Doctor Who Fic-"So Warped"
Jun. 17th, 2006 03:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walkwithheroesAuthor:
walkwithheroesRated: PG
Timeline: Au, post S2. No finale spoilers. Just written because.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Doctor or Rose or Jackie or Sarah-Jane.
Pairings: Rose/Ten, Rose/OC, slight hints at Ten/companions, yes all of them.
Thanks to
sarah_120 ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
sarah_120for beta'ing.Rose Tyler left the Doctor on her twenty-first Christmas.
She thought it would be much harder on her than it was. It was like leaving a great love. It was hard and sorrowful, but with no regrets. Rose wasn’t sorry she met the Doctor. She wasn’t sorry that she loved him. She wasn’t sorry that she left him. And so with no regrets she went.
Rose simply left, spent the day with her mother, and went to see Sarah-Jane Smith the following day. Humans bounce back. Rose Tyler was no different.
The Doctor was a different story all together. He loved his Rose. Maybe he had loved all his companions and maybe that was the problem. He needed them all to love him, needed them all to need him, and when they no longer did... Well, it just made him feel a little useless. It was the same with Rose, only worse, because he hadn’t just loved her, he had been in love with her.
He had promised to visit of course, but after the thirtieth good-bye, after Jackie told him his Rose had a new boyfriend, it was just too hard and he stopped visiting that decade all together.
To bounce back, to prove that he didn’t need Rose Tyler, the Doctor had quickly picked up a new travelling companion. Her name had been Emily-Claire Grant. She had been twenty-three, blond, peppy, unusually smart for a human from 2014. She had loved the travelling and the Doctor had liked her well enough; even if she did get into more trouble then any of his other companions had.
Emily-Claire had once remarked that travelling with the Doctor was like: "Travelling with a favourite drunken uncle or maybe a crazed cousin. Loads of laughs, but nothing lasting or romantic in it." She had added, "It couldn’t and shouldn‘t last, anyhow." It hadn’t lasted. The Doctor had left her one day, standing in the middle of her old street. He had had dangerous villains to fight and he didn’t need Emily-Claire getting in the way.
After the great and dangerous villains were defeated, the Doctor had gone back to 2014 to look for Emily-Claire. Instead he had found Jackie Tyler and the two had taken a spot of tea and some chips. Jackie had promised that she wouldn’t tell Rose that the Doctor was there, but she had told the Doctor what Rose was up to. Rose, his Rose, had gone and gotten herself married. She had gone and had twin boys. She had gone all domestic.
He had thought about going to find Emily-Claire, but decided against it. In fact the Doctor had decided that women were no longer good travelling companions and that the TARDIS was from now on a woman free zone.
After that decision, the Doctor had picked up twins. Daniel and Andrew, two slackers from 25th century Earth. They had turned the TARDIS into their own frat house. Clothes and food everywhere, lots of messing about with things they didn’t understand. They had even used the TARDIS to try and pick up girls! The Doctor grew tired of their antics rather quickly and had tossed them out ten miles from their flat back on Earth.
Feeling depressed, the Doctor had travelled back to Earth in 2017, in the hope of finding Rose divorced and waiting. Instead, he had gone to Jackie’s and found pictures of a newborn baby girl. Rose, his Rose, was happily married with a job and three kids. It was enough to make the Doctor briefly consider going back ten years, kidnapping Rose, and forcing her to stay with him forever.
Humans were the ones that grew attached, they were the ones that couldn’t get over him. It wasn’t supposed to be the other way around.
The Doctor swore off companions altogether after his visit to Jackie in 2017. The only problem was, companions hadn’t sworn the Doctor off altogether at all.
________________________________________________
Her name was Tess, she was eighteen, and she was an odd little mix of Sarah-Jane, Captain Jack, and Rose, all rolled into one. She was all questions and strength, all charm and intelligence, all loyalty and humour. She made him believe that humans weren’t just stupid apes, much as Rose had done once upon a time.
_______________________________________________
The Doctor met Tess in the streets of London. She had literally run into him, as he was locking the TARDIS. The girl had smiled widely at the Doctor and said one word, just one word. "Run."
She’d pushed him forward and then into an alleyway. It turned out that a local gang was chasing her, a local gang that just happened to be aliens. The Doctor, along with a little help from Tess, ended up solving the local problem in a few hours. Afterwards, Tess had taken him back to her place, a tiny council flat, which she shared with her often absent father, Michael.
"Dad used to travel the world, he wrote books about all the different places." Tess had told the Doctor with a little sigh. "Had to give it up after I was born. Still, he does love to take a ‘world walk’ once in a while."
"Would you like to do that? Explore the world. Explore the universe, the whole of creation." The words had been out of the Doctor’s mouth before he had even known what he was saying. Had he really just asked her to join him?
"Yeah, cause you’ve got a space ship hidden somewhere." Tess had laughed.
"Actually, it’s called a TARDIS." Tess had raised an eyebrow.
"It’s my ship. You could come, if you like. Travel through space and time."
"I…are you completely mad?" She had moved toward the kitchen, seemingly planning to lock herself inside and away from the Doctor. Tess had given the Doctor a hard look. "You’re serious, aren’t you?" She had swallowed hard. "Alright, let’s have a go at it, Doctor. By the way, it is just Doctor? Doctor Who?"
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The Doctor brought Tess to 300,000 first. They took a grand caper on a planet with strange aliens and a small percent of actual humans. The Doctor was reckless, rude, and all together not all that wonderful of travelling companion. Tess was awed, but quiet and thoughtful. It occurred to Tess that the Doctor was different then he had been on Earth.
Over the next few days, Tess and the Doctor had their fair share of adventures. Over the same few days Tess took note of two things: the Doctor always pushed her away when she got too close and he appeared to be so very broken.
__________________________________________________________
Tess glanced over her menu, bored with it, and the idea that she could read French, even though she had never taken it in school. "Doctor? May I ask you a question?"
He glanced up from his menu and gave her a bright smile.
"Why have you never just gone back in time and fixed the mistake that’s made you so sad?"
He gave her a hard look. "That‘s not for you to worry about, Tess."
_____________________________________________________
After that it just became different for the two of them. Before they had got along all right, but after she had asked him her question the Doctor became even more distant. There were lectures. There were threats of leaving or being left. There were shouting matches in streets throughout the universe.
Tess wanted to leave, but knew that the Doctor needed someone to scream at; needed someone to look after him. The Doctor wanted Tess gone, but he also wanted someone to share things with, someone to take his grief out on.
____________________________________________________
"It’s been forever, just let her go!" The two of them were in the middle of the TARDIS, neither one totally sure how this fight had started.
"You don’t understand." The Doctor’s voice was hard, calm, maybe even a bit eerie. "I suggest you stop this right now."
"Stop? Don’t be an ass, Doctor! All someone would have to say is that you can have Rose back, and you‘d get rid of me in a second." Her face tightened. "You’d let me die, if you could get her back. You’d let the universe die, if you could have Rose back. Just admit it!"
"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU‘RE TALKING ABOUT." His teeth were clenched, and he was giving her that hard look that he always gave his enemies. "I LOVED HER AND SHE LEFT ME. She went back to Earth, had a normal life and died."
"Everybody leaves! Everybody leaves and everybody dies. And you aren’t the only person who’s lost someone!" Tess paused, slightly shocked that she had gone that far.
The Doctor swallowed. He’d forgotten that he wasn’t alone in his feelings. He’d forgotten that he wasn’t alone. "Tess..."
She ignored him, and waving her hands dismissively stalked off to her room "Just go visit it!" was her parting comment.
________________________________________________________________
It was raining when the Doctor stepped into the cemetery, he couldn‘t help but think how fitting it was. Rose was buried beside her parents, in a corner of the cemetery that was surrounded by flowers. The Doctor thought that it was fitting for Rose to spend the rest of Earth’s history surrounded by flowers.
He placed his brown coat on the wet grass and sat down in front of Rose’s head stone.
"You see, Jackie, I promised Rose would always end up with you." He sniffed lightly, feeling all too silly and all too human. "I’m sorry I couldn’t save you from age. I’m sorry I didn’t turn up on your wedding day and force you into the TARDIS. I’m sorry for a lot of things, Rose. I’m so sorry." The Doctor reached out and touched Rose’s head stone, stroking it lovingly. "Rose Marion Tyler-Hartnell, wife, mother of three, grandmother of five, detective, hero. Only human I ever really…well, you know." He smiled softly. "I’m so glad I met you."
________________________________________________________
The Doctor stayed with Rose the rest of the night; when Tess found him he was crawled up by Rose’s head stone and soaked. She shook her head, gave him a hand, and took him back to her flat for some tea and cake.
"Dad’s not here. Haven‘t the foggiest where he is, actually." Tess told the Doctor as she placed a cup of tea in front of him. "I rang up some of my mates, and they invited me out tonight. You can come if you want to. Or you can leave with the TARDIS." She tried to make the last sentence sound as natural and cool as possible. The Doctor saw right through it.
He glanced up from his tea and gave Tess a confused look. "Do you want me to leave?"
"No! I just thought you might not want me anymore. I mean, we’ve hardly gotten along these last few weeks. And I may have been travelling with you for a while, but its not as if we haven’t have our problems." Tess looked nervously away from him. "You do tend to push me away, Doctor. You could go about your way. Don‘t need me anymore, do you?"
The Doctor considered that for a brief moment. He had used her to take his grief out on someone. Yet, she had stuck around longer then anyone had after Rose. Tess had been the only one to try and get through to him.
"Tess, where would you like to go? Pick the time and the place and we’ll go. Anywhere and everywhere." He gave her a wink. "Promise it’ll be lots of fun." Tess couldn’t stop the huge grin from spreading across her face.
"Fantastic!" Reaching out, Tess took his hand. "I know just the place."
_____________________________________________________________
Tess brought the Doctor to the street outside a church. The Doctor remembered the church as the place where he and Rose had been trapped after she had saved her father from the car all those years ago. He started toward the church, but Tess grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. Shaking her head, she told him.
"That’s the church where Rose Tyler married Christopher Hartnell. If I’m right, they’ll be walking out of the church in a couple of minutes." She stared deeply into his eyes for a moment. "You could go up to her…if you want to. You could simply say hello to her and you’d charm her. She’d go with you and stay with you. You and Rose could be together, if you just go up to her as she walks out of the church with Christopher."
The words echoed in his ears. He could have his Rose back. They could go off. He’d have Rose and he wouldn’t have to miss her so much. Of course, that meant everything would change: no Peter, Michael, and Jaclyn. No Smith and Tyler Detective Agency. No five grandchildren. No Tess Hartnell.
Tess for Rose.
The wooden church doors opened and Rose and Christopher came rushing out, Sarah-Jane and Jackie behind them, along with a dozen other wedding guests. Christopher and Rose shared a kiss, as a car came driving up to meet them.
Tess for Rose.
All that the Doctor had to do was run over to Rose. He could charm her, tell her what he had never actually told her. All he had to say was: "I love you, Rose Tyler." and she’d go back to the TARDIS with him. Simple.
The Doctor glanced over to Tess, who was calmly standing beside him, watching her grandmother and grandfather with tears in her eyes.
"I’m sorry. So sorry." The Doctor told her in a whisper. He took a step forward. "I..."
Rose kissed Jackie’s cheek, before climbing into the car. Christopher gave his own parents hugs, before following suit.
The Doctor remembered all the stories Jackie had, would, tell him about Rose and Christopher’s life together. Their first flat, Christopher’s job teaching history, their famous yearly vacations, their brilliant children.
Peter would follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and become a scientist and inventor. Michael would travel across the world, writing books and having all kinds of adventures. Jaclyn would become a detective.
Then there would be their children, Rose’s grand children. Peter’s boys: Pete and Joseph, one studying to be a doctor, the other studying to be a scientist. Jaclyn’s children: Chris and Shirley; Chris an officer of the law and Shirley, hoping to be a journalist. And Michael’s Tess. Tess who would do amazing well on her A-levels, but wouldn’t, hadn’t, gone to university due to her own grief. Tess who put aside her lost, to take care of a daft and angry old man called the Doctor.
Tess for Rose.
"I can’t." The Doctor moved back onto the sidewalk. "Rose deservers to have a good life. Rose deservers everything. You deserve to be born." He offered Tess his hand. "Thank you, for making me say goodbye and for making me see her one last time. She really was happy."
Tess took the Doctor’s hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. "Yeah, she really was."
The two shared a sad smile, before turning away from the wedding. As the car with Christopher and Rose drove away, the Doctor and Tess headed back to the TARDIS. If anyone could have heard them, they would have heard the Doctor say: "How about we head to Barcelona? They’ve got dogs there with no noses. You’d be surprised how often you can tell that joke without it getting old."
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no subject
Date: 2006-06-17 09:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-17 09:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-17 09:13 pm (UTC)Love.
It.
IT wins at life.
Thank you.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-17 09:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-17 09:23 pm (UTC)Tess was a nice charecter and the last line was sweet and made me giggle.
Good job.
x
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Date: 2006-06-19 12:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-17 09:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-19 12:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-18 02:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-19 12:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-18 06:16 pm (UTC)(did you name Christopher Hartnell after Nine and One? <3)
no subject
Date: 2006-06-19 12:24 am (UTC)Yes, yes I did! I'm so glad someone noticed. I honestly thought no one would.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-18 11:57 pm (UTC)I wonder if Rose ever told her grand-daughter about the Doctor?
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Date: 2006-06-19 12:27 am (UTC)I don't know. Maybe she did or maybe she didn't. I guess I kind of left it up to the reader. Though, from the way it came out, I would say that Rose didn't tell Tess about the Doctor or she did, but she didn't go into the alien part.
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Date: 2006-06-19 12:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-19 04:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-22 09:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-22 10:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 03:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 04:07 am (UTC)The Doctor, to me, loves Rose and he would seriously think about going back for her. That's a given. It was more about the Doctor doing the right thing for everyone and less about making himself happy.
With all the news about everything, I just had to write a Rose goes fic. And, I'm glad you read and enjoyed it.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-08 02:02 pm (UTC)I liked the style and flow of the writing - it works really well - thank you for sharing.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-08 10:42 pm (UTC)Glad you enjoyed it-thank you for reading.
I liked the style and flow of the writing - it works really well - thank you for sharing.
Thanks, it was fun to write.
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Date: 2006-07-18 12:48 am (UTC)Loved them. Please write more.
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Date: 2006-07-18 12:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-18 01:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-18 01:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-18 01:55 am (UTC)