(no subject)
Father's Alternative; Nine/Rose; teen rated; 3,848 words
I knew I was putting my daughter through terrible pain, but better that than the death I knew was awaiting her.
Author's (Overly-Extensive) Note: This piece was only made possible through the beta-work, encouragement, and patience of Poor Sam and seeing_history . I owe them both so much for this. I've wanted to write this piece for a very long time, but I could never find a way that made it really pop. As a script, though, I think it works. It is an AU that diverges from the episode Father's Day, just after Rose and the Doctor make up and find the TARDIS key as a result. I am borrowing a character from my ALH 'verse. However, this is not part of ALH, and you don't have to read it to follow it. All the same, this is definitely something that the character in question would do. I really hope everyone enjoys it. Some of the dialogue was taken from "Father's Day" by Paul Cornell, and the stage instruction used is similar to the transcript, though nothing is copied word for word. ETA: Just so you know, the formatting is LJ's fault. I think.
Fade in following the revelation of a faint TARDIS outline at the hovering key.
Int. Church
At the front of the room, the TARDIS is working to materialize. THE WEDDING GUESTS are seated in various locations throughout the room. JACKIE is located near the front with INFANT ROSE in arms. PETE is at the back of the room with ROSE (19), who is watching THE DOCTOR.
PETE removes THE WATCH from a pocket and toys with it, as if this is a nervous habit.
ROSE (confused)
Can I?
PETE (handing over THE WATCH)
It's broken - useless like me. Always meant to get it fixed, but you know how that worked out. (He shrugs.) Keep it. Probably ought to be yours, anyway, I s'pose.
THE WATCH is a very fine looking golden fob watch with circular symbols etched and engraved into its cover. ROSE stares at it as if at something strange and familiar at once. A single, faint note of the TARDIS materialization sound is heard and ROSE makes the connection. Her eyes widen and turn to THE DOCTOR.
ROSE
S'cuse me a sec. I need to go talk to him.
PETE (shakes his head)
I'd say he's too old for you, but who'm I to talk, then?
ROSE (frowning)
He's not... we're not... I mean...
PETE (patting her hand)
Go on, love.
ROSE (approaching THE DOCTOR slowly with THE WATCH in hand)
Doctor, I've got something ta show you.
THE DOCTOR (sounding tired)
What is it?
ROSE (studying THE DOCTOR with concern)
Are you ok? This, all this, is it... hurting you, some how? Oh, god, please tell me you're not hurt.
THE DOCTOR (smiles slightly)
Just worried, Rose. What do you have to show me?
ROSE (holding THE WATCH, but not offering it yet)
This... My dad just gave it to me.
THE DOCTOR
He can give you things, it's all right.
ROSE (holding THE WATCH out for him)
No, but look. All these symbols on it, I mean, aren't they like the ones in the TARDIS?
THE DOCTOR (starting to get angry)
Let me see it.
He takes THE WATCH.
ROSE (nervously)
Dad says it's broken.
THE DOCTOR (closes THE WATCH into a fist and makes like a thunderhead down the aisle)
Peter Tyler! What the hell is this?
PETE starts to his feet the second his name is called. THE WEDDING GUESTS look startled and interested, but ROSE glares at them. She shoos THE DOCTOR and PETE further away from the crowd, gesturing toward the relative privacy of the front room. They head that way, PETE as if he is being pushed, THE DOCTOR as if he is stalking something wrong. When they reach the room, Rose pushes the door slightly closed and otherwise stays out of THE DOCTOR's way.
PETE (shocked and confused)
What's going on? Doctor, I don't...
DOCTOR (opening his fist to reveal THE WATCH and speaking with a deathly, dangerous quietness)
This watch! This watch you just gave Rose, where'd you get it?
PETE (still puzzled)
Had it. All my life; it's an heirloom.
JACKIE, drawn by the threat, arrives, with INFANT ROSE in her carrier. Upon spotting THE WATCH in THE DOCTOR'S hand, she blanches and puts the baby on the seat nearest the door. THE DOCTOR notices her reaction and turns on her immediately.
THE DOCTOR (suspicious)
You know what this is?
JACKIE (frantically)
No! (insistently, with an expression of disgust at the question) No, of course not.
ROSE (with certainty that the denial is a lie, commanding and cajolling at once)
Tell 'im. Could be important. Might save all our lives.
JACKIE (nervously)
I... (Folding her arms over her chest and regarding the time travelers with disdain.) I don't know what you're on about, any of you.
THE DOCTOR (curt and angry)
Fine. Then you're about to find out. (He shoves the watch into Pete's hand and orders:) Open it.
PETE (pleading)
I can't! It's broken.
ROSE (kindly)
Yes, you can. (She reaches toward Pete.) Let me help you.
THE DOCTOR (wraps an arm around ROSE's waist and lifts her lightly, tucking her back into his side)
Stay over here. (ROSE looks shocked, so he drops the arm and, in a calmer tone, continues:) Just... stay here. (He turns to Pete, but makes a point to keep himself between the Tylers and ROSE. His tone is urgent, just short of pleading.) Listen, Pete, you need to open that watch. Your daughter's life may depend on it.
PETE considers THE DOCTOR with apparent fear, then finally opens the catch on THE WATCH. JACKIE gasps.
There is an enormous flood of golden, glowing energy, pouring out of the watch. ROSE yells and INFANT ROSE cries briefly. JACKIE shrieks as the light coalesces and centers itself on Pete, pouring into him, hitting him squarely between the eyes.
The energy clears and all is still as if nothing has happened. Then:
PETE (glaring mistrustfully at THE DOCTOR and speaking in a calm but different, less uncertain tone) Jackie, take the baby and run.
THE DOCTOR (fiercely and without taking his eyes from PETE)
Jackie Tyler, if you move, I'll follow you to the ends of the Earth. Who the hell are you?
PETE (angry and amused at once)
Christ, Thete, I know it's been ages and I know what you're here for, but I'd've thought you'd recognize me. I'm not letting you take her back there, I'm not.
JACKIE jumps for THE DOCTOR, obviously intent to attack him physically. ROSE intercepts JACKIE.
ROSE
Leave 'im alone, Mum!
JACKIE looks taken aback at this, then turns to her infant, then her grown daughter. She looks confused but less surprised then expected, which in turn makes ROSE suspicious. PETE distracts her.
PETE (kindly)
Rose, you can't trust him. I'm sorry, but you can't. He'll just try to take you away and it's unthinkable. (He focuses solely on the Doctor, pleading.) Thete, I'd think that you of all people would understand.
THE DOCTOR (apparently makes a connection, rolls his eyes, then snaps)
Zedric, you blazing idiot! Listen, what do you hear?
PETE and THE DOCTOR lock eyes for a moment, and their expressions become mirrors of identical pain. Tears begin to stream down PETE's face and, while THE DOCTOR remains stubbornly stoic, his eyes do tear up.
PETE (in quiet desperation)
What happened to them? Where are they? Doctor, what in the name of Rassilon did they do?
PETE and THE DOCTOR embrace like brothers. ROSE is completely floored.
ROSE (rounding on Jackie as if clutching at straws)
What - What do you know about all this?
JACKIE (defensively)
It's got nothing to do with me!
ROSE (indignantly)
Don't think I can't read your face, I always could do, you can't lie to me. Is he even my - your baby's father?
JACKIE (softening in the face of ROSE's fear and finally connecting the young woman with her infant)
Yes, Rose, he's your father. And you weren't supposed to ever know about any of this.
ROSE (thunderstruck and dazed)
I don't understand. We... we went to the wedding, for god's sake.
JACKIE (scathingly amused)
So it bothers you you're not the first Prentice woman to fall in love with an alien?
ROSE appears ready to start a fight. PETE and THE DOCTOR interrupt by resuming their conversation and ROSE turns back to them.
THE DOCTOR
What about Rose? Is she?
PETE (warily)
It's complicated. They already thought I was dead, remember.
THE DOCTOR (exasperated)
That's why the baby's age isn't right. I'd wondered. You put an infant under a chameleon arch. Zedric, I could wring your blasted neck.
PETE begins to interrupt, but is interrupted himself by ROSE.
ROSE (grinning and swinging playfully on THE DOCTOR's arm)
I take it you two know each other.
PETE, JACKIE, and THE DOCTOR consider each other, then PETE shrugs.
PETE
Oh yeah. Rose, my daughter, this is the Doctor, my brother.
ROSE stares between the two with an expression that moves from shock to horror to something green. Then, she runs for the nearest loo.
**
Int. the CHURCH - outside a stall in the loo.
THE DOCTOR is leaning against a counter, holding a glass of water and peering intently, possibly glaring, at the closed door.
THE DOCTOR
Do I bother you that much? Can't bear the thought of me for family?
ROSE (voice from behind the door, shaky and stuttering)
No, I'm sure it's... fine.
THE DOCTOR (exasperated)
Then what're you in here vomiting up your lunch over?
ROSE (opens the loo door and refuses to meet his eyes)
S'just something I ate, right?
THE DOCTOR (smug)
Nope. (waves the sonic screwdriver) Completely psychological; I checked.
ROSE (grumbling as she makes her way to the sink past THE DOCTOR, still without looking at him - though she does spare a glare for the sonic)
Bastard.
She takes the glass and drains it while THE DOCTOR looks on in approval.
THE DOCTOR (urgently)
Rose, you need to tell me what's going on in your fuzzy human head, and right now, that's a lot more important than it ever was.
ROSE (angry)
Oh, right, because I'm human, I'm just too stupid to work things out for myself, but I can tell you? (frustrated) Just leave me to my stupid ape dry heaves, all right?
THE DOCTOR (with concern and on the defensive)
No, Rose, it's not because you're human. It's because you're not supposed to be human and this paradox could be doing you a lot more damage than I woulda thought.
ROSE (indignant and finally meeting his eyes in her anger)
Why can't I be human?
THE DOCTOR (intense and taking Rose's shoulders in his hands to hold her in place)
You are, all right? Everything you are, everything you do, that's SO human. That's not gonna change - there's no other personality there, nothin' to override who you are. There's just you, Rose Tyler, whether you're all-human or half-human, just fantastic Rose Tyler.
ROSE is staring at his hand on her shoulder, her eyes over-bright with threatening tears. THE DOCTOR makes a noise of exasperation - it's obvious he doesn't think he has time for this.
THE DOCTOR (CONT'D, exasperated)
Look, if you want to be human when this is over with, I'll not argue with you. But I need to know now. Why, Rose Tyler, did the words 'The Doctor, my brother' send you into this loo to reject your last meal?
ROSE (annoyed enough to meet his eyes, she reminds THE DOCTOR)
I didn't wanna tell him you aren't my boyfriend, remember?
She looks away quickly as THE DOCTOR's expression starts to change. She doesn't want to see this.
THE DOCTOR (floored)
Oh.
ROSE (less worried in the face of his response)
Yeah, oh.
THE DOCTOR (still amazed)
OH!
ROSE (almost laughing until she remembers why she's here and turns back to the sink to wash her face)
Can you go away now?
THE DOCTOR (grinning as he delivers the coup de grace)
I'm adopted.
The door to the loo swings shut behind his departing form. Rose stares at it.
**
Int. the Church
The small room where THE DOCTOR and PETE are talking quietly together, their conversation inaudible until we:
FADE IN to:
PETE
...Susan. Didn't want that kind of threat hovering over my daughter.
THE DOCTOR (intently)
But the Panopticon summons is not to be ignored, Rho. You had to know...
PETE (convinced)
They killed me, Thete. They killed everyone and thought I was dead too. I thought, when the summons came through, that they'd managed to find Rose because she's only half-human. I panicked, did the only thing I could. It's not the massive biological rewrite with a Gallifreyan infant...
He clutches at his hair, then glares up at THE DOCTOR, convinced he does not have to explain the technical details of their biology to his fellow Time Lord. THE DOCTOR looks stoic but unconvinced.
PETE (CONT'D with quiet resignation)
I knew I was putting my daughter through terrible pain, but better that than the death I knew was awaiting her.
THE DOCTOR (saddened and obviously trying to hide it from PETE)
I thought you were dead. I thought... I thought...
PETE (comforting: he is obviously somewhat used to the older brother role with THE DOCTOR)
I'm supposed to be, aren't I? Funny, I'd almost worked it out as a human, but right now, I know for sure. In the original version of this Universe, I died in front of that car. You brought her here - what in hell were you think... (Realization dawns.) Oh.
THE DOCTOR
Shut it.
PETE (grinning)
It's what - your twelve-hundredth come... eh, November-ish?
THE DOCTOR (sulky)
Nine hundred.
PETE (laughing)
AND lying about your age!!
THE DOCTOR (embarrassed and determined to change the subject)
Where's your TARDIS?
PETE (sobering quickly)
They go back to Gallifrey when their pilot has been killed - all the younger ones do, anyway. I unlocked the controls and sent him back by unsetting the coordinates. (Pausing, thoughtfully) He may still be alive, somewhen. I'm not sure.
THE DOCTOR (doubtful and obviously frustrated)
I figured with two Time Lords...
PETE (shaking his head)
I don't know how you stand this. The silence is driving me mad.
THE DOCTOR (grimly)
You get used to it. There's no choice. But it's not silent anymore. There's two, almost three of us. We'll figure this out.
PETE (defeated)
I've never even gotten to know her. What's she like?
THE DOCTOR (determined)
We're going to fix this! We have to, for... for Rose.
PETE (unconvinced)
For Rose.
**
Int Church, outside the closed door of the loo
JACKIE
Rose? Rose, I know you're in here.
ROSE (voice from behind the door)
No'm not.
JACKIE (determined)
Rose, you need to come out.
ROSE (bad tempered)
No'don't.
JACKIE (soothingly)
All right, I'm coming in.
ROSE (opens the door and glares, sulky, at JACKIE)
You're not my mother.
JACKIE (rolls her eyes and puts INFANT ROSE on her shoulder by way of demonstration)
I am, too.
ROSE
Yeah, well...
ROSE stomps into the main sanctuary where THE WEDDING GUESTS are seated and talking amongst themselves. They look up as ROSE enters, then look to the front as PETE and THE DOCTOR reappear.
ROSE (CONT'D)
She's not me, though, is she? I mean, maybe she is, but I'm not...
JACKIE (annoyed)
You and this one are both Rose Marion Tyler, daughter of Peter Allen Tyler and Jackie Prentice Tyler. Says so on your birth certificate and everything...
ROSE (cutting her off)
Yeah, but that's fake, too. Just like me and just like his name. It's all my fault and none of it was real, anyway!
JACKIE (exasperated and shoving INFANT ROSE at ROSE)
Just look at her, Rose. She's you. You need to see...
THE DOCTOR and PETE both hit the aisle running, too late.
THE DOCTOR and PETE
NO!!!
ROSE takes INFANT ROSE two seconds before PETE and THE DOCTOR reach them. PETE snatches INFANT ROSE back and hands her to JACKIE while THE DOCTOR forces ROSE behind him. A REAPER appears in the back of THE CHURCH, looking confused. The WEDDING GUESTS scream.
THE DOCTOR (too urgent to be angry)
Didn't I say, 'Don't touch the baby!'?
ROSE (defensive)
I couldn't just let her drop her.
THE DOCTOR (muttering frantically)
Dropping you on your head, mighta done you some good.
PETE and THE DOCTOR stand side by side in front of the crowd, blocking everything and, it appears, making it difficult for THE REAPER to choose.
PETE (to the room at large)
Everyone get behind me.
THE DOCTOR
Behind me!
PETE (to THE DOCTOR)
I'm the oldest thing in here.
THE DOCTOR (to PETE)
And you're the only one who can fix this. (to the crowd) Everyone get behind me!
PETE drags JACKIE and ROSE into the crowd. THE REAPER bears down on THE DOCTOR.
ROSE (terrified)
Doctor!
She watches, horrified, as THE REAPER consumes the Doctor. The WEDDING GUESTS scream. THE REAPER flies around the sanctuary and then collides with the semi-transparent TARDIS. It disappears, TARDIS and all. The key falls to the floor, no longer glowing. There is silence for a few seconds, then Rose runs down the aisle and picks up the key. She sounds numb with shock.
ROSE (CONT'D)
Cold. He's... cold.
PETE approaches her cautiously from behind, looking as grief-stricken as she is.
ROSE (CONT'D)
Oh, my god, he's dead.
PETE reaches out to her, but ROSE shakes him off.
ROSE (CONT'D)
It's all my fault... all of you... both of you...
Her voice begins to crack as the impact of what has happened hits her. PETE takes her into his arms.
ROSE (CONT'D)
... the whole world...
The light in the church dims as though darkness is starting to fall. JACKIE holds INFANT ROSE closer to her, and THE WEDDING GUESTS look around, scared.
BEV
This is it. There's nothing we can do. It's the end.
PETE releases ROSE to JACKIE.
PETE (firmly)
No, it's not. (to JACKIE and ROSE) Promise me you'll look out for each other.
JACKIE hands INFANT ROSE to BEV and focuses on her husband and grown daughter.
JACKIE (frantic)
What're you doing, I just got you back, are you mad!
PETE (tenderly)
You did so good, my Jacks, putting up with me these last few months. Thete... The Doctor... (he sounds choked up) He wanted to fix this, Rose. For you. (as a fond reminiscence) He always thought with his hearts first, then his head. Just as well he's the smartest of us. Almost makes up for it.
ROSE (confused)
What? (realizes what he's planning) Don't...
PETE (turning to her solely)
He's my baby brother. And you, you're my baby girl. No one'll ever remember this, but if it works, it's worth it to me. If I can... if I can, I promise I will pull through this. Otherwise... promise me you'll look after your mum. I love her more than life.
JACKIE and PETE exchange a last, passionate but frantic kiss.
PETE
I will try to come back to you.
ROSE (tearful)
Don't go!
PETE (determined)
Who am I, love?
ROSE
My Daddy.
PETE (grinning)
Good enough for me.
PETE puts on his jacket and snatches up the vase that was meant to be broken as he dashes toward the door.
Ext. Church
The Reapers are still hovering over the Church when PETE runs out of the doors, holding the vase. He stops just outside the gate and looks up at one of THE REAPERS - it begins to bear down upon him. He turns to see the car appear from thin air around the corner and runs straight out in front of it, screwing up his eyes before the impact.
PETE
Goodbye, love...
THE DRIVER throws his arms up over his eyes as the car knocks PETE over. The vase crashes to the ground and breaks. THE REAPERS disappear one by one.
ROSE stands outside the church doors, her head down and her eyes closed, trying not to see what she knows has to be there as a breeze ruffles her hair. A hand, cool and familiar, closes on her shoulder.
THE DOCTOR
We need to go to him. Quick.
ROSE and THE DOCTOR run from the Church doors to the street, kneeling down on either side of PETE as he stares up at them. ROSE stares into her dying father's eyes and he smiles up at her.
PETE (faintly)
We did it.
THE DOCTOR (tearful and pleading)
Regenerate.
ROSE (whispers)
My daddy.
ROSE and THE DOCTOR kneel there watching PETE as he dies, his last moment slow and painful as THE DOCTOR seems to be talking to PETE with his eyes only and ROSE lets her tears flow freely.
SARAH, STUART, STUART'S FATHER, JACKIE, and the rest of THE WEDDING GUESTS emerge from the church, trying to see what has happened.
JACKIE (VO)
The driver was just a kid.
Int. TYLER flat, JACKIE's pink bedroom
JACKIE and ROSE (age six) sit on JACKIE's bed, looking at a photo album.
JACKIE
He stopped and he waited for the police.
CUT TO: Ext. Church
THE DRIVER and THE PARADOX CAR seen on the side of the road near the Church, with police questioning him an ambulance is seen pulling off.
JACKIE (VO)
It was just an accident, not his fault at all. Pete just ran out there.
ROSE and THE DOCTOR are standing beyond the police, and THE DOCTOR is watching the ambulance attentively.
JACKIE (VO)
People say there was this couple. A man and a blonde girl. They waited with him, stayed with him, held his hands while he was dying. Never found out who they were.
ROSE and THE DOCTOR offer each other their hands at the same time, then a slight smile as they walk together toward the TARDIS.
CUT TO: Int. TYLER flat, JACKIE'S pink bedroom
Here Jackie has just closed the photo album and taken ROSE (age six) into her lap.
JACKIE
I had his ashes scattered, but there's a marker at the cemetery. If you ever want to talk to him...
CUT TO: Int. TARDIS console room.
THE DOCTOR (manic)
Fancy a bit of ambulance chasing, Rose Tyler?
ROSE (a dubious smile)
Oh... Kay.
**
Int. the TYLER flat, 2006.
JACKIE (age 39) is chatting on the phone when the TARDIS materializes behind her and she is forced to end her call.
The TARDIS door is flung open almost before the ship has fully solidified, and THE DOCTOR comes out, face like a thundercloud.
THE DOCTOR
Where is it?
JACKIE (baffled)
Where's what?
ROSE appears in the doorway of the TARDIS. She is wearing a different outfit to make it apparent that at least a day has passed. She looks nervous and alarmed at once. THE DOCTOR is looking around, on the shelf and inside the lamp, as if one of these places will reveal what he is searching for.
ROSE stops him finally by walking up behind him and putting a hand to his shoulder. THE DOCTOR slumps as if defeated.
THE DOCTOR (reluctantly)
She's never gonna make this easy.
ROSE (shaking her head and slightly amused)
Course not. Mum, where's my watch?
JACKIE (eyes huge and denial written on her face)
You don't have a watch. You... you broke it when you were little.
ROSE (shaking her head)
Oh, for god's sake.
THE DOCTOR (holding out PETE's WATCH and smiling winningly)
Trade you!
CUT TO: The TARDIS console room interior
The lights are dimmed, with ROSE and THE DOCTOR in the same positions as they were in when this episode started.
ROSE (VO)
My father, Peter Alan Tyler, the most wonderful man in the world. Died seventh of November, 1987...
While THE DOCTOR looks on, ROSE turns a slender, silver watch in her hands.
FADE TO Int. the TYLER flat.
The lights are dim here, too, and soft, romantic music is playing in the background as JACKIE dances with a man whose face we cannot see.
ROSE (VO)
Alive to this very day.
FADE TO BLACK
END.
I knew I was putting my daughter through terrible pain, but better that than the death I knew was awaiting her.
Author's (Overly-Extensive) Note: This piece was only made possible through the beta-work, encouragement, and patience of Poor Sam and seeing_history . I owe them both so much for this. I've wanted to write this piece for a very long time, but I could never find a way that made it really pop. As a script, though, I think it works. It is an AU that diverges from the episode Father's Day, just after Rose and the Doctor make up and find the TARDIS key as a result. I am borrowing a character from my ALH 'verse. However, this is not part of ALH, and you don't have to read it to follow it. All the same, this is definitely something that the character in question would do. I really hope everyone enjoys it. Some of the dialogue was taken from "Father's Day" by Paul Cornell, and the stage instruction used is similar to the transcript, though nothing is copied word for word. ETA: Just so you know, the formatting is LJ's fault. I think.
Fade in following the revelation of a faint TARDIS outline at the hovering key.
Int. Church
At the front of the room, the TARDIS is working to materialize. THE WEDDING GUESTS are seated in various locations throughout the room. JACKIE is located near the front with INFANT ROSE in arms. PETE is at the back of the room with ROSE (19), who is watching THE DOCTOR.
PETE removes THE WATCH from a pocket and toys with it, as if this is a nervous habit.
ROSE (confused)
Can I?
PETE (handing over THE WATCH)
It's broken - useless like me. Always meant to get it fixed, but you know how that worked out. (He shrugs.) Keep it. Probably ought to be yours, anyway, I s'pose.
THE WATCH is a very fine looking golden fob watch with circular symbols etched and engraved into its cover. ROSE stares at it as if at something strange and familiar at once. A single, faint note of the TARDIS materialization sound is heard and ROSE makes the connection. Her eyes widen and turn to THE DOCTOR.
ROSE
S'cuse me a sec. I need to go talk to him.
PETE (shakes his head)
I'd say he's too old for you, but who'm I to talk, then?
ROSE (frowning)
He's not... we're not... I mean...
PETE (patting her hand)
Go on, love.
ROSE (approaching THE DOCTOR slowly with THE WATCH in hand)
Doctor, I've got something ta show you.
THE DOCTOR (sounding tired)
What is it?
ROSE (studying THE DOCTOR with concern)
Are you ok? This, all this, is it... hurting you, some how? Oh, god, please tell me you're not hurt.
THE DOCTOR (smiles slightly)
Just worried, Rose. What do you have to show me?
ROSE (holding THE WATCH, but not offering it yet)
This... My dad just gave it to me.
THE DOCTOR
He can give you things, it's all right.
ROSE (holding THE WATCH out for him)
No, but look. All these symbols on it, I mean, aren't they like the ones in the TARDIS?
THE DOCTOR (starting to get angry)
Let me see it.
He takes THE WATCH.
ROSE (nervously)
Dad says it's broken.
THE DOCTOR (closes THE WATCH into a fist and makes like a thunderhead down the aisle)
Peter Tyler! What the hell is this?
PETE starts to his feet the second his name is called. THE WEDDING GUESTS look startled and interested, but ROSE glares at them. She shoos THE DOCTOR and PETE further away from the crowd, gesturing toward the relative privacy of the front room. They head that way, PETE as if he is being pushed, THE DOCTOR as if he is stalking something wrong. When they reach the room, Rose pushes the door slightly closed and otherwise stays out of THE DOCTOR's way.
PETE (shocked and confused)
What's going on? Doctor, I don't...
DOCTOR (opening his fist to reveal THE WATCH and speaking with a deathly, dangerous quietness)
This watch! This watch you just gave Rose, where'd you get it?
PETE (still puzzled)
Had it. All my life; it's an heirloom.
JACKIE, drawn by the threat, arrives, with INFANT ROSE in her carrier. Upon spotting THE WATCH in THE DOCTOR'S hand, she blanches and puts the baby on the seat nearest the door. THE DOCTOR notices her reaction and turns on her immediately.
THE DOCTOR (suspicious)
You know what this is?
JACKIE (frantically)
No! (insistently, with an expression of disgust at the question) No, of course not.
ROSE (with certainty that the denial is a lie, commanding and cajolling at once)
Tell 'im. Could be important. Might save all our lives.
JACKIE (nervously)
I... (Folding her arms over her chest and regarding the time travelers with disdain.) I don't know what you're on about, any of you.
THE DOCTOR (curt and angry)
Fine. Then you're about to find out. (He shoves the watch into Pete's hand and orders:) Open it.
PETE (pleading)
I can't! It's broken.
ROSE (kindly)
Yes, you can. (She reaches toward Pete.) Let me help you.
THE DOCTOR (wraps an arm around ROSE's waist and lifts her lightly, tucking her back into his side)
Stay over here. (ROSE looks shocked, so he drops the arm and, in a calmer tone, continues:) Just... stay here. (He turns to Pete, but makes a point to keep himself between the Tylers and ROSE. His tone is urgent, just short of pleading.) Listen, Pete, you need to open that watch. Your daughter's life may depend on it.
PETE considers THE DOCTOR with apparent fear, then finally opens the catch on THE WATCH. JACKIE gasps.
There is an enormous flood of golden, glowing energy, pouring out of the watch. ROSE yells and INFANT ROSE cries briefly. JACKIE shrieks as the light coalesces and centers itself on Pete, pouring into him, hitting him squarely between the eyes.
The energy clears and all is still as if nothing has happened. Then:
PETE (glaring mistrustfully at THE DOCTOR and speaking in a calm but different, less uncertain tone) Jackie, take the baby and run.
THE DOCTOR (fiercely and without taking his eyes from PETE)
Jackie Tyler, if you move, I'll follow you to the ends of the Earth. Who the hell are you?
PETE (angry and amused at once)
Christ, Thete, I know it's been ages and I know what you're here for, but I'd've thought you'd recognize me. I'm not letting you take her back there, I'm not.
JACKIE jumps for THE DOCTOR, obviously intent to attack him physically. ROSE intercepts JACKIE.
ROSE
Leave 'im alone, Mum!
JACKIE looks taken aback at this, then turns to her infant, then her grown daughter. She looks confused but less surprised then expected, which in turn makes ROSE suspicious. PETE distracts her.
PETE (kindly)
Rose, you can't trust him. I'm sorry, but you can't. He'll just try to take you away and it's unthinkable. (He focuses solely on the Doctor, pleading.) Thete, I'd think that you of all people would understand.
THE DOCTOR (apparently makes a connection, rolls his eyes, then snaps)
Zedric, you blazing idiot! Listen, what do you hear?
PETE and THE DOCTOR lock eyes for a moment, and their expressions become mirrors of identical pain. Tears begin to stream down PETE's face and, while THE DOCTOR remains stubbornly stoic, his eyes do tear up.
PETE (in quiet desperation)
What happened to them? Where are they? Doctor, what in the name of Rassilon did they do?
PETE and THE DOCTOR embrace like brothers. ROSE is completely floored.
ROSE (rounding on Jackie as if clutching at straws)
What - What do you know about all this?
JACKIE (defensively)
It's got nothing to do with me!
ROSE (indignantly)
Don't think I can't read your face, I always could do, you can't lie to me. Is he even my - your baby's father?
JACKIE (softening in the face of ROSE's fear and finally connecting the young woman with her infant)
Yes, Rose, he's your father. And you weren't supposed to ever know about any of this.
ROSE (thunderstruck and dazed)
I don't understand. We... we went to the wedding, for god's sake.
JACKIE (scathingly amused)
So it bothers you you're not the first Prentice woman to fall in love with an alien?
ROSE appears ready to start a fight. PETE and THE DOCTOR interrupt by resuming their conversation and ROSE turns back to them.
THE DOCTOR
What about Rose? Is she?
PETE (warily)
It's complicated. They already thought I was dead, remember.
THE DOCTOR (exasperated)
That's why the baby's age isn't right. I'd wondered. You put an infant under a chameleon arch. Zedric, I could wring your blasted neck.
PETE begins to interrupt, but is interrupted himself by ROSE.
ROSE (grinning and swinging playfully on THE DOCTOR's arm)
I take it you two know each other.
PETE, JACKIE, and THE DOCTOR consider each other, then PETE shrugs.
PETE
Oh yeah. Rose, my daughter, this is the Doctor, my brother.
ROSE stares between the two with an expression that moves from shock to horror to something green. Then, she runs for the nearest loo.
**
Int. the CHURCH - outside a stall in the loo.
THE DOCTOR is leaning against a counter, holding a glass of water and peering intently, possibly glaring, at the closed door.
THE DOCTOR
Do I bother you that much? Can't bear the thought of me for family?
ROSE (voice from behind the door, shaky and stuttering)
No, I'm sure it's... fine.
THE DOCTOR (exasperated)
Then what're you in here vomiting up your lunch over?
ROSE (opens the loo door and refuses to meet his eyes)
S'just something I ate, right?
THE DOCTOR (smug)
Nope. (waves the sonic screwdriver) Completely psychological; I checked.
ROSE (grumbling as she makes her way to the sink past THE DOCTOR, still without looking at him - though she does spare a glare for the sonic)
Bastard.
She takes the glass and drains it while THE DOCTOR looks on in approval.
THE DOCTOR (urgently)
Rose, you need to tell me what's going on in your fuzzy human head, and right now, that's a lot more important than it ever was.
ROSE (angry)
Oh, right, because I'm human, I'm just too stupid to work things out for myself, but I can tell you? (frustrated) Just leave me to my stupid ape dry heaves, all right?
THE DOCTOR (with concern and on the defensive)
No, Rose, it's not because you're human. It's because you're not supposed to be human and this paradox could be doing you a lot more damage than I woulda thought.
ROSE (indignant and finally meeting his eyes in her anger)
Why can't I be human?
THE DOCTOR (intense and taking Rose's shoulders in his hands to hold her in place)
You are, all right? Everything you are, everything you do, that's SO human. That's not gonna change - there's no other personality there, nothin' to override who you are. There's just you, Rose Tyler, whether you're all-human or half-human, just fantastic Rose Tyler.
ROSE is staring at his hand on her shoulder, her eyes over-bright with threatening tears. THE DOCTOR makes a noise of exasperation - it's obvious he doesn't think he has time for this.
THE DOCTOR (CONT'D, exasperated)
Look, if you want to be human when this is over with, I'll not argue with you. But I need to know now. Why, Rose Tyler, did the words 'The Doctor, my brother' send you into this loo to reject your last meal?
ROSE (annoyed enough to meet his eyes, she reminds THE DOCTOR)
I didn't wanna tell him you aren't my boyfriend, remember?
She looks away quickly as THE DOCTOR's expression starts to change. She doesn't want to see this.
THE DOCTOR (floored)
Oh.
ROSE (less worried in the face of his response)
Yeah, oh.
THE DOCTOR (still amazed)
OH!
ROSE (almost laughing until she remembers why she's here and turns back to the sink to wash her face)
Can you go away now?
THE DOCTOR (grinning as he delivers the coup de grace)
I'm adopted.
The door to the loo swings shut behind his departing form. Rose stares at it.
**
Int. the Church
The small room where THE DOCTOR and PETE are talking quietly together, their conversation inaudible until we:
FADE IN to:
PETE
...Susan. Didn't want that kind of threat hovering over my daughter.
THE DOCTOR (intently)
But the Panopticon summons is not to be ignored, Rho. You had to know...
PETE (convinced)
They killed me, Thete. They killed everyone and thought I was dead too. I thought, when the summons came through, that they'd managed to find Rose because she's only half-human. I panicked, did the only thing I could. It's not the massive biological rewrite with a Gallifreyan infant...
He clutches at his hair, then glares up at THE DOCTOR, convinced he does not have to explain the technical details of their biology to his fellow Time Lord. THE DOCTOR looks stoic but unconvinced.
PETE (CONT'D with quiet resignation)
I knew I was putting my daughter through terrible pain, but better that than the death I knew was awaiting her.
THE DOCTOR (saddened and obviously trying to hide it from PETE)
I thought you were dead. I thought... I thought...
PETE (comforting: he is obviously somewhat used to the older brother role with THE DOCTOR)
I'm supposed to be, aren't I? Funny, I'd almost worked it out as a human, but right now, I know for sure. In the original version of this Universe, I died in front of that car. You brought her here - what in hell were you think... (Realization dawns.) Oh.
THE DOCTOR
Shut it.
PETE (grinning)
It's what - your twelve-hundredth come... eh, November-ish?
THE DOCTOR (sulky)
Nine hundred.
PETE (laughing)
AND lying about your age!!
THE DOCTOR (embarrassed and determined to change the subject)
Where's your TARDIS?
PETE (sobering quickly)
They go back to Gallifrey when their pilot has been killed - all the younger ones do, anyway. I unlocked the controls and sent him back by unsetting the coordinates. (Pausing, thoughtfully) He may still be alive, somewhen. I'm not sure.
THE DOCTOR (doubtful and obviously frustrated)
I figured with two Time Lords...
PETE (shaking his head)
I don't know how you stand this. The silence is driving me mad.
THE DOCTOR (grimly)
You get used to it. There's no choice. But it's not silent anymore. There's two, almost three of us. We'll figure this out.
PETE (defeated)
I've never even gotten to know her. What's she like?
THE DOCTOR (determined)
We're going to fix this! We have to, for... for Rose.
PETE (unconvinced)
For Rose.
**
Int Church, outside the closed door of the loo
JACKIE
Rose? Rose, I know you're in here.
ROSE (voice from behind the door)
No'm not.
JACKIE (determined)
Rose, you need to come out.
ROSE (bad tempered)
No'don't.
JACKIE (soothingly)
All right, I'm coming in.
ROSE (opens the door and glares, sulky, at JACKIE)
You're not my mother.
JACKIE (rolls her eyes and puts INFANT ROSE on her shoulder by way of demonstration)
I am, too.
ROSE
Yeah, well...
ROSE stomps into the main sanctuary where THE WEDDING GUESTS are seated and talking amongst themselves. They look up as ROSE enters, then look to the front as PETE and THE DOCTOR reappear.
ROSE (CONT'D)
She's not me, though, is she? I mean, maybe she is, but I'm not...
JACKIE (annoyed)
You and this one are both Rose Marion Tyler, daughter of Peter Allen Tyler and Jackie Prentice Tyler. Says so on your birth certificate and everything...
ROSE (cutting her off)
Yeah, but that's fake, too. Just like me and just like his name. It's all my fault and none of it was real, anyway!
JACKIE (exasperated and shoving INFANT ROSE at ROSE)
Just look at her, Rose. She's you. You need to see...
THE DOCTOR and PETE both hit the aisle running, too late.
THE DOCTOR and PETE
NO!!!
ROSE takes INFANT ROSE two seconds before PETE and THE DOCTOR reach them. PETE snatches INFANT ROSE back and hands her to JACKIE while THE DOCTOR forces ROSE behind him. A REAPER appears in the back of THE CHURCH, looking confused. The WEDDING GUESTS scream.
THE DOCTOR (too urgent to be angry)
Didn't I say, 'Don't touch the baby!'?
ROSE (defensive)
I couldn't just let her drop her.
THE DOCTOR (muttering frantically)
Dropping you on your head, mighta done you some good.
PETE and THE DOCTOR stand side by side in front of the crowd, blocking everything and, it appears, making it difficult for THE REAPER to choose.
PETE (to the room at large)
Everyone get behind me.
THE DOCTOR
Behind me!
PETE (to THE DOCTOR)
I'm the oldest thing in here.
THE DOCTOR (to PETE)
And you're the only one who can fix this. (to the crowd) Everyone get behind me!
PETE drags JACKIE and ROSE into the crowd. THE REAPER bears down on THE DOCTOR.
ROSE (terrified)
Doctor!
She watches, horrified, as THE REAPER consumes the Doctor. The WEDDING GUESTS scream. THE REAPER flies around the sanctuary and then collides with the semi-transparent TARDIS. It disappears, TARDIS and all. The key falls to the floor, no longer glowing. There is silence for a few seconds, then Rose runs down the aisle and picks up the key. She sounds numb with shock.
ROSE (CONT'D)
Cold. He's... cold.
PETE approaches her cautiously from behind, looking as grief-stricken as she is.
ROSE (CONT'D)
Oh, my god, he's dead.
PETE reaches out to her, but ROSE shakes him off.
ROSE (CONT'D)
It's all my fault... all of you... both of you...
Her voice begins to crack as the impact of what has happened hits her. PETE takes her into his arms.
ROSE (CONT'D)
... the whole world...
The light in the church dims as though darkness is starting to fall. JACKIE holds INFANT ROSE closer to her, and THE WEDDING GUESTS look around, scared.
BEV
This is it. There's nothing we can do. It's the end.
PETE releases ROSE to JACKIE.
PETE (firmly)
No, it's not. (to JACKIE and ROSE) Promise me you'll look out for each other.
JACKIE hands INFANT ROSE to BEV and focuses on her husband and grown daughter.
JACKIE (frantic)
What're you doing, I just got you back, are you mad!
PETE (tenderly)
You did so good, my Jacks, putting up with me these last few months. Thete... The Doctor... (he sounds choked up) He wanted to fix this, Rose. For you. (as a fond reminiscence) He always thought with his hearts first, then his head. Just as well he's the smartest of us. Almost makes up for it.
ROSE (confused)
What? (realizes what he's planning) Don't...
PETE (turning to her solely)
He's my baby brother. And you, you're my baby girl. No one'll ever remember this, but if it works, it's worth it to me. If I can... if I can, I promise I will pull through this. Otherwise... promise me you'll look after your mum. I love her more than life.
JACKIE and PETE exchange a last, passionate but frantic kiss.
PETE
I will try to come back to you.
ROSE (tearful)
Don't go!
PETE (determined)
Who am I, love?
ROSE
My Daddy.
PETE (grinning)
Good enough for me.
PETE puts on his jacket and snatches up the vase that was meant to be broken as he dashes toward the door.
Ext. Church
The Reapers are still hovering over the Church when PETE runs out of the doors, holding the vase. He stops just outside the gate and looks up at one of THE REAPERS - it begins to bear down upon him. He turns to see the car appear from thin air around the corner and runs straight out in front of it, screwing up his eyes before the impact.
PETE
Goodbye, love...
THE DRIVER throws his arms up over his eyes as the car knocks PETE over. The vase crashes to the ground and breaks. THE REAPERS disappear one by one.
ROSE stands outside the church doors, her head down and her eyes closed, trying not to see what she knows has to be there as a breeze ruffles her hair. A hand, cool and familiar, closes on her shoulder.
THE DOCTOR
We need to go to him. Quick.
ROSE and THE DOCTOR run from the Church doors to the street, kneeling down on either side of PETE as he stares up at them. ROSE stares into her dying father's eyes and he smiles up at her.
PETE (faintly)
We did it.
THE DOCTOR (tearful and pleading)
Regenerate.
ROSE (whispers)
My daddy.
ROSE and THE DOCTOR kneel there watching PETE as he dies, his last moment slow and painful as THE DOCTOR seems to be talking to PETE with his eyes only and ROSE lets her tears flow freely.
SARAH, STUART, STUART'S FATHER, JACKIE, and the rest of THE WEDDING GUESTS emerge from the church, trying to see what has happened.
JACKIE (VO)
The driver was just a kid.
Int. TYLER flat, JACKIE's pink bedroom
JACKIE and ROSE (age six) sit on JACKIE's bed, looking at a photo album.
JACKIE
He stopped and he waited for the police.
CUT TO: Ext. Church
THE DRIVER and THE PARADOX CAR seen on the side of the road near the Church, with police questioning him an ambulance is seen pulling off.
JACKIE (VO)
It was just an accident, not his fault at all. Pete just ran out there.
ROSE and THE DOCTOR are standing beyond the police, and THE DOCTOR is watching the ambulance attentively.
JACKIE (VO)
People say there was this couple. A man and a blonde girl. They waited with him, stayed with him, held his hands while he was dying. Never found out who they were.
ROSE and THE DOCTOR offer each other their hands at the same time, then a slight smile as they walk together toward the TARDIS.
CUT TO: Int. TYLER flat, JACKIE'S pink bedroom
Here Jackie has just closed the photo album and taken ROSE (age six) into her lap.
JACKIE
I had his ashes scattered, but there's a marker at the cemetery. If you ever want to talk to him...
CUT TO: Int. TARDIS console room.
THE DOCTOR (manic)
Fancy a bit of ambulance chasing, Rose Tyler?
ROSE (a dubious smile)
Oh... Kay.
**
Int. the TYLER flat, 2006.
JACKIE (age 39) is chatting on the phone when the TARDIS materializes behind her and she is forced to end her call.
The TARDIS door is flung open almost before the ship has fully solidified, and THE DOCTOR comes out, face like a thundercloud.
THE DOCTOR
Where is it?
JACKIE (baffled)
Where's what?
ROSE appears in the doorway of the TARDIS. She is wearing a different outfit to make it apparent that at least a day has passed. She looks nervous and alarmed at once. THE DOCTOR is looking around, on the shelf and inside the lamp, as if one of these places will reveal what he is searching for.
ROSE stops him finally by walking up behind him and putting a hand to his shoulder. THE DOCTOR slumps as if defeated.
THE DOCTOR (reluctantly)
She's never gonna make this easy.
ROSE (shaking her head and slightly amused)
Course not. Mum, where's my watch?
JACKIE (eyes huge and denial written on her face)
You don't have a watch. You... you broke it when you were little.
ROSE (shaking her head)
Oh, for god's sake.
THE DOCTOR (holding out PETE's WATCH and smiling winningly)
Trade you!
CUT TO: The TARDIS console room interior
The lights are dimmed, with ROSE and THE DOCTOR in the same positions as they were in when this episode started.
ROSE (VO)
My father, Peter Alan Tyler, the most wonderful man in the world. Died seventh of November, 1987...
While THE DOCTOR looks on, ROSE turns a slender, silver watch in her hands.
FADE TO Int. the TYLER flat.
The lights are dim here, too, and soft, romantic music is playing in the background as JACKIE dances with a man whose face we cannot see.
ROSE (VO)
Alive to this very day.
FADE TO BLACK
END.