Fic: Seasoned Chips
Title: Seasoned Chips
Rating: PG-ish
Words: 2, 337
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I’m just playing around with the characters for fun. I promise I'll put them all back when I'm done.
Spoilers: Seen Doomsday? Also there are micro mini spoilers for Utopia, and Last of the Time Lords.
Summery: The Doctor found a way across the void and all he wants to do is talk about chips? Something is definitely not right.
Author Note: Guess what? It is yet another silly reunion ficlet. One of these days I have got to learn to write something different. Inspired by the line “I come in peace. Oh and by that I mean I bought chips.” in the time and chips unusual first line reunion challenge. Yes, this has been sitting on my computer nearly finished since January. I decided it was time I actually finished it.
A Year and a Half after Doomsday
The last thing Rose Tyler had been expecting to find in her flat after work was a blue box occupying most of her very small living room. A very familiar blue box, which proudly stated it, was a Police Box. Impossible...thought Rose, withdrawing her torchwood stun gun. If there was one thing she was sure about, it was this. There was no Doctor in this universe. Therefore there was no Tardis. This was probably some sick joke of Mickey’s.
Oh, she was so going to tell his grandmother….
She heard the sound of a lock mechanism, and when the door opened, her heart rose in her chest as it opened to reveal the Doctor. The last time she had seen him was as a flickering image on a beach in Norway, but this time he was no image. He stood there, large as life as he leaned against the Tardis doorway. As if he had every right to materialise the Tardis in her flat, as if there was no void separating them, and there never had been. She blinked, and he was still there. In a blue suit, with red sneakers, and for some reason he was holding a paper bag. Was that chips she smelt?
She lowed her weapon, this had to be real….unless her daydreams had suddenly got a lot more vivid. How could he have even found her here? She’d moved out of the Tyler Mansion a year ago, to give Mum and Pete time together with the new baby.
He smiled at her, as if he was waiting for her to tell him how brilliant he was.
It was him, she decided, she really couldn’t imagine anyone else who would appear in the middle of her flat with chips.
"I come in peace.” said the Doctor grinning. “I’ve always wanted to say that. Oh, and by that I mean I brought chips. The seasoned kind you like so much, at least I think it these ones; it could be the other seasoned chips you like so much. You know those ones we used to get from that little place in 2056, with that blue door and the weird walls.”
“What are you doing here?” Rose demanded stepping closer. He was acting as if nothing had ever happened.
He held out the paper bag, “I bought you chips.”
She continued to look at him.
“Oh,” sighed the Doctor, “You mean what I am doing here. In the sense of what am I doing here in this universe, without having them explode, implode and every other kind of ‘plode’ you can think of. Well it’s kind of a long story. So why don’t you have some chips while they are still hot.”
“I don’t want chips!” Rose exclaimed.
“Really,” the Doctor frowned and looked down at the bag. “They are your favorite ones. Not soggy, not burnt, not too crisp, flavored with just enough seasoning, and there not shoestring ones. See?” He held out the bag, attempting to show her the contents.
She took the bag from him and placed it on the table along with her weapon.
“Since when do you use a stun gun?” asked the Doctor, she could hear the slight disgust in his voice which always used when he was around weapons.
“Since it was required that I carry one, when I started working at Torchwood.” She replied, as she stepped towards him.
“Hmph, very Torchwood,” mumbled the Doctor. “Now, chips!”
She shook her head, as she stood close in front of him, reached out her arm and touched his face.
He stood so very still, as Rose trailed her fingers down his cheek. As if she was checking to see he was really there. He opened his mouth to speak but Rose placed her finger on his lips, shushing him silently. He stood there, letting her explore his face, his neck, and when she placed her head on his chest to hear his hearts beat, he wrapped his arms around her.
They still fit together, thought Rose as he hugged her.
“My Rose Tyler,” breathed the Doctor. “Defender of the Earth, would you have some chips with me?”
She stepped away and frowned at him, “What is it with you and chips?”
He scratched his head, “Well…they’re chips, your favorite ones. You like chips...or you used to… and they are kind of a peace offering...”
“A peace offering?” repeated Rose, “What kind of peace offering? And where did you get money to buy chips anyway? You never have any money! You always made me pay for everything, unless, you brought me stolen chips!”
“No. Of course not,” said the Doctor quickly, his voice going slightly squeaky, “I mean me, steal chips?”
“Yes, you,”
He looked around nervously, as if he was worried about the possibility that someone else was around to hear, “Look, I made them.”
Somehow the image of the Doctor cooking wasn’t one that she could think about without laughing.
“Don’t tell anyone,” he said anxiously, as she continued to laugh in his face.
“Where did you get the potatoes?” asked Rose when she finally got her breath back.
He frowned at her, “From the ground, where else would you get potatoes? Honestly. Humans. Think everything just magically appears in supermarkets without having to be grown.” He stepped around her and picked up the bag again. “Here, have some.”
“The seasoning?” asked Rose, as she eyed the bag suspiciously.
“What?”
“Did you make the seasoning? The one I like so much.”
He looked at her nervously, “Yes, I made the seasoning. I stole the recipe and made it in the kitchen.”
“Sounds….domestic.” said Rose, tongue in check.
“Just have some chips!”
“Why?” asked Rose. “Why are you so anxious that I eat one of your chips?”
The Doctor looked nervous, and then said a touch desperately. “You’re never said no to chips before.”
“Well, this is a brand new universe,” said Rose, folding her arms.
“What about chocolate?” asked the Doctor earnestly, “You do still like chocolate, don’t you? Stay right there, be back in a sec.”
“Doctor?” But it was too late; the door was already closed behind him, and….he had taken the chips with him. She sighed and reached into her pocket to withdraw her old Tardis key, glowing once more, something she never thought she would see it do again. She turned the key, but the lock refused to budge.
He’s changed the locks, thought Rose, that bastard.
She placed her hand on the door. She had never thought, in all the times she had day dreamed about this moment that she would find herself locked out of the Tardis.
Hey girl, thought Rose.
The wood under her fingers warmed in response and the lock clicked open.
She smiled and mumbled, “Well, at least someone missed me. Thanks, girl.”
Entering the Tardis, was like stepping back in time to two years ago. Nothing had changed inside….except…was that the Doctor’s hand in a jar chained to the console? She shook her head, just as a yelp could be heard from the direction of the kitchen, followed by swearing that the Tardis absolutely refused to translate.
She sighed and followed the swearing. They hadn’t seen each other for over a year and all the Doctor wanted to do was play cook? Something wasn’t right, and the Doctor wasn’t telling. He had only cooked once the entire time that had been traveling together, after which he had to cure them both of food poisoning. Her stomach protested even at the very memory of that event.
When she reached the kitchen, she found the chips abandoned in the bin, and the Doctor was anxiously looking into a pot on the stove. As she watched, she saw the Doctor’s hand reach into his pocket and withdrew a small tiny vial filled with a viscous purple liquid and poured a little bit of it into the mixture. His shoulder relaxed, as he stirred, what she assumed was the chocolate. She frowned absently, something was definitely wrong, and what was the doctor trying to slip her? The seasoning, she scoffed. More like a medicine of some sort. After all he wasn’t called the Doctor for nothing.
“You changed the locks,” said Rose flatly.
The Doctor jumped slightly before whirling around, “Did I? Oh yes. I did. Someone stole the Tardis, not a good bloke lets just say, bit loony, crazy, and insane, with an unhealthy liking for the teletubbies for some reason. He’s dead, but he’s come back from worse before, so hence the changed locks. Ah….how did you get in?”
“Well someone missed me,” said Rose, “Unlike you.”
“Oh…I did miss you….” said the Doctor, his expression almost desperately earnest.
“Really?” asked Rose, “You appear in my living room, all you want to do is talk about chips and chocolate, and how someone stole the Tardis. You haven’t even told me that you missed me till now or that you….” She couldn’t finish the sentence. “Doctor, you know how I feel about you. If you have only come back, because you’re bored or you’re missed having someone to show off to, it would probably be a good idea if you go, now. Right now, before…we start repeating history.”
“You want me to go?” asked the Doctor quietly, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.
Rose closed her eyes and nodded, “Yes. If the only reason you crossed the void was to show off your new cooking skills.”
He stepped forward, “It wasn’t the only reason.”
She blinked, wiping away tears. “Are you sure?”
The Doctor nodded, his expression completely serious. “Rose Tyler, you know how I feel about you.”
Rose shook her head, “I think I need to hear you say it, just this once.”
“Right,” said the Doctor, swallowing nervously, “You just want me to say it. Just…now…here? In the kitchen.”
Rose shrugged as hope died in her eyes; he wasn’t going to say it. “It’s as good a place as any.”
“Right. Just say it. Come right out and say it. Sure you wouldn’t like some chocolate first? It hasn’t set yet but there is nothing quite like licking the bowl, or saucepan for that matter.”
Rose shook her head.
“What about the spoon?” asked the Doctor.
Rose shook her head again.
The Doctor was silent for a second or two, as if he was mentally preparing himself for what he was about to say.
“Rose Tyler, you’re brilliant. You’re fantastic. Those words just sum you right up. You can face down both alien menaces and Jackie Tyler, before breakfast without flinching. You’re beautiful, so pink and yellow. You’re so human. You’re my best friend and I…..I love you, Rose Tyler.”
Rose couldn’t quite believe her ears, “What was that?”
“I love you, Rose. My Rose,” said the Doctor simply, “It’s really quite easy to say really. Those three words, I wonder why it took me so long to simply say it. I’ve said much more difficult things in the past. Like raxacoricofallapatorius, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, and suoicodilaipxecitsiligarfilacrepus. Try saying them three times. Now would you like some chocolate?”
Rose stepped forward, “Doctor, why ruin perfectly good chocolate with medicine?”
“You saw.” The Doctor said flatly.
Rose nodded. “What’s it for?”
The Doctor sighed, “Traveling though the void without a capsule. It’s a killer. Quite literally. It disrupts all the gene sequences.” His hand slipped into his pocket and bought out the little vial of the viscous purple liquid. “This protects those gene sequences.”
Rose froze. “It’s been at least a year since we went though the void.”
“It can take a while to show. There is still enough time to prevent any harmful affects.”
“But what about my Mum, Pete, Mickey and everyone else?” asked Rose wildly.
“They’ll be fine. I’ve got enough for them,” said the Doctor. “They will be okay. Provided you take this now.”
He handed her the mixing spoon, still covered with melted chocolate, begging to be licked.
“So this is why you found a way across,” said Rose still holding the spoon in front of her, “You knew that would happen.”
The Doctor nodded, “There is a reason why travel between two parallel worlds should be impossible. Not only is it a gingerbread house of what might have been but travel to it without a capsule is poison. A poisoned gingerbread house. ”
“So I’ve been poisoned, and chocolate is the medicine?” asked Rose still looking at the spoon.
“Yep. It’s not often you can say that, well outside of Harry Potter,” said the Doctor cheerfully, “And that’s only because I suggested it. Here have some.”
“So you didn’t come back for me. You came back to save me.”
“Didn’t you just hear me, Rose Tyler,” said the Doctor, “I didn’t just come back to save you, I came back for you for the most selfish reason of all, I love you.”
She licked the spoon.
He grinned, but it turned to a frown as she stayed silent, “Well….don’t you love me anymore?”
She laughed, run forward and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back just as passionately.
.
“Rose Tyler! Where do you want to go?” he asked his arms still wrapped around him.
“Where ever you are, is fine with me,” she replied, “But we have to go give everyone the medicine first.”
“Really?” he asked, pouting a bit, “Couldn’t we do that later? Much later.” He added as he kissed her neck.
“No, we are going to go give them the medicine now,” ordered Rose stepping back, “And I know my mother would want to see you.”
He groaned, “The things I do for you, Rose Tyler. Ok, one batch of chocolate to go……as long as we can tell them that you made it.”
“Don’t you want to take credit for your work?” asked Rose smiling.
“And risk ruining my image forever?” said the Doctor. “Never.”