Fic: "The More Things Change"
Title: The More Things Change
Author: icebluenothing
Rating: G
Spoilers: Set after Parting of the Ways
Summary: "Look, he's not the same man, is he? He looks different, he acts different, he sounds completely different. So how can you sit here and tell me with a straight face that that's the Doctor?" After the Doctor's regeneration, Rose has adjusted -- but can Mickey?
He started running the moment he heard the TARDIS engines, before he even knew he had. Three steps closer to Rose before he consciously realized it -- his path pulled like a compass needle to her north, unplanned and unprepared.
Another block closer, another block shorter of breath, and it was here, solid and real at the end of the lane, and, hating himself for it, he was there at the door, fist raised to knock --
As the door opened, and another stranger stared out. Not the Doctor, not that other bloke, but -- all wide-eyed surprise and an unkempt burst of hair.
"Mickey!" the man said, clapping his hands to Mickey's shoulders. "So good to see you! No time to talk, but still, still! How're you, then, keeping fit?"
"Who -- "
"Good, good! Look, Rose, Mickey's come to see us! Still, can't hang about all day, places to go, things to do, but still, always a pleasure, Mickey, and you have absolutely no idea who I am, do you? Of course you don't! Well, no time to explain. Rose can fill you in on the details, Rose, why don't you and Mickey go and have a cup of coffee? Yes. What am I forgetting? Right! Money!" He patted his pockets. His face fell. "I haven't got any."
"You never do," Rose reminded him, stepping out of the TARDIS. She smiled a greeting at Mickey.
"I don't?" He seemed totally derailed by this thought.
"I -- can buy the coffee," Mickey said, not entirely sure what his part in this conversation was.
The man patted Mickey's shoulders, and then finally let him go. "You're a good man, Mickey Smith." He turned to Rose. "Meet you in, what, half an hour? Right, half an hour, then. Wish me luck."
He waved, and bolted off down the street, his tan overcoat trailing out behind him. Mickey could only stare.
At the corner, just before he disappeared, the man suddenly stopped and turned. "Rose!" he called out urgently. "Don't forget to tell him who I am!"
And then he was gone.
* * * *
"He's not dead," Rose was saying. "We're sure of it now." She was waving her hands animatedly, her face lit up the way it only ever was when she was talking about something to do with the Doctor.
Mickey just stared at his reflection in his coffee mug, feeling totally lost.
"We went back for his body, and it wasn't there. You see? All the other bodies were untouched, but Jack was gone. He's alive, Mickey, and someone took him or he found a way off the station himself, but he's out there somewhere. And we're going to find him."
There was more. Rose told him where they'd been, who they'd talked to -- the Time Agents who'd been on Jack's trail, the waypoints and stations they'd posted "Have you seen this man?" notices at.
Mickey nodded and half-listened, wishing Rose would ask about her mum or Shireen or anything to do with her life. Finally, he asked, "Would you go through this much trouble for me?"
" -- What?"
"If it was me lost out there, somewhere. Would you spend all this time looking for me?"
She stared at him. "Of course I would, Mickey. You know that. Don't you?"
"I guess." Mickey shrugged. "D'you think he would?"
"The Doctor? Sure, of course. He does like you, you know."
Mickey shuddered. "Yeah, when did that start? Little bit creepy if you ask me, him acting like we're old friends all of a sudden."
Rose sighed. "Look, if you want to talk about something else -- "
"No, it's okay. I hope you do find Jack, seriously. He was all right. I just hope you going after him turns out better than you going after the Doctor did, that's all."
Rose had just raised the coffee mug to her lips, but she put it down abruptly. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.
"Well -- it was a lot of trouble for nothing, wasn't it? I mean, you went out to rescue him, but you didn't. Not really. He's gone and you're left with someone else."
Rose just stared at him in slack-jawed amazement for a moment.
And then she stood up and walked out.
* * * * *
Mickey paid for their coffee as fast as he could, then ran out the door after her. He caught up with her, already a block away.
"Wait, come on, Rose, don't be like that, all right? I didn't mean it."
"No?" Rose was staring straight ahead, her responses tight-lipped. "And just what exactly did you mean, Mickey?"
"Well, I just -- look, he's not the same man, is he? He looks different, he acts different, he sounds completely different. So how can you sit here and tell me with a straight face that that's the Doctor?"
"It is the Doctor," Rose fumed. "I don't know how to make you see that. And you know what? It doesn't matter to me. It honestly doesn't. I know who he is. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at me, I can see it in his smile, in the way he -- God, Mickey, it doesn't matter how he looks on the outside. You think the color of his eyes matter? Or the color of his skin, maybe? It's what's inside that matters, Mickey. I thought you knew that. And that hasn't changed. He's still my Doctor."
Her Doctor. Nothing had cut him deeper than those two words.
"I didn't mean anything by it," Mickey said, his voice broken and small. "He's just so different, that's all."
"People change, Mickey. Sometimes people get another chance. It's like -- Margaret Slitheen -- I told you what happened to her, remember? She got a chance to give everything up and start over. Well, that's what the Doctor did. And I helped him do it. Me. Put all his mistakes behind him and keep going. So if he's a different person now, he's the person I helped him become."
He stared at Rose. So strong, so sure of herself. Someone who didn't need him at all. Almost nothing like she used to be.
"Don't you ever miss him?" Mickey asked. "The old Doctor?"
Rose stopped. "Sure, sometimes," she admitted. "But we're usually too busy for me to stop and think about it."
They came to a bench at a bus stop, and Rose sat down. To stop and think about it, Mickey thought.
"He told me once -- I mean, I asked him a long time ago, now, about where he came from, who he used to be, and he told me this was all that mattered. Who he was right here, this moment. I didn't get what he meant, but I do now, every time I look at him. All we ever get is this moment. No sense living in the past." She screwed her face up in a slightly embarassed smile that was so familiar, Mickey's heart nearly broke. "That sounds funny coming from someone who goes about in a time machine, doesn't it?"
Mickey laughed. He couldn't help it. "A little, yeah."
Rose reached out and took his hand. Squeezed it tight. "People do change, Mickey. Sometimes all at once, sometimes one day at a time. But if you care about them, I mean really care, you're not going to stop just because they're different now."
Mickey just stared at her for a long moment. "Are we still talking about the Doctor, here?"
Rose stared back. "I don't know," she said. "Are we?"
Mickey looked down at the hand she was holding. "Rose . . . " he said. "I'm glad he got a second chance, but -- well, d'you think you could ever . . . give us a second chance? Maybe?"
She held his gaze for a moment, and right then, she could have said anything.
But instead, her mobile rang.
"That'll be the Doctor," she said.
" -- You better get that, then," Mickey said. Kicking himself.
A moment's hesitation, then -- "Hello?"
"Rose, hello, are you done with your coffee? I'm all done here, just ready to switch it on, you should be here." Mickey could just faintly hear the voice from the phone.
"Where's here?" Rose asked.
"It's big, it's metal, it's round, you'd have to be an idiot to miss it. Figure it out. See you here in five. TTFN."
Rose hung up. She looked at Mickey and grinned.
* * * * *
The Doctor looked up at her as she ran up to him. "What kept you?" he asked, smiling. "And where is our Mister Smith?"
She shook her head. "He didn't feel like coming," she said.
"Oh? Oh, well."
"So we're all set?"
"We are indeed. The Auton transmitter is right where we left it. A little strange to be back here after all this time, isn't it? Anyway, things were a mess down there. You'd have to be an absolute genius to repair all that, not to mention modify if to broadcast into space-time in the sub-meson range, but fortunately, I am." He beamed.
"Jack will pick this up?"
"Wherever he is, he'll pick it up, if he's listening for broadcasts, which he will be. We've been going about this all wrong -- we should stay in one place and let him come to us. If you're lost in a forest, hug a tree. Simple, really. How foolish of me not to think of it before."
"I thought you were an absolute genius?"
"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself, I am large; I contain multitudes. Here. Setting 2087." He handed her the sonic screwdriver.
"So, do I just point it at the Wheel, or -- ?"
"What? No, no, no, no, no. Setting 2087 picks up vibrations of air molecules. You couldn't ask for a better microphone. Just talk into it."
"What, me? What do I say?"
"Say anything."
He put his hand on her shoulder, and she could feeld the warmth of his touch through the fabric of her shirt. In her mind's eye, she could see his touch leaving an imprint, like she'd left in the Dalek casing, her touch bringing burning change. Change had been more than the Dalek could take, the poor creature, terrified and terrifying -- but the Doctor's touch in her life had changed her just enough, brought her to this moment, just as she'd brought him to it. Led him through fire and seen him burn bright and survive.
She flicked the switch.
"This is Rose Tyler and the Doctor," she said. "This message is for Captain Jack Harkness. We survived the Dalek attack. We're alive."
Her other hand crept up and covered the Doctor's. The London Eye was lit with unearthly blue light, streaming up into the sky. Everything felt electric and clean and bright, like anything could happen. And it would.
"I repeat," she said. "We're alive."
Author: icebluenothing
Rating: G
Spoilers: Set after Parting of the Ways
Summary: "Look, he's not the same man, is he? He looks different, he acts different, he sounds completely different. So how can you sit here and tell me with a straight face that that's the Doctor?" After the Doctor's regeneration, Rose has adjusted -- but can Mickey?
He started running the moment he heard the TARDIS engines, before he even knew he had. Three steps closer to Rose before he consciously realized it -- his path pulled like a compass needle to her north, unplanned and unprepared.
Another block closer, another block shorter of breath, and it was here, solid and real at the end of the lane, and, hating himself for it, he was there at the door, fist raised to knock --
As the door opened, and another stranger stared out. Not the Doctor, not that other bloke, but -- all wide-eyed surprise and an unkempt burst of hair.
"Mickey!" the man said, clapping his hands to Mickey's shoulders. "So good to see you! No time to talk, but still, still! How're you, then, keeping fit?"
"Who -- "
"Good, good! Look, Rose, Mickey's come to see us! Still, can't hang about all day, places to go, things to do, but still, always a pleasure, Mickey, and you have absolutely no idea who I am, do you? Of course you don't! Well, no time to explain. Rose can fill you in on the details, Rose, why don't you and Mickey go and have a cup of coffee? Yes. What am I forgetting? Right! Money!" He patted his pockets. His face fell. "I haven't got any."
"You never do," Rose reminded him, stepping out of the TARDIS. She smiled a greeting at Mickey.
"I don't?" He seemed totally derailed by this thought.
"I -- can buy the coffee," Mickey said, not entirely sure what his part in this conversation was.
The man patted Mickey's shoulders, and then finally let him go. "You're a good man, Mickey Smith." He turned to Rose. "Meet you in, what, half an hour? Right, half an hour, then. Wish me luck."
He waved, and bolted off down the street, his tan overcoat trailing out behind him. Mickey could only stare.
At the corner, just before he disappeared, the man suddenly stopped and turned. "Rose!" he called out urgently. "Don't forget to tell him who I am!"
And then he was gone.
* * * *
"He's not dead," Rose was saying. "We're sure of it now." She was waving her hands animatedly, her face lit up the way it only ever was when she was talking about something to do with the Doctor.
Mickey just stared at his reflection in his coffee mug, feeling totally lost.
"We went back for his body, and it wasn't there. You see? All the other bodies were untouched, but Jack was gone. He's alive, Mickey, and someone took him or he found a way off the station himself, but he's out there somewhere. And we're going to find him."
There was more. Rose told him where they'd been, who they'd talked to -- the Time Agents who'd been on Jack's trail, the waypoints and stations they'd posted "Have you seen this man?" notices at.
Mickey nodded and half-listened, wishing Rose would ask about her mum or Shireen or anything to do with her life. Finally, he asked, "Would you go through this much trouble for me?"
" -- What?"
"If it was me lost out there, somewhere. Would you spend all this time looking for me?"
She stared at him. "Of course I would, Mickey. You know that. Don't you?"
"I guess." Mickey shrugged. "D'you think he would?"
"The Doctor? Sure, of course. He does like you, you know."
Mickey shuddered. "Yeah, when did that start? Little bit creepy if you ask me, him acting like we're old friends all of a sudden."
Rose sighed. "Look, if you want to talk about something else -- "
"No, it's okay. I hope you do find Jack, seriously. He was all right. I just hope you going after him turns out better than you going after the Doctor did, that's all."
Rose had just raised the coffee mug to her lips, but she put it down abruptly. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.
"Well -- it was a lot of trouble for nothing, wasn't it? I mean, you went out to rescue him, but you didn't. Not really. He's gone and you're left with someone else."
Rose just stared at him in slack-jawed amazement for a moment.
And then she stood up and walked out.
* * * * *
Mickey paid for their coffee as fast as he could, then ran out the door after her. He caught up with her, already a block away.
"Wait, come on, Rose, don't be like that, all right? I didn't mean it."
"No?" Rose was staring straight ahead, her responses tight-lipped. "And just what exactly did you mean, Mickey?"
"Well, I just -- look, he's not the same man, is he? He looks different, he acts different, he sounds completely different. So how can you sit here and tell me with a straight face that that's the Doctor?"
"It is the Doctor," Rose fumed. "I don't know how to make you see that. And you know what? It doesn't matter to me. It honestly doesn't. I know who he is. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at me, I can see it in his smile, in the way he -- God, Mickey, it doesn't matter how he looks on the outside. You think the color of his eyes matter? Or the color of his skin, maybe? It's what's inside that matters, Mickey. I thought you knew that. And that hasn't changed. He's still my Doctor."
Her Doctor. Nothing had cut him deeper than those two words.
"I didn't mean anything by it," Mickey said, his voice broken and small. "He's just so different, that's all."
"People change, Mickey. Sometimes people get another chance. It's like -- Margaret Slitheen -- I told you what happened to her, remember? She got a chance to give everything up and start over. Well, that's what the Doctor did. And I helped him do it. Me. Put all his mistakes behind him and keep going. So if he's a different person now, he's the person I helped him become."
He stared at Rose. So strong, so sure of herself. Someone who didn't need him at all. Almost nothing like she used to be.
"Don't you ever miss him?" Mickey asked. "The old Doctor?"
Rose stopped. "Sure, sometimes," she admitted. "But we're usually too busy for me to stop and think about it."
They came to a bench at a bus stop, and Rose sat down. To stop and think about it, Mickey thought.
"He told me once -- I mean, I asked him a long time ago, now, about where he came from, who he used to be, and he told me this was all that mattered. Who he was right here, this moment. I didn't get what he meant, but I do now, every time I look at him. All we ever get is this moment. No sense living in the past." She screwed her face up in a slightly embarassed smile that was so familiar, Mickey's heart nearly broke. "That sounds funny coming from someone who goes about in a time machine, doesn't it?"
Mickey laughed. He couldn't help it. "A little, yeah."
Rose reached out and took his hand. Squeezed it tight. "People do change, Mickey. Sometimes all at once, sometimes one day at a time. But if you care about them, I mean really care, you're not going to stop just because they're different now."
Mickey just stared at her for a long moment. "Are we still talking about the Doctor, here?"
Rose stared back. "I don't know," she said. "Are we?"
Mickey looked down at the hand she was holding. "Rose . . . " he said. "I'm glad he got a second chance, but -- well, d'you think you could ever . . . give us a second chance? Maybe?"
She held his gaze for a moment, and right then, she could have said anything.
But instead, her mobile rang.
"That'll be the Doctor," she said.
" -- You better get that, then," Mickey said. Kicking himself.
A moment's hesitation, then -- "Hello?"
"Rose, hello, are you done with your coffee? I'm all done here, just ready to switch it on, you should be here." Mickey could just faintly hear the voice from the phone.
"Where's here?" Rose asked.
"It's big, it's metal, it's round, you'd have to be an idiot to miss it. Figure it out. See you here in five. TTFN."
Rose hung up. She looked at Mickey and grinned.
* * * * *
The Doctor looked up at her as she ran up to him. "What kept you?" he asked, smiling. "And where is our Mister Smith?"
She shook her head. "He didn't feel like coming," she said.
"Oh? Oh, well."
"So we're all set?"
"We are indeed. The Auton transmitter is right where we left it. A little strange to be back here after all this time, isn't it? Anyway, things were a mess down there. You'd have to be an absolute genius to repair all that, not to mention modify if to broadcast into space-time in the sub-meson range, but fortunately, I am." He beamed.
"Jack will pick this up?"
"Wherever he is, he'll pick it up, if he's listening for broadcasts, which he will be. We've been going about this all wrong -- we should stay in one place and let him come to us. If you're lost in a forest, hug a tree. Simple, really. How foolish of me not to think of it before."
"I thought you were an absolute genius?"
"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself, I am large; I contain multitudes. Here. Setting 2087." He handed her the sonic screwdriver.
"So, do I just point it at the Wheel, or -- ?"
"What? No, no, no, no, no. Setting 2087 picks up vibrations of air molecules. You couldn't ask for a better microphone. Just talk into it."
"What, me? What do I say?"
"Say anything."
He put his hand on her shoulder, and she could feeld the warmth of his touch through the fabric of her shirt. In her mind's eye, she could see his touch leaving an imprint, like she'd left in the Dalek casing, her touch bringing burning change. Change had been more than the Dalek could take, the poor creature, terrified and terrifying -- but the Doctor's touch in her life had changed her just enough, brought her to this moment, just as she'd brought him to it. Led him through fire and seen him burn bright and survive.
She flicked the switch.
"This is Rose Tyler and the Doctor," she said. "This message is for Captain Jack Harkness. We survived the Dalek attack. We're alive."
Her other hand crept up and covered the Doctor's. The London Eye was lit with unearthly blue light, streaming up into the sky. Everything felt electric and clean and bright, like anything could happen. And it would.
"I repeat," she said. "We're alive."