DW Fic: A Good Old Normal, Human Life
Fandom: DOCTOR WHO
Title: A Good Old Normal, Human Life
Word Count: 1,404 (17,113 total)
Rating: PG (at the moment)
Summary: What happens after the Doctor leaves Rose and his human counterpart behind on Pete's world.
Character/s: The (Human) Doctor, Rose
Pairings: Bit of TenII/Rose, (will mainly be Doctor/Master or Smith/Saxon in future parts)
Beta: By the wonderful deringer and castielsdemon
A/N: This is the first of what will be a series of stories set in 'Pete's world', or as it may come to be known 'the World of Improbable Coincidence'
Most screen caps from the SonicBiro site or the power of google-fu
The complete fic is now available in PDF on request or can be read in one entry at AO3
PROLOGUE
As Rose pulled away and turned, the Doctor saw Donna shut the door to the Tardis behind her, a small smile graced her lips. He hoped his original would save her.
Rose turned at the first sound of the engines. She ran to him for the last time, as she always had. Running, running, always running... But not anymore, the Doctor had abandoned her there. Abandoned him too on this world, with all his memories of being a nine hundred year old Time Lord.
Perhaps it’s his punishment; he is the Destroyer of Worlds after all. The very worst parts of the Doctor in human packaging. Maybe the Doctor hadn’t thought it through that much. Maybe it wasn’t about confining him, or making sure Rose is happy. He probably just couldn’t stand the sight of him.
Not that it mattered. He was here with Rose, where he wanted to be. He could live with her until they were old and grey. A good old normal, human life with Rose Tyler.
And if the last echoes of the sound of his ships’ engines stirred grief in his heart more potent than that he’d felt on the last day he remembered standing on this beach, then that was just too bad.
Rose Tyler would be happy.
And he, well he’d be fine. He was always fine.
***
“We could stay with mum and dad for a while. Or do you want to look for a flat? A nice flat, in a town house or something, not an estate.”
“Oi!” Jackie shouted from the front of the jeep. “What exactly are you trying to say Rose Tyler?” she demanded. Rose rolled her eyes and shot the Doctor a grin from where she was sitting next to him in the backseat.
“Nothing, Mum. I’m just saying we could probably afford something nice is all. If we wanted, if you wanted Doctor?” she said voice pitched a little higher at the end; unsure. He supposed that in comparison to the Doctor they all knew he had been a little quiet so far.
“Sounds brilliant,” he said with a grin and a squeeze of her hand. Her answering smile was one of unabashed happiness and the wall grief in his chest faded a little behind the wish to keep that look there for as long as he could.
“He’ll need to get a job won’t he though? He'll get bored otherwise,” Jackie said.
“No, of course I wouldn’t,” he defended quickly. “I’d have Rose,” he said, smiling at her.
“Well Rose has a job doesn’t she, what are you gonna do when she’s not there?” she said turning round and frowning at him.
“I’m sure someone will snap him up. That new PM of ours is really in to backing Torchwood and UNIT,” Pete said.
“Oh so he gets right in at the top then, doesn’t have to work his way up like the rest of us ?” Jackie huffed.
“Don’t start, mum! It’s not like he can work at the corner shop or something!”
“Oh so he’s better than us now is he?”
“No, I just think he could do more than shop work or temping or something!” Rose retorted. They continued to argue back and forth.
The Doctor stared out the window and watched the country flash by. An indignant voice in the back of his head which he ignored but couldn’t quite silence was saying ‘Best temp in Chiswick, 100 words per minute’.
***
The Doctor and Rose stayed with Jackie whilst they hunted for somewhere to live…which was at best horrifying, but luckily only temporary. In the end they found a nice two bedroom flat in London, which was close enough to the Torchwood tower (intact and still operational in this reality) for Rose to get to for work.
They had offered the Doctor a job as well, but he couldn’t really see himself working for any branch of Torchwood in any reality and so declined. They were however useful in setting up an identity for him. They went with the tried and tested John Smith. He now had a passport, driver’s license and National Insurance number, making him one of the great many unemployed in the city.
He and Rose slotted into place together quite easily. It worked much like their relationship had before, but with slightly more romance and a lot less running for their lives. It was all frighteningly normal.
The startlingly slow pace of normal life had got to him eventually, but he had settled into it in the end. Wake up, have a bit of a morning fumble with Rose if there was time, make breakfast, watch a bit of television, have lunch, do a bit of house work, make dinner, listen to Rose recount her day, go to bed.
He still felt slightly out of place and disjointed but he tried to keep that to himself and thought that he was mostly succeeding.
It was however; much easier to get through the days when he could look forward to night when he held Rose against him and could hear the familiar echo of a double heart beat.
***
“We need to find you something to do,” Rose said at the end of their first month in the new flat.
“Hmm,” the Doctor agreed, took her spoon from her hand and got himself a spoonful of ice-cream from the small tub she was holding.
“Come on,” she poked him in the side, retrieved the spoon and dug it back in the pot. “We need to seriously brainstorm. You’re turning into a couch potato!”
“Oi! Are you calling me fat?” he said frowning. She grinned.
“Look, I just think you need to do something other than sitting around here all day,” she continued.
“I’m fine.” He kicked his feet up onto the coffee table and flicked the television on with the remote.
“I wish you’d stop saying that!” Rose exclaimed, stood up sharply and walked over to the kitchen.
“But I am. I am fine,” he said, he turned the television back off and faced her.
“I know, but I don’t want you to just be fine. I want you to be happy, don’t I?”
He didn’t know what to say in response. It wasn’t enough that he had to put all his energy into making sure she was happy, he now had to be exuberant rather than just plain contented himself.
“Look, Dad’s heard that the Prime Minister is looking for an advisor of sorts. You know with a sort of special knowledge set, so they can liaise with Torchwood and UNIT. Just your kind of thing,” she explained as she walked back over and sat on the edge of the sofa next to him.
“I’ve not really got any work experience though have I?”
“We can vouch for you. You stopped the stars from going out after all,” she elbowed him and smiled slightly. “He’s not been much for publicity lately either and even when he was he never had any of the cabinet of his staff in front of the cameras, if that’s what you’re worried about?”
“No, I- I guess I’ll think about it,” he conceded, his hand inching toward the television remote again.
Her expression hardened for a second before she sighed and stood up, “Guess that’ll do for now. There’s a picture of him in the paper today if you wanted to have a look,” she added as she wandered back to the kitchen and started to clear up their dinner things.
The Doctor switched the television back on and flicked it onto the Discovery Channel before leaning forward over the coffee table to open the paper. He flicked through until he reached the page Rose had been talking about and choked off a noise of surprise.
The article was entitled 'Camera Shy Prime Minister hiding from the Hoards of the Unemployed?' The Doctor felt like he couldn’t breathe for a moment as he took in the photograph beneath the unimaginative headline.
“What? What is it?” He hadn’t even heard Rose walk back over.
His hand shook slightly as he ran it over the picture briefly. He looked the same, the same as the last time the Doctor had seen him, had held him in his arms as he refused to-
“Doctor!” Rose had gripped his shoulder and turned him towards her.
“That job?” he said eventually. “I’m definitely interested.”
x-posted to dwfiction and slash_lords
Read Part Two: Welcome to Number Ten, Mr Smith.
Title: A Good Old Normal, Human Life
Word Count: 1,404 (17,113 total)
Rating: PG (at the moment)
Summary: What happens after the Doctor leaves Rose and his human counterpart behind on Pete's world.
Character/s: The (Human) Doctor, Rose
Pairings: Bit of TenII/Rose, (will mainly be Doctor/Master or Smith/Saxon in future parts)
Beta: By the wonderful deringer and castielsdemon
A/N: This is the first of what will be a series of stories set in 'Pete's world', or as it may come to be known 'the World of Improbable Coincidence'
Most screen caps from the SonicBiro site or the power of google-fu
The complete fic is now available in PDF on request or can be read in one entry at AO3
PROLOGUE
As Rose pulled away and turned, the Doctor saw Donna shut the door to the Tardis behind her, a small smile graced her lips. He hoped his original would save her.
Rose turned at the first sound of the engines. She ran to him for the last time, as she always had. Running, running, always running... But not anymore, the Doctor had abandoned her there. Abandoned him too on this world, with all his memories of being a nine hundred year old Time Lord.
Perhaps it’s his punishment; he is the Destroyer of Worlds after all. The very worst parts of the Doctor in human packaging. Maybe the Doctor hadn’t thought it through that much. Maybe it wasn’t about confining him, or making sure Rose is happy. He probably just couldn’t stand the sight of him.
Not that it mattered. He was here with Rose, where he wanted to be. He could live with her until they were old and grey. A good old normal, human life with Rose Tyler.
And if the last echoes of the sound of his ships’ engines stirred grief in his heart more potent than that he’d felt on the last day he remembered standing on this beach, then that was just too bad.
Rose Tyler would be happy.
And he, well he’d be fine. He was always fine.
***
“We could stay with mum and dad for a while. Or do you want to look for a flat? A nice flat, in a town house or something, not an estate.”
“Oi!” Jackie shouted from the front of the jeep. “What exactly are you trying to say Rose Tyler?” she demanded. Rose rolled her eyes and shot the Doctor a grin from where she was sitting next to him in the backseat.
“Nothing, Mum. I’m just saying we could probably afford something nice is all. If we wanted, if you wanted Doctor?” she said voice pitched a little higher at the end; unsure. He supposed that in comparison to the Doctor they all knew he had been a little quiet so far.
“Sounds brilliant,” he said with a grin and a squeeze of her hand. Her answering smile was one of unabashed happiness and the wall grief in his chest faded a little behind the wish to keep that look there for as long as he could.
“He’ll need to get a job won’t he though? He'll get bored otherwise,” Jackie said.
“No, of course I wouldn’t,” he defended quickly. “I’d have Rose,” he said, smiling at her.
“Well Rose has a job doesn’t she, what are you gonna do when she’s not there?” she said turning round and frowning at him.
“I’m sure someone will snap him up. That new PM of ours is really in to backing Torchwood and UNIT,” Pete said.
“Oh so he gets right in at the top then, doesn’t have to work his way up like the rest of us ?” Jackie huffed.
“Don’t start, mum! It’s not like he can work at the corner shop or something!”
“Oh so he’s better than us now is he?”
“No, I just think he could do more than shop work or temping or something!” Rose retorted. They continued to argue back and forth.
The Doctor stared out the window and watched the country flash by. An indignant voice in the back of his head which he ignored but couldn’t quite silence was saying ‘Best temp in Chiswick, 100 words per minute’.
***
The Doctor and Rose stayed with Jackie whilst they hunted for somewhere to live…which was at best horrifying, but luckily only temporary. In the end they found a nice two bedroom flat in London, which was close enough to the Torchwood tower (intact and still operational in this reality) for Rose to get to for work.
They had offered the Doctor a job as well, but he couldn’t really see himself working for any branch of Torchwood in any reality and so declined. They were however useful in setting up an identity for him. They went with the tried and tested John Smith. He now had a passport, driver’s license and National Insurance number, making him one of the great many unemployed in the city.
He and Rose slotted into place together quite easily. It worked much like their relationship had before, but with slightly more romance and a lot less running for their lives. It was all frighteningly normal.
The startlingly slow pace of normal life had got to him eventually, but he had settled into it in the end. Wake up, have a bit of a morning fumble with Rose if there was time, make breakfast, watch a bit of television, have lunch, do a bit of house work, make dinner, listen to Rose recount her day, go to bed.
He still felt slightly out of place and disjointed but he tried to keep that to himself and thought that he was mostly succeeding.
It was however; much easier to get through the days when he could look forward to night when he held Rose against him and could hear the familiar echo of a double heart beat.
***
“We need to find you something to do,” Rose said at the end of their first month in the new flat.
“Hmm,” the Doctor agreed, took her spoon from her hand and got himself a spoonful of ice-cream from the small tub she was holding.
“Come on,” she poked him in the side, retrieved the spoon and dug it back in the pot. “We need to seriously brainstorm. You’re turning into a couch potato!”
“Oi! Are you calling me fat?” he said frowning. She grinned.
“Look, I just think you need to do something other than sitting around here all day,” she continued.
“I’m fine.” He kicked his feet up onto the coffee table and flicked the television on with the remote.
“I wish you’d stop saying that!” Rose exclaimed, stood up sharply and walked over to the kitchen.
“But I am. I am fine,” he said, he turned the television back off and faced her.
“I know, but I don’t want you to just be fine. I want you to be happy, don’t I?”
He didn’t know what to say in response. It wasn’t enough that he had to put all his energy into making sure she was happy, he now had to be exuberant rather than just plain contented himself.
“Look, Dad’s heard that the Prime Minister is looking for an advisor of sorts. You know with a sort of special knowledge set, so they can liaise with Torchwood and UNIT. Just your kind of thing,” she explained as she walked back over and sat on the edge of the sofa next to him.
“I’ve not really got any work experience though have I?”
“We can vouch for you. You stopped the stars from going out after all,” she elbowed him and smiled slightly. “He’s not been much for publicity lately either and even when he was he never had any of the cabinet of his staff in front of the cameras, if that’s what you’re worried about?”
“No, I- I guess I’ll think about it,” he conceded, his hand inching toward the television remote again.
Her expression hardened for a second before she sighed and stood up, “Guess that’ll do for now. There’s a picture of him in the paper today if you wanted to have a look,” she added as she wandered back to the kitchen and started to clear up their dinner things.
The Doctor switched the television back on and flicked it onto the Discovery Channel before leaning forward over the coffee table to open the paper. He flicked through until he reached the page Rose had been talking about and choked off a noise of surprise.
The article was entitled 'Camera Shy Prime Minister hiding from the Hoards of the Unemployed?' The Doctor felt like he couldn’t breathe for a moment as he took in the photograph beneath the unimaginative headline.
“What? What is it?” He hadn’t even heard Rose walk back over.
His hand shook slightly as he ran it over the picture briefly. He looked the same, the same as the last time the Doctor had seen him, had held him in his arms as he refused to-
“Doctor!” Rose had gripped his shoulder and turned him towards her.
“That job?” he said eventually. “I’m definitely interested.”
x-posted to dwfiction and slash_lords
Read Part Two: Welcome to Number Ten, Mr Smith.