The Stolen Earth Incident - Chapter Forty-Eight
30 April 2009
London
The TARDIS
Somehow, Rose had missed Mickey leaving.
“He’s going to stay here,” her Mum answered her unspoken question. “Says there’s nothing left for him back on the other Earth now.” She stood there, arms crossed, her dark eyes sad. Rose knew that Jackie was going to miss Mickey; they’d gotten so close after they’d all been trapped on the other world, there were times when Rose was convinced that she thought of Mickey as another son. Rose had had an unsettled feeling of jealousy when she first realised it, but it hadn’t lasted long, knowing that she’d be leaving her Mum as soon as the Dimension Cannon had got up and running and then she’d need someone to rely on that wasn’t her other-dimensional father copy.
But Mickey had left. He was going to remain on this side of the dimensional wall, away from everything he’d built. Rose didn’t understand it. Why would he choose to do that? He was a hero and well-known and he’d had family back there.
And yet, he’d gone, apparently with Jack and the others.
It bothered her. She’d been counting on Mickey to be there for her Mum while Rose was gone. Still, she supposed this was Mickey’s homeworld, too, after all. He’d been just as much out of his familiar place as she’d been.
Rose glanced about the console room, knowing that they’d be returning her mother to the other Earth, where she belonged now, with Pete and their son. Truth was, she’d miss her Mum. They’d been all there was for each other for a long time, ever since her own dad had been killed.
But that had changed when she’d met the other Pete. Jackie didn’t need her anymore. Rose as free to do what she’d always wanted to do: travel with the Doctor once more.
Then, maybe someday she’d take Jack up on his offer to come and visit him in Cardiff. She was really curious to know more about his mate, the dragon version of Ianto Jones, to get to know the man who’d finally managed to get her flirty friend to settle down and gain a family. She felt she would adore this Ianto, just because he made Jack happy.
The Doctor came back inside, shutting the doors behind him. The Doctor that had grown out of that hand was standing off to the side of the room, near one of the arching coral struts, resembling nothing more than a schoolboy who’d been caught out at something.
Judging from the look the original Doctor was giving him, maybe he had.
Rose figured it was because the new Doctor had destroyed all the Daleks on the Crucible; even though he might not have actually pulled the trigger on that fancy gun, he’d built it. Honestly, Rose couldn’t see what the issue was. Davros and his creations were going to obliterate every single living thing in every dimension, and had needed to be stopped. She’d pretty much done the same thing, when she’d become the Bad Wolf and had wiped out the Dalek Empire in the far future. Was this any different? Rose didn’t think so.
And yet, it seemed as if her Doctor was going to hold it against the other one, the human Doctor.
The familiar sound of the TARDIS taking off filled the room, and the time machine shuddered as the Doctor piloted it away. Rose stepped over to Donna, who was watching the Doctor work the console, and she was becoming more excited at being able to travel once more.
The TARDIS felt sad, though. Rose couldn’t understand why. They’d defeated the Daleks, moved the Earth back to where it belonged, and now was going to take her Mum back home before the dimensional walls closed once again for good. There would be no more moving back and forth between worlds anymore, she knew the Doctor would make certain of that. It was simply too dangerous to allow, which meant this would be the last time she’d ever see her Mum again.
Rose felt bad about that, but she was ready to move on.
She knew her mother understood, judging from what she’d been told. It was slightly humbling to know that Jackie and Pete had done what they’d done so she would at least hope she’d get back to the Doctor one day.
“Are you sure about this?”
Rose turned to her Mum. Jackie had stepped up beside her, and in that moment Rose knew exactly what she was giving up by staying with the Doctor. She would miss her, but Rose felt it was time.
“Yes,” she answered, putting her arm around Jackie’s waist one last time. “This is what I’ve wanted for a long time.”
Jackie smiled sadly. “I know, sweetheart, but I just needed to hear it once more.”
“I’m going to miss you, but you know I never really belonged on that other Earth.”
“No…you never tried to belong.”
It struck Rose that Jackie was right. She’s never really done anything to make that place her home. All of her focus had been on getting back to this reality, and to the Doctor.
“You know he’s going to leave you again, right?”
Rose startled, spinning to face the human Doctor. He was standing just behind her, hands in the pockets of his trousers, watching her as if she was about to disappear.
“What do you mean?” she challenged him angrily, her fists clenching at her sides without her even knowing she was doing it.
“He’s going to leave you back in that other dimension,” the other answered. “He’ll want to leave me there as well, and he’ll ask you to watch out for me.”
Rose shook her head, denying what he was telling her. After everything she’d been through…what she was giving up…there was no way the Doctor would do that to her!
It must have been written all over her face, because he said, “I’m him, Rose. I know what he’s thinking. He can’t have me travel with him…which is a bit rich, if you ask me, after what we wanted to do with the Master.” A flash of anger lit his dark eyes, but vanished so quickly Rose wasn’t at all sure she’d even seen it at all. “But then, I’m not a Time Lord. I’m a human who happens to look like one. Him, to be precise. And I committed an act of genocide by making the zed-neutrino biological catalyser. He won’t want me around to remind him that it happened again, so I’m thinking he’ll strand me on the other side of the dimensional barrier where he won’t ever have to look at me again.”
Jackie looked as if she wanted to slap someone. “You can stay with us,” she said. “We might not be Time Lords, but you’re welcome with us if you want.”
The human Doctor blinked, surprised at the offer. “Thank you, Jackie,” he said, heartfelt. “I know I haven’t exactly been nice in the past…”
She waved the comment away. “That’s in the past. I figure you’re just as much a victim here as anyone else. You didn’t ask to be born…well, I guess none of us do, but it must be worse for you. You’re only about an hour old, really, and you’ve had to go out fighting. Maybe you should find out who you really want to be from now on.”
He looked as if he wanted to cry, but he nodded gratefully.
“Besides,” she teased, “we could always use another babysitter.”
The human Doctor cocked his head, curious.
“Pete and I had a baby boy, you know.”
“I didn’t,” he admitted. His posture was gradually relaxing under Jackie’s words. “What’s his name?”
It was a very Mum thing to do, really.
“Doctor.”
The human Doctor’s eyes went wide with pleased surprise. “Really?”
“No, not really,” she laughed. “His name is Tony.”
That got her a chuckle, and a head shake in response. He didn’t seem to be at all bothered by her joking with him.
Rose wasn’t paying much attention to their conversation, though. Her Doctor was planning on leaving her again? After everything she’d done to get back to him?
She was unbelievably angry. How dare he?
Rose didn’t want to stay on that other world. She wanted to travel in the TARDIS, with the man she loved! Not be trapped with this man who looked like the Doctor! Even if he’d been created to be the Doctor in every way except for the whole Time Lord thing!
“I know I’m not completely him,” the human Doctor went on, looking oddly shy. “I’ve got bits of Donna Noble and Clint Barton in me. But Rose…I’m mortal. I’ll get old and someday I’ll die. I won’t ever regenerate. But I’m also not afraid to tell you how I feel about you. Not like him.” He jerked his head toward the real Doctor, who was still working at the console. Donna had moved away from them as they’d been talking, and was watching the Time Lord with an almost stony look on her face. “He’ll never say it. He’ll never tell you that he loves you. It won’t matter how long you travel with him, and one day you’ll find yourself alone again. I won’t ever leave you, unless it’s because I die. We can have our own family.” He was blushing, something that Rose had never seen her Time Lord do before.
She was stunned by what he was saying.
For so long, all she’d wanted to do was find her Doctor. To travel with him forever. To…love him forever. She’d once promised him that she would, and now he was seriously considering stranding her once more, and this time with someone who was a mere shadow of the man she wanted to be with.
How could he even think about doing something like that?
As she stood there, not saying anything, the human Doctor’s face, which had been full of hesitant hope, gradually fell. His eyes were old and sad, and he nodded once in acceptance. “I understand, you know,” he murmured. “I know what it’s like to work for something you want so badly, and then be offered a consolation prize. I don’t blame you for not wanting to be with me, when you could have…him.” His hand fluttered helplessly out of one pocket, and then went to his side.
The thing was, he was right. He was absolutely right. The Doctor - her Doctor - would never once tell her that he loved her. She might be able to be with him for her lifetime, but he’d never be able to say the same. One day, he would regenerate, and she knew from hard experience what sort of changes that would bring. Would he even feel the same for her if he did that? Would it still be her Doctor?
She could remember how she’d felt when she’d thought he was going to regenerate, right after she’d found him again. Rose had been faced with losing him for good.
But, if this version was telling her the truth, he would never change. He would stay the same. He truly wanted to grow old with her. To show her and tell her that he loved her.
It would be a choice between giving up her dream, or follow this man into a future that would be new for her.
The thing was, though, she wanted to see Jack again. She wanted to meet his dragon, and the family he now had. She wanted to travel throughout time and space and have adventures she would never have back on that alternate Earth.
But Jackie had pointed out to her that she really never had given that place a chance, so caught up in getting back to the Doctor. But her mother didn’t blame her for wanting to do it; in fact, she’d encouraged it, even though Rose hadn’t known it at the time. Although Jackie had doubted it would ever happen, knowing that Rose would do anything to accomplish it had been enough for her and Pete to give her that goal to work toward.
Of course, the Dimension Cannon had worked once. Yes, it had been because the Daleks had torn down the walls with their Reality Bomb. But maybe…just maybe…
She just had to decide what she wanted to do.
London
The TARDIS
Somehow, Rose had missed Mickey leaving.
“He’s going to stay here,” her Mum answered her unspoken question. “Says there’s nothing left for him back on the other Earth now.” She stood there, arms crossed, her dark eyes sad. Rose knew that Jackie was going to miss Mickey; they’d gotten so close after they’d all been trapped on the other world, there were times when Rose was convinced that she thought of Mickey as another son. Rose had had an unsettled feeling of jealousy when she first realised it, but it hadn’t lasted long, knowing that she’d be leaving her Mum as soon as the Dimension Cannon had got up and running and then she’d need someone to rely on that wasn’t her other-dimensional father copy.
But Mickey had left. He was going to remain on this side of the dimensional wall, away from everything he’d built. Rose didn’t understand it. Why would he choose to do that? He was a hero and well-known and he’d had family back there.
And yet, he’d gone, apparently with Jack and the others.
It bothered her. She’d been counting on Mickey to be there for her Mum while Rose was gone. Still, she supposed this was Mickey’s homeworld, too, after all. He’d been just as much out of his familiar place as she’d been.
Rose glanced about the console room, knowing that they’d be returning her mother to the other Earth, where she belonged now, with Pete and their son. Truth was, she’d miss her Mum. They’d been all there was for each other for a long time, ever since her own dad had been killed.
But that had changed when she’d met the other Pete. Jackie didn’t need her anymore. Rose as free to do what she’d always wanted to do: travel with the Doctor once more.
Then, maybe someday she’d take Jack up on his offer to come and visit him in Cardiff. She was really curious to know more about his mate, the dragon version of Ianto Jones, to get to know the man who’d finally managed to get her flirty friend to settle down and gain a family. She felt she would adore this Ianto, just because he made Jack happy.
The Doctor came back inside, shutting the doors behind him. The Doctor that had grown out of that hand was standing off to the side of the room, near one of the arching coral struts, resembling nothing more than a schoolboy who’d been caught out at something.
Judging from the look the original Doctor was giving him, maybe he had.
Rose figured it was because the new Doctor had destroyed all the Daleks on the Crucible; even though he might not have actually pulled the trigger on that fancy gun, he’d built it. Honestly, Rose couldn’t see what the issue was. Davros and his creations were going to obliterate every single living thing in every dimension, and had needed to be stopped. She’d pretty much done the same thing, when she’d become the Bad Wolf and had wiped out the Dalek Empire in the far future. Was this any different? Rose didn’t think so.
And yet, it seemed as if her Doctor was going to hold it against the other one, the human Doctor.
The familiar sound of the TARDIS taking off filled the room, and the time machine shuddered as the Doctor piloted it away. Rose stepped over to Donna, who was watching the Doctor work the console, and she was becoming more excited at being able to travel once more.
The TARDIS felt sad, though. Rose couldn’t understand why. They’d defeated the Daleks, moved the Earth back to where it belonged, and now was going to take her Mum back home before the dimensional walls closed once again for good. There would be no more moving back and forth between worlds anymore, she knew the Doctor would make certain of that. It was simply too dangerous to allow, which meant this would be the last time she’d ever see her Mum again.
Rose felt bad about that, but she was ready to move on.
She knew her mother understood, judging from what she’d been told. It was slightly humbling to know that Jackie and Pete had done what they’d done so she would at least hope she’d get back to the Doctor one day.
“Are you sure about this?”
Rose turned to her Mum. Jackie had stepped up beside her, and in that moment Rose knew exactly what she was giving up by staying with the Doctor. She would miss her, but Rose felt it was time.
“Yes,” she answered, putting her arm around Jackie’s waist one last time. “This is what I’ve wanted for a long time.”
Jackie smiled sadly. “I know, sweetheart, but I just needed to hear it once more.”
“I’m going to miss you, but you know I never really belonged on that other Earth.”
“No…you never tried to belong.”
It struck Rose that Jackie was right. She’s never really done anything to make that place her home. All of her focus had been on getting back to this reality, and to the Doctor.
“You know he’s going to leave you again, right?”
Rose startled, spinning to face the human Doctor. He was standing just behind her, hands in the pockets of his trousers, watching her as if she was about to disappear.
“What do you mean?” she challenged him angrily, her fists clenching at her sides without her even knowing she was doing it.
“He’s going to leave you back in that other dimension,” the other answered. “He’ll want to leave me there as well, and he’ll ask you to watch out for me.”
Rose shook her head, denying what he was telling her. After everything she’d been through…what she was giving up…there was no way the Doctor would do that to her!
It must have been written all over her face, because he said, “I’m him, Rose. I know what he’s thinking. He can’t have me travel with him…which is a bit rich, if you ask me, after what we wanted to do with the Master.” A flash of anger lit his dark eyes, but vanished so quickly Rose wasn’t at all sure she’d even seen it at all. “But then, I’m not a Time Lord. I’m a human who happens to look like one. Him, to be precise. And I committed an act of genocide by making the zed-neutrino biological catalyser. He won’t want me around to remind him that it happened again, so I’m thinking he’ll strand me on the other side of the dimensional barrier where he won’t ever have to look at me again.”
Jackie looked as if she wanted to slap someone. “You can stay with us,” she said. “We might not be Time Lords, but you’re welcome with us if you want.”
The human Doctor blinked, surprised at the offer. “Thank you, Jackie,” he said, heartfelt. “I know I haven’t exactly been nice in the past…”
She waved the comment away. “That’s in the past. I figure you’re just as much a victim here as anyone else. You didn’t ask to be born…well, I guess none of us do, but it must be worse for you. You’re only about an hour old, really, and you’ve had to go out fighting. Maybe you should find out who you really want to be from now on.”
He looked as if he wanted to cry, but he nodded gratefully.
“Besides,” she teased, “we could always use another babysitter.”
The human Doctor cocked his head, curious.
“Pete and I had a baby boy, you know.”
“I didn’t,” he admitted. His posture was gradually relaxing under Jackie’s words. “What’s his name?”
It was a very Mum thing to do, really.
“Doctor.”
The human Doctor’s eyes went wide with pleased surprise. “Really?”
“No, not really,” she laughed. “His name is Tony.”
That got her a chuckle, and a head shake in response. He didn’t seem to be at all bothered by her joking with him.
Rose wasn’t paying much attention to their conversation, though. Her Doctor was planning on leaving her again? After everything she’d done to get back to him?
She was unbelievably angry. How dare he?
Rose didn’t want to stay on that other world. She wanted to travel in the TARDIS, with the man she loved! Not be trapped with this man who looked like the Doctor! Even if he’d been created to be the Doctor in every way except for the whole Time Lord thing!
“I know I’m not completely him,” the human Doctor went on, looking oddly shy. “I’ve got bits of Donna Noble and Clint Barton in me. But Rose…I’m mortal. I’ll get old and someday I’ll die. I won’t ever regenerate. But I’m also not afraid to tell you how I feel about you. Not like him.” He jerked his head toward the real Doctor, who was still working at the console. Donna had moved away from them as they’d been talking, and was watching the Time Lord with an almost stony look on her face. “He’ll never say it. He’ll never tell you that he loves you. It won’t matter how long you travel with him, and one day you’ll find yourself alone again. I won’t ever leave you, unless it’s because I die. We can have our own family.” He was blushing, something that Rose had never seen her Time Lord do before.
She was stunned by what he was saying.
For so long, all she’d wanted to do was find her Doctor. To travel with him forever. To…love him forever. She’d once promised him that she would, and now he was seriously considering stranding her once more, and this time with someone who was a mere shadow of the man she wanted to be with.
How could he even think about doing something like that?
As she stood there, not saying anything, the human Doctor’s face, which had been full of hesitant hope, gradually fell. His eyes were old and sad, and he nodded once in acceptance. “I understand, you know,” he murmured. “I know what it’s like to work for something you want so badly, and then be offered a consolation prize. I don’t blame you for not wanting to be with me, when you could have…him.” His hand fluttered helplessly out of one pocket, and then went to his side.
The thing was, he was right. He was absolutely right. The Doctor - her Doctor - would never once tell her that he loved her. She might be able to be with him for her lifetime, but he’d never be able to say the same. One day, he would regenerate, and she knew from hard experience what sort of changes that would bring. Would he even feel the same for her if he did that? Would it still be her Doctor?
She could remember how she’d felt when she’d thought he was going to regenerate, right after she’d found him again. Rose had been faced with losing him for good.
But, if this version was telling her the truth, he would never change. He would stay the same. He truly wanted to grow old with her. To show her and tell her that he loved her.
It would be a choice between giving up her dream, or follow this man into a future that would be new for her.
The thing was, though, she wanted to see Jack again. She wanted to meet his dragon, and the family he now had. She wanted to travel throughout time and space and have adventures she would never have back on that alternate Earth.
But Jackie had pointed out to her that she really never had given that place a chance, so caught up in getting back to the Doctor. But her mother didn’t blame her for wanting to do it; in fact, she’d encouraged it, even though Rose hadn’t known it at the time. Although Jackie had doubted it would ever happen, knowing that Rose would do anything to accomplish it had been enough for her and Pete to give her that goal to work toward.
Of course, the Dimension Cannon had worked once. Yes, it had been because the Daleks had torn down the walls with their Reality Bomb. But maybe…just maybe…
She just had to decide what she wanted to do.