Doctor Who Fic-"Alternates" (6/?)

[walkwithheroes]

Title: Alternates (6/?)
Author: walkwithheroes
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Up to "Doomsday"
Word Count: 2,751
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.
___________________________________________________________________________________

He didn't want to let go of Rose's hand, but there was work to be done. So, he held onto Rose as he ran his tongue over each of the TARDISes. For the most part, they all tasted the same. Everything seemed to be the same. Which only lead the Doctor to believe that the other 'Doctors' where, in fact, alternate versions of himself. He wasn't quite sure what he thought about that, though he did know that Rose and the others were completely uncomfortable with the idea of other Doctors.

Looking at Rose, the Doctor felt his lips tugging into a dorky grin. The rips in space were causing all sorts of problems, but they had brought him back to his Rose. In some weird way, the Doctor supposed he was thankful for that. Although, he did wish he had found a way to get back to Rose without having to deal with different universes being in danger.

"Well?" Rose asked him, as she bounced on the balls of her feet. "What do you think, Doctor? Should we be worried?"

"No." The Doctor shook his head. "As far as I can tell, all TARDISes." He paused and cocked his head to one side in a thoughtful way. "All broken, mind. But all the real thing."

"So… they're all..." Rose trailed off, not totally sure what, or rather who all the other men were supposed to be.

"Doctors!" He filled in excitedly. "All Doctors from alternate universes, which must have split up at some point and... Oh, Rose! I didn't even know it could happen, and it has!" He gave her a quick hug.

To say that Rose was shocked by the Doctor's reaction would have been an understatement. She had thought he'd be angry, bothered, maybe even freaked. And yet, he seemed generally pleased with the idea of alternate-hims walking around alternate universes.

"Doctor, aren't you... it doesn't bother you at all?" She didn't want to upset him, but there was apart of her that was upset with him. How could he be so casual about it? How could he act as if it were alright that she wasn't with the other Doctors?

The Doctor gave Rose a look, his brow knitted in confusion. Looking deeply into her eyes it suddenly dawned on him. "Oh, Rose..." He slipped his hands into hers, "it doesn't matter that you're not with them. Don't you see?" He grinned his famous grin at her. "You're with me. I've found you again, and that's what matters the most."

Rose returned the gesture of a smile. It wasn't the right time to be getting romantic and the Doctor had been a bit sappy, but she really didn't care. Rose leaned into him and firmly kissed her Doctor's warm lips. "You're fantastic." She whispered against his ear a moment later. "We really should..."

"Get the other Doctors and figure this out before all the universes bleed and fall into one another, thus ending the. . .well, thus ending several timelines?" The Doctor supplied with a cheeky grin.

Rose nodded. "I was just going to suggest that, Doctor." She started toward the comm.-system, ready to call Mickey and Jack, when the large doors to the lab opened.

Mickey walked through the doors, followed by a mousy-haired man in an unattractive shirt, who was followed by a petite and shy-looking blonde girl.

Rose gave the pair a once over, while the Doctors seemed to size one another up. To Rose, Leven and her Doctor looked comfortably awkward with one another. They reminded Rose of a couple who had just started dating and had yet to see one another do anything embarrassing. She also noticed how the other Doctor stood so protectively in front of Leven; it was like he was trying to shield her from the harshness of their current situation.

Mickey smiled awkwardly. "Doctor, Rose Tyler meet the other Doctor and Leven Campbell, from the British Empire."

Rose wrinkled her nose. "There is no British Empire."

Her remark was met with a scoff from the mousy-haired Doctor and a surprisingly loud: "Oi, yes there is!" from Leven.

 ___________________________________________________________________________

"You can't just go running around the place, Doc." Jack commented, even as he tried to catch up with the Doctor he had just been 'interviewing'. Tess walked - nearly jogged - beside Jack. "Would you mind telling him he can't just go running around?" He looked at her, hoping for support. "We're not even headed the right way."

The scruffy-Doctor stopped dead in his tracks, causing both Jack and Tess to run into him. "Brilliant. Thanks for letting me know." He turned Tess around, grabbed her hand, and started walking the way they had come. Jack rushed to catch up. "Come on, come on, come... on!" The Doctor tugged on Tess's hand.

"They aren't going anywhere!" Jack reminded the twosome. "They're still in the lab, you know."

The Doctor glanced back toward Jack. "Your logic is flawed, your intelligence is doubtful, and your hair is stupid."

Hurt, Jack ran a hand through his hair. "I paid..." he glanced turned to Tess, who was struggling to keep up with her Doctor. "How do you put up with him?"

Tess shrugged. "He wasn't this mean before, just rude."

"Rude and not ginger." The Doctor muttered bitterly. "Never get to be ginger, do I?" He suddenly stopped, again causing Jack to run into him and Tess, to nearly fall down. "Lab?"

Jack straightened himself out, before turning his attention to the large white doors in front of them. "Yeah." He shoved past the Doctor and used the clearance card Pete had given him earlier that day. A moment later, Jack let the doors swing open. "Oh, it's a party."

Mickey, Rose, the Doctor, a mousy-haired man, and a petite blond all turned to see who had spoken. From the looks of it, Jack had just entered a very tense meeting. "Bad time?" He questioned with a wide grin.

"No one believes I'm from the British Empire." Leven filled in sadly.

"I believe you." Jack smiled and gave her flirtatious wink. "I'm Jack, Captain Jack Harkness by the way."

"Stop flirting." Jack glanced around, surprised that all three Doctors had said it at once.

"Huh, you three really are alternate versions of one another, aren't you?"

For their parts, the Doctors just seemed to size one another up. Clearly, none of them were too fond of their current situation. Of course, on some level this was like a dream come true for Jack, even if there were millions of rips destroying their existences.

 ____________________________________________________________________

Levi "The Doctor" Tyler lazily stroked Lily's hair, as he watched two men in clean white lab coats talk urgently and quietly with Pete. Levi really wished he had taken Lily to New York or Spain or Italy or a thousand other places. They had just defended an alien army. Lily had just used the Time Vortex to commit alien genocide. And, as far as Levi knew, there was still a bit of Time Vortex in his beloved Lily. No, they really didn't need any of this.

"Barcelona." Lily whispered softly. She put her head on Levi's shoulder and sighed contently. "Barcelona, the place, not the planet."

"Mm?" He momentarily stopped stroking her long hair. "What about it?"

"That's where you'll take me dancing. So, we can both forget about this place." She reached behind her head, and physically made him start stroking her hair again. Levi chuckled softly under his breath. "Shush. I just hope we don't see them."

"Too painful." Levi agreed with a firm nod of his head. "Much too painful."

The pair watched as Pete shook his head fiercely.

"Don't call him Granddad, okay?" Lily paused in thought for a moment. "If – if – we do see them...what are we supposed to call them?"

"Well," Levi cleared his throat and moved uncomfortably in his chair. "We used to call them...uh, oh yes, Mum and Dad. Though, when we talked about them it was him and her. And when they talked to us about one another, it was Rose and the Doctor. So... Rose and Doctor?" He stopped stroking her hair and gave her a little, silly, look.

Lily smiled brightly. "Rose and the Doctor. We'll be Lily and..."

"Levi." Levi smiled to himself. "You haven't even called me that since you were fifteen. I've kind of missed it."

"Well, you wanted to be the Doctor. So, you could shag all the girls." Lily reminded him cheekily.

"Cheeky devil." Levi playfully fell onto Lily's lap, sloppily kissing the corner of her mouth. Lily's response was to simply push him away, while giggling loudly.

The giggle caught Pete's attention. Looking at the two, they appeared to be a nineteen year old girl and her twenty-something boyfriend, playing together. In an odd way it made Pete highly fidgety and in another, the scene broke his heart. They looked and acted so normal. Yet, they were the most unusual and different people he had ever seen.

"Alright, you two." Pete watched as the pair never missed a beat. They both straightened themselves out. Levi looked at Pete with a sort of bored expression on his handsome face, while Lily just offered Pete a sweet smile. "Boys from the lab say you two...deep, deep down have got Tyler DNA." He nodded toward the two men in lab coats, who were just leaving the room. "They say you're closely related to me. Which means your story checks out."

Levi narrowed his eyes on the alternate-version of his grandfather. His voice dark, he spoke angrily. "Of course it does, Pete! What do you think we are, liars? Liars who lie to sneak in to places, just so we can have fun?" Levi glanced to Lily, who smiled widely. "No, only on Thursdays." Levi glanced back to Pete, his eyes now laughing and a large smile on his handsome face.

Lily grinned proudly at Pete. "Last Thursday we stole President Kennedy's tea."

With a loud laugh, Levi nodded. "It was rather fun. Oh," he gently hit Lily's arm. "Remember the Thursday before? Satellite 873? And that... that little green man with his," Levi made his voice go higher and said in a mocking tone: "'You can't park that here'." He laughed again, and made funny little moves with his arms. "And he... he had the arm thing? 'You can't park that here'."

Lily began laughing. "Yes, and then you..."

"Excuse me?" Pete cut-in with an annoyed sigh. "Now really isn't the time for that. Not on this world, not at this time."

"Oh." Both people blushed. "Sorry." They said in unison.

"We get carried away." Lily explained helpfully. "It won't happen again."

Levi nodded, before he stood up from his chair. He offered Lily his hand, and when she took it he helped her up. With all the familiarity in the world, he put an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close. "Right, it's all better, Pete. Just point us to the TARDISes and we'll fix ours. Then, it's off into time and space for us. No worries."

"Plenty of worries." Pete told Levi firmly. "Alternate universes may be destroyed, including yours. We could use your help. Everyone's in the labs." He shook his head in disbelief. "And I've got no idea how to explain you two to, well, everyone. We thought different Doctors were bad. Now, we've got alternate-Earth kids."

"It's a bit like Coronation Street, isn't it?" Levi asked with a grin. Lily gave him a rather displeased look. "What?"

Pete shook his head. These two were just so, so... odd. "How am I supposed to explain you two to Jacks, or Rose, or the Doctor? Hell, even Mickey and that Jack guy will be confused! I'm confused. You can't just..." It was then that he noticed the look on Lily's face. "What?"

Lily's eyes were slowly filling with tears. She completely ignored Pete, as she turned to look deeply into Levi's eyes. "Oh, you said they were here. I could handle that. But him? It isn't fair."

Levi wiped Lily's tears away with his hands. "It's all right." He pulled her into a tight hug. "Shh."

From the other side of the room, Pete blinked. His eyes locked on Levi's, who let out a bitter laugh. "While on Earth, in 2020, my Lily started a sixty year marriage to a human. You just said his name. He's here, with the other Doctors and their companions."

Pete shook his head in disbelief. 2020, if what Levi and Lily said was all true, Lily would have been twenty-nine and... "Who?"

Levi swore in his head. This day just kept getting worse. "Through the magic of time travel," he paused to kiss the top of Lily's head. "She married Captain Jack Harkness."

Pete felt his mouth drop open. He wanted to ask a million different questions, but the only thing he could get out was: "Bloody hell."

Disclaimer:

"Your logic is flawed, your intelligence is doubtful, and your hair is stupid."-Tess's Doctor to Jack. "Your logic is flawed, your intelligence is doubtful," is a part of a quote that I read once. Though, I can't remember the end to it, nor can I recall who wrote/spoke it.

Coronation Street is a soap from the U.K.

Levi and Lily's scenes in regard to their dead loved ones being young and alive was strongly based on Ten's scenes with Rose in regard to Pete, in the two parter The Age of Steel and Rise of the Cybermen from series 2. In fact, Levi says something similar to what the Doctor says to Rose after she sees Pete's photo.

 

 

Comments

[wiccagirl24.livejournal.com]

Of course, on some level this was like a dream come true for Jack, even if there were millions of rips destroying their existences.

snerk. Of course Jack would think multiple Jacks would be a dream come true.

This is so lovely. Thanks for the beautiful fic. I ccan't wait for the next instalment.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Of course Jack would think multiple Jacks would be a dream come true.

As much as I love Jack, he can be a perv. So, the idea of mutiple Doctor, Jacks, Roses, etc does make him kind of happy. Mm, makes you wonder how and why he actually married someone.

This is so lovely. Thanks for the beautiful fic. I ccan't wait for the next instalment.

Oh no, thank you for reading it. I'm not sure when chapter 7 will be out, (it took forever for these last three.) but I do hope I can cook something up within the next couple of weeks.

[fannishnonsense]

OMG, Lily was married to Jack!? I totally never saw that coming!

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's the twist to end all twists! lol. Really makes you wonder why and how Jack married someone.


By the way: did you read chapters four and five?

[fannishnonsense]

Aw, Jack's just an old romantic at heart. ;-)

And yeah, I did read (and enjoy) the other chapters. You're definitely going in some interesting directions with this story!

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Aw, Jack's just an old romantic at heart.

Actually, and I don't want to give too much away, Lily's Jack was very romantic toward her. They had a special bond and, as you saw here, she loved him very much.

And yeah, I did read (and enjoy) the other chapters.

Oh, good. I thought because you didn't review the chapters, that that meant you had missed them. I'm glad you enjoyed the other chapters and I hope you liked all the characters and their interactions.

You're definitely going in some interesting directions with this story!

Thank you! I'm going for 'interesting' with this one. I'm really trying to put together a complex yet enjoyable series.

[fannishnonsense]

Yeah, when someone posts a couple of chapters at a time I tend to forget to comment until I get through reading them all. Too excited to find out what's next I guess!

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Ah, all right. Well, when you've calmed down, I'd love to hear your thoughts on chapter four and on chapter five.

[rawthorne.livejournal.com]

And here we go into the final stretch. Jack is told of for flirting by all the doctor at once made me smile. Of course, they told him off for good reason, he really needs to keep his hands to himself considering the wife-he-never-had is on her way to meet him.

I didn't think I'd like the play on the lines from the show as much as I do. You're very upfront about it, and that's good. It looks intentinal and not nicked. Just wanted to say I'm happy there's no risk this'll become another Cassie Claire fiasco.


Right, so not much squeeing here but, sadly, I have to go meet a guy for a movie.

I can't wait to see what's coming.

[lothy.livejournal.com]

I'm really enjoying this :) I can't wait to see all of them in a room together.

[davidtenanntmad.livejournal.com]

loving these fics :) can't wait to read more!

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading. Glad you liked the last three chapters.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Glad yoiu enjoyed it. I think writing everyone in that room together should be very amusing and I hope it comes across as such.

[ciel42.livejournal.com]

Hello!

Juat read the whole thing, I really like it. I read chapter 6 before chapter 5, I was really confused! I eventually figured it out though. I hope you post again soon :)

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Hi!

Thank you for reading, and I'm happy you liked it.

read chapter 6 before chapter 5, I was really confused!

Ops! Thank goodness you figured that out. I'd hate for you to be confused about the story as a whole.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Jack is told of for flirting by all the doctor at once made me smile.

:)I really liked that bit. And, they are all basically the same guy, so they'd all think a like about some things. Plus, saying 'Hi.' is flirting to Jack.

he really needs to keep his hands to himself considering the wife-he-never-had is on her way to meet him.

lol. Jack's in a room with Mickey, three pretty blondes, and three handsome Doctors. I'm not sure if it's possible for him to keep his hands to himself for long. ;)

In a way, I feel sorry for Lily. Jack will have no idea who she is, and she'll be staring at someone who looks just like her dead husband. Oh well, angst can be fun.

I didn't think I'd like the play on the lines from the show as much as I do.

I just wanted to have some similar things with the Doctors, so I played with some lines. I don't think I'll do it a lot, but it's something to use to further along some points or relationships.

You're very upfront about it, and that's good. It looks intentinal and not nicked.

I don't want it to be 'Look, I'm clever for using a line from Boom Town!' But, I certainly don't want to 'hide' the plays on the lines either. That can only lead to trouble.


Just wanted to say I'm happy there's no risk this'll become another Cassie Claire fiasco.

Oh, yes. That was a rather big fiasco. I seriously doubt this series will be as big as Cassie Claire's Harry Potter thing, but I refuse to take chances when it comes to actual lines from the show.

[flecalicious.livejournal.com]

Have just read this whole thing in one sitting because OMGITSSOAMAZING. This is so fantastic and is being m'med instantly. A little confusing as far as which incarnation matches which etc, but apart from that fabuloso. And yay! Rose is back with the Doctor XD

Update soon please!

[fannishnonsense]

Well, I really liked these chapters of course. I enjoy the way you take the time to let us get to know the characters. Too many writers would be tempted to fall back on cliches to distinguish between them, rather than making them well rounded in their own right. So I appreciate your attention to detail there.

Also, I like the way you tell us what's going on; a little at a time. I find that much more satisfying than just getting all the information up front.

I have to admit, I'm having trouble picturing what Leven's Doctor looks like. Of course, it could just be that I don't know enough about him yet.

Anyway, all that is just to say that I really like this story and I hope there's more soon.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Have just read this whole thing in one sitting because OMGITSSOAMAZING. This is so fantastic and is being m'med instantly

Thank you so much! These last six chapters have been really fun to write.

A little confusing as far as which incarnation matches which etc

Sorry you're still a bit confused. Hopefully, it will get less confusing for you as the story goes on.

And yay! Rose is back with the Doctor XD

Well...I just couldn't keep them apart.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

I enjoy the way you take the time to let us get to know the characters.

:) In order for this story to work, people have to care about all the characters and relationships. So, I had to let you get to know them.

Too many writers would be tempted to fall back on cliches to distinguish between them, rather than making them well rounded in their own right.

Everyone in this series has to be able to stand on their own. Are there similar aspects of all the Doctors? Sure. Same with the companions. But, they are all different people.

I didn't want to write cliches, I wanted to write characters. Everyone, I think, has little things that set them apart (and are used so the reader can tell them apart), but they are still rounded out. I don't like flat characters, so I'm trying not to write anyone as 'flat'.

So I appreciate your attention to detail there.

Thank you, very much.

Also, I like the way you tell us what's going on; a little at a time. I find that much more satisfying than just getting all the information up front.

Again, thank you. I think the best stories are the ones where you learn a bit at a time. It lets you form your own theories, while you wait for more information.

I have to admit, I'm having trouble picturing what Leven's Doctor looks like. Of course, it could just be that I don't know enough about him yet.

Mm...at this time, I think Tess's Doctor is the best described in terms of apperance. Leven's doctor has mousy-hair and an ugly shirt. Levi...I don't think you know anything about his apperane. And the girls, all blonde with different colored eyes. Now that everyone is pretty much together, I hope to let others describe them. And, if that doesn't work...well, I guess I'll have to try harder.


Again, thanks for the reviews and thanks for reading!