Fic:Doctor Who-Never Quite Gone (Ten/Rose) 3/?
A/N: Not mine etc.
Thanks for all the great reviews, they’re excellent motivation. This is a bit of a slow chapter but it’s needed for set-up purposes, next one will be more exciting.
Since Pete had walked out of Rose’s room that morning, she’d resisted drifting back to sleep, instead spending her time contemplating what to do. Now that she knew that the Doctor was okay, for now at least, she wasn’t as intent to see what he was doing. Especially since people were watching her and she didn’t want to give anything over until she was sure what she wanted.
She was nearing a decision in the late afternoon and Rose hoped her family would come to visit her later, if just to stave off her boredom. A knock at the door stalled her thoughts.
“Hello.” A dark haired woman said as she walked into Rose’s hospital room. She wore dark jeans and leather jacket, with, Rose noted with some amusement, red Chucks. “My name’s Gwen.”
It was at that point that Rose took a closer look at the woman, she looked very familiar. Maybe Rose had known her in the other universe but she couldn’t quite place it. Despite her trepidation at talking to anyone from Torchwood, Gwen had a nice smile.
Gwen pointed to Rose’s bedside at the IV, “Used to have a mate who was an EMT. Every time he’d get a hangover he’d hook himself up to one o’those. Did wonders he said.” She came to sit down on the edge of Rose’s bed, her smile still in place.
Rose picked up on the heavy Welsh accent and a flash of memory from when the Doctor and Rose had visited Cardiff the first time. Gwen was a splitting image of Gwyneth, the girl who had given up her life. Still, this was a different person and a very different world. “What’d you want? Are you a doctor or somethin’?”
“Don’t suppose you could quite call me that, no. But I am here to help you. Only if you want it o’course.”
Rose shifted on the bed, irritated with being confined to it. “Can you help me out outta here? She asked sarcastically.
Gwen smiled again, “Actually I might just be able to. Your…Mr. Tyler wants you kept here for observation or till they can figure out what happened to you. He asked me to come in and talk to you.”
Rose attempted to not feel somewhat betrayed by Pete, “What are you like a therapist or something?”
“Of sorts. I’ve had my formal training in that but I’ve moved on to a more specialized field.” Gwen looked perfectly calm and honest, like she was waiting for Rose to give permission for her to go on.
“And you think I’m a part of this ‘special field’?”
Gwen shifted on the bed, slightly uncomfortable with Rose’s sarcasm. “When you were brought in, Mr. Tyler only allowed one doctor to see the brain scans. When Mr. Tyler was told about them, he in turn called me. So if you’re thinking all of Torchwood knows what is going on with you, you’re wrong. Whatever you decide to tell me, stays with me. You have my word.”
Rose didn’t speak for a long time. Just before Gwen had walked in, Rose had nearly convinced herself to talk to Pete about the visions. But this woman was a complete stranger, she might not even believe Rose. “So you think you can help me with my…situation? Not that I want it to be fixed or anything,” Rose added quickly.
Gwen nodded, “I’ve been able to help others.”
Rose couldn’t help but be a little more curious, “Can you do it as well?”
Gwen smiled brightly at her, “If by ‘it’ you mean read minds, then no. But I had a sister who could.” Rose noticed quickly that Gwen’s bright eyes grew slightly sadder. “Lizzie had it all her life, very strong. She heard everything, everyone. Course no one believed her, all thought she was a nutter, me included. About six years ago it got worse, I tried to work with her, with my big fancy degree and all.” Gwen’s voice cracked at her last sentence and tears pooled in her eyes. “Eventually, I realized she wasn’t making it up, she wasn’t crazy. I tried desperately to find something that could help her but she was tired, she’d had enough.”
Rose found her hand grasping the woman’s hand, “I’m so sorry.”
Gwen wiped her tears away, somewhat embarrassed, “Anyways, so after that I kept looking and I found others and eventually I figured out ways to help. Your case is somewhat different from what I gather but I’m sure if we work together, you won’t end up in another coma,” she good-naturedly joked. “Now I think you should stay here for the night, rest up, get re-hydrated and I’ll see you in my office tomorrow morning.” Gwen got up off the bed and left her card on the bedside table.
“What if it happens again?” Rose realized for the first time that she was a little scared of being pulled back into the Doctor’s brain again. She didn’t know if she could handle the emotional strain of seeing him in so much pain.
Gwen smiled sympathetically, “It probably will but we’ll work on that tomorrow.”
**
It did happen again but this time Rose wasn’t thrust into the middle of an adventure but into a scene she’d seen a million times over. The Doctor was fixing the TARDIS and humming to himself, his mind full of physics and all sorts of things Rose couldn’t understand. She was so happy to be in such a normal situation with him, free from the ever present sadness that had taken her Doctor over.
She didn’t know how many hours had lapsed as she sat with him, watching him work but when she woke, she felt completely rested. She convinced Jackie to take her home first before going to Gwen’s office, so she could shower and change. Jackie hadn’t allowed Rose out of her sight the entire time though, even keeping up conversation while Rose was showering, just to ensure she didn’t pass out again. Pete gave Rose a sympathetic smile but made no comments to his wife about her incessant behaviour.
When Jackie dropped Rose off at Gwen’s office, Rose was pleasantly surprised to see that Gwen worked out of her home. Her flat was small but cozy with rich reds and yellows adorning the living room and kitchen. Once Gwen had gotten Rose a cup of tea, she lead her into the small, enclosed room of her office.
Gwen directed Rose to sit in a large chair, while she sat in a chair directly in front of Rose, beside the large black desk. She grabbed a notepad off the desk and turned on a sound recorder, after asking Rose for approval.
“So I generally start off with a few questions, just to get a feel.” Rose nodded in understanding. “Alright then. Now you only have visions when you are unconscious?” Rose again nodded. “You’ve never seen or heard anything while your eyes were open, maybe you didn’t think anything of it at the time?”
Rose thought for a long while, “Except for when I ended up in the hospital. But I think that as soon as the images came, I was unconscious.”
Gwen smiled and noted something down on her pad, “How many people’s minds have you read?”
“Just one.”
Gwen paused slightly before writing but Rose caught what she thought was surprise on Gwen’s face. “And do you know if you are seeing this person’s future at all or is it their present?”
It was Rose’s turn to be surprised, she’d never thought of that. She had no way of knowing whether she was seeing the Doctor’s future or his present. Although since with him Time and Space were a bit…wibley wobbley, it made it significantly more complicated. “Not really sure, actually.”
Gwen nodded, “Is it possible that you know the person you read?”
Rose had to swallow down a sob, “Yes. He…he was my best friend.”
Gwen put her notebook aside and kneeled down in front of Rose, who was, despite her efforts, crying shamelessly. Gwen took both Rose’s hands in support as Rose struggled to regain her composure. Once Rose had calmed down, Gwen removed her hands but didn’t move back to her chair.
“Did he die?”
Rose choked out a small laugh, “No, it’s…complicated.”
Gwen lightly put her hand on Rose’s leg, “Pete Tyler told you that you have full disclosure with me, right?” Rose nodded her head. “Then you better start from the beginning.”
It took awhile but effectually Rose told Gwen all about her first meeting the Doctor, her feelings for him, all the way up to being sucked into this universe and her final good-bye on the beach. Gwen listened carefully through it all, just accepting all the fantastical details without comment. She made them lunch and even ordered her boyfriend, Rhys, to go pick up Chinese when it got late enough.
By the time Rose had finished it was late into the evening and she felt like she spent the entire day crying, which as it happened, was mostly true. “You must think I’m bloody mad,” Rose said, when she’d finished her story.
Gwen laughed, they were sitting at the kitchen counter, sipping on tea, “That is a little unbelievable but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t heard stranger.” Gwen put her cup down and stood up, “Well I was going to try to work with you on controlling your visions but as it’s getting on, we should leave it to tomorrow.”
Rose agreed and called her mum to pick her up, thanking Gwen for everything. She suddenly felt like a huge weight was lifted and that she could see this ‘thing’ for the gift that it was.
As Rose was leaving, Gwen stopped her by placing her hand on Rose’s arm. “This connection you have with the Doctor, be careful that you don’t let it take over. Your life is here now.”
Rose averted her eyes and walked out to the car, those words resonating in her head. She certainly didn’t feel like her life was here.