Fic: Mother Time Chapter 2
Title: Mother Time
Author: country_who
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairing: Ten/Rose, Jenny/Jack, Idris
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Romance
Summary: The Doctor, Rose, Jenny and Jack are planning on going to see Donna, but when the TARDIS starts acting up and the Doctor receives a message, they have no choice but to investigate. (The Doctor's Wife, AU). Sequel to The Doctor and His Time Ladies.
Prologue | Chapter 1
Shoving his hands deep in his pants’ pockets, until he was well past his wrists, the Doctor sighed loudly, so that one of his companions would question him. Rose was walking ahead, seemingly intent on finding the woman that had bit him, and Jack and Jenny were trailing behind slightly, giggling, no less. This was not a time for giggling, they needed to be serious. Rose was focusing, on the wrong thing, but still that was heading in the right direction at least.
Opening his mouth to sigh again, the Doctor stopped. Maybe it was for the best that they were ignoring him. Then, at least he could deal with the Time Lords himself. They weren’t very content with humans, and Jack’s ‘difference’ would surely send them into a panic. Not to mention Rose being essentially a human and holding the knowledge and perhaps even more time sense than a pure Time Lord in her brain, and Jenny, a Time Lord that didn’t change when she regenerated. They’d want to harness that for sure. Even if altering their appearance was a part of their culture it still hurt and felt like dying. However, from the way Jenny described regeneration for her, it was nearly painless, and simply felt like waking up from an extended nap.
He had to admit; even he was a bit intrigued by it.
In the last days of the Time War the Time Lords in the High Council had wanted to give up physical form, and he had been against it, that’s why he had to stop them. Maybe the Time Lords here had escaped to this bubble outside the universe to escape what he ended. They might agree with him then, accept him back, not as a genocidal murder, but as a hero. Not that that mattered as much as just being taken back. In fact, a part of him desperately wanted them to hate him when they accepted him. Every human that he met and took with him, was always so accepting of him.
It was because they didn’t know the scale of what he had truly done, and he knew it. Their tiny little human brains couldn’t handle the idea of two whole civilizations burning. Like they said, the death of one was a tragedy, but the death of a million is a statistic. But, he knew the Time Lords-he may have grown to rebel against them, but he still knew them. His own people, his family and friends, he didn’t see them as a group or a statistic; he saw them as the faces of his children he had lost so long ago.
His oldest dying in the first year of the Time War, and his second youngest dying not too long after the fall of the Could Have Been King and his Army of Mean-whiles, while his second, third, and fifth child burned from what he had caused. There was no time to warn them to get out, without the risk of letting out the Daleks and Time Lords alike, to end the rest of the universe.
Needless to say, his children had all seemed to inherit his rebellious streak, much to the annoyance of many higher-ups and teachers on Gallifrey. They were clever; maybe they had been the ones to discover this part of the word. A warmth bubbled up inside of him. It wasn’t quite pride, more of a tentative hope, but with hundreds of years away from them, that was all he needed. Smiling softly to himself, he thought about Jenny’s laughs anew, from where she and Jack walked behind her.
Donna was right when she said that Jenny would help fill hole in his soul that seemed to radiate pain into both of his hearts. He had just set himself up for more pain and disappointment now that he had let the idea of his children being around here, but he looked at Jenny and Rose, and even Jack and knew that he would make it through. He wasn’t alone, and he never would be again. He promised Donna, and Rose had promised him.
If they were here, he’d want them to see this though, Jenny, Rose, and Jack, and how free spirited they all were. Jack’s steadfast dedication to everything he put his mind to, Jenny’s curiosity and genuine glee to discover new things from a new perspective, and Rose’s well, everything about her, he compassion, her love, her knowledge of what was right and wrong, and just everything about her. They were everything that the Time Lords had never taught them or told them not to be.
He grinned. Sometimes he thought that was why he traveled so much, not to see the wonders of the universe, but its people. The way that they discovered how to pull through, and how some realized what had made them fall to improve new generations were amazing. When he thought back on the Time Lords, he saw them as observers and saw the beauty in it, but he never got to dip his toe into the wonder of that beauty until he ran away. They sat for thousands of years just observing, no wonder some of them went mad.
“Doctor,” Rose called out to him through his reverie. “Doctor,” she repeated, and this time he was able to shake out of it.
“Sorry,” he said quietly, still feeling a bit lost in his thoughts, but surfacing fast as Rose stopped in front of him and turned around.
“D’you have your TARDIS key,” Rose asked subtly, throwing him a brief look to Jack and Jenny in the behind them and giving the Doctor a slightly worried look. He immediately understood as he started reaching into his pockets and feeling around his suit jacket and shaking his head.
“No, I must have left it in my coat,” the Doctor mumbled convincingly, “don’t you have yours?”
Rose shook her head. “When we were on a mission at Torchwood in the other universe, I lost it in a rock slide.”
Rose gave him an apologetic look, but made sure that the expression was visible over her shoulder in Jack and Jenny’s direction. Biting her lip, she watched as the Doctor’s tone became slightly exacerbated as her statement.
“Rose, I gave that to you, as a sign of trust and you lost it,” he cried, winking slightly with his back turned to the pair behind them.
“Calm down, Doctor,” Jack said, taking the bait, albeit slightly perplexedly. “I’ve got my key, so we won’t get stuck.”
“No, no,” the Doctor said dismissively, acting as if to shrug the former Time Agent off. “Rose and mine are special, they each got a bit of Time energy in them, and it allows us to call the TARDIS if we need to. I didn’t trust you when I gave you a key, Captain, so yours is well… a key.”
Jack looked visibly deflated, as he pulled out the cool piece of metal from his key pocket and held it in his palm, staring at it.
“Now, Captain, stop it, I’ll modify it for you once with get out of here, but for now, we need to get my key from my coat. You could take Jenny and Rose and head down there. Rose knows her way around my pockets and well, Jenny needs a key for herself, doesn’t she?” He smiled at his daughter as she beamed back at him.
“Really?” She asked happily.
“Yep, just head on over there and…”
“Hold on, Doctor,” Rose said, stepping up to the Doctor and lacing her fingers with his, squeezing a bit harder than what could have been considered friendly. “Don’t you think that Jack can handle it? Aren’t you afraid that if I go with them I might go wandering off?”
“Not a bit,” the Doctor replied, eyeing Rose back and trying to loosen her grip on his hand, but she would yield.
“Well, with everything that’s been going on around here, I don’t think anyone should be on their own, don’t you, Doctor?” Rose asked.
“Absolutely, Rose,” the Doctor agreed. “Can’t have Jack and Jenny alone, so why don’t you just…”
“Not, what I meant, Doctor,” Rose said with her voice laced in irritation. “You shouldn’t be on your own either.”
“I won’t be,” the Doctor said bitingly, “I’ve got Time Lords around here.”
The words fell out of his mouth before he could get control of them. He didn’t mean a word of them, and as soon as he realized what he had said, he regretted it. He reached out his hand towards Rose, not trusting his mouth. However, Rose backed away, her eyes filled with hurt.
“Fine,” Rose said softly, walking over to Jack and Jenny, the former putting his arm gently around her shoulder and pulling her closely.
Swallowing back jealousy, the Doctor moved forward again. Rose didn’t have anywhere to go this time in Jack’s arms, but she ignored her best friend’s hand reaching out for her to meet him halfway.
“Rose, I’m sorry,” he told her again, shuffling his feet and looking at Jenny’s face, which was fixed in a glare narrowed at him. “I… I didn’t mean it, honestly. I’d love you to come with me. Just like old times.”
Shaking her head sadly, Rose backed into Jack and dipped her eyes to the ground.
“Rose, please,” the Doctor whispered softly.
“You don’t get it, do you, Doctor?” Rose whispered back, her eyes locking on the Doctor’s. There wasn’t a trace of anger in her eyes, only betrayal. It was worse for him to see her this way. He needed her so badly in more ways than one, but every time he had her close like he wanted deep in his hearts his brain and mouth shoved her away. He couldn’t control it. It was like having another person inside his body and controlling his every move.
“I do,” he said softly. “I love you, Rose. I really do. Don’t you believe me?”
Rose nodded. “But, that’s the problem. I know you do, but you don’t want me to love you back. You just push me away when it’s convenient. You think that you’re the only one you’re hurting by keeping your distance from me, but you’re not. It hurts me too.”
“I realize that,” the Doctor said honestly, opening his arms to her, but she still wouldn’t come to him, so he changed his strategy. “Jack, Jenny, why don’t you head on, get the key.”
Jack hesitated, not wanting to leave his friend when she might do something to get away from the Doctor, but Jenny caught his sleeve and pulled him away. “It’s easier for him to explain while he’s alone,” Jenny whispered in his ear as they walked away.
The Doctor watched them go. “I love you, Rose,” he repeated.
“That’s not enough, Doctor,” Rose told him, and finally she walked towards him and placed both her hands over each of his hearts and felt them pound beneath her fingers. “I let you love me; you could be fair and let me love you.”
Finally, the Time Lord understood and he wrapped his arms tightly around his chest, forcing Rose’s hands away. He wanted her to be close to him. She meant more to him than anything else in the world, but he had completely devoured so many people’s lives, that he supposed he was always making sure that Rose had a way out if she wanted it. If she ever wanted to leave, he wanted to give her the chance. It didn’t matter if Rose shattered his hearts into a million pieces when she left, as long as she was safe and happy. In trying to protect her, the Doctor realized that he had caused her more pain than any other accident they had gotten into in their travels.
“Doctor, I won’t hurt you on purpose, you know that.”
“I know,” the Doctor said with conviction, reaching forward and taking Rose’s hands in his. “I never should have made you think that I preferred the Time Lord’s to your company. I just… It’s been so long, Rose. I need to be forgiven, I do. I just. I… I really. I…”
What was he supposed to say? I’m sorry Rose, but I just can’t take your promise of your forever to heart?
“I don’t want you to get hurt,” the Doctor told her finally.
“That’s not your place to worry,” Rose told him, taking his hand in his finally, and looking up at him with a forced smile. “Let’s go find those Time Lords.”
The Doctor nodded once and squeezed Rose’s hand, but wasn’t surprised at all when she didn’t squeeze back. He looked at her pendant again, just above the string where she wore her TARDIS key. He would tell her, as soon as they were out of here and alone.
He’d tell her.
~o~
Jenny bunched her hands together in front of her as they made their way to the TARDIS. Her mind was racing with possibilities so fast that she didn’t notice Jack’s hand reaching for hers then withdrawing when she didn’t respond. Instead she kept walking to the TARDIS with surprising urgency.
“Dad’s hiding something,” Jenny mumbled, turning swiftly towards Jack, her loose hair flying back and landing in front of her eyes. In frustration, she angrily shoved it behind her ears again and mentally made a note to never wear it free again.
“You’re telling me,” Jack muttered, putting his hands in front of him and twisting them back and forth.
Jenny nodded, turning back around and seeing the TARDIS off in the distance, as she bounced on her heels and looked happily at Jack. She didn’t seem to be pondering anymore, she was just excited. Jack saw the free look in her eyes as they began to sparkle with life and youth. He knew his eyes didn’t do that anymore, they had ceased a long time ago. However, when he looked at Jenny he felt like he was getting some of that youth back, reflecting in his own eyes.
Smiling at her, Jack already knew what she wanted, as he reached out, and this time took her hand, as they bolted towards the TARDIS. They matched pace for a good hundred feet before Jenny managed to twist herself free of his hand, laughing and shouting for Jack to beat her as she sprinted away. It only took the ex-time agent a split second to react as he bolted after her and over took her. He spun with his arms wide and grabbed Jenny around the waist and hauled her over his shoulder by her waist and carried Jenny the rest of the way to the TARDIS.
“Put me down, Harkness,” Jenny squealed.
“Not gonna happen if you’re run away again,” he drawled as they reached the TARDIS and he slid his free arm into his pocket and extracted the key and slid it into the lock. He stepped through the threshold with arguing Time Lady in hand and closed the door behind him before setting her down and walking over to the Doctor’s coat.
“Not fair using size as an advantage,” Jenny pouted as she watched Jack’s whole arm disappear inside the Doctor’s coat.
“You never complained before,” Jack grunted.
Jenny’s face scrunched in confusion before shaking her head and deciding not to question him. Instead, she slipped her hand into the Doctor’s other pocket and felt items seem to float past her fingers. It almost gave her the sensation of being in water without the wetness. She grasped at something metallic, but when she pulled it out she discovered it was only a girl’s barrette. She didn’t question what it was doing in there, instead she shoved her arm up to her shoulder into the pocket, but only succeeded in finding several toy cars, a conker, and a yo-yo, some string, two rubber bands, a rotten banana, and twelve push pins- seven of which lodged painfully in her hand.
“Any luck?” Jenny asked Jack, while she pulled gingerly on the pins in her hand.
“Nope,” Jack admitted, pulling out another handful of random items and letting them fall to the floor. He walked over to her with his hands shoved deep in his own pockets and over to Jenny. Reaching out and taking her hand in his, he swiftly pulled out the pins.
“Thanks,” Jenny muttered, about to stick her hand in her mouth to suck away the blood, but her Jack grabbed it back, reaching into his pocket and dabbing it with a handkerchief.
“Honestly, you’re as bad as your father sometimes,” Jack muttered.
“Thanks,” she replied brightly, before looking back at the coat and sighing. “You had better call him, Jack, but I’ve got a feeling it’s not gonna accomplish anything.”
“On it,” Jack told her, as he extracted his phone from his pocket and dialed Rose’s number, waiting for it to ring. Sitting down on the floor of the console room, Jack pulled Jenny down next to him as she fidgeted with the hem of her dress.
“Rose,” he said hurriedly, as he grinned. “Ask the Doctor where his key is… no it’s not in his coat… yes we checked… no… yes… Rose! Please, just ask him…”
Sighing at Rose’s reply, as he waited for the Doctor to pick up Jack rested his head against the edge of the TARDIS console. Jenny still refused to sit still as she stared around at her surroundings with a mixture of curiosity and fear. Jack laid a gentle hand on hers and smiled at her, pressing a chaste kiss on her forehead, but she drew away.
“Jack,” she mumbled worriedly.
Jack opened his mouth to reply to her, but instead held up his hand when he heard the Doctor’s voice on the other end of the line. “Doctor... Where is your key? No it’s not… of course I looked… and Jenny. Are you sure…”
“Jack,” Jenny repeated stepping out to the doors and looking out at the green light streaming in through the windows.
“It’s fine, Jenny,” he assured her, not really looking up.
“It’s not Jack, look at the light.” She pointed out to the windows.
Jack drew the receiver and told the Doctor he had to go, slipping the phone back into his pocket, he walked over to the doors. His hands went to the door of the TARDIS and tried to open it, but found it wouldn’t budge. He jiggled the lock a few times, panic building up inside of him, but he instinctively forced it down. His eyes drifted to Jenny as he forced his entire weight onto the door of the TARDIS and tried to make it budge.
By the seventh go, Jenny was grabbing onto his arm as he shook from exertion. He grunted to get free from her grip, but she would yield, and she pulled him back into her arms. “That’s not doing any good, Jack.”
“I can try,” Jack muttered.
“No, you’re just going to hurt yourself,” Jenny told him, placing a gently hand on his already tender arm. “I need you in one piece.”
“Fine,” Jack muttered, rubbing his shoulder and looking around. “I take it this was in the Doctor’s plans-to lock us in here.”
“I imagine not,” Jenny said, sinking down to the floor, and tugging her arms around her legs. “Either way, we’re without power and with no way to open the door, so we might as well make the best of it.”
She tapped on the grating beside her and Jack slid down next to her, his arm around her shoulder and her head on his chest. “Jack. Something’s not right.”
“I know, but he wouldn’t just leave us. He has a plan.”
“That’s not what I mean,” Jenny admitted, running her hand through her hair and turning her head from side to side. “How long have we been in here?”
Jack prodded her in the ribs playfully, trying to lighten the mood. “Shouldn’t I ask you that, Time Lady.”
Jack gave a laugh, but stopped when Jenny didn’t even try to play along. He looked at her and shoved her shoulder slightly to get some sort of response, but she didn’t.
“Jen?”
“Don’t you get it?” Jenny nearly shouted. “I don’t know! I don’t have a clue what time it is. I need to know. It’s like I’m blind or at least part-blind. A piece of me is gone.” Dread filled Jenny’s face as she gripped Jack hard by the shoulders. “What if Dad doesn’t accept me? What if he thinks I’m just a Genetic Anomaly again? I can’t deal with that. I need him. I want it back, Jack.”
“Hush,” Jack told her, while he rubbed her back. “That’s not gonna happen. Never ever. Your dad loves you and it’s unconditional. We’ll figure it out, I promise.”
“Can I call him back, Jack?” Jenny whimpered, but even as she did so Jack’s mobile started ringing and Jack answered it.
“Jack get yourself and Jenny out of there!” Jenny heard her father’s voice shout loudly through the receiver.
“Can’t, Doc, you locked the door,” Jack told him in an annoyed voice, getting to his feet and taking Jenny’s hand. “We’re stuck.”
All Jenny heard was her father’s screams as the whole room filled with the same green light that had been outside and a pounding on the doors before the whole room shook. She felt herself being pulled forward by Jack, but pain ran through her head and she sunk to the floor before he could catch her. His arms enveloped her protectively and kissed her forehead. “I’ve got you,” she heard him say. “I’ve got you.”
Author: country_who
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairing: Ten/Rose, Jenny/Jack, Idris
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Romance
Summary: The Doctor, Rose, Jenny and Jack are planning on going to see Donna, but when the TARDIS starts acting up and the Doctor receives a message, they have no choice but to investigate. (The Doctor's Wife, AU). Sequel to The Doctor and His Time Ladies.
Prologue | Chapter 1
Shoving his hands deep in his pants’ pockets, until he was well past his wrists, the Doctor sighed loudly, so that one of his companions would question him. Rose was walking ahead, seemingly intent on finding the woman that had bit him, and Jack and Jenny were trailing behind slightly, giggling, no less. This was not a time for giggling, they needed to be serious. Rose was focusing, on the wrong thing, but still that was heading in the right direction at least.
Opening his mouth to sigh again, the Doctor stopped. Maybe it was for the best that they were ignoring him. Then, at least he could deal with the Time Lords himself. They weren’t very content with humans, and Jack’s ‘difference’ would surely send them into a panic. Not to mention Rose being essentially a human and holding the knowledge and perhaps even more time sense than a pure Time Lord in her brain, and Jenny, a Time Lord that didn’t change when she regenerated. They’d want to harness that for sure. Even if altering their appearance was a part of their culture it still hurt and felt like dying. However, from the way Jenny described regeneration for her, it was nearly painless, and simply felt like waking up from an extended nap.
He had to admit; even he was a bit intrigued by it.
In the last days of the Time War the Time Lords in the High Council had wanted to give up physical form, and he had been against it, that’s why he had to stop them. Maybe the Time Lords here had escaped to this bubble outside the universe to escape what he ended. They might agree with him then, accept him back, not as a genocidal murder, but as a hero. Not that that mattered as much as just being taken back. In fact, a part of him desperately wanted them to hate him when they accepted him. Every human that he met and took with him, was always so accepting of him.
It was because they didn’t know the scale of what he had truly done, and he knew it. Their tiny little human brains couldn’t handle the idea of two whole civilizations burning. Like they said, the death of one was a tragedy, but the death of a million is a statistic. But, he knew the Time Lords-he may have grown to rebel against them, but he still knew them. His own people, his family and friends, he didn’t see them as a group or a statistic; he saw them as the faces of his children he had lost so long ago.
His oldest dying in the first year of the Time War, and his second youngest dying not too long after the fall of the Could Have Been King and his Army of Mean-whiles, while his second, third, and fifth child burned from what he had caused. There was no time to warn them to get out, without the risk of letting out the Daleks and Time Lords alike, to end the rest of the universe.
Needless to say, his children had all seemed to inherit his rebellious streak, much to the annoyance of many higher-ups and teachers on Gallifrey. They were clever; maybe they had been the ones to discover this part of the word. A warmth bubbled up inside of him. It wasn’t quite pride, more of a tentative hope, but with hundreds of years away from them, that was all he needed. Smiling softly to himself, he thought about Jenny’s laughs anew, from where she and Jack walked behind her.
Donna was right when she said that Jenny would help fill hole in his soul that seemed to radiate pain into both of his hearts. He had just set himself up for more pain and disappointment now that he had let the idea of his children being around here, but he looked at Jenny and Rose, and even Jack and knew that he would make it through. He wasn’t alone, and he never would be again. He promised Donna, and Rose had promised him.
If they were here, he’d want them to see this though, Jenny, Rose, and Jack, and how free spirited they all were. Jack’s steadfast dedication to everything he put his mind to, Jenny’s curiosity and genuine glee to discover new things from a new perspective, and Rose’s well, everything about her, he compassion, her love, her knowledge of what was right and wrong, and just everything about her. They were everything that the Time Lords had never taught them or told them not to be.
He grinned. Sometimes he thought that was why he traveled so much, not to see the wonders of the universe, but its people. The way that they discovered how to pull through, and how some realized what had made them fall to improve new generations were amazing. When he thought back on the Time Lords, he saw them as observers and saw the beauty in it, but he never got to dip his toe into the wonder of that beauty until he ran away. They sat for thousands of years just observing, no wonder some of them went mad.
“Doctor,” Rose called out to him through his reverie. “Doctor,” she repeated, and this time he was able to shake out of it.
“Sorry,” he said quietly, still feeling a bit lost in his thoughts, but surfacing fast as Rose stopped in front of him and turned around.
“D’you have your TARDIS key,” Rose asked subtly, throwing him a brief look to Jack and Jenny in the behind them and giving the Doctor a slightly worried look. He immediately understood as he started reaching into his pockets and feeling around his suit jacket and shaking his head.
“No, I must have left it in my coat,” the Doctor mumbled convincingly, “don’t you have yours?”
Rose shook her head. “When we were on a mission at Torchwood in the other universe, I lost it in a rock slide.”
Rose gave him an apologetic look, but made sure that the expression was visible over her shoulder in Jack and Jenny’s direction. Biting her lip, she watched as the Doctor’s tone became slightly exacerbated as her statement.
“Rose, I gave that to you, as a sign of trust and you lost it,” he cried, winking slightly with his back turned to the pair behind them.
“Calm down, Doctor,” Jack said, taking the bait, albeit slightly perplexedly. “I’ve got my key, so we won’t get stuck.”
“No, no,” the Doctor said dismissively, acting as if to shrug the former Time Agent off. “Rose and mine are special, they each got a bit of Time energy in them, and it allows us to call the TARDIS if we need to. I didn’t trust you when I gave you a key, Captain, so yours is well… a key.”
Jack looked visibly deflated, as he pulled out the cool piece of metal from his key pocket and held it in his palm, staring at it.
“Now, Captain, stop it, I’ll modify it for you once with get out of here, but for now, we need to get my key from my coat. You could take Jenny and Rose and head down there. Rose knows her way around my pockets and well, Jenny needs a key for herself, doesn’t she?” He smiled at his daughter as she beamed back at him.
“Really?” She asked happily.
“Yep, just head on over there and…”
“Hold on, Doctor,” Rose said, stepping up to the Doctor and lacing her fingers with his, squeezing a bit harder than what could have been considered friendly. “Don’t you think that Jack can handle it? Aren’t you afraid that if I go with them I might go wandering off?”
“Not a bit,” the Doctor replied, eyeing Rose back and trying to loosen her grip on his hand, but she would yield.
“Well, with everything that’s been going on around here, I don’t think anyone should be on their own, don’t you, Doctor?” Rose asked.
“Absolutely, Rose,” the Doctor agreed. “Can’t have Jack and Jenny alone, so why don’t you just…”
“Not, what I meant, Doctor,” Rose said with her voice laced in irritation. “You shouldn’t be on your own either.”
“I won’t be,” the Doctor said bitingly, “I’ve got Time Lords around here.”
The words fell out of his mouth before he could get control of them. He didn’t mean a word of them, and as soon as he realized what he had said, he regretted it. He reached out his hand towards Rose, not trusting his mouth. However, Rose backed away, her eyes filled with hurt.
“Fine,” Rose said softly, walking over to Jack and Jenny, the former putting his arm gently around her shoulder and pulling her closely.
Swallowing back jealousy, the Doctor moved forward again. Rose didn’t have anywhere to go this time in Jack’s arms, but she ignored her best friend’s hand reaching out for her to meet him halfway.
“Rose, I’m sorry,” he told her again, shuffling his feet and looking at Jenny’s face, which was fixed in a glare narrowed at him. “I… I didn’t mean it, honestly. I’d love you to come with me. Just like old times.”
Shaking her head sadly, Rose backed into Jack and dipped her eyes to the ground.
“Rose, please,” the Doctor whispered softly.
“You don’t get it, do you, Doctor?” Rose whispered back, her eyes locking on the Doctor’s. There wasn’t a trace of anger in her eyes, only betrayal. It was worse for him to see her this way. He needed her so badly in more ways than one, but every time he had her close like he wanted deep in his hearts his brain and mouth shoved her away. He couldn’t control it. It was like having another person inside his body and controlling his every move.
“I do,” he said softly. “I love you, Rose. I really do. Don’t you believe me?”
Rose nodded. “But, that’s the problem. I know you do, but you don’t want me to love you back. You just push me away when it’s convenient. You think that you’re the only one you’re hurting by keeping your distance from me, but you’re not. It hurts me too.”
“I realize that,” the Doctor said honestly, opening his arms to her, but she still wouldn’t come to him, so he changed his strategy. “Jack, Jenny, why don’t you head on, get the key.”
Jack hesitated, not wanting to leave his friend when she might do something to get away from the Doctor, but Jenny caught his sleeve and pulled him away. “It’s easier for him to explain while he’s alone,” Jenny whispered in his ear as they walked away.
The Doctor watched them go. “I love you, Rose,” he repeated.
“That’s not enough, Doctor,” Rose told him, and finally she walked towards him and placed both her hands over each of his hearts and felt them pound beneath her fingers. “I let you love me; you could be fair and let me love you.”
Finally, the Time Lord understood and he wrapped his arms tightly around his chest, forcing Rose’s hands away. He wanted her to be close to him. She meant more to him than anything else in the world, but he had completely devoured so many people’s lives, that he supposed he was always making sure that Rose had a way out if she wanted it. If she ever wanted to leave, he wanted to give her the chance. It didn’t matter if Rose shattered his hearts into a million pieces when she left, as long as she was safe and happy. In trying to protect her, the Doctor realized that he had caused her more pain than any other accident they had gotten into in their travels.
“Doctor, I won’t hurt you on purpose, you know that.”
“I know,” the Doctor said with conviction, reaching forward and taking Rose’s hands in his. “I never should have made you think that I preferred the Time Lord’s to your company. I just… It’s been so long, Rose. I need to be forgiven, I do. I just. I… I really. I…”
What was he supposed to say? I’m sorry Rose, but I just can’t take your promise of your forever to heart?
“I don’t want you to get hurt,” the Doctor told her finally.
“That’s not your place to worry,” Rose told him, taking his hand in his finally, and looking up at him with a forced smile. “Let’s go find those Time Lords.”
The Doctor nodded once and squeezed Rose’s hand, but wasn’t surprised at all when she didn’t squeeze back. He looked at her pendant again, just above the string where she wore her TARDIS key. He would tell her, as soon as they were out of here and alone.
He’d tell her.
~o~
Jenny bunched her hands together in front of her as they made their way to the TARDIS. Her mind was racing with possibilities so fast that she didn’t notice Jack’s hand reaching for hers then withdrawing when she didn’t respond. Instead she kept walking to the TARDIS with surprising urgency.
“Dad’s hiding something,” Jenny mumbled, turning swiftly towards Jack, her loose hair flying back and landing in front of her eyes. In frustration, she angrily shoved it behind her ears again and mentally made a note to never wear it free again.
“You’re telling me,” Jack muttered, putting his hands in front of him and twisting them back and forth.
Jenny nodded, turning back around and seeing the TARDIS off in the distance, as she bounced on her heels and looked happily at Jack. She didn’t seem to be pondering anymore, she was just excited. Jack saw the free look in her eyes as they began to sparkle with life and youth. He knew his eyes didn’t do that anymore, they had ceased a long time ago. However, when he looked at Jenny he felt like he was getting some of that youth back, reflecting in his own eyes.
Smiling at her, Jack already knew what she wanted, as he reached out, and this time took her hand, as they bolted towards the TARDIS. They matched pace for a good hundred feet before Jenny managed to twist herself free of his hand, laughing and shouting for Jack to beat her as she sprinted away. It only took the ex-time agent a split second to react as he bolted after her and over took her. He spun with his arms wide and grabbed Jenny around the waist and hauled her over his shoulder by her waist and carried Jenny the rest of the way to the TARDIS.
“Put me down, Harkness,” Jenny squealed.
“Not gonna happen if you’re run away again,” he drawled as they reached the TARDIS and he slid his free arm into his pocket and extracted the key and slid it into the lock. He stepped through the threshold with arguing Time Lady in hand and closed the door behind him before setting her down and walking over to the Doctor’s coat.
“Not fair using size as an advantage,” Jenny pouted as she watched Jack’s whole arm disappear inside the Doctor’s coat.
“You never complained before,” Jack grunted.
Jenny’s face scrunched in confusion before shaking her head and deciding not to question him. Instead, she slipped her hand into the Doctor’s other pocket and felt items seem to float past her fingers. It almost gave her the sensation of being in water without the wetness. She grasped at something metallic, but when she pulled it out she discovered it was only a girl’s barrette. She didn’t question what it was doing in there, instead she shoved her arm up to her shoulder into the pocket, but only succeeded in finding several toy cars, a conker, and a yo-yo, some string, two rubber bands, a rotten banana, and twelve push pins- seven of which lodged painfully in her hand.
“Any luck?” Jenny asked Jack, while she pulled gingerly on the pins in her hand.
“Nope,” Jack admitted, pulling out another handful of random items and letting them fall to the floor. He walked over to her with his hands shoved deep in his own pockets and over to Jenny. Reaching out and taking her hand in his, he swiftly pulled out the pins.
“Thanks,” Jenny muttered, about to stick her hand in her mouth to suck away the blood, but her Jack grabbed it back, reaching into his pocket and dabbing it with a handkerchief.
“Honestly, you’re as bad as your father sometimes,” Jack muttered.
“Thanks,” she replied brightly, before looking back at the coat and sighing. “You had better call him, Jack, but I’ve got a feeling it’s not gonna accomplish anything.”
“On it,” Jack told her, as he extracted his phone from his pocket and dialed Rose’s number, waiting for it to ring. Sitting down on the floor of the console room, Jack pulled Jenny down next to him as she fidgeted with the hem of her dress.
“Rose,” he said hurriedly, as he grinned. “Ask the Doctor where his key is… no it’s not in his coat… yes we checked… no… yes… Rose! Please, just ask him…”
Sighing at Rose’s reply, as he waited for the Doctor to pick up Jack rested his head against the edge of the TARDIS console. Jenny still refused to sit still as she stared around at her surroundings with a mixture of curiosity and fear. Jack laid a gentle hand on hers and smiled at her, pressing a chaste kiss on her forehead, but she drew away.
“Jack,” she mumbled worriedly.
Jack opened his mouth to reply to her, but instead held up his hand when he heard the Doctor’s voice on the other end of the line. “Doctor... Where is your key? No it’s not… of course I looked… and Jenny. Are you sure…”
“Jack,” Jenny repeated stepping out to the doors and looking out at the green light streaming in through the windows.
“It’s fine, Jenny,” he assured her, not really looking up.
“It’s not Jack, look at the light.” She pointed out to the windows.
Jack drew the receiver and told the Doctor he had to go, slipping the phone back into his pocket, he walked over to the doors. His hands went to the door of the TARDIS and tried to open it, but found it wouldn’t budge. He jiggled the lock a few times, panic building up inside of him, but he instinctively forced it down. His eyes drifted to Jenny as he forced his entire weight onto the door of the TARDIS and tried to make it budge.
By the seventh go, Jenny was grabbing onto his arm as he shook from exertion. He grunted to get free from her grip, but she would yield, and she pulled him back into her arms. “That’s not doing any good, Jack.”
“I can try,” Jack muttered.
“No, you’re just going to hurt yourself,” Jenny told him, placing a gently hand on his already tender arm. “I need you in one piece.”
“Fine,” Jack muttered, rubbing his shoulder and looking around. “I take it this was in the Doctor’s plans-to lock us in here.”
“I imagine not,” Jenny said, sinking down to the floor, and tugging her arms around her legs. “Either way, we’re without power and with no way to open the door, so we might as well make the best of it.”
She tapped on the grating beside her and Jack slid down next to her, his arm around her shoulder and her head on his chest. “Jack. Something’s not right.”
“I know, but he wouldn’t just leave us. He has a plan.”
“That’s not what I mean,” Jenny admitted, running her hand through her hair and turning her head from side to side. “How long have we been in here?”
Jack prodded her in the ribs playfully, trying to lighten the mood. “Shouldn’t I ask you that, Time Lady.”
Jack gave a laugh, but stopped when Jenny didn’t even try to play along. He looked at her and shoved her shoulder slightly to get some sort of response, but she didn’t.
“Jen?”
“Don’t you get it?” Jenny nearly shouted. “I don’t know! I don’t have a clue what time it is. I need to know. It’s like I’m blind or at least part-blind. A piece of me is gone.” Dread filled Jenny’s face as she gripped Jack hard by the shoulders. “What if Dad doesn’t accept me? What if he thinks I’m just a Genetic Anomaly again? I can’t deal with that. I need him. I want it back, Jack.”
“Hush,” Jack told her, while he rubbed her back. “That’s not gonna happen. Never ever. Your dad loves you and it’s unconditional. We’ll figure it out, I promise.”
“Can I call him back, Jack?” Jenny whimpered, but even as she did so Jack’s mobile started ringing and Jack answered it.
“Jack get yourself and Jenny out of there!” Jenny heard her father’s voice shout loudly through the receiver.
“Can’t, Doc, you locked the door,” Jack told him in an annoyed voice, getting to his feet and taking Jenny’s hand. “We’re stuck.”
All Jenny heard was her father’s screams as the whole room filled with the same green light that had been outside and a pounding on the doors before the whole room shook. She felt herself being pulled forward by Jack, but pain ran through her head and she sunk to the floor before he could catch her. His arms enveloped her protectively and kissed her forehead. “I’ve got you,” she heard him say. “I’ve got you.”