FIC: The Doctor and the Doctor
Woo! Fic in the middle of the night!
Title: The Doctor and the Doctor
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood (mostly Who, canon compliant with Torchwood)
Pairing/Characters: Mostly gen, with some past Ten/Rose. Captain Jack Harkness. Female OC.
Rating:PG
Summary: The Doctor doesn't do domestic.
Disclaimer: I own nothing you might recognize.
Feedback: Always appreciated.
Warnings/Author's Notes: So very sorry for this one, folks; just what the world needs, another post-Doomsday fic. Maybe now I'll be able to write something else, though. :) No real warnings. Medium length. Quick beta, so all mistakes are certainly mine. The Torchwood aspects are fairly minimal; most Torchwood characters don't even have lines. Very Jack friendly. No Martha, unfortunately, even though she's awesome. Spoilers and resolution for Season Three's Utopia and its arc are implied, but not outright. There are no spoilers for anything post-Utopia. Absolute spoilers for Doomsday.
"Get your hand out of my petri dishes."
The voice came out of nowhere and surprised the Doctor so much he complied, staggering backwards a couple of steps, his sudden movement sliding one of the aforementioned petri dishes off the table and onto the floor with a clatter.
"What?" was all he managed to stutter.
"I said," at this point a young woman, rich brown hair held in a bun with a pencil, popped up on the other side of the counter. "Please remove your fingers from my petri dishes." She leaned over the counter and eyed the dish on the floor. She sighed, which caused the Doctor to raise his eyebrows.
"Your petri dishes?" he asked.
The woman gestured around the space with her arm. "This is my lab."
"Cardiff University's lab."
"Excuse me?"
"Well. Technically I suppose this is the Cardiff University's lab. You don't exactly own it. You just work here. Or so I take it." The Doctor took in the look on the woman's face. He decided to change tactics. "Er."
Hands poised on hips, arms akimbo, she asked, "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm the Doctor."
"Great!" she said with false enthusiasm. "Me, too!"
"No, really. I'm the Doctor."
"Me, too. Of microbiology, first in class."
"Well. I'm the doctor of everything, I suppose." The Doctor's head bobbed from side to side. From the flicker of the woman's eyelids, the Doctor could tell she had barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes. "Er. Yes. So what do you do here, doctor?"
"Julie."
"Doctor Julie."
The woman sighed, but her hands came off her hips. "I specify in rare organisms. The samples of some of which you were just now interfering with."
"Oh, yes. Just so." The Doctor put the fingers that had previously been in the petri dish in his mouth, and tasted. Julie leaned back and wrinkled her nose. "Unknown origin, showed up in the water supply in the last five days, reproducing at an extraordinary rate."
Julie looked surprised. "Well, yes. So you know what it is then?"
The Doctor shook his head. "Not a clue. Do you have more samples?"
Julie waved a hand, gesturing the Doctor toward the high powered microscope on another counter. She looked through it as the Doctor approached, adjusting the sample underneath the lens. She stepped aside so the Doctor could take her place; he spent a few moments looking at the image before humming affirmatively.
"Oh, so you're able to identify it?" Julie asked, leaning with one hand against the counter.
"No, not at all." The Doctor looked up at Julie, straightening up before putting on his specs. "You look awfully young to have a doctorate."
"I'm 25. Not that it's any of your business," she added.
"That's still too young," the Doctor said.
"Cambridge at 16, Oxford at 20. Went through the program in two years. Been doing research for three."
"And now you're in Cardiff?"
"For now."
"Credentials like that, you could work anywhere."
"You don't know about my credentials."
"Said yourself you were at the top of your class. Have you published?"
"Yes."
"How much?"
"Four articles and one book to be released in a month."
"Why aren't you teaching?"
"I like the research better. I have plenty of time to teach if I want to."
"Indeed." The Doctor nodded toward the microscope. "That bacteria isn't of earthly origin."
Julie raised an eyebrow, the left one.
"And you know it."
She raised the other brow, too.
"Who do you really work for?"
"Cardiff University."
"I just told you that bacteria doesn't come from Earth." The Doctor stabbed a finger at the sample under the microscope. "You barely blinked."
"So?"
"So who do you really work for?"
Julie's lips formed a straight line, but her gaze didn't waver from the Doctor's.
"Let me guess. Starts with a t, ends with a d, has orchwoo in the middle."
"Actually . . . yes."
The Doctor looked triumphant.
"There's no need to look so pleased with yourself," Julie said.
"There's always a reason for me to look pleased with myself," the Doctor grinned. Julie's mouth twitched, but she didn't smile. Not quite.
"You know, I have a friend at Torchwood Cardiff. I can come with you and look him up, poke my head in a bit, have a cup of tea," the Doctor mused, already headed for the doorway, scooping up two sealed sample dishes on his way. He stopped halfway there, coat billowing as he turned back. "Well, are you coming or not?"
Julie moved to the coat rack by the door, shrugging a dark gray overcoat on over her brown slacks and v-neck jumper with white camisole piece. She pulled gloves out of her pocket. "I'm coming," she said.
The Doctor smiled, and held the door open for her. "Oh, good, this should be fun."
***
Twenty minutes later as they stood in front of Torchwood's outside entrance, Gwen Cooper's gun trained on them, the Doctor raised both of his hands in the air. "So much for being fun."
"This isn't your idea of fun?" Julie asked.
The Doctor turned to glare at her incredulously. Julie sighed. "I didn't say I worked for this Torchwood," she said.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Humans."
***
In all actuality, it only took the Doctor bellowing Jack's name at the top of his lungs a few times before the pair was admitted to Torchwood. Still, the Doctor harassed everyone in sight about their initial detainment until Gwen was blushing and Ianto had escorted him into Jack's office, closing the door behind him with the promise of tea.
Jack inclined his head toward the bullpen, where Gwen and Owen were chatting with Julie. "Tosh is on it."
"Hmmm -- on what you say?" the Doctor asked, flipping over a piece of equipment on Jack's desk.
Jack righted the metal piece. "On her. Where'd you pick this one up?"
"Cardiff University's biology labs. Said she works for you." The Doctor took his coat off and threw it over a chair opposite Jack's desk.
Jack's eyes widened. "Not for me. I'd remember her."
"Oh, stop it."
Jack grinned. "What? Honestly, Doctor, I know my own people. She's not one of them."
"She work for another branch then?"
"There are four branches," Jack acknowledged.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Four? How many do you people need?"
"To keep track of you? Four isn't nearly enough." Jack crossed his arms over his chest.
"Yeah, that's a bit of a point."
"Tosh is looking her up. If she's Torchwood, we'll know."
"You people are creepy, you know. Big brother and all that." The Doctor waved a hand vaguely over Jack's desk.
Jack sighed. "You come here to criticize?"
The Doctor looked like he was considering the question. "Yes."
"Doctor?"
The Doctor fished the petri dishes out of the coat pocket on the chair and handed them over to Jack.
"What are these?" Jack asked.
"Petri dishes."
Jack threw the Doctor a look. The Doctor promptly grinned.
"Bacteria," the Doctor answered seriously. "Showed up in your water supply around five days ago. Not from this planet, that's for sure."
"So where is it from?" Jack asked.
"Don't know."
"You don't know?"
"No. Thought you people might want to look into it. Or any interesting or unexplained phenomenon or behavior that's been reported lately."
"You can't do this in the TARDIS?" Jack walked toward the door to his office.
The Doctor gestured toward the bullpen with his thumb. "She said she worked here."
"Uh-huh." Jack opened the door. "Owen, take this. I need you to run it through the biological scanners. Gwen, check police reports and newspapers from the last five days noting anything unusual." Jack handed the dishes to Owen and turned back to the Doctor.
"You say jump -- " the Doctor started.
"They ask how high," Jack finished, opening the door for Ianto who came in carrying a tea tray loaded with tea and biscuits. He set it on the table and then nodded at Jack, bowing slightly to the Doctor before he left again.
"I say, this is excellent service," the Doctor said, collapsing into a chair and picking up a cup of tea, then dunking a biscuit into it.
"That's Ianto," Jack grinned.
The Doctor raised his eyebrows and winked, causing Jack to actually blush. He was spared attempting a reply by Tosh's entrance.
"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt," Tosh started, leaving the door open behind her so she could step out if need be.
Jack turned to her. "Trust me, Tosh, you're not. Come in."
Tosh came in and shut the door as Jack sat down behind his desk, picking up a cup of tea. She looked anxious, throwing a quick look at the Doctor before moving closer to Jack's desk.
"So what have you got for us, Tosh?" Jack asked.
"Nothing," Tosh replied.
"Nothing?" Jack repeated.
Tosh shook her head. "Nothing. Almost literally."
Jack and the Doctor exchanged looks. "She's not in Torchwood's personnel records?"
Tosh shook her head. "No. And she's not in Torchwood's database either."
At that, Jack sat up a little straighter. "Not at all?"
"Not at all. No birth certificate, no school records, medical records, dental, fingerprints, newspaper articles or notices -- I couldn't even match her face to anyone who has been scanned by a Torchwood camera in the last three years."
"But that's impossible," Jack said. Tosh nodded.
"Come now, Jack, impossible?" the Doctor asked. "Surely not even the arm of Torchwood is that long?"
Jack glanced at the Doctor. "It's pretty long." He nodded at the file folder Tosh had in her hands. "There's something, though."
Tosh nodded. "I did get one hit." She handed the file across to Jack. "Her retinal scan when she came in matched with possible relatives."
"Well that's something," Jack said, opening the file. Both Tosh and the Doctor watched as he visibly paled. He looked back up at Tosh. "Are you sure about this?"
She nodded. "I've got a DNA sample running now based on some saliva swiped from the tea cup she's currently using."
"Sneaky," the Doctor commented, sipping his own tea. Jack looked at him, then back at Tosh, who picked up on the nonverbal cue.
"I'm going to go check on that sample now, see if I can get a profile going," Tosh said, nodding briefly at Jack.
"You do that. Thanks. Good work," Jack answered, nodding back as Tosh shut the glass door behind her.
"So we have a liar on our hands? That makes this even more interesting," the Doctor's eyebrows came together as he thought through the situation from every angle he could. "But why lie? I came across her by accident -- "
"Doctor -- "
"She didn't have to come with me," the Doctor continued. "And why lie about working here? It's not like this is exactly the greatest operation on the planet -- "
"Doctor -- "
"Or on many nearby planets, actually. Possibly any planet at all -- "
"Doctor!" Jack had shouted so loudly Gwen stepped up, about to open the door and ask what was the matter before Jack shook his head at her.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "What?"
"Doctor, you should look at these."
"Why? I don't particularly care where she's from. Or who she is. Unless she's from Munkhasen, in which case --"
"Doctor." Jack spoke slowly and took a deep breath, both palms flat on his desk. "The retinal scan lists probable relatives as Rose Tyler and Jackie Tyler."
The Doctor sat up in his chair so fast tea sloshed over the side of the cup he was still holding. "That's impossible."
"That's what I'd say. Except the proof is right here."
"It's impossible. Jackie and." The Doctor paused. "They're in the alternate world. Stuck there."
"I know that, Doctor, but -- "
"What's the relation?"
"Excuse me?"
"What's the relation? Cousin? Niece? Great Aunt Clara? Does your little technology tell you that?"
If Jack noticed the dig at Torchwood, he ignored it. "It does."
"And?"
"It's a direct descendant read out." Jack blew out a breath. "According to this, Rose would be her mother, Jackie her grandmother."
The Doctor was out of his chair and through the door before Jack could even take his next breath. He pounded down the stairs, Jack at his heels.
"You, you," the Doctor said, jabbing a finger in Julie's direction. He skidded to a halt in front of her, and then paced away, running his fingers through his hair. "You. Who are you?"
At first, Julie gripped her mug of tea even tighter, and then she carefully set it down on the tray next to her stool. The entire Torchwood staff was circled around, staring intently at the scene.
"I'm Julie Tyler."
"You didn't say that earlier." The Doctor kept pacing, his trainers squeaking against the clean tile floor.
Julie shrugged a little. "It wasn't important earlier."
"You know who I am." It wasn't a question.
"You're the Doctor."
The Doctor paused, hands knit together behind his head. "You've heard about me."
"Yes."
"From." The Doctor stopped, swallowed. "Rose."
"Yes."
The Doctor stepped forward, almost nose to nose with Julie. "Is Rose your mother?"
Julie nodded. "Yes," she said again.
"How did you get here?" the Doctor turned away.
"The rift. I came through the rift. I had to time it just right. The rift had to be open in both worlds at once, at a time that would be appropriate. Almost came thorough in 1592; definitely not appropriate. I did work for Torchwood, in the other world."
"I -- that's impossible," the Doctor added.
Julie shook her head. "Nearly impossible. Or would have been, if our friends here hadn't opened the rift on purpose a few years ago."
The Doctor shook his head. "But -- "
"The Gelth came through before the rift was closed, healed. Now there are tiny cracks; they show more prominently at some times than others. That's why Torchwood is here in the first place, because things come through the rift all the time."
"Like you," the Doctor said, staring at her intently.
Julie nodded. "Like me."
"Why did you come?" the Doctor asked.
"I think you know," Julie said softly.
The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets and started pacing again, like he couldn't be contained. "No. No no no no no no no." He stopped. "That's impossible," he repeated.
"No, it's not," she whispered. "You used to do the impossible all the time."
The Doctor turned suddenly and swiped an arm across the small table near him, sending instruments, papers and Julie's tea mug to the ground. Ceramic shards scattered everywhere, while the dark tea seemed to seep into the tile. Aside from Tosh's small gasp, there was no other sound.
"Not this kind of impossible," the Doctor finally said, this time so softly he almost couldn't be heard. "This kind of impossible was never meant to happen."
Julie stood up, the stool rattling on its legs behind her. "And yet, here we are."
Now, it was the Doctor who said, "Yes." He paused. "It's a mistake."
"You mean I'm a mistake."
"Yes."
"Hey now," Jack started, until two heads turned toward him, two sets of brown eyes focused on his features. If Jack didn't see the resemblance before, he did at that moment.
The Doctor started to pace again. "It's, you, you're an anomaly in time. In space, even."
"Why? Because children are so much harder to dump than companions?" Jack winced, but Julie didn't even twitch as she made the accusation.
The Doctor stopped inches from her, his finger out toward her face. "No. Because life had already jumped through dimensions, eating out rifts, causing suns to boil and burn. Because adding another life to that unbalances the system."
"It unbalances you," Julie said, but the Doctor continued to speak right over her voice.
"And here you are doing it again. You people never learn. Everything has consequences."
"Sounds to me like that's a lesson you didn't learn, Doctor," Julie said, and this time the Doctor did stop.
"That's none of your business."
"That's exactly my business. It is, in fact, my whole, entire business."
"Your mo . . . Rose. What happened between us." The Doctor stopped. "It happened. Maybe it shouldn't have, but it did." At that, Jack looked down at the ground, seeing Owen and Gwen exchange a look out of the corner of his eye. "Any consequences should have been minimal."
Julie raised an eyebrow. "Lovely." There was silence again before she added, "It's not like you had to clean up any messes now, was it?" Before the Doctor could speak, she drew breath again. "In, changed the entire world, popped out again before you had to deal with the results. Home again in time for tea, weren't you? Didn't watch my mother miss you your whole life, did you?"
The Doctor's face went dark. It was a face Jack had seen only a few times before, and one he had always wanted to see as little as possible. "I couldn't help that. There was nothing I could do," he bit out, the words grinding between his teeth.
"Convenient for you, wasn't it?"
"That had nothing to do with it."
"No? You went on, didn't you? New life, new adventures, new companions, new hands to hold, no consequences to deal with."
"Rose told you a lot."
"Not enough," Julie said. At that, she spun on her heel a bit, and picked up her coat where it was hanging nearby.
"We're not done here," the Doctor nearly shouted.
In contrast, Julie's voice was quiet, almost breathy. "Oh, I think we are. Aftermath isn't really your thing, Doctor." She marched to the lift and stood there for a moment. The silence in the rest of the bullpen was almost deafening.
"Ianto?" Julie finally said.
Ianto perked up a bit from where he was standing, politeness written across his face in an attempt to mask embarrassment. "Yes, miss?"
"I'm trying to storm out here, but that's a little hard to do when I don't have the code to the lift."
Ianto looked to Jack, who nodded slightly. "Of course. Allow me to assist you." He walked over to the lift, stood next to Julie, and punched a few buttons. As the lift rose, the pair slowly drifted out of sight.
***
If there was one thing Julie and the Doctor had in common, Jack reflected, it was that they both knew how to sulk. It had been three days, and so far Jack hadn't seen either party. After Julie had left, the Doctor had gone back to the TARDIS, shutting and locking the door. He wouldn't let Jack in, in spite of Jack's repeated attempts. The Doctor, however, hadn't left, either, or moved the TARDIS, which Jack thought was an interesting sign.
For her part Julie, predictably, lived off the grid. After some investigating, Gwen was able to determine that she had worked for Cardiff University for the last four months, but had called in sick for the past few days and hadn't been seen by any of her colleagues. No one knew where she lived. Jack and the rest of Torchwood scanned camera images constantly, trying to catch a glimpse of her.
On the third day, Gwen spotted her on camera at a grocer's near the water. Jack was waiting for her on a nearby bench when she exited the store. Night had just descended, and it was chilly. Julie was wearing a denim jacket and colorful scarf with her jeans. Jack was sure she'd spotted him instantly, and was afraid she wouldn't approach, but she did, coming to stand in front of him, still carrying two plastic bags from the grocer's. She had her hair in two braids, and strongly reminded Jack of Rose the first time he had ever been in Cardiff.
"Yawertian lout particles," Jack said.
"What?"
"Yawertian lout particles," Jack repeated. "That's what was in the water."
"Oh," Julie said, putting her bags down and sitting next to Jack on the bench.
"They're a virus, actually. On their home planet they cause something akin to our Black Plague."
Julie leaned back, clearly alarmed.
"Nothing to be worried about here, though," Jack added quickly. "In humans they cause a mild cold, and it takes a lot of them to even do that. We flushed the water system. Everything should be fine."
Julie nodded. "Oh, good. I mean, thanks."
Jack shrugged, loose and easy. "No problem." They sat in silence for a long time, the lapping of the water and occasional snippets of other people's conversations the only sounds. "So, you're still here," Jack finally announced.
This time, it was Julie who shrugged. "For now. I was thinking about London, though. Possibly New York. Or Paris. I do speak French."
"Cardiff isn't your idea of paradise?"
Julie smiled. "Not quite."
"Not home, though?"
"Excuse me?"
"I couldn't help but notice that home wasn't anywhere on your list of possible destinations."
Julie looked down briefly, her trainers scuffing against the pavement.
"You can't go home, can you?" Jack asked softly.
She looked up at him and met his gaze. She shook her head. "No."
"Things come through the rift --"
"But they don't return," Julie finished.
"I'm sorry," Jack said.
"I made my choice," she said softly, looking from Jack back out to the water.
"You're the only one who has come through?"
She nodded.
"And Rose was okay with that?" Jack asked.
At that, Julie smiled and turned back to Jack. "You sound surprised."
Jack considered that. "I am, a little," he finally replied.
"Mum knows what it's like to want to go searching for the Doctor, what he can bring to your life. She said she had to let me go sometime."
Jack shook his head. "I should know that Rose Tyler is always full of surprises."
Julie laughed. "Doesn't mean she was happy about it."
"I can only imagine," Jack said dryly.
"And Gran . . . wow. Don't get me started."
"You left them behind," Jack said.
Julie nodded again. "Mum, Gran. Granddad and Rob. Mickey."
"Rob?"
"My uncle -- Gran and Granddad's son."
Jack nodded. "You must miss them."
"I do," Julie said simply. She shook her head, and Jack could see the vulnerability in her profile.
"I'm sorry he wasn't what you expected."
"In a way, he was exactly what I expected," Julie said, surprising Jack.
"Really?"
"Well." She bobbed her head from side to side, an almost exact replica of the Doctor's own gesture. "I can't say it was the welcome I was expecting, or hoping for, but in some ways, he was exactly how Mum always talked about him."
"Which part -- the shouting, the pacing, the insensitivity?"
Julie laughed. "All of the above. Rude and not ginger, as Mum would say."
"Julie," Jack started, but Julie shook her head.
"I really don't want to talk about the rest," she said.
Jack nodded. "I can respect that." He paused. "You get that from him, you know," he added.
"Drives Mum nuts," Julie agreed, smiling slightly.
"You miss her," Jack said again.
"Absolutely."
"He does, too, you know."
At that, Julie was silent.
"You just have to give him time," Jack continued. "The Doctor, as much as he tries not to have feelings, does. Maybe too many, too much. I think he handled them better with Rose around; in lots of ways, she was his heart. After he lost her, he just kept on going. That's what he does, keeps on going. Right now, I just think he's very, very scared."
"Were you that understanding when he left you behind?"
Jack laughed ruefully. "Not at first. But I had a lot of time to become philosophical about it, trust me."
Julie smiled.
"And he won't be leaving you behind," Jack added.
"You so sure about that?"
"I am," Jack nodded. He gestured to the side with his head. "So, can I interest you in dinner?"
"What?"
"You. Me. Dinner. I'll even pay," Jack said.
Julie looked down at her bags. "I have to take these back to my flat first."
Jack shrugged. "So we'll swing by your flat and then catch a bite to eat."
"Just so we're clear, I'm not inviting you up to my flat."
"I wouldn't dream of the implication," Jack laughed.
"The Doctor would kill you," Julie said as she stood and gathered up her bags.
"Eh, I could take him."
"My mother would kill you."
"Okay, now I am afraid of her," Jack said, and Julie laughed.
***
Five days after he met Julie, the Doctor was still parked in Cardiff. Jack had come by at random times, yelling for the Doctor to open the door, but he'd have none of it. This morning, shortly before noon, the pounding on the door started again.
"Oh, go away Jack," the Doctor shouted from the console where he was fiddling with the TARDIS' computer.
The pounding only got louder.
The Doctor stalked over to the door of the TARDIS and threw it open. Before he could say a word, he received a slap to the face hard enough to knock him back a step.
"There, now you've been slapped by someone's mother twice," a voice announced.
Gingerly rubbing his cheek, the Doctor looked down into the face of a very angry Rose Tyler.
***
The Doctor was still rubbing his jaw gingerly as Rose leaned against one of the columns in the console room, arms crossed. The TARDIS had literally lit up at her presence, throwing a soft golden sheen around the room.
"Rose," the Doctor said.
"Doctor." Rose visibly swallowed.
She looked older, of course. A quarter of a century had passed in her world, and it hadn't left her untouched. Her hair was blonde, but softer, the color closer to caramel than to bright yellow or white. It was shorter, too, cut in something approximating a bob, about chin length, cut closer to her neck in the back. She had laugh lines around her mouth; vertical lines between her eyebrows where she had drawn her eyebrows together too many times. She had discarded her coat near the console and was wearing a short sleeved blouse; she had a thin scar running up the inside of her right forearm. The Doctor had no idea how she had gotten it.
She was even more beautiful than he remembered, tempered by time like this, and he felt a slight flush rise in the cheek he was rubbing at the thought. He had the almost overwhelming urge to crush her in a hug, but considering the look in her face, he wasn't sure that was a wise idea.
"You came through the rift, too," he said, moving his hand away from his jaw.
"Of course I did. They lined up just right again, and I couldn't." Rose stopped. "Well, I couldn't stop myself. I had to see what had happened to her."
"She's fine."
"Aside from meeting you, that is," Rose said, and the Doctor heard the steel in her voice, wondered where it had come from in the years past.
"You've spoken with her."
"And held her while she cried," Rose said, and the Doctor saw the tears in her own eyes before she carefully blinked them back. "Julie may seem tough, Doctor, but she's more sensitive than you can imagine."
"I can imagine pretty far."
"Try again," Rose said coldly.
The Doctor sighed. "I didn't mean --"
"To tell her she was a mistake? That." Rose paused. "That we were a mistake?"
The Doctor suddenly felt defensive. "That's not what I meant, Rose. Well, it is what I meant --"
Rose pursed her lips.
"But not in the way you probably think." The Doctor ran his hands through his hair. "She's one more person on that world who shouldn't exist there. One more ordinary person, the most extraordinary thing in the world. Who knows what affect that's had on your world? On this one? And part Time Lord? The ripples in time this caused could go on for, well, forever. It never should have happened, the results -- "
"Do you hear yourself?" Rose asked abruptly as the Doctor stopped gesturing.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean -- do you actually listen to yourself when you talk? Do the words that come out really make sense to you?"
"What?" The Doctor edged along the side of the console, closer to Rose.
"Doctor, this isn't about ripples or time lines or the time vortex or wounds in time or whatever the hell else you're thinking about. This is about the fact that we have a child, a daughter. This is about how she was born two weeks early, so small I was scared for her; how she completely stymied all of her first teachers because she was smarter than they were; how she cried every night the year she was twelve because she thought her ears were too big; how she got A-levels in every subject, and went though university in such a hurry; how she's still best friends with the next door neighbor we had when she was three; how she left me and everyone she knew and work and her whole life just to take a chance on you. Not that she's the first person to do that," Rose added softly, pushing herself away from the column she had been standing against.
The Doctor furrowed his forehead. "Her ears aren't that big," he said.
Rose smiled wryly. "You have a pretty large threshold for what you define as big ears."
"Oi. They weren't that big."
Rose just looked at him.
"They were fairly large," the Doctor acknowledged.
"Yes, they were," Rose replied. "And I loved them."
The Doctor took that in for a moment. "I tried not to love you. I didn't want to."
"I know."
"I couldn't help it."
"I know."
There was silence, the gentle hum of the TARDIS infusing the room with something close to the sound of rain.
"I did, though," the Doctor admitted.
"I know that, too," Rose said softly.
"I kept saying you did," the Doctor said.
Rose raised her eyebrows.
"Oh, never mind when." The Doctor waved a hand. "Rose Tyler," he started, and Rose's smile was so bright the TARDIS raised her lights another notch. "What?" he asked.
Rose shook her head, this time not able to hold back her tears. "Nothing. It's just. I finally learned that sometimes, when you said my name, what you meant was 'I love you'."
The Doctor grinned. "When did that finally sink in?"
Rose looked toward the ceiling and laughed a rather watery laugh. "About the time Julie was born."
The Doctor stepped closer, and held out his arms slightly, hoping Rose would step into the hug.
She did.
"Rose Tyler," the Doctor said, lifting her feet off the ground in a bone crushing hug.
"Quite right, too," Rose said.
***
When they arrived at the cafe -- the same one they'd had lunch in the day they discovered the Slitheen, causing the Doctor to wonder if Rose's sense of irony had grown with age -- Jack and Julie were already seated at a table, mugs in front of them.
"What is Jack doing here?" the Doctor demanded, and was a little perturbed when Rose shrugged.
"He and Julie have become friends," Rose said.
The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "What?" Rose asked as they approached the table.
"Jack is never just friends with anyone," he said, and Rose smiled. "He's not coming with us." Rose's smile only got wider.
They were nearly to the table by the time Julie and Jack looked up. Rose slid into the seat next to Julie, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. The Doctor sat down next to Jack.
"Where's my kiss, Doctor?" Jack asked.
"Don't start," the Doctor said a bit sourly, causing Jack to grin. The waitress came to take their order, and there was quiet for a minute. Julie added more milk to her coffee. The Doctor suddenly reached out and tapped the table next to her saucer, causing her to look up at him.
"Right. If you're going to travel with me, the first thing you need to know is that I don't do domestic," the Doctor said. Julie blinked.
"Doctor. The words you're looking for here are 'I'm sorry'," Jack instructed.
The Doctor turned to look at him. "She's the one who made you immortal," he said, pointing to Rose. Rose flushed. "If you're going to get preachy, talk to her, not to me."
"I already have," Jack said loftily, nodding at Rose. Rose nodded back. The Doctor rolled his eyes. He turned back to Julie.
"As I was saying. I don't do domestic. No pets. Especially cats. Well, large cats. Well, large cats in nun's clothing. Well, no nuns either." The waitress came back and set down his and Rose's order, so he paused. "As I was saying, no pets. No long term visitors. No boyfriends." The Doctor counted out his version of domestic with his fingers. "Clothes are okay, books are fine. No hats. They don't do your ears any favors." Julie's jaw dropped. "Except for paper hats on Christmas. Those are allowed. Oh, and your mother. She's allowed, too."
Rose kicked the Doctor underneath the table, and he winced, backing his chair up. "You're to clean up after yourself," the Doctor continued. "I won't do it for you, and neither will the TARDIS, though I'm sure she'll be tempted. She always is. Speaking of, you'll need to pay attention when we fly from the very beginning, if you're going to learn how to operate her."
"You're going to let me fly the TARDIS?" Julie asked, eyes a bit wide. Both Rose and Jack looked stunned.
"When you're ready," the Doctor answered. "You'll have a lot to learn first, but I think you can handle it." Silence descended on the party for a moment as the Doctor drew breath. He looked up, and made sure he had Julie's gaze held in his own before he continued. "You're my daughter. Any child of mine has the right to a TARDIS. I can't give you your own, but you can inherit mine."
Rose looked down, clearly blinking back tears, and Jack looked to his side out the window.
"Thank you," Julie said clearly and quietly.
The Doctor looked down and nodded, blowing out a long breath. He finally looked up again and said, "Oh, and I hear you always have about half a dozen biological experiments going at one time. We'll have to negotiate those as well."
"They're all stable," Julie protested.
Rose cleared her throat.
"What?" Julie turned to her.
Rose shrugged somewhat apologetically. "Sometimes they do explode."
"One time. One time one exploded."
"It took out a third of the living room."
"I was eight!"
"You were closer to ten," Rose said.
"Oh, yes, and ten is really an age where children can keep their biology experiments stable," Julie huffed.
Rose turned to the Doctor. "Do you see what I've had to put up with?" she asked.
As the Doctor and Rose shared a conspiratorial laugh, and Julie finally smiled grudgingly, Jack thought that as far as families went, this was one that would only get better with time.
Title: The Doctor and the Doctor
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood (mostly Who, canon compliant with Torchwood)
Pairing/Characters: Mostly gen, with some past Ten/Rose. Captain Jack Harkness. Female OC.
Rating:PG
Summary: The Doctor doesn't do domestic.
Disclaimer: I own nothing you might recognize.
Feedback: Always appreciated.
Warnings/Author's Notes: So very sorry for this one, folks; just what the world needs, another post-Doomsday fic. Maybe now I'll be able to write something else, though. :) No real warnings. Medium length. Quick beta, so all mistakes are certainly mine. The Torchwood aspects are fairly minimal; most Torchwood characters don't even have lines. Very Jack friendly. No Martha, unfortunately, even though she's awesome. Spoilers and resolution for Season Three's Utopia and its arc are implied, but not outright. There are no spoilers for anything post-Utopia. Absolute spoilers for Doomsday.
"Get your hand out of my petri dishes."
The voice came out of nowhere and surprised the Doctor so much he complied, staggering backwards a couple of steps, his sudden movement sliding one of the aforementioned petri dishes off the table and onto the floor with a clatter.
"What?" was all he managed to stutter.
"I said," at this point a young woman, rich brown hair held in a bun with a pencil, popped up on the other side of the counter. "Please remove your fingers from my petri dishes." She leaned over the counter and eyed the dish on the floor. She sighed, which caused the Doctor to raise his eyebrows.
"Your petri dishes?" he asked.
The woman gestured around the space with her arm. "This is my lab."
"Cardiff University's lab."
"Excuse me?"
"Well. Technically I suppose this is the Cardiff University's lab. You don't exactly own it. You just work here. Or so I take it." The Doctor took in the look on the woman's face. He decided to change tactics. "Er."
Hands poised on hips, arms akimbo, she asked, "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm the Doctor."
"Great!" she said with false enthusiasm. "Me, too!"
"No, really. I'm the Doctor."
"Me, too. Of microbiology, first in class."
"Well. I'm the doctor of everything, I suppose." The Doctor's head bobbed from side to side. From the flicker of the woman's eyelids, the Doctor could tell she had barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes. "Er. Yes. So what do you do here, doctor?"
"Julie."
"Doctor Julie."
The woman sighed, but her hands came off her hips. "I specify in rare organisms. The samples of some of which you were just now interfering with."
"Oh, yes. Just so." The Doctor put the fingers that had previously been in the petri dish in his mouth, and tasted. Julie leaned back and wrinkled her nose. "Unknown origin, showed up in the water supply in the last five days, reproducing at an extraordinary rate."
Julie looked surprised. "Well, yes. So you know what it is then?"
The Doctor shook his head. "Not a clue. Do you have more samples?"
Julie waved a hand, gesturing the Doctor toward the high powered microscope on another counter. She looked through it as the Doctor approached, adjusting the sample underneath the lens. She stepped aside so the Doctor could take her place; he spent a few moments looking at the image before humming affirmatively.
"Oh, so you're able to identify it?" Julie asked, leaning with one hand against the counter.
"No, not at all." The Doctor looked up at Julie, straightening up before putting on his specs. "You look awfully young to have a doctorate."
"I'm 25. Not that it's any of your business," she added.
"That's still too young," the Doctor said.
"Cambridge at 16, Oxford at 20. Went through the program in two years. Been doing research for three."
"And now you're in Cardiff?"
"For now."
"Credentials like that, you could work anywhere."
"You don't know about my credentials."
"Said yourself you were at the top of your class. Have you published?"
"Yes."
"How much?"
"Four articles and one book to be released in a month."
"Why aren't you teaching?"
"I like the research better. I have plenty of time to teach if I want to."
"Indeed." The Doctor nodded toward the microscope. "That bacteria isn't of earthly origin."
Julie raised an eyebrow, the left one.
"And you know it."
She raised the other brow, too.
"Who do you really work for?"
"Cardiff University."
"I just told you that bacteria doesn't come from Earth." The Doctor stabbed a finger at the sample under the microscope. "You barely blinked."
"So?"
"So who do you really work for?"
Julie's lips formed a straight line, but her gaze didn't waver from the Doctor's.
"Let me guess. Starts with a t, ends with a d, has orchwoo in the middle."
"Actually . . . yes."
The Doctor looked triumphant.
"There's no need to look so pleased with yourself," Julie said.
"There's always a reason for me to look pleased with myself," the Doctor grinned. Julie's mouth twitched, but she didn't smile. Not quite.
"You know, I have a friend at Torchwood Cardiff. I can come with you and look him up, poke my head in a bit, have a cup of tea," the Doctor mused, already headed for the doorway, scooping up two sealed sample dishes on his way. He stopped halfway there, coat billowing as he turned back. "Well, are you coming or not?"
Julie moved to the coat rack by the door, shrugging a dark gray overcoat on over her brown slacks and v-neck jumper with white camisole piece. She pulled gloves out of her pocket. "I'm coming," she said.
The Doctor smiled, and held the door open for her. "Oh, good, this should be fun."
***
Twenty minutes later as they stood in front of Torchwood's outside entrance, Gwen Cooper's gun trained on them, the Doctor raised both of his hands in the air. "So much for being fun."
"This isn't your idea of fun?" Julie asked.
The Doctor turned to glare at her incredulously. Julie sighed. "I didn't say I worked for this Torchwood," she said.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Humans."
***
In all actuality, it only took the Doctor bellowing Jack's name at the top of his lungs a few times before the pair was admitted to Torchwood. Still, the Doctor harassed everyone in sight about their initial detainment until Gwen was blushing and Ianto had escorted him into Jack's office, closing the door behind him with the promise of tea.
Jack inclined his head toward the bullpen, where Gwen and Owen were chatting with Julie. "Tosh is on it."
"Hmmm -- on what you say?" the Doctor asked, flipping over a piece of equipment on Jack's desk.
Jack righted the metal piece. "On her. Where'd you pick this one up?"
"Cardiff University's biology labs. Said she works for you." The Doctor took his coat off and threw it over a chair opposite Jack's desk.
Jack's eyes widened. "Not for me. I'd remember her."
"Oh, stop it."
Jack grinned. "What? Honestly, Doctor, I know my own people. She's not one of them."
"She work for another branch then?"
"There are four branches," Jack acknowledged.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Four? How many do you people need?"
"To keep track of you? Four isn't nearly enough." Jack crossed his arms over his chest.
"Yeah, that's a bit of a point."
"Tosh is looking her up. If she's Torchwood, we'll know."
"You people are creepy, you know. Big brother and all that." The Doctor waved a hand vaguely over Jack's desk.
Jack sighed. "You come here to criticize?"
The Doctor looked like he was considering the question. "Yes."
"Doctor?"
The Doctor fished the petri dishes out of the coat pocket on the chair and handed them over to Jack.
"What are these?" Jack asked.
"Petri dishes."
Jack threw the Doctor a look. The Doctor promptly grinned.
"Bacteria," the Doctor answered seriously. "Showed up in your water supply around five days ago. Not from this planet, that's for sure."
"So where is it from?" Jack asked.
"Don't know."
"You don't know?"
"No. Thought you people might want to look into it. Or any interesting or unexplained phenomenon or behavior that's been reported lately."
"You can't do this in the TARDIS?" Jack walked toward the door to his office.
The Doctor gestured toward the bullpen with his thumb. "She said she worked here."
"Uh-huh." Jack opened the door. "Owen, take this. I need you to run it through the biological scanners. Gwen, check police reports and newspapers from the last five days noting anything unusual." Jack handed the dishes to Owen and turned back to the Doctor.
"You say jump -- " the Doctor started.
"They ask how high," Jack finished, opening the door for Ianto who came in carrying a tea tray loaded with tea and biscuits. He set it on the table and then nodded at Jack, bowing slightly to the Doctor before he left again.
"I say, this is excellent service," the Doctor said, collapsing into a chair and picking up a cup of tea, then dunking a biscuit into it.
"That's Ianto," Jack grinned.
The Doctor raised his eyebrows and winked, causing Jack to actually blush. He was spared attempting a reply by Tosh's entrance.
"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt," Tosh started, leaving the door open behind her so she could step out if need be.
Jack turned to her. "Trust me, Tosh, you're not. Come in."
Tosh came in and shut the door as Jack sat down behind his desk, picking up a cup of tea. She looked anxious, throwing a quick look at the Doctor before moving closer to Jack's desk.
"So what have you got for us, Tosh?" Jack asked.
"Nothing," Tosh replied.
"Nothing?" Jack repeated.
Tosh shook her head. "Nothing. Almost literally."
Jack and the Doctor exchanged looks. "She's not in Torchwood's personnel records?"
Tosh shook her head. "No. And she's not in Torchwood's database either."
At that, Jack sat up a little straighter. "Not at all?"
"Not at all. No birth certificate, no school records, medical records, dental, fingerprints, newspaper articles or notices -- I couldn't even match her face to anyone who has been scanned by a Torchwood camera in the last three years."
"But that's impossible," Jack said. Tosh nodded.
"Come now, Jack, impossible?" the Doctor asked. "Surely not even the arm of Torchwood is that long?"
Jack glanced at the Doctor. "It's pretty long." He nodded at the file folder Tosh had in her hands. "There's something, though."
Tosh nodded. "I did get one hit." She handed the file across to Jack. "Her retinal scan when she came in matched with possible relatives."
"Well that's something," Jack said, opening the file. Both Tosh and the Doctor watched as he visibly paled. He looked back up at Tosh. "Are you sure about this?"
She nodded. "I've got a DNA sample running now based on some saliva swiped from the tea cup she's currently using."
"Sneaky," the Doctor commented, sipping his own tea. Jack looked at him, then back at Tosh, who picked up on the nonverbal cue.
"I'm going to go check on that sample now, see if I can get a profile going," Tosh said, nodding briefly at Jack.
"You do that. Thanks. Good work," Jack answered, nodding back as Tosh shut the glass door behind her.
"So we have a liar on our hands? That makes this even more interesting," the Doctor's eyebrows came together as he thought through the situation from every angle he could. "But why lie? I came across her by accident -- "
"Doctor -- "
"She didn't have to come with me," the Doctor continued. "And why lie about working here? It's not like this is exactly the greatest operation on the planet -- "
"Doctor -- "
"Or on many nearby planets, actually. Possibly any planet at all -- "
"Doctor!" Jack had shouted so loudly Gwen stepped up, about to open the door and ask what was the matter before Jack shook his head at her.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "What?"
"Doctor, you should look at these."
"Why? I don't particularly care where she's from. Or who she is. Unless she's from Munkhasen, in which case --"
"Doctor." Jack spoke slowly and took a deep breath, both palms flat on his desk. "The retinal scan lists probable relatives as Rose Tyler and Jackie Tyler."
The Doctor sat up in his chair so fast tea sloshed over the side of the cup he was still holding. "That's impossible."
"That's what I'd say. Except the proof is right here."
"It's impossible. Jackie and." The Doctor paused. "They're in the alternate world. Stuck there."
"I know that, Doctor, but -- "
"What's the relation?"
"Excuse me?"
"What's the relation? Cousin? Niece? Great Aunt Clara? Does your little technology tell you that?"
If Jack noticed the dig at Torchwood, he ignored it. "It does."
"And?"
"It's a direct descendant read out." Jack blew out a breath. "According to this, Rose would be her mother, Jackie her grandmother."
The Doctor was out of his chair and through the door before Jack could even take his next breath. He pounded down the stairs, Jack at his heels.
"You, you," the Doctor said, jabbing a finger in Julie's direction. He skidded to a halt in front of her, and then paced away, running his fingers through his hair. "You. Who are you?"
At first, Julie gripped her mug of tea even tighter, and then she carefully set it down on the tray next to her stool. The entire Torchwood staff was circled around, staring intently at the scene.
"I'm Julie Tyler."
"You didn't say that earlier." The Doctor kept pacing, his trainers squeaking against the clean tile floor.
Julie shrugged a little. "It wasn't important earlier."
"You know who I am." It wasn't a question.
"You're the Doctor."
The Doctor paused, hands knit together behind his head. "You've heard about me."
"Yes."
"From." The Doctor stopped, swallowed. "Rose."
"Yes."
The Doctor stepped forward, almost nose to nose with Julie. "Is Rose your mother?"
Julie nodded. "Yes," she said again.
"How did you get here?" the Doctor turned away.
"The rift. I came through the rift. I had to time it just right. The rift had to be open in both worlds at once, at a time that would be appropriate. Almost came thorough in 1592; definitely not appropriate. I did work for Torchwood, in the other world."
"I -- that's impossible," the Doctor added.
Julie shook her head. "Nearly impossible. Or would have been, if our friends here hadn't opened the rift on purpose a few years ago."
The Doctor shook his head. "But -- "
"The Gelth came through before the rift was closed, healed. Now there are tiny cracks; they show more prominently at some times than others. That's why Torchwood is here in the first place, because things come through the rift all the time."
"Like you," the Doctor said, staring at her intently.
Julie nodded. "Like me."
"Why did you come?" the Doctor asked.
"I think you know," Julie said softly.
The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets and started pacing again, like he couldn't be contained. "No. No no no no no no no." He stopped. "That's impossible," he repeated.
"No, it's not," she whispered. "You used to do the impossible all the time."
The Doctor turned suddenly and swiped an arm across the small table near him, sending instruments, papers and Julie's tea mug to the ground. Ceramic shards scattered everywhere, while the dark tea seemed to seep into the tile. Aside from Tosh's small gasp, there was no other sound.
"Not this kind of impossible," the Doctor finally said, this time so softly he almost couldn't be heard. "This kind of impossible was never meant to happen."
Julie stood up, the stool rattling on its legs behind her. "And yet, here we are."
Now, it was the Doctor who said, "Yes." He paused. "It's a mistake."
"You mean I'm a mistake."
"Yes."
"Hey now," Jack started, until two heads turned toward him, two sets of brown eyes focused on his features. If Jack didn't see the resemblance before, he did at that moment.
The Doctor started to pace again. "It's, you, you're an anomaly in time. In space, even."
"Why? Because children are so much harder to dump than companions?" Jack winced, but Julie didn't even twitch as she made the accusation.
The Doctor stopped inches from her, his finger out toward her face. "No. Because life had already jumped through dimensions, eating out rifts, causing suns to boil and burn. Because adding another life to that unbalances the system."
"It unbalances you," Julie said, but the Doctor continued to speak right over her voice.
"And here you are doing it again. You people never learn. Everything has consequences."
"Sounds to me like that's a lesson you didn't learn, Doctor," Julie said, and this time the Doctor did stop.
"That's none of your business."
"That's exactly my business. It is, in fact, my whole, entire business."
"Your mo . . . Rose. What happened between us." The Doctor stopped. "It happened. Maybe it shouldn't have, but it did." At that, Jack looked down at the ground, seeing Owen and Gwen exchange a look out of the corner of his eye. "Any consequences should have been minimal."
Julie raised an eyebrow. "Lovely." There was silence again before she added, "It's not like you had to clean up any messes now, was it?" Before the Doctor could speak, she drew breath again. "In, changed the entire world, popped out again before you had to deal with the results. Home again in time for tea, weren't you? Didn't watch my mother miss you your whole life, did you?"
The Doctor's face went dark. It was a face Jack had seen only a few times before, and one he had always wanted to see as little as possible. "I couldn't help that. There was nothing I could do," he bit out, the words grinding between his teeth.
"Convenient for you, wasn't it?"
"That had nothing to do with it."
"No? You went on, didn't you? New life, new adventures, new companions, new hands to hold, no consequences to deal with."
"Rose told you a lot."
"Not enough," Julie said. At that, she spun on her heel a bit, and picked up her coat where it was hanging nearby.
"We're not done here," the Doctor nearly shouted.
In contrast, Julie's voice was quiet, almost breathy. "Oh, I think we are. Aftermath isn't really your thing, Doctor." She marched to the lift and stood there for a moment. The silence in the rest of the bullpen was almost deafening.
"Ianto?" Julie finally said.
Ianto perked up a bit from where he was standing, politeness written across his face in an attempt to mask embarrassment. "Yes, miss?"
"I'm trying to storm out here, but that's a little hard to do when I don't have the code to the lift."
Ianto looked to Jack, who nodded slightly. "Of course. Allow me to assist you." He walked over to the lift, stood next to Julie, and punched a few buttons. As the lift rose, the pair slowly drifted out of sight.
***
If there was one thing Julie and the Doctor had in common, Jack reflected, it was that they both knew how to sulk. It had been three days, and so far Jack hadn't seen either party. After Julie had left, the Doctor had gone back to the TARDIS, shutting and locking the door. He wouldn't let Jack in, in spite of Jack's repeated attempts. The Doctor, however, hadn't left, either, or moved the TARDIS, which Jack thought was an interesting sign.
For her part Julie, predictably, lived off the grid. After some investigating, Gwen was able to determine that she had worked for Cardiff University for the last four months, but had called in sick for the past few days and hadn't been seen by any of her colleagues. No one knew where she lived. Jack and the rest of Torchwood scanned camera images constantly, trying to catch a glimpse of her.
On the third day, Gwen spotted her on camera at a grocer's near the water. Jack was waiting for her on a nearby bench when she exited the store. Night had just descended, and it was chilly. Julie was wearing a denim jacket and colorful scarf with her jeans. Jack was sure she'd spotted him instantly, and was afraid she wouldn't approach, but she did, coming to stand in front of him, still carrying two plastic bags from the grocer's. She had her hair in two braids, and strongly reminded Jack of Rose the first time he had ever been in Cardiff.
"Yawertian lout particles," Jack said.
"What?"
"Yawertian lout particles," Jack repeated. "That's what was in the water."
"Oh," Julie said, putting her bags down and sitting next to Jack on the bench.
"They're a virus, actually. On their home planet they cause something akin to our Black Plague."
Julie leaned back, clearly alarmed.
"Nothing to be worried about here, though," Jack added quickly. "In humans they cause a mild cold, and it takes a lot of them to even do that. We flushed the water system. Everything should be fine."
Julie nodded. "Oh, good. I mean, thanks."
Jack shrugged, loose and easy. "No problem." They sat in silence for a long time, the lapping of the water and occasional snippets of other people's conversations the only sounds. "So, you're still here," Jack finally announced.
This time, it was Julie who shrugged. "For now. I was thinking about London, though. Possibly New York. Or Paris. I do speak French."
"Cardiff isn't your idea of paradise?"
Julie smiled. "Not quite."
"Not home, though?"
"Excuse me?"
"I couldn't help but notice that home wasn't anywhere on your list of possible destinations."
Julie looked down briefly, her trainers scuffing against the pavement.
"You can't go home, can you?" Jack asked softly.
She looked up at him and met his gaze. She shook her head. "No."
"Things come through the rift --"
"But they don't return," Julie finished.
"I'm sorry," Jack said.
"I made my choice," she said softly, looking from Jack back out to the water.
"You're the only one who has come through?"
She nodded.
"And Rose was okay with that?" Jack asked.
At that, Julie smiled and turned back to Jack. "You sound surprised."
Jack considered that. "I am, a little," he finally replied.
"Mum knows what it's like to want to go searching for the Doctor, what he can bring to your life. She said she had to let me go sometime."
Jack shook his head. "I should know that Rose Tyler is always full of surprises."
Julie laughed. "Doesn't mean she was happy about it."
"I can only imagine," Jack said dryly.
"And Gran . . . wow. Don't get me started."
"You left them behind," Jack said.
Julie nodded again. "Mum, Gran. Granddad and Rob. Mickey."
"Rob?"
"My uncle -- Gran and Granddad's son."
Jack nodded. "You must miss them."
"I do," Julie said simply. She shook her head, and Jack could see the vulnerability in her profile.
"I'm sorry he wasn't what you expected."
"In a way, he was exactly what I expected," Julie said, surprising Jack.
"Really?"
"Well." She bobbed her head from side to side, an almost exact replica of the Doctor's own gesture. "I can't say it was the welcome I was expecting, or hoping for, but in some ways, he was exactly how Mum always talked about him."
"Which part -- the shouting, the pacing, the insensitivity?"
Julie laughed. "All of the above. Rude and not ginger, as Mum would say."
"Julie," Jack started, but Julie shook her head.
"I really don't want to talk about the rest," she said.
Jack nodded. "I can respect that." He paused. "You get that from him, you know," he added.
"Drives Mum nuts," Julie agreed, smiling slightly.
"You miss her," Jack said again.
"Absolutely."
"He does, too, you know."
At that, Julie was silent.
"You just have to give him time," Jack continued. "The Doctor, as much as he tries not to have feelings, does. Maybe too many, too much. I think he handled them better with Rose around; in lots of ways, she was his heart. After he lost her, he just kept on going. That's what he does, keeps on going. Right now, I just think he's very, very scared."
"Were you that understanding when he left you behind?"
Jack laughed ruefully. "Not at first. But I had a lot of time to become philosophical about it, trust me."
Julie smiled.
"And he won't be leaving you behind," Jack added.
"You so sure about that?"
"I am," Jack nodded. He gestured to the side with his head. "So, can I interest you in dinner?"
"What?"
"You. Me. Dinner. I'll even pay," Jack said.
Julie looked down at her bags. "I have to take these back to my flat first."
Jack shrugged. "So we'll swing by your flat and then catch a bite to eat."
"Just so we're clear, I'm not inviting you up to my flat."
"I wouldn't dream of the implication," Jack laughed.
"The Doctor would kill you," Julie said as she stood and gathered up her bags.
"Eh, I could take him."
"My mother would kill you."
"Okay, now I am afraid of her," Jack said, and Julie laughed.
***
Five days after he met Julie, the Doctor was still parked in Cardiff. Jack had come by at random times, yelling for the Doctor to open the door, but he'd have none of it. This morning, shortly before noon, the pounding on the door started again.
"Oh, go away Jack," the Doctor shouted from the console where he was fiddling with the TARDIS' computer.
The pounding only got louder.
The Doctor stalked over to the door of the TARDIS and threw it open. Before he could say a word, he received a slap to the face hard enough to knock him back a step.
"There, now you've been slapped by someone's mother twice," a voice announced.
Gingerly rubbing his cheek, the Doctor looked down into the face of a very angry Rose Tyler.
***
The Doctor was still rubbing his jaw gingerly as Rose leaned against one of the columns in the console room, arms crossed. The TARDIS had literally lit up at her presence, throwing a soft golden sheen around the room.
"Rose," the Doctor said.
"Doctor." Rose visibly swallowed.
She looked older, of course. A quarter of a century had passed in her world, and it hadn't left her untouched. Her hair was blonde, but softer, the color closer to caramel than to bright yellow or white. It was shorter, too, cut in something approximating a bob, about chin length, cut closer to her neck in the back. She had laugh lines around her mouth; vertical lines between her eyebrows where she had drawn her eyebrows together too many times. She had discarded her coat near the console and was wearing a short sleeved blouse; she had a thin scar running up the inside of her right forearm. The Doctor had no idea how she had gotten it.
She was even more beautiful than he remembered, tempered by time like this, and he felt a slight flush rise in the cheek he was rubbing at the thought. He had the almost overwhelming urge to crush her in a hug, but considering the look in her face, he wasn't sure that was a wise idea.
"You came through the rift, too," he said, moving his hand away from his jaw.
"Of course I did. They lined up just right again, and I couldn't." Rose stopped. "Well, I couldn't stop myself. I had to see what had happened to her."
"She's fine."
"Aside from meeting you, that is," Rose said, and the Doctor heard the steel in her voice, wondered where it had come from in the years past.
"You've spoken with her."
"And held her while she cried," Rose said, and the Doctor saw the tears in her own eyes before she carefully blinked them back. "Julie may seem tough, Doctor, but she's more sensitive than you can imagine."
"I can imagine pretty far."
"Try again," Rose said coldly.
The Doctor sighed. "I didn't mean --"
"To tell her she was a mistake? That." Rose paused. "That we were a mistake?"
The Doctor suddenly felt defensive. "That's not what I meant, Rose. Well, it is what I meant --"
Rose pursed her lips.
"But not in the way you probably think." The Doctor ran his hands through his hair. "She's one more person on that world who shouldn't exist there. One more ordinary person, the most extraordinary thing in the world. Who knows what affect that's had on your world? On this one? And part Time Lord? The ripples in time this caused could go on for, well, forever. It never should have happened, the results -- "
"Do you hear yourself?" Rose asked abruptly as the Doctor stopped gesturing.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean -- do you actually listen to yourself when you talk? Do the words that come out really make sense to you?"
"What?" The Doctor edged along the side of the console, closer to Rose.
"Doctor, this isn't about ripples or time lines or the time vortex or wounds in time or whatever the hell else you're thinking about. This is about the fact that we have a child, a daughter. This is about how she was born two weeks early, so small I was scared for her; how she completely stymied all of her first teachers because she was smarter than they were; how she cried every night the year she was twelve because she thought her ears were too big; how she got A-levels in every subject, and went though university in such a hurry; how she's still best friends with the next door neighbor we had when she was three; how she left me and everyone she knew and work and her whole life just to take a chance on you. Not that she's the first person to do that," Rose added softly, pushing herself away from the column she had been standing against.
The Doctor furrowed his forehead. "Her ears aren't that big," he said.
Rose smiled wryly. "You have a pretty large threshold for what you define as big ears."
"Oi. They weren't that big."
Rose just looked at him.
"They were fairly large," the Doctor acknowledged.
"Yes, they were," Rose replied. "And I loved them."
The Doctor took that in for a moment. "I tried not to love you. I didn't want to."
"I know."
"I couldn't help it."
"I know."
There was silence, the gentle hum of the TARDIS infusing the room with something close to the sound of rain.
"I did, though," the Doctor admitted.
"I know that, too," Rose said softly.
"I kept saying you did," the Doctor said.
Rose raised her eyebrows.
"Oh, never mind when." The Doctor waved a hand. "Rose Tyler," he started, and Rose's smile was so bright the TARDIS raised her lights another notch. "What?" he asked.
Rose shook her head, this time not able to hold back her tears. "Nothing. It's just. I finally learned that sometimes, when you said my name, what you meant was 'I love you'."
The Doctor grinned. "When did that finally sink in?"
Rose looked toward the ceiling and laughed a rather watery laugh. "About the time Julie was born."
The Doctor stepped closer, and held out his arms slightly, hoping Rose would step into the hug.
She did.
"Rose Tyler," the Doctor said, lifting her feet off the ground in a bone crushing hug.
"Quite right, too," Rose said.
***
When they arrived at the cafe -- the same one they'd had lunch in the day they discovered the Slitheen, causing the Doctor to wonder if Rose's sense of irony had grown with age -- Jack and Julie were already seated at a table, mugs in front of them.
"What is Jack doing here?" the Doctor demanded, and was a little perturbed when Rose shrugged.
"He and Julie have become friends," Rose said.
The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "What?" Rose asked as they approached the table.
"Jack is never just friends with anyone," he said, and Rose smiled. "He's not coming with us." Rose's smile only got wider.
They were nearly to the table by the time Julie and Jack looked up. Rose slid into the seat next to Julie, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. The Doctor sat down next to Jack.
"Where's my kiss, Doctor?" Jack asked.
"Don't start," the Doctor said a bit sourly, causing Jack to grin. The waitress came to take their order, and there was quiet for a minute. Julie added more milk to her coffee. The Doctor suddenly reached out and tapped the table next to her saucer, causing her to look up at him.
"Right. If you're going to travel with me, the first thing you need to know is that I don't do domestic," the Doctor said. Julie blinked.
"Doctor. The words you're looking for here are 'I'm sorry'," Jack instructed.
The Doctor turned to look at him. "She's the one who made you immortal," he said, pointing to Rose. Rose flushed. "If you're going to get preachy, talk to her, not to me."
"I already have," Jack said loftily, nodding at Rose. Rose nodded back. The Doctor rolled his eyes. He turned back to Julie.
"As I was saying. I don't do domestic. No pets. Especially cats. Well, large cats. Well, large cats in nun's clothing. Well, no nuns either." The waitress came back and set down his and Rose's order, so he paused. "As I was saying, no pets. No long term visitors. No boyfriends." The Doctor counted out his version of domestic with his fingers. "Clothes are okay, books are fine. No hats. They don't do your ears any favors." Julie's jaw dropped. "Except for paper hats on Christmas. Those are allowed. Oh, and your mother. She's allowed, too."
Rose kicked the Doctor underneath the table, and he winced, backing his chair up. "You're to clean up after yourself," the Doctor continued. "I won't do it for you, and neither will the TARDIS, though I'm sure she'll be tempted. She always is. Speaking of, you'll need to pay attention when we fly from the very beginning, if you're going to learn how to operate her."
"You're going to let me fly the TARDIS?" Julie asked, eyes a bit wide. Both Rose and Jack looked stunned.
"When you're ready," the Doctor answered. "You'll have a lot to learn first, but I think you can handle it." Silence descended on the party for a moment as the Doctor drew breath. He looked up, and made sure he had Julie's gaze held in his own before he continued. "You're my daughter. Any child of mine has the right to a TARDIS. I can't give you your own, but you can inherit mine."
Rose looked down, clearly blinking back tears, and Jack looked to his side out the window.
"Thank you," Julie said clearly and quietly.
The Doctor looked down and nodded, blowing out a long breath. He finally looked up again and said, "Oh, and I hear you always have about half a dozen biological experiments going at one time. We'll have to negotiate those as well."
"They're all stable," Julie protested.
Rose cleared her throat.
"What?" Julie turned to her.
Rose shrugged somewhat apologetically. "Sometimes they do explode."
"One time. One time one exploded."
"It took out a third of the living room."
"I was eight!"
"You were closer to ten," Rose said.
"Oh, yes, and ten is really an age where children can keep their biology experiments stable," Julie huffed.
Rose turned to the Doctor. "Do you see what I've had to put up with?" she asked.
As the Doctor and Rose shared a conspiratorial laugh, and Julie finally smiled grudgingly, Jack thought that as far as families went, this was one that would only get better with time.