DW Fic Right Beside You 4/13
Title: Right Beside You 4/13
Author: Salimali
Rating: PG
Characters: TenII/Rose, Jackie, Pete, OC
Disclaimer: I don't own DW or any of its affiliated characters.
Spoilers: I assume you're all familiar with Journey's End by now.
Summary: TenII hasn't settled very well into Pete's world. Rose has to set him free before he destroys them both. Can there ever be a Happily Ever After for these two?
Author Notes: PLEASE NOTE, this is NOT part of the Meant to Be series. This is another take on Rose/TenII's life in Pete's world.
Thank you to the brilliant wishiknewwho who has been an awesome beta and friend.
Chapter 1 ( Chapter 2 )( Chapter 3 )
“Arrgh, my head,” the Doctor groaned as he opened his eyes to see the sun glaring in through the dirty window. “Any chance of a cup of tea here?” He wondered what had happened, one minute he’d been stood in the street, the next he was waking up here, with a pounding headache and his mouth as dry as a desert.
“Hello.”
He turned towards the voice. “Cassie,” he said with a grimace, “what happened?”
“Well, you thought it was a good idea to stand in the firing line of a bomb,” she said dryly. “You must have a guardian angel because the blast threw you off your feet, but you landed behind some bins. I think they shielded you from the worst. You’ve been unconscious for three days now, but no internal injuries just a few cuts and bruises. You seem to heal very quickly.”
The Doctor groaned with relief, he could have died. He was startled to realise that he didn’t want to die. When he was in London he’d wanted to die, but now he wasn’t so sure. He was confused by these very human thoughts. His head hurt with the turmoil inside. The rattling of a teacup on the cabinet brought him out of his reverie, as Cassie asked if he wanted a biscuit too.
Picking up his teacup, he realised he was wearing pyjamas and he panicked.
“Where are my clothes? My stuff? I need my stuff.” He began to climb out of the bed to find his belongings.
Cassie placed her hand on his arm. “Its okay, it’s safe. I put them in the cabinet under the bed. I’m sure you’re more comfy in pj’s than that old suit. Do you want them now? You’ll need to stay here for another day or two so the doctor can declare you fit.”
The Doctor relaxed back onto the bed and slowly drank his tea, debating how long it would be until he could leave this so called hospital. He looked around and could see people in all sorts of states of injury. There were men; women and children, all huddled into what looked like an army issue tent.
He became aware of the desolate cries of a baby in the crib beside him. He turned to Cassie who was trying to look busy while tears of desperation threatened to flow from her eyes.
Gently he asked, “What happened to the child? Where are its parents?”
Cassie took a deep breath, “They were both killed in the blast. No one has come forward to claim the little girl.”
The Doctor looked over at the little baby, seeing himself in her, both alone and frightened of life and what it might bring.
“Why don’t you pick her up?” the Doctor asked.
“Because she has Tuberculosis and we’ve been warned not to get in contact with patients,” Cassie answered, blushing when she caught sight of the Doctor’s face. He was furious.
“I thought you people came here to help?” he spat out, “Bloody do gooders, that’s all you are. Here you are fussing about by me, because you think I’m fine. But what do you really know? Eh? I could be infected with goodness knows what and you wouldn’t know.”
The Doctor continued to mumble under his breath as Cassie almost ran from his bedside. He stared after her retreating form, ashamed of her fragility. Forcing himself out of bed he ambled over to the baby girls’ crib. Gently lowering the side of the crib he leaned in and picked the crying child up. Instantly she quietened. He went back to his bed, climbed in and cuddled the baby girl until she fell asleep. He felt good that he had managed to give her a little comfort, enough to go to sleep. He scooted down in the bed to get comfortable, his eyes feeling heavy and drooping he fell into an uneasy sleep.
He woke with a start; he’d been dreaming. He rubbed his hand over his face to try and remove that last remnant of sleep. He tried to remember what it was he was dreaming about. He kept walking away and Cassie kept calling out to him to help her, to stay with her and not leave her. He wondered why he was dreaming about Cassie when he’d only just met her; he supposed it was because he’d upset her. Glancing down at the baby girl still sleeping in his arms he realised that it wasn’t Cassie in his dream, it was Rose.
“Rose,” he whispered.
“Rose? Is that what you’re calling her? What a beautiful name,” said the cheery voice of a doctor who appeared at the Doctor’s side.
The Doctor went to tell him no, when he found himself nodding his head instead. Rose, he smiled, Rose. Perfect.
“I’m Dr. Donald. Are you inoculated against TB?” he asked, pressing the blood pressure monitor to the Doctor’s free arm.
“No, it’s okay though,” he replied. “I’ll take the risk.” He knew the superior immune system of the Time Lord had left an imprint on his DNA. For the first time in months he thought of his Time Lord self without bitterness. He was actually glad for the intervention. It meant he could do some good here. Maybe he could find his purpose in life, here in the poorest areas of the world, giving comfort to those who needed saving the most. Making his mind up he looked the doctor in the eye and stated,
“Looks like you could do with another pair of hands around here.”
Dr. Donald finished his examination of the Doctor and smiled, “You’ll have to stay here as a patient for another forty eight hours because you were unconscious. But as soon as that time is over, then I’d be glad to have you on board. Have you any skills we can utilise?”
The Doctor grinned, “Oh I think I’ll have plenty of skills to help you. I’m Dr John Smith by the way.” He held out his free hand to shake the other doctor’s hand. “Pleased to be of service.”