DW/Torchwood/Alternates Fic-"Was, Is, Could Be"
Got this idea from wish_girl who used it for drabbles for her fablous Grace series. With major writer's block for Alternates, I thought this could help losen me up.
Sit down with the music device of your choice -- iPod, Pandora internet radio, whatever. Make a list of song titles that come up at random.
Using just the titles, write a 100-word drabble for each title. This is not songfic, so don't use the lyrics in any form. The idea is to capture the feeling the song evokes in you within the drabble, so the finished writing may be quite different from the song. Obviously we don't all have the same taste in music, so you have the opportunity to share a common idea within the framework of established characters.
Title: Was, Is, Could Be
Author: walkwithheroes
Rated: PG (for curse words)
Spoilers: Up to Doomsday Up to Alternates Chapter 11, and a bit beyond
Word Count: 1869
Disclaimer: The Doctor, Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, Jack Harkness, Jackie and Pete Tyler, Torchwood, etc, aren’t owned by me.
Pairings: Ten/Rose, Alt!Jack/Lily, Alt!Nine/Tess. Jack/Lily. Alt!12/Leven. Tess/Cass. BYOS for Levi/Lily. Hint of Tess/Ten.
Summary: Several drabbles about things that have happened or will/could happen to the characters from Alternates.
Author's Note: Thanks to my beta, nemesis_cry for understanding the characters, and for giving this story a wonderful beta.
All parts of Alternates can be found here: Alternates 1-11
Holy Water
It was Alex who found Leven.
There was such a look in her eyes...as if something so awful had happened to her.
Caked blood on her legs. Hands flying about, trying to fix...everything.
Defeated, destined never to get back up.
Weren't safe near the King's, but she had gone anyway; gone to find him.
Alex sat beside her for days. No one else was allowed to touch her. It was his job, as cousin and best friend, to protect her.
They were best friends until death, and forever after that.
He was...the cause of her lost innocence.
_________________________________________________________________________
Where Does the Good Go
They sat across from one another, in some out of the way restaurant. Their eyes burned into one another's, both knowing what was coming but neither wanting to admit to it.
“Tell me that you'll change your mind,” he demanded, his voice low and stern.
She moved her hand to cover his. “I love you. No one else will ever...but... it's time for me to go, Doctor.”
“I won't come back for you, Lily love.”
“No one's asking you to, Levi lad.”
“We'll both regret it. I won't come.”
“I know.” Lily smiled softly; Levi was an awful liar.
__________________________________________________________________________
Gone
Everyone told her to take her tests, to get into university, and not to worry. But, she did worry. Cass was slowly slipping away, into his own world full of things she could never understand. Since she had been fourteen, they had been Tess and Cass. How could she suddenly go back to being just Tess?
She aced all her tests, all while thinking of Cass...alone.
“I got into University, Cass!” Tess grinned, slip her hand into his, and kissed him.
Cass didn't kiss her back, he didn't move...he just sat there...doped and staring at the wall.
__________________________________________________________________________
Daughters
Rose Tyler's birth father died when she was just a baby.
Tess Hartnell's father cannot seem to bring himself to spend more than three days with her.
Lily Tyler's father was completely mad; wanted her to sleep with her brother.
Leven Campbell's birth father died before she was even born ; her stepfather is indifferent toward her.
Rose Tyler's mother tried.
Tess Hartnell's mother left when Tess was three days old.
Lily Tyler's mother couldn't think for herself...it was the Doctor or nothing.
Leven Campbell's mother hates her.
It's why all of them went with strange men in flying boxes.
___________________________________________________________________________
Jesus Walks
The Doctor was really not fond of 2009. The Great British Empire...more like the Great Welfare State. There was too much land to govern, too many people that hated each other, too few jobs for those same people.
After over 2, 000 years, the Doctor was beginning to believe that the human race was hopeless.
*
The tiny church in the middle of the Counsel Houses was practically falling down as the Doctor entered the building.
There was a Bible study group going on in one of the side rooms. The Doctor could hear someone saying something about people needing Jesus and God, in order to be whole. For the briefest of seconds, the Doctor fancied going into the room and arguing that point.
“People need hope.” The Doctor's ears caught the softest of voices speaking up. The voice was female, shy, young.
Interested, the Doctor entered the side room, in which a small group sat in metal chairs, all carefully put in a circle.
No one seemed to notice him. They were all far more interested in what the pretty blond girl was saying, “Jesus loves all, but...it ain't right t' force people t' need an' believe. That's...wrong.”
The smallest of grins played over the Doctor's young face. Oh, that was so simple and yet so hard for humans to understand. He clapped softly, the noise causing the whole group to turn their gazes to him.
“Who are you?” One of the people questioned.
The Doctor's grin spread. “The Doctor. Who...” his gaze shifted to the blonde girl. “are you?”
The girl offered the Doctor a shy smile. “Leven. Leven Campbell.”
“Leven Campbell...you're by far the first person I've actually liked in years.”
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Here It Goes Again
She danced around the controls of the TARDIS, smiling and laughing happily. “We should go to concerts more, Doctor.”
He shook his head, blue eyes laughing. “Yes, I think we should.”
She bounced over to him, smiled, then kissed him firmly on the mouth. She laughed again, before her lips turned up in a seductive smile. “I'll be in my room.” She told him simply, as she danced off in that direction.
The Doctor sat for a moment, chewed on his lower lip, thought about how wrong it was, before: “Tess!”
He jumped up and raced after her, grinning madly.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wait
Rose always imaged that the Doctor's lips tasted...fantastic. She'd catch herself just staring that them, as he went on about some insane thing that would help them save the day.
Rose thought the way the Doctor's -both incarnation's - lips formed “Rose” was sexy; she imaged biting his lips as he said “Rose” more than once.
She never did bite the Doctor's lips. She did kiss them, but only because she was either dying or because a bitchy trampoline was in control of her body.
Before she could really kiss him...they were separated, never to see one another again.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
I'm a Fool
Jack loved her smell - apples and grease.
He loved her crocked smile.
He loved that her brown hair was always in her face.
She wasn't his type (did he even have a type?), but that didn't stop him from being drawn to her. He found any excuse to visit the labs, where she built countless machines that Earth wasn't ready for.
He seemed to lose all charm when he was around her, and she seemed to just get bored.
“Do you enjoy jazz? I have tickets...”
“Jack.”
“Forget the jazz. Drinks?”
“No liver.”
“Art Museum?”
“Okay.”
“Thanks, Lily.”
“Welcome, Jack.”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Song Beneath the Song
He's had countless lovers of all types, but his eyes never shine when he's supposed to be in love.
His companion tells him that he's missing something.
The Doctor half-smiles, and suggests a trip to Boston - it might be nice to take in a tea party.
He's six hundred and sixty years old, when a lover finally stares into his eyes long enough to notice that they don't quite shine.
“What was her name?” She questions softly, head resting on his chest.
The Doctor sighs, remembering soft brown curls and a mind always tinkering away. “Her name was Lily.”
___________________________________________________________________________________
Fools in Love
The Doctor is in his 12th incarnation when he truly falls in love for the first time. He's always seen love as...human. He's loved and cared for his companions, but it's the first time he's ever been in love and it scares him. Especially because she's just a little, stupid, ape; she's hardly brilliant at all.
Only, she's completely brilliant...and he does everything for her. He spends countless hours desperately trying to impress her. For her part, Leven hardly seems to notice, she seems to think of him as a lovely friend and nothing more.
Until...she doesn't.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Let That Be Enough
Tess isn't Rose.
He misses Rose and hopes that wherever she is she's safe.
“The Void opens in eight hours.” Tess tells him. She glances at him and sighs. “Rose is fine.” She chews on her lower lip for a moment. “It's my Dad's birthday. We were going to see him. The Doctor had just regenerated, he owed me.”
The Doctor nods in an understanding manner. “Do you miss him?”
Tess considers the question. “You look like the old him, just a bit. It makes things...easier. I'm worried about him.” She sniffs. “Whose gonna hold his hand?”
Then again...
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
I Remember
Looking at her, he remembers things that he has no right to remember.
Jack remembers hands on flesh, angry yelling in the middle of a street, tongues on necks, whispered words of love. It's not the least bit disturbing to him, but rather heartbreaking - he's never been in love like that. He can't help but hate his alternate-self for finding that kind of love. Jack's loved many people, but never as much or as deeply as this; never enough to stay.
“I remember December.” Jack whispers to her. And he does remember. Wedding, birth, death...
She died in December, Christmas Day, though the other him had long since died.
She looks at him carefully through her tangled blond hair. “You've no right.” She replies softly, almost in anger, but not quite there. “You've no right, Jack.”
Jack gives her a firm and steady look, he's all seriousness when he's around her now. “You gave them to me, Lily.”
Lily smiles tightly. “I had no right to do that, either.” She shakes her head. “No right.”
They stare at one another for a long moment, before Jack speaks.
“The memories don't make me him to you?”
“No. And they never will.”
_______________________________________________________________________
Precious
It's the end of the world -of more than one, actually. She thinks that she's a failure, and she feels so stupid as the tears flow down her cheeks. Her whole life, she's waited to be special...it doesn't seem so great now.
She thinks her hand is too small and too cold. She thinks that she'll never stop bleeding. It isn't like the movies, it's hot and sticky and it feels odd as it flows out of her stomach.
The floor's dirty.
She feels cold.
She can't do this.
She tried...
She failed.
Everyone's going to die, and it's all her fault.
*
It's the end of the universe, several universes. He was supposed to save the world, and he's failed. It's an odd sort of feeling, knowing he's failed. He's...glad in a way; glad that he's not as perfect as everyone seems to think he is.
His only thoughts are of his companion now...she's gone missing and he's not sure where she would be. He just knows that he doesn't want her to die alone. So, he goes to find her.
Find her he does, alone on a dirty floor. She's bleeding to death, crying softly to herself. He touches her hand, kisses her forehead, and softly tells her that he loves her.
She smiles when he places a hand over her wound. “Thank you.” She whispers softly. “Love...” she coughs.
He begins to cry, but he tries to hold back. “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.” He kisses her lips, though she doesn't have the strength to return the kiss.
Laying himself beside her, he holds her as tightly as he can and waits...
Waits for the Void to fully open and consume them both. The Void may lead them straight to Hell, but at least they'll be together, at least they won't have to watch their universe die.
Sit down with the music device of your choice -- iPod, Pandora internet radio, whatever. Make a list of song titles that come up at random.
Using just the titles, write a 100-word drabble for each title. This is not songfic, so don't use the lyrics in any form. The idea is to capture the feeling the song evokes in you within the drabble, so the finished writing may be quite different from the song. Obviously we don't all have the same taste in music, so you have the opportunity to share a common idea within the framework of established characters.
Title: Was, Is, Could Be
Author: walkwithheroes
Rated: PG (for curse words)
Spoilers: Up to Doomsday Up to Alternates Chapter 11, and a bit beyond
Word Count: 1869
Disclaimer: The Doctor, Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, Jack Harkness, Jackie and Pete Tyler, Torchwood, etc, aren’t owned by me.
Pairings: Ten/Rose, Alt!Jack/Lily, Alt!Nine/Tess. Jack/Lily. Alt!12/Leven. Tess/Cass. BYOS for Levi/Lily. Hint of Tess/Ten.
Summary: Several drabbles about things that have happened or will/could happen to the characters from Alternates.
Author's Note: Thanks to my beta, nemesis_cry for understanding the characters, and for giving this story a wonderful beta.
All parts of Alternates can be found here: Alternates 1-11
Holy Water
It was Alex who found Leven.
There was such a look in her eyes...as if something so awful had happened to her.
Caked blood on her legs. Hands flying about, trying to fix...everything.
Defeated, destined never to get back up.
Weren't safe near the King's, but she had gone anyway; gone to find him.
Alex sat beside her for days. No one else was allowed to touch her. It was his job, as cousin and best friend, to protect her.
They were best friends until death, and forever after that.
He was...the cause of her lost innocence.
_________________________________________________________________________
Where Does the Good Go
They sat across from one another, in some out of the way restaurant. Their eyes burned into one another's, both knowing what was coming but neither wanting to admit to it.
“Tell me that you'll change your mind,” he demanded, his voice low and stern.
She moved her hand to cover his. “I love you. No one else will ever...but... it's time for me to go, Doctor.”
“I won't come back for you, Lily love.”
“No one's asking you to, Levi lad.”
“We'll both regret it. I won't come.”
“I know.” Lily smiled softly; Levi was an awful liar.
__________________________________________________________________________
Gone
Everyone told her to take her tests, to get into university, and not to worry. But, she did worry. Cass was slowly slipping away, into his own world full of things she could never understand. Since she had been fourteen, they had been Tess and Cass. How could she suddenly go back to being just Tess?
She aced all her tests, all while thinking of Cass...alone.
“I got into University, Cass!” Tess grinned, slip her hand into his, and kissed him.
Cass didn't kiss her back, he didn't move...he just sat there...doped and staring at the wall.
__________________________________________________________________________
Daughters
Rose Tyler's birth father died when she was just a baby.
Tess Hartnell's father cannot seem to bring himself to spend more than three days with her.
Lily Tyler's father was completely mad; wanted her to sleep with her brother.
Leven Campbell's birth father died before she was even born ; her stepfather is indifferent toward her.
Rose Tyler's mother tried.
Tess Hartnell's mother left when Tess was three days old.
Lily Tyler's mother couldn't think for herself...it was the Doctor or nothing.
Leven Campbell's mother hates her.
It's why all of them went with strange men in flying boxes.
___________________________________________________________________________
Jesus Walks
The Doctor was really not fond of 2009. The Great British Empire...more like the Great Welfare State. There was too much land to govern, too many people that hated each other, too few jobs for those same people.
After over 2, 000 years, the Doctor was beginning to believe that the human race was hopeless.
*
The tiny church in the middle of the Counsel Houses was practically falling down as the Doctor entered the building.
There was a Bible study group going on in one of the side rooms. The Doctor could hear someone saying something about people needing Jesus and God, in order to be whole. For the briefest of seconds, the Doctor fancied going into the room and arguing that point.
“People need hope.” The Doctor's ears caught the softest of voices speaking up. The voice was female, shy, young.
Interested, the Doctor entered the side room, in which a small group sat in metal chairs, all carefully put in a circle.
No one seemed to notice him. They were all far more interested in what the pretty blond girl was saying, “Jesus loves all, but...it ain't right t' force people t' need an' believe. That's...wrong.”
The smallest of grins played over the Doctor's young face. Oh, that was so simple and yet so hard for humans to understand. He clapped softly, the noise causing the whole group to turn their gazes to him.
“Who are you?” One of the people questioned.
The Doctor's grin spread. “The Doctor. Who...” his gaze shifted to the blonde girl. “are you?”
The girl offered the Doctor a shy smile. “Leven. Leven Campbell.”
“Leven Campbell...you're by far the first person I've actually liked in years.”
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Here It Goes Again
She danced around the controls of the TARDIS, smiling and laughing happily. “We should go to concerts more, Doctor.”
He shook his head, blue eyes laughing. “Yes, I think we should.”
She bounced over to him, smiled, then kissed him firmly on the mouth. She laughed again, before her lips turned up in a seductive smile. “I'll be in my room.” She told him simply, as she danced off in that direction.
The Doctor sat for a moment, chewed on his lower lip, thought about how wrong it was, before: “Tess!”
He jumped up and raced after her, grinning madly.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wait
Rose always imaged that the Doctor's lips tasted...fantastic. She'd catch herself just staring that them, as he went on about some insane thing that would help them save the day.
Rose thought the way the Doctor's -both incarnation's - lips formed “Rose” was sexy; she imaged biting his lips as he said “Rose” more than once.
She never did bite the Doctor's lips. She did kiss them, but only because she was either dying or because a bitchy trampoline was in control of her body.
Before she could really kiss him...they were separated, never to see one another again.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
I'm a Fool
Jack loved her smell - apples and grease.
He loved her crocked smile.
He loved that her brown hair was always in her face.
She wasn't his type (did he even have a type?), but that didn't stop him from being drawn to her. He found any excuse to visit the labs, where she built countless machines that Earth wasn't ready for.
He seemed to lose all charm when he was around her, and she seemed to just get bored.
“Do you enjoy jazz? I have tickets...”
“Jack.”
“Forget the jazz. Drinks?”
“No liver.”
“Art Museum?”
“Okay.”
“Thanks, Lily.”
“Welcome, Jack.”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Song Beneath the Song
He's had countless lovers of all types, but his eyes never shine when he's supposed to be in love.
His companion tells him that he's missing something.
The Doctor half-smiles, and suggests a trip to Boston - it might be nice to take in a tea party.
He's six hundred and sixty years old, when a lover finally stares into his eyes long enough to notice that they don't quite shine.
“What was her name?” She questions softly, head resting on his chest.
The Doctor sighs, remembering soft brown curls and a mind always tinkering away. “Her name was Lily.”
___________________________________________________________________________________
Fools in Love
The Doctor is in his 12th incarnation when he truly falls in love for the first time. He's always seen love as...human. He's loved and cared for his companions, but it's the first time he's ever been in love and it scares him. Especially because she's just a little, stupid, ape; she's hardly brilliant at all.
Only, she's completely brilliant...and he does everything for her. He spends countless hours desperately trying to impress her. For her part, Leven hardly seems to notice, she seems to think of him as a lovely friend and nothing more.
Until...she doesn't.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Let That Be Enough
Tess isn't Rose.
He misses Rose and hopes that wherever she is she's safe.
“The Void opens in eight hours.” Tess tells him. She glances at him and sighs. “Rose is fine.” She chews on her lower lip for a moment. “It's my Dad's birthday. We were going to see him. The Doctor had just regenerated, he owed me.”
The Doctor nods in an understanding manner. “Do you miss him?”
Tess considers the question. “You look like the old him, just a bit. It makes things...easier. I'm worried about him.” She sniffs. “Whose gonna hold his hand?”
Then again...
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
I Remember
Looking at her, he remembers things that he has no right to remember.
Jack remembers hands on flesh, angry yelling in the middle of a street, tongues on necks, whispered words of love. It's not the least bit disturbing to him, but rather heartbreaking - he's never been in love like that. He can't help but hate his alternate-self for finding that kind of love. Jack's loved many people, but never as much or as deeply as this; never enough to stay.
“I remember December.” Jack whispers to her. And he does remember. Wedding, birth, death...
She died in December, Christmas Day, though the other him had long since died.
She looks at him carefully through her tangled blond hair. “You've no right.” She replies softly, almost in anger, but not quite there. “You've no right, Jack.”
Jack gives her a firm and steady look, he's all seriousness when he's around her now. “You gave them to me, Lily.”
Lily smiles tightly. “I had no right to do that, either.” She shakes her head. “No right.”
They stare at one another for a long moment, before Jack speaks.
“The memories don't make me him to you?”
“No. And they never will.”
_______________________________________________________________________
Precious
It's the end of the world -of more than one, actually. She thinks that she's a failure, and she feels so stupid as the tears flow down her cheeks. Her whole life, she's waited to be special...it doesn't seem so great now.
She thinks her hand is too small and too cold. She thinks that she'll never stop bleeding. It isn't like the movies, it's hot and sticky and it feels odd as it flows out of her stomach.
The floor's dirty.
She feels cold.
She can't do this.
She tried...
She failed.
Everyone's going to die, and it's all her fault.
*
It's the end of the universe, several universes. He was supposed to save the world, and he's failed. It's an odd sort of feeling, knowing he's failed. He's...glad in a way; glad that he's not as perfect as everyone seems to think he is.
His only thoughts are of his companion now...she's gone missing and he's not sure where she would be. He just knows that he doesn't want her to die alone. So, he goes to find her.
Find her he does, alone on a dirty floor. She's bleeding to death, crying softly to herself. He touches her hand, kisses her forehead, and softly tells her that he loves her.
She smiles when he places a hand over her wound. “Thank you.” She whispers softly. “Love...” she coughs.
He begins to cry, but he tries to hold back. “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.” He kisses her lips, though she doesn't have the strength to return the kiss.
Laying himself beside her, he holds her as tightly as he can and waits...
Waits for the Void to fully open and consume them both. The Void may lead them straight to Hell, but at least they'll be together, at least they won't have to watch their universe die.