Cravings - The Prologue
Title: The Prologue
Author: Rambling Rose / irishlullaby
Rated: Teen-ish
Genre: Romance, angst, AU!fic
Spoilers: S1 & S2 for this part
Characters: Rose, The Doctor, mentions of Jackie, Pete, Mickey, and Jake.
Pairing: Doctor/Rose
Summary: There was no warm, welcoming hum, no tickle at the back of her mind to say "hello"... Just silence.
AN: The beginning of the new and improved Cravings Series.
She stood on the beach, her feet bare as she curled her toes into the cool sand. The wind blew her hair in every direction imaginable. Rose smiled as she watched children trying to out run the surf, they squealed and laughed as the water engulfed their ankles. Mickey, Jake, her mum and Pete were visiting again. Things were always much louder and rambunctious when they visited because of her brother and sister coming along.
Taking in a deep breath of sea air, Rose closed her eyes and listened to the whisper of wind. So long ago she had chosen this place as home because it was where the Doctor had told her good bye. Even now she could almost hear his voice on the air.
A thick northern brogue coming across Dalek communications, Rose. I'm coming to get you. The gentler, tone of his next incarnation, There's no force on this planet that can stop me.
As she opened her eyes the voices drifted away.
Once upon a time she had felt like her life would never be able to go on. But, she had found a reason to keep going. There were still reasons for her to stay strong. The Doctor would return one day... or die trying.
So she waited. Living her daily life, worked for Torchwood, attended school meetings like any other normal person. Her mum never nagged her to get into a relationship, nor did Pete. She was perfectly content with her life. All she needed was to wait for the Doctor to come back and it would all be complete. Though she never made plans revolving around the idea of the Doctor returning. After all, it was a dangerous thing, crossing the void.
She walked back inside of her little cottage to retrieve a chair then walked back out to set the chair out in the sand. It was beautiful day, no reason to stay stuck inside. Another smile came to her lips as one of the children accompanying her siblings squealed and fell back to get covered with the surf. She sat down in her chair and closed her eyes, listening to the children play, parents calling them to come back to sit under the umbrella for a picnic.
How long had it been? Five years? Six, maybe? Over five, less than six Rose reasoned. Right at five and a half years…
Suddenly something intruded on her peaceful recollection. A sharp pain burnt through her mind. Rose grabbed her head in a vain attempt to stop the pain, gasping for breath as she heard one of the children at the beach scream in pain as well. She could hear a popping sound in her ears, something that sounded very much like fabric being shredded with a dull pair of scissors. She could feel the shift of the Earth, the sun, the universe... it was unwinding, falling apart...
The sound of the adults at the beach, trying to comfort the screaming child were like an echo loud in Rose's ears. Then, just as suddenly as it came, the pain and sounds were gone. Everything stopped moving for a second as time and space seemed to reassert itself back to its normal state.
Rose looked around, confused about how she ended up face down in the sand. She wiped the sand away from her face. Looking at her hand, blood from her nose mixed with the sand. Her mind still had a dull, throbbing ache as a residue from the pains it had just experienced.
A dull beacon flared to life in her mind... Rose forced herself to her feet and raced down to the shore line. She looked left, then right, trying to decide which direction the call was coming from. Closing her eyes, she concentrated, reached for the beacon... the left. Opening her eyes, she dashed past Mickey, Jake, and her mum and dad and the confused children. She heard them call her name, but she ignored them, continuing to run through the wet sand toward her goal.
She came to an immediate halt when she saw the outline of a familiar old blue box laying on its side. A door was missing and the other door was splintered beyond repair. Fragments of internal TARDIS parts and blue wood were scattered about on the sand and rock. Rose caught a piece of parchment the wind carried to her. It was ripped down the middle but there was no mistaking the sign that had one been on the now missing TARDIS door, proclaiming it to be a Police Box and nothing more. As she walked closer, she could see the remaining windows of the disguise were either cracked or missing.
Carefully, Rose got down on her hands and knees to crawl inside of the broken ship. The only light was that provided by the outside. There was no warm, welcoming hum, no tickle at the back of her mind to say "hello"... Just silence.
Looking around the console room, Rose could see why. The time rotor was broken, bits and pieces of it scattered about in the sideways room. The jump seat and the rail it had been attached to so long ago were lodged in one of the wall panels at an awkward angle. The old ship was dead after having exhausted herself coming through the void one last time.
In the silence of the console room, Rose heard it... the sound of a raspy intake of breath. She brushed her hair out of her face and looked around for the source of the breath. Then she finds it... a pale hand dangling over the side of the central console. Try as she might, she couldn’t climb up there. She damned the fact everything was turned on its side and she can't reach him... Then she remembered most of the panels in the floor come out and would prove very helpful in the climbing up process.
Within seconds she was seated next to him on the side of the central console. He wasn't moving, wasn't breathing anymore... She carefully shifted him over until he's lay on his back. Cupping a hand over her mouth she tried not to let the sob ring out through the hallow TARDIS. His eyes were open but vacant, his mouth bleeding, the face of the man she loved with her whole heart pale as... death.
Rose was suddenly unable to hold back the tears and pulled the Doctor into her lap, stroking his hair affectionately. She knew what it took for him to get here, to her. She had seen it all in his mind, once long ago... And she could see it all now, trickling into her mind like waves from the man laying in her lap. She put her hand to his cheek as she watched his eyes trying to focus, as he took in a sharp breath.
"Doctor... Doctor... it's me... It's Rose..."
The faint signs of life didn't mean anything at the moment, he could slip away as easily as he could come around. Then she heard his voice echoing in her mind...
Nice to meet you, Rose... Run for your life.
She closed her eyes and remembered it all... through both her mind and his.
Author: Rambling Rose / irishlullaby
Rated: Teen-ish
Genre: Romance, angst, AU!fic
Spoilers: S1 & S2 for this part
Characters: Rose, The Doctor, mentions of Jackie, Pete, Mickey, and Jake.
Pairing: Doctor/Rose
Summary: There was no warm, welcoming hum, no tickle at the back of her mind to say "hello"... Just silence.
AN: The beginning of the new and improved Cravings Series.
She stood on the beach, her feet bare as she curled her toes into the cool sand. The wind blew her hair in every direction imaginable. Rose smiled as she watched children trying to out run the surf, they squealed and laughed as the water engulfed their ankles. Mickey, Jake, her mum and Pete were visiting again. Things were always much louder and rambunctious when they visited because of her brother and sister coming along.
Taking in a deep breath of sea air, Rose closed her eyes and listened to the whisper of wind. So long ago she had chosen this place as home because it was where the Doctor had told her good bye. Even now she could almost hear his voice on the air.
A thick northern brogue coming across Dalek communications, Rose. I'm coming to get you. The gentler, tone of his next incarnation, There's no force on this planet that can stop me.
As she opened her eyes the voices drifted away.
Once upon a time she had felt like her life would never be able to go on. But, she had found a reason to keep going. There were still reasons for her to stay strong. The Doctor would return one day... or die trying.
So she waited. Living her daily life, worked for Torchwood, attended school meetings like any other normal person. Her mum never nagged her to get into a relationship, nor did Pete. She was perfectly content with her life. All she needed was to wait for the Doctor to come back and it would all be complete. Though she never made plans revolving around the idea of the Doctor returning. After all, it was a dangerous thing, crossing the void.
She walked back inside of her little cottage to retrieve a chair then walked back out to set the chair out in the sand. It was beautiful day, no reason to stay stuck inside. Another smile came to her lips as one of the children accompanying her siblings squealed and fell back to get covered with the surf. She sat down in her chair and closed her eyes, listening to the children play, parents calling them to come back to sit under the umbrella for a picnic.
How long had it been? Five years? Six, maybe? Over five, less than six Rose reasoned. Right at five and a half years…
Suddenly something intruded on her peaceful recollection. A sharp pain burnt through her mind. Rose grabbed her head in a vain attempt to stop the pain, gasping for breath as she heard one of the children at the beach scream in pain as well. She could hear a popping sound in her ears, something that sounded very much like fabric being shredded with a dull pair of scissors. She could feel the shift of the Earth, the sun, the universe... it was unwinding, falling apart...
The sound of the adults at the beach, trying to comfort the screaming child were like an echo loud in Rose's ears. Then, just as suddenly as it came, the pain and sounds were gone. Everything stopped moving for a second as time and space seemed to reassert itself back to its normal state.
Rose looked around, confused about how she ended up face down in the sand. She wiped the sand away from her face. Looking at her hand, blood from her nose mixed with the sand. Her mind still had a dull, throbbing ache as a residue from the pains it had just experienced.
A dull beacon flared to life in her mind... Rose forced herself to her feet and raced down to the shore line. She looked left, then right, trying to decide which direction the call was coming from. Closing her eyes, she concentrated, reached for the beacon... the left. Opening her eyes, she dashed past Mickey, Jake, and her mum and dad and the confused children. She heard them call her name, but she ignored them, continuing to run through the wet sand toward her goal.
She came to an immediate halt when she saw the outline of a familiar old blue box laying on its side. A door was missing and the other door was splintered beyond repair. Fragments of internal TARDIS parts and blue wood were scattered about on the sand and rock. Rose caught a piece of parchment the wind carried to her. It was ripped down the middle but there was no mistaking the sign that had one been on the now missing TARDIS door, proclaiming it to be a Police Box and nothing more. As she walked closer, she could see the remaining windows of the disguise were either cracked or missing.
Carefully, Rose got down on her hands and knees to crawl inside of the broken ship. The only light was that provided by the outside. There was no warm, welcoming hum, no tickle at the back of her mind to say "hello"... Just silence.
Looking around the console room, Rose could see why. The time rotor was broken, bits and pieces of it scattered about in the sideways room. The jump seat and the rail it had been attached to so long ago were lodged in one of the wall panels at an awkward angle. The old ship was dead after having exhausted herself coming through the void one last time.
In the silence of the console room, Rose heard it... the sound of a raspy intake of breath. She brushed her hair out of her face and looked around for the source of the breath. Then she finds it... a pale hand dangling over the side of the central console. Try as she might, she couldn’t climb up there. She damned the fact everything was turned on its side and she can't reach him... Then she remembered most of the panels in the floor come out and would prove very helpful in the climbing up process.
Within seconds she was seated next to him on the side of the central console. He wasn't moving, wasn't breathing anymore... She carefully shifted him over until he's lay on his back. Cupping a hand over her mouth she tried not to let the sob ring out through the hallow TARDIS. His eyes were open but vacant, his mouth bleeding, the face of the man she loved with her whole heart pale as... death.
Rose was suddenly unable to hold back the tears and pulled the Doctor into her lap, stroking his hair affectionately. She knew what it took for him to get here, to her. She had seen it all in his mind, once long ago... And she could see it all now, trickling into her mind like waves from the man laying in her lap. She put her hand to his cheek as she watched his eyes trying to focus, as he took in a sharp breath.
"Doctor... Doctor... it's me... It's Rose..."
The faint signs of life didn't mean anything at the moment, he could slip away as easily as he could come around. Then she heard his voice echoing in her mind...
Nice to meet you, Rose... Run for your life.
She closed her eyes and remembered it all... through both her mind and his.