Doctor Who Fic: Broken Promises: Chapter Two- Small World
Title: Broken Promises
Chapter 2 of 6?: Small World
Author: silverlunarstar
Characters/Pairings: 10/Rose, Jenny, Cartwright, Rocastle
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance/Angst/Drama/Fluff/Hurt/Comfort
Warnings/Spoilers: AU. Post-Doomsday.
Words: 3,577
Status: In-Progress
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership
Summary: In order to protect their baby boy, the Doctor and Rose drop him off at a 24-hour daycare in Cardiff circa 1984, thinking it only a temporary measure, that they'll be back before he knows it. Things go very wrong.
Author's Note: This story sprung forth thanks to a prompt for the doctor_rose_fix Spring Fling Fixathon made by mahmfic. It caught me hook, line, and sinker as Manni the Muse fished it in
Author's Note 2: *Urg* So sorry it’s taken me so long! I’ve had this completed for over two weeks! Last month was just hectic and then I really didn’t like the way it turned out so I was tweaking it as I typed (which actually didn’t take as long as the actual getting around to type it).
I really had no intention of actually rewriting HN/FoB past using it as a reason why the Doctor and Rose would leave their baby at a daycare facility, but I thought they could use some downtime before their life is turned completely upside down and the angst really starts… Enjoy!
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Chapter 1
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A man’s arms were wrapped around her, his long, nimble fingers spread across her large belly. He was singing a soft lullaby in a language she didn’t understand, but it was the most soothing melody she’d ever heard.
“Do you think mum’s already had her baby?” she asked when he finished.
“Probably. Time does move quicker in Pete’s world than ours.”
“I hope he or she was born healthy, like our baby will.” She winced suddenly.
“I’m sure they were; those Tyler genes are strong.” He rubbed her soothingly.
“Do you… do you really think we’ll survive this?” She bit her lip, sorry she’d asked as soon as the words left her mouth. She hated doubting him, them, but after reading about Human-Gallifreyan births, she was afraid.
Knowing what she was thinking about, the Doctor wished he hadn’t let Rose near those books. The births that had been depicted in those books were from ancient times - and he did mean ancient, from before he’d been born. Technology on Earth in the 22nd century was better than Gallifrey’s had been at the time. Okay, maybe the 222nd century, but point still stood. “You will,” he assured her in a firm voice. “You both will. Like I said, Tyler genes are strong. Add to that your mother’s Prentice ones and there’s nothing you can’t overcome. I’ll make sure of it, I promise.”
She turned around to face him and brought him down for a kiss, his hands automatically roaming her body. She let out an appreciative moan as he gently massaged an aching breast; she squeezed his bum in retaliation to his chuckle. Feeling a bit stronger and more awake, she pushed him onto his back so she could trail kisses down his chest until she reached the waistband of his pants where she then…
--
Marion Jones awoke with a gasp, hands to her stomach, finding it flat. She looked around her small bed for evidence of another body, but found none. Of course she wouldn't, the very thought! She was a proper young lady of twenty-three who might as well already be called a spinster (which, in fact, she had). Taking out her journal, she wrote out her absurd dream (Tyler, Prentice, pregnancy, a man in her bed - what would her mother think about such unholy dreams?) before getting ready for the day.
Marion had left her home in London after a terrible accident which had taken her mother and best friend, Michael Smith. With no ties left, she'd gathered what little money she had, packed her small collection of clothing in a trunk, and wandered about until she ran low on funds. She would then seek employment in a town to earn enough to keep going. She never stayed anywhere for long, but she was afraid she'd have to stay in Farringham longer than usual for she'd run considerably low on money. Thankfully, she'd found a kind bookshop owner who had an empty room above the moderate-sized shop and he allowed her to take residence during her stay. He was a very reasonable man and knew she wouldn't stay for long, just like he knew he really didn't need much help around the place. However, he took this as a chance to spend time with his family.
The blonde girl opened up shop and began organizing the books Mr. Cartwright had brought in. Mornings were always slow so she was confident she could have the books in order before anyone bothered to come in. Humming, she gathered as many books as she could and made her way to the back of the shop. Soon, her mind began to wander as she thought of the dreams she'd been having for the past couple of weeks. She wondered if this was her mind's way of dealing with the loss of her family, for she was never alone in her dreams. The man (who wasn't a man at all, but an alien), was always with her. Most of her dreams were about adventures the two had together, alien planets they traveled to and they even traveled in time. Imagine that! It was a great fantasy and she yearned for these dreams every night, but once morning came around and she wrote them down, she snapped herself back to reality. It wouldn't help to dwell on those dreams; they were fanciful stories, nothing more.
Climbing down, her hand absentmindedly reached into her dress' pocket as she caressed her father's old fob watch. Gathering more books, she carefully moved the ladder to the literature section before her mind began to wander again. Marion was so lost in her thoughts that, as she was climbing up the ladder to put the last few books away, she missed a step. She made a grab for the frame, but missed so she shut her eyes in anticipation of the pain.
There was none. She heard a sharp inhale by her ear, but she ignored it as she felt herself being blanketed by the warmth and comfort of the pliant chest behind her, arms wrapped securely around her, long fingers spread over her flat stomach… Marion squeaked and leaped away. Well, she would've, had there been any space. Instead, she simply stepped away, breaking the impromptu embrace. Turning around, she came face-to-face with a tall man with sparkling brown eyes. She felt her cheeks heat up as he smiled at her, somewhat shyly himself.
"Are you alright?" he asked, breaking the silence.
'His voice is all wrong,' came the fleeting thought. Pushing it aside, she answered, "I'm fine, thanks. Um…thank you for…" she gestured, trailing off. What it just her imagination or was he looking slightly flushed as well?
"Oh, it was no problem at all. I was just looking for a few history books, didn't see anyone up front so I came to explore. Saw you stumble and I couldn't allow you to fall, now could I?" His hesitant smile turned into a grin.
She couldn't help but grin back; before she could reply, however, the door's bell rang. 'Now why didn't I hear it earlier?' Her cheeks reddened further, knowing she'd lost herself in her whimsical thoughts.
"Marion, are you in here?" someone called out. "I have a few more books I'd like to add."
"I'm with the literature, Mr. Cartwright," she called out. "If you'll excuse me, sir-"
"John, John Smith," he cut her off.
She smiled. "If you'll excuse me Mr. Smith, I need to help my employer. The history section is on the southern wall, on the left."
"Of course. Thank you for your help Miss…" He looked at her eagerly.
"Jones, Marion Jones."
His smile brightened. "Thank you for your help Miss Jones. I'll be up front once I've made my selections."
"Take your time, sir. And thank you for the rescue." With that, she scurried to the front as Mr. Cartwright called out again.
The blonde zoned out as her employer started chattering about expanding the fiction section there were a lot of people interested in the fanciful stories new and upcoming authors were publishing, even if they wouldn't admit to it. She couldn't see the history section because of the bookshelves in the middle of the store, but she could faintly hear the rustling of the pages, the lifting and placing of the books as Joh- Mr. Smith chose his books meticulously.
Suddenly hearing footsteps approaching, she shook her head internally, picking out a few authors that sounded vaguely familiar.
"Mr. Smith!" Mr. Cartwright greeted cheerfully.
"Good morning Mr. Cartwright."
"Marion, this is John Smith; he's a new schoolteacher at Farringham School for Boys," the older man introduced.
"We just met a few minutes ago," John remarked. "Miss Jones helped me find the history section."
He nodded. "I'm surprised to see you in here. From what Rocastle's told me, you have the whole library in your rooms."
There was no mistaking the red spots on his cheeks this time. "Well, I already finished those…"
"You've been here all of three weeks!" His eyes widened. "I have a feeling I'm going to have a new favorite customer."
John smiled sheepishly. "Looks like." His eyes slid to Marion's before quickly averting his gaze.
Mr. Cartwright saw this and hid a smirk.
"Have you at least put the books back?" Marion's voice broke in. "At the library," she clarified when she saw his bafflement and knew he hadn't when he looked even more abashed.
"Farringham library has been an utter disaster since Seamus' demise, God rest his soul. It's as if the schoolteachers there weren't born and raised gentlemen themselves."
John reddened further, all the way to his ears.
"Oh!" Mr. Cartwright got a gleam in his eyes. He turned to Marion. "I'm going to call on Rocastle; he's the headmaster at the school," he explained to her, "and ask him to hire you as their new librarian."
"Tired of me already, Mr. Cartwright?" she asked, uncharacteristically cheekily.
"Now Marion, don't take it…" he trailed off as he noticed a small, mischievous grin; small, but mischievous nonetheless. 'Well, I'll be darned.' He chuckled before turning his attention back to their customer. "Mr. Smith, could you please inform Headmaster Rocastle that I'll be by later?"
Marion's jaw dropped, but was snapped out of her stunned state by John inquiring the total amount for his purchase.
"Of course." The schoolteacher agreed, smiling at the man as he paid for his new books. "Good day Mr. Cartwright, Miss Jones." His grin widened as he glanced at her one last time.
"Good day Mr. Smith," she whispered, holding a smile even at his retreating back.
"Maybe now you'll find a reason to stick around longer, aye Marion?" the shop owner teased.
"Mr. Cartwright!" she exclaimed. "I don't know the man at all."
"Ah, but perhaps you will get to know him once I've secured the job." He became serious. "My bookshop has done well the past few years, but I can't give you the salary you deserve. If the headmaster hires you, you'd make more than I could ever repay all your hard work for."
She smiled. "You know it's never been about the money, Mr. Cartwright. You've been so kind to me since I wandered into town with barely two pennies to scratch together. I'll never be able to repay that kindness."
"You can by allowing me to help."
She opened her mouth to say he'd helped her enough already, but a look from her employer kept her quiet. Instead, she smiled gratefully.
--
A couple of days later, Marion Jones was being given a small tour of the school for boys.
"As you can see Miss Jones, we are most definitely in dire need of a librarian," Headmaster Rocastle stated as he opened the library's door, giving her a peek at what she was getting herself into. "The boys would greatly benefit from using the library. However, considering its disastrous state, we haven't allowed any of them to use any books. The teachers have taken free reign, of course, since I know they eventually bring the books back. I am embarrassed to say they don't always leave them in their proper place." He cleared his throat, truly looking discomfited. It looked as if a bomb had gone off inside and the site had been abandoned so as not to dredge bad memories; books were scattered around, cobwebs decorated every corner, furniture was askew… "Now, I know you come with Cartwright's reference and I trust his judge of character. However, you are also new to, not only the school, but the town, and I like to evaluate my employees myself. I'll have one of the maids tidy and dust the place for you to begin organizing tomorrow morning, if it's convenient. "
"Thank you for the opportunity headmaster, tomorrow morning is fine. If no one's available to clean, I can do it as well," she offered.
The man looked scandalized. "I'm sure I can spare a few. This place has been ignored long enough." He finished giving her the tour of the school, before asking a maid by the name of Jenny to escort her out, letting her know she was to gather a couple of more maids to clean the library once she was done with her morning duties.
"Thank you Jenny." The blonde hurried off, eager to tell Mr. Cartwright the news.
Her employer was happy to hear she was ‘on trial basis’. "Don't worry Marion. I know Rocastle can be a bit of a stick in the mud, but he's a fine man and a good judge of character himself; he'll see what a hard worker you are and I'll hardly see you once you have the library up and running!"
Marion smiled at his confidence in her. "Thank you Mr. Cartwright. About rent…" Another reason why she never complained about her small salary, besides the man's kindness at hiring her even though he really didn't need help, was that he was allowing her to board for free.
"I'll hear none of it." He shook his head, already knowing where she was going. "You'll still be working evenings and I know you stay up after hours at times." He eyed her sternly.
She huffed, but didn't argue, knowing it was a lost cause. Instead, she took the blessings that came in the form of a kind, jolly man and continued working, greeting a customer that had just entered.
--
True to the headmaster's word, the library was cleaner than the previous day. The cobwebs were gone and there was much less dust than before. There was still much to be done so Marion set to work. She fixed the desks, dusting them off once again, using three or four of them to pile the remaining books precariously high as she set to work on cleaning the bookcases. By the time she was halfway through, it was lunchtime. She wouldn't have noticed had the headmaster not sent Jenny with a tray of food.
"Thank you Jenny. Didn't realize how famished I was," she said as Jenny set the food down on the neared available surface.
"You're welcome Miss."
"Marion's just fine."
"Oh no Miss, I couldn't. What would the headmaster say?" The curly haired woman's jovial, round face contorted in shock.
She frowned. "How about when it's just the two of us? We're both employees of the school."
"But you-"
"Please Jenny?" she implored. She'd been working the entire time she'd been in Farringham that she hadn't really had time to socialize outside of customers (although technically speaking, she was still working) and, even though she never stayed in once place for long, she always made a friend or two.
Jenny looked at the blonde woman's benevolent features and smiled sincerely. "That sounds fine, Miss Marion." Her eyes twinkled.
The blonde grinned. 'Cheeky!'
Jenny chatted with her new friend for a few minutes longer, dodging times when she tried to get her to call her only by her first name, before leaving her to her lunch, letting her know she'd be by later to collect the dishware. Jenny had never met someone who simply prompted a friendship, especially with someone of her station. While it was clear that Marion was of working class and hadn't had a high upbringing, there was something about her that radiated grace. She'd met plenty of people and had had plenty of employers; there were plenty of haughty people that made you feel downright disregarded. The girl was none of those things; she had a kind soul.
Finishing her lunch, Marion went back to work until it was almost dusk. She'd promised Mr. Cartwright she'd continue to help close shop and the headmaster had agreed so she wouldn't have to walk back in the dark. She closed the library door and exited the school, ignoring the disappointment she felt at not catching sight of one Mr. John Smith.
Arriving at Lucy’s Books Shoppe just as the last customers were leaving, she went around the store, putting books back in their proper place before retiring.
For the first time in three weeks, Marion had a dreamless sleep.
--
John Smith, unfortunately, wasn't so lucky.
Since he'd arrived at Farringham School for Boys, he'd had the most peculiar of dreams. Most of the time they were all a jumble of images and he could never sort them out once he joined the waking world. A blue box. A war. Aliens. He was an alien. Something burning, people dying, worlds ceasing to exist, places that never existed, screams, and, worse, silence.
It was the same thing night after night. The only time he escaped the nightmares was the day he met Marion Jones. That night, he dreamt of the blue box, but, instead of interior white walls or a cathedral-like theme, the inside the small blue box that was bigger on the inside was lavished with coral and it radiated warmth. That could also do with the body that was lying next to him…
He felt a trickle in his mind and, before the source could make any noise, he carefully extracted himself from the warm human lying next to him. She mumbled incoherently; he shushed her with a kiss on her forehead. When she settled down he entered the room attached to theirs, going to the crib at the corner where burbling noises were beginning to be made. He picked up the boy, rocking him back and forth in his arms gently. “Shh, no need for that. We need to let mommy sleep; you’ve been rowdy all week. Even though mum and dad are still in their prime and have oodles of energy, you are in another league.” His smile turned into a frown. “Never saying ‘oodles’ again.” He was quick to smile again when he heard a giggle from the wonderful creature in his arms; the tiny hand extended to touch his dad’s nose.
“Oh, you think that’s funny do you? English is a wonderful language and has many wonderful words that roll off the tongue. For example, your mum’s name is Rose Tyler.” Another giggle erupted. “You like that better, huh? Rose Tyler, Rrrooose.” He continued to grin as his child continued to giggle, but soon settled down. He was here to make him go back to sleep, not encourage him to stay awake. He knew from experience if he didn’t sleep soon, they’d have one grouchy baby in the morning. “Take after your mother in that department, you do.” Settling himself on the rocking chair, he began to let his gob take over, telling his son about the first time he met his brilliant mum. The tiny bundle looked up at him wide eyed for the first few minutes; when he got to his speech about the Nestene Consciousness, the eyes were drooping, a yawn let out when talking about Mickey-the- Idio- err, Not-So-Smart-One, “But he proves himself later on, your Uncle Mickey does,” and finally he was out like a light when he told him about using the ‘travels in time’ line. “No one could resist that,” he gloated, putting his son back into his crib.
“Oh really?” came a soft voice from behind him, arms wrapping around him loosely.
“Really.”
His wife nuzzled his back. “Had nothing to do with the bloke who came back to ask me a second time,” she teased.
His hearts fluttered; he knew she’d been attracted to him before, but hearing her say it never ceased to amaze him. He turned around and quickly descended down to meet his lips with hers.
He'd woken up and immediately picked up his journal, sketching the interior of the box as best he could remember. Minutes later and he'd been satisfied with the drawing and began to draw the baby, but he was certain it looked nothing like the child in his dreams; it looked like a general baby. He'd shaken his head and turned the page to draw the woman who had been with him, but as hard as he tried, her face eluded him as well. Her accent was unlike any he'd heard before and her lips…they'd felt as plump as Miss Jones' looked… He'd blushed; shaking his head as he finally got up to get ready for the day.
Tonight, however, instead of pleasant dreams with a faceless woman who must be his - the Doctor's, wife they had a child, he dreamt of a world dying, of whole species being eradicated. He tossed and turned in bed all night, finally escaping its clutches when he woke up, covered in sweat.
It'd been a week since he'd first met Marion Jones and even though she was now working at the school, he'd yet to run into her. Every time he went to the library, she was always somewhere else, collecting books from another schoolteacher. He'd peeked into the library the first time and had been amazed at the transformation. It finally looked like a library. There were still a few books scattered about, just waiting to be put in their proper place, but it was improvement from the first time he'd seen it when he first arrived. Still, it had been empty of one blonde woman he longed to see. Maybe today things would change.
The hope was dim, however, and he woke up a tad bit grouchy. He got ready for the day before hurrying out of his room, bumping right into...
Chapter 3