Doctor Who Fic-"Alternates" (4/?)

[walkwithheroes]

Title: Alternates (4/?)
Author: walkwithheroes
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Up to "Doomsday"
Word Count: 3781
Disclaimer: The Doctor, Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, Jack Harkness, Jackie and Pete Tyler, Torchwood, etc, aren’t owned by me. The third narrative's dialog is taken directly (or pretty much directly) from the S1 and S2 Doctor Who trailers. I did not write those trailers, therefore the words in them are not mine.
Pairings: Ten/Rose, Eleven/Tess. Hints at others.
A/N: Another post-Doomsday fic. The Doctor discovers millions of rips in time. Millions of rips that have caused several alternate time-lines to run into one another, something that could cause the end of all things. The italic bits are ‘spoken’ by two different people, ala Rose’s narration in ‘Doomsday’. Each companion will get a small narration, okay. This was a one chapter 8337 story, but had to be split into three, as it was too big. Thanks to my beta, nemesis_cry who helps more then she knows. 

I knew a man once. History will never remember him; though that is the way he would have wanted it. The important thing is that I remember him. He was a man with a traveling machine, who could change his face. He was simply called ‘The Doctor’. And one day, with a grin and a wink, he saved the whole of existence.

_________________________________________________________________
Earth, this is where I was born. This is where I died.

Once upon a time, I met a man called the Doctor. A man who laughed in the face of danger; a man who wasn’t a man; a man who took me away in his magic box. He showed me the whole of space and time. I thought it would last forever. But, then came the rips in time, the armies, the Torchwoods, and war on Earth.

This is a story of how the Doctor saved the universe. This is the story of how I died. 
__________________________________________________________________________________

Do you wanta come wit' us?

Think you've seen it all?

'Cause if you do, we should warn you.

You should think again.

You're goin' t'see all sorts of things.

Once we step outside those doors, we might see anything.

Ghost from the past.

Terrifying monsters.

Aliens from the future.

Impossible things.

The day our home world died in balls of flames.

We'll find new worlds.

It won't be quiet, it won't be safe, and it won't be calm. But, I'll tell you what it will be.

It'll never be the same again.

The trip of a lifetime.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Leven sat nervously in her chair in front of the Doctor, who was sitting beside her. Somehow, everything had gone so very wrong and all she wanted was to go home to her mother and stepfather. She kept her hands politely in her lap and wondered why she couldn't just be brave like the Doctor.

"Leven?" She glanced at him through her blonde hair.

"You're going to be all right." He looked determined and stern. He only ever looked that way when someone was in trouble. "I'm going to take care of this, I promise." He gently, cautiously, reached out and put his hand on hers. The Doctor caught her eye. "Nobody's takin' you away from me."

In their two months together, the Doctor had touched Leven a grand total of four times: the first time they met he had taken her hand, they had hugged when he had saved the world from invading aliens, Leven had touched his face after being shot by a laser, and finally, in the aftermath of their last adventure, when the Doctor had carried her limp and nearly dead body in his arms.

Now, he was touching her hand. They weren't running, they hadn't saved Earth, and neither was Leven about to die. It was comfort, intimate comfort. The Doctor reached out to her, cupping a hand around her face. Leven met the Doctor's eyes. Their gazes didn't falter, even though they both knew they should look away.

"I'm sorry." Leven told him sincerely. The Doctor raised a questioning eyebrow. "I shouldn't have made you...I should have..." she let out a small and bitter laugh. "I just feel as if I should have done something to stop this."

The Doctor stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Come now! 'Member the time you saved me from the balls of flame on Nurlitic? That was...you were brilliant there." He smiled softly. "I think you're lovely. And I'll hear no more about this being your fault."

Leven's lips curled into a soft smile. "And it is not your fault either, Doctor."

"No?" The Doctor whispered. Leven looked away from him, her eyes moving toward the door, the walls, anywhere but at her Doctor. "No. Just wrong place, wrong time. It's never my fault." He chuckled low in his throat. "I'm so glad I met you."

Looking into Leven's eyes, the Doctor was reminded of why he had picked her. She was sweet, naive, maybe even a bit needy. She needed him in ways no one had in hundreds of years, and that alone made her a perfect last companion. He'd stay with her, show her the whole universe, then he'd regenerate and become a whole new man. But, it'd be alright. Leven would stay with him and together they'd grow old and die. The Doctor had already decided that, he'd decided that the day he met Leven.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor blinked, smiled cheerfully, and let his hand slip from Leven's face.

"You went away for a moment."

"Only for a moment. Always just for a moment." He put both his hands on hers and their gazes simultaneously fell on that point of physical contact, before catching each others' eye. "We're going to be fine." The Doctor told her firmly. "I was away, thinking of a plan."

There was a rather long pause.

"And?" Leven pressed. "The plan, Doctor. What is it?"

He laughed. "No idea." The mousy-haired Doctor shrugged. "Guess it didn't work, yeah?" His lips curled into a smile.

Despite her fear, Leven returned the act. "I suppose not." She paused in thought for a moment. "Though, I do suppose they need us, want us even. I don't suppose they'll try and harm us. I think...I think they're just a bit confused."

The Doctor laughed again. "Aren't we all? But these people, they actually think I'm not the Doctor. That's insane!" He let out an exasperated sigh, as he stood from his seat. "Damn apes can never just let it be." Angrily kicking the table, he let out a noise the sort of noise a frustrated cat might sooner make than an alien several centuries old.

From her chair, Leven forced herself not to jump. She didn't like it when the Doctor got angry; he became a wholly different person, a person she didn't fully trust. Once, shortly after they had met, the Doctor had looked deeply into her eyes and told her: "I'm so old and I used to have so much mercy. That's not the kind of man I am anymore, Leven."

The Doctor turned back to Leven. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed again, although now he seemed to have calmed himself down a bit. "Sorry." Leven offered him a small grin. "You all right?"

"'Peachy." The young woman stood from her chair to join her Doctor by the table. Feeling bold, feeling the need to be close to – calm – the agitated Doctor, Leven reached out and touched his right arm. "Everything will come up daisies."

He nodded. "Right." Sweetly, he leaned into her and gave Leven a light kiss on the forehead. "Everything..."

"Is not right." Both the Doctor and Leven turned to the door, where Mickey Smith had just come through. He was smiling smugly, looking as though he had just won the lottery. "'Cause you aren't the Doctor, mate." Mickey nodded to the chairs. "Have a seat and let's get to the bottom of this."

Leven's Doctor gave her a little nod. She hurried off to gather their chairs and bring them to the table. A moment later they were seated, Mickey on one side of the table, Leven and her Doctor on the other.

"Now," Mickey began, trying to sound mature and in charge. He took a tape recorder out of his jacket and turned it on. "Could you two please state your full names and where you're from? For the record."

Leven exchanged an amused look with her Doctor. "It's like being on telly, isn't it?"

Mickey rolled his eyes. Leven blushed slightly. "Sorry. Just reminds me of all the copper shows, is all."

"Names and where you two are from." Mickey pressed, tapping on the table to emphasize his demand.

Leaning toward the tape recorder, Leven answered clearly: "Leven Ann Campbell. Born and raised in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, British Empire."

Mickey raised an eyebrow. "There's no British Empire."

The girl looked slightly confused. "Yes, there is." Mickey shook his head. "I think I know where I'm from, sir!"

"Okay, okay." Mickey held a hand up in defense. "I'll let that go." He turned his attention to the so-called 'Doctor'. "What about you?"

"I'm the Doctor." He smiled darkly. "And you've upset my friend. Don't do it again."

Mickey chose to ignore the thinly veiled threat. "Doctor Who?"

The Doctor nodded. "Right."

"What?"

"Right, he's the Doctor." Leven filled in helpfully.

Mickey rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. You're lying, the both of you. 'Cause, the Doctor, the real Doctor is here. Downstairs, with Rose - his real traveling companion."

Leven suddenly looked as if she might cry. "That's not true!" She looked to her Doctor for support. "You're the real one, aren't you? There's been a mistake." Leven turned back to Mickey. "There's been an awful mistake." Tears began to form in her crystal blue eyes. "Oh...this is just...oh..."

Mickey hated it when girls cried, especially blonde ones. It made him uncomfortable and uneasy. "Now. . ." It also didn't help that one of the other Doctors was glaring at him. Hell, the other Doctor looked as if he wanted to kill Mickey.

"Leven, don't." The Doctor began stroking her hair. He gently guided her head to his shoulder, soothing her. "Don't pay any mind to the idiot ape."

"Oi, no need for name callin'!" Mickey nervously cleared his throat. With Leven's head firmly against his shoulder, the man calling himself 'Doctor' stroked Leven's hair as she unsuccessfully struggled to hold back a deluge of tears. Both seemed to be ignoring Mickey. "Alright, say you are the Doctor. Say she's from the British Empire. Say it's true. What year are you from? How'd you get here? Anything you'd like to share?"

"No." Or at least it sounded like 'no' through Leven's sniffles.

"2009. In the TARDIS. This is, by far, my worst day ever," the Doctor answered in a mock-cheerful tone.

Mickey sighed heavily. "You're telling me."

The Doctor sighed again, this time in frustration. "I've faced Cybermen, Daleks, her mother," he nudged Leven off his shoulder. "her stepfather, Alex Moore, yet you and your fellow Torchwood apes are giving me the most trouble." The Doctor shook his head slightly. "At this point, I'd rather Harriet and Mr. Jones, along with cousin Alex."

"Hey, don't speak ill of Mummy, even if you are upset!" Leven scowled.

Meanwhile, Mickey's mouth was slightly agape. "Harriet Jones is your mother?" He felt a laugh leave him. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! And. . . I thought you said you were a Campbell?"

"It's not stupid! I am! She remarried Mr. Jones seventeen years ago." Leven nodded to herself. "And... and you're an arse!"

The Doctor laughed; Mickey looked embarrassed. Leven folded her arms over her chest, apparently ready to sulk.

Giving Leven a once over, Mickey decided that she couldn't be older than eighteen, nineteen at the most. "Wait, you call your stepfather 'Mr. Jones', even though he's been married to your mum for seventeen years?"

Leven looked momentarily confused. "Well, what else would I call him? Everyone calls him that, even Mummy. Even the bookstore is called 'Mr. Jones'."

"Harriet Jones works in a bookstore?" Mickey could hardly believe that.

"Oh, you'd think she was the Queen the way. . ." The Doctor trailed off, shook his head, and then cleared his throat. "Wait, rewind, we're getting off topic." He made a 'rewinding' motion with his hands to further his point. "Are there..." he let his voice drop to a dangerous whisper as he leaned toward the table, "rips in space?" The mousy haired Doctor let out a joyous laugh. "Have we fallen into another timeline, dimension, whatever?"

"Ye---"

Mickey was cut off by the Doctor, was had sudden gone dark, again. "And two Doctors in one place, that's never good. Look, Mickey, I think we should met your Doctor and anyone else of importance. Because, two Doctors, rips in the fabric of the universe, that all spells trouble."

Mickey swallowed and spoke before he could rethink possibly disclosing classified information to possible alien prisoners. "What does four Doctors, broken TARDIES, rips in the fabric of the universe, and a possible opening to the Void spell then?"

The Doctor looked briefly at Leven, before giving Mickey a dark and foreboding look. "The end of all things."

Sharing a look with Leven, Mickey muttered unhappily. "I was afraid you'd say that."
______________________________________________________________________________

"How is it? Am I devilishly handsome? Are you depressively trying not to jump me for a shag?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Tess looked her Doctor up and down before shrugging nonchalantly. "Meh. You kind of look like a middle aged man going through his crisis. Jeans, converse sneakers, vintage rock band tee? And you shaved, but left a bit of stubble. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if you bought a car shaped like a penis after this little adventure."

He frowned lightly. "Are you trying to say something, Tess?" The Doctor paused in thought for a moment. "Perhaps I should find a new and younger companion. Yes," he nodded to himself. "I think I shall find a new companion; twenty-three may be a bit old for me now."

Tess put her hands on her hips and bit her lower lip. "I see. Well, you can just bring me home and I'll probably end up marrying Brain Morgan from Nickey's shop." She gave him a pointed look, knowing full well that the Doctor would react.

The Doctor chuckled under his breath as he flopped down into one of the chairs. "Yeah? Good luck with that, lovely love." He put his feet up on the table, trying to act as casual as possible.

He was a new man, and he wasn't about to show his jealously. It wouldn't be like it had been in his last two bodies; he was not going to get all sulky when Tess gave out false threats or when she talked about how attractive she found other men.

Letting out a little sigh, Tess let her hands fall from her hips. "No good?" The Doctor shook his head. "It's alright. I like you scruffy."

"So..." The scruffy Doctor began slowly. "You do like the new me? New new new Doctor is..." he trailed off, letting it hang in the air.

Tess grinned cheekily. "A bit of a pervert, actually." The pair exchanged a flirtatious smile. "I do like the new you, even if the tongue thing is gone." She paused in thought for a moment. "Is it gone?" She asked sadly.

"Maybe." The Doctor shrugged lightly. "Haven't figured out what kind of man I am yet. Am I interesting or boring? Am I a hero or coward? Am I intelligent or an idiot? Do I enjoy polo, football, ballet?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Mm? Am I really a pervert or just kinky? Am I a jelly babies kind of man or do I prefer fruit?"

Tess felt her lips forming a teasing smile. "Do you still get drunk much too easily or can you hold your liquor now?"

The Doctor let his feet fall off the table with a small thud. "I think I could take your old dad on in the drinking department." He paused. Looking at Tess he was reminded of his last four years. Four years, three bodies, other companions, but always Tess. Pretty little Tess, who could have been somebody, but who chose to look after an angry old Doctor instead.

For a brief moment the Doctor wondered just when Tess had fallen for him and just when he had fallen for her. A silly smile slowly crept up to his face; he did remember the first time they acted on it, though. Now, that had been an interesting day.

"Doctor!"

The Doctor shook his head, trying to clear it of his somewhat dirty thoughts. He glanced up to find Tess' brilliant brown eyes glaring at him, her hands back on her hips. "What?"

"I asked you a question. Have you got a plan to get us out of this?" The Doctor only shrugged. Tess sighed sadly. "If we're late, you'll be explaining why to my dad."

"The TARDIS can travel through time, we'll be there for Michael's birthday. And if not, you'll just tell your dad you got sick and then you can start crying." The Doctor played with the hem of his vintage tee's sleeve. He was starting to get angry with all of this nonsense. "Look, we'll save the day and I promise we won't miss your dad's big day."

Having brightened up at her Doctor's promise, Tess made her way to sit beside him. "We'll be fine, yeah? We've survived worse and these Torchwood people probably just want to talk to us. Then, they can help fix the TARDIS." She reached out and put her hand on his. "We can beat anything because you're the Doctor and I'm Tess." She frowned softly. "Or, what was that word? The thing those aliens kept calling me?"

A dark look crossed the Doctor's face, but Tess didn't seem to notice. "They called you 'Talitha Koumi.'"

"Right." She nodded to herself. "Yeah, Tal-whatever sounds better than just 'Tess'."

Staring deeply into her eyes, the Doctor grinned lovingly. "I like Tess just fine." He placed a hand on her cheek, before leaning into Tess, and kissing the corner of her mouth. "Sorry about all of this."

"I'm not."

"We should have gone somewhere else. I should have taken you to Spain again."

"I like London better. I wanted to come here, remember? Dad's birthday. Me getting used to another regeneration." Tess reminded the Doctor. "It isn't your fault we seem to have fallen onto some alternate Earth." She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "It's Space's fault. It we're going to blame anyone, I say we blame Outer Space." Tess nodded firmly to herself, and looked up at the ceiling. "Hear that, Outer Space? You're a bloody idiot and we hate you right now!"

In spit of himself, the Doctor laughed and Tess couldn't help but grin further, pleased to have had such an effect on him.

"There you go. Cheer up, emo Doctor!" Tess kissed him again, only this time her lips brushed dangerously close to his mouth.

The Doctor grinned madly. "Once again, please?" Without hesitation, he kissed Tess on the lips, firmly but softly.

"Bad time?" The Doctor and his companion broke apart and turned their attention to the doorway, in where a rather handsome man was standing. The man was smirking, seemingly enjoying the little show before him. "Now, I know you aren't the Doctor. He's not the groping kind."

"Who the hell are you?" The man claiming to be the Doctor questioned in an angry and annoyed tone.

"Captain Jack Harkness." Jack replied. He let the door slam shut behind him, before taking the spare chair at the table. "Who are you two?" Jack paused. "Oh, wait." He took a tape recorder out of his jacket and pressed play. Noticing Tess and her Doctor's looks, Jack shrugged. "For the record, I guess."

Jack looked closely at Tess and smiled flirtatiously. "So, what's your story? Girl like you traveling with a guy like him." He reached over the table, lightly touching Tess' free hand. "You can call me Jack, by the way."

Tess giggled softly for a moment, before coughing. The Doctor glared at her. Feeling guilty, she moved her hand out of Jack's grasp. "I helped the Doctor save the world four years ago. There were these things invading or something. They were making all the store dummies come to life. It was a..." she looked to the Doctor for help.

"Nestene Consciousness." The Doctor supplied helpfully, though he was still glaring at Jack.

She smiled proudly. "We destroyed it with anti-plastic. It was really cool. But, before that...I was running for my life and then he...the other, other him popped up and just said one word, 'Run.' It was...an adventure." Tess was gushing, speaking rapidly, loving every second of reliving her first meeting with the Doctor.

Jack grinned slightly. "Fun." The ex-time agent seemed to recall hearing about Rose meeting the Doctor in a very similar way. "This was in 2005?"

"No, 2060." The Doctor answered, cutting Tess off. His blue eyes narrowed on Jack. "What's it matter?"

Jack shrugged. "Don't suppose anything is the matter. So," he looked back to Tess, "for the record, what's your name? Where are you from? Are you...single?" He gave her a wink, and she smiled coyly.

"Tess, Tess Hartnell. From here, London. Live over in one of the estates. The Powell Estate."

Jack's eyes grew slightly wide. Rose used to live on that estate. It was as if Tess was this Doctor's version of Rose. Only, naturally blonde and with a much more 'friendly' relationship with her Doctor.

"You don't happen to have a boyfriend named Rickey or Mickey, do you?" Jack asked, unsure whether such information could be important in the long run. Or, at least for his personal knowledge.

"No, I haven't got a boyfriend." A look of sadness and regret passed over Tess's face for a moment, though Jack couldn't tell if it was because the Doctor couldn't commit or because she had lost someone. "Anyway, what's that matter?"

"Yes, shouldn't you lot be more worried about us being here than about who she's dating?" The Doctor cut in, again. This time he just seemed annoyed with Jack. "Look, we all know what's going on here: we're from an alternate universe, and we've fallen through a rip. Why play games?"

"No games. It's just...we don't think you're the Doctor." Jack grew serious for the first time since entering the room. When he spoke, it was with careful thought, but also with the ease of someone talking to an old friend. Jack wasn't sure why, but he trusted these two. "We've got two other guys claiming to be the Doctor. Plus, the guy we know is the actual Doctor. So, it's a bit hard to figure things out at the moment."

Tess and her Doctor exchanged a look, before Tess leaned her body on the table and asked in a stage whisper: "Yes, but how do you know your Doctor is the real one? I mean, if anyone can say they're the Doctor, than maybe yours is the fake?"

Jack didn't even miss a beat. "He's regenerated."

Laughing lightly, Tess pointed to the Doctor. "So has he. Fact is, he just did a couple of hours ago. So, there you are then."

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but the Doctor cut him to it. "Right, then." He stood up from his seat and motioned for Tess to do the same. "I've had enough of this, and we're wasting time. Jack, take us to the man you know as 'Doctor'."

"And get me a coffee." Tess added firmly. The Doctor gave her a questioning look and she shrugged. "What? It's been a bleedin' awful day."

"Make that two, no sugar for me." The Doctor told Jack.

Jack watched the Doctor walk to the door and open it. "Wait, you can't...you'll need my clearance. Plus, I'm the only who that knows where you're supposed to go."

Tess stopped beside Jack's chair and giving him a pitying look, she offered her hand to him. "Don't try and stop him, it never works. Best you can do is follow and hope for a little fun amidst the danger."

He had to admit, that did sound nice. With a charming grin, and safe in the knowledge that he was in for verbal lashings from Pete Tyler and the 'real' Doctor, Jack took Tess's offered hand. Together, they rushed out the door and after the scruffy- looking Doctor. 




Disclaimer:

Leven's Doctor says "I'm so glad I met you.", this line was spoken by Nine to Rose in The Unquiet Dead. This line made me a Doctor/Rose 'shipper, so I included it. 

Tess and her Doctor met in the same way that Rose met her Doctor. Later, the Doctors regenerate in the same way, saying nearly the same things to their companions. Parting of the Ways and Alternates 1. This was done on purpose, but no copyright infringement was intended.

"Talitha Koumi"  is Aramaic for "Girl, arise [as in from the dead]". It is taken from Mark 5: 41.

 

 

Comments

[wiccagirl24.livejournal.com]

Did you just seriously post three parts? I'm so excited.

I love the way you are using canon and bending it, twisting it. Love Harriet as a shop keepers wife and companions mother, and the way you've used dialogue from the show.

Off to read part 5!

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Did you just seriously post three parts? I'm so excited.

Well, it was supposed to be one huge chapter, but LJ won't let me post it all together. :( So, I just split it up into three. Still, I'm glad you were looking forward to it.

I love the way you are using canon and bending it, twisting it.

Thanks! I'm having a lot of fun with that. Different Earths is a great way to bend and twist what we know from canon.

Love Harriet as a shop keepers wife and companions mother

:) That was just funny to me. And the Doctor still doesn't like Harriet Jones. lol.

and the way you've used dialogue from the show.

Oh, I love to drop little bits of dialogue, just to see if anyone notices it as they read.


Enjoy chapter 5!

[rawthorne.livejournal.com]

The good part about being able to comment as a reader and no longer as a beta is that I can squee without sounding unprofessional. So, be warned.

Now, what I absolutely loved about this is first of all the way in which you've drawn such different relationships between the Doctors and their companions. There's a lingering smiliarity between them, but they're all actually quite different.

I loved Leven's relationship with her Doctor, but you already know that. I guess each relationship in its own way has its part of darkness. The one between Leven and her Doctor... well, I told you, makes me think of a professor dating his student. There's that sort of impressionable naivite about her.

As for Tess and Tess' Doctor and Jack! Oh, I laughed. The "tongue thing" still had me giggling. That's very much keeping in line with the show, you know, hiding the sauciness behind supposedly innocent things.

Great chapter and I'm off to read the next two.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

The good part about being able to comment as a reader and no longer as a beta is that I can squee without sounding unprofessional. So, be warned.

That's sweet of you to say. Consider me warned.

Now, what I absolutely loved about this is first of all the way in which you've drawn such different relationships between the Doctors and their companions. There's a lingering smiliarity between them, but they're all actually quite different.

Thank you. All their relationships had to their similarities, but be different. As I told you, I sort of see all the relationships as different stages of one kind of relationship. All the companions care about their Doctors, and all the Doctors care about their companions. But each relationship is different, as each Doctor shows his affection in a different way.

I guess each relationship in its own way has its part of darkness.

Yes. At this point, we've only seen the 'happy', 'sweet', 'protective', 'fluffy' sides of their relationships. I think as the story goes on, you'll see the darker sides of all the relationships.

The one between Leven and her Doctor... well, I told you, makes me think of a professor dating his student. There's that sort of impressionable naivite about her.

Oh, I do agree with you. Leven is very impressionable and naive. She's a sweet girl, but she's come to depend on her Doctor in a short time. In a way their 'darkness' could be from two things: The fact that the Doctor scares Leven at times. And, the way the Doctor sort of leads the way and is the 'older man' to Leven's 'young girl'. As it says in the chapter, Leven's Doctor has already decided on Leven as his 'last companion'. I really do think Leven and her Doctor have a lot of layers to their budding relationship.

As for Tess and Tess' Doctor and Jack! Oh, I laughed. The "tongue thing" still had me giggling. That's very much keeping in line with the show, you know, hiding the sauciness behind supposedly innocent things.

:) Doctor Who is a family show, so they have to hide the more saucy things. I went with that, as I think it works well for the Jack character. Plus, I think all three characters make a great team in terms of laugh out loud moments. Plus, Tess and her Doctor are just so...mature in terms of how far their relationship has gone. They work well with Jack.