Dr. Who fic: New Teeth
Words: 643(ish)
Characters: Rose/AltTen (10.5?)
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Post - Journey's End, a little while after the TARDIS has disappeared.
Beta:
fabu , who really deserves some extra credit for pulling me more firmly into yet another fandom.
***
Memories are funny things. They can be lost, regained, transferred, rewritten, saved, or any one of a thousand other things.
But right now, he simply wishes they could be read, like a book. Like a simple little instruction manual so that he could understand her pain a little better, the long road she's apparently been on in this new world she found. Alone.
But not anymore.
Oh, Rose, what a trip this is turning out to be, eh?
She's still standing on the beach, a few steps away from him, looking to where He last was. Jackie left them awhile ago, mumbling and stammering a bit. Something about giving them space and finding some transportation since it was obvious He hadn't thought that far when He up and left them all there.
Mostly, he thinks it's the space, although he is curious about what kind of transportation she's going to call up.
Bus, car, hovercraft - wonder what's popular in this world?
Yet another one of the ever-growing list things he was going to learn in the coming years, he supposed. Kinda like being 100 again. Everything's new. Glancing over at the rapidly darkening skyline, he calls out softly, loathe to interrupt, but equally desperate to bring her back to him. See if they could begin survive this particular adventure.
He'd always though leaving them was the hard part. He was wrong.
"Rose?"
She doesn't answer. He's still not sure she heard him.
"Rose?"
There's a slight flinch, but she stands firm, still watching the empty space.
The words are out of his mouth before he can stop them. "Oi! Rosie!"
"Excuse me?!" Oops. That worked.
"Hmmm, too much Donna in that one, wasn't there?" He cocks his head to the side with rueful grin. "Oh, well, we'll get used to that. Like new teeth - feels a bit strange but you get used to it. Start to enjoy it, move away from the old, onto the new, they say. So we're moving on." Deep breath. "You ready to?"
She looks stunned, like she doesn't recognize him again. But he holds out his hand nonetheless, smile never wavering. "Ready? Getting late."
She crosses her arms and stands there for a few minutes, considering. "You gonna call me, 'Rosie,' again?"
"I...don't think so." He notices her arched eyebrow. "No. Probably not."
"Good. 'Cause if you do, I'll lock you in somewhere with Mum."
He's fairly sure he looks appropriately horrified.
"Or Dad."
Now he's certain of it as a slow realization dawns on him. Dads. Always tricky the Dads.
She can see his discomfort and tries to be reassuring, "He'll get used to you, he likes you. Him. I mean Dad liked-"
"Sounds wonderful."
She pauses again, drawing the silence out, looking down at her feet instead of at him.
His hand hasn't moved an inch since he offered it.
"I have a brother now." She's filling time.
"I heard that somewhere."
"Doctor?"
"Yes?"
"Do you still, I mean do you really...?"
His hand still hasn't moved.
"Yes, Rose, I really do love you."
Walking forward, she takes his hand hesitantly and gives it a slight squeeze.
"You love me." She finally looks up. "Kinda like new teeth, ain't it? Feels strange, but you get used to it. Move on."
There are shadows in her eyes, but he thinks they're fading.
"Move on?" He hopes they will, she deserves that.
"Move on."
He bends his head for a brief kiss, gently caressing her cheek with his free hand. "Moving on, then," he whispers softly.
She looks up with a genuine smile. "Where to, next?"
"Anywhere you want - so long as it's on this planet. Don't think we should wander off world yet."
"How does home sound?"
He could swear his single heart skips a beat. New teeth.
"Sounds perfect."
***