When Nobody Else Will, You Have to Help Yourself, G
Title: When Nobody Else Will, You Have to Help Yourself
Author: christn7
Rating: G
Characters/Pairing: Ninth Doctor, Tenth Doctor, Ten/Rose
Spoilers: Through Doomsday
Author's notes: I was going to wait to post this, but... *g* Many, many thanks are owed to the amazing wendymr for Beta Reading. :)
Summary: “Need your help,” the Doctor says, dusting off his coat. “Lost someone, have to get them back. Very important, you see, and blimey, were my ears always that big?”
When Nobody Else Will, You Have to Help Yourself
--
That little space in his mind sparks with the flicker of another life, curious and excited and overwhelmingly hopeful. There’s a part of him - a small part - that’s tempted to walk away before he crushes that again, but the more sensible - desperate - part of him knows that he can’t. He’s too late, even if he wanted to - can hardly undo what has been done, now can he?
He’s already a part of these events, even if his part had been played, previously, from the other side.
He knows he’s been recognised when he feels the wave of disappointment. “Not that bad, am I?” the Doctor huffs as a hand clamps down on his shoulder and spins him around.
The voice is familiar, even if he’s not used to hearing it with these ears. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Hello,” he says, grinning brightly as a pair of blue eyes narrow at him. “Good to see you again, old man.”
“Can’t say the same for you,” his younger self says, eyes sweeping over his new body.
The Doctor runs a hand through his hair. “Not bad, eh? Quite fond of the hair, myself - just look at these sideburns.”
“You the next one, then?”
“Ah, you know I can’t say. Well, I mean, I can say, since you won’t remember until you’re me in any case, but, honestly, where’s the fun in that?”
The other man rolls his eyes and lets him go. “You here for a reason, or will we just like this debacle that much?”
“Need your help,” the Doctor says, dusting off his coat. “Lost someone, have to get them back. Very important, you see, and blimey, were my ears always that big?”
His younger self snorts and shoves his hands into his coat pockets. “Lose my sense along with my manners, did I? You know it can’t work that way.”
“Ah, never been one for manners. Still brilliant, though, and I still know how things work, thanks, but it’s fine, really. Only came to you because I’ve already come to you - well, I mean, I came to me, when I was you, and I know you’ll help because you did, when you were me, so, you see, you have to.”
“Will I always natter on this much?”
“Always,” he says, a little put out at being interrupted. “Now come on, you’ve no choice, really - the loop is already in place and we can’t risk those bloody flying reptiles.”
His ninth face twists in distaste. “Reapers?”
“Nothing to hold ‘em back now that there’s nobody to mop up any paradoxes.”
The other man’s face settles into a carefully blank expression and he sighs. “Oh, come on now, stop being such a sourpuss.”
“Can’t fiddle with history like this - I’ve thought about it, you’re bound to know that, but they wouldn’t want to come back this way.”
“Of course they would, don’t be daft. Well, maybe not all of them. But a few of them, surely. Well, maybe not a few, but one, at the very least. Well, I think she would. Still, got to at least ask her, haven’t I?”
His younger self’s forehead wrinkles. “Her?”
The Doctor grins. “Rose. She’s… she was my companion - yours too, soon enough.”
“Rose? As in Tyler?”
“Yep. Lovely girl - you’ll like her. A lot.”
“Don’t get it,” his younger self says, frowning as he allows himself to be led away. “Offer her all of time and space and she decides to stay with her ape boyfriend.”
“Actually,” the Doctor says, grinning at him broadly, “you never mentioned time.”
--
The walk to the TARDIS is completed in silence and it’s awkward, but still far preferable to when the other one opens his mouth.
Curious despite himself, he sneaks a glance at his future - tall, skinny, kind of pretty, bit of a mouth on him. He’s not looking forward to it, if he’s honest, but he has to admit he rather likes the sideburns too.
“Ah, ‘bout time, eh?” the other one proclaims, shoving a key into his TARDIS and blundering inside.
The Doctor huffs - more than a bit of a prat, too, this one is.
“All this for a girl?” he asks as he follows his older self inside.
The other man pauses, just as he’s about to toss his coat over a strut. “Don’t look at me like that,” he says, pointing his finger accusingly. “You’re the one who went and bloody fell for her.”
He blinks in surprise and frowns. “That’s ru-”
“Oh, don’t try to tell me you won’t,” his older self interrupts, grinning widely and bouncing around his console. “I’d know better than you would, after all. Hindsight is twenty-twenty and all that.”
“Brilliant piece of machinery, last of its kind,” The Doctor says as he scoops up the other man’s discarded coat and tosses it back at him. “Not a coat-hanger.”
“Don’t get prissy now. You can’t win an argument with me, I already know what you’re going to say.”
He’s glaring, he knows he is, he just can’t seem to stop. “Even if I am - will be - might be, one day, nuts about a girl. Even then, we can’t break the laws of time to save her life.”
His older self freezes, his face hardening, and he has to hold back a triumphant grin. He may have been the first, then, but it’s obvious he’s not the only one.
“She’s not dead, she’s just gone.” There’s enough ice in the other man’s voice to make him shudder.
“Why do you need me, then?”
“It’s not time that I need help with,” the other man says, his shoulders slumping. “It’s space.”
He nods his head and looks away. He knows what grief is, knows it when he sees it, and he can’t deny the other man his moment.
He actually feels sorry for him, this creature that he’s going to become.
--
“Come on,” the Doctor says, nudging his counterpart’s leather clad shoulder. “I don’t remember it taking this long. Odd, that. Must have been cleverer, my turn around.”
His younger self snorts in indignation. “Remind me why it is I’m doin’ all the bloody work.”
He sighs. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? You need to figure it out without my help. I’ve already figured it out, back when I was you, so I can’t figure it out again - that’d be circular logic. The process has to happen, it needs to be figured, and you need to do the figuring, because I already know.”
“Right,” the younger man says, frowning at the cabling. “Because it’s not like we aren’t already playing with paradoxes.”
“Oh, come on,” he says, kicking subtly at the green wire. “You’ve got loads of options - two of us, two TARDISes, you’ll figure it out.”
“Already have,” his younger self says, batting his foot away. “Genius, me. All we need to do is route enough power through both the dimensional stabilisers and-”
“Create a loop!” he finishes, clapping his hands together. “Well done, old man.”
His ninth face splits into a grin, wide and toothy. “Now that’s out of the way,” he says, tossing the screwdriver at him, “and I’m taking a break.”
--
He’s relieved as he connects the last wire, seals the compartment and leans back. “Done.”
“Already?” his counterpart asks, dashing over to the monitor. “Did you calibrate the-”
“To the pico-second.”
“Check the rotational-”
“Yep.”
“And you’ve sealed the po-”
“Course I have,” he interrupts, raising his eyebrow. “Let me do all the work and then assume I’m incapable.”
His counterpart is a whirlwind of motion, waving an apology as he pulls on his glasses and double checks the readings.
“That’s it,” the other man says, running a hand through his hair. “Oh, yes! There’s enough power to sustain the loop for-”
“Three days,” he interrupts, folding his arms smugly. “Plenty of time for a round trip.”
“Give or take.”
“You ready to go?” he asks, watching the other man dance nervously. “We can-”
“No,” his older self says, “we can’t. End of the line for you, I’m afraid.”
He frowns. “What do you mean?”
“Got to go the next part alone,” the other man says, “and I need you here to stabilise the portal while I slip through. Once that’s done… well, the TARDIS will take care of your memories until you’re ready for them.”
“Thought I’d go with you,” he says. “For the trip. It’s a bit dangerous, even with two TARDISes holding the loop.”
The other man grabs his coat and pats his shoulder warmly. “Go and find her,” he says, heading towards the door. “You know you need someone when you’re desperate enough for my company.”
The Doctor grunts noncommittally. “If I don’t come with you - if you didn’t go with you, how do you know it works?”
He can’t describe the smile that flits across the other man’s features as he pauses in the doorway. Sad, definitely. Hopeful, he’d guess. “I don’t.”
Author: christn7
Rating: G
Characters/Pairing: Ninth Doctor, Tenth Doctor, Ten/Rose
Spoilers: Through Doomsday
Author's notes: I was going to wait to post this, but... *g* Many, many thanks are owed to the amazing wendymr for Beta Reading. :)
Summary: “Need your help,” the Doctor says, dusting off his coat. “Lost someone, have to get them back. Very important, you see, and blimey, were my ears always that big?”
When Nobody Else Will, You Have to Help Yourself
--
That little space in his mind sparks with the flicker of another life, curious and excited and overwhelmingly hopeful. There’s a part of him - a small part - that’s tempted to walk away before he crushes that again, but the more sensible - desperate - part of him knows that he can’t. He’s too late, even if he wanted to - can hardly undo what has been done, now can he?
He’s already a part of these events, even if his part had been played, previously, from the other side.
He knows he’s been recognised when he feels the wave of disappointment. “Not that bad, am I?” the Doctor huffs as a hand clamps down on his shoulder and spins him around.
The voice is familiar, even if he’s not used to hearing it with these ears. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Hello,” he says, grinning brightly as a pair of blue eyes narrow at him. “Good to see you again, old man.”
“Can’t say the same for you,” his younger self says, eyes sweeping over his new body.
The Doctor runs a hand through his hair. “Not bad, eh? Quite fond of the hair, myself - just look at these sideburns.”
“You the next one, then?”
“Ah, you know I can’t say. Well, I mean, I can say, since you won’t remember until you’re me in any case, but, honestly, where’s the fun in that?”
The other man rolls his eyes and lets him go. “You here for a reason, or will we just like this debacle that much?”
“Need your help,” the Doctor says, dusting off his coat. “Lost someone, have to get them back. Very important, you see, and blimey, were my ears always that big?”
His younger self snorts and shoves his hands into his coat pockets. “Lose my sense along with my manners, did I? You know it can’t work that way.”
“Ah, never been one for manners. Still brilliant, though, and I still know how things work, thanks, but it’s fine, really. Only came to you because I’ve already come to you - well, I mean, I came to me, when I was you, and I know you’ll help because you did, when you were me, so, you see, you have to.”
“Will I always natter on this much?”
“Always,” he says, a little put out at being interrupted. “Now come on, you’ve no choice, really - the loop is already in place and we can’t risk those bloody flying reptiles.”
His ninth face twists in distaste. “Reapers?”
“Nothing to hold ‘em back now that there’s nobody to mop up any paradoxes.”
The other man’s face settles into a carefully blank expression and he sighs. “Oh, come on now, stop being such a sourpuss.”
“Can’t fiddle with history like this - I’ve thought about it, you’re bound to know that, but they wouldn’t want to come back this way.”
“Of course they would, don’t be daft. Well, maybe not all of them. But a few of them, surely. Well, maybe not a few, but one, at the very least. Well, I think she would. Still, got to at least ask her, haven’t I?”
His younger self’s forehead wrinkles. “Her?”
The Doctor grins. “Rose. She’s… she was my companion - yours too, soon enough.”
“Rose? As in Tyler?”
“Yep. Lovely girl - you’ll like her. A lot.”
“Don’t get it,” his younger self says, frowning as he allows himself to be led away. “Offer her all of time and space and she decides to stay with her ape boyfriend.”
“Actually,” the Doctor says, grinning at him broadly, “you never mentioned time.”
--
The walk to the TARDIS is completed in silence and it’s awkward, but still far preferable to when the other one opens his mouth.
Curious despite himself, he sneaks a glance at his future - tall, skinny, kind of pretty, bit of a mouth on him. He’s not looking forward to it, if he’s honest, but he has to admit he rather likes the sideburns too.
“Ah, ‘bout time, eh?” the other one proclaims, shoving a key into his TARDIS and blundering inside.
The Doctor huffs - more than a bit of a prat, too, this one is.
“All this for a girl?” he asks as he follows his older self inside.
The other man pauses, just as he’s about to toss his coat over a strut. “Don’t look at me like that,” he says, pointing his finger accusingly. “You’re the one who went and bloody fell for her.”
He blinks in surprise and frowns. “That’s ru-”
“Oh, don’t try to tell me you won’t,” his older self interrupts, grinning widely and bouncing around his console. “I’d know better than you would, after all. Hindsight is twenty-twenty and all that.”
“Brilliant piece of machinery, last of its kind,” The Doctor says as he scoops up the other man’s discarded coat and tosses it back at him. “Not a coat-hanger.”
“Don’t get prissy now. You can’t win an argument with me, I already know what you’re going to say.”
He’s glaring, he knows he is, he just can’t seem to stop. “Even if I am - will be - might be, one day, nuts about a girl. Even then, we can’t break the laws of time to save her life.”
His older self freezes, his face hardening, and he has to hold back a triumphant grin. He may have been the first, then, but it’s obvious he’s not the only one.
“She’s not dead, she’s just gone.” There’s enough ice in the other man’s voice to make him shudder.
“Why do you need me, then?”
“It’s not time that I need help with,” the other man says, his shoulders slumping. “It’s space.”
He nods his head and looks away. He knows what grief is, knows it when he sees it, and he can’t deny the other man his moment.
He actually feels sorry for him, this creature that he’s going to become.
--
“Come on,” the Doctor says, nudging his counterpart’s leather clad shoulder. “I don’t remember it taking this long. Odd, that. Must have been cleverer, my turn around.”
His younger self snorts in indignation. “Remind me why it is I’m doin’ all the bloody work.”
He sighs. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? You need to figure it out without my help. I’ve already figured it out, back when I was you, so I can’t figure it out again - that’d be circular logic. The process has to happen, it needs to be figured, and you need to do the figuring, because I already know.”
“Right,” the younger man says, frowning at the cabling. “Because it’s not like we aren’t already playing with paradoxes.”
“Oh, come on,” he says, kicking subtly at the green wire. “You’ve got loads of options - two of us, two TARDISes, you’ll figure it out.”
“Already have,” his younger self says, batting his foot away. “Genius, me. All we need to do is route enough power through both the dimensional stabilisers and-”
“Create a loop!” he finishes, clapping his hands together. “Well done, old man.”
His ninth face splits into a grin, wide and toothy. “Now that’s out of the way,” he says, tossing the screwdriver at him, “and I’m taking a break.”
--
He’s relieved as he connects the last wire, seals the compartment and leans back. “Done.”
“Already?” his counterpart asks, dashing over to the monitor. “Did you calibrate the-”
“To the pico-second.”
“Check the rotational-”
“Yep.”
“And you’ve sealed the po-”
“Course I have,” he interrupts, raising his eyebrow. “Let me do all the work and then assume I’m incapable.”
His counterpart is a whirlwind of motion, waving an apology as he pulls on his glasses and double checks the readings.
“That’s it,” the other man says, running a hand through his hair. “Oh, yes! There’s enough power to sustain the loop for-”
“Three days,” he interrupts, folding his arms smugly. “Plenty of time for a round trip.”
“Give or take.”
“You ready to go?” he asks, watching the other man dance nervously. “We can-”
“No,” his older self says, “we can’t. End of the line for you, I’m afraid.”
He frowns. “What do you mean?”
“Got to go the next part alone,” the other man says, “and I need you here to stabilise the portal while I slip through. Once that’s done… well, the TARDIS will take care of your memories until you’re ready for them.”
“Thought I’d go with you,” he says. “For the trip. It’s a bit dangerous, even with two TARDISes holding the loop.”
The other man grabs his coat and pats his shoulder warmly. “Go and find her,” he says, heading towards the door. “You know you need someone when you’re desperate enough for my company.”
The Doctor grunts noncommittally. “If I don’t come with you - if you didn’t go with you, how do you know it works?”
He can’t describe the smile that flits across the other man’s features as he pauses in the doorway. Sad, definitely. Hopeful, he’d guess. “I don’t.”