She turned to Rose. “Dinner, you said?”
The Doctor interrupted. “No, no dinner. Not with children running about.”
Rose’s face fell.
“Rose. You know I can’t handle small children. They’re clingy, and germy, and have runny noses, and they ramble on in the most alarming way. Not small children. Please.”
Donna saw Rose stifle a laugh. “No small children, then. But…I do need some time to think. And I need to talk to my mum. You should come out and see her, you know. And I bet she’d love to meet you,” Rose said, turning to Donna. “I reckon you and my mum would get on like a house on fire.”
“No, nononononononono.” A look of panic crossed the Doctor’s face.
Rose grinned wickedly at the Doctor. “Oh yes. Perfect.” She turned back to Donna. “Dinner at seven?”
“I’d love to.” She grinned at Rose. “I’ll make sure himself is there, too.”
“Lovely. Where’d you all park?” Rose turned to the Doctor, a look of alarm crossing her face. “Is the TARDIS alright? Do you need anything for the old girl?”
“The TARDIS is fine. I crossed over on purpose this time, remember?” the Doctor replied, soothingly. He’d moved from the windows, leaning casually against the desk in front of them. “We’re parked over in Southwark.”
Rose smiled longingly. “I’d love to go see her, if I could. But I have a job to do, so it’ll have to wait.” Rose stood, and the Doctor straightened in front of her. “I’m sorry I can’t take the day off, spend time with you.” She reached out towards him, caught herself. Donna stood, and moved behind her chair. She felt, once more, like she was intruding.
“It’s fine. I understand.”
Rose gazed at him thoughtfully for a few beats before turning to Donna. “D’you need anything? Money, a car, that sort of thing? I know how he is about having funds on hand, and I’d rather he not use the sonic on a cash point.”
“I only did that the one time, on Satellite Five!” the Doctor interjected.
“What about that time when I was goin’ to my wedding?” Donna retorted before turning to Rose. “If you could spot us some cash, that might be good. It was murder walkin’ over here.”
Rose whirled on the Doctor. “You walked?!” The Doctor shrank back in fear. Rose muttered to herself before turning back to Donna. “Alright, let’s get you some cash. And then I’ll give him back his sonic screwdriver.”
Rose had escorted the pair of them to her desk, riffling through her purse for cash before handing the pile of notes, as well as the screwdriver, over to Donna. “You might want to hang on to that, make sure he doesn’t use it to get into trouble,” Rose said with a grin. The Doctor crossed his arms in a huff, as Donna tucked the money and device away in her pocket.
“Now, supper. Can the TARDIS fly here?” Rose asked the still-pouting Doctor.
“Of course she can! I told you-I came here on purpose this time.”
“Hmmm,” Rose said noncommittally. “My parents have moved, you know. Dad hated the house, and Mum wanted something less gaudy. I’ll have to get you the coordinates. You think you can manage to get the time right?”
“I won’t be traveling through the Vortex, Rose. Just doing a quick hop.”
Rose’s lips quirked. “A London hopper, then?”
“She’s more than that, as well you know. But in this case, yes.”
Rose laughed at that. “Alright, then. Let’s get you set for supper, shall we?”
What the hell did he mean by coming? He’d told her it was impossible, that she’d never see him again-and he’d never said he loved her in spite of how his last sentence ha seemed to be going. For all she knew, he was going to repeat the remonstrance the first him had when he’d sent her away from the Game Station, telling her to have a fantastic life. As a means of moving on, that’s what she’d finally decided he was going to say that day, and she’d spent the intervening years trying very hard to do just that.
Pete had been able to build a rudimentary background for her, but Rose had wanted to earn her education herself. She’d sat her A-levels and, after a gap year spent doing some ‘research’ for Torchwood to keep her hand in, had gone to University. It was hard, not least because of the differences in the universes; she liked to learn by doing, and sitting in a class being lectured to by boring Dons was a daily test of concentration and willpower. Still, she had made it through most of the coursework, had just one term left to go before finishing her degree, and she was determined to see it through.
Her experiences with the Doctor had assisted in her gaining employ with Torchwood during her term breaks-although in truth it was more like being a specialized intern than an actual employee. No matter which division they put her in to work during her break, she invariably wound up in the centre of some misadventure; they’d finally decided to try her out with an ops team during this break, deciding she might ultimately be best suited to working in the field.
And now the Doctor had shown up and expected her to drop everything to come with him and his new companion.
She could feel her blood pressure rise every time she thought of it, the sheer, Doctor-y arrogance of the assumption. She wasn’t sure she wanted to drop everything she had worked so hard for, even if she still loved him-and she knew without a doubt she did. His touch, the brush of his breath against her ear, had confirmed that.
Damn the man. Alien. Whatever. She hoped Mickey gave all of the biscuits to Donna.
Donna. Well. Rose had admittedly not seen much interaction between the Doctor and the redhead but she thought Donna might just be a companion, in the friends-only sense. She didn’t know, though, and that uncertainty just added to her frustration with the entire situation.
She hoped Mickey didn’t even give the Doctor tea. Or, that if he did, he at least gave him some stone-cold, hours-old tea. With extra cream.
The meeting finally ended, and Rose made her way back to her desk with some trepidation. Jake didn’t know exactly what had happened downstairs, but he’d been keeping a close eye on her during the meeting. She’d been relieved when he’d dashed out the door before her, and finally let out a sigh of relief when she didn’t see him standing by her desk. Her relief was short-lived, as she noticed a small satsuma sitting next to the shoebox she’d abandoned there earlier.
She stared at the small fruit, waiting for it to do something alarming-that would be just like the Doctor. And what in hell had Mickey been thinking, bringing him up here? She felt another flash of anger, and nearly had a heart attack when she heard a throat clear behind her.
“What?” she snapped.
“He’s, ah, downstairs. With Donna. Nice lady, you’ll like her. Doesn’t take guff from him.”
She slowly spun to face Mickey. “You brought him up here?”
“No! I, ah…”
Rose closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. “How are you sure he hasn’t swanned off?”
“He won’t swan off. And Jake’s with him.”
She turned, pulled her chair out, and sat heavily. Her eyes focused once more on the satsuma, sitting innocently in the middle of her desk. “And how was tea?”
Mickey leaned against the desk and shrugged. “Alright. Took them to the cafeteria. Donna kept him from the biscuits, kept giving him nasty looks.”
Rose turned to look at Mickey. “And he snuck up here…when?”
Mickey looked embarrassed. “Said he was going to the loo.”
Rose shook her head, her eyes once more closed. Her meeting hadn’t been that long, and the Doctor had still managed to get into trouble. “Pete knows, then?”
“Yeah, he’s the one who found him. At least we know he got replacement psychic paper at some point.”
She smiled humourlessly, opening her eyes and looking up at Mickey. “Right. Time to pay a visit then. This should be fun.”
She stood, moved to walk away, then turned and grabbed the satsuma from the desk. “He back in the lobby?”
“Not quite. Holding.”
She did smile at that. “And the screwdriver?”
Mickey gave her a feral grin as he reached into a pocket and pulled it out. “Right here.” He handed it to her.
“Fantastic.”
__________________-
The Doctor looked miserable, thought Donna. Served him right, swanning off to go exploring. What had he been thinking? Torchwood might be different in this universe-Rose working there seemed a clear enough indication of that-but they were still Torchwood. He’d just been lucky it was Pete Tyler as had found him, and not some renegade cowboy-type.
“You going to stop pouting, then?” she finally asked, heartily sick of the tense silence in the small room.
“Time Lords don’t pout,” he said, sulkily, before returning to pouting.
“What’s that you’re doin’, then? Working out how to create world peace? You keep saying you don’t pout, but then that’s all you do when things don’t go your way. Pout, pout, pout. I’ve met children who’re better about it than you.”
He looked at her, his spine stiffening a bit as he processed her insult. That was more like it.
“Really, how you’ve made it to your age-that is, the age you claim to be, can’t say I believe you since you act like a two-year-old-with all of your sulking and whingeing when things don’t work out how you want them is beyond me.” Donna exaggeratedly shook her head. “Universe’s biggest children, the Time Lords. Can’t imagine what your planet must have been like. One big crèche, no doubt.”
Donna saw a light tinge of pink suffuse the Doctor’s pale cheeks as he slowly stood; he looked furious.
Good. It was better than the self-pitying sulk he’d been indulging in.
She continued. “How the TARDIS hasn’t done you in, I’ve no idea. Sulking, and then beating up on her when you’ve mucked something up. How Rose put up with it-“
“Stop it, Donna.” The Doctor’s voice was low and angry, his eyes dark.
“Or what? You’re going to sulk on me?” She held his gaze, challengingly. “So Rose didn’t fall at your feet, blessing you for coming to save her. It’s hardly the end of the world. What’d you think would happen, anyway? Rose would slowly run into your arms, throwing herself at you, grateful that you’d saved her from a life of misery?”
The Doctor glared at her. She snorted.
“You might be a high-and-mighty Time Lord, but you’re still a bloke through-and-through, ain’t ya. Expecting everyone else’s world to revolve around you.”
“She-“
“She’s at work, Doctor. She might have things to take care of before she can see you. I know you’re not much for nine-to-five jobs, what with your time machine, but most of us humans work in that kind of world.”
“She left us with Mickey!”
“Nice bloke he is, too. I could see why he’d drive you spare, what with thinking of Rose first. And you’re just miffed he took your…bleeper.”
“It is not a bleeper! He-“
The sound of the electronic lock disengaging interrupted the Doctor. Donna had been amused when Mickey had immediately requested the sonic screwdriver; without it, not even the Doctor could get them out of the room into which they’d been locked. Donna turned to the door, noticing the Doctor tense in anticipation. Mickey entered.
“Right, you lot are free on bail.”
Donna snorted.
“Where’s my screwdriver?” The Doctor’s voice held not an ounce of humour.
“Warden’s got it. Doctor, you’ve got to promise not to roam about unescorted. You’re not public enemy number one here, but nobody here knows you. Sayin’ you’re ‘The Doctor’ will only get you sectioned.”
“Who’s our escort, then?” Donna asked, when the Doctor remained stonily silent.
“Rose, o’ course.” Donna saw a brief wave of emotion cross the Doctor’s face before it returned to stony neutrality. Mickey took a step closer to the Doctor. “But, Doctor. You gotta…She’d never expected you to be back. You almost broke her that day, y’know? Took a lot of willpower on her part to put the pieces back together, to build her life. Then you show up? Bit of a shock.”
The Doctor remained impassive, and Donna cleared her throat meaningfully. He finally spoke. “It’s not like this was easy, you know!” Mickey’s gaze hardened, and the Doctor finally relented. He shoved his hands in his pockets and slumped his shoulders. “Can I see Rose now?”
“Right this way.” Mickey walked out the door, Donna and the Doctor following. Rose was standing just outside the door, in the hallway; Donna didn’t miss how she flushed when she saw the Doctor.
The four of them stood, looking at each other in awkward silence. Mickey finally spoke. “I’ll, ah-Rose, I’ll be at my desk if you need anything.” He turned to Donna. “Nice to meet you.” He gave her a grin, and added, “Congratulations on not killing him.” He then faced the Doctor. “No more wanderin’ off.” Mickey emphasized the point by poking a finger into the Doctor’s chest. “And good to see you.” Donna watched him turn and walk down the corridor.
Rose cleared her throat awkwardly. “You all…you’re alright?”
“Right as rain,” Donna said, brightly. The Doctor looked lost, and Donna took pity on him. “Nicest holding cells I’ve seen in ages.”
A small smile graced Rose’s face. “Nice to see some things haven’t changed. Did he take you to Ooduf V?”
“The slugs?”
“Yes!”
Donna shuddered. “All for bananas. No fruit is worth the slugs. Or their holding cells.”
“Good source of potassium,” the Doctor said, softly. Donna felt her heart break a little for him; he looked so forlorn. Rose’s smile faded, and she returned once more to being briskly business-like.
“Just this way-don’t reckon you all want to hang about in the hallway all day.” She turned and walked in the opposite direction from Mickey. They passed through several doors, traversing a corridor and stairs as Rose led them through Torchwood. The entire walk was silent, the tension between the Doctor and Rose practically visible.
By the time they arrived in a plush corner office on one of the upper floors, Donna wanted to knock Rose and the Doctor’s heads together. How on earth had they ever…done whatever if they couldn’t even talk with each other?
Donna settled in to one of the cushy wing chairs in front of the desk as Rose picked up the phone on the desk, whispering hastily into it before hanging up. The Doctor was leaning against the wall, looking longingly at Rose when she wasn’t looking at him, but averting his eyes whenever Rose’s gaze drifted his way.
Donna huffed in impatience-this was ridiculous. She waited until Rose had settled into the chair opposite her-interesting that she didn’t sit behind the desk-before breaking the silence once more. “You two always like this, then? ‘cause I was made to believe that you were inseparable.”
Rose blushed, and Donna was surprised when it was the Doctor who answered. “She started it.” The truculent tone was back, and Donna fought back the urge to scream. Rose saved her the trouble, turning to face the Doctor fully.
“I started it? You swanned in, showing up on my doorstep after telling me I’d never see you again-ever!”
“I did the impossible to come back for you! And you tell me you have a meeting to go to when I ask you to come along? If you didn’t want to see me, all you had to do was say so!”
Donna had seen the Doctor in all of his ‘Oncoming Storm’ glory, but she didn’t think she’d ever seen him quite so…furiously hurt.
“You told me to have a fantastic life, once-when you sent me away! What was I supposed to do, sit and pine for you until the day you came back? You told me you were never coming back. I made a life for myself! I can’t just drop it!”
The Doctor began walking to the door, saying brusquely to Donna, “Let’s go.”
Donna’s jaw dropped; she saw Rose go pale out of the corner of her eye. “What?”
“You heard me. She doesn’t want to come with us. Let’s go.”
“Are you barmy?”
“I’ll leave without you.”
“Like hell you will.” Donna turned to Rose, who was sitting very still in her chair. “Why don’t you tell us what you’ve been doing?”
Rose swallowed, turning back to face Donna. Donna saw the Doctor stop, standing with his back to the room, behind Rose. He was curious-and if Donna could just get Rose to talk and the Doctor to listen, the two idiots might just have a shot at making things work out.
“I...I went back to University. Got my A-levels first, actually.”
“What’d you study?” she asked, trying to get Rose to talk more. The Doctor turned around.
“History. Took a lot of studyin’, that. Had to re-learn all sorts of things. Probably the only time I was glad I’d dropped out of school.” Rose’s voice was self-deprecating. Donna saw the Doctor take a small step towards them, his expression softening.
“That different, then?” Donna asked, genuinely curious.
“Oh, you can’t imagine. It was a nightmare-but I was never any good at maths, and science…Well, not even travelin’ all that time helped me with that. History, though-I could learn and memorise, and be just fine. I passed with a B.”
Donna caught the look of fondness which passed over the Doctor’s face. “Just history, then?”
“Oh, no. Languages, too. Lost the TARDIS bein’ inside my head, but still managed to find a knack for it. And it’s comin’ in handy, workin’ here. Not that aliens speak much Spanish-but we’re all over the world, so languages are a good thing to know.”
“What did you study at Uni?”
“Still studyin’-just a few months to go. Sociology, if you can believe it. Seemed a good thing to know, workin’ here. Not really workin’, of course-I’m only here over breaks, but they’ve been good about keeping a spot for me. Not many folks around here with the experience I’ve got, so that’s somethin’.”
The Doctor had slowly moved closer to them as Rose spoke, his face relaxing as he listened to her talk about her life.
“And what about your family? Your mum and Pete, right?” Donna recollected what the Doctor had told her about Rose’s life and who she had with her in this universe. She had often wondered if he was trying to make himself feel better, talking about her family, or if he genuinely thought she was better off in an alternate universe with a cobbled-together family.
Rose smiled then, a genuine smile. It transformed her, her eyes glowing with love as she thought of her family. The Doctor took another step closer, seeing the change in Rose’s body language; he was practically close enough to touch her now.
“Oh, my mum and Pete, they’ve been sickening. Can’t keep them apart, those two. Have a younger brother-“ Rose turned, seeming to know instinctively where the Doctor would be. “She named him after you. Well, sort of. Couldn’t name him the Doctor, after all-he’d be bullied.” Rose grinned, and the Doctor smiled softly back at her. “Named him Ian-no Johns here, so Ian was close enough for them.”
Donna was amazed at the change in the Doctor and Rose, and began to see why it was he’d risked everything to come find her. She was beginning to feel a bit superfluous, actually.
“Have a little sister now, too.” The Doctor’s eyes widened in surprise before he grinned.
“Blimey. Been busy, those two. Who would have suspected it of Jackie? She must not slap Pete.”
Rose laughed. “Just because she slapped you, doesn’t mean she slaps everyone.”
The Doctor beamed. “It sounds fantastic.”
Rose’s smile dropped, and the Doctor looked confused. “’s why I can’t-I just can’t drop everything and come with you. I…I have a life-a proper life-here. I’ve worked hard to build it, started from scratch and earned everything along the way. To just walk away from it…” Rose averted her eyes, sniffling slightly. “I didn’t think you’d ever be back for me.”
The Doctor had stuffed his hands in his pockets as Rose had spoken; in silence, he walked towards the windows overlooking the city.
“I want to come with you-“
“Then why don’t you?”
Rose looked incredulous. “Did you hear nothing I said?”
The Doctor spun on his heel, looking at Rose. Donna felt like she was watching a tennis match. “If you wanted to come, you’d find a way to do it.”
Rose was stunned silent; Donna stifled a sigh at the Doctor’s remarkable ability to step in it. Time to intercede.
“It’s been a bit of a shock, I should think, us popping up like this.” The Doctor turned to face the windows again.
Rose nodded. “Just a bit, yeah. I gave up dreaming of it years ago. Not worth it, not when it couldn’t happen.”
“Isn’t it just like a man to do that, though? Turn up when he’s least expected, then get all stroppy because it’s not convenient for the lady?” She shook her head. “This one here-“ she gestured towards the Doctor, “is the worst of the lot. For a Time Lord, he doesn’t half know what’s good timing.”
The Doctor faced Donna, affronted; as Rose turned to him, Donna gave him a slow wink. A look of confusion briefly crossed his features, before comprehension dawned.
“I…we could give you some time. If you like?” he asked, hopefully. Donna beamed at him, thrilled that he seemed to be showing some sense.
Rose shifted, uncertainly. “You’re not goin’ to run off? No sayin’ we’ll meet later, then swannin’ off never to return. Because I know you. You’d as soon run away as stay to talk.” The note of reproach was gentle, but Donna saw the Doctor stiffen in response, the hopeful smile fading from his face.
“For you, I’ll wait. A bit.” His voice was small, and Donna felt her heart twist.
“You…could come out to the house for dinner. If you like? Mum’d be thrilled to see you; I understand Pete already has.” A slight smile graced Rose’s lips as she couldn’t resist teasing the Doctor.
“Pete seems a nice bloke-he was polite as could be as he escorted us to our cell.” Donna said approvingly. “Not often you get that, of course. It’s always a pleasant surprise when someone who’s met the Doctor before doesn’t want him dead.”
Rose laughed. “Isn’t that just the truth?”
“How he does it, I’ll never know. Must be somethin’ to do with runnin’ at the mouth all the time.”
“You’re one to talk!” The Doctor said, indignantly. He moved back towards them.“You’re the one who got us thrown in jail on Prolfot’tusout! I told you to be quiet, but no, you had to ramble on and on about the robes and the shoes and the furniture!”
“That wasn’t entirely my fault,” Donna said, primly. She turned to Rose. “Dinner, you said?”
The Doctor interrupted. “No, no dinner. Not with children running about.”
Rose’s face fell.
“Rose. You know I can’t handle small children. They’re clingy, and germy, and have runny noses, and they ramble on in the most alarming way. Not small children. Please.”
Donna saw Rose stifle a laugh. “No small children, then. But…I do need some time to think. And I need to talk to my mum. You should come out and see her, you know. And I bet she’d love to meet you,” Rose said, turning to Donna. “I reckon you and my mum would get on like a house on fire.”
“No, nononononononono.” A look of panic crossed the Doctor’s face.
Rose grinned wickedly at the Doctor. “Oh yes. Perfect.” She turned back to Donna. “Dinner at seven?”
“I’d love to.” She grinned at Rose. “I’ll make sure himself is there, too.”
“Lovely. Where’d you all park?” Rose turned to the Doctor, a look of alarm crossing her face. “Is the TARDIS alright? Do you need anything for the old girl?”
“The TARDIS is fine. I crossed over on purpose this time, remember?” the Doctor replied, soothingly. He’d moved from the windows, leaning casually against the desk in front of them. “We’re parked over in Southwark.”
Rose smiled longingly. “I’d love to go see her, if I could. But I have a job to do, so it’ll have to wait.” Rose stood, and the Doctor straightened in front of her. “I’m sorry I can’t take the day off, spend time with you.” She reached out towards him, caught herself. Donna stood, and moved behind her chair. She felt, once more, like she was intruding.
“It’s fine. I understand.”
Rose gazed at him thoughtfully for a few beats before turning to Donna. “D’you need anything? Money, a car, that sort of thing? I know how he is about having funds on hand, and I’d rather he not use the sonic on a cash point.”
“I only did that the one time, on Satellite Five!” the Doctor interjected.
“What about that time when I was goin’ to my wedding?” Donna retorted before turning to Rose. “If you could spot us some cash, that might be good. It was murder walkin’ over here.”
Rose whirled on the Doctor. “You walked?!” The Doctor shrank back in fear. Rose muttered to herself before turning back to Donna. “Alright, let’s get you some cash. And then I’ll give him back his sonic screwdriver.”
Rose had escorted the pair of them to her desk, riffling through her purse for cash before handing the pile of notes, as well as the screwdriver, over to Donna. “You might want to hang on to that, make sure he doesn’t use it to get into trouble,” Rose said with a grin. The Doctor crossed his arms in a huff, as Donna tucked the money and device away in her pocket.
“Now, supper. Can the TARDIS fly here?” Rose asked the still-pouting Doctor.
“Of course she can! I told you-I came here on purpose this time.”
“Hmmm,” Rose said noncommittally. “My parents have moved, you know. Dad hated the house, and Mum wanted something less gaudy. I’ll have to get you the coordinates. You think you can manage to get the time right?”
“I won’t be traveling through the Vortex, Rose. Just doing a quick hop.”
Rose’s lips quirked. “A London hopper, then?”
“She’s more than that, as well you know. But in this case, yes.”
Rose laughed at that. “Alright, then. Let’s get you set for supper, shall we?”