What's To Come Is Still Unsure (14/17)
Title: What's to Come is still Unsure (14/17)
Author: lorelaisquared
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: TenII/Rose
Word Count: 3217
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.
Author's Note: Thank you all for the amazing feedback on the last chapter. Every single one of you is amazing. Thank you.
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 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13
Chapter 14
"Welcome, to the planet Vanillin," the Doctor announced jubilantly, handing warm jackets that he'd pulled from the wardrobe room to both Rose and Viola, before they stepped out into a snowy field.
Viola wrinkled her nose at the brown fabric. "Didn't TARDIS have anything prettier? You know, like pink, or purple?"
"I just took the first one in your size," the Doctor told her, shrugging. "Put it on, it's cold here."
Viola sighed heavily. "Fiiiine. But next time I want something pretty." She tugged on the jacket and looked around, frowning. "Daddy," she said impatiently, "I like snow, but I thought we were going for ice cream."
"We are!" The Doctor stooped down, pulled a cone from his pocket and scooped up a small chunk of the white snow from a nearby hill. "That's the beauty of it! Vanillin is made of ice cream." He held it out for Viola who licked it, grinned and hurdled herself into her father's arms so enthusiastically that the cone fell to the ground. It is
"It's like a dream come true. Way better than the ice cream parlour on Satellite 2." She planted a sticky kiss on his cheek. "Do you think they have chocolate?"
"Oh, I'm sure of it." The Doctor winked at Rose and was rewarded with an approving grin as he set Viola on the ground and took her hand.
Rose took Viola's other hand. "Let's go. I wouldn't mind some chocolate ice cream myself."
The Doctor led them to a path of large colourful oval stepping stones and Viola skipped happily from stone to stone, dragging her parents along with her. After they'd gone a little ways, Viola stopped and turned back to study the pattern made by the colours. "Red, pink, purple, orange, green, red, pink, purple, orange, green... I like the purple ones best," she declared then looked up at her father. "What are they, exactly."
"Giant sprinkles."
Viola nodded seriously. "I thought so." She turned around. "Okay, let's keep going."
The Doctor laughed. "Indeed."
They walked in contented silence for several minutes before anyone spoke again.
"Are we ever going to get there?" Viola asked sceptically, "I don't see anything that looks like chocolate."
"Viola, be patient," Rose chided, trying and failing to look serious as the bright blue eyes turned to her.
"I've been sleeping for daaaaaaaaaaays, Mum. I want ice cream."
The Doctor ruffled her hair. "We'll be there soon, love. We just have to get past the river of caramel and the fountain of fudge."
Viola stopped walking, her eyes huge. "You're making this up."
The Doctor looked insulted. "I am not." He took her hand again and tugged until she gave in and started walking. "I'll prove it to you."
"But how do you know?" Viola implored.
"I've been here before," he explained. "Weeeelll, not in this universe. It was a loooong time ago now, when I was a different man."
Viola seemed contented with his answer and soon began to chatter happily at Rose about what kind of ice cream was the best kind for fudge.
While they talked, the Doctor's own words echoed through his mind along with mental images of the men he used to be. His thoughts lingered for a moment and the tiniest seed of an idea niggled at his consciousness. He filed it away for later and returned his attention to the moment at hand.
"Ahhh," he said proudly. "See? The fountain of fudge. And right next to it is the Mount o' Chocolate!"
"Oooooh," Viola squealed and ran to the mountain. Within seconds she was devouring handful after handful of the rich, creamy desert. Soon her hands and face were a dripping, chocolaty mess.
"Couldn't you have brought a spoon?" Rose asked him, sighing as she thought about how long it was going to take to get Viola destickified.
"Oh!" The Doctor rummaged in his pocket and pulled out three spoons and three bowls. "I forgot!"
Rose threw back her head and laughed. "Only you, Doctor." She took a bowl and spoon from his hands as she started to walk toward Viola. "You do realize this means that you'rethe one on bath duty, right?" She grinned wickedly and joined her daughter, leaving the Doctor gaping after her.
*****
The door to the TARDIS creaked open and Viola bolted across the front garden and through the Tyler's front door. Viola spotted her grandmother coming out of the kitchen and promptly ran to her, her slender arms encircling the older woman's waist in an affectionate hug.
"I missed you so much, grandma!" Viola exclaimed. "I have so much to tell you." Viola looked up at her beloved grandmother and her face fell at her baffled expression.
She tried again. "Grandma, didn't you miss me?"
"Hello there, sweetheart. I think you've got me mixed up with someone else," Jackie said softly, kneeling down to Viola's level and looking at her in confusion. She reached for the young girl's hand. "Why don't we find your family for you, all right, honey?"
"Grandma! It's me, Viola."
Jackie looked startled. "Viola? But-" The front door opened again and the Doctor and Rose stepped inside. "What's going on?" Jackie asked the Doctor, glaring at him.
The Doctor shrugged. "Just a teeny bit of regeneration, is all. Viola's fine now. She looks different, but she's still the same person."
"What?" Jackie looked to her daughter. "Rose, what does he mean, 'she's fine now'? What happened to her? Why does she have a different face?" Her voice held the slightest hint of hysteria.
"Mum," Rose said gently, going to her mother. "Do you remember when I came home and the Doctor changed?"
Jackie nodded. "You told me he'd been hurt and he changed his face to survive."
"That's right." Rose guided Jackie to a chair. "A similar thing happened to Viola."
"You got hurt?" Jackie looked at Viola, sadness pouring through her eyes.
"I'm okay, Grandma." Viola climbed onto her grandmother's lap. "I had a little accident is all."
"An accident?" Fear filtered through Jackie's voice.
Viola placed her small hands on Jackie's cheeks, turning her head so she could see her bright blue eyes. "I did something stupid. Something Mum and Daddy didn't know about and I was injured. But then, eventually I grew a new heart and got a new body and now I'm fine and I'm here talking to you."
"Oh, sweetheart." Jackie cuddled Viola to her chest and held her there for a long time. "I'm so glad you're all right." She kissed Viola's forehead. "Are you hungry? Can I get you some tea? A sandwich? Something else to eat?"
"Have you got any biscuits?" Viola asked hopefully.
"Of course, sweetheart. You can have anything you want." Jackie hugged her granddaughter again before setting her down and taking her hand as she led her into the kitchen.
Rose followed, chuckling as she listened to them banter.
"Anything I want?" Viola asked.
"Anything at all."
"Can I have a pony?"
"Where would you put it?"
"In the bathtub."
Jackie howled with laughter as they entered the kitchen.
None of them noticed the Doctor slip into the TARDIS and fly away.
*****
Rose sat in the kitchen frowning down at the cold cup of tea in front of her. Somehow in all the excitement with Jackie and Viola, the Doctor had managed to wander off. The TARDIS was missing too, and that made her worry. It had been hours since he'd vanished. Where did he go in such a hurry that he couldn't even say goodbye? She hated not knowing where he was or what he was doing, and the longer he was gone, the greater her anxiety increased. It wasn't like him to just leave without telling her, and that, combined with the fact that he'd been feeling so guilty about Viola's regeneration, caused her concern to grow even more. He could be unpredictable when he was wrapped up in such dark thoughts, and her greatest fear was that he would do something reckless on his own that would get himself injured, or worse, killed.
The sound of the sliding glass door opening caused Rose to look up. Jackie was carrying Viola and Rose could see that her knee was bleeding slightly.
"What happened?" She said, rushing over to take Viola from her mum and set her on the counter.
"Oh, I'm fine, Rose. It's Viola I'm worried about. She took a little tumble off of Tony's bicycle." Jackie rummaged in a cupboard and pulled out a first aid kit. She returned to Viola and visually inspected the little girl. "It's all right, sweetheart," she said softly. "Granny will have you good as new again in just a mo'."
"I'm okay, Grandma," Viola said with a roll of her eyes. "It's just a little scratch."
"But you're bleeding." Jackie pulled out a bottle of peroxide and made a big show of gently dabbing at the wound and blowing on it.
Assured that her daughter was in good hands, Rose filled the kettle and set it to boil for fresh tea, before turning back to watch the scene. She almost burst out laughing at the expression of pure exasperation on Viola's face as Jackie fussed over her. Jackie gave one last soothing blow and pulled a pink Band-Aid with little cartoon cat faces on it out of the first aid kit.
Viola broke into a wide grin and she squealed. "Oh, Hello Kitty. That's cute!"
Rose smiled, stifling a giggle as she turned her attention to the whistling kettle. Somehow she suspected Viola didn't mind letting her grandmother fuss over her after all.
Suddenly, there was a commotion in the hallway and a cacophony of voices neared the kitchen. Tony and Pete entered the kitchen and immediately Pete shot his wife a puzzled look. "Who's this then?" he said, nodding to Viola.
"It's Viola." Jackie said brusquely as she applied a final little kiss over the colourful Band-Aid. "She's regenerated. It's a long story and we don't have time right now because she's hurt her knee, so just accept it and move on."
Pete eyed Viola curiously for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and stepping forward to ruffle Viola's hair. "Hello there, squirt!"
"Hi ya, Petey," Viola retorted with a grin. It was a standard greeting between them and Rose was happy to see that it was continuing despite the change.
Tony smiled at his impish cousin and held out his hand. "Want to come play in the garden with me?"
Viola nodded enthusiastically. Tony helped her down from the counter and took her small hand in his larger one, leading her back outside. "Can we play 'Stone Angels'?" Rose heard her ask.
"What are 'Stone Angels'?" Tony asked.
Viola must have stopped because Rose could no longer hear her footfalls on the deck. "How do you not know about this?" Viola sounded bemused. "Oh, Tony, I have soooo much to teach you..." Her long winded chatter faded into the distance and Rose returned her attention to the others in the room, finally registering the fact that her missing husband was with them.
"Doctor! You're back!" She was about to run to him, but something in his expression stopped her. He looked, tired, and haunted, and if she wasn't mistaken, rather sad.Where had he been?
"So I am." He offered her a weak smile and that, more than anything else convinced her that something was very, very wrong. She strode over to him, studying his face with concerned interest as she moved.
"You all right?" She was careful to keep her voice low enough that Jackie and Pete wouldn't overhear.
"What? Oh, I'm okay. Just lost in my thoughts." He smiled again and this time he looked more himself. "I'm sorry I was gone so long. I had something to take care of, and it took longer than I thought."
Rose hugged him. "I admit, you had me a little worried there. You usually tell me when you're going off somewhere alone."
He looked sheepish. "I'm sorry. You were busy and it was kind of a time sensitive issue. It's all sorted now."
She examined his face for a long moment, still apprehensive about the emotions she could see there. Finally she decided to let it go. He'd tell her what was bothering him when he was ready, he always did. So instead she distracted him. "Viola learned to ride a bicycle while you were gone!"
The Doctor beamed instantaneously. "Brilliant! Where is she? I want to see my girl on a bike. Always did love to cycle myself. Not very practical in the TARDIS though."
Jackie was staring at him, horrified. "But Doctor, it's too big. She already fell off once and scraped up her knee. I don't think it's a good idea for her to try again."
The Doctor scowled. "Rubbish. She's a Time Lord! She probably barely even felt it. She's tougher than she looks," he finished, pride ringing through his voice. Then, he stepped outside completely ignoring Jackie's further protests.
*****
For the first few days after their visit to Jackie, Rose noticed that the Doctor was quieter than normal. She tried to get him to talk a few times, but though his eyes reflected a deep sadness, he insisted that he would be fine. Finally accepting that he didn't want to talk about it, Rose gave him some space, and kept her worries to herself.
Viola also noticed that her father was not quite himself and after about three days of silence she seemed to have had enough. They were in the library. Viola was reading aloud to Rose from an ancient volume of Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There that she'd found on the shelves, while the Doctor sat moodily in an arm chair, flipping restlessly through a stack of books that Rose knew he wasn't really reading.
"`Twas br- brillig, and the ... um... slithy toves, Did gyre and ... uh... gimble in the ... wabe: All mimsy were the ... the ... borogoves, And the mome ... raths? ... outgrabe..." As Viola read, she kept shooting her father speculative looks.
Finally, after he'd thrown his tenth novel on the floor, Viola closed the book and slid off the couch.
She approached him, her face reflecting a look of pure determination and will. Without a word, she clamoured onto his lap and placed both palms along his jaw line, tilting his head so she was looking into his eyes.
"It will be all right Daddy," she whispered confidently. "Trust me. I know these things." Then she wound her hands around his neck and hugged him.
The Doctor held Viola tightly to his chest, his gaze meeting Rose's for a split second before he turned away, blinking. When he loosened his grip on her, Viola looked up at him again and began to sing the first haunting notes of the Gallifreyan lullaby he'd sung to her every night since she'd been an infant. She stroked his hair absently as the words drifted from her lips. When she was done. She kissed him on the cheek, told him she loved him, and returned to her mother. She opened the book and continued to read as though nothing had happened.
"One, two! One, two! And through and through, The ... umm... vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head, He went ... ga- ga- galumphing back..."
Much to Rose's relief, starting that evening the Doctor's dark mood seemed to fade. She would still catch a glimpse of that chilling sadness occasionally, but on the whole he seemed much more at peace. For that she was grateful.
*****
Viola crawled into bed. She looked up as the door opened and her father entered, carrying a book.
He kissed her forehead and sat carefully on the edge of the bed. "Ready for your bedtime story?"
Viola bit her lip and shook her head.
"No?" He sounded surprised. "What's wrong?"
Viola glanced down at the little pink roses on her comforter for a moment before looking up at her father again. "Daddy, why do I have two hearts when you and Mum only have one?"
She watched as he placed the book on her bedside table before turning back to her. "A long, long time ago, your mum and I lived in another universe. Back then, I did have two hearts."
"You had two hearts?" Viola interrupted, gaping at him. "You used to be like me?"
Her father nodded and Viola thought his eyes looked sad. "I did."
"Did Mum?"
"No, I'm afraid not. Rose has always been human." He looked even sadder as he shook his head.
"How did you lose it, Daddy?" Viola asked.
He frowned. "Lose what?"
"Your second heart." Viola's own two hearts began to beat rapidly in tandem. Suddenly she needed to know desperately. "Where did it go?"
"Weeeellll." He tugged on his ear the way he always did when he wasn't sure how to answer her questions. "It didn't really 'go' anywhere. I regenerated you see --"
"Will I lose my new heart next time?" Viola interrupted, alarmed at the thought. She had quickly adapted to the sophisticated respiratory system and found the thought of losing her new heart troubling.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." Her father stood up and paced in front of her. "How do I explain this?" he muttered.
"It's complicated, Viola, but last time I tried to regenerate, I changed, I became half human. The details are rather technical, and frankly unimportant, but basically, it saved the universe. And it brought me your Mum."
"Oh." Viola sat up, her anxiety over being different from her parents abating. "Is that when you first met her?"
"No, but I'd lost her and she came back to me then."
Viola gasped, horrified. "You lost Mum?"
"It's okay," he assured her. "Your mum came back. She always came back...every time I thought I lost her, she found me again..." He turned away from her and brushed at his eye before picking up the book he'd carried in with him and holding it up. "Shall we start?"
Viola eyed the book he'd brought with him. "Yes, but --"
"But what? I thought The Secret Garden was one of your favourites."
"Oh, it is," Viola agreed. "But tonight I was wondering if you'd tell me realstory."
"Real? But this is real. It's in a book and everything." He held it out to her.
Viola rolled her eyes. "Daddy, that's not what I mean. I wanna hear more about you and Mum before I was born."
The Doctor lowered the book and peered at Viola. "You want your bedtime story to be about me and your mum?"
Viola grinned. "Exactly." He looked hesitant so she added, "Please?" and batted her eyelashes.
Her father smiled thinly. "I suppose I could do that."
"Oh, goody." Viola clapped and lay back against her pillows as she looked up at him expectantly.
"Well, it all began when the stars started going out, and your clever, clever mother decided to convince Torchwood to build the Dimension Cannon..."
Next Chapter
Author: lorelaisquared
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: TenII/Rose
Word Count: 3217
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.
Author's Note: Thank you all for the amazing feedback on the last chapter. Every single one of you is amazing. Thank you.
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 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13
Chapter 14
"Welcome, to the planet Vanillin," the Doctor announced jubilantly, handing warm jackets that he'd pulled from the wardrobe room to both Rose and Viola, before they stepped out into a snowy field.
Viola wrinkled her nose at the brown fabric. "Didn't TARDIS have anything prettier? You know, like pink, or purple?"
"I just took the first one in your size," the Doctor told her, shrugging. "Put it on, it's cold here."
Viola sighed heavily. "Fiiiine. But next time I want something pretty." She tugged on the jacket and looked around, frowning. "Daddy," she said impatiently, "I like snow, but I thought we were going for ice cream."
"We are!" The Doctor stooped down, pulled a cone from his pocket and scooped up a small chunk of the white snow from a nearby hill. "That's the beauty of it! Vanillin is made of ice cream." He held it out for Viola who licked it, grinned and hurdled herself into her father's arms so enthusiastically that the cone fell to the ground. It is
"It's like a dream come true. Way better than the ice cream parlour on Satellite 2." She planted a sticky kiss on his cheek. "Do you think they have chocolate?"
"Oh, I'm sure of it." The Doctor winked at Rose and was rewarded with an approving grin as he set Viola on the ground and took her hand.
Rose took Viola's other hand. "Let's go. I wouldn't mind some chocolate ice cream myself."
The Doctor led them to a path of large colourful oval stepping stones and Viola skipped happily from stone to stone, dragging her parents along with her. After they'd gone a little ways, Viola stopped and turned back to study the pattern made by the colours. "Red, pink, purple, orange, green, red, pink, purple, orange, green... I like the purple ones best," she declared then looked up at her father. "What are they, exactly."
"Giant sprinkles."
Viola nodded seriously. "I thought so." She turned around. "Okay, let's keep going."
The Doctor laughed. "Indeed."
They walked in contented silence for several minutes before anyone spoke again.
"Are we ever going to get there?" Viola asked sceptically, "I don't see anything that looks like chocolate."
"Viola, be patient," Rose chided, trying and failing to look serious as the bright blue eyes turned to her.
"I've been sleeping for daaaaaaaaaaays, Mum. I want ice cream."
The Doctor ruffled her hair. "We'll be there soon, love. We just have to get past the river of caramel and the fountain of fudge."
Viola stopped walking, her eyes huge. "You're making this up."
The Doctor looked insulted. "I am not." He took her hand again and tugged until she gave in and started walking. "I'll prove it to you."
"But how do you know?" Viola implored.
"I've been here before," he explained. "Weeeelll, not in this universe. It was a loooong time ago now, when I was a different man."
Viola seemed contented with his answer and soon began to chatter happily at Rose about what kind of ice cream was the best kind for fudge.
While they talked, the Doctor's own words echoed through his mind along with mental images of the men he used to be. His thoughts lingered for a moment and the tiniest seed of an idea niggled at his consciousness. He filed it away for later and returned his attention to the moment at hand.
"Ahhh," he said proudly. "See? The fountain of fudge. And right next to it is the Mount o' Chocolate!"
"Oooooh," Viola squealed and ran to the mountain. Within seconds she was devouring handful after handful of the rich, creamy desert. Soon her hands and face were a dripping, chocolaty mess.
"Couldn't you have brought a spoon?" Rose asked him, sighing as she thought about how long it was going to take to get Viola destickified.
"Oh!" The Doctor rummaged in his pocket and pulled out three spoons and three bowls. "I forgot!"
Rose threw back her head and laughed. "Only you, Doctor." She took a bowl and spoon from his hands as she started to walk toward Viola. "You do realize this means that you'rethe one on bath duty, right?" She grinned wickedly and joined her daughter, leaving the Doctor gaping after her.
*****
The door to the TARDIS creaked open and Viola bolted across the front garden and through the Tyler's front door. Viola spotted her grandmother coming out of the kitchen and promptly ran to her, her slender arms encircling the older woman's waist in an affectionate hug.
"I missed you so much, grandma!" Viola exclaimed. "I have so much to tell you." Viola looked up at her beloved grandmother and her face fell at her baffled expression.
She tried again. "Grandma, didn't you miss me?"
"Hello there, sweetheart. I think you've got me mixed up with someone else," Jackie said softly, kneeling down to Viola's level and looking at her in confusion. She reached for the young girl's hand. "Why don't we find your family for you, all right, honey?"
"Grandma! It's me, Viola."
Jackie looked startled. "Viola? But-" The front door opened again and the Doctor and Rose stepped inside. "What's going on?" Jackie asked the Doctor, glaring at him.
The Doctor shrugged. "Just a teeny bit of regeneration, is all. Viola's fine now. She looks different, but she's still the same person."
"What?" Jackie looked to her daughter. "Rose, what does he mean, 'she's fine now'? What happened to her? Why does she have a different face?" Her voice held the slightest hint of hysteria.
"Mum," Rose said gently, going to her mother. "Do you remember when I came home and the Doctor changed?"
Jackie nodded. "You told me he'd been hurt and he changed his face to survive."
"That's right." Rose guided Jackie to a chair. "A similar thing happened to Viola."
"You got hurt?" Jackie looked at Viola, sadness pouring through her eyes.
"I'm okay, Grandma." Viola climbed onto her grandmother's lap. "I had a little accident is all."
"An accident?" Fear filtered through Jackie's voice.
Viola placed her small hands on Jackie's cheeks, turning her head so she could see her bright blue eyes. "I did something stupid. Something Mum and Daddy didn't know about and I was injured. But then, eventually I grew a new heart and got a new body and now I'm fine and I'm here talking to you."
"Oh, sweetheart." Jackie cuddled Viola to her chest and held her there for a long time. "I'm so glad you're all right." She kissed Viola's forehead. "Are you hungry? Can I get you some tea? A sandwich? Something else to eat?"
"Have you got any biscuits?" Viola asked hopefully.
"Of course, sweetheart. You can have anything you want." Jackie hugged her granddaughter again before setting her down and taking her hand as she led her into the kitchen.
Rose followed, chuckling as she listened to them banter.
"Anything I want?" Viola asked.
"Anything at all."
"Can I have a pony?"
"Where would you put it?"
"In the bathtub."
Jackie howled with laughter as they entered the kitchen.
None of them noticed the Doctor slip into the TARDIS and fly away.
*****
Rose sat in the kitchen frowning down at the cold cup of tea in front of her. Somehow in all the excitement with Jackie and Viola, the Doctor had managed to wander off. The TARDIS was missing too, and that made her worry. It had been hours since he'd vanished. Where did he go in such a hurry that he couldn't even say goodbye? She hated not knowing where he was or what he was doing, and the longer he was gone, the greater her anxiety increased. It wasn't like him to just leave without telling her, and that, combined with the fact that he'd been feeling so guilty about Viola's regeneration, caused her concern to grow even more. He could be unpredictable when he was wrapped up in such dark thoughts, and her greatest fear was that he would do something reckless on his own that would get himself injured, or worse, killed.
The sound of the sliding glass door opening caused Rose to look up. Jackie was carrying Viola and Rose could see that her knee was bleeding slightly.
"What happened?" She said, rushing over to take Viola from her mum and set her on the counter.
"Oh, I'm fine, Rose. It's Viola I'm worried about. She took a little tumble off of Tony's bicycle." Jackie rummaged in a cupboard and pulled out a first aid kit. She returned to Viola and visually inspected the little girl. "It's all right, sweetheart," she said softly. "Granny will have you good as new again in just a mo'."
"I'm okay, Grandma," Viola said with a roll of her eyes. "It's just a little scratch."
"But you're bleeding." Jackie pulled out a bottle of peroxide and made a big show of gently dabbing at the wound and blowing on it.
Assured that her daughter was in good hands, Rose filled the kettle and set it to boil for fresh tea, before turning back to watch the scene. She almost burst out laughing at the expression of pure exasperation on Viola's face as Jackie fussed over her. Jackie gave one last soothing blow and pulled a pink Band-Aid with little cartoon cat faces on it out of the first aid kit.
Viola broke into a wide grin and she squealed. "Oh, Hello Kitty. That's cute!"
Rose smiled, stifling a giggle as she turned her attention to the whistling kettle. Somehow she suspected Viola didn't mind letting her grandmother fuss over her after all.
Suddenly, there was a commotion in the hallway and a cacophony of voices neared the kitchen. Tony and Pete entered the kitchen and immediately Pete shot his wife a puzzled look. "Who's this then?" he said, nodding to Viola.
"It's Viola." Jackie said brusquely as she applied a final little kiss over the colourful Band-Aid. "She's regenerated. It's a long story and we don't have time right now because she's hurt her knee, so just accept it and move on."
Pete eyed Viola curiously for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and stepping forward to ruffle Viola's hair. "Hello there, squirt!"
"Hi ya, Petey," Viola retorted with a grin. It was a standard greeting between them and Rose was happy to see that it was continuing despite the change.
Tony smiled at his impish cousin and held out his hand. "Want to come play in the garden with me?"
Viola nodded enthusiastically. Tony helped her down from the counter and took her small hand in his larger one, leading her back outside. "Can we play 'Stone Angels'?" Rose heard her ask.
"What are 'Stone Angels'?" Tony asked.
Viola must have stopped because Rose could no longer hear her footfalls on the deck. "How do you not know about this?" Viola sounded bemused. "Oh, Tony, I have soooo much to teach you..." Her long winded chatter faded into the distance and Rose returned her attention to the others in the room, finally registering the fact that her missing husband was with them.
"Doctor! You're back!" She was about to run to him, but something in his expression stopped her. He looked, tired, and haunted, and if she wasn't mistaken, rather sad.Where had he been?
"So I am." He offered her a weak smile and that, more than anything else convinced her that something was very, very wrong. She strode over to him, studying his face with concerned interest as she moved.
"You all right?" She was careful to keep her voice low enough that Jackie and Pete wouldn't overhear.
"What? Oh, I'm okay. Just lost in my thoughts." He smiled again and this time he looked more himself. "I'm sorry I was gone so long. I had something to take care of, and it took longer than I thought."
Rose hugged him. "I admit, you had me a little worried there. You usually tell me when you're going off somewhere alone."
He looked sheepish. "I'm sorry. You were busy and it was kind of a time sensitive issue. It's all sorted now."
She examined his face for a long moment, still apprehensive about the emotions she could see there. Finally she decided to let it go. He'd tell her what was bothering him when he was ready, he always did. So instead she distracted him. "Viola learned to ride a bicycle while you were gone!"
The Doctor beamed instantaneously. "Brilliant! Where is she? I want to see my girl on a bike. Always did love to cycle myself. Not very practical in the TARDIS though."
Jackie was staring at him, horrified. "But Doctor, it's too big. She already fell off once and scraped up her knee. I don't think it's a good idea for her to try again."
The Doctor scowled. "Rubbish. She's a Time Lord! She probably barely even felt it. She's tougher than she looks," he finished, pride ringing through his voice. Then, he stepped outside completely ignoring Jackie's further protests.
*****
For the first few days after their visit to Jackie, Rose noticed that the Doctor was quieter than normal. She tried to get him to talk a few times, but though his eyes reflected a deep sadness, he insisted that he would be fine. Finally accepting that he didn't want to talk about it, Rose gave him some space, and kept her worries to herself.
Viola also noticed that her father was not quite himself and after about three days of silence she seemed to have had enough. They were in the library. Viola was reading aloud to Rose from an ancient volume of Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There that she'd found on the shelves, while the Doctor sat moodily in an arm chair, flipping restlessly through a stack of books that Rose knew he wasn't really reading.
"`Twas br- brillig, and the ... um... slithy toves, Did gyre and ... uh... gimble in the ... wabe: All mimsy were the ... the ... borogoves, And the mome ... raths? ... outgrabe..." As Viola read, she kept shooting her father speculative looks.
Finally, after he'd thrown his tenth novel on the floor, Viola closed the book and slid off the couch.
She approached him, her face reflecting a look of pure determination and will. Without a word, she clamoured onto his lap and placed both palms along his jaw line, tilting his head so she was looking into his eyes.
"It will be all right Daddy," she whispered confidently. "Trust me. I know these things." Then she wound her hands around his neck and hugged him.
The Doctor held Viola tightly to his chest, his gaze meeting Rose's for a split second before he turned away, blinking. When he loosened his grip on her, Viola looked up at him again and began to sing the first haunting notes of the Gallifreyan lullaby he'd sung to her every night since she'd been an infant. She stroked his hair absently as the words drifted from her lips. When she was done. She kissed him on the cheek, told him she loved him, and returned to her mother. She opened the book and continued to read as though nothing had happened.
"One, two! One, two! And through and through, The ... umm... vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head, He went ... ga- ga- galumphing back..."
Much to Rose's relief, starting that evening the Doctor's dark mood seemed to fade. She would still catch a glimpse of that chilling sadness occasionally, but on the whole he seemed much more at peace. For that she was grateful.
*****
Viola crawled into bed. She looked up as the door opened and her father entered, carrying a book.
He kissed her forehead and sat carefully on the edge of the bed. "Ready for your bedtime story?"
Viola bit her lip and shook her head.
"No?" He sounded surprised. "What's wrong?"
Viola glanced down at the little pink roses on her comforter for a moment before looking up at her father again. "Daddy, why do I have two hearts when you and Mum only have one?"
She watched as he placed the book on her bedside table before turning back to her. "A long, long time ago, your mum and I lived in another universe. Back then, I did have two hearts."
"You had two hearts?" Viola interrupted, gaping at him. "You used to be like me?"
Her father nodded and Viola thought his eyes looked sad. "I did."
"Did Mum?"
"No, I'm afraid not. Rose has always been human." He looked even sadder as he shook his head.
"How did you lose it, Daddy?" Viola asked.
He frowned. "Lose what?"
"Your second heart." Viola's own two hearts began to beat rapidly in tandem. Suddenly she needed to know desperately. "Where did it go?"
"Weeeellll." He tugged on his ear the way he always did when he wasn't sure how to answer her questions. "It didn't really 'go' anywhere. I regenerated you see --"
"Will I lose my new heart next time?" Viola interrupted, alarmed at the thought. She had quickly adapted to the sophisticated respiratory system and found the thought of losing her new heart troubling.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." Her father stood up and paced in front of her. "How do I explain this?" he muttered.
"It's complicated, Viola, but last time I tried to regenerate, I changed, I became half human. The details are rather technical, and frankly unimportant, but basically, it saved the universe. And it brought me your Mum."
"Oh." Viola sat up, her anxiety over being different from her parents abating. "Is that when you first met her?"
"No, but I'd lost her and she came back to me then."
Viola gasped, horrified. "You lost Mum?"
"It's okay," he assured her. "Your mum came back. She always came back...every time I thought I lost her, she found me again..." He turned away from her and brushed at his eye before picking up the book he'd carried in with him and holding it up. "Shall we start?"
Viola eyed the book he'd brought with him. "Yes, but --"
"But what? I thought The Secret Garden was one of your favourites."
"Oh, it is," Viola agreed. "But tonight I was wondering if you'd tell me realstory."
"Real? But this is real. It's in a book and everything." He held it out to her.
Viola rolled her eyes. "Daddy, that's not what I mean. I wanna hear more about you and Mum before I was born."
The Doctor lowered the book and peered at Viola. "You want your bedtime story to be about me and your mum?"
Viola grinned. "Exactly." He looked hesitant so she added, "Please?" and batted her eyelashes.
Her father smiled thinly. "I suppose I could do that."
"Oh, goody." Viola clapped and lay back against her pillows as she looked up at him expectantly.
"Well, it all began when the stars started going out, and your clever, clever mother decided to convince Torchwood to build the Dimension Cannon..."
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