Where Are You Roaming? (5/25)
Author: lorelaisquared
Titile: Where Are You Roaming?
Fandom: Doctor Who
Word Count: 2038
Characters: Rose, Donna, Ten, Viola (OC)
Pairings: Rose/TenII, Rose/Ten
Summary: Sequel to What’s To Come is Still Unsure. Rose and Viola struggle to adjust to being in Rose’s original universe while the Doctor deals with the ramifications of his actions at "Bowie Base One" on Mars.
Rating: PG
Beta(s): meremoon
Author’s Note: Special thanks to my beta, meremoon for her invaluable feedback. Also a huge thank you to rumpelsnorcack for her constant support and cheerleading. A quick shout out to earlgreytea68 for periodically letting me bounce ideas off of her.
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 |
Chapter 5
Rose and Viola were standing to the side of the stage, watching the dress rehearsal from Twelfth Night when it happened again. This time, Viola heard it before she felt it, and the sound was accompanied by a sharp pain in her head. There was a sudden crackle in the air and then the flashing lights came and the ground beneath her feet became incredibly unsteady. She groped for Rose, clinging to her as they rode out the shaking and the pain in her head intensified. It was worse than it had been the first time and when everything went still again Viola was unsurprised to note that they had once again shifted time and location.
Viola winced as she opened her eyes. Her brain was ringing with the wrongness of these sudden time jumps, and yet she wasn't exactly sure why. All she knew was that whatever was going on was going to have disastrous consequences. Not wanting to worry her mother, Viola took a deep breath, willing herself to overcome the pain so she could focus on their surroundings.
She bent down and scooped up a handful of the purple dirt that lay beneath their feet. Rose watched, half appalled as she sniffed the substance and placed a grain on her tongue. She recognized the taste immediately and she quickly brushed the purple dirt off her hands and stood tall, grinning.
“We're on Gopigipi!” she pronounced triumphantly.
“Gopigipi? Isn't that the planet you and your father used to go on about? The one with the sand that tastes like cotton candy?”
Viola nodded. “Yes! That one! Isn't it brilliant?” she exclaimed, hoping her mother wouldn't detect false enthusiasm in her voice. “I've always wanted to come here. Dad used to tell me about how all the buildings were made out of melted purple sugar. Isn't that incredible? A whole town made of cotton candy.” She pointed to something in the distance. “Look, that must be it. It's purple, Mum, the whole planet is purple!! How cool is that?”
Rose laughed. “It's very cool, Viola.”
Viola looked at her mother oddly for a moment. “You're humouring me, aren't you?”
“Would I do that?”
“Yes.” Viola answered promptly. “But that's okay. I know how cool it is, so it's fine. Race you?”
“Of course!” Rose bent her knees. “Ready? Set? Go?”
And with that, they both raced toward the purple city.
*~*~*~*~*
The Doctor had never been happier. It had been almost a week since he'd rescued Rose from the Void and he was having the time of his life. He'd taken her to at least a dozen new places already - everywhere from Elizabethan London to the far off planet of Gopigipi to London 2095. It had been like old times, the two of them holding hands and running from the inevitable trouble that seemed to follow them everywhere. Amid the running and adventures, they spent hours talking, and growing closer, something the Doctor was most pleased with. It had been centuries since he'd opened up and allowed anyone to be this close to him before and he was finding it refreshing.
Unfortunately, his happiness was increasingly threatened by the growing sense of foreboding that filled his head. A small part of him was screaming at him for messing with the timelines, and for being selfish. That part of him warned of repercussions and dire consequences and yet the Doctor deliberately ignored this. He'd suffered long enough. For years he had succumbed to loneliness, putting the needs of others ahead of his own, sacrificing everything for the good of all. It was time the universe gave something back to him and he had decided that that something should be Rose.
Thankfully Rose hadn't seemed to sense that anything was amiss and the Doctor sincerely hoped that it would stay that way. He loved being with her, loved spending time with her, loved hearing her ringing laugh, loved kissing her and holding her in his arms, much like he was doing now.
They were curled up on the sofa in the library, their legs intertwined as Rose read a book they'd picked up at a market on Eeeelinhth and he attempted to read his favourite Dickensian classic. Rose shifted, tilting her neck to see him better.
“This book is fascinating!” she informed him. “I love that the TARDIS makes it possible for me to read things from other planets. Eeeelinhth fiction is quite entertaining.”
The Doctor leaned forward and kissed her nose lightly. “I'm glad you're enjoying it.”
“I am.” Rose smiled, shifting her body so that she was facing him. She was now lying atop him and the Doctor was finding the position incredibly distracting. “Thank you.”
Before he could say another word, she kissed him deeply and all coherent thought fled.
*~*~*~*~*
When they reached the purple town, Rose and Viola discovered that it was inhabited by miniature blue creatures called Ipigogi. Viola managed to talk one of the Ipigogi into giving them a tour of the town and they soon found themselves in a small, intricate building filled with narrow corridors and winding staircases.
Eventually they came to a large open room filled with elaborate looking machines with multi-coloured screens that blipped and bleeped with all kinds of information.
“What are those for?” Rose asked their tour guide.
“Oh! They're wonderful, aren't they?” He asked. “They're called STARGAL's. They give us all kinds of important information that we need in order to keep track of stars in the universe. We're responsible for star maintenance in a total of twelve galaxies, so each machine is tuned into a different galaxy.”
“Wow,” Viola whispered, running her hands over the dials of one of the machines. “That's a lot of stars.”
Their guide nodded. “Oh yes, it is. We're the largest centre this side of the Milky Way. Anyone here can tell you anything about any star - such as when the star was born, what it's called on different planets, by different species and when the star is likely to turn into a supernova.” He pointed to a large splotch on one of the screens. “Watch this one here. It's going to explode any second now.”
Rose and Viola both gathered around the screen, transfixed. As they watched, the splotch grew bigger and bigger until it had nearly filled the whole screen. Then, just as it began to burst in a flash of brilliant colour, Rose felt a tug in her abdomen and she lurched forward, gripping the STARGAL machine with her hands as she tried to focus on staying where she was. It was no use though, and a second later Rose felt her feet leave the ground as she and Viola were once again transported to another time and place.
*~*~*~*~*
After nearly two wonderful weeks travelling with Rose again, everything went horribly wrong. The Doctor had attempted to land on Minsk - the planet, not the city, and instead they had ended up on a barren, cold wasteland in the far reaches of the universe with a TARDIS that was refusing to work. At first it had been fine and they'd treated it as they did all their adventures, holding hands and exploring, excited to see what awaited them.
Initially, they found very little on the planet. The only signs of life were some dried trees that stuck out of the sand, their branches gnarled and twisted together as though something horrid had happened to them. It was as the Doctor bent down to inspect one of the trees that the attack came. Primitive arrows came soaring at them seemingly out of nowhere. Panicked, the Doctor dove for Rose, pinning her to the ground with his body as the twang of bows being rapidly fired continued to fill the air.
The Doctor looked down at Rose. Under different circumstances, their current position would have been distracting, but right now, all he could think about was the need to get Rose away from there safely. He glanced over his shoulder at the TARDIS, mentally calculating the distance and deliberating on whether it would be safe to run for it. Deciding it was too far, the Doctor scanned the area, trying to spot somewhere they could hide, but he could see nothing other than the shower of arrows pummelling toward them.
An arrow whizzed past Rose's face and they both winced as it embedded itself in the sand above her head. Knowing he had no other choice, the Doctor whispered a quick instruction in Rose's ear and together they began to slither slowly toward the TARDIS, careful to stay flush to the ground.
The arrows followed them and though he still couldn't see anything, the Doctor sensed that their attackers were getting closer. He began to move faster, with Rose just behind him. As they moved, the sand swirled around them, as though it too was fleeing the attack.
When he was nearly to the TARDIS, the Doctor looked back to see how Rose was getting on. His hearts stopped. The shots had ceased and she was gone.
*~*~*~*~*
It was raining and the loud, busy street was making Viola's headache worse. A large, red double decker bus passed them, splashing water from a massive puddle onto the foot path and soaking them in the process.
Rose swore and Viola turned to her mother, trying not to laugh at the expression on her face as she stood there, dripping.
“It's not funny,” she muttered.
Viola bit her lip and shook her head. “I didn't say it was.”
“You're thinking it,” Rose accused.
Deciding it was time to change the subject, Viola gestured to the street. “So where do you think we are now?”
“Did you not notice the big red bus? We're still in London.”
Viola sighed. “Well, yes. That's not what I meant. Are we in the past? Present? Future?”
“You're the Time Lord, shouldn't you know?”
In truth, Viola knew that she should, but something was blocking that part of her consciousness. Her brain was beyond muddled at the moment and it terrified her, but she didn't want to worry Rose with the truth so instead she said, “Well, of course I know, I'm just curious what you think.”
Rose looked at her doubtfully but shrugged and said, “I think we're in the near future. The buses and buildings all look like they would in my time, but the adverts are for things I'm not familiar with. But they’re all things that still seem plausible, so we can't be that far in the future. How'd I do?”
Viola quickly scanned the area. Her eyes landed on a news agents and a quick glance gave her the information that she needed. “Not bad, Mum. It's actually 2012.”
Rose grinned. “I've been here before.”
“You have?”
“Yeah. The Doctor brought me to the Olympics before... well, before everything changed.”
The rain was still pelting down and they started to walk down the street toward a covered shop awning.
“Was it fun?”
“It was --” Rose suddenly gasped and clutched her abdomen. Viola watched in horror as her mother's face contorted in pain.
“Mum? Mum? What is it? What's wrong?”
Rose didn't answer. She was on her knees now, oblivious to the sheets of water that were pouring down around her. Her face was pale and ashen and her entire body was shaking.
Terrified, Viola knelt beside her mother, trying desperately to figure out what was wrong. “Mum, Mum! Talk to me.”
Rose moaned, then suddenly screamed, a horrific sound filled with pain and anguish. People had started to gather around them, but Viola barely noticed. She didn't care. Right now her mum was in trouble and she was all that mattered.
Trying not to panic, Viola ran her hand over her mother's face, feeling her forehead. Her skin was clammy and she was obviously feverish. She found her mother's hand, which still clutched her abdomen, and stroked it. “It's okay, Mum. It'll all be okay.”
Suddenly Viola's fingers hit something wet and sticky on her mother’s abdomen and she froze. Both hearts were racing as she slowly looked down, her eyes confirming the worst - it was blood.
*~*~*~*~*
TBC
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
Titile: Where Are You Roaming?
Fandom: Doctor Who
Word Count: 2038
Characters: Rose, Donna, Ten, Viola (OC)
Pairings: Rose/TenII, Rose/Ten
Summary: Sequel to What’s To Come is Still Unsure. Rose and Viola struggle to adjust to being in Rose’s original universe while the Doctor deals with the ramifications of his actions at "Bowie Base One" on Mars.
Rating: PG
Beta(s): meremoon
Author’s Note: Special thanks to my beta, meremoon for her invaluable feedback. Also a huge thank you to rumpelsnorcack for her constant support and cheerleading. A quick shout out to earlgreytea68 for periodically letting me bounce ideas off of her.
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 |
Chapter 5
Rose and Viola were standing to the side of the stage, watching the dress rehearsal from Twelfth Night when it happened again. This time, Viola heard it before she felt it, and the sound was accompanied by a sharp pain in her head. There was a sudden crackle in the air and then the flashing lights came and the ground beneath her feet became incredibly unsteady. She groped for Rose, clinging to her as they rode out the shaking and the pain in her head intensified. It was worse than it had been the first time and when everything went still again Viola was unsurprised to note that they had once again shifted time and location.
Viola winced as she opened her eyes. Her brain was ringing with the wrongness of these sudden time jumps, and yet she wasn't exactly sure why. All she knew was that whatever was going on was going to have disastrous consequences. Not wanting to worry her mother, Viola took a deep breath, willing herself to overcome the pain so she could focus on their surroundings.
She bent down and scooped up a handful of the purple dirt that lay beneath their feet. Rose watched, half appalled as she sniffed the substance and placed a grain on her tongue. She recognized the taste immediately and she quickly brushed the purple dirt off her hands and stood tall, grinning.
“We're on Gopigipi!” she pronounced triumphantly.
“Gopigipi? Isn't that the planet you and your father used to go on about? The one with the sand that tastes like cotton candy?”
Viola nodded. “Yes! That one! Isn't it brilliant?” she exclaimed, hoping her mother wouldn't detect false enthusiasm in her voice. “I've always wanted to come here. Dad used to tell me about how all the buildings were made out of melted purple sugar. Isn't that incredible? A whole town made of cotton candy.” She pointed to something in the distance. “Look, that must be it. It's purple, Mum, the whole planet is purple!! How cool is that?”
Rose laughed. “It's very cool, Viola.”
Viola looked at her mother oddly for a moment. “You're humouring me, aren't you?”
“Would I do that?”
“Yes.” Viola answered promptly. “But that's okay. I know how cool it is, so it's fine. Race you?”
“Of course!” Rose bent her knees. “Ready? Set? Go?”
And with that, they both raced toward the purple city.
*~*~*~*~*
The Doctor had never been happier. It had been almost a week since he'd rescued Rose from the Void and he was having the time of his life. He'd taken her to at least a dozen new places already - everywhere from Elizabethan London to the far off planet of Gopigipi to London 2095. It had been like old times, the two of them holding hands and running from the inevitable trouble that seemed to follow them everywhere. Amid the running and adventures, they spent hours talking, and growing closer, something the Doctor was most pleased with. It had been centuries since he'd opened up and allowed anyone to be this close to him before and he was finding it refreshing.
Unfortunately, his happiness was increasingly threatened by the growing sense of foreboding that filled his head. A small part of him was screaming at him for messing with the timelines, and for being selfish. That part of him warned of repercussions and dire consequences and yet the Doctor deliberately ignored this. He'd suffered long enough. For years he had succumbed to loneliness, putting the needs of others ahead of his own, sacrificing everything for the good of all. It was time the universe gave something back to him and he had decided that that something should be Rose.
Thankfully Rose hadn't seemed to sense that anything was amiss and the Doctor sincerely hoped that it would stay that way. He loved being with her, loved spending time with her, loved hearing her ringing laugh, loved kissing her and holding her in his arms, much like he was doing now.
They were curled up on the sofa in the library, their legs intertwined as Rose read a book they'd picked up at a market on Eeeelinhth and he attempted to read his favourite Dickensian classic. Rose shifted, tilting her neck to see him better.
“This book is fascinating!” she informed him. “I love that the TARDIS makes it possible for me to read things from other planets. Eeeelinhth fiction is quite entertaining.”
The Doctor leaned forward and kissed her nose lightly. “I'm glad you're enjoying it.”
“I am.” Rose smiled, shifting her body so that she was facing him. She was now lying atop him and the Doctor was finding the position incredibly distracting. “Thank you.”
Before he could say another word, she kissed him deeply and all coherent thought fled.
*~*~*~*~*
When they reached the purple town, Rose and Viola discovered that it was inhabited by miniature blue creatures called Ipigogi. Viola managed to talk one of the Ipigogi into giving them a tour of the town and they soon found themselves in a small, intricate building filled with narrow corridors and winding staircases.
Eventually they came to a large open room filled with elaborate looking machines with multi-coloured screens that blipped and bleeped with all kinds of information.
“What are those for?” Rose asked their tour guide.
“Oh! They're wonderful, aren't they?” He asked. “They're called STARGAL's. They give us all kinds of important information that we need in order to keep track of stars in the universe. We're responsible for star maintenance in a total of twelve galaxies, so each machine is tuned into a different galaxy.”
“Wow,” Viola whispered, running her hands over the dials of one of the machines. “That's a lot of stars.”
Their guide nodded. “Oh yes, it is. We're the largest centre this side of the Milky Way. Anyone here can tell you anything about any star - such as when the star was born, what it's called on different planets, by different species and when the star is likely to turn into a supernova.” He pointed to a large splotch on one of the screens. “Watch this one here. It's going to explode any second now.”
Rose and Viola both gathered around the screen, transfixed. As they watched, the splotch grew bigger and bigger until it had nearly filled the whole screen. Then, just as it began to burst in a flash of brilliant colour, Rose felt a tug in her abdomen and she lurched forward, gripping the STARGAL machine with her hands as she tried to focus on staying where she was. It was no use though, and a second later Rose felt her feet leave the ground as she and Viola were once again transported to another time and place.
*~*~*~*~*
After nearly two wonderful weeks travelling with Rose again, everything went horribly wrong. The Doctor had attempted to land on Minsk - the planet, not the city, and instead they had ended up on a barren, cold wasteland in the far reaches of the universe with a TARDIS that was refusing to work. At first it had been fine and they'd treated it as they did all their adventures, holding hands and exploring, excited to see what awaited them.
Initially, they found very little on the planet. The only signs of life were some dried trees that stuck out of the sand, their branches gnarled and twisted together as though something horrid had happened to them. It was as the Doctor bent down to inspect one of the trees that the attack came. Primitive arrows came soaring at them seemingly out of nowhere. Panicked, the Doctor dove for Rose, pinning her to the ground with his body as the twang of bows being rapidly fired continued to fill the air.
The Doctor looked down at Rose. Under different circumstances, their current position would have been distracting, but right now, all he could think about was the need to get Rose away from there safely. He glanced over his shoulder at the TARDIS, mentally calculating the distance and deliberating on whether it would be safe to run for it. Deciding it was too far, the Doctor scanned the area, trying to spot somewhere they could hide, but he could see nothing other than the shower of arrows pummelling toward them.
An arrow whizzed past Rose's face and they both winced as it embedded itself in the sand above her head. Knowing he had no other choice, the Doctor whispered a quick instruction in Rose's ear and together they began to slither slowly toward the TARDIS, careful to stay flush to the ground.
The arrows followed them and though he still couldn't see anything, the Doctor sensed that their attackers were getting closer. He began to move faster, with Rose just behind him. As they moved, the sand swirled around them, as though it too was fleeing the attack.
When he was nearly to the TARDIS, the Doctor looked back to see how Rose was getting on. His hearts stopped. The shots had ceased and she was gone.
*~*~*~*~*
It was raining and the loud, busy street was making Viola's headache worse. A large, red double decker bus passed them, splashing water from a massive puddle onto the foot path and soaking them in the process.
Rose swore and Viola turned to her mother, trying not to laugh at the expression on her face as she stood there, dripping.
“It's not funny,” she muttered.
Viola bit her lip and shook her head. “I didn't say it was.”
“You're thinking it,” Rose accused.
Deciding it was time to change the subject, Viola gestured to the street. “So where do you think we are now?”
“Did you not notice the big red bus? We're still in London.”
Viola sighed. “Well, yes. That's not what I meant. Are we in the past? Present? Future?”
“You're the Time Lord, shouldn't you know?”
In truth, Viola knew that she should, but something was blocking that part of her consciousness. Her brain was beyond muddled at the moment and it terrified her, but she didn't want to worry Rose with the truth so instead she said, “Well, of course I know, I'm just curious what you think.”
Rose looked at her doubtfully but shrugged and said, “I think we're in the near future. The buses and buildings all look like they would in my time, but the adverts are for things I'm not familiar with. But they’re all things that still seem plausible, so we can't be that far in the future. How'd I do?”
Viola quickly scanned the area. Her eyes landed on a news agents and a quick glance gave her the information that she needed. “Not bad, Mum. It's actually 2012.”
Rose grinned. “I've been here before.”
“You have?”
“Yeah. The Doctor brought me to the Olympics before... well, before everything changed.”
The rain was still pelting down and they started to walk down the street toward a covered shop awning.
“Was it fun?”
“It was --” Rose suddenly gasped and clutched her abdomen. Viola watched in horror as her mother's face contorted in pain.
“Mum? Mum? What is it? What's wrong?”
Rose didn't answer. She was on her knees now, oblivious to the sheets of water that were pouring down around her. Her face was pale and ashen and her entire body was shaking.
Terrified, Viola knelt beside her mother, trying desperately to figure out what was wrong. “Mum, Mum! Talk to me.”
Rose moaned, then suddenly screamed, a horrific sound filled with pain and anguish. People had started to gather around them, but Viola barely noticed. She didn't care. Right now her mum was in trouble and she was all that mattered.
Trying not to panic, Viola ran her hand over her mother's face, feeling her forehead. Her skin was clammy and she was obviously feverish. She found her mother's hand, which still clutched her abdomen, and stroked it. “It's okay, Mum. It'll all be okay.”
Suddenly Viola's fingers hit something wet and sticky on her mother’s abdomen and she froze. Both hearts were racing as she slowly looked down, her eyes confirming the worst - it was blood.
*~*~*~*~*
TBC
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