Tangled Skein, Chapter 8/?
Title: Tangled Skein, Chapter 8/?
Characters: Rose Tyler, The Doctor (10th), Jack Harkness, Jenny and many others
Raiting: All
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me. They belong to RTD and the BBC.
Spoilers: up till JE
Continuity: sequel to "Universe is Cruel"
Summary: Rose's regenerated into someone achingly familiar...
Previous
Rose walks from her tiny bathroom to the wardrobe and picks one of the few outfits she has. It’s been a little over a month since she got to Pete’s world again. She’s almost stopped jumping every time someone called her younger self and almost always answers to Donna. She found that she likes watching her Doctor with her younger self. She decided to treat it like some superior tech home video rewatch and decided to enjoy it while she can. He still doesn’t know who she really is. Sometimes she thinks it strange how talking to this Doctor made her understand the other one better and how talking to that other one made this little lie of hers here easier. After all those years with Jenny and the Doctor she know nearly every detail of their travels and hiding the truth isn’t a problem. Not really. They still have no idea how she got here or why but somehow she’s not surprised and this doesn’t bother her as much as she thought it would.
He helped her find a flat. It’s small and claustrophobic, but it’s best they managed to find on such a short notice without younger Rose finding out. The tiny kitchen has only a little fridge, little stove and a kettle. There’s no space even for a table and a chair. The lonely plate and two mugs rest in the sink. The living room is no more than a little hall between the kitchen, bedroom and the entrance and the bedroom has barely enough space for a single bed and an old wardrobe.
It’s been hard meeting all the people she knew a long time ago and play never_met_you_before card every time. The hardest is talking to Pete, but this doesn’t happen often and thus probably it’s the second hardest thing. The worst thing of all is not talking to her mum when she’s just a phone call away after all those years of separation.
The clothes she wore when she came here lay accurately on the bed now as she prepares to put them on. She’s done some shopping, but the ones she bought in Cardiff seem somehow more comfortable and for the evening ahead of her she could use some extra comfort. Tonight she’s invited to the Tyler mansion for dinner.
The drive is fun. The Doctor and his Rose talk about little Tony and Jackie, the Doctor making his usual warnings about her. Donna sits grinning remembering this happy banter they used to share every time they introduced anyone new to the family. She looks out of the window and catches the familiar streets and corners. She’s been to London in the other universe so many times and it’s so much like this one, but never exactly the same. Some tiny things you never notice unless you’re looking for them. She thought she’d never see it all again. The car slows down for the traffic light and she recognizes the place. The place it all went horribly wrong. Or will go horribly wrong. Ever since she got back she thinks about warning them. But then… paradoxes and all… But this time the warning is nearly out of her mouth before she can catch herself. She turns to the Doctor and meets his eyes in the mirror. He’s worried and she remembers about the mental link they share. He couldn’t read her thoughts yet, but he surely could pick her emotions. She shakes her head lightly and gives him a small smile. She doesn’t believe for one second she’s fooled him but is grateful he lets it go.
When the car finally pulls to the front door, she’s not sure she can stand as her legs are shaking violently. A little greeting is all she can manage when she sees Jackie.
“Oh, Donna! It’s nice to meet you. Rose and the Doctor talk about you all the time!” Jackie says in her normal hen mother way pulling her inside.
It’s just that she feels she gained control over her body when she hears her little brother’s voice from the living room. “Rose! Doctor!” Tony shouts as he sees who came in and suddenly it’s all too much for her.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Tyler, may I use the loo?” Donna asks Jackie and moves in the well known direction barely able to wait to hear the directions.
She comes back a few minutes later to find the whole family at the dinner table waiting for her. She smiles when she’s introduced to Tony and laughs at the toddler when he says his greetings and gives him the permission to call her Donna to the great annoyance of Jackie. The meal is wonderful and she can barely contain tears now. It’s all just like she remembers. Like all those happy family evenings they used to share. Just like she thought she’d never feel again. By the time they move to the sofa for some tea it’s past eight and Tony’s tired and asks her to play with him just like he always used to do.
“Donna, play with me,” he says with sleepy eyes and she can’t refuse him and she won’t. Even if that means facing Jackie later.
“What game you want to play?” she asks him and smiles as his face lights up in excitement.
“Let’s play monsters!” he replies.
“No, not monsters. Don’t like that one. What about stories?” she tells him.
“You know how to play stories?” he asks her fondly.
It’s so easy to fall into this routine with Tony. This was his favorite game. How she missed these quiet evenings with him telling stories to each other.
“Of course I do! But you start!” Donna replies making herself comfortable in an armchair and pulling the boy on her lap.
“Okay,” he says. He’s silent for a moment thinking hard. He pulls his finger in his mouth absentmindedly and Donna pulls it out with a practiced gesture she doesn’t even notice. She’s so focused on her brother, nor does she notice the others having a conversation about some latest Torchwood incident, nor Jackie’s curious glances. They spend the evening happily telling a story line after line until Tony lays barely awake in Donna’s arms.
“Donna, you’re sure you’re okay with him sleeping like that?” Pete asks her.
“Yeah, sure. It’s a pleasure. Love little ones,” she replies smiling fondly at the boy and stroking his messy hair lightly.
“Fine, if you’re sure about that. But he still needs to got o bed soon,” Jackie says and for a second Donna thinks she probably saw a twinkle in her eyes. “Or probably you’d want to put him to bed as well?” And this time Donna is sure she sees something in there.
“Mum,” Rose interrupts. “Donna must be tired and…”
“No, it’s fine. Brilliant, actually,” Donna says looking straight into Jackie’s eyes. “Thank you,” she adds standing up holding Tony with ease. She moves out of the room but remembers she’s not supposed to know where to take him. “Lead the way,” she says.
She takes the boy to his room and starts taking his clothes off and replacing them with his jim-jams. He’s on that edge of sleep when you’re still awake enough to talk but dreams and reality get pretty mixed up.
“I don’t want to go to bed, Rose,” he says in little voice.
“Yes, you do. Come on, Tony. Help me put this on you,” she replies pulling his pajamas from under his pillow and pulling it on the boy.
“Okay, but you’ll tell me a story,” he says sleepily getting under the covers.
“Okay, what do you want me to tell?” she asks him enjoying the moment with her little brother.
“Tell me about the warewolf…” is the last of him for the day.
She’s pretty sure the toddler is asleep, but it’s impossible to resist the temptation to have just a bit more time with him without the need of pretending. She talks quietly about Queen Victoria and listens to his soft breathing. Of all their travels with the Doctor this one is his favorite, always has been. It’s nice to have him back… even for this little moment when he’s asleep. The story is over but she remains seated on the bed thinking about all she went through and everything she’s about to do.
“I missed you little one,” she whispers in the darkness of the room.
“Rose?” she hears Jackie’s whisper form the door, gets up and moves out of the room quietly. It’s not until she shuts the door behind her she notices the name Jackie used. This revelation kicks her like a bolt and she turns around to face the woman hesitantly.
“It’s you, isn’t it?” Jackie asks quietly. “You know, I’ve been watching you ever since you came here. The way you rushed to the toilet the moment Tony came in. The way you watch the Doctor… The way you are with Tony. It’s strange. The face and the voice and everything is wrong, but somehow,” she takes a deep breath. “Just tell me it’s you. Or I’m going mad, right here right now, and you don’t want that, miss!”
Next
Characters: Rose Tyler, The Doctor (10th), Jack Harkness, Jenny and many others
Raiting: All
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me. They belong to RTD and the BBC.
Spoilers: up till JE
Continuity: sequel to "Universe is Cruel"
Summary: Rose's regenerated into someone achingly familiar...
Previous
Rose walks from her tiny bathroom to the wardrobe and picks one of the few outfits she has. It’s been a little over a month since she got to Pete’s world again. She’s almost stopped jumping every time someone called her younger self and almost always answers to Donna. She found that she likes watching her Doctor with her younger self. She decided to treat it like some superior tech home video rewatch and decided to enjoy it while she can. He still doesn’t know who she really is. Sometimes she thinks it strange how talking to this Doctor made her understand the other one better and how talking to that other one made this little lie of hers here easier. After all those years with Jenny and the Doctor she know nearly every detail of their travels and hiding the truth isn’t a problem. Not really. They still have no idea how she got here or why but somehow she’s not surprised and this doesn’t bother her as much as she thought it would.
He helped her find a flat. It’s small and claustrophobic, but it’s best they managed to find on such a short notice without younger Rose finding out. The tiny kitchen has only a little fridge, little stove and a kettle. There’s no space even for a table and a chair. The lonely plate and two mugs rest in the sink. The living room is no more than a little hall between the kitchen, bedroom and the entrance and the bedroom has barely enough space for a single bed and an old wardrobe.
It’s been hard meeting all the people she knew a long time ago and play never_met_you_before card every time. The hardest is talking to Pete, but this doesn’t happen often and thus probably it’s the second hardest thing. The worst thing of all is not talking to her mum when she’s just a phone call away after all those years of separation.
The clothes she wore when she came here lay accurately on the bed now as she prepares to put them on. She’s done some shopping, but the ones she bought in Cardiff seem somehow more comfortable and for the evening ahead of her she could use some extra comfort. Tonight she’s invited to the Tyler mansion for dinner.
The drive is fun. The Doctor and his Rose talk about little Tony and Jackie, the Doctor making his usual warnings about her. Donna sits grinning remembering this happy banter they used to share every time they introduced anyone new to the family. She looks out of the window and catches the familiar streets and corners. She’s been to London in the other universe so many times and it’s so much like this one, but never exactly the same. Some tiny things you never notice unless you’re looking for them. She thought she’d never see it all again. The car slows down for the traffic light and she recognizes the place. The place it all went horribly wrong. Or will go horribly wrong. Ever since she got back she thinks about warning them. But then… paradoxes and all… But this time the warning is nearly out of her mouth before she can catch herself. She turns to the Doctor and meets his eyes in the mirror. He’s worried and she remembers about the mental link they share. He couldn’t read her thoughts yet, but he surely could pick her emotions. She shakes her head lightly and gives him a small smile. She doesn’t believe for one second she’s fooled him but is grateful he lets it go.
When the car finally pulls to the front door, she’s not sure she can stand as her legs are shaking violently. A little greeting is all she can manage when she sees Jackie.
“Oh, Donna! It’s nice to meet you. Rose and the Doctor talk about you all the time!” Jackie says in her normal hen mother way pulling her inside.
It’s just that she feels she gained control over her body when she hears her little brother’s voice from the living room. “Rose! Doctor!” Tony shouts as he sees who came in and suddenly it’s all too much for her.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Tyler, may I use the loo?” Donna asks Jackie and moves in the well known direction barely able to wait to hear the directions.
She comes back a few minutes later to find the whole family at the dinner table waiting for her. She smiles when she’s introduced to Tony and laughs at the toddler when he says his greetings and gives him the permission to call her Donna to the great annoyance of Jackie. The meal is wonderful and she can barely contain tears now. It’s all just like she remembers. Like all those happy family evenings they used to share. Just like she thought she’d never feel again. By the time they move to the sofa for some tea it’s past eight and Tony’s tired and asks her to play with him just like he always used to do.
“Donna, play with me,” he says with sleepy eyes and she can’t refuse him and she won’t. Even if that means facing Jackie later.
“What game you want to play?” she asks him and smiles as his face lights up in excitement.
“Let’s play monsters!” he replies.
“No, not monsters. Don’t like that one. What about stories?” she tells him.
“You know how to play stories?” he asks her fondly.
It’s so easy to fall into this routine with Tony. This was his favorite game. How she missed these quiet evenings with him telling stories to each other.
“Of course I do! But you start!” Donna replies making herself comfortable in an armchair and pulling the boy on her lap.
“Okay,” he says. He’s silent for a moment thinking hard. He pulls his finger in his mouth absentmindedly and Donna pulls it out with a practiced gesture she doesn’t even notice. She’s so focused on her brother, nor does she notice the others having a conversation about some latest Torchwood incident, nor Jackie’s curious glances. They spend the evening happily telling a story line after line until Tony lays barely awake in Donna’s arms.
“Donna, you’re sure you’re okay with him sleeping like that?” Pete asks her.
“Yeah, sure. It’s a pleasure. Love little ones,” she replies smiling fondly at the boy and stroking his messy hair lightly.
“Fine, if you’re sure about that. But he still needs to got o bed soon,” Jackie says and for a second Donna thinks she probably saw a twinkle in her eyes. “Or probably you’d want to put him to bed as well?” And this time Donna is sure she sees something in there.
“Mum,” Rose interrupts. “Donna must be tired and…”
“No, it’s fine. Brilliant, actually,” Donna says looking straight into Jackie’s eyes. “Thank you,” she adds standing up holding Tony with ease. She moves out of the room but remembers she’s not supposed to know where to take him. “Lead the way,” she says.
She takes the boy to his room and starts taking his clothes off and replacing them with his jim-jams. He’s on that edge of sleep when you’re still awake enough to talk but dreams and reality get pretty mixed up.
“I don’t want to go to bed, Rose,” he says in little voice.
“Yes, you do. Come on, Tony. Help me put this on you,” she replies pulling his pajamas from under his pillow and pulling it on the boy.
“Okay, but you’ll tell me a story,” he says sleepily getting under the covers.
“Okay, what do you want me to tell?” she asks him enjoying the moment with her little brother.
“Tell me about the warewolf…” is the last of him for the day.
She’s pretty sure the toddler is asleep, but it’s impossible to resist the temptation to have just a bit more time with him without the need of pretending. She talks quietly about Queen Victoria and listens to his soft breathing. Of all their travels with the Doctor this one is his favorite, always has been. It’s nice to have him back… even for this little moment when he’s asleep. The story is over but she remains seated on the bed thinking about all she went through and everything she’s about to do.
“I missed you little one,” she whispers in the darkness of the room.
“Rose?” she hears Jackie’s whisper form the door, gets up and moves out of the room quietly. It’s not until she shuts the door behind her she notices the name Jackie used. This revelation kicks her like a bolt and she turns around to face the woman hesitantly.
“It’s you, isn’t it?” Jackie asks quietly. “You know, I’ve been watching you ever since you came here. The way you rushed to the toilet the moment Tony came in. The way you watch the Doctor… The way you are with Tony. It’s strange. The face and the voice and everything is wrong, but somehow,” she takes a deep breath. “Just tell me it’s you. Or I’m going mad, right here right now, and you don’t want that, miss!”
Next