Doctor Who fic: The Trial of Ten, 14/20
Banner made by 'D', my talented RL artist friend.
Characters: Eleventh Doctor, Metacrisis Doctor, Rose (Also: Martha, Jack, Amy, Rory, Gwen, John Hart)
Genre: Drama; some action and h/c
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Up to/including A Christmas Carol
Summary: When the Metacrisis Doctor returns with Rose from the other universe, he is captured and put on trial for various crimes including genocide. Can Rose and Eleven save him? How does the case affect Eleven who is also, in effect, on trial? How does the unexpected return to the Tardis and to the original Doctor affect Rose?
Chapter 14: Although a painful loss for both Ten and Eleven is explored in the courtroom, Ten is allowed a moment of respite from the tension. And there is a new clue to investigate...
Disclaimer: This story takes place within the Doctor Who universe. This story is a way of re-interpreting concepts and ideas already present in Doctor Who. All characters within belong to the BBC. This story is for fun and for sharing, but not for profit.
The Trial of Ten
Chapter 14: His Last Link and Anchor
Jack walked out from the back with a quick, determined stride.
'I guess this is my seat?' he asked with only the slightest hint of a drawl.
'That is correct,' said the Woman.
As Jack sat down, Rose saw him lean slightly towards Ten and look at him searchingly. Ten merely looked back with no further reaction after his surprise a moment ago.
'Mr. Harkness,' said the Woman. 'I take it that you recognize the prisoner.'
'Yes, I do, ma'am,' said Jack. 'That's the Doctor.'
'Noted,' said the Woman. 'One of the complaints before the court is that the Doctor allowed his ship, the Tardis, to fall into the Master's hands and, by fusing the coordinates, made the Master come to Earth. I understand that you were there at the time he did this.'
'I could be a witness for this,' muttered Martha.
Eleven leaned across Rose. 'But you are compromised in their eyes--"coerced" by me: another victim. Jack is independent and also recognized as another prisoner of the Master.'
'I suppose,' said Martha. She crossed her arms.
Jack was speaking. 'I was there. We didn't know that the Master even existed. The Doctor didn't recognize him since his Time Lord biology was hidden by a... a Chamelion Arch. By the time we realized what was happening, the Master was already taking the Tardis. The Doctor only had a second to try to do something. Thinking on his feet. No planning. He fused the coordinates so that he'd have a chance to locate the Master and stop him. At least he'd know where to go.'
'So may I infer that there was no conscious decision to take the Master to Earth?' asked the Woman.
'None at all,' said Jack firmly. 'He literally only had a second to act and it just happened to be Earth in 2007 that was the last coordinate. He was pretty upset to find out that the Master had become the Prime Minister of the U.K.'
'Once the Doctor did find out, what did he do?' asked the Woman.
'From that point onward, hell, from the point the Master stole the Tardis, his one thought was to stop him. That never changed. He knew the Master was dangerous. In the whole year following, that never changed.'
The Woman nodded. 'And, I'm sorry for reminding you of this, but during all the time you were held prisoner and tortured, did you ever come to feel that the Doctor was abandoning his goal of capturing the Master?'
Jack shook his head. 'Never. I knew that he would never give up, and he didn't. In fact, I didn't realize until later just how hard he was working all year, even while he himself was held prisoner, to stop the Master. Martha was working on Earth under his instructions, and he was working on the Valiant to manipulate the psychic field of the Archangel network. It was long, slow, and hard, but between the two of them, they pulled it off. They stopped the Master.'
'I understand you had a hand in that too,' said the Woman. 'You destroyed the Paradox Machine that the Master had created in the Tardis.'
'I did, ma'am,' said Jack. 'But that was under orders from the Doctor himself. He knew what had to be done. He engineered everything.'
The Woman slowly walked around Ten's chair and stopped beside him. 'And in the end, what were the Doctor's intentions.'
Ten looked up at the Woman.
Jack spoke loudly. 'He was going to imprison the Master on the Tardis and devote the rest of his life to looking after him. He said that the Master was his responsibility now.'
'The previous witness said that the Doctor seemed to abandon his intentions of imprisoning the Master when the Master was fatally shot. Is this true?'
'No,' said Jack firmly. 'He never did any such thing. The Doctor was definitely upset, but the reason the Master died was exactly because the Doctor planned to imprison him. He didn't want that and so he died in order to prevent it. The Master knew that the Doctor wouldn't change his mind even though the price was to lose his last link to home.'
'His last link to home,' mused the Woman. 'A pretty powerful link. The last of your kind, of your entire culture, your whole planet. It seems to me that it must take an iron will to withstand that kind of temptation, to not give in.' She took one last look at Ten and then walked to the middle of the dais and addressed the jury. 'We've heard a lot of talk about the Doctor's character. I would like everyone to take note of this, that the Doctor was willing to lose the very last person from his home planet--his home planet!--in order to protect Earth. He placed Earth, and indeed the rest of the universe, above his own interests and his own people because he knew they needed to be protected. Please consider this when you consider all else.'
She turned back to Jack. 'Thank you, Mr. Harkness.'
'No questions,' said the Man.
As Jack got up and walked to the back, Rose looked at Eleven. He was quiet, head bowed. Very gently, she put an arm around him. He said nothing but leaned into her embrace.
She looked back at the dais. Ten's gaze was fixed on them. 'I'm sorry,' she mouthed. 'I'm so sorry.'
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
When the knock came at the door, Eleven simply let the Woman into the Tardis.
'That went better this time,' said Rose.
'Yes,' said the Woman. 'We gained ground. Thank you for bringing Mr. Harkness as a witness. He was certainly known to us, but no-one was able to find him.'
'He was busy,' said Jack.
'We may have gained ground,' said Eleven, 'but the genocide verdict still remains, and the other charges are still to come.'
'Can I see the Doctor?' asked Martha. 'It's usually at this time...'
'Can I come--can we all go again?' asked Rose. She looked at Eleven and back at the Woman.
'I'm sorry,' said the Woman. 'Too many complaints were raised after yesterday. The representatives didn't like the telepathic communication.' She looked at Eleven. 'You won't be allowed back in.'
Eleven scowled. 'I was healing him. Not discussing the trial.'
'It doesn't matter,' responded the Woman. 'They have barred you from visiting. I'm sorry. He did seem to improve after your visit, and no doubt could benefit from another. But the decision was final.'
'What about Rose?' asked Eleven. 'She isn't telepathic.'
'I might be able to get her in,' said the Woman, 'and Ms. Jones may continue her visits. In fact, we should go now. But if you have any more ideas or leads, it would be a help.'
'What's this Emergency Measures Psychological Services?' asked Martha.
The Woman shrugged. 'An Earth organization.'
'Right, then,' said Eleven. 'Off you go, you lot. I'll... just wait here, doing... very important things.'
Rose reached up and hugged him. 'I'll tell him you wanted to come.'
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
It seemed to Rose that there were more watchers when she and Martha arrived at Ten's cell. The Man was also there, watching like a hawk. Rose shuddered. Like yesterday, Ten was lying on the bed, although his eyes were open, and he saw them arrive at the door.
Martha was allowed in first and she carefully conducted her examination. Rose watched, and it seemed to her that with every touch, Ten relaxed a little more. Once Martha finished her tasks, however, a guard entered the room and brusquely ordered her to leave.
'Can I...' began Rose.
'Quickly,' said the Woman. 'You will only have a few minutes.'
As Martha and the guard passed her on their way out, Rose edged her way in. No one followed her, but as before, the crowd of spectators lined the transparent walls.
When Ten saw her approach, he struggled to sit up. The restraints once again lengthened to allow him movement, but Rose noticed that there was no slack on the wires. The tension had clearly been set higher. He did not swing his legs over the side of the bed and he was forced to keep his arms behind him, hands flat on the bed.
Rose sat down.
'You all right?'
He nodded. 'You?' he asked. His voice was hoarse.
'I'm okay,' she said.
'My beautiful Rose,' he murmured.
She smiled. 'My handsome Time Lord.' She reached up a hand and stroked his cheek. 'Did you sleep last night?'
He nodded. 'Yeah.'
'Anything I can do?' she asked. She glanced up at the watching crowd.
'Just... touch me,' he whispered.
Rose curled her hands over either side of his face. 'I can do that,' she said softly. Keeping her left hand cupped on his jaw, she reached up with her right and stroked his forehead. Then she ran her fingers through his hair. 'I can always do that.'
Ten sighed and closed his eyes. 'My anchor,' he murmured.
With one trembling fingertip, Rose traced over one curving eyebrow and then, lingeringly, over the other. She touched the clear space between his eyebrows and let the finger follow down over the narrow, arching bridge of his nose. When she reached its tip, she kissed it.
'I love touching you,' she said, her voice hushed. She vainly hoped that the watchers couldn't hear her, but she suspected that they could, no matter how low she kept her voice.
Ten moved his head against her left palm and brushed the base of her thumb with his lips. 'I dreamt of you last night,' he said, his eyes still closed.
Rose reached her right hand around and let her fingers massage the muscles at the back of his neck, her fingertips working through his hair.
'Oh,' said Ten. He leaned his head back against her hand, and so she dug her fingers in harder.
'Your muscles are in knots,' said Rose. She put her left arm around him and she drew him against her. 'I don't know how long we have,' she whispered in his ear. However, as soon as she did so, she knew she had made a mistake. Angry murmurs rose from some of the spectators and the guards entered the room.
'I'm sorry,' she cried and withdrew from Ten who opened his eyes, startled and wary. 'I wasn't trying to tell him anything. Honest.'
But the guards did not slow down.
'I'm sorry,' she said brokenly and she grabbed Ten's head and she pressed her lips against his. He kissed her frantically. But the guards laid their hands on Rose and pulled her away. 'Doctor!' But the guards had already dragged her backwards to the entrance.
'Rose,' he cried out, but the door slid shut.
The guards let go of her, and she pressed her hand to the glass. She could see Ten staring at her.
'Rose,' he said one more time, and his whisper came through clearly on the speakers.
Someone touched her on the shoulder. It was the Woman. 'Time to go,' she said. The guards loomed behind her.
'I love you,' Rose mouthed through the glass. But as she saw Ten begin to respond, hands fell heavily on her shoulders and she was forced to turn away as she was escorted from the room.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
'So stupid,' Rose growled back in the Tardis. 'Why I didn't think...'
'Never mind,' said Eleven gently. 'They're ready to take offense, no matter what you, or I, do. We, he, I have made many enemies over the years, and they are all here and swaying opinion. The charge of genocide has got everyone else leery. Well, that and the fact that my, er, his reputation precedes us. For getting out of tight spots. You probably would have annoyed them in some other way even if you hadn't whispered in his ear.'
'Doesn't make me feel better,' muttered Rose. 'And what is it with the crowds anyway? Don't they have anything better to do than watch us visit him?'
'They're being silly,' said Eleven and he turned away to tinker on some control at the console.
'It's funny,' said Martha. 'When I first went to see him, there were only a few people. One or two of their doctors, the guards, and the escort that brought me. That was it. But now...' She shrugged helplessly.
Rose stared at Eleven's back. 'Doctor?'
The sounds of tinkering didn't stop.
'You know why, don't you,' said Martha. She stood by him.
He turned his head slightly. 'As I said, they're being silly. Now!' He clapped his hands together and rubbed them briskly. 'Time to follow up on our new lead.'
'Which is?' asked Jack as he ran down the upper flight of stairs, two steps at a time. 'What did Francine say--she was the mother in question, right?'
'So it seems,' said Eleven.
'She said something about an "Emergency Measures Psychological Services",' said Rose. 'Judging by Martha's reaction, there's no such thing.'
'Not that I've ever heard of,' said Martha.
Rose glanced up at Eleven. 'So, are we going to infiltrate and investigate?'
'Absolutely,' he answered. 'Martha, did your sister give you the address of your mother's psychologist?'
'Yeah,' she said. 'Well, at least she knew the building since she only ever dropped Mum off. She never went up with her.'
He nodded. 'It'll do.'
'29 Great Dover Street,' said Martha.
Eleven twisted a knob. 'All of you are coming, I suppose?' He pinged the bell. 'Thought so.'
To be continued
Chapter 15: The Trail of Breadcrumbs
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13