Don't Blink - 16/?
Title: Don't Blink - 16/?
Characters: Rose, Ten
Summary: AU. What if Rose had stayed through Doomsday and was the one to end up in 1969 with the Doctor? How would they get back to their proper time? Would they want to?
Rating: PG
Beta: nattieb
~ One~ Two~ Three~ Four~ Five~ Six~ Seven~ Eight~ Nine~ Ten
~ Eleven~ Twelve~ Thirteen~ Fourteen~ Fifteen~
He had taken three quick steps before he came to his senses and stopped. Rose had started to run after him but came to a halt when he did.
“Is it-”
“No,” he said harshly. “No, Rose, it’s not.” He shook his head. “We’ve been seeing them all over town, and we still can’t get used to them.” He stepped back, angry at his own response.
Rose gazed sadly at the blue police call box across the street. It wasn’t the TARDIS, of course. She had watched people go in and out of police boxes, and she still couldn’t bring herself to accept that one of them wasn’t a time machine. Even the red telephone boxes she saw everywhere made her heart stop for a moment.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. If she didn’t brace herself in anticipation of seeing them wherever she went, her heart skipped a beat and she would think that it was the TARDIS. Seeing this one unexpectedly had made her hopes rise.
The Doctor shook his head. “It’s a normal reaction. I would feel her if it was the TARDIS standing there. Don’t worry! We’ll get back to her one day.”
Was he reassuring her or himself? Rose took his hand and squeezed it. She hated it when he tried to act like nothing was wrong.
“I know we will, Doctor.”
“Anyway,” he continued, “a spot of adrenaline gets the heart pumping, eh? Still, it was a bit of a shock. I could almost wish the chameleon circuit had gotten stuck in some other disguise.”
“Oh, I can’t imagine the TARDIS as anything else!” she protested.
He turned his head to smile at her. “Rose Tyler, loyal to the last.”
She flushed. “I just like it how it is, that’s all.”
As they stood there, staring not across the street now but at each other, a taxicab pulled up to the curb and honked its horn.
“Need a lift?” the driver called.
“No, thanks!” the Doctor responded.
“Go on, get in!” the driver urged. “If I can’t give a ride to the Doctor and Rose Tyler, I may as well go home!”
Startled, the Doctor glanced at Rose and then leaned down to peer into the car. “Do we know you?”
The driver, a dark-haired man with an earring, laughed as though he’d just heard an uproariously funny joke.
“Maybe, maybe not! We all know the two of you, though! Did us a right turn, you did. Hop in!”
“Alien cab driver,” Rose whispered, as if the Doctor needed reminding. He sighed and opened the door for her. She slid in the back, and once the Doctor had settled in beside her the car took off.
“Where to?”
“King’s Cross,” Rose answered.
“Oh, you’re traveling! You don’t need to take the train, though. It would be my pleasure to take you as far as you need to go.”
“We’re headed for Hull,” the Doctor put in. “The train would be a bit faster.”
“Hull, is it? That’s a bit far, even for me. King’s Cross it is.”
Rose leaned forward. “How do you know who we are? I don’t remember ever meeting you?”
The driver snorted. “You didn’t meet most of us that day, but we’ve been primed and prepared.” He pulled down the sunshade to show them a picture. It was a snap of them. “Our orders are to help the two of you out wherever we might see you. Free rides for life.”
“But that’s us!” The Doctor scooted forward to verify that, putting his glasses on. “What are you doing with a picture of us?” he asked in amazement.
“And how did you get it?” Rose persisted. “I don’t remember any cameras.”
“We have our methods. Nothing for you humans to worry about! This way we all know what you look like. I was glad to have that snap once I saw you. It’s an honor to give you a ride wherever you need to go.”
They were dropped off at the train station with a cheery goodbye. He even refused a tip.
“We didn’t even get his name.” Rose watched him drive away.
“All the better. One less name to remember. Come on!”
They entered the train station and found the timetables. The schedule for Hull was straightforward, but Rose was struck with a sudden realization as she looked at the ticket prices. In her eagerness to find Kathy, she had not thought things all the way through.
“Are we sure we should take the train up?” she asked the Doctor.
“What do you mean? We’re here!” He waved his arm around, the gesture encompassing the entire station.
“I just meant...maybe there’s a better way to get there.”
“What, like flying?” He smiled at her. “This is the best option for 1969, Rose. Besides, we couldn’t have asked the alien cab driver to drive us all the way to Hull. The train will be much faster.”
“Yeah, but the thing is...” Rose’s voice trailed off as she stared at the timetable again. Beside her the Doctor smiled faintly. He’d thought this moment would come.
“The thing is what?” he prompted her.
“Well, we don’t have enough money for the tickets,” Rose had to point out. She was acutely aware of how much money they possessed at all times, and they couldn’t afford tickets to get to Hull and back, not if they wanted money left over to live on for the rest of the week.
The Doctor waited, eyes on the train table and a very patient look on his face.
Rose shifted from foot to foot, glancing all around. The Doctor slid his hands in his pockets and hummed a tune under his breath.
The urge to go to Hull warred with what Rose thought was the right thing to do. Rose finally came to terms with her conscience.
“D’you have the psychic paper?”
He smiled and flipped it out from his coat. “Oh, absolutely.”
“Well?” she prompted when he didn’t move.
“Well what?” he asked, still holding the psychic paper up.
She glared at him. “Well, are you gonna go use it?” She jerked her head toward the ticket window.
“Oh!” He widened his eyes and looked surprised. “Are you sure you want to use it? I don’t want to take advantage of anyone.”
“Doctor. Go get the tickets.”
He grinned at her and swept away.
Rose felt guilty about using the psychic paper to get the train tickets. Perhaps it was because they were so close to her own time and place that it felt wrong. Which was silly, because the Doctor had used the psychic paper countless times all over the universe, and she had never even felt the slightest remorse about it. The sonic screwdriver had been used at so many cash machines and ATMs to get them credits and cash, and she’d always been happy to have something to go shopping with.
Rose assuaged her guilt by buying snacks and magazines to read on the trip. Satisfied, she waited for the Doctor to return from the ticket line.
“Here we are. Two tickets to Hull. Never been to Hull myself. Why would you ever want to go? I hear it’s lovely, though. Come on! Our ride leaves in twenty minutes.”
“That’s good timing.”
“Rose Tyler, if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s time.”
The Doctor led the way onto the train. They found seats together and the Doctor allowed Rose to take the window seat.
“There are all sorts here, aren’t there?” Rose marveled. “Look at that girl!”
The girl in question wore a minidress in shades of hot pink and orange. Orange tights covered her legs, and her shoes were a matching color.
“Ah, the swinging sixties,” the Doctor murmured.
“I guess I’m so used to the ladies who come to the shop that I hadn’t noticed what younger people are wearing.” Rose heard the wistful note in her voice. She would love to wear something like that.
“Well, you’re still young. You can always rig yourself out in something like that if you want.”
Rose’s eyes gleamed as she imagined Iris’s reaction to an outfit like that. “Maybe I will.”
“Your boss doesn’t sound as straight-laced as you think she is.”
“Well, it’s only that she grew up in a very strict family. So far she’s avoided all the craziness of the sixties.”
The Doctor snorted. “Heaven help her once the seventies come around. There’s no going back after that.”
“And then there’s her.” Rose gestured to a woman sitting across the aisle. She wore a powder blue suit, matching pillbox and shoes, and wore white gloves. In her lap was a box-shaped bag. As Rose watched the woman opened the bag to get her ticket. The top opened on hinges and folded back on each side.
“Jackie Kennedy’s spirit is alive and well,” the Doctor murmured.
“That bag is so cool.”
Ten minutes later they were still waiting for the passengers to finish boarding. The Doctor suppressed a sigh of impatience.
“Time was we would have been there by now,” Rose whispered as they continued to watch their fellow passengers board.
The Doctor let himself sigh. Any mention of the TARDIS was still painful for him, even though he knew he would get it back eventually. The wait didn’t bother him. It was what might happen to Rose that did. If they had to wait decades, what would that do to her?
“But this is fun, too,” she continued, interrupting his thoughts. “You and me, exploring all of England, seeing the sights along the way. Like a mini-break!”
“Nothing like seeing a place like the locals.”
But seeing the sights along the way didn’t make up for a nearly four-hour journey. Rose read magazines and ate some sweets, and the Doctor stared out the window and analyzed his fellow passengers, just in case any of them were dangerous alien beings. He didn’t find any, of course, but at least it kept his mind occupied.
Eventually Rose fell asleep, lulled into a nap by the steady motion of the train. She leaned against the Doctor, and he lifted his arm and placed it around her, snuggling her close against his side.
She woke up just as they were pulling in to the station.
“We’re here,” the Doctor told her. “Right on schedule. Well. Three minutes, twenty seconds late, but no one’s complaining.”
Rose was hastily shoving magazines and wrappers into her bag. “I’m ready!”
Inside the train station she abandoned him for the loo. She took advantage of the time alone to brush her hair, straighten her dress and apply some lipstick. By the time she came out again, the Doctor was pacing impatiently.
“There you are!” He sounded exasperated. “Always taking forever to powder your nose. Let’s go!” He grabbed her hand and headed for the exit, his coat flapping around his legs. Rose had to trot to keep up.
“I wasn’t that long,” she protested. “You make it sound like I always keep you waiting! And slow down!” she added.
“Well, you do keep me waiting a lot,” he pointed out, the very picture of rationality.
“Well, that’s nice! When you spend all your time preening in front of the mirror.” Rose caught her breath as he slowed down, allowing her to walk at a normal pace.
“The hair products of this time are inferior,” he informed her. “They require more time and care.”
She scoffed. “Whatever.”
He did not deign to reply to this. “Let’s get a cab,” he said briskly.
Hull was a nice place, Rose decided as they drove through the streets. It was clean and shiny and the people all looked happy.
“Look!” she cried. “Their phone boxes are cream.”
“That’s right,” said their human cab driver. “The rest of the country can have red phone boxes. Here in Hull we have nice cream ones.”
“Must be harder to keep them clean,” Rose said humorously.
He laughed. “We get a fair bit of vandals, but nothing the coppers can’t handle.”
“This is the center of the city?” the Doctor asked as they sped through.
“That’s right. That’s Queens Garden over on the left,” their helpful driver informed them. “Nice, eh?”
“Lovely.” Rose looked with delight upon the flowers and trees. “What’s that tall statue?”
The driver answered without looking. “The Wilberforce Monument.”
“What’s the monument to? Or for?”
“William Wilberforce,” the Doctor supplied. “Abolitionist. He fought against the slave trade for years before it was abolished in England. It was a few more years before slavery itself was outlawed in the Empire, but he’d made a good start.”
“Aye, and he was born here in Hull.”
Rose wrinkled her nose. It’s hard to believe people had to fight to end slavery.”
“Aye, well, the right came out in the end,” the driver said. “Better for the empire and all.”
The Doctor took her hand. “It’s all right,” he said in a low voice. “It was a long time ago.”
Rose smiled and nodded, and he found himself amazed once more at how passionately she took to things. If there was a lost cause or an injustice to be righted, Rose Tyler would find a way.
They were dropped off on a quiet street lined with trees. The Doctor paid the driver with some of his actual cash - Rose let him have an allowance, which he held onto and never used because he unrepentantly used the psychic paper and sonic screwdriver to get whatever he needed - and faced the house.
“Here we are. Number 15.”
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” she said suddenly.
He turned to look at her. “What?”
“Maybe it’s not such a good idea. Maybe we shouldn’t bother her.”
“Rose Tyler! We came all this way! Ruined a perfectly good Saturday, and now you’re getting cold feet?”
“Not cold feet. Just...I don’t know.”
He took her arm. “We’re here. Come on.”
The Doctor rang the bell on the front door and waited. Rose shifted nervously beside him.
“It’s all right,” he assured her. “Rose. What is it?”
She shook her head. “I’m just nervous.”
He was about to ask what she could possibly have to be nervous about when the door opened. An attractive woman in her seventies smiled at them.
“Hello.”
The Doctor plunged in. “Are you Kathy Wainwright?”
The woman smiled politely but in puzzlement. “Yes. Can I help you?”
“I’m the Doctor. This is Rose.”
“Hello,” she said again.
The Doctor glanced at Rose. “May we, er, come in?”
“What for?” She appeared genuinely curious, not cautious, and Rose’s nervousness disappeared.
Rose smiled up at her. “We have something we’d like you to see, but it probably should be in private.”
Still looking puzzled, Kathy led them into her home. The first room was a sitting room furnished with a sofa and two chairs, all covered in a cabbage rose pattern.
Kathy gestured to the sofa. “Won’t you have a seat?”
“Thanks.” Rose sat down, and the Doctor sat beside her. She squeezed his hand, signaling that she was ready. He nodded at her, letting her know to go ahead. This was her mission, and she was in charge.
“Like he said, my name’s Rose Tyler. This is the Doctor.”
The Doctor raised his hand. “Hello.”
“I’m still confused as to what you might want with me.”
Rose leaned forward. “Are you here alone here?”
Alarm flashed slightly in Kathy’s face. “My husband will be right back. He just went to pick up our granddaughters.”
“We’re not here to hurt you or anything,” Rose hastened to assure her. “We just needed to talk to you without your family about.”
“Who are you?”
“We were in London,” Rose said carefully. “In 2007. We went to a house called Wester Drumlins and we got sent back in time. To here.”
Kathy stared. “Are you having me on?” she said finally.
“The Angels, Kathy.” The Doctor spoke quietly. “Those statues of stone angels. Do you remember them?”
She shuddered. “One minute I was alone, the next it was there. Just there. And it touched me, and then I was in Hull.” She shook her head. “Sometimes I still don’t believe it.”
“The same thing happened to us.” Rose scooted forward on the sofa. “We’re used to traveling in time, but this is the first time we’ve ever been stuck in one place.”
“You’re used to what?”
“I’m a time traveler,” the Doctor said shortly. “The Angels - that’s what they’re called - have got hold of my ship. They exist on the potential energy that humans give off, and there’s enough energy in my ship to destroy the universe.”
Kathy rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”
“It’s true!” Rose said urgently. “And we know about you because Sally Sparrow told us.”
“Sally!” Kathy started and sat on the edge of her seat. “Have you seen her?” she asked urgently. “Is she all right?”
“We haven’t seen her recently,” the Doctor allowed. “Or at all, actually. Granted, sometime in the past I must have, because she gave me some papers that explained what happened to her.”
“The angels didn’t hurt her, did they?” Kathy asked urgently.
“No, no. They didn’t. But there was apparently a mystery about what happened to you, and a few others.”
“There was a letter,” Rose added. “Sally left it for the Doctor. She received it just minutes after you disappeared. It was from you.”
Kathy sat very still. “I’ve often wondered...I’ve often wondered if I were to live long enough, if I could see her again. Give her a warning.”
“You wrote the letter to her and had someone deliver it.”
“I did?”
“We shouldn’t tell you any more,” the Doctor said. “I’m sorry, but too much information about your future timeline could be dangerous.”
“But we could show her, couldn’t we?” Rose asked him. “Just the pictures?”
He made a careless gesture, and Rose took the letter out of her bag. Rose showed her the photos.
“Why, that’s me! And my children.”
“You left them for Sally,” Rose explained. “So she could see that you’d had a happy life.”
Kathy smiled at one of the photos. “My Ben. I can’t imagine life without him.” She set the photos in her lap and looked at them for a moment before looking up at Rose and the Doctor. “You’re trapped here now, aren’t you?”
The Doctor coughed and shifted in his seat. “For the time being.”
“Time being,” she repeated. “There’s no way back! How do you get back to the future?” She paused and shook her head. “I can’t say that without thinking of the movie.”
“Us, too!” Rose grinned. “We have the Doctor’s ship. We think there’s a way to get it back. Sally left us clues.”
“That doesn’t sound like Sally. She’s more the type to leave a long, detailed explanation with lots of literary references that no one gets.”
“Well, all we have is what she left us.” The Doctor moved slightly closer to Rose as he spoke. “There are a few things we need to accomplish first, but it looks like it might work.”
“And get you back to your proper time?”
“If all goes well.” He couldn’t look over at Rose, but she reached for his hand.
“It will go well,” Rose told Kathy. “The Doctor can do it. He can do anything.”
Kathy shook her head and handed the photos back to Rose. “I would have never believed this if it hadn’t happened to me.”
“Don’t you want to keep them?” Rose hesitated to take the photos from her hand.
Kathy smiled. “I have those photos in an album upstairs. I imagine someday I’ll take them out and put them in a letter for Sally.”
Rose took the photos back, putting them back in her bag.
A rustling of noise coming from the back of the house made Kathy jump. “That’s Ben.” She stood up, smoothing down her skirt. Rose and the Doctor stood as well.
“Kathy?” a man called from down the hallway. “You home?”
“In here!”
A man in his late seventies walked in, tall and still attractive. His hair was gray and he walked with two little girls.
“Granny!”
Kathy bent down to hug them. “These are our granddaughters,” she said. “Maisie and Julie. This is my husband, Ben.” She turned to Ben. “These are some friends from London. The Doctor and Rose Tyler.”
Ben moved into the room and shook the Doctor’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Tyler.” He transferred his hand to Rose. “Mrs. Tyler.”
“We’re not-” the Doctor began, and Rose pinched his arm.
“Nice to meet you, too,” she said to Ben with a smile. “We were in the area and stopped in to say hello.”
“Well, welcome. Girls, help me unload the car. I stopped for those groceries, Kath.”
“Oh, thank you, dear.”
“I’ll just, er, help you carry those in.” The Doctor followed Ben out of the room.
Kathy and Rose stood together.
“Does he know?” Rose asked. “That you came from 2007?”
Kathy smiled ruefully. “I tried to tell him at first, but he didn’t really believe me. Even with my speech and my mannerisms and the strange clothes I was wearing. After a while I stopped trying. It was easier that way.”
“Are you happy?” Rose asked quietly. “Are you happy that you were sent back?”
“Well. I don’t know that happy is the word I would have used. I was shocked, at first! Mind, my mum and dad were gone, but my brother would worry about me, and that bothered me. But it was an adventure, and I was happy to have the chance to start over.” Kathy leaned forward. “I lied about my age, you know. Made myself a fair bit younger, and it was fun.” She smiled mischievously. “I don’t know what might have happened to me if I hadn’t met my husband. First person I saw. He took to me and never let me go.” Kathy smiled. “It’s been a good life.”
“What did you do?” Rose asked curiously. “Once you got here, how did you live?”
“Oh, Ben took me to his farm. His parents let me stay there. I thought about getting a job in the closest town, but it was a different time. Women worked at home. And before I knew it, I’d fallen in love, and that was all right. We stayed on the farm until just a few years ago. Then we moved to town. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
“I don’t want to stay here,” Rose confided. “It’s nice enough, but we don’t belong here.”
“Well, you have each other. That must make it better.”
“It does, it absolutely does. But the Doctor’s ship is his home, and without it he’s lost. I’m just afraid that I’ll get old waiting for it.”
“You can’t be afraid. As long as you have each other, it will be all right.”
“But how do I know that?”
“You don’t.” Kathy reached over and covered Rose’s hand with her own. “That’s the one thing I’ve learned in my life. Sometimes you just have to take a chance.”
Seventeen
Characters: Rose, Ten
Summary: AU. What if Rose had stayed through Doomsday and was the one to end up in 1969 with the Doctor? How would they get back to their proper time? Would they want to?
Rating: PG
Beta: nattieb
~ One~ Two~ Three~ Four~ Five~ Six~ Seven~ Eight~ Nine~ Ten
~ Eleven~ Twelve~ Thirteen~ Fourteen~ Fifteen~
He had taken three quick steps before he came to his senses and stopped. Rose had started to run after him but came to a halt when he did.
“Is it-”
“No,” he said harshly. “No, Rose, it’s not.” He shook his head. “We’ve been seeing them all over town, and we still can’t get used to them.” He stepped back, angry at his own response.
Rose gazed sadly at the blue police call box across the street. It wasn’t the TARDIS, of course. She had watched people go in and out of police boxes, and she still couldn’t bring herself to accept that one of them wasn’t a time machine. Even the red telephone boxes she saw everywhere made her heart stop for a moment.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. If she didn’t brace herself in anticipation of seeing them wherever she went, her heart skipped a beat and she would think that it was the TARDIS. Seeing this one unexpectedly had made her hopes rise.
The Doctor shook his head. “It’s a normal reaction. I would feel her if it was the TARDIS standing there. Don’t worry! We’ll get back to her one day.”
Was he reassuring her or himself? Rose took his hand and squeezed it. She hated it when he tried to act like nothing was wrong.
“I know we will, Doctor.”
“Anyway,” he continued, “a spot of adrenaline gets the heart pumping, eh? Still, it was a bit of a shock. I could almost wish the chameleon circuit had gotten stuck in some other disguise.”
“Oh, I can’t imagine the TARDIS as anything else!” she protested.
He turned his head to smile at her. “Rose Tyler, loyal to the last.”
She flushed. “I just like it how it is, that’s all.”
As they stood there, staring not across the street now but at each other, a taxicab pulled up to the curb and honked its horn.
“Need a lift?” the driver called.
“No, thanks!” the Doctor responded.
“Go on, get in!” the driver urged. “If I can’t give a ride to the Doctor and Rose Tyler, I may as well go home!”
Startled, the Doctor glanced at Rose and then leaned down to peer into the car. “Do we know you?”
The driver, a dark-haired man with an earring, laughed as though he’d just heard an uproariously funny joke.
“Maybe, maybe not! We all know the two of you, though! Did us a right turn, you did. Hop in!”
“Alien cab driver,” Rose whispered, as if the Doctor needed reminding. He sighed and opened the door for her. She slid in the back, and once the Doctor had settled in beside her the car took off.
“Where to?”
“King’s Cross,” Rose answered.
“Oh, you’re traveling! You don’t need to take the train, though. It would be my pleasure to take you as far as you need to go.”
“We’re headed for Hull,” the Doctor put in. “The train would be a bit faster.”
“Hull, is it? That’s a bit far, even for me. King’s Cross it is.”
Rose leaned forward. “How do you know who we are? I don’t remember ever meeting you?”
The driver snorted. “You didn’t meet most of us that day, but we’ve been primed and prepared.” He pulled down the sunshade to show them a picture. It was a snap of them. “Our orders are to help the two of you out wherever we might see you. Free rides for life.”
“But that’s us!” The Doctor scooted forward to verify that, putting his glasses on. “What are you doing with a picture of us?” he asked in amazement.
“And how did you get it?” Rose persisted. “I don’t remember any cameras.”
“We have our methods. Nothing for you humans to worry about! This way we all know what you look like. I was glad to have that snap once I saw you. It’s an honor to give you a ride wherever you need to go.”
They were dropped off at the train station with a cheery goodbye. He even refused a tip.
“We didn’t even get his name.” Rose watched him drive away.
“All the better. One less name to remember. Come on!”
They entered the train station and found the timetables. The schedule for Hull was straightforward, but Rose was struck with a sudden realization as she looked at the ticket prices. In her eagerness to find Kathy, she had not thought things all the way through.
“Are we sure we should take the train up?” she asked the Doctor.
“What do you mean? We’re here!” He waved his arm around, the gesture encompassing the entire station.
“I just meant...maybe there’s a better way to get there.”
“What, like flying?” He smiled at her. “This is the best option for 1969, Rose. Besides, we couldn’t have asked the alien cab driver to drive us all the way to Hull. The train will be much faster.”
“Yeah, but the thing is...” Rose’s voice trailed off as she stared at the timetable again. Beside her the Doctor smiled faintly. He’d thought this moment would come.
“The thing is what?” he prompted her.
“Well, we don’t have enough money for the tickets,” Rose had to point out. She was acutely aware of how much money they possessed at all times, and they couldn’t afford tickets to get to Hull and back, not if they wanted money left over to live on for the rest of the week.
The Doctor waited, eyes on the train table and a very patient look on his face.
Rose shifted from foot to foot, glancing all around. The Doctor slid his hands in his pockets and hummed a tune under his breath.
The urge to go to Hull warred with what Rose thought was the right thing to do. Rose finally came to terms with her conscience.
“D’you have the psychic paper?”
He smiled and flipped it out from his coat. “Oh, absolutely.”
“Well?” she prompted when he didn’t move.
“Well what?” he asked, still holding the psychic paper up.
She glared at him. “Well, are you gonna go use it?” She jerked her head toward the ticket window.
“Oh!” He widened his eyes and looked surprised. “Are you sure you want to use it? I don’t want to take advantage of anyone.”
“Doctor. Go get the tickets.”
He grinned at her and swept away.
Rose felt guilty about using the psychic paper to get the train tickets. Perhaps it was because they were so close to her own time and place that it felt wrong. Which was silly, because the Doctor had used the psychic paper countless times all over the universe, and she had never even felt the slightest remorse about it. The sonic screwdriver had been used at so many cash machines and ATMs to get them credits and cash, and she’d always been happy to have something to go shopping with.
Rose assuaged her guilt by buying snacks and magazines to read on the trip. Satisfied, she waited for the Doctor to return from the ticket line.
“Here we are. Two tickets to Hull. Never been to Hull myself. Why would you ever want to go? I hear it’s lovely, though. Come on! Our ride leaves in twenty minutes.”
“That’s good timing.”
“Rose Tyler, if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s time.”
The Doctor led the way onto the train. They found seats together and the Doctor allowed Rose to take the window seat.
“There are all sorts here, aren’t there?” Rose marveled. “Look at that girl!”
The girl in question wore a minidress in shades of hot pink and orange. Orange tights covered her legs, and her shoes were a matching color.
“Ah, the swinging sixties,” the Doctor murmured.
“I guess I’m so used to the ladies who come to the shop that I hadn’t noticed what younger people are wearing.” Rose heard the wistful note in her voice. She would love to wear something like that.
“Well, you’re still young. You can always rig yourself out in something like that if you want.”
Rose’s eyes gleamed as she imagined Iris’s reaction to an outfit like that. “Maybe I will.”
“Your boss doesn’t sound as straight-laced as you think she is.”
“Well, it’s only that she grew up in a very strict family. So far she’s avoided all the craziness of the sixties.”
The Doctor snorted. “Heaven help her once the seventies come around. There’s no going back after that.”
“And then there’s her.” Rose gestured to a woman sitting across the aisle. She wore a powder blue suit, matching pillbox and shoes, and wore white gloves. In her lap was a box-shaped bag. As Rose watched the woman opened the bag to get her ticket. The top opened on hinges and folded back on each side.
“Jackie Kennedy’s spirit is alive and well,” the Doctor murmured.
“That bag is so cool.”
Ten minutes later they were still waiting for the passengers to finish boarding. The Doctor suppressed a sigh of impatience.
“Time was we would have been there by now,” Rose whispered as they continued to watch their fellow passengers board.
The Doctor let himself sigh. Any mention of the TARDIS was still painful for him, even though he knew he would get it back eventually. The wait didn’t bother him. It was what might happen to Rose that did. If they had to wait decades, what would that do to her?
“But this is fun, too,” she continued, interrupting his thoughts. “You and me, exploring all of England, seeing the sights along the way. Like a mini-break!”
“Nothing like seeing a place like the locals.”
But seeing the sights along the way didn’t make up for a nearly four-hour journey. Rose read magazines and ate some sweets, and the Doctor stared out the window and analyzed his fellow passengers, just in case any of them were dangerous alien beings. He didn’t find any, of course, but at least it kept his mind occupied.
Eventually Rose fell asleep, lulled into a nap by the steady motion of the train. She leaned against the Doctor, and he lifted his arm and placed it around her, snuggling her close against his side.
She woke up just as they were pulling in to the station.
“We’re here,” the Doctor told her. “Right on schedule. Well. Three minutes, twenty seconds late, but no one’s complaining.”
Rose was hastily shoving magazines and wrappers into her bag. “I’m ready!”
Inside the train station she abandoned him for the loo. She took advantage of the time alone to brush her hair, straighten her dress and apply some lipstick. By the time she came out again, the Doctor was pacing impatiently.
“There you are!” He sounded exasperated. “Always taking forever to powder your nose. Let’s go!” He grabbed her hand and headed for the exit, his coat flapping around his legs. Rose had to trot to keep up.
“I wasn’t that long,” she protested. “You make it sound like I always keep you waiting! And slow down!” she added.
“Well, you do keep me waiting a lot,” he pointed out, the very picture of rationality.
“Well, that’s nice! When you spend all your time preening in front of the mirror.” Rose caught her breath as he slowed down, allowing her to walk at a normal pace.
“The hair products of this time are inferior,” he informed her. “They require more time and care.”
She scoffed. “Whatever.”
He did not deign to reply to this. “Let’s get a cab,” he said briskly.
Hull was a nice place, Rose decided as they drove through the streets. It was clean and shiny and the people all looked happy.
“Look!” she cried. “Their phone boxes are cream.”
“That’s right,” said their human cab driver. “The rest of the country can have red phone boxes. Here in Hull we have nice cream ones.”
“Must be harder to keep them clean,” Rose said humorously.
He laughed. “We get a fair bit of vandals, but nothing the coppers can’t handle.”
“This is the center of the city?” the Doctor asked as they sped through.
“That’s right. That’s Queens Garden over on the left,” their helpful driver informed them. “Nice, eh?”
“Lovely.” Rose looked with delight upon the flowers and trees. “What’s that tall statue?”
The driver answered without looking. “The Wilberforce Monument.”
“What’s the monument to? Or for?”
“William Wilberforce,” the Doctor supplied. “Abolitionist. He fought against the slave trade for years before it was abolished in England. It was a few more years before slavery itself was outlawed in the Empire, but he’d made a good start.”
“Aye, and he was born here in Hull.”
Rose wrinkled her nose. It’s hard to believe people had to fight to end slavery.”
“Aye, well, the right came out in the end,” the driver said. “Better for the empire and all.”
The Doctor took her hand. “It’s all right,” he said in a low voice. “It was a long time ago.”
Rose smiled and nodded, and he found himself amazed once more at how passionately she took to things. If there was a lost cause or an injustice to be righted, Rose Tyler would find a way.
They were dropped off on a quiet street lined with trees. The Doctor paid the driver with some of his actual cash - Rose let him have an allowance, which he held onto and never used because he unrepentantly used the psychic paper and sonic screwdriver to get whatever he needed - and faced the house.
“Here we are. Number 15.”
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” she said suddenly.
He turned to look at her. “What?”
“Maybe it’s not such a good idea. Maybe we shouldn’t bother her.”
“Rose Tyler! We came all this way! Ruined a perfectly good Saturday, and now you’re getting cold feet?”
“Not cold feet. Just...I don’t know.”
He took her arm. “We’re here. Come on.”
The Doctor rang the bell on the front door and waited. Rose shifted nervously beside him.
“It’s all right,” he assured her. “Rose. What is it?”
She shook her head. “I’m just nervous.”
He was about to ask what she could possibly have to be nervous about when the door opened. An attractive woman in her seventies smiled at them.
“Hello.”
The Doctor plunged in. “Are you Kathy Wainwright?”
The woman smiled politely but in puzzlement. “Yes. Can I help you?”
“I’m the Doctor. This is Rose.”
“Hello,” she said again.
The Doctor glanced at Rose. “May we, er, come in?”
“What for?” She appeared genuinely curious, not cautious, and Rose’s nervousness disappeared.
Rose smiled up at her. “We have something we’d like you to see, but it probably should be in private.”
Still looking puzzled, Kathy led them into her home. The first room was a sitting room furnished with a sofa and two chairs, all covered in a cabbage rose pattern.
Kathy gestured to the sofa. “Won’t you have a seat?”
“Thanks.” Rose sat down, and the Doctor sat beside her. She squeezed his hand, signaling that she was ready. He nodded at her, letting her know to go ahead. This was her mission, and she was in charge.
“Like he said, my name’s Rose Tyler. This is the Doctor.”
The Doctor raised his hand. “Hello.”
“I’m still confused as to what you might want with me.”
Rose leaned forward. “Are you here alone here?”
Alarm flashed slightly in Kathy’s face. “My husband will be right back. He just went to pick up our granddaughters.”
“We’re not here to hurt you or anything,” Rose hastened to assure her. “We just needed to talk to you without your family about.”
“Who are you?”
“We were in London,” Rose said carefully. “In 2007. We went to a house called Wester Drumlins and we got sent back in time. To here.”
Kathy stared. “Are you having me on?” she said finally.
“The Angels, Kathy.” The Doctor spoke quietly. “Those statues of stone angels. Do you remember them?”
She shuddered. “One minute I was alone, the next it was there. Just there. And it touched me, and then I was in Hull.” She shook her head. “Sometimes I still don’t believe it.”
“The same thing happened to us.” Rose scooted forward on the sofa. “We’re used to traveling in time, but this is the first time we’ve ever been stuck in one place.”
“You’re used to what?”
“I’m a time traveler,” the Doctor said shortly. “The Angels - that’s what they’re called - have got hold of my ship. They exist on the potential energy that humans give off, and there’s enough energy in my ship to destroy the universe.”
Kathy rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”
“It’s true!” Rose said urgently. “And we know about you because Sally Sparrow told us.”
“Sally!” Kathy started and sat on the edge of her seat. “Have you seen her?” she asked urgently. “Is she all right?”
“We haven’t seen her recently,” the Doctor allowed. “Or at all, actually. Granted, sometime in the past I must have, because she gave me some papers that explained what happened to her.”
“The angels didn’t hurt her, did they?” Kathy asked urgently.
“No, no. They didn’t. But there was apparently a mystery about what happened to you, and a few others.”
“There was a letter,” Rose added. “Sally left it for the Doctor. She received it just minutes after you disappeared. It was from you.”
Kathy sat very still. “I’ve often wondered...I’ve often wondered if I were to live long enough, if I could see her again. Give her a warning.”
“You wrote the letter to her and had someone deliver it.”
“I did?”
“We shouldn’t tell you any more,” the Doctor said. “I’m sorry, but too much information about your future timeline could be dangerous.”
“But we could show her, couldn’t we?” Rose asked him. “Just the pictures?”
He made a careless gesture, and Rose took the letter out of her bag. Rose showed her the photos.
“Why, that’s me! And my children.”
“You left them for Sally,” Rose explained. “So she could see that you’d had a happy life.”
Kathy smiled at one of the photos. “My Ben. I can’t imagine life without him.” She set the photos in her lap and looked at them for a moment before looking up at Rose and the Doctor. “You’re trapped here now, aren’t you?”
The Doctor coughed and shifted in his seat. “For the time being.”
“Time being,” she repeated. “There’s no way back! How do you get back to the future?” She paused and shook her head. “I can’t say that without thinking of the movie.”
“Us, too!” Rose grinned. “We have the Doctor’s ship. We think there’s a way to get it back. Sally left us clues.”
“That doesn’t sound like Sally. She’s more the type to leave a long, detailed explanation with lots of literary references that no one gets.”
“Well, all we have is what she left us.” The Doctor moved slightly closer to Rose as he spoke. “There are a few things we need to accomplish first, but it looks like it might work.”
“And get you back to your proper time?”
“If all goes well.” He couldn’t look over at Rose, but she reached for his hand.
“It will go well,” Rose told Kathy. “The Doctor can do it. He can do anything.”
Kathy shook her head and handed the photos back to Rose. “I would have never believed this if it hadn’t happened to me.”
“Don’t you want to keep them?” Rose hesitated to take the photos from her hand.
Kathy smiled. “I have those photos in an album upstairs. I imagine someday I’ll take them out and put them in a letter for Sally.”
Rose took the photos back, putting them back in her bag.
A rustling of noise coming from the back of the house made Kathy jump. “That’s Ben.” She stood up, smoothing down her skirt. Rose and the Doctor stood as well.
“Kathy?” a man called from down the hallway. “You home?”
“In here!”
A man in his late seventies walked in, tall and still attractive. His hair was gray and he walked with two little girls.
“Granny!”
Kathy bent down to hug them. “These are our granddaughters,” she said. “Maisie and Julie. This is my husband, Ben.” She turned to Ben. “These are some friends from London. The Doctor and Rose Tyler.”
Ben moved into the room and shook the Doctor’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Tyler.” He transferred his hand to Rose. “Mrs. Tyler.”
“We’re not-” the Doctor began, and Rose pinched his arm.
“Nice to meet you, too,” she said to Ben with a smile. “We were in the area and stopped in to say hello.”
“Well, welcome. Girls, help me unload the car. I stopped for those groceries, Kath.”
“Oh, thank you, dear.”
“I’ll just, er, help you carry those in.” The Doctor followed Ben out of the room.
Kathy and Rose stood together.
“Does he know?” Rose asked. “That you came from 2007?”
Kathy smiled ruefully. “I tried to tell him at first, but he didn’t really believe me. Even with my speech and my mannerisms and the strange clothes I was wearing. After a while I stopped trying. It was easier that way.”
“Are you happy?” Rose asked quietly. “Are you happy that you were sent back?”
“Well. I don’t know that happy is the word I would have used. I was shocked, at first! Mind, my mum and dad were gone, but my brother would worry about me, and that bothered me. But it was an adventure, and I was happy to have the chance to start over.” Kathy leaned forward. “I lied about my age, you know. Made myself a fair bit younger, and it was fun.” She smiled mischievously. “I don’t know what might have happened to me if I hadn’t met my husband. First person I saw. He took to me and never let me go.” Kathy smiled. “It’s been a good life.”
“What did you do?” Rose asked curiously. “Once you got here, how did you live?”
“Oh, Ben took me to his farm. His parents let me stay there. I thought about getting a job in the closest town, but it was a different time. Women worked at home. And before I knew it, I’d fallen in love, and that was all right. We stayed on the farm until just a few years ago. Then we moved to town. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
“I don’t want to stay here,” Rose confided. “It’s nice enough, but we don’t belong here.”
“Well, you have each other. That must make it better.”
“It does, it absolutely does. But the Doctor’s ship is his home, and without it he’s lost. I’m just afraid that I’ll get old waiting for it.”
“You can’t be afraid. As long as you have each other, it will be all right.”
“But how do I know that?”
“You don’t.” Kathy reached over and covered Rose’s hand with her own. “That’s the one thing I’ve learned in my life. Sometimes you just have to take a chance.”
Seventeen