Defenders of the Earth, Chapter 5
Title: Defenders of the Earth
Author: onabearskinrug
Character/Pairing: Ten/Rose, with Jackie, Pete, Jake, Mickey, and others
Rating: Teen, for now
Summary: AU "Doomsday." Trapped in Pete's World, Rose and the Doctor attempt to find their way back to the TARDIS while navigating Torchwood, meddling family members, and (as per usual) threats to humanity.
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. Any recognizable characters belong to the BBC.
Author's Notes: I have the best support system ever! Thank you to kelkat9, timelord1, and who_in_whoville for all of the help with this chapter!
Also...BEST. BIRTHDAY. EVER! Will post about it, too. Lots of it requires video :-D
Catch up here!
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
There wasn’t much else for Rose to do for the rest of the day, as the Doctor had taken over the remainder of the programming on his own. She brought sandwiches and cup after cup of tea, but her day generally consisted of watching the Doctor type furiously and occasionally mutter to himself. It was so much like another day on the TARDIS, Rose keeping him company while he did repairs. Even Rose’s train of thought was similar; drawing those adorable glasses slowly away from his face, kissing her way across cheekbones, down his jaw, over his neck…
“Ha!” the Doctor’s exclamation jerking her out of the daydream. “Step one complete!” He pushed his chair away from the desk enthusiastically, practically leaped to his feet and pulled Rose to hers. She fell into his embrace, laughing as he spun her around jubilantly.
“Put me down!” she demanded, still smiling. “I take it you’ve finished?”
“Oh, yes!” He set her feet on the floor, but didn’t remove his arms from around her. She opted not to mention it. “Satellite is programmed, encrypted, and practically invisible to other nosey Torchwood branches. Ready? Up high!”
He raised his hand up for a high-five, but lowered it quickly, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Okay, never doing that again. Really, though, Rose, I’ve even surprised myself with this one! Reprogramming a major satellite with no energy references or coordinates, all the while handsome men trying to put the moves on my woman? Not to mention sub-par 21st Century technology? All in under…” he glanced at the wall clock behind Rose. “…nine hours? Impressive. Tea was excellent, too. You are a wonder, Rose Tyler!”
Rose laughed, before she realized what he had said. “Wait, nine hours? It’s past six already? No wonder everyone’s gone for the day! C’mon, let me clear up here and we can go find Pete.”
She started to straighten their mess at the computer terminal while the Doctor gaped at her.
“Rose!” he practically whined. “Aren’t you impressed?”
She turned and fixed him with an indulgent smile. “Of, course, dear. You’re very impressive. We just have to get going. Mum’s cooking and we’ve got that PR meeting at eight. I promise, I’ll sing your praises after.”
“Oh, we have to be there for that?” The Doctor scrunched up his nose.
“Well, yeah, we need to know what we’re telling people.”
“I meant dinner.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “God, the way you’re carrying on you’d think I was dragging you out to have your puppy put down. Yes, we have to be there for dinner and the meeting. Then I promise, we’re free for the rest of the night.” She took his hand and led him towards the lifts.
“We could make such better use of that time, Rose!” the Doctor protested. “For example, I need to build a remote transmitter and connect it to the satellite. We can’t be at Torchwood all the time, and I want to be notified if it detects anything. Plus, I absolutely must tinker with the dimension hoppers, make sure they’ll work a bit more efficiently, maybe even make it so we can travel through a smaller tear between worlds. I need to adapt the lever technology into something portable so, if the scanners do pick up small tears, we can go and patch up the holes. And all of these things take time, Rose! Which I could have more of without dinner with your mother and drafting a press release.”
“Doctor, you’ve been staring at that monitor for the last nine hours. You’re gonna go cross-eyed! Save something for tomorrow, yeah?”
He huffed. “Time Lords can’t go cross-eyed, Rose.”
Rose tutted sympathetically. He looked so adorably put-out at the implication that she couldn’t help herself. She touched her fingertips to his cheek, rose up on her tiptoes, and lightly grazed her lips over his.
“Poor Doctor,” she breathed against his mouth. The lift dinged behind them, and Rose led them in.
“Hmm?” he asked absently. “Now why would you say something like that?”
Rose giggled, pushed the button for the fifth floor, and turned to kiss the Doctor properly.
******
Despite his earlier triumph with the satellites and an absolutely delightful elevator snog, the Doctor felt more and more on edge as the evening progressed. He’d nearly had an anxiety attack when Pete had presented paperwork to him and Rose. Logically, he knew it was necessary, since they would be spending so much time at Torchwood, but it didn’t help him feel any less trapped. Dr. John Smith now had a driver’s license, social security number (they didn’t have NIN numbers in this universe, apparently), credit history, a bank account, and two doctorates from Oxford. Dr. Smith was thirty two years old, had written a variety of articles for science magazines around the world, and had been dating Rose Tyler for five years.
Staring at the manila envelope in his hands, he felt the walls of the universe closing in. If he were human, he’d be hyperventilating.
As if that wasn’t enough, he had been sensing a slow decline in his connection with the TARDIS throughout the evening. While it had started as a fuzzy, it now seemed to be only intermittent, evidence that any holes in the universe were closing and he and the TARDIS would not be able to connect once the walls were sealed. This knowledge, coupled with the brief break-ups in their contact was leaving him snappish and on edge, and he was reigning in his temper a great deal to avoid seeming cross with Rose, Jackie, and Pete.
It didn’t help that the three of them were getting on famously. Even on the car ride back to the mansion, Pete and Rose had bantered like old friends. Currently, they were seated at the dinner table enjoying a surprisingly edible dinner of roast and steamed vegetables, Jackie and Rose regaling Pete with stories from Rose’s childhood. Jackie seemed gloriously content, as if she couldn’t believe that her family was whole again. Rose was completely at ease, sipping from her glass of red wine and happily participating in the conversation. Pete looked at the two women at the table with adoration and amazement.
It was putting the Doctor even further on edge, seeing right before his eyes how easily Rose was acclimating. This universe’s energy seemed to be bending around the three Tylers, as if it desperately wanted the harmony that they were bringing to Pete’s life. He knew it could be the reason they seemed so comfortable so quickly, and the thought that Rose might actually be happy here was making him nervous.
What if they managed to find a way home, but she decided to stay here? She had her mum, her dad (sort of) and her best friend in this universe. Pete had more than enough money and generosity to take her and Jackie as a package deal. Jackie wouldn’t give Rose up without a fight, he was certain of this. The thought of Rose staying in another universe while he returned to the TARDIS and the life they shared…well…the idea held significantly less appeal when he viewed it like that.
The doorbell rang as they were finishing dessert, and Pete excused himself to answer it. Jackie set about preparing tea, while Rose moved to clear away her and the Doctor’s ice cream dishes. She noted that his was still practically filled with the half-melted concoction.
“Are you okay, Doctor?” she asked quietly. Returning the bowls to the table, she gently cupped his cheek in her hand and guided his face upwards to look at her.
He relaxed significantly into her touch, the hard tension in his face practically melting with the skin-to-skin contact. He nuzzled her palm, placing a kiss in the center before returning his gaze to her eyes.
“Just thinking too much. You know me, Time Lord brain going a mile a minute.”
“You didn’t eat your dessert,” she gently chided him.
He looked surprised at this, glancing down at the nearly full dish in front of him. Quickly, he picked it up and downed the half-melted contents in one gulp. “Yes, I did.”
Rose laughed, and he relaxed further. “You started to worry me there, Doctor.” She picked up their dishes once more to place in the sink and, after ensuring that her mother was fine preparing the tea, she returned to the table and pulled the Doctor from his chair. She led him out of the kitchen, down a small flight of stairs and into a dark corridor. Before the Doctor could even ask what Rose was doing, she pushed him gently against the wall and her lips closed over his.
He hadn’t realized how starved he was for her touch until that moment, when all he could do was throw himself into the kiss as though she was his oasis in the middle of the desert.
The Doctor’s normally mile-a-minute thoughts completely screeched to a halt at the feel of Rose’s fingers in his hair. The sensations were incredible, and he couldn’t keep from groaning against her mouth. Rose took the opportunity to slide her tongue past his lips and entwine it with his. This alone elicited another round of incoherent whimpers, at least from both parties this time. His hands wound around her waist, pulling her body flush again his and she moaned lightly, the small sound shooting white-hot fire through the Doctor’s body and his kiss doubled in its fervency.
Things were quickly escalating, and the Doctor felt he had no control over his actions. His hands slid underneath Rose’s t-shirt, gently tracing the skin just above the waistband of her jeans, a bit disappointed that she had immediately changed out of her devastating business suit upon returning to the mansion. She hissed at his cool touch, but gripped his hair harder as her lips and tongue worked intensely against his. He was soaring, devouring her mouth and working his hands against any skin he could reach. Rose had untangled her hands from his hair and managed to dip her hands underneath his Oxford. The feel of her tracing feather-light touches against his waist was enough to make him groan anew and buck his hips against her.
She broke away first, whispering his name as he kissed his way down her neck and into the V at her neckline. Her breathing was rapidly increasing, matching the fluttering heart rate that pulsed against his lips. His own hearts were racing, his breath was coming in rapid puffs between kisses, and his grip on her waist tightened as he contemplated the mechanics of switching their positions and taking her roughly against the wall.
“Oh, where did those two run off to? Rose, Doctor! The meeting’s about to start! Come meet us in the parlor!” Jackie’s voice called from the top of the stairs before her footsteps faded from earshot.
The Doctor groaned into Rose’s neck, ceasing his attentions but not loosening his grip on her waist. On the contrary, he pulled her tighter against him, whispering her name against her throat, his hearts swelling with adoration. How did she always manage to know exactly what he needed? Despite the discomfort in his trousers, her touch had done a great deal for his mood and he felt better than he had all evening.
Rose’s chest was rising and falling rapidly with her heavy breaths. She stroked her hands gently against his back in a gesture meant to calm rather than ignite while she attempted to get her own body under control. Her face was pressed into his hair, and he could feel her panting against his scalp.
“We’d better get upstairs,” she finally whispered after her heart rate had slowed to a far more acceptable level.
“Mmmm,” the Doctor murmured, not removing his head from her chest. “This is better.”
Rose giggled. “No arguments here. But Mum will come looking for us if we ignore her. I promise, we can continue this later.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Reluctantly, the Doctor pulled away from Rose and the pair attempted to make themselves look a bit more presentable.
“All right?” Rose asked, grasping his hand and giving it an affectionate squeeze.
“Always,” he responded, squeezing back and allowing Rose to lead them into the parlor.
******
Rose and the Doctor entered the parlor hand-in-hand. Jackie gave them a knowing look, and Rose blushed scarlet before leading them over to sit on the loveseat, perpendicular to where Pete and Jackie were situated on the sofa. The two comfy armchairs across from the sofa were currently occupied by a young, professional man and woman who were sipping tea and looking intimidated.
The Doctor, who hadn’t actually interacted with the Jackie Tyler of this universe but had heard about her through Rose, could surmise why the pair seemed uncomfortable. However, from what he could tell, this Jackie was completely different from the one they had known so long ago. She was currently clad in a pair of track bottoms and a long-sleeved t-shirt and was tucked comfortably into Pete’s side with her bare feet curled underneath her. Nothing about her screamed “society wife.” It was as if she was a completely different person.
However, no one else needed to know that.
“Now that we’re all here, we can begin. Thanks for coming by on such short notice,” Pete told the pair. “You obviously remember my wife, Jackie? Jackie, do you remember Alex and Ella? The head of the PR team?”
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t,” Jackie played her part well. “I had an awful time of it after the Cybermen. I didn’t even remember my Pete for three years! Can you imagine?”
Alex and Ella looked relieved. “We’re glad to see you back, Mrs. Tyler,” Alex told her politely.
“Please, call me Jackie, none of this Mrs. Tyler business.”
The pair looked at one another, shocked. “Yes, Jackie, of course,” Ella stammered.
“And this,” Pete said, gesturing to the loveseat. “Is our…daughter. Rose. She came back with Jackie. This is her boyfriend, Dr. John Smith.”
“Hello!” the Doctor interjected jovially, leaning over to shake hands. “Rose’s boyfriend, that’s me. It’s just the Doctor, though.”
“I need to take some notes,” Ella mumbled, pulling out a touch-pad computer. “Okay, so…what exactly happened after the Cybermen attacks, Jackie?”
Jackie launched into their rehearsed story, that she had nearly been in the conversion chamber when the ear pods stopped working. In all of the mayhem and trauma, Jackie had been knocked to the ground, unconscious, and had woken up only remembering her own name and the daughter that she and her husband had given up for adoption. At eighteen years old and not even married yet, they felt it was the best choice. Of course, she hadn’t even known who her husband was, but had managed to find Rose and had been living with her and John for the last three years.
The Doctor shuddered at the thought.
“And then, one day, you just got your memories back?” Alex asked disbelievingly.
“Selective amnesia, the doctors said,” Pete answered. “But she’s improving, should remember more and more of her old life as she settles in. Surrounded by familiar things helps, right, Jacks?”
“It does, Pete,” she smiled at him, and he bent to kiss her cheek.
“More in love than ever, I see,” Ella observed.
“And what about you two?” Alex turned to Rose and the Doctor. “What’s your stories? Everyone’s going to want to know about you.”
“Oh, we’re not anything special,” Rose admitted. “Grew up in London, didn’t even know I was adopted until this mad lady showed up on my doorstep. The Doctor here did the DNA tests himself.”
“So, you’re a…scientist?” Ella asked, still tapping furiously on her computer.
“A bit of a dabbler, really,” the Doctor answered, casually putting his arm around Rose’s shoulders. “PhDs in both Physics and Astrophysics, that’s where the Doctor comes from. This one gave me the nickname, though, and it kinda stuck.” He beamed at Rose.
“This is all just so…unbelievable,” Alex told them, sitting back and placing a hand to his forehead as if warding off a headache. “Really, really unbelievable. Like, if I weren’t seeing it right in front of me, I wouldn’t even…”
“Believe it?” the Doctor finished for him.
“Exactly.” Alex sighed. “Do we have DNA test results to publish? People are going to be chomping at the bit to label Rose as a gold digger. Some people might even say that Jackie is a fake. We really need some irrefutable proof before we go public with this.”
“We can get it for you,” Pete offered. “First thing tomorrow. We’ll go into Torchwood and get the tests done.”
“I wouldn’t recommend that, Pete,” Ella warned. “The tests need to be seen as unbiased, and with you heading Torchwood and all…”
“Good point,” Pete agreed. “Is there an independent lab who can send a representative here? I don’t want Jackie out and about too much until we can get this release done…”
“Looking right now…” Ella replied, still not looking up from her little computer.
The Doctor suddenly started in his seat, a slight jolt to his psyche making him wince. His connection to the TARDIS had once again blinked out, and he felt a momentary burst of panic. Even as her presence resolved itself in his mind, he began to yet again feel restless and suddenly was very annoyed with the tedious proceedings. He nudged Rose, eager to get away for a bit. After all, they’d given their version of the story. Anything else could surely wait until the morning.
“What?” she hissed at him. “’S rude to talk while others are talking.”
“Can we go?” he murmured back in her ear. “I don’t think they need us anymore. Pete can fill us in tomorrow.”
“Doctor!” she scolded. “We really should be here. Be supportive. Mum appreciates it.”
“I doubt she cares whether or not I’m here.”
“Of course she cares!”
A throat clearing interrupted their argument before it could escalate. The Doctor and Rose turned to find Jackie, Pete, Alex, and Ella all staring at them.
“We interrupting something?” Jackie asked, raising an eyebrow.
The Doctor huffed. “Nothing at all. I was just telling Rose that it really was about time we turned in. Loads of important things to do tomorrow. Alex, Ella, lovely to meet you. Jackie, Pete, always a pleasure. Rose,” he grasped her elbow as he rose off the loveseat, bringing her with him.
Rose glared daggers at him as he led them out of the room. Immediately, she wrenched her arm out of his grip. “You. Outside. Now.”
******
Rose was just about at her wit’s end. The Doctor’s moods were so unpredictable. One moment it was as though nothing was wrong, the next he was snappish and irritated with seemingly no trigger for the shift. She couldn’t imagine what he was going through, being a universe away from the TARDIS and not experiencing the same level of their connection that he was used to, but really. She couldn’t take it anymore.
Rose turned to the Doctor and started in on him. “What is going on here? Under no circumstances, no matter what is going on in your huge brain, are you ever allowed to manhandle me like that! What has gotten into you?”
“Oh, please,” the Doctor rolled his eyes. “You’re being a bit dramatic. I would hardly call that ‘manhandling.’ It was more ‘gently guiding.’”
“Call it whatever you want, you’re not to do it again unless it’s a life-or-death situation, do you understand? And really, you couldn’t sit still for a half hour meeting? I know you generally have the attention span of a seven-year-old hypoglycemic kid with a can of Coke and a Snickers bar, but come on, Doctor! This was important to do! Dad’s a public figure over here, and you couldn’t sit still for ten minutes so that we can come up with a plan?!”
The Doctor rubbed his hands over his face in frustration. Her little slip confirmed a great deal of his earlier fears. “Since when is he ‘dad’?”
Rose blinked in confusion. “What?”
“Pete. Pete Tyler. This universe’s Pete Tyler. You just called him ‘Dad’! For two days, he’s been ’Pete.’ Now, all of a sudden, he’s Dad. He’s not your Dad, Rose! We were there! You held his hand! Your dad is dead, remember?”
Rose looked as though he had punched her in the face. In any other circumstances, he would have felt like kicking himself. Causing anything other than a brilliant smile to grace her face was normally unacceptable to him. Still, faced with the possibility that she might be happy somewhere other than with him, he found it difficult to keep his gob shut. Systematically pushing her away would make it easier when she left, after all.
When Rose finally spoke, it was slowly and deliberately. “I know that, Doctor. I think I remember that event pretty clearly. Thanks ever so for bringing it up.”
“Well, clearly you’ve found a replacement!” he spat back. “You know what? That’s fine. You want this life? You want this family? Don’t let me stop you. I’ll just go.”
There, he thought. That ought to rile her up.
He barely registered the time it took for her palm to make contact with her cheek. “You completely…stupid…man!” she breathed through clenched teeth. “After everything we’ve been through! You still think that I’ll just up and leave you for a ‘normal’ life? When will you get it through your thick skull that I’m not leaving you for anything! I mean, for God‘s sake, the only reason I’m even half comfortable here is because I’m here with you! I know it will all be okay no matter what because I. Am. With. You!”
The Doctor suddenly found it difficult to breathe. He took in the gorgeous, firey creature before him. Her cheeks were flushed with anger, her chest heaving with accelerated breaths, and her expression of clear fury was one she had never focused on him.
This incredible woman needed him, just as badly as he needed her. The thought was enough to send him reeling.
Clearly not finished with her rant, Rose once again opened her mouth to speak. Rather than allow her to continue, the Doctor crossed the space between them in a few quick steps. He hauled her to him and kissed her, cutting her off in the same manner she had so often taken with him. He had to admit, it was remarkably effective. He moved his lips firmly against hers, trying to convey all of his jumbled emotions into the movement of his mouth. He couldn’t tell her what he was feeling, not without initiating a chain reaction that he wasn’t entirely sure they were ready for, but he could show her. Every day, for however much time they had, he could show her through his actions, his hugs, and his kisses, just how much she meant to him.
She broke the kiss, breathing hard. “That whole kissing-while-you’re -rambling thing really does work, doesn’t it?”
The Doctor grinned, pressing their foreheads together. He was already relaxing; despite their argument, kissing her seemed to make everything in his frazzled psyche calm enough to feel like himself again. “It does. I know why you use it so often.”
“Quite right.” Rose broke away, still holding onto his hands.
He took a breath. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, Rose. Though I warned you I’d be rubbish at this ’boyfriend’ thing. It’s been several centuries since I was in a functioning relationship. I’m afraid I’m a bit out of practice.”
Rose grinned at him. “I don’t need you to be a boyfriend. But I do need you to remember to talk to me before it turns into a fight.” She glanced at her watch. “We should call it a night. I’m going to go apologize to Mum and Pete. Meet you in the bedroom?”
“In a while,” he answered. “These gardens are lovely. I’ll just…take a walk? Clear my head a bit.”
Rose regarded him briefly, before murmuring, “Okay,” and moving to kiss him once more. She headed back towards the mansion, while he turned on his heel and, hands in his pocket, began wandering around the garden path.
The Doctor thought about what Rose had told him. No matter what the outcome, even if he couldn’t get them home, she would be okay. Because they would be together. But would he? Could he do it? Settle down? With a mortgage and doors and carpets? Work for Torchwood and help provide a home for himself and Rose? Would they get a dog? It would have to be a dog, he couldn’t abide by a cat. He and Rose and a black lab named Jack?
The Doctor looked up at the sky, crescent moon shining and the occasional zeppelin drifting lazily by. Could he do it? Could he stay here and live a normal life, saving the world from his office in a skyscraper and having to fill out piles of paperwork after?
Yes, he resolved firmly. If it came down to it, if he couldn’t get them home, he knew he could live out the rest of his time here, with Rose, for however long he had her. As long as she was by his side, he could do anything.
Suddenly quite desperate for a snuggle, he turned back and made his way back towards the mansion. Rose would almost certainly be in bed by now, and he was not the sort of man to keep her waiting.
Chapter 6
Author: onabearskinrug
Character/Pairing: Ten/Rose, with Jackie, Pete, Jake, Mickey, and others
Rating: Teen, for now
Summary: AU "Doomsday." Trapped in Pete's World, Rose and the Doctor attempt to find their way back to the TARDIS while navigating Torchwood, meddling family members, and (as per usual) threats to humanity.
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. Any recognizable characters belong to the BBC.
Author's Notes: I have the best support system ever! Thank you to kelkat9, timelord1, and who_in_whoville for all of the help with this chapter!
Also...BEST. BIRTHDAY. EVER! Will post about it, too. Lots of it requires video :-D
Catch up here!
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
There wasn’t much else for Rose to do for the rest of the day, as the Doctor had taken over the remainder of the programming on his own. She brought sandwiches and cup after cup of tea, but her day generally consisted of watching the Doctor type furiously and occasionally mutter to himself. It was so much like another day on the TARDIS, Rose keeping him company while he did repairs. Even Rose’s train of thought was similar; drawing those adorable glasses slowly away from his face, kissing her way across cheekbones, down his jaw, over his neck…
“Ha!” the Doctor’s exclamation jerking her out of the daydream. “Step one complete!” He pushed his chair away from the desk enthusiastically, practically leaped to his feet and pulled Rose to hers. She fell into his embrace, laughing as he spun her around jubilantly.
“Put me down!” she demanded, still smiling. “I take it you’ve finished?”
“Oh, yes!” He set her feet on the floor, but didn’t remove his arms from around her. She opted not to mention it. “Satellite is programmed, encrypted, and practically invisible to other nosey Torchwood branches. Ready? Up high!”
He raised his hand up for a high-five, but lowered it quickly, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Okay, never doing that again. Really, though, Rose, I’ve even surprised myself with this one! Reprogramming a major satellite with no energy references or coordinates, all the while handsome men trying to put the moves on my woman? Not to mention sub-par 21st Century technology? All in under…” he glanced at the wall clock behind Rose. “…nine hours? Impressive. Tea was excellent, too. You are a wonder, Rose Tyler!”
Rose laughed, before she realized what he had said. “Wait, nine hours? It’s past six already? No wonder everyone’s gone for the day! C’mon, let me clear up here and we can go find Pete.”
She started to straighten their mess at the computer terminal while the Doctor gaped at her.
“Rose!” he practically whined. “Aren’t you impressed?”
She turned and fixed him with an indulgent smile. “Of, course, dear. You’re very impressive. We just have to get going. Mum’s cooking and we’ve got that PR meeting at eight. I promise, I’ll sing your praises after.”
“Oh, we have to be there for that?” The Doctor scrunched up his nose.
“Well, yeah, we need to know what we’re telling people.”
“I meant dinner.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “God, the way you’re carrying on you’d think I was dragging you out to have your puppy put down. Yes, we have to be there for dinner and the meeting. Then I promise, we’re free for the rest of the night.” She took his hand and led him towards the lifts.
“We could make such better use of that time, Rose!” the Doctor protested. “For example, I need to build a remote transmitter and connect it to the satellite. We can’t be at Torchwood all the time, and I want to be notified if it detects anything. Plus, I absolutely must tinker with the dimension hoppers, make sure they’ll work a bit more efficiently, maybe even make it so we can travel through a smaller tear between worlds. I need to adapt the lever technology into something portable so, if the scanners do pick up small tears, we can go and patch up the holes. And all of these things take time, Rose! Which I could have more of without dinner with your mother and drafting a press release.”
“Doctor, you’ve been staring at that monitor for the last nine hours. You’re gonna go cross-eyed! Save something for tomorrow, yeah?”
He huffed. “Time Lords can’t go cross-eyed, Rose.”
Rose tutted sympathetically. He looked so adorably put-out at the implication that she couldn’t help herself. She touched her fingertips to his cheek, rose up on her tiptoes, and lightly grazed her lips over his.
“Poor Doctor,” she breathed against his mouth. The lift dinged behind them, and Rose led them in.
“Hmm?” he asked absently. “Now why would you say something like that?”
Rose giggled, pushed the button for the fifth floor, and turned to kiss the Doctor properly.
******
Despite his earlier triumph with the satellites and an absolutely delightful elevator snog, the Doctor felt more and more on edge as the evening progressed. He’d nearly had an anxiety attack when Pete had presented paperwork to him and Rose. Logically, he knew it was necessary, since they would be spending so much time at Torchwood, but it didn’t help him feel any less trapped. Dr. John Smith now had a driver’s license, social security number (they didn’t have NIN numbers in this universe, apparently), credit history, a bank account, and two doctorates from Oxford. Dr. Smith was thirty two years old, had written a variety of articles for science magazines around the world, and had been dating Rose Tyler for five years.
Staring at the manila envelope in his hands, he felt the walls of the universe closing in. If he were human, he’d be hyperventilating.
As if that wasn’t enough, he had been sensing a slow decline in his connection with the TARDIS throughout the evening. While it had started as a fuzzy, it now seemed to be only intermittent, evidence that any holes in the universe were closing and he and the TARDIS would not be able to connect once the walls were sealed. This knowledge, coupled with the brief break-ups in their contact was leaving him snappish and on edge, and he was reigning in his temper a great deal to avoid seeming cross with Rose, Jackie, and Pete.
It didn’t help that the three of them were getting on famously. Even on the car ride back to the mansion, Pete and Rose had bantered like old friends. Currently, they were seated at the dinner table enjoying a surprisingly edible dinner of roast and steamed vegetables, Jackie and Rose regaling Pete with stories from Rose’s childhood. Jackie seemed gloriously content, as if she couldn’t believe that her family was whole again. Rose was completely at ease, sipping from her glass of red wine and happily participating in the conversation. Pete looked at the two women at the table with adoration and amazement.
It was putting the Doctor even further on edge, seeing right before his eyes how easily Rose was acclimating. This universe’s energy seemed to be bending around the three Tylers, as if it desperately wanted the harmony that they were bringing to Pete’s life. He knew it could be the reason they seemed so comfortable so quickly, and the thought that Rose might actually be happy here was making him nervous.
What if they managed to find a way home, but she decided to stay here? She had her mum, her dad (sort of) and her best friend in this universe. Pete had more than enough money and generosity to take her and Jackie as a package deal. Jackie wouldn’t give Rose up without a fight, he was certain of this. The thought of Rose staying in another universe while he returned to the TARDIS and the life they shared…well…the idea held significantly less appeal when he viewed it like that.
The doorbell rang as they were finishing dessert, and Pete excused himself to answer it. Jackie set about preparing tea, while Rose moved to clear away her and the Doctor’s ice cream dishes. She noted that his was still practically filled with the half-melted concoction.
“Are you okay, Doctor?” she asked quietly. Returning the bowls to the table, she gently cupped his cheek in her hand and guided his face upwards to look at her.
He relaxed significantly into her touch, the hard tension in his face practically melting with the skin-to-skin contact. He nuzzled her palm, placing a kiss in the center before returning his gaze to her eyes.
“Just thinking too much. You know me, Time Lord brain going a mile a minute.”
“You didn’t eat your dessert,” she gently chided him.
He looked surprised at this, glancing down at the nearly full dish in front of him. Quickly, he picked it up and downed the half-melted contents in one gulp. “Yes, I did.”
Rose laughed, and he relaxed further. “You started to worry me there, Doctor.” She picked up their dishes once more to place in the sink and, after ensuring that her mother was fine preparing the tea, she returned to the table and pulled the Doctor from his chair. She led him out of the kitchen, down a small flight of stairs and into a dark corridor. Before the Doctor could even ask what Rose was doing, she pushed him gently against the wall and her lips closed over his.
He hadn’t realized how starved he was for her touch until that moment, when all he could do was throw himself into the kiss as though she was his oasis in the middle of the desert.
The Doctor’s normally mile-a-minute thoughts completely screeched to a halt at the feel of Rose’s fingers in his hair. The sensations were incredible, and he couldn’t keep from groaning against her mouth. Rose took the opportunity to slide her tongue past his lips and entwine it with his. This alone elicited another round of incoherent whimpers, at least from both parties this time. His hands wound around her waist, pulling her body flush again his and she moaned lightly, the small sound shooting white-hot fire through the Doctor’s body and his kiss doubled in its fervency.
Things were quickly escalating, and the Doctor felt he had no control over his actions. His hands slid underneath Rose’s t-shirt, gently tracing the skin just above the waistband of her jeans, a bit disappointed that she had immediately changed out of her devastating business suit upon returning to the mansion. She hissed at his cool touch, but gripped his hair harder as her lips and tongue worked intensely against his. He was soaring, devouring her mouth and working his hands against any skin he could reach. Rose had untangled her hands from his hair and managed to dip her hands underneath his Oxford. The feel of her tracing feather-light touches against his waist was enough to make him groan anew and buck his hips against her.
She broke away first, whispering his name as he kissed his way down her neck and into the V at her neckline. Her breathing was rapidly increasing, matching the fluttering heart rate that pulsed against his lips. His own hearts were racing, his breath was coming in rapid puffs between kisses, and his grip on her waist tightened as he contemplated the mechanics of switching their positions and taking her roughly against the wall.
“Oh, where did those two run off to? Rose, Doctor! The meeting’s about to start! Come meet us in the parlor!” Jackie’s voice called from the top of the stairs before her footsteps faded from earshot.
The Doctor groaned into Rose’s neck, ceasing his attentions but not loosening his grip on her waist. On the contrary, he pulled her tighter against him, whispering her name against her throat, his hearts swelling with adoration. How did she always manage to know exactly what he needed? Despite the discomfort in his trousers, her touch had done a great deal for his mood and he felt better than he had all evening.
Rose’s chest was rising and falling rapidly with her heavy breaths. She stroked her hands gently against his back in a gesture meant to calm rather than ignite while she attempted to get her own body under control. Her face was pressed into his hair, and he could feel her panting against his scalp.
“We’d better get upstairs,” she finally whispered after her heart rate had slowed to a far more acceptable level.
“Mmmm,” the Doctor murmured, not removing his head from her chest. “This is better.”
Rose giggled. “No arguments here. But Mum will come looking for us if we ignore her. I promise, we can continue this later.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Reluctantly, the Doctor pulled away from Rose and the pair attempted to make themselves look a bit more presentable.
“All right?” Rose asked, grasping his hand and giving it an affectionate squeeze.
“Always,” he responded, squeezing back and allowing Rose to lead them into the parlor.
******
Rose and the Doctor entered the parlor hand-in-hand. Jackie gave them a knowing look, and Rose blushed scarlet before leading them over to sit on the loveseat, perpendicular to where Pete and Jackie were situated on the sofa. The two comfy armchairs across from the sofa were currently occupied by a young, professional man and woman who were sipping tea and looking intimidated.
The Doctor, who hadn’t actually interacted with the Jackie Tyler of this universe but had heard about her through Rose, could surmise why the pair seemed uncomfortable. However, from what he could tell, this Jackie was completely different from the one they had known so long ago. She was currently clad in a pair of track bottoms and a long-sleeved t-shirt and was tucked comfortably into Pete’s side with her bare feet curled underneath her. Nothing about her screamed “society wife.” It was as if she was a completely different person.
However, no one else needed to know that.
“Now that we’re all here, we can begin. Thanks for coming by on such short notice,” Pete told the pair. “You obviously remember my wife, Jackie? Jackie, do you remember Alex and Ella? The head of the PR team?”
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t,” Jackie played her part well. “I had an awful time of it after the Cybermen. I didn’t even remember my Pete for three years! Can you imagine?”
Alex and Ella looked relieved. “We’re glad to see you back, Mrs. Tyler,” Alex told her politely.
“Please, call me Jackie, none of this Mrs. Tyler business.”
The pair looked at one another, shocked. “Yes, Jackie, of course,” Ella stammered.
“And this,” Pete said, gesturing to the loveseat. “Is our…daughter. Rose. She came back with Jackie. This is her boyfriend, Dr. John Smith.”
“Hello!” the Doctor interjected jovially, leaning over to shake hands. “Rose’s boyfriend, that’s me. It’s just the Doctor, though.”
“I need to take some notes,” Ella mumbled, pulling out a touch-pad computer. “Okay, so…what exactly happened after the Cybermen attacks, Jackie?”
Jackie launched into their rehearsed story, that she had nearly been in the conversion chamber when the ear pods stopped working. In all of the mayhem and trauma, Jackie had been knocked to the ground, unconscious, and had woken up only remembering her own name and the daughter that she and her husband had given up for adoption. At eighteen years old and not even married yet, they felt it was the best choice. Of course, she hadn’t even known who her husband was, but had managed to find Rose and had been living with her and John for the last three years.
The Doctor shuddered at the thought.
“And then, one day, you just got your memories back?” Alex asked disbelievingly.
“Selective amnesia, the doctors said,” Pete answered. “But she’s improving, should remember more and more of her old life as she settles in. Surrounded by familiar things helps, right, Jacks?”
“It does, Pete,” she smiled at him, and he bent to kiss her cheek.
“More in love than ever, I see,” Ella observed.
“And what about you two?” Alex turned to Rose and the Doctor. “What’s your stories? Everyone’s going to want to know about you.”
“Oh, we’re not anything special,” Rose admitted. “Grew up in London, didn’t even know I was adopted until this mad lady showed up on my doorstep. The Doctor here did the DNA tests himself.”
“So, you’re a…scientist?” Ella asked, still tapping furiously on her computer.
“A bit of a dabbler, really,” the Doctor answered, casually putting his arm around Rose’s shoulders. “PhDs in both Physics and Astrophysics, that’s where the Doctor comes from. This one gave me the nickname, though, and it kinda stuck.” He beamed at Rose.
“This is all just so…unbelievable,” Alex told them, sitting back and placing a hand to his forehead as if warding off a headache. “Really, really unbelievable. Like, if I weren’t seeing it right in front of me, I wouldn’t even…”
“Believe it?” the Doctor finished for him.
“Exactly.” Alex sighed. “Do we have DNA test results to publish? People are going to be chomping at the bit to label Rose as a gold digger. Some people might even say that Jackie is a fake. We really need some irrefutable proof before we go public with this.”
“We can get it for you,” Pete offered. “First thing tomorrow. We’ll go into Torchwood and get the tests done.”
“I wouldn’t recommend that, Pete,” Ella warned. “The tests need to be seen as unbiased, and with you heading Torchwood and all…”
“Good point,” Pete agreed. “Is there an independent lab who can send a representative here? I don’t want Jackie out and about too much until we can get this release done…”
“Looking right now…” Ella replied, still not looking up from her little computer.
The Doctor suddenly started in his seat, a slight jolt to his psyche making him wince. His connection to the TARDIS had once again blinked out, and he felt a momentary burst of panic. Even as her presence resolved itself in his mind, he began to yet again feel restless and suddenly was very annoyed with the tedious proceedings. He nudged Rose, eager to get away for a bit. After all, they’d given their version of the story. Anything else could surely wait until the morning.
“What?” she hissed at him. “’S rude to talk while others are talking.”
“Can we go?” he murmured back in her ear. “I don’t think they need us anymore. Pete can fill us in tomorrow.”
“Doctor!” she scolded. “We really should be here. Be supportive. Mum appreciates it.”
“I doubt she cares whether or not I’m here.”
“Of course she cares!”
A throat clearing interrupted their argument before it could escalate. The Doctor and Rose turned to find Jackie, Pete, Alex, and Ella all staring at them.
“We interrupting something?” Jackie asked, raising an eyebrow.
The Doctor huffed. “Nothing at all. I was just telling Rose that it really was about time we turned in. Loads of important things to do tomorrow. Alex, Ella, lovely to meet you. Jackie, Pete, always a pleasure. Rose,” he grasped her elbow as he rose off the loveseat, bringing her with him.
Rose glared daggers at him as he led them out of the room. Immediately, she wrenched her arm out of his grip. “You. Outside. Now.”
******
Rose was just about at her wit’s end. The Doctor’s moods were so unpredictable. One moment it was as though nothing was wrong, the next he was snappish and irritated with seemingly no trigger for the shift. She couldn’t imagine what he was going through, being a universe away from the TARDIS and not experiencing the same level of their connection that he was used to, but really. She couldn’t take it anymore.
Rose turned to the Doctor and started in on him. “What is going on here? Under no circumstances, no matter what is going on in your huge brain, are you ever allowed to manhandle me like that! What has gotten into you?”
“Oh, please,” the Doctor rolled his eyes. “You’re being a bit dramatic. I would hardly call that ‘manhandling.’ It was more ‘gently guiding.’”
“Call it whatever you want, you’re not to do it again unless it’s a life-or-death situation, do you understand? And really, you couldn’t sit still for a half hour meeting? I know you generally have the attention span of a seven-year-old hypoglycemic kid with a can of Coke and a Snickers bar, but come on, Doctor! This was important to do! Dad’s a public figure over here, and you couldn’t sit still for ten minutes so that we can come up with a plan?!”
The Doctor rubbed his hands over his face in frustration. Her little slip confirmed a great deal of his earlier fears. “Since when is he ‘dad’?”
Rose blinked in confusion. “What?”
“Pete. Pete Tyler. This universe’s Pete Tyler. You just called him ‘Dad’! For two days, he’s been ’Pete.’ Now, all of a sudden, he’s Dad. He’s not your Dad, Rose! We were there! You held his hand! Your dad is dead, remember?”
Rose looked as though he had punched her in the face. In any other circumstances, he would have felt like kicking himself. Causing anything other than a brilliant smile to grace her face was normally unacceptable to him. Still, faced with the possibility that she might be happy somewhere other than with him, he found it difficult to keep his gob shut. Systematically pushing her away would make it easier when she left, after all.
When Rose finally spoke, it was slowly and deliberately. “I know that, Doctor. I think I remember that event pretty clearly. Thanks ever so for bringing it up.”
“Well, clearly you’ve found a replacement!” he spat back. “You know what? That’s fine. You want this life? You want this family? Don’t let me stop you. I’ll just go.”
There, he thought. That ought to rile her up.
He barely registered the time it took for her palm to make contact with her cheek. “You completely…stupid…man!” she breathed through clenched teeth. “After everything we’ve been through! You still think that I’ll just up and leave you for a ‘normal’ life? When will you get it through your thick skull that I’m not leaving you for anything! I mean, for God‘s sake, the only reason I’m even half comfortable here is because I’m here with you! I know it will all be okay no matter what because I. Am. With. You!”
The Doctor suddenly found it difficult to breathe. He took in the gorgeous, firey creature before him. Her cheeks were flushed with anger, her chest heaving with accelerated breaths, and her expression of clear fury was one she had never focused on him.
This incredible woman needed him, just as badly as he needed her. The thought was enough to send him reeling.
Clearly not finished with her rant, Rose once again opened her mouth to speak. Rather than allow her to continue, the Doctor crossed the space between them in a few quick steps. He hauled her to him and kissed her, cutting her off in the same manner she had so often taken with him. He had to admit, it was remarkably effective. He moved his lips firmly against hers, trying to convey all of his jumbled emotions into the movement of his mouth. He couldn’t tell her what he was feeling, not without initiating a chain reaction that he wasn’t entirely sure they were ready for, but he could show her. Every day, for however much time they had, he could show her through his actions, his hugs, and his kisses, just how much she meant to him.
She broke the kiss, breathing hard. “That whole kissing-while-you’re -rambling thing really does work, doesn’t it?”
The Doctor grinned, pressing their foreheads together. He was already relaxing; despite their argument, kissing her seemed to make everything in his frazzled psyche calm enough to feel like himself again. “It does. I know why you use it so often.”
“Quite right.” Rose broke away, still holding onto his hands.
He took a breath. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, Rose. Though I warned you I’d be rubbish at this ’boyfriend’ thing. It’s been several centuries since I was in a functioning relationship. I’m afraid I’m a bit out of practice.”
Rose grinned at him. “I don’t need you to be a boyfriend. But I do need you to remember to talk to me before it turns into a fight.” She glanced at her watch. “We should call it a night. I’m going to go apologize to Mum and Pete. Meet you in the bedroom?”
“In a while,” he answered. “These gardens are lovely. I’ll just…take a walk? Clear my head a bit.”
Rose regarded him briefly, before murmuring, “Okay,” and moving to kiss him once more. She headed back towards the mansion, while he turned on his heel and, hands in his pocket, began wandering around the garden path.
The Doctor thought about what Rose had told him. No matter what the outcome, even if he couldn’t get them home, she would be okay. Because they would be together. But would he? Could he do it? Settle down? With a mortgage and doors and carpets? Work for Torchwood and help provide a home for himself and Rose? Would they get a dog? It would have to be a dog, he couldn’t abide by a cat. He and Rose and a black lab named Jack?
The Doctor looked up at the sky, crescent moon shining and the occasional zeppelin drifting lazily by. Could he do it? Could he stay here and live a normal life, saving the world from his office in a skyscraper and having to fill out piles of paperwork after?
Yes, he resolved firmly. If it came down to it, if he couldn’t get them home, he knew he could live out the rest of his time here, with Rose, for however long he had her. As long as she was by his side, he could do anything.
Suddenly quite desperate for a snuggle, he turned back and made his way back towards the mansion. Rose would almost certainly be in bed by now, and he was not the sort of man to keep her waiting.
Chapter 6