It's Far From Over: Pete's World (1/3)
Title: It’s Far From Over: Pete’s World
Rating: T
Genre: sci-fi, adventure, drama, romance, het, AU
Fandoms: Doctor Who & Torchwood
Characters: Rose Tyler, the Doctor (10.5, 10.2, Handy, or whatever else you want to call him), AU!Gwen Cooper, AU!Jack Harkness, mentions of others
Pairings: Rose/10.5, AU!Gwen/AU!Jack
Summary: Rose & her Doctor in the alternate reality
Author notes: This was written as a backstory for my Multi-Crossover fic 'It's Far From Over'. It can be read on its own, but will end in a bit of a Cliffanger (which will be solved in the Crossover story).
Setting: The story is set in the Alternate reality after the events of Doctor Who season 4.
Word count:: ~ 2562 (part 1)
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters or fandoms. I wish I did. I don’t make any money with this! I just write for fun and hope someone else will enjoy it, too.
Spoiler Warnings: Doctor Who up to the end of season 4. Not much for Torchwood, since it is all AU for it.
Other Warnings: This is more of a series of ficlets than a whole story. It shows what Rose and 10.5 have been up to in the alternate reality.
There will be a character death.
Like always I do write from multiple points of views to give more insight into the different characters. Don’t like it -> don’t read it! No need to complain about it.
I’m German and my English isn’t and probably never will be perfect. I hope I don’t make too many mistakes. Feel free to point out errors so I can learn and improve.
Thank you to my beta landiana24 for betaing this! :-)
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
When: about 3 months after 4.13 Journey’s End
Where: AU Cardiff
“So, you’re the specialists from Torchwood 1?” a voice asked, making Rose Tyler turn around in surprise. She stared at the man approaching her, before a smile appeared on her lips.
“Captain Jack Harkness,” he introduced himself with a flirtatious grin. “And who are you?”
Rose chuckled slightly and bit down the ‘I know’ remark that was on the tip of her tongue. Then she glanced at the Doctor who was standing next to her smirking in an amused way before grinning from ear to ear.
“Nice to meet you, Captain Jack Harkness,” the Doctor said shaking Jack’s outstretched hand enthusiastically.
“A pleasure,” Rose agreed shaking Jack’s hand as well. When Pete had sent her and the Doctor out to Cardiff to help the local team with an alien problem she had had no idea who they were going to meet there. It was a pleasant surprise. She really missed Jack a lot and they had barely had any time to reconnect during the brief time she had been back in her own universe. That actually was one of the reasons why she was pissed at the Doctor, the real one. He just dumped her in this reality again, without giving her any time back home. She would have liked to spend more time with Jack, in addition to wanting to be with the real Doctor of course. But he hadn’t cared, hadn’t let her make the decision for herself. He simply brought her back here and left her with her mother and the other Doctor. She sighed before pushing those thoughts away. Nothing good would come from dwelling on them, and besides, she kind of did have a Jack Harkness back in her life now, didn’t she? He might not be the Jack she knew, but it was better than nothing, just like the Doctor she had was better than nothing. She would simply have to take what she could get. What other choice did she have?
“Jack,” a woman said in a reprimanding, but also amused kind of voice. “Leave them alone.”
Rose looked at her and her smile widened. It was Gwen Cooper, who seemed to be working for Torchwood 3 in this reality, too. And she still looked exactly like Gwyneth, Rose thought, remembering the young woman she had met in 1869, back when she just started travelling with the Doctor.
“Just saying hello,” Jack stated, using the same old line as always. Rose chuckled, but before she could say anything Torchwood 3 leader Lisa Hallet arrived and offered them a tour through the HUB.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
A few hours later Rose, the Doctor, Jack and Gwen were running through Cardiff, chasing aliens and having the time of their lives. Rose could barely remember the last time she had had that much fun. It didn’t even matter anymore that the Doctor wasn’t the real Doctor or that Gwen and Jack were alternate versions of the people she had met before. They were with her, they were her friends, and it was enough. She was finally happy again.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
“So, what’s going on with you and the Doctor?” Gwen asked three days after Rose and the Doctor arrived in Cardiff.
Rose glanced at the other woman a little uncertainly. “What do you mean?” she asked innocently, not really wanting to get into it. Since coming to Cardiff she had felt closer to the Doctor than before, but she still wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about him. Did she love him? He wasn’t the real Doctor, wasn’t actually the man she fell in love with, but he was just like him, apart from a few tiny personality traits that he seemed to have inherited from Donna Noble, like calling ‘oi’ a lot. She didn’t mind those either, they were kind of endearing. Still, could she be with him, knowing that the man she fell in love with was still out there, and that he had abandoned her? That part was bothering her, too. Would the Doctor that stayed in this reality with her abandon her one day as well?
“Oh, come on, I saw how he looks at you,” Gwen stated. “And the way you sometimes look at him, too.”
Rose sighed. “It’s complicated.”
“Tell me about it,” Gwen insisted, but Rose wasn’t really sure where to begin.
“How about you tell me about you and Jack instead,” she said, trying to change the subject.
Gwen sighed dreamily and decided that maybe if she shared something Rose would do the same. “We met at a bar. He used one of his cheesy pick up lines on me,” she started and laughed slightly.
“But you couldn’t help but succumb to his charms anyway?” Rose suggested.
“Who wouldn’t?” Gwen asked.
“Yeah,” Rose agreed with a slight laugh. She couldn’t imagine anyone being immune to Jack’s charm. She certainly hadn’t been, even though she had sort of still been with Mickey and was already falling in love with the Doctor when she first met Jack.
“He later admitted that he had been watching me, because he knew I worked for Torchwood. He said he needed help capturing aliens that had come back in time from the 51st century, the same century he was from. He’s a time agent from the future, Rose,” Gwen went on. It was the first time she told anyone who Jack really was. She hadn’t told Lisa, Ianto, Owen or even Tosh. Jack did that himself later, or at least she thought he did. She had no idea how exactly he managed to get Lisa to hire him. And she wasn’t sure either why she never told them in the beginning. They would have believed her of course, and they were all kind of friends, definitely more than just co-workers, but she never felt the same kind of connection to them that she did to Rose. The two of them simply hit it off from the moment they met. She had the feeling she could tell her anything, and for some reason she felt like Rose would not be surprised about a time traveller from the future at all. She didn’t really know why, but she was sure Rose had seen a lot more in her life than most Torchwood employees.
Rose looked at Gwen a little surprised. So Jack was still a time agent in this reality? Interesting!
“I know he’s from the 51st century, Gwen,” she said, deciding that if Gwen told her the truth about Jack she could tell her about herself, too. “I kind of already knew Jack before I came here, and I met you before, too. Well, sort of… I am from an alternate reality,” she started, then told Gwen the whole story, how she met the Doctor, how she ended up in this world, went back and ended up here once more, this time with a Doctor.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
“I made us dinner reservations for tomorrow night,” Gwen said two days later whilst she and Rose were scouting out an old abandoned warehouse. Torchwood had picked up unusual energy readings in the area. Upon arrival Gwen had pulled Rose aside and went with her to one of the warehouses, leaving Jack and the Doctor to check the other one. “We’re going on a double date.”
Rose groaned. Gwen seemed to be determined to make sure she and the Doctor became a couple. She probably shouldn’t have told her the whole story, but it had felt so good to finally talk to someone about everything. Her feelings were so conflicted and confusing. She had hoped speaking about it would give her clarity. So far it hadn’t. Gwen however didn’t seem to get that. In her opinion the solution to the whole mess was to start dating the Doctor and see where things went.
“I told you I’m not sure I want a relationship,” she said.
“I know, but going on a date will help you figure that out. I promise,” Gwen replied.
Rose groaned once more. She had a feeling Gwen just wanted her to be with the Doctor. Maybe she was simply so in love that she wanted Rose to have a happy ending, too, or she generally loved to meddle in others love-lives. She didn’t know Gwen long enough to be sure about that.
Before Rose had a chance to say anything else she heard a noise. Turning around she saw someone jump out from behind a stack of boxes, something that looked a lot like a gun in his hand. The next second the gun went off and Gwen pushed her out of the way.
Hiding behind another stack of boxes Rose pulled her own gun. “Looks like this warehouse isn’t as abandoned as we thought,” she stated.
“I guess not,” Gwen said next to Rose whilst pulling her own gun. Then she quickly tapped her ear-piece. “Jack, we’re under attack.”
“We’re on our way,” came the answer.
Rose peered over the stack of boxes and was rewarded with another shot, which barely missed her head. Cursing she ducked.
----- -----
The Doctor ran off as soon as he heard that Gwen and Rose were in danger. Jack was right beside him, pulling his gun. The Doctor narrowed his eyes, but didn’t say anything. He still didn’t like guns, but for some reason he didn’t seem as opposed to them as he used to be, or better as the real Doctor was. Maybe it was because he was more human in this body, because part of Donna was in him, or because he had given up everything to be with Rose and really didn’t want to lose her now. He didn’t know, and he didn’t really care either. All that mattered right now was keeping Rose safe. He had barely finished that thought when he heard gun shots.
Once inside the warehouse Rose and Gwen went to check out the Doctor looked around. There were stacks of unopened boxes and a lot of empty shelves. He quickly scanned their surroundings with his new sonic screwdriver. The energy readings were still all over the place and unfamiliar to him. He couldn’t pinpoint them or the people shooting. Then more gunfire and a crashing sound echoed through the warehouse.
“This way,” Jack called.
They turned around a corner and into a hallway between shelves. At the end of it they reached an open space, filled with more boxes. Rose and Gwen were hiding behind some of them. At the other end an alien was shooting. The Doctor didn’t recognize the species, maybe they didn’t exist in the other reality, or he simply had never come across them before. Jack started shooting immediately. Gwen and Rose joined in whilst trying to stay as hidden as possible. Then another alien showed up with a bigger gun and fired. The blast hit the boxes Rose and Gwen were behind, making them tumble down.
“No,” the Doctor called as Rose was buried under boxes. He quickly ran to her, dodging fire. He was faintly aware that Jack shot one of the aliens. Gwen hit the other a moment later. Then he was next to Rose and pushed the boxes off her.
Gwen watched the aliens go down and exhaled in relief. Getting up she ignored the pain in her shoulder where one of the boxes had hit her and looked over to Rose and the Doctor.
“Is she okay?” she asked, feeling concerned about her friend.
“Her pulse is steady,” the Doctor answered.
Gwen exhaled, feeling relieved, then Jack was next to her.
“You alright?” he asked looking her up and down, obviously checking for injuries. Gwen smiled up at him and nodded. A grin appeared on his face, but just as quickly as it showed up it disappeared again. Then, before Gwen knew what was happening, he pulled her against him just as another shot erupted. Spinning them around Jack positioned himself between her and the shooter. Gwen’s eyes widened when she realized what was happening, but it was too late, there was nothing she could do. Jack’s knees gave in and he started to fall. Gwen’s left arm went around him while she started shooting with the other.
The Doctor’s head snapped up when he heard another shot. One of the aliens apparently had only been wounded and was shooting again. Gwen returned fire, even as she held on to Jack and sank to her knees with him. The alien ducked and rushed off. The Doctor quickly moved to help Gwen with Jack and placed him on the ground.
“Nooo,” Gwen exclaimed, looking down at Jack and the blood pooling around him. “Do something,” she pleaded looking at the Doctor. “You can help him, can’t you? You have to!”
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Rose opened her eyes and looked around tiredly. It was dark, but she could tell that she was on the couch in the HUB of Torchwood 3. How had she gotten there? The last thing she remembered was being at that warehouse… and being shot at. She bolted upright.
“Rose.”
Hearing the voice she turned to her left, then saw the Doctor sitting in an armchair.
“Doctor,” she said silently. “Why are we in the dark?” For some reason she had a really bad feeling and being in the dark wasn’t helping. The Doctor moved slightly and a table lamp switched on, illuminating the room slightly, including the Doctor’s face. It didn’t betray any emotion, but she could tell that something was wrong. Maybe she could see it in his eyes, or she simply knew him too well.
“What happened?” she asked, already dreading the answer.
“I’m sorry, Rose,” he said, getting up and sitting down beside her before taking her hand.
Rose looked down at their hands, then slowly up at his face. For a moment she hesitated. She didn’t want to ask any more questions. She was sure that she didn’t actually want to know the answer. The Doctor held her gaze, not saying anything, as if he knew what she was thinking.
“Gwen?” she finally asked, her voice shaky. He shook his head.
“Jack.”
Rose eyes widened. “But… Jack, he can’t actually die. I mean, he came back…”
“This Jack wasn’t like the Jack back home,” the Doctor said, interrupting her. “He never met us, never was on Satellite Five, and was never brought back to life by Bad Wolf. He’s not immortal, Rose. I am sorry.”
Rose stared at the Doctor, unable to comprehend or accept what he was saying.
“But he can’t be dead,” she mumbled as tears started to well up in her eyes. The concept of Jack being immortal was so… right. He was simply larger than life. No, he couldn’t just be gone. They needed him, Gwen needed him! Oh god, Gwen. Rose jumped up at the thought of her friend who had been so obviously in love with Jack.
“Gwen! Where is she?”
“The morgue,” the Doctor said silently.
With the mention of the word morgue tears started to run down Rose’s cheeks. That made it sound so… final.
“I have to go… talk to her.” That said she rushed off. She didn’t actually know where the morgue was, but she’d find it somehow. She had to. Gwen needed her.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Part 2
-