FIC: Flipped, Book 3 (9/12)
Title: Flipped, Book 3
Rating: heavy T, with some M/MA
Author: tkel_paris
Summary: David Noble thought he had come to terms with the strange feelings the female Doctor inspired, and it seemed to be helped by Martha Jones joining them. But when the Aubertide threaten the Doctor, protecting her requires a cover that will test his sanity and his ability to find the right thing to do. Written for tardis_mole.
Required Disclaimer: The summary should be enough to tell you I own nothing.
Dedications: My good friend tardis_mole, for helping me discover my talent at editing and for being an inspiration. You've challenged me to go beyond what I previously thought I would like, and so this is the farthest I've gone from my comfort zone so far. Who knows where I'll go next?
And another important shout-out: sykira, whose LJ post about John Barrowman's comments about how Doctor Who could eventually go was the ultimate spark for this idea. So I suppose that means the ultimate blame for this lies with the Barrowman. I can only imagine what he would think, although I suspect he would heartily approve. :P
Author's Note: Originally spawned from a different idea that split into three, this is a new version of one of those ideas revived as a birthday present. And it's spawned a slightly AU version as a Christmas present. The original prompt from TM boiled down to this: “The Doctor and Donna in a situation that's never been done before.” Ask and ye shall receive, my friend. Enjoy the second sequel. :D A VERY Belated Happy Birthday, TM! :DDD
Special Disclaimer: I refuse to be held responsible for any $2000/₤2000 lattes, spit-takes, fainting spells, workplace/school gaffes, or falling against/from things that might happen if you're not careful while reading this story. Especially in certain chapters. Read at your own risk. (I put this in because I was warned by one of my betas, cassikat, that my emails should come with a spit-take warning. So I'm looking out for y'all. ;D)
And TM, be careful that you don't hyperventilate from reading some of the sections. I know you. :P And so sorry for the delay. At least I have a legitimate excuse for not working on it last year; we had our balrog to work on. :D
Thanks to cassikat and bas_math_girl for betaing. Couldn't have done it without y'all.
Chapter One / Chapter Two / Chapter Three / Chapter Four / Chapter Five / Chapter Six / Chapter Seven / Chapter Eight
Flipped, Book 3
Started July 14, 2013
Finished December 31, 2015
CHAPTER NINE: FUTURE COMPLICATED BEYOND RECOGNITION
“What?! They can tell? So soon?!”
David knew on some level that he was unable to hide his shock, but there was no chance in hell he find the awareness to alter his reactions. How was this possible?!
Making it harder to concentrate, the vision from the second day of the “marriage” came back. Only this time preceded by the image of him and Donna kneeling over two just born babies who were laying on something organic, still covered with traces of where they came from. She looked like she had just given birth.
Donna explained, shaking and yet bubbling over the whole time, “I know! I knew UNIT was some special place, and apparently they have some special scanners that ensure the most accurate readings possible. I'm only six days gone from conception and they could detect it. I fainted because the embryo implanted and started taking nutrition from me. Isn't that amazing, that such a tiny thing could make me keel over fainting?”
His training told him that women were very capable of reacting that way. Not every woman did it, but evidently this Human version of the Doctor could do so.
She continued, barely looking at his face in her excitement. “Oh, I wish that you could get those scanners, but it's a bit top secret right now. Very Star Trek, I thought. And I know you've seen them and signed the Official Secrets Act, but I made sure I could tell you how they knew. Oh, the day those scanners become widely available will be a huge advance in medicine. But never mind that. If all goes well we'll be having a baby in about eight months and a week! Oh. My.! God!”
She flew into his arms, clutching him tightly and squealing.
David held her reflexively, staring at the wall behind her. He was barely breathing and could hardly speak. He had been listening in shock. Pregnant. He had got the humanized Doctor pregnant.
Donna added as she kept holding on to him, “I admit, I'm in so much awe of how things are happening so fast.” She drew back. “I don't want to tell anyone else, just in case anything happens in these early weeks. In fact, we can't actually clear out the room you set aside for the nursery anytime soon, but I'll start making lists of what we will need with space to check off whatever we already have. I think we should wait at least until the first trimester is over before we tell anyone else, assuming I don't have any obvious reactions. Jack was there and he agreed to keep quiet, but he's promised to be there if you need anyone to talk. Did you know he's a dad?”
David blinked, the words not registering until he pieced together the words into meaning. “He is?” He could not recall Jack ever mentioning it.
“Yeah, he said he has a daughter. Sounds like his job has kept him away, and I could see it pained him. Said to tell you congratulations and he'll be praying for a healthy baby for us.”
Jack said that? Did he mean it, or was he covering for his own shock? He would have to wait to learn.
Leaving aside whatever the Doctor would think once she came back, how should he act now? Could this be the dream he was seeing? It wasn't possible that she was carrying the children he saw the other night, was it? Wouldn't that mean he'd have to keep the Doctor caged a while longer to ensure the children made it through to term?
What if he had to do that? Was he going to find it impossible to let Donna go so his friend could live again?
“David, are you all right? You have the same look you had when we visited Nerys, Emily, the twins and little James.”
Her words drew him back into the present moment, and luckily provided him with the prompt for an answer. “Yeah. I was just... thinking about what the baby might look like.”
It was the truth, in a sense. Avoiding telling any outright lies was critical to keeping her from realizing anything was off from the story she had been fed by the TARDIS.
Donna smiled softly. “I hope he or she gets your eyes.”
He managed a tiny smile to hide his emotions. “Why not yours? Wouldn't you have problems if they figured out how to use the puppy-eye look?”
She shrugged. “I'll manage. Somehow. What, you want them to have mine?”
“I'd rather they have your hair,” he admitted, touching hers.
Her eyes softened. “You do?”
“Yes. I've always wanted little ginger-nuts.”
That earned him a kiss and a hug. Which assured that she was distracted from his being distracted.
/=/=/=/=/=
It felt like too long before Jack came by, but it was that same night when he knocked.
David answered the door since Donna was mercifully preoccupied with cooking dinner. “You wasted no time.”
“Thought you needed someone to talk with,” he said, as casual as could be in his tone but guarded in his expression.
“Hello, Jack!” Donna called out from the kitchen. “I don't recall you saying you'd be by.”
“Finished early and decided to check on you both. May I come in?”
David silently motioned him inside, and closed the door after him.
“We have extra if you'd like to dine with us,” said Donna, stepping out to greet Jack with a hug. His care that afternoon had earned her trust. “Unless you have plans, of course.”
He grinned, the trademark charming grin - yet toned down slightly. “I kind of do, but I won't turn down the offer of some free food first. I'm actually here to ask David some questions, but I can't have you overhearing. You lack the clearance, that's all,” he added affably.
“Oh. Okay. I can turn on some music while you talk elsewhere.” As was her habit, she gave David a kiss. The only difference from the first ones was that he was willing to return it for about the same length of time.
A few moments later David led Jack into his office. They could hear the sounds of Duran Duran playing in the kitchen, which allowed David to breathe a little easier. “I'd close the door, but I'd rather know if she's coming this way,” he whispered.
Jack nodded. This would have to be done in quiet tones, even whispers. “Okay. So... how are you?”
David flinched and sat in his computer chair. “I... I've heard of Dad Shock, but I never thought I'd experience it myself. And why the hell didn't I get any warning?!”
“I was worried your reaction would give something away if you knew ahead of time, and the UNIT insisted on talking with me about the implications this could present. Anyway, I thought you wanted to be a father one day.”
“I did. I do. But... how can this be possible? You'd think the TARDIS would've prevented this somehow, to keep this from getting complicated. Besides... what about... the Aubertide?!” he whispered urgently.
Jack's face was pale, but his voice was calm. “Owen scanned her carefully, and aside from telling that she is pregnant and how far along the scanner was maddeningly sparse with information about the pregnancy itself. I think she's wearing something, probably the wedding ring since it has to be the only thing that she never takes off, that's acting like a biodamper and concealing the scent of... Gallifreyan under the Human scent.”
“Really? No trace? Not a hint?”
“None. And I had her endure a few additional tests to be certain. She thought it was all one prolonged scan after the first one.”
David leaned forward and rubbed his face. “It was supposed to only last three months, this hiding her in plain sight, yet I thought I was stuck with the consequences of dealing with people learning that... I wasn't going to stay married. But Donna has been charming the neighbours, making Josh and Ella even more fond of her, and... making me wonder how I'm going to cope with losing her.”
“So you didn't think of any methods of... preventing this?”
David's face tried to match Donna's hair. “Never mind rational thought shutting down when...” He cleared his throat, not willing to say it and yet knowing Jack would need no translation. “She wanted a baby. A condom would've been rejected, not to mention hurt her feelings, and it's... it's unethical to give her medicines to prevent it without her knowing. If the TARDIS didn't give us something to begin with... Anyway, I've pressed the Doctor to let people make their own choices, so I couldn't act for her there.”
Jack nodded. “I agree. But if the TARDIS had taken measures I doubt she would've let her be so eager.” He paused. “Makes you wonder what the Old Girl was thinking.”
“Wait, you don't think she planned this, do you?”
The tone would've been louder if not for the consistent practice David had with controlling his volume over his travels. But the panic was clear.
“I... think there's no way to know until the danger is over,” Jack equivocated. “Anyway. Isn't it possible that things could just be different when... she comes back?”
“But she's pregnant now!” David hissed. “Can the baby survive the transformation?”
Jack's face went ashen. “I... don't know. The only thing I know about the Chameleon Arch is that it changes the memories but leaves the essence of the person alone.”
“Wait... Are you saying...?” David narrowed his eyes. “How can you know anything?”
The question had Jack shifting uncomfortably, but he didn't attempt a lie. “Founding members of Torchwood captured a Time Lord in the 1890s. Never told them who he was, to his credit. I won't say what they did and I'm not proud of knowing about it. Trust me, you don't want to know the details; I had nightmares for months when I found out.”
Both men's faces went pale at the thought, but David asked nothing. He instead waited for Jack to continue.
“So I've had a huge job turning my branch of Torchwood around and influencing the others. But I can tell you that some information about Time Lord technology is in our computers. The Arch is one of them. And yes, I'm saying that... our friend's feelings for you are unchanged since I was traveling with you two.”
David's hands shook, even as they clasped in front of his knees. “But what happens when three months are over? Can we even risk opening the watch?”
“I wish I knew. I... don't like risking a child's life.”
“Then... I may need to leave it closed until the baby's born?”
“I don't know what will happen to her DNA contribution to the baby when she changes back. I think the baby will be fine once born, but... I hate the unknown as much as our friend does. Did. Ugh,” he groaned. “I hate thinking in Gallifreyan; the tenses throw me off and I have time senses. How did you manage to learn to read it so well?”
“Practice,” David muttered as he sagged deeper into the chair. “What the hell am I going to do? It's bad enough having to worry about what'll happen after three months of this. But over eight?! Jack, what if the time comes and goes and I hesitate over whether to open the watch? What if I decide that I can't bare to see... her reaction? What if I feel that I can't open it until I'm an old man and about to die?”
Jack realized he had no answer. His face fell in empathy for him.
/=/=/=/
Rose Tyler was angry. It was a common state of mind for her now.
She had had to get a new job almost immediately after the Doctor and David respectively left her with Mickey. Her mother had threatened to throw her out on the street if she didn't, and Mickey refused to let her live with him, all offended that she had gone for his mentor and that alien instead.
Well, if he could see it from her side, he would've understood! What was he doing for her?! There was nothing to thank him for!
Thanks to having to take the bus and then being forced to take extra classes to get her A-Levels and then being pushed to take the courses to attend college, Rose had not had any fun since she had been dumped by the Doctor and shoved aside by David. Worse, the laws had changed and suddenly she was underage again.
As soon as she was once again of age she started looking to have fun again, but finding a guy she wanted to bed was harder than it used to be. She compared each one to either the Doctor or David. One had seemed so exciting, and the other looked like a fantasy platter for living the high life without any effort from her involved.
Instead she had been dumped by Mickey before she could become legal again, and had no idea where the others were. The Doctor's ship could be anywhere!
To top things off, her mother remarried. One of the boyfriends Rose had dismissed for years proved to be serious, and Howard was determined to be taken seriously by Rose herself. He refused to let her be what he considered disrespectful, and her mother decided to become even stricter. And to add insult to injury her mother had had a baby boy.
That was disgusting to her. Her mum was ancient! Not as as ancient as some, but she was too old to be having kids!
She had no idea where to begin in finding out where the Doctor was, but David ought to be able to be found. And she had looked him up more than once when she could get access to a computer. She now knew where he practiced, but she couldn't find out where he lived. The information was somehow classified, and the librarian had kicked her out lest she get the branch restricted on its computer privileges.
And Mickey was not a source to ask. If anything, he was avoiding her even more in the past two years. Which was the worst thing to happen, rejection upon rejection upon rejection and so on.
No one ignored her. She wouldn't stand for it any longer. She would locate David Noble and make him see she wasn't someone you skipped over. She wanted him and she would have him, make him want her in the end. Then she could make him regret how he treated her back three years ago. And he would help her escape having to help with the little rat her mother called her baby brother.
She started creating moments away from home to start looking for him, which was especially tricky given how strict her mum had become. She had to not let her find out that yet another job had let her go because she tried to get off early to start her searches, or getting others to cover her shifts. She had been borrowing money from some of her mates, and now they were starting to warn her that they expected repayment soon.
If she could get help, she would never have to work again. She'd find either the Doctor or David, and be set for life. Get either to pay off her debts, or - if she found the Doctor - run away from them forever.
She thought she had a lead in LINDA last year, but they soon shut her down after speaking with David's mother - that Ethan bloke seemed particularly frightened by her - and thereafter claimed they now worked for the Doctor. “We're not going to help you,” Mr. Skinner suddenly said as he kicked her out of the meeting. “Not when the Doctor had plainly dismissed your merits as a companion.”
Incensed, she had screamed at them until the threat of calling the bobbies on her made her leave.
She did finally create enough time in her schedule to be able to follow David around. Unfortunately it meant doing things that left a bad taste in her mouth. She did not like the person she had to sleep with in order to get the vehicle to do it with, but she was a woman on a mission and would not let anything stop her. Giving up a little sex was an acceptable price to pay for her future happiness.
She watched his practice every day she could, and was running out of time before her mother caught on to what she was doing. The lack of school work getting done was bound to be noticed, especially because she was skipping classes. Weeks passed like that, and she kept having to leave before she saw him.
She was about to give up when she saw him step out and walk to his car. At last, she thought on a gasp. She thought about getting out to pounce, but thought that she should learn more about him first, show that she belonged in his life. And she had learned enough about driving - also through lessons that she had to sleep for - that she could follow without attracting attention.
If she had stopped to think about how the man who taught her had known the skills, she might have hesitated a moment longer than she did. But that depended on her deciding that she had to give up on her dreams involving David Noble.
Rose wanted to follow closely, but she had been cautioned that if she wanted to follow someone she needed to keep her distance to not attract any notice. And given how alert he had seemed those few moments she was in his company she had to be very careful. At least until she could reveal herself.
He unknowingly led her to an area she had never been to before. The map on the man's phone he gave her (which she claimed a friend loaned her for schoolwork) said she was in Chiswick. She frowned at looking at the homes. This was how people in his life status lived? She had to become part of it, to escape her dull and boring Estate life.
When she saw him park she made a point of passing by without slowing down. Again, needed to not attract attention right away. She used the map feature on the phone to help her turn around and make a second pass, this time parking a little ways away.
She took in the outside. He took care of it, but she supposed she knew nothing about houses. All she knew was that this was an enormous step up from what she had, and she wanted in on it bad.
Something in the back caught her attention, just barely noticeable over the fence. She strained to look and noticed that it looked like the light on the top of the TARDIS. So the Doctor had come back to visit David? She scowled, miffed.
After a while she saw him stepping outside again, but he wasn't alone. In his company was a ginger woman she thought looked around her mother's age. Rose scowled. What was she doing there? Who was she to him?
The woman raised her left hand to push some hair out of her face, and the sunlight created a glint that caught Rose's eye. Even at her distance she could tell it was a wedding ring.
She sucked in a breath as the sun caught a similar light on his left hand as he held the door open for the woman.
Rose fumed while he got in. Married?! How could he? He belonged with her, not this ginger who had to have trapped him somehow. For how could anyone want her?! Who wanted a ginger with that much extra on her body, and who was so old?!
Someone knocked on her window. She jumped in her seat and looked up. A woman old enough to be her grandmother stood there, frowning. The lady motioned for her to roll down her window.
When Rose did the lady spoke, gently but firmly. “If you're here to just watch the area, you can leave now. If you're here to stalk someone I'll be reporting you to the police.”
“What?! No, I'm just-”
“You've been parked here for over thirty minutes. I saw you watching one home, and I saw how you looked at my neighbour and his wife. Leave now, and all I'll do is warn them about you. And don't think you can deny it. My grandson's inside and took a picture. His mother over there just wrote your number down, along with the car's details. If we see you here again the police will be escorting you away.”
Rose panicked and turned on the engine, hurrying away.
David and Donna looked up as they heard a car speeding away. Donna scoffed. “Typical teenager! No care for the rest of us! Our children will never be like that.”
He blinked. “Yeah.”
But his senses were on the alert. Better report that to Jack, he thought. Just in case.
/=/=/=/=/
That night, Donna woke suddenly with a gasp.
She blinked, reorienting herself. More fodder for her dream book, and somehow she didn't wake David this time.
Which was more impressive given that he was wrapped around her, holding her tightly against him like he was shielding her from the world. Maybe he sensed something in his sleep and curled her to him.
The dream felt fragmented to her memory, but some images remained:
“Run!” she screamed. “Don't look back!”
She grimaced. No way she would forget that. But what were David and Martha doing with her on a world that seemed alien?
Donna's brows furrowed. She hadn't had one of these dreams in a while, so why now? Why did they all seem to have her calling herself 'the Doctor'?
She still didn't know why she felt hesitant to show David them. She always did when he asked, unable to resist his puppy-eyed look. Come to think of it, why did the images trouble him so much?
A light in the window caught her eye. She looked up and saw what looked like a meteor falling in the sky.
She frowned. Wasn't that one awfully bright and close?
/=/=/=/=/
Rose never took notice of events in the sky before she met David and the Doctor, and she still didn't like having to look for things on the Internet. But now that she was looking for David she felt a need to be on the hunt.
It sounded like the police and the military were on the alert. Something fell from the sky, and a whole part of West London was cordoned off. What caught her attention was that it was rather close to Chiswick.
She had the car since her 'friend' was out of town, so she took it. Who knew what she would find?
She kept that attitude until she had to park a ways from the site. And she couldn't get too close. The cordon was too tight.
But she knew something was up. Mickey was there! The ex-boyfriend her mother had scolded her for letting go of was working on some computer and talking with some older woman and a man in a greatcoat. A good-looking man barking orders to military, police, and people in professional clothing. Something was going on, but tents and other temporary structures hid whatever had fallen from the sky.
She huffed. Mickey being there was proof enough that something alien was going on. Now she had an idea of what he was doing. He wasn't just working for some computer company. He was working with some important group who handled alien matters. Who else could he be dealing with?
She fumed and walked away before he could spot her. He had a knack for telling her mother when she wasn't doing what was expected, and so she avoided him after he had the gall to dump her. That he had witnessed her reaction to David accusing her of flirting with him and being disloyal was something she did not want to think about. It gave her twinges of guilt, and she hated feeling guilty.
She looked around, and blinked as something caught her eye. Four people stood around, trying to keep out of sight of the people Mickey was with. They were talking quietly to each other, but fixed on the cordon that held most watchers' attention.
But what was more striking was that they were surrounded by scarecrows. Rose's eyes widened. Those didn't look like they had been used as decorations for some upcoming event, as out of place as they were. They looked strange even for scarecrows. The hay was purple, which didn't look natural, and the garments looked nothing like anything she saw on the telly or in school books. And the scarecrows were standing on their own.
She wondered if she should leave, but curiosity got the better of her. She slipped closer to learn more.
After all, perhaps they might be a clue to where the Doctor was. If she couldn't have David, she could impress the Doctor with David not being around.
She had to be careful to got close enough to listen to them, and at last she could.
“The Time Lord must be near,” the old man said, his voice stiff and demanding.
“His companions smelled of this time. They are from here,” the woman in a jogging suit declared.
“There are two in that cordon who smell of time travel,” the teenage boy said.
The teenage girl nodded. “It is the same as the Doctor's.”
Rose sucked in a silent breath. They were looking for the Doctor? And what was with their way of speaking and the whole sniffing the air thing?
She wondered if she should approach them, or stay away. But the urge to find an in to see David was too strong. Yet she would be cautious.
“Looking for someone?” she asked, sounding breezy.
They all turned to face her, and sniffed the air. The old man spoke for them. “You carry a faint time travel smell. You are known to the Doctor.”
“Well, not really. I met him twice. Three years ago. But I am looking to talk with someone who might be still known to him.”
“We seek the Time Lord,” said the woman. “She had a Human male and a Human female with her.”
Rose blinked. “But the Doctor is a man.”
The teenagers gave her a 'how stupid are you' look. “He is from a planet imbued with the powers of Time and Space,” they said together. “His people were known to be able to change their bodies to escape death. The gender is part of that shell. We seek the power within that shell.”
Rose stilled. The Doctor was now a woman?! It boggled her mind.
But it also made her decision easier. If the Doctor so alien that he was now a she, then the Doctor was nothing now to her compared with David. Besides, she still wanted a life in this part of London, and David was the better-looking of the two men she met.
“I might know where to find someone who might know how to find the Doctor,” she hinted. Then she pointed warningly at them, hiding her nerves. “But you can't hurt him! He's mine. I just need to get this ginger out of the way so he can see that.”
“A ginger female?” they asked as one, interested.
“Yes.”
“That may be the Doctor. Take us to them.”
She stayed still and played a bluff. “If I do, you'll take the ginger away and leave the man alone? Because you're not getting near me and you're not hurting him! I'll cause trouble for you!”
The Aubertide thought about simply overpowering the girl and trying to take the knowledge from her, but they were uncertain how much attention it would attract. The force surrounding what had been their ship was strong and carried energy weapons. Some might be deadly to them. And as they each already had a body there was no way to occupy hers. No, caution was the order of the day.
“Agreed. Take us to the the Doctor.”
Rose smiled. It worked.
CHAPTER TEN: The Worst Case Scenario
Rating: heavy T, with some M/MA
Author: tkel_paris
Summary: David Noble thought he had come to terms with the strange feelings the female Doctor inspired, and it seemed to be helped by Martha Jones joining them. But when the Aubertide threaten the Doctor, protecting her requires a cover that will test his sanity and his ability to find the right thing to do. Written for tardis_mole.
Required Disclaimer: The summary should be enough to tell you I own nothing.
Dedications: My good friend tardis_mole, for helping me discover my talent at editing and for being an inspiration. You've challenged me to go beyond what I previously thought I would like, and so this is the farthest I've gone from my comfort zone so far. Who knows where I'll go next?
And another important shout-out: sykira, whose LJ post about John Barrowman's comments about how Doctor Who could eventually go was the ultimate spark for this idea. So I suppose that means the ultimate blame for this lies with the Barrowman. I can only imagine what he would think, although I suspect he would heartily approve. :P
Author's Note: Originally spawned from a different idea that split into three, this is a new version of one of those ideas revived as a birthday present. And it's spawned a slightly AU version as a Christmas present. The original prompt from TM boiled down to this: “The Doctor and Donna in a situation that's never been done before.” Ask and ye shall receive, my friend. Enjoy the second sequel. :D A VERY Belated Happy Birthday, TM! :DDD
Special Disclaimer: I refuse to be held responsible for any $2000/₤2000 lattes, spit-takes, fainting spells, workplace/school gaffes, or falling against/from things that might happen if you're not careful while reading this story. Especially in certain chapters. Read at your own risk. (I put this in because I was warned by one of my betas, cassikat, that my emails should come with a spit-take warning. So I'm looking out for y'all. ;D)
And TM, be careful that you don't hyperventilate from reading some of the sections. I know you. :P And so sorry for the delay. At least I have a legitimate excuse for not working on it last year; we had our balrog to work on. :D
Thanks to cassikat and bas_math_girl for betaing. Couldn't have done it without y'all.
Chapter One / Chapter Two / Chapter Three / Chapter Four / Chapter Five / Chapter Six / Chapter Seven / Chapter Eight
Flipped, Book 3
Started July 14, 2013
Finished December 31, 2015
CHAPTER NINE: FUTURE COMPLICATED BEYOND RECOGNITION
“What?! They can tell? So soon?!”
David knew on some level that he was unable to hide his shock, but there was no chance in hell he find the awareness to alter his reactions. How was this possible?!
Making it harder to concentrate, the vision from the second day of the “marriage” came back. Only this time preceded by the image of him and Donna kneeling over two just born babies who were laying on something organic, still covered with traces of where they came from. She looked like she had just given birth.
Donna explained, shaking and yet bubbling over the whole time, “I know! I knew UNIT was some special place, and apparently they have some special scanners that ensure the most accurate readings possible. I'm only six days gone from conception and they could detect it. I fainted because the embryo implanted and started taking nutrition from me. Isn't that amazing, that such a tiny thing could make me keel over fainting?”
His training told him that women were very capable of reacting that way. Not every woman did it, but evidently this Human version of the Doctor could do so.
She continued, barely looking at his face in her excitement. “Oh, I wish that you could get those scanners, but it's a bit top secret right now. Very Star Trek, I thought. And I know you've seen them and signed the Official Secrets Act, but I made sure I could tell you how they knew. Oh, the day those scanners become widely available will be a huge advance in medicine. But never mind that. If all goes well we'll be having a baby in about eight months and a week! Oh. My.! God!”
She flew into his arms, clutching him tightly and squealing.
David held her reflexively, staring at the wall behind her. He was barely breathing and could hardly speak. He had been listening in shock. Pregnant. He had got the humanized Doctor pregnant.
Donna added as she kept holding on to him, “I admit, I'm in so much awe of how things are happening so fast.” She drew back. “I don't want to tell anyone else, just in case anything happens in these early weeks. In fact, we can't actually clear out the room you set aside for the nursery anytime soon, but I'll start making lists of what we will need with space to check off whatever we already have. I think we should wait at least until the first trimester is over before we tell anyone else, assuming I don't have any obvious reactions. Jack was there and he agreed to keep quiet, but he's promised to be there if you need anyone to talk. Did you know he's a dad?”
David blinked, the words not registering until he pieced together the words into meaning. “He is?” He could not recall Jack ever mentioning it.
“Yeah, he said he has a daughter. Sounds like his job has kept him away, and I could see it pained him. Said to tell you congratulations and he'll be praying for a healthy baby for us.”
Jack said that? Did he mean it, or was he covering for his own shock? He would have to wait to learn.
Leaving aside whatever the Doctor would think once she came back, how should he act now? Could this be the dream he was seeing? It wasn't possible that she was carrying the children he saw the other night, was it? Wouldn't that mean he'd have to keep the Doctor caged a while longer to ensure the children made it through to term?
What if he had to do that? Was he going to find it impossible to let Donna go so his friend could live again?
“David, are you all right? You have the same look you had when we visited Nerys, Emily, the twins and little James.”
Her words drew him back into the present moment, and luckily provided him with the prompt for an answer. “Yeah. I was just... thinking about what the baby might look like.”
It was the truth, in a sense. Avoiding telling any outright lies was critical to keeping her from realizing anything was off from the story she had been fed by the TARDIS.
Donna smiled softly. “I hope he or she gets your eyes.”
He managed a tiny smile to hide his emotions. “Why not yours? Wouldn't you have problems if they figured out how to use the puppy-eye look?”
She shrugged. “I'll manage. Somehow. What, you want them to have mine?”
“I'd rather they have your hair,” he admitted, touching hers.
Her eyes softened. “You do?”
“Yes. I've always wanted little ginger-nuts.”
That earned him a kiss and a hug. Which assured that she was distracted from his being distracted.
/=/=/=/=/=
It felt like too long before Jack came by, but it was that same night when he knocked.
David answered the door since Donna was mercifully preoccupied with cooking dinner. “You wasted no time.”
“Thought you needed someone to talk with,” he said, as casual as could be in his tone but guarded in his expression.
“Hello, Jack!” Donna called out from the kitchen. “I don't recall you saying you'd be by.”
“Finished early and decided to check on you both. May I come in?”
David silently motioned him inside, and closed the door after him.
“We have extra if you'd like to dine with us,” said Donna, stepping out to greet Jack with a hug. His care that afternoon had earned her trust. “Unless you have plans, of course.”
He grinned, the trademark charming grin - yet toned down slightly. “I kind of do, but I won't turn down the offer of some free food first. I'm actually here to ask David some questions, but I can't have you overhearing. You lack the clearance, that's all,” he added affably.
“Oh. Okay. I can turn on some music while you talk elsewhere.” As was her habit, she gave David a kiss. The only difference from the first ones was that he was willing to return it for about the same length of time.
A few moments later David led Jack into his office. They could hear the sounds of Duran Duran playing in the kitchen, which allowed David to breathe a little easier. “I'd close the door, but I'd rather know if she's coming this way,” he whispered.
Jack nodded. This would have to be done in quiet tones, even whispers. “Okay. So... how are you?”
David flinched and sat in his computer chair. “I... I've heard of Dad Shock, but I never thought I'd experience it myself. And why the hell didn't I get any warning?!”
“I was worried your reaction would give something away if you knew ahead of time, and the UNIT insisted on talking with me about the implications this could present. Anyway, I thought you wanted to be a father one day.”
“I did. I do. But... how can this be possible? You'd think the TARDIS would've prevented this somehow, to keep this from getting complicated. Besides... what about... the Aubertide?!” he whispered urgently.
Jack's face was pale, but his voice was calm. “Owen scanned her carefully, and aside from telling that she is pregnant and how far along the scanner was maddeningly sparse with information about the pregnancy itself. I think she's wearing something, probably the wedding ring since it has to be the only thing that she never takes off, that's acting like a biodamper and concealing the scent of... Gallifreyan under the Human scent.”
“Really? No trace? Not a hint?”
“None. And I had her endure a few additional tests to be certain. She thought it was all one prolonged scan after the first one.”
David leaned forward and rubbed his face. “It was supposed to only last three months, this hiding her in plain sight, yet I thought I was stuck with the consequences of dealing with people learning that... I wasn't going to stay married. But Donna has been charming the neighbours, making Josh and Ella even more fond of her, and... making me wonder how I'm going to cope with losing her.”
“So you didn't think of any methods of... preventing this?”
David's face tried to match Donna's hair. “Never mind rational thought shutting down when...” He cleared his throat, not willing to say it and yet knowing Jack would need no translation. “She wanted a baby. A condom would've been rejected, not to mention hurt her feelings, and it's... it's unethical to give her medicines to prevent it without her knowing. If the TARDIS didn't give us something to begin with... Anyway, I've pressed the Doctor to let people make their own choices, so I couldn't act for her there.”
Jack nodded. “I agree. But if the TARDIS had taken measures I doubt she would've let her be so eager.” He paused. “Makes you wonder what the Old Girl was thinking.”
“Wait, you don't think she planned this, do you?”
The tone would've been louder if not for the consistent practice David had with controlling his volume over his travels. But the panic was clear.
“I... think there's no way to know until the danger is over,” Jack equivocated. “Anyway. Isn't it possible that things could just be different when... she comes back?”
“But she's pregnant now!” David hissed. “Can the baby survive the transformation?”
Jack's face went ashen. “I... don't know. The only thing I know about the Chameleon Arch is that it changes the memories but leaves the essence of the person alone.”
“Wait... Are you saying...?” David narrowed his eyes. “How can you know anything?”
The question had Jack shifting uncomfortably, but he didn't attempt a lie. “Founding members of Torchwood captured a Time Lord in the 1890s. Never told them who he was, to his credit. I won't say what they did and I'm not proud of knowing about it. Trust me, you don't want to know the details; I had nightmares for months when I found out.”
Both men's faces went pale at the thought, but David asked nothing. He instead waited for Jack to continue.
“So I've had a huge job turning my branch of Torchwood around and influencing the others. But I can tell you that some information about Time Lord technology is in our computers. The Arch is one of them. And yes, I'm saying that... our friend's feelings for you are unchanged since I was traveling with you two.”
David's hands shook, even as they clasped in front of his knees. “But what happens when three months are over? Can we even risk opening the watch?”
“I wish I knew. I... don't like risking a child's life.”
“Then... I may need to leave it closed until the baby's born?”
“I don't know what will happen to her DNA contribution to the baby when she changes back. I think the baby will be fine once born, but... I hate the unknown as much as our friend does. Did. Ugh,” he groaned. “I hate thinking in Gallifreyan; the tenses throw me off and I have time senses. How did you manage to learn to read it so well?”
“Practice,” David muttered as he sagged deeper into the chair. “What the hell am I going to do? It's bad enough having to worry about what'll happen after three months of this. But over eight?! Jack, what if the time comes and goes and I hesitate over whether to open the watch? What if I decide that I can't bare to see... her reaction? What if I feel that I can't open it until I'm an old man and about to die?”
Jack realized he had no answer. His face fell in empathy for him.
/=/=/=/
Rose Tyler was angry. It was a common state of mind for her now.
She had had to get a new job almost immediately after the Doctor and David respectively left her with Mickey. Her mother had threatened to throw her out on the street if she didn't, and Mickey refused to let her live with him, all offended that she had gone for his mentor and that alien instead.
Well, if he could see it from her side, he would've understood! What was he doing for her?! There was nothing to thank him for!
Thanks to having to take the bus and then being forced to take extra classes to get her A-Levels and then being pushed to take the courses to attend college, Rose had not had any fun since she had been dumped by the Doctor and shoved aside by David. Worse, the laws had changed and suddenly she was underage again.
As soon as she was once again of age she started looking to have fun again, but finding a guy she wanted to bed was harder than it used to be. She compared each one to either the Doctor or David. One had seemed so exciting, and the other looked like a fantasy platter for living the high life without any effort from her involved.
Instead she had been dumped by Mickey before she could become legal again, and had no idea where the others were. The Doctor's ship could be anywhere!
To top things off, her mother remarried. One of the boyfriends Rose had dismissed for years proved to be serious, and Howard was determined to be taken seriously by Rose herself. He refused to let her be what he considered disrespectful, and her mother decided to become even stricter. And to add insult to injury her mother had had a baby boy.
That was disgusting to her. Her mum was ancient! Not as as ancient as some, but she was too old to be having kids!
She had no idea where to begin in finding out where the Doctor was, but David ought to be able to be found. And she had looked him up more than once when she could get access to a computer. She now knew where he practiced, but she couldn't find out where he lived. The information was somehow classified, and the librarian had kicked her out lest she get the branch restricted on its computer privileges.
And Mickey was not a source to ask. If anything, he was avoiding her even more in the past two years. Which was the worst thing to happen, rejection upon rejection upon rejection and so on.
No one ignored her. She wouldn't stand for it any longer. She would locate David Noble and make him see she wasn't someone you skipped over. She wanted him and she would have him, make him want her in the end. Then she could make him regret how he treated her back three years ago. And he would help her escape having to help with the little rat her mother called her baby brother.
She started creating moments away from home to start looking for him, which was especially tricky given how strict her mum had become. She had to not let her find out that yet another job had let her go because she tried to get off early to start her searches, or getting others to cover her shifts. She had been borrowing money from some of her mates, and now they were starting to warn her that they expected repayment soon.
If she could get help, she would never have to work again. She'd find either the Doctor or David, and be set for life. Get either to pay off her debts, or - if she found the Doctor - run away from them forever.
She thought she had a lead in LINDA last year, but they soon shut her down after speaking with David's mother - that Ethan bloke seemed particularly frightened by her - and thereafter claimed they now worked for the Doctor. “We're not going to help you,” Mr. Skinner suddenly said as he kicked her out of the meeting. “Not when the Doctor had plainly dismissed your merits as a companion.”
Incensed, she had screamed at them until the threat of calling the bobbies on her made her leave.
She did finally create enough time in her schedule to be able to follow David around. Unfortunately it meant doing things that left a bad taste in her mouth. She did not like the person she had to sleep with in order to get the vehicle to do it with, but she was a woman on a mission and would not let anything stop her. Giving up a little sex was an acceptable price to pay for her future happiness.
She watched his practice every day she could, and was running out of time before her mother caught on to what she was doing. The lack of school work getting done was bound to be noticed, especially because she was skipping classes. Weeks passed like that, and she kept having to leave before she saw him.
She was about to give up when she saw him step out and walk to his car. At last, she thought on a gasp. She thought about getting out to pounce, but thought that she should learn more about him first, show that she belonged in his life. And she had learned enough about driving - also through lessons that she had to sleep for - that she could follow without attracting attention.
If she had stopped to think about how the man who taught her had known the skills, she might have hesitated a moment longer than she did. But that depended on her deciding that she had to give up on her dreams involving David Noble.
Rose wanted to follow closely, but she had been cautioned that if she wanted to follow someone she needed to keep her distance to not attract any notice. And given how alert he had seemed those few moments she was in his company she had to be very careful. At least until she could reveal herself.
He unknowingly led her to an area she had never been to before. The map on the man's phone he gave her (which she claimed a friend loaned her for schoolwork) said she was in Chiswick. She frowned at looking at the homes. This was how people in his life status lived? She had to become part of it, to escape her dull and boring Estate life.
When she saw him park she made a point of passing by without slowing down. Again, needed to not attract attention right away. She used the map feature on the phone to help her turn around and make a second pass, this time parking a little ways away.
She took in the outside. He took care of it, but she supposed she knew nothing about houses. All she knew was that this was an enormous step up from what she had, and she wanted in on it bad.
Something in the back caught her attention, just barely noticeable over the fence. She strained to look and noticed that it looked like the light on the top of the TARDIS. So the Doctor had come back to visit David? She scowled, miffed.
After a while she saw him stepping outside again, but he wasn't alone. In his company was a ginger woman she thought looked around her mother's age. Rose scowled. What was she doing there? Who was she to him?
The woman raised her left hand to push some hair out of her face, and the sunlight created a glint that caught Rose's eye. Even at her distance she could tell it was a wedding ring.
She sucked in a breath as the sun caught a similar light on his left hand as he held the door open for the woman.
Rose fumed while he got in. Married?! How could he? He belonged with her, not this ginger who had to have trapped him somehow. For how could anyone want her?! Who wanted a ginger with that much extra on her body, and who was so old?!
Someone knocked on her window. She jumped in her seat and looked up. A woman old enough to be her grandmother stood there, frowning. The lady motioned for her to roll down her window.
When Rose did the lady spoke, gently but firmly. “If you're here to just watch the area, you can leave now. If you're here to stalk someone I'll be reporting you to the police.”
“What?! No, I'm just-”
“You've been parked here for over thirty minutes. I saw you watching one home, and I saw how you looked at my neighbour and his wife. Leave now, and all I'll do is warn them about you. And don't think you can deny it. My grandson's inside and took a picture. His mother over there just wrote your number down, along with the car's details. If we see you here again the police will be escorting you away.”
Rose panicked and turned on the engine, hurrying away.
David and Donna looked up as they heard a car speeding away. Donna scoffed. “Typical teenager! No care for the rest of us! Our children will never be like that.”
He blinked. “Yeah.”
But his senses were on the alert. Better report that to Jack, he thought. Just in case.
/=/=/=/=/
That night, Donna woke suddenly with a gasp.
She blinked, reorienting herself. More fodder for her dream book, and somehow she didn't wake David this time.
Which was more impressive given that he was wrapped around her, holding her tightly against him like he was shielding her from the world. Maybe he sensed something in his sleep and curled her to him.
The dream felt fragmented to her memory, but some images remained:
“Run!” she screamed. “Don't look back!”
She grimaced. No way she would forget that. But what were David and Martha doing with her on a world that seemed alien?
Donna's brows furrowed. She hadn't had one of these dreams in a while, so why now? Why did they all seem to have her calling herself 'the Doctor'?
She still didn't know why she felt hesitant to show David them. She always did when he asked, unable to resist his puppy-eyed look. Come to think of it, why did the images trouble him so much?
A light in the window caught her eye. She looked up and saw what looked like a meteor falling in the sky.
She frowned. Wasn't that one awfully bright and close?
/=/=/=/=/
Rose never took notice of events in the sky before she met David and the Doctor, and she still didn't like having to look for things on the Internet. But now that she was looking for David she felt a need to be on the hunt.
It sounded like the police and the military were on the alert. Something fell from the sky, and a whole part of West London was cordoned off. What caught her attention was that it was rather close to Chiswick.
She had the car since her 'friend' was out of town, so she took it. Who knew what she would find?
She kept that attitude until she had to park a ways from the site. And she couldn't get too close. The cordon was too tight.
But she knew something was up. Mickey was there! The ex-boyfriend her mother had scolded her for letting go of was working on some computer and talking with some older woman and a man in a greatcoat. A good-looking man barking orders to military, police, and people in professional clothing. Something was going on, but tents and other temporary structures hid whatever had fallen from the sky.
She huffed. Mickey being there was proof enough that something alien was going on. Now she had an idea of what he was doing. He wasn't just working for some computer company. He was working with some important group who handled alien matters. Who else could he be dealing with?
She fumed and walked away before he could spot her. He had a knack for telling her mother when she wasn't doing what was expected, and so she avoided him after he had the gall to dump her. That he had witnessed her reaction to David accusing her of flirting with him and being disloyal was something she did not want to think about. It gave her twinges of guilt, and she hated feeling guilty.
She looked around, and blinked as something caught her eye. Four people stood around, trying to keep out of sight of the people Mickey was with. They were talking quietly to each other, but fixed on the cordon that held most watchers' attention.
But what was more striking was that they were surrounded by scarecrows. Rose's eyes widened. Those didn't look like they had been used as decorations for some upcoming event, as out of place as they were. They looked strange even for scarecrows. The hay was purple, which didn't look natural, and the garments looked nothing like anything she saw on the telly or in school books. And the scarecrows were standing on their own.
She wondered if she should leave, but curiosity got the better of her. She slipped closer to learn more.
After all, perhaps they might be a clue to where the Doctor was. If she couldn't have David, she could impress the Doctor with David not being around.
She had to be careful to got close enough to listen to them, and at last she could.
“The Time Lord must be near,” the old man said, his voice stiff and demanding.
“His companions smelled of this time. They are from here,” the woman in a jogging suit declared.
“There are two in that cordon who smell of time travel,” the teenage boy said.
The teenage girl nodded. “It is the same as the Doctor's.”
Rose sucked in a silent breath. They were looking for the Doctor? And what was with their way of speaking and the whole sniffing the air thing?
She wondered if she should approach them, or stay away. But the urge to find an in to see David was too strong. Yet she would be cautious.
“Looking for someone?” she asked, sounding breezy.
They all turned to face her, and sniffed the air. The old man spoke for them. “You carry a faint time travel smell. You are known to the Doctor.”
“Well, not really. I met him twice. Three years ago. But I am looking to talk with someone who might be still known to him.”
“We seek the Time Lord,” said the woman. “She had a Human male and a Human female with her.”
Rose blinked. “But the Doctor is a man.”
The teenagers gave her a 'how stupid are you' look. “He is from a planet imbued with the powers of Time and Space,” they said together. “His people were known to be able to change their bodies to escape death. The gender is part of that shell. We seek the power within that shell.”
Rose stilled. The Doctor was now a woman?! It boggled her mind.
But it also made her decision easier. If the Doctor so alien that he was now a she, then the Doctor was nothing now to her compared with David. Besides, she still wanted a life in this part of London, and David was the better-looking of the two men she met.
“I might know where to find someone who might know how to find the Doctor,” she hinted. Then she pointed warningly at them, hiding her nerves. “But you can't hurt him! He's mine. I just need to get this ginger out of the way so he can see that.”
“A ginger female?” they asked as one, interested.
“Yes.”
“That may be the Doctor. Take us to them.”
She stayed still and played a bluff. “If I do, you'll take the ginger away and leave the man alone? Because you're not getting near me and you're not hurting him! I'll cause trouble for you!”
The Aubertide thought about simply overpowering the girl and trying to take the knowledge from her, but they were uncertain how much attention it would attract. The force surrounding what had been their ship was strong and carried energy weapons. Some might be deadly to them. And as they each already had a body there was no way to occupy hers. No, caution was the order of the day.
“Agreed. Take us to the the Doctor.”
Rose smiled. It worked.
CHAPTER TEN: The Worst Case Scenario