Chapter 5: Moving In
Author: yourebrilliant
Betas: the_willows, time_converges, helygen
Pairing: Handy/Rose
Rating: PG
Spoilers: end of s4.
Disclaimer: It all belongs to the Beeb.
Summary: Stranded in another universe, the Doctor and Rose must make a new life for themselves. Who will they be?
Note: This is actually a completed multi-part fic, rather than a work in progress. We'll be posting every week until the entire fic is up.
‘This is where you chose?’ Jackie asked, stepping out of Pete’s long shiny car and staring up at the modest block of flats stretching up before her. Closing the car door on the other side, Rose smiled at her mother as she moved round the back of the car to open the boot. Even with her white trainers on, you’d never know Jackie used to live in an estate just like this. Actually, this one was slightly better.
‘It’s not that bad, Mum,’ she said, pulling open the boot and lifting her suitcase out. The Doctor, having no belongings to bring, was standing in front of the car, hands jammed in his trouser pockets, head tilted up to look at the flats, chatting away to Pete. ‘It’s like Powell,’ she added.
‘I know,’ Jackie said, sniffing disapprovingly and turning back to look at Rose. ‘I wanted more than that for you, love. You’re the Vitex heiress,’ she added accusingly. ‘Your Dad and me would’ve been happy to get you a nice house somewhere. Something a bit bigger than this.’
‘He likes it, mum,’ Rose explained, putting the suitcase on the ground. The Doctor, noticing, bounded over.
‘I’ll get that, Rose,’ he said, grinning at her as he grabbed the suitcase.
‘Keys,’ Rose said, as he turned away.
‘Right, yes,’ the Doctor agreed, reaching out a hand for the keys. Rose grinned at him; he was almost dancing with excitement.
Jackie rolled her eyes. ‘Have you been drinking Pete’s espresso again?’ she asked. ‘You know you can’t handle it with your system.’ Rose had never felt the need to mention the Doctor’s traditional triple-espresso day-starter until the morning they discovered that he’d discovered Pete’s espresso maker and decided to continue his morning ritual. Although it had been interesting to see him literally bounce around the room, it was not an experience any of them wanted to repeat. Since then, he’d stuck to a nice cup of tea instead.
‘Nope,’ the Doctor said, still grinning. Rose leaned over and dropped the keys to the flat in his open hand.
Smiling at the Doctor as he bounded away, Rose turned to continue her conversation with her mum. ‘We looked at bigger flats,’ she explained. ‘They made him feel small and lonely. You know I’m gonna be out all day at Torchwood, I don’t want him freaking out when I’m gone.’
‘He wouldn’t be freaking out if he had a job too,’ Jackie said, looking at her pointedly. ‘I thought you were gonna ask him to come to work with you?’
‘I know,’ Rose said. ‘I’m going to speak to him about it. Are you coming up?’ she asked.
‘No, love,’ Jackie said, reaching out to stroke her hair. ‘We’ve got to get back to Tony. You know he doesn’t like to be away from me for long.’
‘Yeah,’ Rose said, smiling and hugging her mum.
‘Are you sure you want to leave now?’ Jackie asked suddenly, holding Rose by the shoulders. ‘We’d be happy for you to stay longer, you know.’
Rose laughed outright. ‘Yeah, right,’ she said. ‘You and the Doctor were nearly at each other’s throats yesterday.’
‘He broke my toaster!’ Jackie cried. ‘I thought he’d be okay without that magic wand of his, but this one’s just as bad as the real Doctor.’
Over Jackie’s shoulder, Rose saw the Doctor approaching; hearing Jackie’s words he came to an abrupt halt, his smile faltering. Rose felt her heart twist for him as she saw the joy flicker in his eyes.
‘See,’ she said to her mother, ‘now your kitchen appliances’ll be safe. I promise,’ she said, as Jackie looked like she might protest, ‘we’ll come over every Sunday for lunch.’
‘Jacks,’ Pete called, shaking the Doctor’s hand and opening the driver’s door, ‘we’ve got to go, Tony’ll be starting to wonder where we are. See you later, love,’ he said, winking at Rose and sliding into the seat.
‘We’ll see you soon, Mum,’ Rose said, hugging her mother again.
‘Oh, here,’ Jackie suddenly said, disentangling herself from Rose and reaching down into the front seat, ‘this is for you.’ Standing again, she handed over a cloth, drawstring bag. Wriggling open the strings, Rose peeped into the bag and found a collection of basic medicines; anti-pyretics, antacids, analgesics and painkillers. Rose smiled at her mother and gave her a peck on the cheek.
‘Thanks, mum,’ she said quietly.
Jackie smiled at her and climbed into the front seat. As Pete started the car and pulled away, Rose and the Doctor waved to Jackie until she was out of sight.
‘So,’ the Doctor said, ‘our new home.’
Rose looked up at him. ‘Yep,’ she said quietly. ‘I haven’t lived with a man for years,’ she commented. The Doctor looked at her curiously, taking her hand and walking towards the flat. ‘Doctor,’ she commented quietly, ‘about what mum said-’
‘Who was he?’ the Doctor asked suddenly.
‘Who was who?’ Rose asked, looking up at him as they climbed the stairs.
‘The man,’ the Doctor said. ‘That you lived with. Who was he?’
‘Oh,’ Rose said, ‘well, he was called Jimmy. Jimmy Stone.’
‘And he was your boyfriend?’
‘Have we really never talked about this before?’ Rose asked surprised.
‘He-we’ve never talked about it,’ the Doctor commented. Digging in his trouser pocket, he pulled out the key to the flat. ‘So?’ he asked.
‘Ehm, no,’ Rose said, ‘Not my boyfriend.’ Was it her imagination or did the Doctor seem to perk up. ‘He was my fiancé.’
‘What?’ the Doctor asked, half in the open doorway.
‘He was my fiancé,’ she repeated, giving him a gentle shove to get him to move into the flat. ‘He’s not now,’ she added.
‘I should hope not,’ the Doctor commented indignantly. ‘I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this.’
Rose laughed sharply. ‘Me?’ she asked incredulously. ‘What about you, Mr I’ve-been-a-father?’ Still wearing her coat, Rose strode through to their tiny bathroom to put away the contents of her mother’s gift. She was closing the medicine cabinet door, when she heard a shuffling of feet and the Doctor’s quiet cough. Turning round she saw him leaning against the open door.
‘Sorry,’ he said quietly. ‘You’re right. I guess I just thought I knew everything about you.’
‘Well,’ she said, walking over to wrap her arms around his waist, ‘isn’t it just as well you don’t?’ The Doctor looked at her, bewildered. ‘We need something to talk about when there’s nothing on TV,’ she explained. He smiled. ‘And, Doctor,’ she added; something in her tone obviously alerted him to her next comment, he tried to move away but she squeezed him tighter, ‘no matter what Mum said; coat or no coat, screwdriver or no screwdriver, blue suit, brown suit, you’re still the Doctor. My Doctor,’ she added, reaching up to kiss him.
Bending down he wrapped his arms around her, taking comfort in her declaration and her touch. One hand slid into her long blonde hair, pulling her closer. Taking her hands from his face, Rose slid them inside his jacket, reaching up to caress his broad shoulder bones. Stroking her way down his spine, she linked her arms around his slender waist, pulling him as close to her as possible. Suddenly he pulled away.
‘Food!’ he cried suddenly.
‘What?’ Rose asked, still dazed from the aborted kiss.
‘We’ve got no food,’ he explained, licking his lips absently. ‘There was a little shop round the corner. I’ll go there.’
Before she could say a word, he was striding out of the flat, the heavy front door banging shut behind him.
Deleted Scene: Sunday Morning
Five_Point_Five: Backlog
Six: Jack
He didn’t notice this at first, distracted by the tall handsome man standing in the middle of their living room watching him with an amused quirk to his lips.
‘Jack?’ he gasped, astounded. ‘What are you doing here, how did you get through?’
Swinging his legs over the side of the sofa he stood quickly. ‘Is there something wrong?’ he asked, frowning. Then he noticed it.
Got a question? Check out the General Q&A post for overall questions or our Weekly Q&A post for any questions about this chapter.
Back to The Index
Betas: the_willows, time_converges, helygen
Pairing: Handy/Rose
Rating: PG
Spoilers: end of s4.
Disclaimer: It all belongs to the Beeb.
Summary: Stranded in another universe, the Doctor and Rose must make a new life for themselves. Who will they be?
Note: This is actually a completed multi-part fic, rather than a work in progress. We'll be posting every week until the entire fic is up.
‘This is where you chose?’ Jackie asked, stepping out of Pete’s long shiny car and staring up at the modest block of flats stretching up before her. Closing the car door on the other side, Rose smiled at her mother as she moved round the back of the car to open the boot. Even with her white trainers on, you’d never know Jackie used to live in an estate just like this. Actually, this one was slightly better.
‘It’s not that bad, Mum,’ she said, pulling open the boot and lifting her suitcase out. The Doctor, having no belongings to bring, was standing in front of the car, hands jammed in his trouser pockets, head tilted up to look at the flats, chatting away to Pete. ‘It’s like Powell,’ she added.
‘I know,’ Jackie said, sniffing disapprovingly and turning back to look at Rose. ‘I wanted more than that for you, love. You’re the Vitex heiress,’ she added accusingly. ‘Your Dad and me would’ve been happy to get you a nice house somewhere. Something a bit bigger than this.’
‘He likes it, mum,’ Rose explained, putting the suitcase on the ground. The Doctor, noticing, bounded over.
‘I’ll get that, Rose,’ he said, grinning at her as he grabbed the suitcase.
‘Keys,’ Rose said, as he turned away.
‘Right, yes,’ the Doctor agreed, reaching out a hand for the keys. Rose grinned at him; he was almost dancing with excitement.
Jackie rolled her eyes. ‘Have you been drinking Pete’s espresso again?’ she asked. ‘You know you can’t handle it with your system.’ Rose had never felt the need to mention the Doctor’s traditional triple-espresso day-starter until the morning they discovered that he’d discovered Pete’s espresso maker and decided to continue his morning ritual. Although it had been interesting to see him literally bounce around the room, it was not an experience any of them wanted to repeat. Since then, he’d stuck to a nice cup of tea instead.
‘Nope,’ the Doctor said, still grinning. Rose leaned over and dropped the keys to the flat in his open hand.
Smiling at the Doctor as he bounded away, Rose turned to continue her conversation with her mum. ‘We looked at bigger flats,’ she explained. ‘They made him feel small and lonely. You know I’m gonna be out all day at Torchwood, I don’t want him freaking out when I’m gone.’
‘He wouldn’t be freaking out if he had a job too,’ Jackie said, looking at her pointedly. ‘I thought you were gonna ask him to come to work with you?’
‘I know,’ Rose said. ‘I’m going to speak to him about it. Are you coming up?’ she asked.
‘No, love,’ Jackie said, reaching out to stroke her hair. ‘We’ve got to get back to Tony. You know he doesn’t like to be away from me for long.’
‘Yeah,’ Rose said, smiling and hugging her mum.
‘Are you sure you want to leave now?’ Jackie asked suddenly, holding Rose by the shoulders. ‘We’d be happy for you to stay longer, you know.’
Rose laughed outright. ‘Yeah, right,’ she said. ‘You and the Doctor were nearly at each other’s throats yesterday.’
‘He broke my toaster!’ Jackie cried. ‘I thought he’d be okay without that magic wand of his, but this one’s just as bad as the real Doctor.’
Over Jackie’s shoulder, Rose saw the Doctor approaching; hearing Jackie’s words he came to an abrupt halt, his smile faltering. Rose felt her heart twist for him as she saw the joy flicker in his eyes.
‘See,’ she said to her mother, ‘now your kitchen appliances’ll be safe. I promise,’ she said, as Jackie looked like she might protest, ‘we’ll come over every Sunday for lunch.’
‘Jacks,’ Pete called, shaking the Doctor’s hand and opening the driver’s door, ‘we’ve got to go, Tony’ll be starting to wonder where we are. See you later, love,’ he said, winking at Rose and sliding into the seat.
‘We’ll see you soon, Mum,’ Rose said, hugging her mother again.
‘Oh, here,’ Jackie suddenly said, disentangling herself from Rose and reaching down into the front seat, ‘this is for you.’ Standing again, she handed over a cloth, drawstring bag. Wriggling open the strings, Rose peeped into the bag and found a collection of basic medicines; anti-pyretics, antacids, analgesics and painkillers. Rose smiled at her mother and gave her a peck on the cheek.
‘Thanks, mum,’ she said quietly.
Jackie smiled at her and climbed into the front seat. As Pete started the car and pulled away, Rose and the Doctor waved to Jackie until she was out of sight.
‘So,’ the Doctor said, ‘our new home.’
Rose looked up at him. ‘Yep,’ she said quietly. ‘I haven’t lived with a man for years,’ she commented. The Doctor looked at her curiously, taking her hand and walking towards the flat. ‘Doctor,’ she commented quietly, ‘about what mum said-’
‘Who was he?’ the Doctor asked suddenly.
‘Who was who?’ Rose asked, looking up at him as they climbed the stairs.
‘The man,’ the Doctor said. ‘That you lived with. Who was he?’
‘Oh,’ Rose said, ‘well, he was called Jimmy. Jimmy Stone.’
‘And he was your boyfriend?’
‘Have we really never talked about this before?’ Rose asked surprised.
‘He-we’ve never talked about it,’ the Doctor commented. Digging in his trouser pocket, he pulled out the key to the flat. ‘So?’ he asked.
‘Ehm, no,’ Rose said, ‘Not my boyfriend.’ Was it her imagination or did the Doctor seem to perk up. ‘He was my fiancé.’
‘What?’ the Doctor asked, half in the open doorway.
‘He was my fiancé,’ she repeated, giving him a gentle shove to get him to move into the flat. ‘He’s not now,’ she added.
‘I should hope not,’ the Doctor commented indignantly. ‘I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this.’
Rose laughed sharply. ‘Me?’ she asked incredulously. ‘What about you, Mr I’ve-been-a-father?’ Still wearing her coat, Rose strode through to their tiny bathroom to put away the contents of her mother’s gift. She was closing the medicine cabinet door, when she heard a shuffling of feet and the Doctor’s quiet cough. Turning round she saw him leaning against the open door.
‘Sorry,’ he said quietly. ‘You’re right. I guess I just thought I knew everything about you.’
‘Well,’ she said, walking over to wrap her arms around his waist, ‘isn’t it just as well you don’t?’ The Doctor looked at her, bewildered. ‘We need something to talk about when there’s nothing on TV,’ she explained. He smiled. ‘And, Doctor,’ she added; something in her tone obviously alerted him to her next comment, he tried to move away but she squeezed him tighter, ‘no matter what Mum said; coat or no coat, screwdriver or no screwdriver, blue suit, brown suit, you’re still the Doctor. My Doctor,’ she added, reaching up to kiss him.
Bending down he wrapped his arms around her, taking comfort in her declaration and her touch. One hand slid into her long blonde hair, pulling her closer. Taking her hands from his face, Rose slid them inside his jacket, reaching up to caress his broad shoulder bones. Stroking her way down his spine, she linked her arms around his slender waist, pulling him as close to her as possible. Suddenly he pulled away.
‘Food!’ he cried suddenly.
‘What?’ Rose asked, still dazed from the aborted kiss.
‘We’ve got no food,’ he explained, licking his lips absently. ‘There was a little shop round the corner. I’ll go there.’
Before she could say a word, he was striding out of the flat, the heavy front door banging shut behind him.
Deleted Scene: Sunday Morning
Five_Point_Five: Backlog
Six: Jack
He didn’t notice this at first, distracted by the tall handsome man standing in the middle of their living room watching him with an amused quirk to his lips.
‘Jack?’ he gasped, astounded. ‘What are you doing here, how did you get through?’
Swinging his legs over the side of the sofa he stood quickly. ‘Is there something wrong?’ he asked, frowning. Then he noticed it.
Got a question? Check out the General Q&A post for overall questions or our Weekly Q&A post for any questions about this chapter.
Back to The Index