[JMM] #16: Failure is an event, never a person
“Failure is an event, never a person.” - William D. Brown
Mickey looked at the now closed portal that the Doctor had ridden the horse through. His voice soft in the sudden silence. "We can't fly the TARDIS without him. How's he gonna get back?"
She wished that she knew. Rose had no clue and no way to open the TARDIS to get to the heart of it. She didn't even know how to work the communications on the space ship. If there was communication on the ship. The Doctor wouldn't have abandoned them. If there was one thing that she believed in, it was the Doctor. Some how, some way, he would return and get them out of this. He always did.
"What about that emergency whatever it was that sent you back to Earth?" Mickey's voice was full of hope as he looked at Rose. "He could have another, yeah?"
In Rose's mind, instead of seeing the previous Doctor's flickering image telling her about Emergency Protocol One and urging her to have a fantastic life, she saw this version of the Doctor in his stripy pajamas aboard the Sycorax ship. "And you, Rose Tyler, fat lot of good you were - you gave up on me."
Not this time. This time Rose wasn't giving up on him. No matter how long it took.
"I suppose but I don't know how to start it or anything. It just started on its own last time." There was a pause. "He'll be here. We just have to wait." Rose looked around where they stood. She needed a distraction to keep her from panicking. "Right then. We have this big ol' ship just waiting for us to explore."
Mickey snorted. "Yeah, that worked out well last time. Almost got harvested by a bunch of over grown clocks."
"Yeah but the important word is almost." Rose smiled at Mickey. "Come on. The clocks are dead. Look at 'em." She pointed to the nearest one that was bent at the waist. "It's just you and me and a space station." She really, really hoped that wasn't a prophecy and that's all it would ever be until they slowly died in the abandoned space junk. "When are we going to get to do this again?"
Mickey silently looked at Rose for a minute then nodded his head. "Yeah, let's go explorin'." He knew exactly what Rose was doing and to be honest he could use the distraction himself. As many stories as Rose told about the Doctor saving the day at the last minute and seeing it for himself, Mickey wasn't convinced this was one of those times.
Hours passed. Rose could tell you exactly how many despite not wearing a watch. Five and a half. If you really wanted to know the minutes, she could probably tell you that if she thought about it. She and Mickey spent most of that time exploring and doing a few Star Trek impersonations. It was inevitable really. Now, Rose was staring blankly at the fireplace where the Doctor had first gone to see Madame de Pompadour. What was he doing? Was he living a life with her that Rose had only dreamed about but would never admit to having? Had the diseases of whatever century he was living in killed him and he didn't have the TARDIS to regenerate? Was she waiting for nothing?
Just as the last thought occurred to her there was a groaning sound and her muscles tensed. She had no idea if something was happening or if the space station was falling apart. The fireplace began to move and Rose didn't waste any time before she launched herself at the Doctor.
"How long did you wait?" He asked as he easily took her into his arms.
"Five and a half hours." Rose's smile could have lit all of London. Then she softly whispered in his ear. "I didn't give up on you."
Rose Tyler ~*~ Doctor Who ~*~ 610 words
Mickey looked at the now closed portal that the Doctor had ridden the horse through. His voice soft in the sudden silence. "We can't fly the TARDIS without him. How's he gonna get back?"
She wished that she knew. Rose had no clue and no way to open the TARDIS to get to the heart of it. She didn't even know how to work the communications on the space ship. If there was communication on the ship. The Doctor wouldn't have abandoned them. If there was one thing that she believed in, it was the Doctor. Some how, some way, he would return and get them out of this. He always did.
"What about that emergency whatever it was that sent you back to Earth?" Mickey's voice was full of hope as he looked at Rose. "He could have another, yeah?"
In Rose's mind, instead of seeing the previous Doctor's flickering image telling her about Emergency Protocol One and urging her to have a fantastic life, she saw this version of the Doctor in his stripy pajamas aboard the Sycorax ship. "And you, Rose Tyler, fat lot of good you were - you gave up on me."
Not this time. This time Rose wasn't giving up on him. No matter how long it took.
"I suppose but I don't know how to start it or anything. It just started on its own last time." There was a pause. "He'll be here. We just have to wait." Rose looked around where they stood. She needed a distraction to keep her from panicking. "Right then. We have this big ol' ship just waiting for us to explore."
Mickey snorted. "Yeah, that worked out well last time. Almost got harvested by a bunch of over grown clocks."
"Yeah but the important word is almost." Rose smiled at Mickey. "Come on. The clocks are dead. Look at 'em." She pointed to the nearest one that was bent at the waist. "It's just you and me and a space station." She really, really hoped that wasn't a prophecy and that's all it would ever be until they slowly died in the abandoned space junk. "When are we going to get to do this again?"
Mickey silently looked at Rose for a minute then nodded his head. "Yeah, let's go explorin'." He knew exactly what Rose was doing and to be honest he could use the distraction himself. As many stories as Rose told about the Doctor saving the day at the last minute and seeing it for himself, Mickey wasn't convinced this was one of those times.
Hours passed. Rose could tell you exactly how many despite not wearing a watch. Five and a half. If you really wanted to know the minutes, she could probably tell you that if she thought about it. She and Mickey spent most of that time exploring and doing a few Star Trek impersonations. It was inevitable really. Now, Rose was staring blankly at the fireplace where the Doctor had first gone to see Madame de Pompadour. What was he doing? Was he living a life with her that Rose had only dreamed about but would never admit to having? Had the diseases of whatever century he was living in killed him and he didn't have the TARDIS to regenerate? Was she waiting for nothing?
Just as the last thought occurred to her there was a groaning sound and her muscles tensed. She had no idea if something was happening or if the space station was falling apart. The fireplace began to move and Rose didn't waste any time before she launched herself at the Doctor.
"How long did you wait?" He asked as he easily took her into his arms.
"Five and a half hours." Rose's smile could have lit all of London. Then she softly whispered in his ear. "I didn't give up on you."
Rose Tyler ~*~ Doctor Who ~*~ 610 words