What's To Come Is Still Unsure (8/16?)
Title: What's to Come is still Unsure (8/16?)
Author: lorelaisquared
Rating: PG-13
Characters: TenII/Rose, Jackie
Word Count: 3344
Beta: The incredible cookie2697
Summary: Part One in an epic love story spanning time and space: When the Doctor abandons Rose in Pete's world with his counterpart, they must learn to live without him. Slowly they build a life together that is filled with love, adventure, danger, and more surprises than either had ever thought possible.
Authors Note: FYI: If you're curious about how this, or any other chapter or story I've written came to be, comment on this post and I will write a DVD style commentary for the story or chapter you've chosen.
As always, thank you to the people who helped me bring this story to life: cookie2697, tardismate, gioiamia, rumpelsnorcack, meremoon and earlgreytea68 *massive hugs to you all*
The title of this story comes from a line of a song in Shakespeares "Twelfth Night" commonly called "O Mistress Mine".
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 |
Chapter 8
Rose woke up in the middle of the night, her throat dry, her face tight, and her head pounding. She recalled crying herself to sleep, her heart clenching as she also remembered why. Knowing she wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep, she slid from the safe cocoon of the Doctor's arms and put on her robe, pulling the covers up over his shoulders, before planting a delicate kiss on the side of his head. She smiled at him fondly for a moment before padding out of the room in her slippered feet.
She had intended to go to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea, but as she walked past the nursery door she froze, a waterfall of new emotions cascading over her. With a trembling hand, she opened the door and stepped into the room. The ceiling still swirled with constellations, and Rose stared at them for a moment, marvelling at how breathtaking they were. The TARDIS had created the world's greatest baby mobile. Rose choked back a sob at her next thought, And now it will never be seen. She looked around the rest of the room that she had come to love so much: the wooden bassinet, the rocking chair, the soft colours of the walls. Fresh hot tears tumbled from her eyes as she picked up a small teddy bear from one of the shelves. She hugged it to herself and collapsed on the floor near the bassinet, sobbing uncontrollably.
Eventually her cries ebbed and she looked up from the teddy bear, which had become drenched by her tears.
"Why?" she whispered sadly to the TARDIS, fingering the delicate blanket that draped from the cradle. "Why would you give us this beautiful nursery when it can never be used?"
She felt a pulse of energy drift through the room, enveloping her in an invisible, comforting hug. Instantly she felt calmer, less anguished. It was almost as if she could hear a whisper reassuring her that it would be all right. Rose smiled, trusting the message the TARDIS was trying to give her. "Thank you," she said softly, placing her hand on the TARDIS wall as she exited the room. "Thank you."
Rose returned to the bedroom with two warm cups of tea. The Doctor was still asleep, a rarity for him, so she quietly slipped into the bed, curving her body around his. She didn’t want to wake him, but she needed the comfort of his touch.
"Feeling better?" His unexpected question startled Rose a little.
"Oh, you're awake."
He twisted so he could see her. "I've been awake since you left before. I heard you crying earlier, are you okay?" He brushed his hand soothingly along her jaw line. "I wanted to come to you, but I thought maybe you needed some time alone."
Rose nodded. "Thank you, I think I just needed to get it out, you know?"
He threaded his fingers idly through her hair. "I'm so sorry I can't give you what you want."
"Doctor, it's not your fault. We'll get through this." She hugged him then added, "Together."
He kissed her. It was comforting, filled with love and warmth. Then he pulled her more tightly into his arms and fell silent, deep in thought.
"I had a daughter once," he said suddenly.
"I know, you told me before." Rose reminded him, thinking back to that conversation. She'd been shocked at first, but when she'd really thought about it, it made sense. He was over 900 years old, after all. It's not like he didn't have a history before her.
"No, I mean...while we were separated..." The Doctor trailed off, his eyes sad.
Rose blinked at him, baffled by this unexpected news. "What? But how?"
The Doctor sighed. "Her name was Jenny. She was created from my DNA on a planet called Messaline. She came out of a machine a fully formed adult. She looked like you, actually." The Doctor looked wistful. "I always thought that maybe, somehow, they knew how much I wanted you, so they gave me a daughter that was so much like you."
"Where is she now?" Rose asked softly.
He met her gaze, his eyes pools of sorrow. "She died, Rose. Just when I was starting to love her, to hope that maybe she could come with me, that I could show her the stars, teach her about her heritage -- someone shot her. She died in my arms. I'll never forget that moment."
Rose hugged him again. "Oh, Doctor, I'm so sorry."
"So am I." He smiled wanly. "You would have loved her, Rose. She was so full of curiosity, wonder, life."
"I'm sure I would have." Rose looked at him sadly for a moment. "Doctor, why are you telling me this?"
"Well, I was thinking that we should go there... to Messaline. Maybe we can use their technology to somehow gain a child. I mean, if we can't have a child by natural means, maybe we should try by technological means."
Rose stared at him. "Do you think it will work?" she asked cautiously, afraid to hope.
"I don't know," he said honestly. "But it's worth a try, don't you think?"
Rose was quite for several minutes. "Okay, let's check it out."
*****
Messaline was deserted when they arrived, the remnants of civilization remained but nothing that looked remotely recent. It had been abandoned for years. The tunnel looked the same as it had in the other universe so the Doctor was easily able to navigate to the main meeting area where one of the DNA processors had been. He half worried they wouldn't exist in this universe, but to his relief, it was exactly where it should have been.
While Rose watched, he rolled up his sleeve and carefully placed his arm in the machine that would take his tissue sample. He braced himself for the pain he remembered, but nothing happened. Frowning, he pulled his arm out and tapped the device, examining it more closely. He took out the sonic screwdriver, sticking his tongue between his teeth in concentration while he scanned the machine.
After fiddling with the settings for several moments, the Doctor slipped his arm in the machine to try again, but still there was nothing.
"Huh," he said, glaring at the machine. "There seems to be a glitch."
Rose tried to mask her disappointment. "Maybe it's because there's no power?" she suggested hopefully.
"No." The Doctor shook his head. "There's power. Something must be broken within the machine."
"Didn't you say there were more? Maybe one of them works."
The Doctor grinned. "Oh, Rose you're brilliant." He raced down the corridor to the area where the machine Jenny came from had been. He tried it, but again there was no response.
Over the next hour, the Doctor and Rose tried every processor they could find, even the ones in the Hath areas, but none of them worked. Defeated, they returned to the main room to regroup.
Rose was about to give up and suggest they return to the TARDIS, when the Doctor suddenly got up and began to disassemble the nearest machine.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to bring it with us. If I can examine it more carefully, and figure out how it's supposed to work, I might be able to duplicate the progenation process in another way." He quirked his head to one side. "I might even be able to adjust the growth rate so that the offspring is 'born' at a younger age." He removed several components from the machine and cradled them in his arms.
He turned back to Rose who was staring at him with wide, hopeful eyes. "Thank you," she said simply. She took some of the items from his overflowing arms and together they returned to the TARDIS, both feeling a little bit more light hearted than when they'd arrived.
*****
By the time they'd been on a few more adventures, Rose was almost back to her usual cheerful self. They had settled into a routine on the TARDIS, spending many of their evenings on board luxuriating over elongated tea times and reading while cuddling in the library. The door to the nursery stayed firmly closed, and neither of them had been near it since the day they'd visited Messaline. The Doctor continued to tinker with the progenation machine in his spare time, though so far, he hadn't discovered anything promising. Neither of them mentioned children anymore since the topic made them both rather sad.
For several months they traveled around the galaxies of Pete's Universe, revisiting places and times the Doctor had been before, and discovering new places that were completely unique to this universe. They landed on what they thought was such a planet one day in early spring.
Rose shivered, pulling on a warm jacket as she joined the Doctor just outside the TARDIS. The planet was beautiful, covered with glistening snow that began beneath their feet and stretched on to the farthest reaches of the tallest peaked mountains.
The Doctor tugged on his ear, his brow furrowed as he looked at the mountains. "What? It can't be?" He squinted his eyes, as though it would change the outcome of what he was seeing.
"Have you been here before?" Rose asked.
"Huh. If I'm not mistaken, and I'm usually not, we're on the planet of the Ood. But it's in a completely different location here. In the other universe it was not located in the Mestra galaxy."
"This is the planet where the Ood were born, you said?" Rose asked as they descended from the mountain they were on.
"Yes. When Donna and I first visited this place the Ood had been enslaved. One of their brains had been removed. Do you remember the orbs that they spoke through? Originally that was a brain."
Gasping in shock, Rose's eyes widened. "That’s horrific."
"I know. They were so sad. I could hear their song in my head. It still haunts me." They were approaching a small village, deciding quickly, the Doctor veered toward the largest of the primitive buildings.
"Do you hear anything now?" Rose wanted to know.
The Doctor closed his eyes for a moment before nodding. "It's beautiful Rose, joyous, natural, free. I don't think they're enslaved in this universe." He grinned, that elated smile he always got when he discovered that things were going right instead of wrong.
Rose frowned. "Then how did one end up on the docks with the dimension cannon?"
Waggling his eyebrows at her, the Doctor said, "A very good question. One I'd really like to know the answer to. Let's see if we can find out, shall we?"
They had reached their destination and at the Doctor's gesture, Rose knocked lightly on the door.
An Ood dressed in fancy clothing emerged from the hut, bowing at them, a small brain held in one hand.
The Doctor spoke in quick hushed tones, explaining about the Ood they had found on earth.
“He must be one of the Missing Ones,” the Ood, who'd introduced himself as Ood Rho, said solemnly.
“Missing Ones?” Rose asked.
Ood Rho nodded, before beginning to speak rapidly. “Several Ood have mysteriously disappeared from this village over the last ten years.”
The Doctor frowned. "Disappeared? How does an Ood just disappear?"
Ood Rho sighed. “We don’t know. The Missing Ones simply vanished, right before our eyes from wherever they had been standing.”
“Have you tried to find out where they went? Or how?” Rose inquired.
“We have had some of our top minds investigating, but we have not been able to find any answers. All we know is that the disappearances seem to happen approximately every six months. It is a growing concern for our community.”
“As it should be.” The Doctor furrowed his brow. “When was the last one?”
“My son was taken five months and twenty nine days ago,” Ood Rho said sadly.
Rose gasped and stared at Ood Rho with compassionate tears in her eyes while the Doctor spoke.
“I’m so sorry. We will do what we can to help.”
Ood Rho smiled slightly. “I appreciate it.”
The Doctor thanked Ood Rho for the information and bowed to him before he and Rose began to weave their way throughout the village to explore. The Doctor was deep in thought, trying to connect the Ood disappearances with the dimension cannon and the Ood they’d found on the docks.
"This proves that the Ood we found with the dimension cannon wasn’t working alone, I’m positive someone, or something is controlling them. But who?” he muttered. "It doesn’t make sense. Why take an Ood every six months? Why not take them more often? And why do they want them in the first place? Unless…” His eyes widened. "Yes, That's got to be it. Someone is stealing the Ood to do their bidding. But how are they getting them off the planet?"
He nodded to a group of passing Ood as he continued to reason it out. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks and turned back to the four Ood they had passed. Rose followed suit and at the exact moment that the Doctor and Rose turned to look, one of the Ood vanished, disappearing before their very eyes.
The Doctor pulled something out of his pocket and raced forward, waving it around the space where the Ood had been standing a moment before. The other three Ood looked at the empty spot mournfully for a moment before walking away without a word, as though this was perfectly normal, which, Rose supposed, it was for them.
Continuing to wave his device around, the Doctor studied it carefully, reading something that was displaying on the strange instrument. "Heh," he intoned, raising his eyebrows. "I'm detecting some kind of teleport."
"A teleport? I don’t see anything that looks like it could be a teleport.”
"Exactly right. Which begs the question: how was he teleported? And by whom?"
"Do you think that Ood was sent to earth?"
"Judging from the data coming from the cryptometer, yes, it appears so." He began to walk back toward the mountain, still staring at the silver device in his hand. "I think, if we hurry, I might be able to trace it."
Rose raced after him. His excitement over almost solving this mystery was contagious. Seconds later they were hurdling back toward Earth, the Doctor practically vibrating from his eagerness to solve the impossible.
When they landed at the mansion, there was a bustle of activity as Pete, Jackie and Tony descended upon them. After a quick round of hugs, they quickly explained what was going on and started to run out the door, hand in hand.
“Stop!” Jackie yelped, causing them both to halt in their tracks and turn toward her, alarmed.
“What?” the Doctor squawked.
“We haven’t seen you in over a year. That’s what. You think you can just breeze in and out of here no questions asked? I won’t have it.” Jackie had her hands on her hips as she continued to glare at the Doctor.
“Uh… well…” the Doctor began, trying to find the words to explain. “It’s rather a time sensitive issue…”
Rose could see her mother was unimpressed. “We’ll be back as soon as we’re done, Mum. Then we can have a cuppa.”
“No. The Doctor can go alone. I want to have a proper visit with my daughter.”
“But, but…” The Doctor looked at Rose helplessly as he bounced impatiently.
She knew they had to leave right away if they were going to successfully track the teleport. “Mum, it’s too dangerous for him to go alone. We don’t know what we’ll find. I have to go with him.”
Jackie was unmoved. “Pete can go with him.”
“A year?” Rose verified.
Jackie nodded firmly. “A year.”
Reluctantly, Rose assented, giving the Doctor a quick kiss and whispering, “Be careful,” before he raced off after the cryptometer readings, Pete right behind him.
Jackie smiled triumphantly. “There. Now you can give me and Tony a proper tour of the TARDIS before tea. He’s been begging to see the inside since your last visit.”
Trying not to worry about what kind of trouble the Doctor was getting himself into, Rose dutifully led her family through the TARDIS. Tony was captivated by the control room as soon as they boarded. His eyes were as large as saucers as he surveyed the circular control panel, eyeing the many buttons and levers. Before she could stop him, Tony pressed a button and Rose found herself holding her breath, waiting for disaster to strike. To her extreme relief, the only reaction seemed to be a pulse of light coming from the time converter.
Deciding it was time to move on, Rose quickly ushered them down the corridor, cheering up slightly at their reactions as she showed off some of her favourite rooms. She was about to show them the wardrobe room, when Tony suddenly turned the knob on the door to the nursery.
"Stop!" Rose shouted, immediately panicking. She had been deliberately avoiding that room since it hurt so much to even think about it.
But it was too late. "Toys!" Tony screeched, delighted as he raced into the room and pulled a box of building blocks from one of the shelves.
Horrified, Rose stared into the once beloved room for a moment before recoiling. "No, no, no, no," she said as she backed away from the room nearly bumping into Jackie in her haste to flee.
"Rose?" Jackie asked, her face etched with concern. "What's wrong, darling?"
Rose shook her head, the tears she'd been restraining rolling down her cheeks. "I... we..." She met her mother's eyes and the words flooded from her. "The Doctor and I can't have a baby. Ever." Her shoulders began to shake as a sob escaped.
Instantly, Jackie was there, enveloping Rose in a familiar embrace that was filled with comfort, love and compassion. "Oh, sweetheart."
"I wanted to have his baby so badly," Rose confessed softly, her tears soaking the shoulder of Jackie's sweater.
Jackie held her daughter tightly as she cried, rubbing her back lightly and murmuring words of comfort into her ear. Slowly Rose's anguish ebbed and her sobs slowed to stilted breathing and hic-ups. When she was calm again, Rose returned her mother's hug and pulled away.
"Thank you, Mum," she said, offering a shaky smile.
"That's what I'm here for." Jackie took Rose's arm and led her down the corridor. "Come on, Tony's fine. Let's go have a cuppa. Tea heals all ills."
The tea did indeed make Rose feel better, and after Jackie retrieved Tony, she decided to show them the wardrobe room.
Tony was in love with it immediately. He raced up and down the spiral staircases, running his hands along the many different textures of the clothing that hung throughout the room. After that, the three of them had fun trying on outfits ranging from posh, to ridiculously outdated, to completely outlandish.
Deciding it was time to end the tour, Rose gently ushered Jackie and Tony down the ramp as she babbled about her desire for a nice home-cooked meal. Jackie was teasing her about how she only ever came home to eat, when Rose realized that something was wrong. She stopped, just outside the TARDIS entrance, holding her arms out so Jackie and Tony would stay behind her.
A quick survey of the situation told her that they were surrounded by at least a dozen red-eyed Ood, maybe more. Fear gripped her chest, as the Ood began to chant and close in around them. Rose held her ground, pushing Jackie and Tony back toward the TARDIS, never taking her eyes off the approaching Ood.
The Ood closest to Rose pulled out some kind of weapon that looked similar to a gun and aimed it at her. Rose heard a buzzing sound just before someone screamed her name and everything went dark.
Next Chapter
Author: lorelaisquared
Rating: PG-13
Characters: TenII/Rose, Jackie
Word Count: 3344
Beta: The incredible cookie2697
Summary: Part One in an epic love story spanning time and space: When the Doctor abandons Rose in Pete's world with his counterpart, they must learn to live without him. Slowly they build a life together that is filled with love, adventure, danger, and more surprises than either had ever thought possible.
Authors Note: FYI: If you're curious about how this, or any other chapter or story I've written came to be, comment on this post and I will write a DVD style commentary for the story or chapter you've chosen.
As always, thank you to the people who helped me bring this story to life: cookie2697, tardismate, gioiamia, rumpelsnorcack, meremoon and earlgreytea68 *massive hugs to you all*
The title of this story comes from a line of a song in Shakespeares "Twelfth Night" commonly called "O Mistress Mine".
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 |
Chapter 8
Rose woke up in the middle of the night, her throat dry, her face tight, and her head pounding. She recalled crying herself to sleep, her heart clenching as she also remembered why. Knowing she wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep, she slid from the safe cocoon of the Doctor's arms and put on her robe, pulling the covers up over his shoulders, before planting a delicate kiss on the side of his head. She smiled at him fondly for a moment before padding out of the room in her slippered feet.
She had intended to go to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea, but as she walked past the nursery door she froze, a waterfall of new emotions cascading over her. With a trembling hand, she opened the door and stepped into the room. The ceiling still swirled with constellations, and Rose stared at them for a moment, marvelling at how breathtaking they were. The TARDIS had created the world's greatest baby mobile. Rose choked back a sob at her next thought, And now it will never be seen. She looked around the rest of the room that she had come to love so much: the wooden bassinet, the rocking chair, the soft colours of the walls. Fresh hot tears tumbled from her eyes as she picked up a small teddy bear from one of the shelves. She hugged it to herself and collapsed on the floor near the bassinet, sobbing uncontrollably.
Eventually her cries ebbed and she looked up from the teddy bear, which had become drenched by her tears.
"Why?" she whispered sadly to the TARDIS, fingering the delicate blanket that draped from the cradle. "Why would you give us this beautiful nursery when it can never be used?"
She felt a pulse of energy drift through the room, enveloping her in an invisible, comforting hug. Instantly she felt calmer, less anguished. It was almost as if she could hear a whisper reassuring her that it would be all right. Rose smiled, trusting the message the TARDIS was trying to give her. "Thank you," she said softly, placing her hand on the TARDIS wall as she exited the room. "Thank you."
Rose returned to the bedroom with two warm cups of tea. The Doctor was still asleep, a rarity for him, so she quietly slipped into the bed, curving her body around his. She didn’t want to wake him, but she needed the comfort of his touch.
"Feeling better?" His unexpected question startled Rose a little.
"Oh, you're awake."
He twisted so he could see her. "I've been awake since you left before. I heard you crying earlier, are you okay?" He brushed his hand soothingly along her jaw line. "I wanted to come to you, but I thought maybe you needed some time alone."
Rose nodded. "Thank you, I think I just needed to get it out, you know?"
He threaded his fingers idly through her hair. "I'm so sorry I can't give you what you want."
"Doctor, it's not your fault. We'll get through this." She hugged him then added, "Together."
He kissed her. It was comforting, filled with love and warmth. Then he pulled her more tightly into his arms and fell silent, deep in thought.
"I had a daughter once," he said suddenly.
"I know, you told me before." Rose reminded him, thinking back to that conversation. She'd been shocked at first, but when she'd really thought about it, it made sense. He was over 900 years old, after all. It's not like he didn't have a history before her.
"No, I mean...while we were separated..." The Doctor trailed off, his eyes sad.
Rose blinked at him, baffled by this unexpected news. "What? But how?"
The Doctor sighed. "Her name was Jenny. She was created from my DNA on a planet called Messaline. She came out of a machine a fully formed adult. She looked like you, actually." The Doctor looked wistful. "I always thought that maybe, somehow, they knew how much I wanted you, so they gave me a daughter that was so much like you."
"Where is she now?" Rose asked softly.
He met her gaze, his eyes pools of sorrow. "She died, Rose. Just when I was starting to love her, to hope that maybe she could come with me, that I could show her the stars, teach her about her heritage -- someone shot her. She died in my arms. I'll never forget that moment."
Rose hugged him again. "Oh, Doctor, I'm so sorry."
"So am I." He smiled wanly. "You would have loved her, Rose. She was so full of curiosity, wonder, life."
"I'm sure I would have." Rose looked at him sadly for a moment. "Doctor, why are you telling me this?"
"Well, I was thinking that we should go there... to Messaline. Maybe we can use their technology to somehow gain a child. I mean, if we can't have a child by natural means, maybe we should try by technological means."
Rose stared at him. "Do you think it will work?" she asked cautiously, afraid to hope.
"I don't know," he said honestly. "But it's worth a try, don't you think?"
Rose was quite for several minutes. "Okay, let's check it out."
*****
Messaline was deserted when they arrived, the remnants of civilization remained but nothing that looked remotely recent. It had been abandoned for years. The tunnel looked the same as it had in the other universe so the Doctor was easily able to navigate to the main meeting area where one of the DNA processors had been. He half worried they wouldn't exist in this universe, but to his relief, it was exactly where it should have been.
While Rose watched, he rolled up his sleeve and carefully placed his arm in the machine that would take his tissue sample. He braced himself for the pain he remembered, but nothing happened. Frowning, he pulled his arm out and tapped the device, examining it more closely. He took out the sonic screwdriver, sticking his tongue between his teeth in concentration while he scanned the machine.
After fiddling with the settings for several moments, the Doctor slipped his arm in the machine to try again, but still there was nothing.
"Huh," he said, glaring at the machine. "There seems to be a glitch."
Rose tried to mask her disappointment. "Maybe it's because there's no power?" she suggested hopefully.
"No." The Doctor shook his head. "There's power. Something must be broken within the machine."
"Didn't you say there were more? Maybe one of them works."
The Doctor grinned. "Oh, Rose you're brilliant." He raced down the corridor to the area where the machine Jenny came from had been. He tried it, but again there was no response.
Over the next hour, the Doctor and Rose tried every processor they could find, even the ones in the Hath areas, but none of them worked. Defeated, they returned to the main room to regroup.
Rose was about to give up and suggest they return to the TARDIS, when the Doctor suddenly got up and began to disassemble the nearest machine.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to bring it with us. If I can examine it more carefully, and figure out how it's supposed to work, I might be able to duplicate the progenation process in another way." He quirked his head to one side. "I might even be able to adjust the growth rate so that the offspring is 'born' at a younger age." He removed several components from the machine and cradled them in his arms.
He turned back to Rose who was staring at him with wide, hopeful eyes. "Thank you," she said simply. She took some of the items from his overflowing arms and together they returned to the TARDIS, both feeling a little bit more light hearted than when they'd arrived.
*****
By the time they'd been on a few more adventures, Rose was almost back to her usual cheerful self. They had settled into a routine on the TARDIS, spending many of their evenings on board luxuriating over elongated tea times and reading while cuddling in the library. The door to the nursery stayed firmly closed, and neither of them had been near it since the day they'd visited Messaline. The Doctor continued to tinker with the progenation machine in his spare time, though so far, he hadn't discovered anything promising. Neither of them mentioned children anymore since the topic made them both rather sad.
For several months they traveled around the galaxies of Pete's Universe, revisiting places and times the Doctor had been before, and discovering new places that were completely unique to this universe. They landed on what they thought was such a planet one day in early spring.
Rose shivered, pulling on a warm jacket as she joined the Doctor just outside the TARDIS. The planet was beautiful, covered with glistening snow that began beneath their feet and stretched on to the farthest reaches of the tallest peaked mountains.
The Doctor tugged on his ear, his brow furrowed as he looked at the mountains. "What? It can't be?" He squinted his eyes, as though it would change the outcome of what he was seeing.
"Have you been here before?" Rose asked.
"Huh. If I'm not mistaken, and I'm usually not, we're on the planet of the Ood. But it's in a completely different location here. In the other universe it was not located in the Mestra galaxy."
"This is the planet where the Ood were born, you said?" Rose asked as they descended from the mountain they were on.
"Yes. When Donna and I first visited this place the Ood had been enslaved. One of their brains had been removed. Do you remember the orbs that they spoke through? Originally that was a brain."
Gasping in shock, Rose's eyes widened. "That’s horrific."
"I know. They were so sad. I could hear their song in my head. It still haunts me." They were approaching a small village, deciding quickly, the Doctor veered toward the largest of the primitive buildings.
"Do you hear anything now?" Rose wanted to know.
The Doctor closed his eyes for a moment before nodding. "It's beautiful Rose, joyous, natural, free. I don't think they're enslaved in this universe." He grinned, that elated smile he always got when he discovered that things were going right instead of wrong.
Rose frowned. "Then how did one end up on the docks with the dimension cannon?"
Waggling his eyebrows at her, the Doctor said, "A very good question. One I'd really like to know the answer to. Let's see if we can find out, shall we?"
They had reached their destination and at the Doctor's gesture, Rose knocked lightly on the door.
An Ood dressed in fancy clothing emerged from the hut, bowing at them, a small brain held in one hand.
The Doctor spoke in quick hushed tones, explaining about the Ood they had found on earth.
“He must be one of the Missing Ones,” the Ood, who'd introduced himself as Ood Rho, said solemnly.
“Missing Ones?” Rose asked.
Ood Rho nodded, before beginning to speak rapidly. “Several Ood have mysteriously disappeared from this village over the last ten years.”
The Doctor frowned. "Disappeared? How does an Ood just disappear?"
Ood Rho sighed. “We don’t know. The Missing Ones simply vanished, right before our eyes from wherever they had been standing.”
“Have you tried to find out where they went? Or how?” Rose inquired.
“We have had some of our top minds investigating, but we have not been able to find any answers. All we know is that the disappearances seem to happen approximately every six months. It is a growing concern for our community.”
“As it should be.” The Doctor furrowed his brow. “When was the last one?”
“My son was taken five months and twenty nine days ago,” Ood Rho said sadly.
Rose gasped and stared at Ood Rho with compassionate tears in her eyes while the Doctor spoke.
“I’m so sorry. We will do what we can to help.”
Ood Rho smiled slightly. “I appreciate it.”
The Doctor thanked Ood Rho for the information and bowed to him before he and Rose began to weave their way throughout the village to explore. The Doctor was deep in thought, trying to connect the Ood disappearances with the dimension cannon and the Ood they’d found on the docks.
"This proves that the Ood we found with the dimension cannon wasn’t working alone, I’m positive someone, or something is controlling them. But who?” he muttered. "It doesn’t make sense. Why take an Ood every six months? Why not take them more often? And why do they want them in the first place? Unless…” His eyes widened. "Yes, That's got to be it. Someone is stealing the Ood to do their bidding. But how are they getting them off the planet?"
He nodded to a group of passing Ood as he continued to reason it out. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks and turned back to the four Ood they had passed. Rose followed suit and at the exact moment that the Doctor and Rose turned to look, one of the Ood vanished, disappearing before their very eyes.
The Doctor pulled something out of his pocket and raced forward, waving it around the space where the Ood had been standing a moment before. The other three Ood looked at the empty spot mournfully for a moment before walking away without a word, as though this was perfectly normal, which, Rose supposed, it was for them.
Continuing to wave his device around, the Doctor studied it carefully, reading something that was displaying on the strange instrument. "Heh," he intoned, raising his eyebrows. "I'm detecting some kind of teleport."
"A teleport? I don’t see anything that looks like it could be a teleport.”
"Exactly right. Which begs the question: how was he teleported? And by whom?"
"Do you think that Ood was sent to earth?"
"Judging from the data coming from the cryptometer, yes, it appears so." He began to walk back toward the mountain, still staring at the silver device in his hand. "I think, if we hurry, I might be able to trace it."
Rose raced after him. His excitement over almost solving this mystery was contagious. Seconds later they were hurdling back toward Earth, the Doctor practically vibrating from his eagerness to solve the impossible.
When they landed at the mansion, there was a bustle of activity as Pete, Jackie and Tony descended upon them. After a quick round of hugs, they quickly explained what was going on and started to run out the door, hand in hand.
“Stop!” Jackie yelped, causing them both to halt in their tracks and turn toward her, alarmed.
“What?” the Doctor squawked.
“We haven’t seen you in over a year. That’s what. You think you can just breeze in and out of here no questions asked? I won’t have it.” Jackie had her hands on her hips as she continued to glare at the Doctor.
“Uh… well…” the Doctor began, trying to find the words to explain. “It’s rather a time sensitive issue…”
Rose could see her mother was unimpressed. “We’ll be back as soon as we’re done, Mum. Then we can have a cuppa.”
“No. The Doctor can go alone. I want to have a proper visit with my daughter.”
“But, but…” The Doctor looked at Rose helplessly as he bounced impatiently.
She knew they had to leave right away if they were going to successfully track the teleport. “Mum, it’s too dangerous for him to go alone. We don’t know what we’ll find. I have to go with him.”
Jackie was unmoved. “Pete can go with him.”
“A year?” Rose verified.
Jackie nodded firmly. “A year.”
Reluctantly, Rose assented, giving the Doctor a quick kiss and whispering, “Be careful,” before he raced off after the cryptometer readings, Pete right behind him.
Jackie smiled triumphantly. “There. Now you can give me and Tony a proper tour of the TARDIS before tea. He’s been begging to see the inside since your last visit.”
Trying not to worry about what kind of trouble the Doctor was getting himself into, Rose dutifully led her family through the TARDIS. Tony was captivated by the control room as soon as they boarded. His eyes were as large as saucers as he surveyed the circular control panel, eyeing the many buttons and levers. Before she could stop him, Tony pressed a button and Rose found herself holding her breath, waiting for disaster to strike. To her extreme relief, the only reaction seemed to be a pulse of light coming from the time converter.
Deciding it was time to move on, Rose quickly ushered them down the corridor, cheering up slightly at their reactions as she showed off some of her favourite rooms. She was about to show them the wardrobe room, when Tony suddenly turned the knob on the door to the nursery.
"Stop!" Rose shouted, immediately panicking. She had been deliberately avoiding that room since it hurt so much to even think about it.
But it was too late. "Toys!" Tony screeched, delighted as he raced into the room and pulled a box of building blocks from one of the shelves.
Horrified, Rose stared into the once beloved room for a moment before recoiling. "No, no, no, no," she said as she backed away from the room nearly bumping into Jackie in her haste to flee.
"Rose?" Jackie asked, her face etched with concern. "What's wrong, darling?"
Rose shook her head, the tears she'd been restraining rolling down her cheeks. "I... we..." She met her mother's eyes and the words flooded from her. "The Doctor and I can't have a baby. Ever." Her shoulders began to shake as a sob escaped.
Instantly, Jackie was there, enveloping Rose in a familiar embrace that was filled with comfort, love and compassion. "Oh, sweetheart."
"I wanted to have his baby so badly," Rose confessed softly, her tears soaking the shoulder of Jackie's sweater.
Jackie held her daughter tightly as she cried, rubbing her back lightly and murmuring words of comfort into her ear. Slowly Rose's anguish ebbed and her sobs slowed to stilted breathing and hic-ups. When she was calm again, Rose returned her mother's hug and pulled away.
"Thank you, Mum," she said, offering a shaky smile.
"That's what I'm here for." Jackie took Rose's arm and led her down the corridor. "Come on, Tony's fine. Let's go have a cuppa. Tea heals all ills."
The tea did indeed make Rose feel better, and after Jackie retrieved Tony, she decided to show them the wardrobe room.
Tony was in love with it immediately. He raced up and down the spiral staircases, running his hands along the many different textures of the clothing that hung throughout the room. After that, the three of them had fun trying on outfits ranging from posh, to ridiculously outdated, to completely outlandish.
Deciding it was time to end the tour, Rose gently ushered Jackie and Tony down the ramp as she babbled about her desire for a nice home-cooked meal. Jackie was teasing her about how she only ever came home to eat, when Rose realized that something was wrong. She stopped, just outside the TARDIS entrance, holding her arms out so Jackie and Tony would stay behind her.
A quick survey of the situation told her that they were surrounded by at least a dozen red-eyed Ood, maybe more. Fear gripped her chest, as the Ood began to chant and close in around them. Rose held her ground, pushing Jackie and Tony back toward the TARDIS, never taking her eyes off the approaching Ood.
The Ood closest to Rose pulled out some kind of weapon that looked similar to a gun and aimed it at her. Rose heard a buzzing sound just before someone screamed her name and everything went dark.
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