DW Fic: Plotting a New Course (4/4) Ten II/Rose
Title: Plotting a New Course (4/4)
Disclaimer: I don’t own Doctor Who.
Pairing/Characters: Ten II/Rose
Summary: “Is that…?” Rose began.
The floor shook, and there was a mechanic sound, like two heavy plates of armour rubbing against each other. “Cybermen,” he said in confirmation.
Rating: PG13
Spoilers: Through Journey’s End
Word Count: 6,800
A/N: I decided that this fic needed more angst and action. Hopefully this chapter has a bit of both.
A/N2: Thank you to mrv3000 for the beta read and for listening to me whine about this fic for three weeks. Thank you to shinyopals for the beta and Brit-pick. I promise I will never call a British shopping centre a mall ever, ever again. :D
( Chapter One) ( Chapter Two)( Chapter Three)
“It’s quiet,” the Doctor said, peering out of the car’s window as they drove by empty sidewalks and abandoned streets. “Too quiet.”
“The Darkness lasted months on this world,” Rose reminded him. “People are scared, that’s all.”
The Doctor made a “hmm” noise in agreement and then went back to studying the street, obviously perturbed. Well, that was him, wasn’t it? The Doctor loved making new friends. A world without people probably terrified him. She’d barely even noticed the quiet. Spending the last few years practically living at Torchwood hadn’t exactly done wonders for her social life.
“Rose,” said the Doctor, breaking the silence. “I think we’re being followed.”
Rose glanced in the rear-view mirror. “I know.”
“Not very stealthy of them, is it? On a big empty road like this?” He began sorting through his pockets. “Let’s see… I’ve got a package of crackers, a wind-up toy Santa Claus, a piece of aluminium foil, a-”
“It’s all right,” said Rose. “It’s only a journalist.”
The Doctor stopped his rifling. “I’m sorry?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “I’m Pete Tyler’s mysterious daughter. The Vitex heiress who appeared out of thin air.” She pushed down on the accelerator, hands clutching the steering wheel tighter. “I’m rich and I’m single. Why do you think they’re following us? People still love reading the tabloids.”
The Doctor cricked his neck around to check behind them before turning back to her. “Single?”
“Well, there was that one bloke-Gary from accounting, but that was only a few dates, and besides, he sort of smelled… weird.”
“Gary? Accounting? You had a Gary from accounting?”
“Yeah, and he got splashed all over the tabloids for two weeks straight. I reckon that would have scared him off even if I…”
“What?” said the Doctor. “Even if…?”
“I’d been anywhere near ready to move on,” Rose said, blushing. “Listen, they’re annoying, but it sort of comes with my life.”
“Right,” said the Doctor, after a pause. And then, “Really? Gary? From accounting?”
“Doctor,” Rose said, trying hard to sound stern, but fighting back a smile. “It didn’t mean anything, yeah?”
The Doctor didn’t answer. He dug around in his pockets again, and then finally emerged with the sonic screwdriver. He muttered a quick “Ha!” and then pointed it behind him. He stared fixedly at the road, and a second later Rose heard the sonic screwdriver buzz to life.
She glanced in the rear-view mirror. The car tailing them jerked and then began to slow down, growing further and further behind them. The Doctor twirled the sonic screwdriver once before putting it back in his pocket.
Rose frowned. “You just broke about a thousand Torchwood regulations.”
She could sense him studying her. “Since when do you care about enforcing Torchwood regulations?”
There was a hint of accusation in his tone and Rose kept her gaze firmly on the road. “I do work for them.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“It’s not like it was in the other universe,” Rose said defensively. “I wouldn’t work for them if it was.”
“I know that.”
“Then why…?”
He sighed, and then, in a tone that suggested it was obvious, said, “I’m a traveller, Rose-or was a traveller, anyway. New planets, new stars-there’s a whole universe out there to be explored. But you lot, with your Torchwood, it’s not about exploring, it’s not about meeting new forms of life, it’s about defending what’s yours, plain and simple.”
Rose couldn’t stop her snort. “Oh, come on. It’s not like you’ve never put yourself in charge of defending the Earth. Don’t you think we have an interest in seeing what else is out there, Doctor? We’ve just… got to protect ourselves at the same time.” She paused. “You just hate the thought of doing paperwork.”
“I don’t sit in an enclosed laboratory building weapons and locking other beings up in cages.”
Rose made a scoffing noise in the back of her throat, but had to admit that maybe he had a point. He’d probably hate every minute of working for Torchwood.
“Still,” the Doctor continued, “I don’t like the idea of you working on your own.”
“I’m fine,” she said automatically. “I’ve been on my own these last few years. You get used to it.”
“No you don’t,” the Doctor countered quietly. And then, “You’ve got me now.”
She glanced sideways at him as they pulled into the shopping centre’s car park. “Yeah,” she said and found herself thinking of the other Doctor. He has Donna, she told herself, with a twinge of guilt. She hurriedly focused on parking the car.
His hand came down to rest on hers as she pulled up on the parking break, thumb sweeping against the back of her hand. “It’s been difficult for you these last few years, hasn’t it?”
She pulled her hand back and pulled the keys out of the ignition. “I managed.”
She didn’t have to look at him to know that stung. Rose swallowed with difficulty, a tight feeling in her stomach. There were still so many things they couldn’t say to each other. She’d thought, the other night, when they’d finally shagged that maybe… maybe that meant that it’d be all right, that things would be better when they woke up. But it was stupid to think that sex would cure everything.
“Come on,” she said, unlocking the car door. “We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
He followed her out of the car and they both stopped, gaping at the rows and rows of cars parked in tidy rows around them.
“I think,” the Doctor said slowly, “we’ve found out where everyone’s gone.” He paused and then, with awe, added, “The human race. The world doesn’t end and what do you do? Go shopping.”
Rose swallowed and then held out her hand. “Stick close.”
The Doctor nodded solemnly and grasped her hand, allowing her to lead him into the shopping centre.
******
“Rose, this is brilliant.” The Doctor’s hand was warm and sweaty where he clutched hers, and he pulled her along with excitement, speaking over his shoulder as they dodged other shoppers. “It’s all so wasteful, isn’t it? You come and you park your cars in tidy little rows and then sort yourselves into lines where you swipe little pieces of plastic and-ta da-there you have it, a purchase. It’s wasteful, is what it is, but it’s also brilliant, and so, so human.”
He grinned at her, his overstuffed bags bouncing over his shoulder.
“I suppose,” Rose said who was feeling more than a little wiped by hour three of their shopping exposition. First, she had to convince the Doctor to try things on before he decided to purchase them-“But the TARDIS always did that for me,” he’d said, puzzled-and then she had to make sure he paid for the items instead of just walking out of the shop with them. She was pretty certain they were now banned for life from entering another Debenhams.
He’d bought all the same things, Rose noticed. He hadn’t even bothered looking at anything else-just went for pin-striped suits and ties and trainers that looked exactly like his old ones. She couldn’t figure out if she found it comforting or downright confusing.
“I never reckoned shopping could be so much fun!” he said. “Must be the Donna in me.”
“What?” Rose said faintly.
“The Donna bits of my personality coming through-the metacrisis,” the Doctor explained, oblivious to the way her heart gave a furious tug whenever she was reminded that he wasn’t quite the Doctor she remembered. “Donna loved shopping.”
His smile turned nostalgic and Rose squeezed his hand. “Doctor,” she began, “did something happen? To Donna? You just… get so quiet whenever you talk about her.”
He came to a sudden stop and Rose stumbled to avoid hitting him. Other shoppers dodged around them, shooting them dirty looks. Rose stood on her tiptoes, trying to get a good look at him over the top of the bags. “Doctor?” she pressed.
“Gone,” he said finally. “That knowledge in her head, everything we did together-it was killing her. He would have had to wipe her memories-take away any mention of me and the TARDIS.”
Rose stared at him. “Are you sure?”
“It’s what I would have done.”
She nodded. “And he’s… is he…?”
“Alone,” the Doctor confirmed.
Rose pulled her hand out of his grip and fiddled with the zipper on her jacket. “I wish you’d just regenerated. Then none of this would have happened.”
The Doctor didn’t say anything.
“I shouldn’t have told you not to,” she continued. “Is it ‘cos of me that you…?”
“Rose,” he said gently, “that doesn’t matter now. He’ll be all right. I always was.”
“Yeah,” she said.
The Doctor blinked at her, hesitated, and then his eyes caught on something over her shoulder. “Ooh, glasses! I need a new pair of glasses.”
And they were off again.
****
Rose was paying for his glasses when the Doctor heard something. A sort of thunk… like something hit the roof and then bounced off. He frowned and stilled, listening intently-nothing, nothing, and then, ah, yes, a ripple like… like…
The calm before the storm.
Rose handed him the glasses. “Here you go, should be able to-”
She was cut off by the sound of a loud blast, coming from the middle of the shopping centre. The floor vibrated, knocking walls of glasses onto the floor, which skidded across the floor and shattered. The two salespeople behind the counter shrieked in surprise, hands flying to their mouths.
“Oh, my god, it’s come back-I knew that was all a load of bollocks about the Darkness being gone-”
“My mum-I left her alone today. If anything happens to her, I’ll-”
“Quiet,” the Doctor snapped, holding up one hand to shush them. They immediately clamped their mouths shut. He glanced at Rose and, together, they moved to the front of the shop. They passed a shell-shocked customer who held a pair of glasses in one hand, mouth hanging slightly agape.
The Doctor peered out of the entrance, Rose next to him. People ran down the corridor screaming, tripping over fallen purchases as they struggled to hold onto wriggling children. Crowds gathered at the door, pushing and shoving each other as they tried to exit the building. On the other side was a cloud of smoke. He leaned forward, eyes narrowing as he tried to catch a glimpse of whatever was attacking them.
“Is that…?” Rose began.
The floor shook, and there was a mechanic sound, like two heavy plates of armour rubbing against each other.
“Cybermen,” he said in confirmation.
“But I thought they were all gone,” Rose whispered. “They got pulled into the void, battle of Canary Wharf, remember?”
“How could I forget?” the Doctor said. They shared a sad smile before the Doctor shook his head and focused on the task at hand. “A small enclave must have stayed behind, biding their time. And here we are-Dalek threat eliminated for good, the stars back, and all of London-”
“-celebrating by going shopping at the nearest shopping centre,” Rose finished.
“Exactly.” He ran one hand through his hair and then turned around. His eyes fell on the two salespeople. One had a mound of frizzy ginger hair, the other was a tiny, mousy girl with wide eyes and pale skin. “Right. You lot. You must have some sort of storage room that locks from the inside?”
“Yeah,” said the redhead, snapping to attention. “Back here.”
“Good,” said the Doctor. He pointed at her. “You are going to get inside it and you are going to stay there. You will not emerge under any circumstances, not until someone who is not a Cyberman comes to let you out. Understand?”
She gave a quick nod and then turned to open the door behind her with shaking hands.
Rose went over to the frozen customer, a stout man in a grey trench coat and worn hat. She put one arm around him and said, “Hey, you alright there?”
“Cybermen,” the man whispered. “But the government said… they said they were all gone…”
“I’m sorry,” Rose said. “We’ll get it sorted. I promise.”
“In the storeroom,” the Doctor said. “Now.”
Rose frowned at his tone, but he marched around her, pushing past the salespeople to get a good look at it himself. It wasn’t the biggest room in the world, but it was well ventilated. He dug out his glasses and studied the door. If he deadlocked it with the sonic screwdriver, he would make life difficult for anything trying to get in.
“Come on,” Rose said gently, from behind him. He didn’t have to look at her to know she was leading the two salespeople and one customer into the room.
He flicked on the sonic screwdriver and, trying to look occupied, said, “Rose, will you check the light? Make sure it works?” He jerked his head towards the other end of the room.
“All right,” she said.
She squeezed by him and his heart pulled furiously in his chest. She’d asked him not to do this-said it was the only way they could make things work. And he looked her straight in the eye and said he’d try. But he wasn’t like he used to be. He didn’t have the TARDIS. He couldn’t even regenerate. All he had was this stupid, mortal, brilliant human life-and it would mean nothing without her. Absolutely nothing.
Heart pounding, he let his gaze linger on her once and then he backed out of the room. He was at the door when she reached the light switch. As if sensing something, she whirled around, “Doct-”
He slammed the door shut and used the sonic screwdriver to lock it in place just as she began to pound on it from the other side. Her voice was muffled, but he could still hear her. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare.”
He placed one hand on the door. “I love you.”
There was silence and then the pounding began in earnest. “Let me out!” she yelled. “LET ME OUT RIGHT NOW!”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. He backed away, sliding both his glasses and the sonic screwdriver back in his pocket. He strode out of the shop, ignoring Rose’s shouts.
He had a shopping centre full of Cybermen to defeat, after all.
He paused in the shop’s entrance, taking a moment to study the situation. One Cyberman stood in front of the doors, keeping people in. He counted three-maybe four-others who were rounding up terrified shoppers and corralling them into a queue.
The Doctor put his arms behind his head, ducking into the nearest group of hostages. An elderly lady with a green purse turned to scowl at him as though cutting into a queue was a far more serious offence than the threat posed by the Cybermen.
“Hello,” he whispered loudly, “I’m the Doctor.”
“Ruth,” said the woman, voice a low and gravely sound. “I’ve got weapons,” she continued. Her eyes darted to her purse. “Pepper-spray. Could rust the little buggers right up.”
“Well, now, let’s not get carried away,” the Doctor said, backing up a few steps. The pepper-spray would be completely ineffective against the Cybermen, but he didn’t want to be in Ruth’s path if she decided to get tough on queue-jumpers.
“Um, excuse me,” said the Doctor, leaning over the shoulder of the person in front of him. “By any chance, do you know where we’re going?”
A teenaged boy with a lip piercing turned around, eyes darting back and forth. In an excited whisper, he said, “Are you mad? They’ll kill us for speaking out of turn.”
“Nah. They’re not going to kill us. They need us,” said the Doctor. He glanced at the boy’s nametag. “Marcus, is it? Employee at Debenhams? Nice shop-no complimentary drinks, though. There should be complimentary drinks. Anyway-” He nudged the teen in the shoulder. “You’ve got some ideas. I can tell.”
The boy hesitated, but then said, “The food court.”
“The food court?” the Doctor repeated. He cricked his head around. They were moving further and further away from the doors-and from Rose.
She was safe, he reminded himself. Deadlocked in. So long as she wasn’t screaming anymore (and he didn’t think she was foolish enough to keep that up for long), the Cybermen would move on to easier targets.
“The shopping centre’s been doing construction for the last six months,” said the boy. “Said they’re trying to modernize it-newer, cleaner, greener, all that rubbish. Thing is, nobody’s actually been in to see it. People on the Internet are saying that the owner of the shopping centre is gone-that he just up and disappeared one day.”
The Doctor frowned. “They’ve been planning this. For a very, very long time…” he trailed off and then focused on the boy. “I’m a bit… new around these parts. Been living in the Scottish countryside for the last few years. Hippy retreat. All very back-to-the-earth. You know those New Age types. But people here-I thought they spent the last few years fighting the Cyberman?”
The boy snorted. “Well, yeah, but it’s not like we’ve got any weapons handy at the moment. The government won’t let us. Said we have to leave the guns in the hands of the professionals.”
“Guns?” The Doctor scoffed. “The Cybermen need us for their upgrade program. Do you know what that means? We’re the best weapons we’ve got.”
He glanced behind him and sent Ruth an apologetic look before dodging around the teen, making his way up to the front of the queue. “Isn’t that right?” he called, reaching the Cyberman leading them on. “You’ve been in hiding these last few years. What? Too afraid to push forward with the upgrade program? Worried these ordinary humans might wipe you out?”
“Cybermen don’t feel fear or worry,” said the leader, feet stomping against the floor as he turned to face the Doctor. “We have been preparing.”
“Preparing?” said the Doctor. He stopped, waving his arm around him. “You set off some explosions and hoped you’d scare the fight out of them, didn’t you? You’re an army without troops. A species on the verge of extinction. This…” he walked around in a circle, gesturing at the people who were staring at him in rapt silence. “This is a membership drive.”
“You will all be upgraded.”
“No we won’t,” said the Doctor. “What are you going to do? Kill us? You’ll be killing off yourselves.” He clucked his tongue. “Now that is not a good way to welcome new recruits.”
There was a long moment of silence.
Then, as if finally registering that he could be a threat, a second Cyberman stomped over to them. He glanced at the Doctor and then said, “Delete him.”
“Hold on,” said the Doctor hurriedly, putting both arms in the air. “I’m unarmed, see? Perfectly fit to be upgraded.”
The two Cybermen looked at each other uncertainly. They really were desperate, then.
“There’s just one thing you should know,” the Doctor said.
They focused on him again. “What is that?”
The Doctor glanced at the group of humans and then flicked his eyes towards the exit. “RUN!” he yelled.
Nothing happened. The people packed into the queue stared back at him with frightened and uncomprehending eyes.
“WELL, COME ON!” the Doctor hollered. He pointed to the Cybermen. “It’s better than becoming like them!”
A collective shudder ran through the crowd and they began to murmur amongst themselves. Finally, the teen from earlier gave the Doctor a thumb’s up before turning and charging. The old lady reached into her purse, drawing out her can of pepper-spray and took off with him. Next to them, the rest of the crowd surged forward, pushing and moving at once, heading for the exit.
“You will be upgraded,” said the Cybermen. “You cannot resist.”
“I think you’re out of luck there,” said the Doctor as the rest of the people in the shopping centre cottoned onto the plan. People dropped their bags as they all surged towards the centre, the mass of bodies heading towards the door.
The lone Cyberman left to secure the doors stepped in front of the group, opening his weapon. “Stop or you will be deleted.”
“KEEP GOING!” hollered the Doctor at the same time as he heard clomping feet behind him.
Right. They’d be after him now. He hadn’t really thought that through.
He ducked and ran into the crowd, digging through his pockets for the sonic screwdriver. The Cyberman in front of the door fired once, twice, three times. Bodies fell to the ground, but the crowd fanned out around them, still heading straight for the exit.
There was more shooting, this time from behind him. “Delete, delete, DELETE!”
The Doctor winced at the ensuing screaming, but didn’t dare look behind him. His fingers enclosed around the sonic screwdriver and he looked up, checking the status of their exit. The one Cyberman was no match for an angry and desperate mob. They crashed into him, dragging him to the ground. For a few seconds, all that could be heard was his inhuman screaming and the sounds of metal ripping and dull shooting. Then one person emerged with his severed head, another with his arm. A collective whoop rippled through the shopping centre.
The Doctor ran towards them, dodging lost shopping bags, a Barbie doll without a head, and a pink slush puppy. He pushed and elbowed people out of the way, and they let him pass, some of them muttering about “that mad bloke from earlier.”
Finally, he reached the doors. He held the sonic screwdriver up to the lock and then pushed the doors open. Warm sunlight spilled into the shopping centre, and he jumped back, narrowly avoiding being trampled. The crowd pushed him towards the doors again, but he held his ground, determined to make sure people go out of the shopping centre as safely as possible.
He ducked in front of a fake decorative tree, checking over his shoulder. Good. The Cybermen seemed to have lost sight of him for now.
“Come on, come on,” he said, as he urged people out the door. The boy from earlier ran past, sending him a lopsided grin. The Doctor raised his voice. “Faster, faster.”
A small girl slipped on the pink slush puppy and almost tumbled to the ground, but he grabbed her by the arm and hauled her back to her feet, nudging her towards the exit. An older woman shot him a look of gratitude and then grabbed her hand, running out of the shopping centre.
The floor vibrated behind him, and the Doctor cricked his neck around, heart jumping when he found three Cybermen bearing down on him.
He looked around and then grabbed the nearest semi-competent looking person. It was the old woman from earlier, Ruth, still clutching her green purse and can of pepper spray. “You,” he said.
“YOU!” Ruth responded, narrowing her eyes at him. “You’re the one who got us into this mess.”
“What…?” said the Doctor. “That is not…” He took her by the shoulders, leaning down so he could meet her gaze. “Listen, I need you to get these people out of here. Get them as far away from here as possible. Get help. Get… get…Torchwood,” he decided reluctantly and then scratched at his chin. “They’ll be going after me.”
Ruth didn’t seem overly concerned for him. “You look like a fast runner. All thin and bony like you are. Not at all like my grandson, he-”
“Yeah, thanks,” the Doctor cut in. “You’ve still got that can of pepper spray?”
Ruth held it up proudly. “Can stop a fully grown elephant, this thing can.”
“Yeah, right,” said the Doctor. “Just… just get them out of here. Now.” He turned her around and gave her a little push.
Her entire body shook once, but then she straightened her shoulders and made a beeline for the exit, calling, “Okay, you lot. Follow me.”
“There you go, Ruth,” said the Doctor, unable to stop his rush of pride. Humans really could be such remarkable creatures.
His eyed ticked to the Cybermen-just in time to see them firing their weapons. He ducked. They hit the tree behind him, raining fake leaves down on his head. Someone in the crowd screamed and went down. The Doctor didn’t check to see who it was.
The Cybermen flung people out of the way in their haste to get at him. He supposed they’d correctly identified him as the threat-kill him, demoralize the crowd, get their upgrade program back on track.
Not a bad plan, really. He was quite good.
The Doctor shook himself and darted for the exit as the Cybermen fired at him again. This time, they hit the doors just as he ran through them, shattering the glass. Tiny shards of glass pricked the side of his body, and he idly swiped at his cheek, his fingers coming away tinted red with blood.
He blinked at the blood, a sudden sinking feeling settling into his stomach. One heart. One life. No regenerations. If the Cybermen killed him now, that would be it. He’d never see Rose again, never get to hug her or kiss her or tell her he loved her.
How on earth did humans live like this all the time?
Feeling disgusted with himself, he began to run, heading towards the row of parked cars. He checked once over his shoulder, startled to see that the Cybermen had made it to the exit, their metal casings glinting in the afternoon sun.
People were still frantically trying to push their way out of the doors. One Cyberman clamped his hand down on the nearest woman’s shoulder, and she began to scream and writhe as he electrocuted her. She went down with a slump. The rest of the people automatically parted to let the Cybermen through, some falling down to their knees as they began to sob.
The Doctor reached the first car, a tiny red one with a football shaped air freshener dangling from the rear-view mirror. He ducked down behind it, flinching when the Cybermen’s firepower slammed into it a moment later.
He hissed, the car suddenly hot to the touch and stumbled back to his feet. He ran to the next car, legs and lungs burning. No respiratory bypass system in this body, he noted with a grimace. He’d have to remember that next time.
He ducked down behind the next car, a van with a bumper sticker that said ALIENS ARE AMONG US and drew in a sharp gasp of air. A line of sweat trickled down his brow and he wiped at it with the back of his sleeve.
He heard the metallic sounds of footsteps approaching and crouched down to look under the car. There, he counted three pairs of metal feet. He reached for the sonic screwdriver, thinking quickly. He needed a weapon. Well, he was in a lot filled with cars, wasn’t he? Cars with gas tanks and handy little fuses. If he could just get to the hood of the car…
He began to slide around the van, keeping himself crouched down behind the windows and out of sight. He paused when he heard the Cybermen talking.
“Proceed with the upgrade plan,” said one Cybermen. “He is not important. Reclaim the home base. Secure the exits.”
The Doctor frowned. The shopping as a home base? Well, it was certainly original.
Not that he could let them get away with it.
He pocketed the sonic screwdriver and then leaned against the van, breathing in deeply and trying to get his one heart to calm down. He didn’t remember ever being this nervous as a Time Lord. After all, this certainly wasn’t the first time he’d blindly stepped into danger in the hopes he’d think of something brilliant.
Right. He was part human, but he was still the Doctor. He did this all the time. He was a pro-an old pro at throwing himself in the path of danger.
He straightened and ducked out from behind the van. “Oi,” he called to the departing Cybermen. “You’re not going to leave so quickly, are you? We barely even got started.”
The Cybermen paused, their backs still to him like they were deciding whether or not he was worth bothering with. The Doctor glanced around and then grabbed the nearest object-a pipe that had blown free of the first car-and threw it at them.
It hit the middle Cyberman in the head and then bounced off. “Delete, delete, DELETE,” said the Cybermen, turning around.
“Oh, that got your attention,” said the Doctor.
“He must be ended,” said one of the Cybermen. “He will not submit.”
“That’s me. Always,” said the Doctor. And then, “I can’t let you have a shopping centre full of people.”
“You cannot stop us,” said the middle Cyberman. “We have out-powered you in every way. You are defenceless, you are alone, you will be de-”
“Now-just… just… hold on,” said the Doctor, putting up one hand. He glanced hopelessly around, mind going blank.
“Deleted,” finished the other two Cybermen. All three of them pointed their guns in the Doctor’s direction.
The Doctor opened his mouth to say something-anything that would buy him a few more seconds of time-but a blast slammed into the Cybermen from behind. There was a loud ripping noise of metal being torn apart and then the Cybermen exploded.
The Doctor was thrown backwards from the force of the blast. He hit the pavement on his back and his head snapped back against the ground, tears springing into his eyes. He breathed out, once, twice, and then shook his head to clear it, slowly pushing himself back up. He managed to make it to his knees before he looked up, eyes landing on Rose Tyler.
Rose Tyler and her very, very large gun.
He stared at her in shock, mouth going dry. That was an image that was… blimey. And he supposedly had a strong moral code against guns.
She looked stunned by the enormity of the blast, but then her gaze landed on him. She froze, eyes searching over him desperately before she fumbled with the shoulder strap of her gun, trying to undo it with shaking hands. She finally managed to dislodge it and then she dodged around the burning remains of the Cybermen, running to him.
She sunk down to her knees in front of him. “Oh, my god,” she whispered, one hand going to his shoulder and the other to his face.
He opened his mouth to tell her that he was fine, that it was only a few bruises, but what came out was only a croak, “Rose.”
She almost looked like she might cry. “You’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay now.” Then she hugged him, pressing her nose to his shoulder, arms sliding around him. “You’re all right.”
He clumsily returned her hug, vaguely aware that his limbs weren’t working quite the way they were supposed to.
“Hi,” he managed.
She gave a shaky laugh and pressed her nose against his cheek. “Hello.”
“How did you…?”
“I have a mobile,” she said, like he was completely thick. “I called Torchwood.”
“Oh,” he said. “Didn’t think of that.”
“No kidding,” Rose said. “Come on. Let’s get you home.” She slid her arm across his shoulders and helped him to his feet. “Torchwood will take care of the rest.”
He opened his mouth to protest and then shut it when his body groaned in pain. Okay, human biology was certainly something he’d have to adjust to.
He leaned heavily on Rose as she lead him away, sneaking curious glances at her profile to try and gauge how angry she might be with him.
She gave him a tight, reassuring smile. “You’re all right,” she said, yet again, as if that was the only thing that mattered.
For the time being, he realized, maybe it was.
*****
The antibacterial stung the cuts on his face, but Rose’s touch was gentle. “Tilt your head,” she said, and he obediently followed her directions, eyes sliding in her direction as she worked on him.
“I’m fine,” he said, shifting uncomfortably on the toilet seat as she rifled through the bathroom cabinet. She emerged with a package of band-aids and he stifled a sigh. “Rose-”
She sent him a warning look. “No regenerations, yeah? I’ve been in my share of scrapes over the last few years. I just want to make sure there’s no lasting damage.”
“Honestly, I think that my Time Lord biology makes me less susceptible to-” he hissed as she applied something to his cheek, more firmly this time. He swallowed and switched gears, “What sorts of scrapes?”
She shrugged. “Oh, you know. Aliens invading. Weevils in downtown London. That sort of thing.”
“Really?” he said. “And how often-”
“Dunno. Sometimes a couple of times a week.”
“A couple of times a week?”
She stopped what she was doing and pulled away from him. “What?” she said. “You gonna lock me up in a cupboard every time Torchwood calls me in on a job?”
Her words were frosty and the Doctor shifted uncomfortably. So she was angry, then. Very angry, judging from her body language.
“…no,” he finally decided. Her eyes widened accusingly, so he hurriedly said, “Well, maybe. Rose, I don’t know! It just… happened.”
“It just happened?” she said. She threw the rest of the bandages and antibacterial into the cabinet and then slammed it shut. “If I hadn’t called Torchwood, you might’ve…”
“Oh, come on, I’ve faced the Cyberman loads of times-”
“Not as a human!”
“Half-human,” he said irritably. “Why does everyone always forget that?”
Rose stared at him silently, mouth hanging open. Then, she spun around, walked out of the washroom and slammed the door shut behind her.
“What?” he called. “Rose-what…?”
He pushed himself to his feet and followed her. Maybe if he looked like he was seriously injured again? That had seemed to do the trick last time…
He found Rose in her room. She was making the bed with sporadic and jerky movements, obviously not paying attention to what she was doing.
“I can help-” he began, moving to the other side, but Rose stopped and sent him a withering glare. He backed up. Rose returned to the bed, plumping a pillow in a way that could probably be better described as a mild beating.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and retreated to the other side of the room while he considered his options.
Finally, Rose seemed to run out of steam. Bed half-made, she sunk down on it, hands balled in her lap. There was a heavy moment of silence and then Rose looked at him, biting her lip. “I asked you to promise.”
“I know.”
“And you said-”
“I said I’d try.”
“Obviously you didn’t try very hard.”
“That is not…” he trailed off in frustration and then ran one hand through his hair. “Listen, I know that I shouldn’t have and that you’re angry. I’m sorry. I am, but…”
“It’ll happen again,” Rose finished heavily.
He nodded. “Especially since I’ll be working with you. Not Torchwood, mind you. Just you.”
She managed a strained smile, but then she shook her head, shoulders slumping. “How am I supposed to trust you?”
He stood up straighter, her words cutting through him. “What?” he said. “You don’t…?”
“I don’t know.” She scrubbed a hand over her face, thinking quietly for a few seconds. Then, she gazed at him again. “What the other you said, back there on the beach, about you being too dangerous to be left on your own-is that true?”
“No,” he said slowly, wary of the abrupt change in subject, “not anymore dangerous than he is. Maybe less. I’m not the one with a very powerful time machine.”
“But you could build one, yeah?” Rose said. “It wouldn’t be the TARDIS, but Jack used-what was it?”
“A vortex manipulator,” said the Doctor. “Basic temporal manipulation. Not the nicest way to travel, mind you. And still not the TARDIS.”
“Then why…?”
“He knows you well. I know you well. He wanted to give you a reason to… well, to stay with me.”
“Oh,” Rose said, but she didn’t sound surprised. “So that whole bit about you needing me… that was all just so I would stay?”
“What?” he said blankly. “No, Rose. No. That’s not… I did not just say that.” She stared at him doubtfully, and he searched his mind for something that would help her understand. “Rose,” he said urgently. “Those years that I spent without you, they were…”
She managed to muster up a small smile. “They were difficult.”
“Yeah,” said the Doctor. “You’ve got to understand. He did the most amazing, selfless thing on that beach. And also a terribly selfish thing. He won’t have to lose you now, not again.”
She stared at him and he could see her silently puzzling over his words, trying to get at what he was really telling her. “But you still could,” she said. And then, “Oh.”
“I can’t go through that again. And this body-it’s so… so mortal, I feel like… like…”
“A human?” Rose suggested.
He pinched his nose, trying not to look too disgusted. He was rewarded with the sounds of her laughter and he suddenly felt like a weight had been lifted.
“Thing is, Doctor,” she continued, shaking her head, “I could lose you, too. That’s just… that’s a risk we’ve all got to take.”
“I know that,” he said, thinking of a whispered “I love you” in her ear and the way she’d kissed him afterwards-like she didn’t need anything else in the world.
One glance at her told him she was remembering the same thing. “Rose,” he said, trying not to sound too desperate. “Would it be all right if I hugged you now?”
She nodded and he was by her side in an instant. He sighed when he wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezing her middle before nuzzling her neck. She hugged him back, arms around his neck, her nose pressed just under the shell of his ear.
Which was… hmm, a very sensitive spot. He shivered and he could feel Rose’s responding smile.
“Don’t do that to me again,” she said. And then she released a frustrated breath. “At least… try. I’ve got to trust you if our lives and other people’s are at stake.”
He squeezed her tighter and couldn’t stop his grin, “So I can work with you, then?”
There was a moment of embarrassed silence, but then Rose shifted and she pushed him down onto the bed. He could hear the laughter in her voice. “Of course you can, you dolt. Who else would I work with?”
He wasn’t exactly going to argue with her now firmly on top of him. “Gary from accounting?”
“Boring,” she said, fingers now working the buttons of his shirt. “Though you’ll probably have to let Torchwood pay you. Not that you’ll be working for them.”
“But-”
She cut him off with a kiss. Effective that. Not that he minded.
She pulled away and then nuzzled his nose, eyes boring into him. “What do you say, Doctor?”
“About what?” he said, hands pressing against her back before dipping under her shirt.
“Worth the risk?”
He thought about it. He thought about an empty TARDIS, about two hearts and an infinite number of regenerations, and then he thought about the all-too-quick, fragile human life he now had left.
“Oh, yes,” he said.
She stared at him quietly, pensively, like she didn't quite believe him. He felt a pang of guilt, realizing that locking her in that cupboard had profoundly shaken some of her faith in him. She lifted her hand to his face, fingers brushing over his cheek and he leaned into her touch, waiting for her to make the next move. Finally, Rose nodded, like she'd found what she wanted.
He did the only thing he could and kissed her again.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Doctor Who.
Pairing/Characters: Ten II/Rose
Summary: “Is that…?” Rose began.
The floor shook, and there was a mechanic sound, like two heavy plates of armour rubbing against each other. “Cybermen,” he said in confirmation.
Rating: PG13
Spoilers: Through Journey’s End
Word Count: 6,800
A/N: I decided that this fic needed more angst and action. Hopefully this chapter has a bit of both.
A/N2: Thank you to mrv3000 for the beta read and for listening to me whine about this fic for three weeks. Thank you to shinyopals for the beta and Brit-pick. I promise I will never call a British shopping centre a mall ever, ever again. :D
( Chapter One) ( Chapter Two)( Chapter Three)
“It’s quiet,” the Doctor said, peering out of the car’s window as they drove by empty sidewalks and abandoned streets. “Too quiet.”
“The Darkness lasted months on this world,” Rose reminded him. “People are scared, that’s all.”
The Doctor made a “hmm” noise in agreement and then went back to studying the street, obviously perturbed. Well, that was him, wasn’t it? The Doctor loved making new friends. A world without people probably terrified him. She’d barely even noticed the quiet. Spending the last few years practically living at Torchwood hadn’t exactly done wonders for her social life.
“Rose,” said the Doctor, breaking the silence. “I think we’re being followed.”
Rose glanced in the rear-view mirror. “I know.”
“Not very stealthy of them, is it? On a big empty road like this?” He began sorting through his pockets. “Let’s see… I’ve got a package of crackers, a wind-up toy Santa Claus, a piece of aluminium foil, a-”
“It’s all right,” said Rose. “It’s only a journalist.”
The Doctor stopped his rifling. “I’m sorry?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “I’m Pete Tyler’s mysterious daughter. The Vitex heiress who appeared out of thin air.” She pushed down on the accelerator, hands clutching the steering wheel tighter. “I’m rich and I’m single. Why do you think they’re following us? People still love reading the tabloids.”
The Doctor cricked his neck around to check behind them before turning back to her. “Single?”
“Well, there was that one bloke-Gary from accounting, but that was only a few dates, and besides, he sort of smelled… weird.”
“Gary? Accounting? You had a Gary from accounting?”
“Yeah, and he got splashed all over the tabloids for two weeks straight. I reckon that would have scared him off even if I…”
“What?” said the Doctor. “Even if…?”
“I’d been anywhere near ready to move on,” Rose said, blushing. “Listen, they’re annoying, but it sort of comes with my life.”
“Right,” said the Doctor, after a pause. And then, “Really? Gary? From accounting?”
“Doctor,” Rose said, trying hard to sound stern, but fighting back a smile. “It didn’t mean anything, yeah?”
The Doctor didn’t answer. He dug around in his pockets again, and then finally emerged with the sonic screwdriver. He muttered a quick “Ha!” and then pointed it behind him. He stared fixedly at the road, and a second later Rose heard the sonic screwdriver buzz to life.
She glanced in the rear-view mirror. The car tailing them jerked and then began to slow down, growing further and further behind them. The Doctor twirled the sonic screwdriver once before putting it back in his pocket.
Rose frowned. “You just broke about a thousand Torchwood regulations.”
She could sense him studying her. “Since when do you care about enforcing Torchwood regulations?”
There was a hint of accusation in his tone and Rose kept her gaze firmly on the road. “I do work for them.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“It’s not like it was in the other universe,” Rose said defensively. “I wouldn’t work for them if it was.”
“I know that.”
“Then why…?”
He sighed, and then, in a tone that suggested it was obvious, said, “I’m a traveller, Rose-or was a traveller, anyway. New planets, new stars-there’s a whole universe out there to be explored. But you lot, with your Torchwood, it’s not about exploring, it’s not about meeting new forms of life, it’s about defending what’s yours, plain and simple.”
Rose couldn’t stop her snort. “Oh, come on. It’s not like you’ve never put yourself in charge of defending the Earth. Don’t you think we have an interest in seeing what else is out there, Doctor? We’ve just… got to protect ourselves at the same time.” She paused. “You just hate the thought of doing paperwork.”
“I don’t sit in an enclosed laboratory building weapons and locking other beings up in cages.”
Rose made a scoffing noise in the back of her throat, but had to admit that maybe he had a point. He’d probably hate every minute of working for Torchwood.
“Still,” the Doctor continued, “I don’t like the idea of you working on your own.”
“I’m fine,” she said automatically. “I’ve been on my own these last few years. You get used to it.”
“No you don’t,” the Doctor countered quietly. And then, “You’ve got me now.”
She glanced sideways at him as they pulled into the shopping centre’s car park. “Yeah,” she said and found herself thinking of the other Doctor. He has Donna, she told herself, with a twinge of guilt. She hurriedly focused on parking the car.
His hand came down to rest on hers as she pulled up on the parking break, thumb sweeping against the back of her hand. “It’s been difficult for you these last few years, hasn’t it?”
She pulled her hand back and pulled the keys out of the ignition. “I managed.”
She didn’t have to look at him to know that stung. Rose swallowed with difficulty, a tight feeling in her stomach. There were still so many things they couldn’t say to each other. She’d thought, the other night, when they’d finally shagged that maybe… maybe that meant that it’d be all right, that things would be better when they woke up. But it was stupid to think that sex would cure everything.
“Come on,” she said, unlocking the car door. “We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
He followed her out of the car and they both stopped, gaping at the rows and rows of cars parked in tidy rows around them.
“I think,” the Doctor said slowly, “we’ve found out where everyone’s gone.” He paused and then, with awe, added, “The human race. The world doesn’t end and what do you do? Go shopping.”
Rose swallowed and then held out her hand. “Stick close.”
The Doctor nodded solemnly and grasped her hand, allowing her to lead him into the shopping centre.
******
“Rose, this is brilliant.” The Doctor’s hand was warm and sweaty where he clutched hers, and he pulled her along with excitement, speaking over his shoulder as they dodged other shoppers. “It’s all so wasteful, isn’t it? You come and you park your cars in tidy little rows and then sort yourselves into lines where you swipe little pieces of plastic and-ta da-there you have it, a purchase. It’s wasteful, is what it is, but it’s also brilliant, and so, so human.”
He grinned at her, his overstuffed bags bouncing over his shoulder.
“I suppose,” Rose said who was feeling more than a little wiped by hour three of their shopping exposition. First, she had to convince the Doctor to try things on before he decided to purchase them-“But the TARDIS always did that for me,” he’d said, puzzled-and then she had to make sure he paid for the items instead of just walking out of the shop with them. She was pretty certain they were now banned for life from entering another Debenhams.
He’d bought all the same things, Rose noticed. He hadn’t even bothered looking at anything else-just went for pin-striped suits and ties and trainers that looked exactly like his old ones. She couldn’t figure out if she found it comforting or downright confusing.
“I never reckoned shopping could be so much fun!” he said. “Must be the Donna in me.”
“What?” Rose said faintly.
“The Donna bits of my personality coming through-the metacrisis,” the Doctor explained, oblivious to the way her heart gave a furious tug whenever she was reminded that he wasn’t quite the Doctor she remembered. “Donna loved shopping.”
His smile turned nostalgic and Rose squeezed his hand. “Doctor,” she began, “did something happen? To Donna? You just… get so quiet whenever you talk about her.”
He came to a sudden stop and Rose stumbled to avoid hitting him. Other shoppers dodged around them, shooting them dirty looks. Rose stood on her tiptoes, trying to get a good look at him over the top of the bags. “Doctor?” she pressed.
“Gone,” he said finally. “That knowledge in her head, everything we did together-it was killing her. He would have had to wipe her memories-take away any mention of me and the TARDIS.”
Rose stared at him. “Are you sure?”
“It’s what I would have done.”
She nodded. “And he’s… is he…?”
“Alone,” the Doctor confirmed.
Rose pulled her hand out of his grip and fiddled with the zipper on her jacket. “I wish you’d just regenerated. Then none of this would have happened.”
The Doctor didn’t say anything.
“I shouldn’t have told you not to,” she continued. “Is it ‘cos of me that you…?”
“Rose,” he said gently, “that doesn’t matter now. He’ll be all right. I always was.”
“Yeah,” she said.
The Doctor blinked at her, hesitated, and then his eyes caught on something over her shoulder. “Ooh, glasses! I need a new pair of glasses.”
And they were off again.
****
Rose was paying for his glasses when the Doctor heard something. A sort of thunk… like something hit the roof and then bounced off. He frowned and stilled, listening intently-nothing, nothing, and then, ah, yes, a ripple like… like…
The calm before the storm.
Rose handed him the glasses. “Here you go, should be able to-”
She was cut off by the sound of a loud blast, coming from the middle of the shopping centre. The floor vibrated, knocking walls of glasses onto the floor, which skidded across the floor and shattered. The two salespeople behind the counter shrieked in surprise, hands flying to their mouths.
“Oh, my god, it’s come back-I knew that was all a load of bollocks about the Darkness being gone-”
“My mum-I left her alone today. If anything happens to her, I’ll-”
“Quiet,” the Doctor snapped, holding up one hand to shush them. They immediately clamped their mouths shut. He glanced at Rose and, together, they moved to the front of the shop. They passed a shell-shocked customer who held a pair of glasses in one hand, mouth hanging slightly agape.
The Doctor peered out of the entrance, Rose next to him. People ran down the corridor screaming, tripping over fallen purchases as they struggled to hold onto wriggling children. Crowds gathered at the door, pushing and shoving each other as they tried to exit the building. On the other side was a cloud of smoke. He leaned forward, eyes narrowing as he tried to catch a glimpse of whatever was attacking them.
“Is that…?” Rose began.
The floor shook, and there was a mechanic sound, like two heavy plates of armour rubbing against each other.
“Cybermen,” he said in confirmation.
“But I thought they were all gone,” Rose whispered. “They got pulled into the void, battle of Canary Wharf, remember?”
“How could I forget?” the Doctor said. They shared a sad smile before the Doctor shook his head and focused on the task at hand. “A small enclave must have stayed behind, biding their time. And here we are-Dalek threat eliminated for good, the stars back, and all of London-”
“-celebrating by going shopping at the nearest shopping centre,” Rose finished.
“Exactly.” He ran one hand through his hair and then turned around. His eyes fell on the two salespeople. One had a mound of frizzy ginger hair, the other was a tiny, mousy girl with wide eyes and pale skin. “Right. You lot. You must have some sort of storage room that locks from the inside?”
“Yeah,” said the redhead, snapping to attention. “Back here.”
“Good,” said the Doctor. He pointed at her. “You are going to get inside it and you are going to stay there. You will not emerge under any circumstances, not until someone who is not a Cyberman comes to let you out. Understand?”
She gave a quick nod and then turned to open the door behind her with shaking hands.
Rose went over to the frozen customer, a stout man in a grey trench coat and worn hat. She put one arm around him and said, “Hey, you alright there?”
“Cybermen,” the man whispered. “But the government said… they said they were all gone…”
“I’m sorry,” Rose said. “We’ll get it sorted. I promise.”
“In the storeroom,” the Doctor said. “Now.”
Rose frowned at his tone, but he marched around her, pushing past the salespeople to get a good look at it himself. It wasn’t the biggest room in the world, but it was well ventilated. He dug out his glasses and studied the door. If he deadlocked it with the sonic screwdriver, he would make life difficult for anything trying to get in.
“Come on,” Rose said gently, from behind him. He didn’t have to look at her to know she was leading the two salespeople and one customer into the room.
He flicked on the sonic screwdriver and, trying to look occupied, said, “Rose, will you check the light? Make sure it works?” He jerked his head towards the other end of the room.
“All right,” she said.
She squeezed by him and his heart pulled furiously in his chest. She’d asked him not to do this-said it was the only way they could make things work. And he looked her straight in the eye and said he’d try. But he wasn’t like he used to be. He didn’t have the TARDIS. He couldn’t even regenerate. All he had was this stupid, mortal, brilliant human life-and it would mean nothing without her. Absolutely nothing.
Heart pounding, he let his gaze linger on her once and then he backed out of the room. He was at the door when she reached the light switch. As if sensing something, she whirled around, “Doct-”
He slammed the door shut and used the sonic screwdriver to lock it in place just as she began to pound on it from the other side. Her voice was muffled, but he could still hear her. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare.”
He placed one hand on the door. “I love you.”
There was silence and then the pounding began in earnest. “Let me out!” she yelled. “LET ME OUT RIGHT NOW!”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. He backed away, sliding both his glasses and the sonic screwdriver back in his pocket. He strode out of the shop, ignoring Rose’s shouts.
He had a shopping centre full of Cybermen to defeat, after all.
He paused in the shop’s entrance, taking a moment to study the situation. One Cyberman stood in front of the doors, keeping people in. He counted three-maybe four-others who were rounding up terrified shoppers and corralling them into a queue.
The Doctor put his arms behind his head, ducking into the nearest group of hostages. An elderly lady with a green purse turned to scowl at him as though cutting into a queue was a far more serious offence than the threat posed by the Cybermen.
“Hello,” he whispered loudly, “I’m the Doctor.”
“Ruth,” said the woman, voice a low and gravely sound. “I’ve got weapons,” she continued. Her eyes darted to her purse. “Pepper-spray. Could rust the little buggers right up.”
“Well, now, let’s not get carried away,” the Doctor said, backing up a few steps. The pepper-spray would be completely ineffective against the Cybermen, but he didn’t want to be in Ruth’s path if she decided to get tough on queue-jumpers.
“Um, excuse me,” said the Doctor, leaning over the shoulder of the person in front of him. “By any chance, do you know where we’re going?”
A teenaged boy with a lip piercing turned around, eyes darting back and forth. In an excited whisper, he said, “Are you mad? They’ll kill us for speaking out of turn.”
“Nah. They’re not going to kill us. They need us,” said the Doctor. He glanced at the boy’s nametag. “Marcus, is it? Employee at Debenhams? Nice shop-no complimentary drinks, though. There should be complimentary drinks. Anyway-” He nudged the teen in the shoulder. “You’ve got some ideas. I can tell.”
The boy hesitated, but then said, “The food court.”
“The food court?” the Doctor repeated. He cricked his head around. They were moving further and further away from the doors-and from Rose.
She was safe, he reminded himself. Deadlocked in. So long as she wasn’t screaming anymore (and he didn’t think she was foolish enough to keep that up for long), the Cybermen would move on to easier targets.
“The shopping centre’s been doing construction for the last six months,” said the boy. “Said they’re trying to modernize it-newer, cleaner, greener, all that rubbish. Thing is, nobody’s actually been in to see it. People on the Internet are saying that the owner of the shopping centre is gone-that he just up and disappeared one day.”
The Doctor frowned. “They’ve been planning this. For a very, very long time…” he trailed off and then focused on the boy. “I’m a bit… new around these parts. Been living in the Scottish countryside for the last few years. Hippy retreat. All very back-to-the-earth. You know those New Age types. But people here-I thought they spent the last few years fighting the Cyberman?”
The boy snorted. “Well, yeah, but it’s not like we’ve got any weapons handy at the moment. The government won’t let us. Said we have to leave the guns in the hands of the professionals.”
“Guns?” The Doctor scoffed. “The Cybermen need us for their upgrade program. Do you know what that means? We’re the best weapons we’ve got.”
He glanced behind him and sent Ruth an apologetic look before dodging around the teen, making his way up to the front of the queue. “Isn’t that right?” he called, reaching the Cyberman leading them on. “You’ve been in hiding these last few years. What? Too afraid to push forward with the upgrade program? Worried these ordinary humans might wipe you out?”
“Cybermen don’t feel fear or worry,” said the leader, feet stomping against the floor as he turned to face the Doctor. “We have been preparing.”
“Preparing?” said the Doctor. He stopped, waving his arm around him. “You set off some explosions and hoped you’d scare the fight out of them, didn’t you? You’re an army without troops. A species on the verge of extinction. This…” he walked around in a circle, gesturing at the people who were staring at him in rapt silence. “This is a membership drive.”
“You will all be upgraded.”
“No we won’t,” said the Doctor. “What are you going to do? Kill us? You’ll be killing off yourselves.” He clucked his tongue. “Now that is not a good way to welcome new recruits.”
There was a long moment of silence.
Then, as if finally registering that he could be a threat, a second Cyberman stomped over to them. He glanced at the Doctor and then said, “Delete him.”
“Hold on,” said the Doctor hurriedly, putting both arms in the air. “I’m unarmed, see? Perfectly fit to be upgraded.”
The two Cybermen looked at each other uncertainly. They really were desperate, then.
“There’s just one thing you should know,” the Doctor said.
They focused on him again. “What is that?”
The Doctor glanced at the group of humans and then flicked his eyes towards the exit. “RUN!” he yelled.
Nothing happened. The people packed into the queue stared back at him with frightened and uncomprehending eyes.
“WELL, COME ON!” the Doctor hollered. He pointed to the Cybermen. “It’s better than becoming like them!”
A collective shudder ran through the crowd and they began to murmur amongst themselves. Finally, the teen from earlier gave the Doctor a thumb’s up before turning and charging. The old lady reached into her purse, drawing out her can of pepper-spray and took off with him. Next to them, the rest of the crowd surged forward, pushing and moving at once, heading for the exit.
“You will be upgraded,” said the Cybermen. “You cannot resist.”
“I think you’re out of luck there,” said the Doctor as the rest of the people in the shopping centre cottoned onto the plan. People dropped their bags as they all surged towards the centre, the mass of bodies heading towards the door.
The lone Cyberman left to secure the doors stepped in front of the group, opening his weapon. “Stop or you will be deleted.”
“KEEP GOING!” hollered the Doctor at the same time as he heard clomping feet behind him.
Right. They’d be after him now. He hadn’t really thought that through.
He ducked and ran into the crowd, digging through his pockets for the sonic screwdriver. The Cyberman in front of the door fired once, twice, three times. Bodies fell to the ground, but the crowd fanned out around them, still heading straight for the exit.
There was more shooting, this time from behind him. “Delete, delete, DELETE!”
The Doctor winced at the ensuing screaming, but didn’t dare look behind him. His fingers enclosed around the sonic screwdriver and he looked up, checking the status of their exit. The one Cyberman was no match for an angry and desperate mob. They crashed into him, dragging him to the ground. For a few seconds, all that could be heard was his inhuman screaming and the sounds of metal ripping and dull shooting. Then one person emerged with his severed head, another with his arm. A collective whoop rippled through the shopping centre.
The Doctor ran towards them, dodging lost shopping bags, a Barbie doll without a head, and a pink slush puppy. He pushed and elbowed people out of the way, and they let him pass, some of them muttering about “that mad bloke from earlier.”
Finally, he reached the doors. He held the sonic screwdriver up to the lock and then pushed the doors open. Warm sunlight spilled into the shopping centre, and he jumped back, narrowly avoiding being trampled. The crowd pushed him towards the doors again, but he held his ground, determined to make sure people go out of the shopping centre as safely as possible.
He ducked in front of a fake decorative tree, checking over his shoulder. Good. The Cybermen seemed to have lost sight of him for now.
“Come on, come on,” he said, as he urged people out the door. The boy from earlier ran past, sending him a lopsided grin. The Doctor raised his voice. “Faster, faster.”
A small girl slipped on the pink slush puppy and almost tumbled to the ground, but he grabbed her by the arm and hauled her back to her feet, nudging her towards the exit. An older woman shot him a look of gratitude and then grabbed her hand, running out of the shopping centre.
The floor vibrated behind him, and the Doctor cricked his neck around, heart jumping when he found three Cybermen bearing down on him.
He looked around and then grabbed the nearest semi-competent looking person. It was the old woman from earlier, Ruth, still clutching her green purse and can of pepper spray. “You,” he said.
“YOU!” Ruth responded, narrowing her eyes at him. “You’re the one who got us into this mess.”
“What…?” said the Doctor. “That is not…” He took her by the shoulders, leaning down so he could meet her gaze. “Listen, I need you to get these people out of here. Get them as far away from here as possible. Get help. Get… get…Torchwood,” he decided reluctantly and then scratched at his chin. “They’ll be going after me.”
Ruth didn’t seem overly concerned for him. “You look like a fast runner. All thin and bony like you are. Not at all like my grandson, he-”
“Yeah, thanks,” the Doctor cut in. “You’ve still got that can of pepper spray?”
Ruth held it up proudly. “Can stop a fully grown elephant, this thing can.”
“Yeah, right,” said the Doctor. “Just… just get them out of here. Now.” He turned her around and gave her a little push.
Her entire body shook once, but then she straightened her shoulders and made a beeline for the exit, calling, “Okay, you lot. Follow me.”
“There you go, Ruth,” said the Doctor, unable to stop his rush of pride. Humans really could be such remarkable creatures.
His eyed ticked to the Cybermen-just in time to see them firing their weapons. He ducked. They hit the tree behind him, raining fake leaves down on his head. Someone in the crowd screamed and went down. The Doctor didn’t check to see who it was.
The Cybermen flung people out of the way in their haste to get at him. He supposed they’d correctly identified him as the threat-kill him, demoralize the crowd, get their upgrade program back on track.
Not a bad plan, really. He was quite good.
The Doctor shook himself and darted for the exit as the Cybermen fired at him again. This time, they hit the doors just as he ran through them, shattering the glass. Tiny shards of glass pricked the side of his body, and he idly swiped at his cheek, his fingers coming away tinted red with blood.
He blinked at the blood, a sudden sinking feeling settling into his stomach. One heart. One life. No regenerations. If the Cybermen killed him now, that would be it. He’d never see Rose again, never get to hug her or kiss her or tell her he loved her.
How on earth did humans live like this all the time?
Feeling disgusted with himself, he began to run, heading towards the row of parked cars. He checked once over his shoulder, startled to see that the Cybermen had made it to the exit, their metal casings glinting in the afternoon sun.
People were still frantically trying to push their way out of the doors. One Cyberman clamped his hand down on the nearest woman’s shoulder, and she began to scream and writhe as he electrocuted her. She went down with a slump. The rest of the people automatically parted to let the Cybermen through, some falling down to their knees as they began to sob.
The Doctor reached the first car, a tiny red one with a football shaped air freshener dangling from the rear-view mirror. He ducked down behind it, flinching when the Cybermen’s firepower slammed into it a moment later.
He hissed, the car suddenly hot to the touch and stumbled back to his feet. He ran to the next car, legs and lungs burning. No respiratory bypass system in this body, he noted with a grimace. He’d have to remember that next time.
He ducked down behind the next car, a van with a bumper sticker that said ALIENS ARE AMONG US and drew in a sharp gasp of air. A line of sweat trickled down his brow and he wiped at it with the back of his sleeve.
He heard the metallic sounds of footsteps approaching and crouched down to look under the car. There, he counted three pairs of metal feet. He reached for the sonic screwdriver, thinking quickly. He needed a weapon. Well, he was in a lot filled with cars, wasn’t he? Cars with gas tanks and handy little fuses. If he could just get to the hood of the car…
He began to slide around the van, keeping himself crouched down behind the windows and out of sight. He paused when he heard the Cybermen talking.
“Proceed with the upgrade plan,” said one Cybermen. “He is not important. Reclaim the home base. Secure the exits.”
The Doctor frowned. The shopping as a home base? Well, it was certainly original.
Not that he could let them get away with it.
He pocketed the sonic screwdriver and then leaned against the van, breathing in deeply and trying to get his one heart to calm down. He didn’t remember ever being this nervous as a Time Lord. After all, this certainly wasn’t the first time he’d blindly stepped into danger in the hopes he’d think of something brilliant.
Right. He was part human, but he was still the Doctor. He did this all the time. He was a pro-an old pro at throwing himself in the path of danger.
He straightened and ducked out from behind the van. “Oi,” he called to the departing Cybermen. “You’re not going to leave so quickly, are you? We barely even got started.”
The Cybermen paused, their backs still to him like they were deciding whether or not he was worth bothering with. The Doctor glanced around and then grabbed the nearest object-a pipe that had blown free of the first car-and threw it at them.
It hit the middle Cyberman in the head and then bounced off. “Delete, delete, DELETE,” said the Cybermen, turning around.
“Oh, that got your attention,” said the Doctor.
“He must be ended,” said one of the Cybermen. “He will not submit.”
“That’s me. Always,” said the Doctor. And then, “I can’t let you have a shopping centre full of people.”
“You cannot stop us,” said the middle Cyberman. “We have out-powered you in every way. You are defenceless, you are alone, you will be de-”
“Now-just… just… hold on,” said the Doctor, putting up one hand. He glanced hopelessly around, mind going blank.
“Deleted,” finished the other two Cybermen. All three of them pointed their guns in the Doctor’s direction.
The Doctor opened his mouth to say something-anything that would buy him a few more seconds of time-but a blast slammed into the Cybermen from behind. There was a loud ripping noise of metal being torn apart and then the Cybermen exploded.
The Doctor was thrown backwards from the force of the blast. He hit the pavement on his back and his head snapped back against the ground, tears springing into his eyes. He breathed out, once, twice, and then shook his head to clear it, slowly pushing himself back up. He managed to make it to his knees before he looked up, eyes landing on Rose Tyler.
Rose Tyler and her very, very large gun.
He stared at her in shock, mouth going dry. That was an image that was… blimey. And he supposedly had a strong moral code against guns.
She looked stunned by the enormity of the blast, but then her gaze landed on him. She froze, eyes searching over him desperately before she fumbled with the shoulder strap of her gun, trying to undo it with shaking hands. She finally managed to dislodge it and then she dodged around the burning remains of the Cybermen, running to him.
She sunk down to her knees in front of him. “Oh, my god,” she whispered, one hand going to his shoulder and the other to his face.
He opened his mouth to tell her that he was fine, that it was only a few bruises, but what came out was only a croak, “Rose.”
She almost looked like she might cry. “You’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay now.” Then she hugged him, pressing her nose to his shoulder, arms sliding around him. “You’re all right.”
He clumsily returned her hug, vaguely aware that his limbs weren’t working quite the way they were supposed to.
“Hi,” he managed.
She gave a shaky laugh and pressed her nose against his cheek. “Hello.”
“How did you…?”
“I have a mobile,” she said, like he was completely thick. “I called Torchwood.”
“Oh,” he said. “Didn’t think of that.”
“No kidding,” Rose said. “Come on. Let’s get you home.” She slid her arm across his shoulders and helped him to his feet. “Torchwood will take care of the rest.”
He opened his mouth to protest and then shut it when his body groaned in pain. Okay, human biology was certainly something he’d have to adjust to.
He leaned heavily on Rose as she lead him away, sneaking curious glances at her profile to try and gauge how angry she might be with him.
She gave him a tight, reassuring smile. “You’re all right,” she said, yet again, as if that was the only thing that mattered.
For the time being, he realized, maybe it was.
*****
The antibacterial stung the cuts on his face, but Rose’s touch was gentle. “Tilt your head,” she said, and he obediently followed her directions, eyes sliding in her direction as she worked on him.
“I’m fine,” he said, shifting uncomfortably on the toilet seat as she rifled through the bathroom cabinet. She emerged with a package of band-aids and he stifled a sigh. “Rose-”
She sent him a warning look. “No regenerations, yeah? I’ve been in my share of scrapes over the last few years. I just want to make sure there’s no lasting damage.”
“Honestly, I think that my Time Lord biology makes me less susceptible to-” he hissed as she applied something to his cheek, more firmly this time. He swallowed and switched gears, “What sorts of scrapes?”
She shrugged. “Oh, you know. Aliens invading. Weevils in downtown London. That sort of thing.”
“Really?” he said. “And how often-”
“Dunno. Sometimes a couple of times a week.”
“A couple of times a week?”
She stopped what she was doing and pulled away from him. “What?” she said. “You gonna lock me up in a cupboard every time Torchwood calls me in on a job?”
Her words were frosty and the Doctor shifted uncomfortably. So she was angry, then. Very angry, judging from her body language.
“…no,” he finally decided. Her eyes widened accusingly, so he hurriedly said, “Well, maybe. Rose, I don’t know! It just… happened.”
“It just happened?” she said. She threw the rest of the bandages and antibacterial into the cabinet and then slammed it shut. “If I hadn’t called Torchwood, you might’ve…”
“Oh, come on, I’ve faced the Cyberman loads of times-”
“Not as a human!”
“Half-human,” he said irritably. “Why does everyone always forget that?”
Rose stared at him silently, mouth hanging open. Then, she spun around, walked out of the washroom and slammed the door shut behind her.
“What?” he called. “Rose-what…?”
He pushed himself to his feet and followed her. Maybe if he looked like he was seriously injured again? That had seemed to do the trick last time…
He found Rose in her room. She was making the bed with sporadic and jerky movements, obviously not paying attention to what she was doing.
“I can help-” he began, moving to the other side, but Rose stopped and sent him a withering glare. He backed up. Rose returned to the bed, plumping a pillow in a way that could probably be better described as a mild beating.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and retreated to the other side of the room while he considered his options.
Finally, Rose seemed to run out of steam. Bed half-made, she sunk down on it, hands balled in her lap. There was a heavy moment of silence and then Rose looked at him, biting her lip. “I asked you to promise.”
“I know.”
“And you said-”
“I said I’d try.”
“Obviously you didn’t try very hard.”
“That is not…” he trailed off in frustration and then ran one hand through his hair. “Listen, I know that I shouldn’t have and that you’re angry. I’m sorry. I am, but…”
“It’ll happen again,” Rose finished heavily.
He nodded. “Especially since I’ll be working with you. Not Torchwood, mind you. Just you.”
She managed a strained smile, but then she shook her head, shoulders slumping. “How am I supposed to trust you?”
He stood up straighter, her words cutting through him. “What?” he said. “You don’t…?”
“I don’t know.” She scrubbed a hand over her face, thinking quietly for a few seconds. Then, she gazed at him again. “What the other you said, back there on the beach, about you being too dangerous to be left on your own-is that true?”
“No,” he said slowly, wary of the abrupt change in subject, “not anymore dangerous than he is. Maybe less. I’m not the one with a very powerful time machine.”
“But you could build one, yeah?” Rose said. “It wouldn’t be the TARDIS, but Jack used-what was it?”
“A vortex manipulator,” said the Doctor. “Basic temporal manipulation. Not the nicest way to travel, mind you. And still not the TARDIS.”
“Then why…?”
“He knows you well. I know you well. He wanted to give you a reason to… well, to stay with me.”
“Oh,” Rose said, but she didn’t sound surprised. “So that whole bit about you needing me… that was all just so I would stay?”
“What?” he said blankly. “No, Rose. No. That’s not… I did not just say that.” She stared at him doubtfully, and he searched his mind for something that would help her understand. “Rose,” he said urgently. “Those years that I spent without you, they were…”
She managed to muster up a small smile. “They were difficult.”
“Yeah,” said the Doctor. “You’ve got to understand. He did the most amazing, selfless thing on that beach. And also a terribly selfish thing. He won’t have to lose you now, not again.”
She stared at him and he could see her silently puzzling over his words, trying to get at what he was really telling her. “But you still could,” she said. And then, “Oh.”
“I can’t go through that again. And this body-it’s so… so mortal, I feel like… like…”
“A human?” Rose suggested.
He pinched his nose, trying not to look too disgusted. He was rewarded with the sounds of her laughter and he suddenly felt like a weight had been lifted.
“Thing is, Doctor,” she continued, shaking her head, “I could lose you, too. That’s just… that’s a risk we’ve all got to take.”
“I know that,” he said, thinking of a whispered “I love you” in her ear and the way she’d kissed him afterwards-like she didn’t need anything else in the world.
One glance at her told him she was remembering the same thing. “Rose,” he said, trying not to sound too desperate. “Would it be all right if I hugged you now?”
She nodded and he was by her side in an instant. He sighed when he wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezing her middle before nuzzling her neck. She hugged him back, arms around his neck, her nose pressed just under the shell of his ear.
Which was… hmm, a very sensitive spot. He shivered and he could feel Rose’s responding smile.
“Don’t do that to me again,” she said. And then she released a frustrated breath. “At least… try. I’ve got to trust you if our lives and other people’s are at stake.”
He squeezed her tighter and couldn’t stop his grin, “So I can work with you, then?”
There was a moment of embarrassed silence, but then Rose shifted and she pushed him down onto the bed. He could hear the laughter in her voice. “Of course you can, you dolt. Who else would I work with?”
He wasn’t exactly going to argue with her now firmly on top of him. “Gary from accounting?”
“Boring,” she said, fingers now working the buttons of his shirt. “Though you’ll probably have to let Torchwood pay you. Not that you’ll be working for them.”
“But-”
She cut him off with a kiss. Effective that. Not that he minded.
She pulled away and then nuzzled his nose, eyes boring into him. “What do you say, Doctor?”
“About what?” he said, hands pressing against her back before dipping under her shirt.
“Worth the risk?”
He thought about it. He thought about an empty TARDIS, about two hearts and an infinite number of regenerations, and then he thought about the all-too-quick, fragile human life he now had left.
“Oh, yes,” he said.
She stared at him quietly, pensively, like she didn't quite believe him. He felt a pang of guilt, realizing that locking her in that cupboard had profoundly shaken some of her faith in him. She lifted her hand to his face, fingers brushing over his cheek and he leaned into her touch, waiting for her to make the next move. Finally, Rose nodded, like she'd found what she wanted.
He did the only thing he could and kissed her again.