Doctor Who fic: Run (5/5)
Title: Run (5/5)
Rating: PG
Characters: Ten, Ten II
Timeline: Post "The Next Doctor" but no spoilers
Summary: The Doctor's double returns with a message: the walls between realities are beginning to fall again. Can the two Doctors find a way to repair the damage before it's too late?
Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine. If they were, well, that's another story...
A/N: A huge thanks to my beta littlebatti.
Part One. Part Two. Part Three. Part Four.
It was eerie seeing his TARDIS so still, like she was on the brink of death. It was an illusion of course - a simple trip to the Cardiff Rift and he would be travelling the stars once more - but it felt like a looming reminder. That amongst the dying suns and degrading planets even something as long lived as the TARDIS had an end, too.
The doors to the time machine creaked open and the Doctor looked up from his musing to find Ten walking towards him. His double looked even gruffer, though the Doctor was aware it was probably due to the further modifications Ten had carried out on his TARDIS for the last few hours. Sealing all the cracks in the walls between realities would take time and a lot more power than the Doctor had at his disposal.
Not to mention Ten had to return to Pete’s World as well.
“You could be in Cardiff right now,” said Ten, taking a seat on the edge of the console and crossing his arms over his chest.
The Doctor idly scratched the back of his head. “I thought I’d see you off. Properly, this time.”
Ten seemed almost amused by the sentiment, judging by his small grin that sprang to life. In that moment, the Doctor knew there were no hard feelings between them. His double had found an existence of his own in Pete’s World, living a life the Doctor wished he could have sometimes.
He held out his hand to Ten. “Have a brilliant life.”
Ten uncrossed his arms. He didn’t say anything and reached for the Doctor’s hand. Their hands met and-
Contact. It was instantaneous but it had been a few centuries since the last time and the intrusion of Ten’s mind into the Doctor’s nearly bowled him off his feet. With his mental barriers still down from his fight with the Consciousness, he didn’t have the strength to block what came next.
Memories, a torrent of them, hitting the Doctor like violent waves in a storm hitting the surf. At first he didn’t understand what he was being shown or why, but his mind quickly sorted it out.
His double was showing him memories of his life with Rose.
In the brief moment that their minds melded into one, the Doctor saw the last ten years of his double’s life flash by. Long days at Torchwood, fighting off alien invasions, normal days buying groceries and paying bills, quiet evenings in the flat shared with Rose, intimate moments in the middle of the night with Rose held in Ten’s arms. The last few memories that came blurred together. There was running, panic, a passionate kiss, pain, and then a great feeling of sorrow.
The Doctor let go of Ten’s hand and stumbled back, bumping into the jump seat. He took deep breaths as the memories slowly settled. When he finally gathered himself, he looked up at his double, who stared back with no maliciousness in his expression. Just sadness.
“You’re running, too.” Ten didn’t say anything to confirm, but he didn’t have to. The Doctor had felt it all. He had thought his double has been chasing the anomaly out of a sense of duty, that even though he was half Time Lord, he still felt a need to honour their people and what they had stood for. Oh, how wrong the Doctor had been.
“You should be with Rose.” The hint of anger that crept into the Doctor’s voice almost surprised him, but he felt no need to soften his tone. “She’s lying hurt in a hospital bed and you go off to chase anomalous readings in the dark.”
It was no wonder Rose hadn’t been able to make the trip. She was unconscious with a broken arm and leg.
Ten had no reply for the reproach. He silently took the lashing like he needed to.
And it was then, in that uncharacteristic silence, that the Doctor understood. “You’re scared.”
What had Davros said to him, back on the Crucible? He ran because he didn’t dare look back. All his companions left him in the end, but he rarely had to face the inevitability of their deaths. They all had brilliant lives once he was out of the way so why go back and see how it ended.
But Rose, wonderful Rose Tyler had never wanted to leave.
“You out live everyone. That shouldn’t happen to me.”
A human life span. That was what Donna had bestowed on his double, the one thing that truly set them apart. But what should have been a defining quality seemed less so now in Ten’s eyes. If lives ended before his, what good was it to be part human?
The Doctor shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers, hunching his shoulders. “Maybe… it’s time to stop running. Because for once, there’s something to run back to.”
Ten absently patted the console, a sure sign he was lost in thought. Nearly living forever was something a Time Lord took for granted. “Maybe.”
“Go,” the Doctor urged. “Rose is waiting… Doctor.” He may not have had the answers Ten sought, but he could wish him well. Whatever the universe had in mind for him, the Doctor could be comforted by the knowledge that somewhere out in the whole of existence a part of him was living on in a completely different life.
His double started for the doors. “Is there anything you want me to tell Rose?”
Numerous things came to mind, but the Doctor settled on the simplest. “You already know what I want to say.”
Ten parted on a knowing smile.
The hill offered no particularly glorious view. It was simply high enough to be above the houses and far enough away to afford some privacy. At this time of year, the allotments that were cared for by the various people in the neighbourhood were flourishing, the patches growing with colourful flowers or large vegetables. The Doctor carefully stepped around a tall tomato plant weighed down with red and plump tomatoes.
His approached went unnoticed at first, though it was understandable. With his keen hearing, he was able to pick up the music of John Smith and the Common Men coming over the old headphones.
The Doctor bent down and looked through the eyepiece of the telescope. “And what fine specimen of the universe have you found tonight, Wilfred Mott?”
Donna’s grandfather gave a yelp at the Doctor’s sudden appearance and pulled off his earphones. “Doctor!” The old man paused and stared keenly at him. “Is it aliens?”
Sitting down in the cool grass, the Doctor replied, “Why would it be aliens?”
“Why else would you come here?”
The bright sparkling stars and the unusually clear night sky drew the Doctor’s attention upwards. He leaned back on his hands, his eyes seeking out the familiar pattern of the constellations. “Have you been out here every night?” he asked instead.
“I promised, didn’t I? For Donna.”
“Yes you did.” That rain drenched night would stay with him until his last regeneration. The Doctor sat back up and looked at Wilf. “How is she?”
Kindly Wilf smiled happily, the subject of his granddaughter being something he could go on about for hours.
He had buried every last memory of their time together within her mind out of necessity, but the Doctor didn’t have to erase his memory of Donna from his mind. He, and Wilf, would remember for her.
Time to stop running.
Rating: PG
Characters: Ten, Ten II
Timeline: Post "The Next Doctor" but no spoilers
Summary: The Doctor's double returns with a message: the walls between realities are beginning to fall again. Can the two Doctors find a way to repair the damage before it's too late?
Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine. If they were, well, that's another story...
A/N: A huge thanks to my beta littlebatti.
Part One. Part Two. Part Three. Part Four.
It was eerie seeing his TARDIS so still, like she was on the brink of death. It was an illusion of course - a simple trip to the Cardiff Rift and he would be travelling the stars once more - but it felt like a looming reminder. That amongst the dying suns and degrading planets even something as long lived as the TARDIS had an end, too.
The doors to the time machine creaked open and the Doctor looked up from his musing to find Ten walking towards him. His double looked even gruffer, though the Doctor was aware it was probably due to the further modifications Ten had carried out on his TARDIS for the last few hours. Sealing all the cracks in the walls between realities would take time and a lot more power than the Doctor had at his disposal.
Not to mention Ten had to return to Pete’s World as well.
“You could be in Cardiff right now,” said Ten, taking a seat on the edge of the console and crossing his arms over his chest.
The Doctor idly scratched the back of his head. “I thought I’d see you off. Properly, this time.”
Ten seemed almost amused by the sentiment, judging by his small grin that sprang to life. In that moment, the Doctor knew there were no hard feelings between them. His double had found an existence of his own in Pete’s World, living a life the Doctor wished he could have sometimes.
He held out his hand to Ten. “Have a brilliant life.”
Ten uncrossed his arms. He didn’t say anything and reached for the Doctor’s hand. Their hands met and-
Contact. It was instantaneous but it had been a few centuries since the last time and the intrusion of Ten’s mind into the Doctor’s nearly bowled him off his feet. With his mental barriers still down from his fight with the Consciousness, he didn’t have the strength to block what came next.
Memories, a torrent of them, hitting the Doctor like violent waves in a storm hitting the surf. At first he didn’t understand what he was being shown or why, but his mind quickly sorted it out.
His double was showing him memories of his life with Rose.
In the brief moment that their minds melded into one, the Doctor saw the last ten years of his double’s life flash by. Long days at Torchwood, fighting off alien invasions, normal days buying groceries and paying bills, quiet evenings in the flat shared with Rose, intimate moments in the middle of the night with Rose held in Ten’s arms. The last few memories that came blurred together. There was running, panic, a passionate kiss, pain, and then a great feeling of sorrow.
The Doctor let go of Ten’s hand and stumbled back, bumping into the jump seat. He took deep breaths as the memories slowly settled. When he finally gathered himself, he looked up at his double, who stared back with no maliciousness in his expression. Just sadness.
“You’re running, too.” Ten didn’t say anything to confirm, but he didn’t have to. The Doctor had felt it all. He had thought his double has been chasing the anomaly out of a sense of duty, that even though he was half Time Lord, he still felt a need to honour their people and what they had stood for. Oh, how wrong the Doctor had been.
“You should be with Rose.” The hint of anger that crept into the Doctor’s voice almost surprised him, but he felt no need to soften his tone. “She’s lying hurt in a hospital bed and you go off to chase anomalous readings in the dark.”
It was no wonder Rose hadn’t been able to make the trip. She was unconscious with a broken arm and leg.
Ten had no reply for the reproach. He silently took the lashing like he needed to.
And it was then, in that uncharacteristic silence, that the Doctor understood. “You’re scared.”
What had Davros said to him, back on the Crucible? He ran because he didn’t dare look back. All his companions left him in the end, but he rarely had to face the inevitability of their deaths. They all had brilliant lives once he was out of the way so why go back and see how it ended.
But Rose, wonderful Rose Tyler had never wanted to leave.
“You out live everyone. That shouldn’t happen to me.”
A human life span. That was what Donna had bestowed on his double, the one thing that truly set them apart. But what should have been a defining quality seemed less so now in Ten’s eyes. If lives ended before his, what good was it to be part human?
The Doctor shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers, hunching his shoulders. “Maybe… it’s time to stop running. Because for once, there’s something to run back to.”
Ten absently patted the console, a sure sign he was lost in thought. Nearly living forever was something a Time Lord took for granted. “Maybe.”
“Go,” the Doctor urged. “Rose is waiting… Doctor.” He may not have had the answers Ten sought, but he could wish him well. Whatever the universe had in mind for him, the Doctor could be comforted by the knowledge that somewhere out in the whole of existence a part of him was living on in a completely different life.
His double started for the doors. “Is there anything you want me to tell Rose?”
Numerous things came to mind, but the Doctor settled on the simplest. “You already know what I want to say.”
Ten parted on a knowing smile.
The hill offered no particularly glorious view. It was simply high enough to be above the houses and far enough away to afford some privacy. At this time of year, the allotments that were cared for by the various people in the neighbourhood were flourishing, the patches growing with colourful flowers or large vegetables. The Doctor carefully stepped around a tall tomato plant weighed down with red and plump tomatoes.
His approached went unnoticed at first, though it was understandable. With his keen hearing, he was able to pick up the music of John Smith and the Common Men coming over the old headphones.
The Doctor bent down and looked through the eyepiece of the telescope. “And what fine specimen of the universe have you found tonight, Wilfred Mott?”
Donna’s grandfather gave a yelp at the Doctor’s sudden appearance and pulled off his earphones. “Doctor!” The old man paused and stared keenly at him. “Is it aliens?”
Sitting down in the cool grass, the Doctor replied, “Why would it be aliens?”
“Why else would you come here?”
The bright sparkling stars and the unusually clear night sky drew the Doctor’s attention upwards. He leaned back on his hands, his eyes seeking out the familiar pattern of the constellations. “Have you been out here every night?” he asked instead.
“I promised, didn’t I? For Donna.”
“Yes you did.” That rain drenched night would stay with him until his last regeneration. The Doctor sat back up and looked at Wilf. “How is she?”
Kindly Wilf smiled happily, the subject of his granddaughter being something he could go on about for hours.
He had buried every last memory of their time together within her mind out of necessity, but the Doctor didn’t have to erase his memory of Donna from his mind. He, and Wilf, would remember for her.
Time to stop running.