DW - One-Shot: Gone
Title: Gone
Author: Jaelijn
Disclaimer: Doctor Who and all associated items are property of BBC. The Doctor's tenth regeneration was largely shaped by Mr Russell T. Davies, creator of the new Doctor Who, and Mr David Tennant. No copyright infringement intended.
Rating: PG
Warnings: depressing theme, spoilers for “The Impossible Planet”
Characters: Tenth Doctor, Rose Tyler, the TARDIS, mention of characters from “The Impossible Planet”
Prompt: stranded/survival scenario
Summary: Rose trying to comfort the Doctor over the loss of the TARDIS.
Author's Note: Tenth Doctor fic. Written for hc_bingo . First time I wrote an episode tag... Just trying to explain something.
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Okay, so they were stuck. It sounded surprisingly simple, almost harmless. Rose was not certain whether she'd really grasped the extent of it yet. She wasn't sure she wanted to.
The Doctor, as always, seemed to move faster than any human. She had seen the change in his eyes as they had exchanged looks right after they had discovered the TARDIS was gone - to him, of course, the TARDIS was more than just transport. It was his home, and, as far as Rose could tell, literally all he had. For once, he hadn't even stopped to wait for her as the realisation hit, and even then it was as if she didn't exist at all. All that matter, for that moment, was the fact that the TARDIS - his TARDIS, the one he would stroke and pat affectionately when he thought she wasn't looking, the one that had been his shelter and home for so very long, longer than Rose could even begin to imagine - was gone. And, by the looks of it, without chance of recovery. The abyss which had opened up in the planet's surface was quite enormous.
The Doctor seemed a little lost after the captain of the base had offered them a lift, and as soon as they were alone, strolling through the corridors to habitation three, Rose took his arm and squeezed his hand. “It's gonna be all right. He's offered us a lift, hasn't he?”
The Doctor didn't reply, and she wondered if she would ever see that cheeky grin of his again.
“Look, it's fine, really. I don't mind. Hasn't quite sunk in yet, though. Anyway, wasn't your fault. I don't blame you or anything. Listen, are you okay?”
The Doctor looked at her as if he had only now realised she was even there. “Oh, I'm fine! I'm always all right, me.”
Rose frowned. “...Right.”
“I've always thought I'd feel it if she died. That's what I was taught.”
“You're talking 'bout the TARDIS, yeah?”
He didn't answer, of course.
“So you didn't feel anything?”
“Nothing Time Lord. Just your ordinary garden variety human feelings.”
“You're not human, though.”
“No.” He was staring into nothingness again. “I don't think I could do it, Rose. Living as a human. Leading an ordinary life, a quiet life. That's just not me.”
“Oh, it's not so bad... We get by, all of us. And besides, it won't be that ordinary, will it? After all, what year are we in - the future, that has to be cool. Although, I assume it could make no difference to you, I guess. I wouldn't know. You never tell me of Gallifrey. All you ever say is: 'It's gone.'”
“It is. Just like the TARDIS. The last TARDIS. It's only me, now.”
“You really were that close to her, weren't you? Telepathic link and all that? I never really believed ye.” Rose had of course experienced how the TARDIS' translation software, or whatever it was, depended on the physical health of the Doctor, like he was part of the circuit, but she had never really believed that there was a emotional connection between the Doctor and the TARDIS, apart from sentimentality. It just seemed so odd, having a relationship with a machine. Though, if that was all the TARDIS was, it was just an 'it'. And now even she had started calling her 'she'.
The Doctor had been watching her in silence for some time now, apparently reading her mind, although Rose was sure that that was not how it worked.
“It's not just translating, Rose. That's only a minor part of its functions. It can't do much more for you humans, and you could never fly her properly, not without special training... Anyway, I could feel her, all the time, wherever I was. After Gallifrey burned, she was all that was left. Still was... And now she's gone, and if I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have noticed.” He did not lower his gaze this time, and Rose could see the deep pain that seemed to be this Doctor's constant companion. She hadn't noticed that much in the old Doctor, the former Doctor - he had been all rage, while this new Doctor was all sadness.
“Maybe it would've hurt and she was trying to protect you by not letting you feel it.”
“Yeah... Or maybe she's still down there somewhere, and there is no way of getting her back. Over the time, she will power down, and eventually, die. Alone.”
“Couldn't you do this thing with the key... You know like in the church with the paradox thing...”
The Doctor pulled the TARDIS key out of his pocket. It was cold and didn't glow. “Nah. It only works when the TARDIS is stuck in the wrong time stream. Not with physical distances.”
“I'm sorry.”
“That's supposed to be my line.”
“Well, tough. But it's all right, Doctor. Cause you've got me now. And I'll stay with you, forever. No chance I'll just stand still when the ground underneath collapses.”
The Doctor smiled weakly. “D'ya think.”
“Yeah. I'm not going anywhere. We stick together, you and me, and all will be fine.”
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