Fic: Footsteps (DW)
Title: Footsteps
Author: hexicode
Fandom: Doctor Who (2005)
Disclaimer: It’s not my sandbox, I just play in it.
Rating: FRC
Spoilers: none
Summary: “Remember what I asked you when we first met in London? I asked you if it was always so dangerous. You told me ‘yes’ and I came along anyways.”
A/N: Written for 2dozenowies. Prompt - sensory loss.
The footsteps came three times a day to deliver her meals. The first day, Rose has been afraid to eat for fear that the food had been drugged or poisoned and had left the tray untouched. The second and third day, she had taken a few sips of water, but had refused to eat any of the food.
The forth day, hunger had won out and she’d cautiously taken a few bites.
Rose couldn’t remember how many meals she had since then. She had tried to keep a count, but after a while she had stopped making the effort. No one was going to come and rescue her. Not the Doctor, not anyone. She was no longer afraid of the footsteps. In the beginning, she had been afraid they would take her to wherever the screams came from. But no one ever came for her. Three times a day, the heavy footsteps would near her cell, then stop. The slot would be pushed open, and the tray slid though - metal scrapping on metal.
It couldn’t have been time for the next meal already, when two sets of footsteps approached. They weren’t the bare feet of a fellow prisoner being herded to their cell, but heavy - the heavy boots of the guards. There were never two guards. Never.
Metal rattled and a key turned into the lock. It opened with a click. The hinges groaned as the door was opened. Rose was pressed in the furthest corner, huddled into a ball. She didn’t know what happened to the people taken by the guards, but she could hear their screams, day and night.
“Thank you, sergeant. I will take it from here.” Rose’s head shot up. She recognized the voice, but she knew it was just wishful thinking. It couldn’t be Jack. She had been there when he was executed. She had heard him scream.
“Rose?”
Rose put her hands over her ears and willed the voice to disappear. She could still hear him. He was coming into her cell.
“Rose? What’s the matter? We have to hurry up.”
Rose shook her head. She couldn’t do it. It was a trick. It had to be a trick. Jack was dead.
“The Doctor got us in with the psychic paper, but it’s only a matter of time until someone realizes that the magistrate never sent anyone with transfer orders for you.
When she heard the Doctor mentioned Rose put down her hands. How could they know about the Doctor? She had never told them and neither had Jack.
“Jack?” Rose asked, surprised at the sound of her own voice.
“Of course, it’s me. I know the uniform isn’t exactly my style. But I didn’t think you’d forget what I look-“ Jack broke off, realizing what was going on. She heard a sharp intake of breath, then warm hands gently pulled her to her feet, steadying her when she swayed and nearly fell.
“I think I better carry you. Ready?”
Rose nodded and Jack pulled her up.
oOo
The Doctor tried to ignore the increasingly dark looks that guard was cutting him. So far, their ruse had worked out. The deputy chief of the prison complex had found that their transfer papers were in order as they naturally were as they had used psychic paper. But as far as the convoluted tale Jack had told was concerned, the Doctor was sure that the deputy was suspicious. He probably wouldn’t do anything until the chief got back from lunch, but their time was running out. The Doctor checked his watch in fruitless move. It was a human gestured he had picked up on his many visits to the planet.
Outside, a car horn sounded, the signal they had agreed upon. The Doctor flashed a smile at the guard and ran out of the room. The guard was yelling something after him, but the Doctor was already out the door and running across the prison courtyard.
Jack was behind the wheel of their borrowed truck and while the Doctor didn’t particularly enjoy this hazardous manner of transport, it had its charms. He would have taken the TARDIS, but Jack had argued that the ship would stick out and the Doctor had to agree.
The Doctor pulled open the car door and jumped into the passenger seat.
“Rose?”
“We got her.” Jack nodded and started to car. Not a moment to soon as the moment the car started moving, the general alarm sounded.
The front gate started to close and the Doctor knew they weren’t going to make it. Jack slammed on the accelerator so hard that the car jumped. Jack was yelling something, but the sound was drowned out by the deafening howl of the engines. The Doctor held on for dear life and already saw himself reaching the end of his current regeneration in a frontal collision with the steel gate, when Jack threaded the truck through the doors at the last moment.
They came to a halt in a cloud of dust behind the next bend in the road. The TARDIS was parked at the roadside. The Doctor was wrestling with his seatbelt while Jack was already outside, picking up Rose from the back seat.
The Doctor stopped in shock when he saw her for the first time in two months. She was clinging to Jack, her arms looped around his neck. Her clothes were in tatters of indeterminate colour and her hair was matted, almost grey. Despite her ragged appearance, she appeared uninjured. At least physically, mentally he wasn’t sure. She seemed to take no notice of what was going on around her, face pressed against Jack’s chest.
The Doctor pushed back his worries and lead to way towards the TARDIS.
oOo
Jack had taken Rose to her room aboard the TARDIS and the Doctor joined them as soon as they had safely taken off.
Jack was just pulling a blanket around her shoulders when the Doctor appeared in the doorframe. He stopped for a moment when he saw Rose startled.
“There is someone here.” Her voice was that of a frightened girl and nearly broke the Doctor’s heart. Not for the first time, he blamed himself for having allowed Rose and Jack to take off on their own. He should have known that he couldn’t trust humans to stay out of trouble anywhere. He had been able to rig up a temporary transmat system and pull Jack out before his body was torn apart at the molecular level. By the time Jack had recovered enough to talk, Rose had been taken away to serve her sentence. It had taken them weeks to track her down, searching every prison colony in the entire sector.
“Don’t worry. It’s the Doctor. You are safe now.” Jack gently told her.
“It’s me.” The Doctor stepped inside the room. Rose’s head turned into the direction of his voice, but he immediately noticed that she wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes were without focus, staring right through him.
“I’ll get us something to eat,” Jack said quietly and left the Doctor and Rose alone. The Doctor settled on a nearby chair and for once he didn’t know what to say. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was for letting her down, for taking so long to find her.
“Your mother…she will be really happy to see you.” The Doctor finally said.
A thin smile spread over Rose’s face. “She is going to kill you, you know?”
“I’m really sorry, believe me, I am.” He knew Rose hadn’t meant it as an accusation, but he needed to tell her.
“Don’t.” Rose said quietly. “Remember what I asked you when we first met in London? I asked you if it was always so dangerous. You told me ‘yes’ and I came along anyways.”
“The TARDIS is taking us back to London, Powell Estate.”
Author: hexicode
Fandom: Doctor Who (2005)
Disclaimer: It’s not my sandbox, I just play in it.
Rating: FRC
Spoilers: none
Summary: “Remember what I asked you when we first met in London? I asked you if it was always so dangerous. You told me ‘yes’ and I came along anyways.”
A/N: Written for 2dozenowies. Prompt - sensory loss.
The footsteps came three times a day to deliver her meals. The first day, Rose has been afraid to eat for fear that the food had been drugged or poisoned and had left the tray untouched. The second and third day, she had taken a few sips of water, but had refused to eat any of the food.
The forth day, hunger had won out and she’d cautiously taken a few bites.
Rose couldn’t remember how many meals she had since then. She had tried to keep a count, but after a while she had stopped making the effort. No one was going to come and rescue her. Not the Doctor, not anyone. She was no longer afraid of the footsteps. In the beginning, she had been afraid they would take her to wherever the screams came from. But no one ever came for her. Three times a day, the heavy footsteps would near her cell, then stop. The slot would be pushed open, and the tray slid though - metal scrapping on metal.
It couldn’t have been time for the next meal already, when two sets of footsteps approached. They weren’t the bare feet of a fellow prisoner being herded to their cell, but heavy - the heavy boots of the guards. There were never two guards. Never.
Metal rattled and a key turned into the lock. It opened with a click. The hinges groaned as the door was opened. Rose was pressed in the furthest corner, huddled into a ball. She didn’t know what happened to the people taken by the guards, but she could hear their screams, day and night.
“Thank you, sergeant. I will take it from here.” Rose’s head shot up. She recognized the voice, but she knew it was just wishful thinking. It couldn’t be Jack. She had been there when he was executed. She had heard him scream.
“Rose?”
Rose put her hands over her ears and willed the voice to disappear. She could still hear him. He was coming into her cell.
“Rose? What’s the matter? We have to hurry up.”
Rose shook her head. She couldn’t do it. It was a trick. It had to be a trick. Jack was dead.
“The Doctor got us in with the psychic paper, but it’s only a matter of time until someone realizes that the magistrate never sent anyone with transfer orders for you.
When she heard the Doctor mentioned Rose put down her hands. How could they know about the Doctor? She had never told them and neither had Jack.
“Jack?” Rose asked, surprised at the sound of her own voice.
“Of course, it’s me. I know the uniform isn’t exactly my style. But I didn’t think you’d forget what I look-“ Jack broke off, realizing what was going on. She heard a sharp intake of breath, then warm hands gently pulled her to her feet, steadying her when she swayed and nearly fell.
“I think I better carry you. Ready?”
Rose nodded and Jack pulled her up.
oOo
The Doctor tried to ignore the increasingly dark looks that guard was cutting him. So far, their ruse had worked out. The deputy chief of the prison complex had found that their transfer papers were in order as they naturally were as they had used psychic paper. But as far as the convoluted tale Jack had told was concerned, the Doctor was sure that the deputy was suspicious. He probably wouldn’t do anything until the chief got back from lunch, but their time was running out. The Doctor checked his watch in fruitless move. It was a human gestured he had picked up on his many visits to the planet.
Outside, a car horn sounded, the signal they had agreed upon. The Doctor flashed a smile at the guard and ran out of the room. The guard was yelling something after him, but the Doctor was already out the door and running across the prison courtyard.
Jack was behind the wheel of their borrowed truck and while the Doctor didn’t particularly enjoy this hazardous manner of transport, it had its charms. He would have taken the TARDIS, but Jack had argued that the ship would stick out and the Doctor had to agree.
The Doctor pulled open the car door and jumped into the passenger seat.
“Rose?”
“We got her.” Jack nodded and started to car. Not a moment to soon as the moment the car started moving, the general alarm sounded.
The front gate started to close and the Doctor knew they weren’t going to make it. Jack slammed on the accelerator so hard that the car jumped. Jack was yelling something, but the sound was drowned out by the deafening howl of the engines. The Doctor held on for dear life and already saw himself reaching the end of his current regeneration in a frontal collision with the steel gate, when Jack threaded the truck through the doors at the last moment.
They came to a halt in a cloud of dust behind the next bend in the road. The TARDIS was parked at the roadside. The Doctor was wrestling with his seatbelt while Jack was already outside, picking up Rose from the back seat.
The Doctor stopped in shock when he saw her for the first time in two months. She was clinging to Jack, her arms looped around his neck. Her clothes were in tatters of indeterminate colour and her hair was matted, almost grey. Despite her ragged appearance, she appeared uninjured. At least physically, mentally he wasn’t sure. She seemed to take no notice of what was going on around her, face pressed against Jack’s chest.
The Doctor pushed back his worries and lead to way towards the TARDIS.
oOo
Jack had taken Rose to her room aboard the TARDIS and the Doctor joined them as soon as they had safely taken off.
Jack was just pulling a blanket around her shoulders when the Doctor appeared in the doorframe. He stopped for a moment when he saw Rose startled.
“There is someone here.” Her voice was that of a frightened girl and nearly broke the Doctor’s heart. Not for the first time, he blamed himself for having allowed Rose and Jack to take off on their own. He should have known that he couldn’t trust humans to stay out of trouble anywhere. He had been able to rig up a temporary transmat system and pull Jack out before his body was torn apart at the molecular level. By the time Jack had recovered enough to talk, Rose had been taken away to serve her sentence. It had taken them weeks to track her down, searching every prison colony in the entire sector.
“Don’t worry. It’s the Doctor. You are safe now.” Jack gently told her.
“It’s me.” The Doctor stepped inside the room. Rose’s head turned into the direction of his voice, but he immediately noticed that she wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes were without focus, staring right through him.
“I’ll get us something to eat,” Jack said quietly and left the Doctor and Rose alone. The Doctor settled on a nearby chair and for once he didn’t know what to say. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was for letting her down, for taking so long to find her.
“Your mother…she will be really happy to see you.” The Doctor finally said.
A thin smile spread over Rose’s face. “She is going to kill you, you know?”
“I’m really sorry, believe me, I am.” He knew Rose hadn’t meant it as an accusation, but he needed to tell her.
“Don’t.” Rose said quietly. “Remember what I asked you when we first met in London? I asked you if it was always so dangerous. You told me ‘yes’ and I came along anyways.”
“The TARDIS is taking us back to London, Powell Estate.”