Fic: That Which is Lost
Title: That Which is Lost
Author: glory_jean
Pairing/Characters: Ten/Rose
Rating: All Ages
Summary: Rose Tyler was lost.
Beta Reader: milieva
Prompt: never_ever_will Prompt 17
Disclaimer: Based on characters owned and created by BBC. No infringement intended.
Author's Notes: Slapped together at the last minute Written for achuislemochroi for her birthday. **b-day hugs** (Sorry it's a Rose POV. Ten's not talking to me. **pout**)
Rose Tyler was lost. Her head may have been swimming alarmingly, making her steps uneasy, but she knew that one fact for certain. The city may have been big and busy, but it was most certainly not London. Or anywhere else she'd ever been for that matter. The people may have been courteously indifferent, their clothes fairly normal, but they seemed a little .... well, not quite Human somehow. The fact she didn't really think that was strange was also strange.
They walked up the path and she paused as he opened the ornate iron gate, stepping aside to let her pass through. Nearby, she heard the sound of water.
The buildings surrounding her were tall and ornate. They stretched artistically skyward. The streets and the walkway were abnormally clean, at least to her eyes. The weather was even perfect; not too hot and not too cold. It would have been pleasant to walk here had she been feeling herself. Especially with someone holding her hand.
They sat beside a river stretched out on his coat. He leaned over her, at once far too close and not close enough. The book of poetry, newly signed by some obscure poet he'd insisted they meet, dropped out of her hands and landed on the grass. Slowly, he moved forward and she closed her eyes.
The fact that she could remember almost nothing but fragments of the recent past also should have worried her. Somehow, she simply accepted that as normal, just as wandering the streets of a strange city seemed like something she did every day. Without really deciding to, she found herself walking down steps leading to the city's underground. She moved to the platform and stood there for a while, wobbling, feeling the wind from passing trains on her face.
They were startled apart by a shrill sound from her pocket. Her mum was on the phone. He grinned and rolled his eyes. She pointed a stern finger at him to quell any more of that. He pulled a couple of random apples from his jacket pocket and offered her one as he stood, wandering closer to the river as he munched on his own.
A shrill sound startled her. She pulled the phone out of her pocket. The screen read "TARDIS calling." She almost knew what that meant.
"Hello?"
"Rose!" a terrified voice exclaimed. "Where are you?"
"I..." her voice trailed off after the single word. Talking was exhausting.
"Rose? Talk to me."
"I... there's trains. I like trains." It hurt to think.
"Rose, stay on the phone, okay? Just - Just keep the line open. And stay where you are!"
"Okay," she agreed listlessly.
She spotted a bench against the far wall and sank into it. She let her head loll against the cool tile wall. Why did all these stations look the same anywhere you went?
The moment broken, they walked back up the lane, hand in hand. Somewhere, far off, a church bell was ringing. The Doctor continued rummaging in his pocket, claiming something felt "off" inside it. She told him he was imagining things. If his pockets were like the TARDIS, (and she'd seen the evidence of that) how could he tell what was in there? Finally, he pulled a spray can of whipped cream from the pocket with a little sound of delight. He'd been looking for that, he said.
Rose stared at a nearby vending machine selling a lot of unfamiliar, brightly-labeled, packaged foods. Beside it hung a poster advertising some sort of video game with a hero that looked a little like a goldfish.
She looked down at the bench and tried to recall why she was sitting here. She was certain it was important. And why was she holding her phone? Was she supposed to call someone? The idea of leaving this place was appealing. If only her legs didn't feel so heavy.
They neared the TARDIS and the Doctor, having pulled out a large lint ball that looked like a fuzzy version of the scribble monster, gave up on whatever he was searching for. He declared that he must have fixed the problem.
He paused at the TARDIS door, key in the lock.
"See?" he murmured. "You can tell your mum that not all days are about running for your life."
Standing only inches from her, he gave her a look that made her breath catch and her cheeks colour. He slowly ran a finger over her cheek.
"A red Rose," he said with a tiny smirk and turned to open the door.
The room began to waver in front her and she found it too taxing to fight it. She slumped farther onto the bench, laying her head on the back. It would be so good to sleep. Just sleep.
She closed her eyes and felt the world slip away.
***
Rose woke with a sudden gasp of breath, as though she'd been shaken awake. But when her eyes blinked open, she found only her quiet room. The only sound was the usual background hum of the TARDIS. Then her eyes fell on a strange, squat device near her bedside table. It's display glowed a soft blue and the interlocking glyphs of the Doctor's language spun and shifted across it.
She'd only had a few minutes to study the thing when the sound of running footfalls echoed over the grating in the corridor outside. The door to her room burst open and the Doctor stood there, wild-eyed and slightly out of breath. She met his panicked gaze and he seemed to calm, moving to drop onto the bed at her side. He tapped at the screen and then lifted her arm to check another small device strapped to her wrist. She frowned at it. She hadn't even noticed it there.
He eyed her cautiously.
"Can you feel my hand?"
His voice was carefully calm and neutral. She didn't trust that tone.
"Yeah," she answered without thinking. But... did she? She could feel warmth where her hand touched his, but could she feel his actual hand? Suddenly she wasn't sure. "I... think?"
"Close your eyes."
She hesitated a moment before complying.
"Tell me when and where you feel me touching your arm."
In halting words, she tried to comply. After several minutes, he let her open her eyes. She did so hesitantly, fearing the look on his face.
When she met his eyes they were dark and fathomless, but the look on his face was merely serious, not grim. After a moment he broke their gaze and nodded.
"Well, you are on the mend, but you're not there yet."
She frowned at him at him in confusion.
"What happened to me?"
"Don't you remember?"
"I just remember walking, a city, trains, and...."
"And?"
"And I - Well that part doesn't make sense," she said, a bit frustrated.
"Go on," he murmured encouragingly, scooting a little closer to her.
"We were walking along this country path. There was river. And you kept pulling random things out of your pockets."
"Artroiz," he murmured, frowning.
"What?"
"That place, that was Artroiz. We were just there. Don't you remember?"
He tipped his head toward the poetry book on her bedside table.
"I... I do and I don't."
The Doctor's frown returned.
"Must have affected your short term memory."
Rose's face must have showed her alarm, because he rushed to explain.
"We arrived here a few hours after Artoiz, you needed sleep, silly Human."
He gave her a half grin.
"We wandered into a some sort of protest. Before we could find out what was going on, the crowd was sprayed with some sort of agent. I believe it's meant to calm and disperse the crowd."
He paused and glanced at her.
"Apparently, it doesn't react well with Human body chemistry. Almost immediately, you became very agitated. You didn't want anyone touching you. I couldn't keep hold of your hand."
It may have been her imagination, but she thought she saw a flash of hurt cross his face. She tightened her grip around his hand and his expression brightened.
"After a couple of minutes, you ran off into the departing crowds. I was, umm, delayed, so I had guess where you might have gone." Remembered frustration was clear on his face. "I searched everywhere. Finally, I resorted to returning to the TARDIS and calling your mobile."
"I sort of remember that."
He nodded faintly. "When I found you," his voice faltered. "You.... You were delirious. Lost. You had no reaction to touch or pain. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to reverse what the toxin had done to your system." He shut his eyes tightly. "I'm so sorry."
"Not your fault," she smiled at him as much as her strangely sluggish muscles would allow. "I'm getting better though, yeah?"
He looked back at the screen, reflectively. "Yeah."
"Well, then..."
He attempted a careless smile. "Can't keep Rose Tyler down."
She decided to change the subject. "Why did I go back to that day, on Artoiz?"
"Well, who knows, really. The mind is a delicate thing. Maybe.... Welllll. It was a very good day."
"Yeah, it was."
"What, " he asked hesitantly, "was the last thing you recall about that day?"
She thought hard. "I remember you stopping at the door and saying I could tell my mum that not every day was about running."
"Oh?" he asked carefully. "That's the very last thing?"
"Yeah, so far."
"Right, okay." He looked unaccountably sad.
"Something wrong, Doctor?"
He smiled his broad, "I'm pretending everything is okay" grin. "Wrong? How could anything be wrong? You're on the mend, thanks to how brilliant I am, and all's right with the universe." He cocked his head at her cheekily.
"I will get my memories back, won't I?"
He froze a little. "It depends on how much your brain had converted to long term memory. Your short term memories might not come back. No backup file, so to speak. Long term... maybe. Hopefully. Time will tell."
They fell into an uncomfortable silence that neither of them could seem to break. They were locked in place; she, curled on her side looking up him, he, hunched over where he sat at her side, stroking her hand as it rested in his.
Finally, she yawned and it seemed to free him.
"Well," he said awkwardly, rising to go and letting her hand slip from his. "I'd better let you sleep. You need the rest."
She felt a lump rise in her throat, but wasn't sure why. All she knew was that letting him leave seemed awful and wrong.
"Stay with me?" she asked softly. "Just 'til I fall asleep?" then she added quickly, trying to use humor to cover her embarrassment, " You'd probably wake me with all the fidgeting if I forced you hang around longer."
He looked startled, but under that he was... pleased? Hmm. She had the feeling that she really needed to remember those lost days.
Without another word, he was pushing off his shoes, shedding his jacket and stretching out next to her. He stretched out his arm in invitation and she cuddled close. She settled in, but her mind kept whirring, pondering the fragmented memories in her head.
"I can hear the gears turning in your head, Rose. Now stop that or I will have to leave."
She grinned into his shirt and pushed the thoughts back.
"Okay, going to sleep now."
"Good," he said with mock sternness. "As I'm being your doctor today, I have to enforce these things."
"Today?" she said. "You’re my Doctor every day."
Even without turning her head, she could feel the grin that covered his face.
Author: glory_jean
Pairing/Characters: Ten/Rose
Rating: All Ages
Summary: Rose Tyler was lost.
Beta Reader: milieva
Prompt: never_ever_will Prompt 17
Disclaimer: Based on characters owned and created by BBC. No infringement intended.
Author's Notes: Slapped together at the last minute Written for achuislemochroi for her birthday. **b-day hugs** (Sorry it's a Rose POV. Ten's not talking to me. **pout**)
Rose Tyler was lost. Her head may have been swimming alarmingly, making her steps uneasy, but she knew that one fact for certain. The city may have been big and busy, but it was most certainly not London. Or anywhere else she'd ever been for that matter. The people may have been courteously indifferent, their clothes fairly normal, but they seemed a little .... well, not quite Human somehow. The fact she didn't really think that was strange was also strange.
They walked up the path and she paused as he opened the ornate iron gate, stepping aside to let her pass through. Nearby, she heard the sound of water.
The buildings surrounding her were tall and ornate. They stretched artistically skyward. The streets and the walkway were abnormally clean, at least to her eyes. The weather was even perfect; not too hot and not too cold. It would have been pleasant to walk here had she been feeling herself. Especially with someone holding her hand.
They sat beside a river stretched out on his coat. He leaned over her, at once far too close and not close enough. The book of poetry, newly signed by some obscure poet he'd insisted they meet, dropped out of her hands and landed on the grass. Slowly, he moved forward and she closed her eyes.
The fact that she could remember almost nothing but fragments of the recent past also should have worried her. Somehow, she simply accepted that as normal, just as wandering the streets of a strange city seemed like something she did every day. Without really deciding to, she found herself walking down steps leading to the city's underground. She moved to the platform and stood there for a while, wobbling, feeling the wind from passing trains on her face.
They were startled apart by a shrill sound from her pocket. Her mum was on the phone. He grinned and rolled his eyes. She pointed a stern finger at him to quell any more of that. He pulled a couple of random apples from his jacket pocket and offered her one as he stood, wandering closer to the river as he munched on his own.
A shrill sound startled her. She pulled the phone out of her pocket. The screen read "TARDIS calling." She almost knew what that meant.
"Hello?"
"Rose!" a terrified voice exclaimed. "Where are you?"
"I..." her voice trailed off after the single word. Talking was exhausting.
"Rose? Talk to me."
"I... there's trains. I like trains." It hurt to think.
"Rose, stay on the phone, okay? Just - Just keep the line open. And stay where you are!"
"Okay," she agreed listlessly.
She spotted a bench against the far wall and sank into it. She let her head loll against the cool tile wall. Why did all these stations look the same anywhere you went?
The moment broken, they walked back up the lane, hand in hand. Somewhere, far off, a church bell was ringing. The Doctor continued rummaging in his pocket, claiming something felt "off" inside it. She told him he was imagining things. If his pockets were like the TARDIS, (and she'd seen the evidence of that) how could he tell what was in there? Finally, he pulled a spray can of whipped cream from the pocket with a little sound of delight. He'd been looking for that, he said.
Rose stared at a nearby vending machine selling a lot of unfamiliar, brightly-labeled, packaged foods. Beside it hung a poster advertising some sort of video game with a hero that looked a little like a goldfish.
She looked down at the bench and tried to recall why she was sitting here. She was certain it was important. And why was she holding her phone? Was she supposed to call someone? The idea of leaving this place was appealing. If only her legs didn't feel so heavy.
They neared the TARDIS and the Doctor, having pulled out a large lint ball that looked like a fuzzy version of the scribble monster, gave up on whatever he was searching for. He declared that he must have fixed the problem.
He paused at the TARDIS door, key in the lock.
"See?" he murmured. "You can tell your mum that not all days are about running for your life."
Standing only inches from her, he gave her a look that made her breath catch and her cheeks colour. He slowly ran a finger over her cheek.
"A red Rose," he said with a tiny smirk and turned to open the door.
The room began to waver in front her and she found it too taxing to fight it. She slumped farther onto the bench, laying her head on the back. It would be so good to sleep. Just sleep.
She closed her eyes and felt the world slip away.
***
Rose woke with a sudden gasp of breath, as though she'd been shaken awake. But when her eyes blinked open, she found only her quiet room. The only sound was the usual background hum of the TARDIS. Then her eyes fell on a strange, squat device near her bedside table. It's display glowed a soft blue and the interlocking glyphs of the Doctor's language spun and shifted across it.
She'd only had a few minutes to study the thing when the sound of running footfalls echoed over the grating in the corridor outside. The door to her room burst open and the Doctor stood there, wild-eyed and slightly out of breath. She met his panicked gaze and he seemed to calm, moving to drop onto the bed at her side. He tapped at the screen and then lifted her arm to check another small device strapped to her wrist. She frowned at it. She hadn't even noticed it there.
He eyed her cautiously.
"Can you feel my hand?"
His voice was carefully calm and neutral. She didn't trust that tone.
"Yeah," she answered without thinking. But... did she? She could feel warmth where her hand touched his, but could she feel his actual hand? Suddenly she wasn't sure. "I... think?"
"Close your eyes."
She hesitated a moment before complying.
"Tell me when and where you feel me touching your arm."
In halting words, she tried to comply. After several minutes, he let her open her eyes. She did so hesitantly, fearing the look on his face.
When she met his eyes they were dark and fathomless, but the look on his face was merely serious, not grim. After a moment he broke their gaze and nodded.
"Well, you are on the mend, but you're not there yet."
She frowned at him at him in confusion.
"What happened to me?"
"Don't you remember?"
"I just remember walking, a city, trains, and...."
"And?"
"And I - Well that part doesn't make sense," she said, a bit frustrated.
"Go on," he murmured encouragingly, scooting a little closer to her.
"We were walking along this country path. There was river. And you kept pulling random things out of your pockets."
"Artroiz," he murmured, frowning.
"What?"
"That place, that was Artroiz. We were just there. Don't you remember?"
He tipped his head toward the poetry book on her bedside table.
"I... I do and I don't."
The Doctor's frown returned.
"Must have affected your short term memory."
Rose's face must have showed her alarm, because he rushed to explain.
"We arrived here a few hours after Artoiz, you needed sleep, silly Human."
He gave her a half grin.
"We wandered into a some sort of protest. Before we could find out what was going on, the crowd was sprayed with some sort of agent. I believe it's meant to calm and disperse the crowd."
He paused and glanced at her.
"Apparently, it doesn't react well with Human body chemistry. Almost immediately, you became very agitated. You didn't want anyone touching you. I couldn't keep hold of your hand."
It may have been her imagination, but she thought she saw a flash of hurt cross his face. She tightened her grip around his hand and his expression brightened.
"After a couple of minutes, you ran off into the departing crowds. I was, umm, delayed, so I had guess where you might have gone." Remembered frustration was clear on his face. "I searched everywhere. Finally, I resorted to returning to the TARDIS and calling your mobile."
"I sort of remember that."
He nodded faintly. "When I found you," his voice faltered. "You.... You were delirious. Lost. You had no reaction to touch or pain. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to reverse what the toxin had done to your system." He shut his eyes tightly. "I'm so sorry."
"Not your fault," she smiled at him as much as her strangely sluggish muscles would allow. "I'm getting better though, yeah?"
He looked back at the screen, reflectively. "Yeah."
"Well, then..."
He attempted a careless smile. "Can't keep Rose Tyler down."
She decided to change the subject. "Why did I go back to that day, on Artoiz?"
"Well, who knows, really. The mind is a delicate thing. Maybe.... Welllll. It was a very good day."
"Yeah, it was."
"What, " he asked hesitantly, "was the last thing you recall about that day?"
She thought hard. "I remember you stopping at the door and saying I could tell my mum that not every day was about running."
"Oh?" he asked carefully. "That's the very last thing?"
"Yeah, so far."
"Right, okay." He looked unaccountably sad.
"Something wrong, Doctor?"
He smiled his broad, "I'm pretending everything is okay" grin. "Wrong? How could anything be wrong? You're on the mend, thanks to how brilliant I am, and all's right with the universe." He cocked his head at her cheekily.
"I will get my memories back, won't I?"
He froze a little. "It depends on how much your brain had converted to long term memory. Your short term memories might not come back. No backup file, so to speak. Long term... maybe. Hopefully. Time will tell."
They fell into an uncomfortable silence that neither of them could seem to break. They were locked in place; she, curled on her side looking up him, he, hunched over where he sat at her side, stroking her hand as it rested in his.
Finally, she yawned and it seemed to free him.
"Well," he said awkwardly, rising to go and letting her hand slip from his. "I'd better let you sleep. You need the rest."
She felt a lump rise in her throat, but wasn't sure why. All she knew was that letting him leave seemed awful and wrong.
"Stay with me?" she asked softly. "Just 'til I fall asleep?" then she added quickly, trying to use humor to cover her embarrassment, " You'd probably wake me with all the fidgeting if I forced you hang around longer."
He looked startled, but under that he was... pleased? Hmm. She had the feeling that she really needed to remember those lost days.
Without another word, he was pushing off his shoes, shedding his jacket and stretching out next to her. He stretched out his arm in invitation and she cuddled close. She settled in, but her mind kept whirring, pondering the fragmented memories in her head.
"I can hear the gears turning in your head, Rose. Now stop that or I will have to leave."
She grinned into his shirt and pushed the thoughts back.
"Okay, going to sleep now."
"Good," he said with mock sternness. "As I'm being your doctor today, I have to enforce these things."
"Today?" she said. "You’re my Doctor every day."
Even without turning her head, she could feel the grin that covered his face.