fic: I Know
Title: I Know
Author: dreaamer
Characters/Pairings: Ten/Rose, Jackie, Pete
Summary: Yet another reunion!fic.
Author's Notes: Dedicted to diapadme . Enjoy, bb. <3
The Doctor sat on the jumpseat in the console room, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in hand. It was his sixth re-read of it, but it still got him every time.
"Poor Harry," he muttered to himself. "Life's gotta be hard for that poor mixed up kid."
Donna had just left him to be with her family for a while, and he was carefully instructed to come and get her after a week. So he decided to spend some time reading. Sure, he could have just materialized a week later. But she'd also told him to have some alone time. And so he did.
It had been thirty minutes since he began reading, and he had just finished chapter six. He was about to start the next chapter when a crash echoed throughout the console room, and sparks flew off the console. The Doctor got up and ran over to the console.
"What is it, old girl?" he asked, flicking switches and pressing buttons. "What's happening?"
The TARDIS hummed angrily at him, sending more sparks flying off the console. He winced as sparks hit his hands, but continued working. There was another crash and the TARDIS lurched, sending the Doctor flying backwards. He landed flat on his backside.
"Oi, watch it!" he snapped at the ship.
He quickly got up and returned to work, trying to make sense of this sudden chaos. What in the world was going on?
***
Rose Tyler sat in her room in the Tyler mansion, her old mobile phone in her hand. Of course the day she arrived in this godforsaken universe her phone had instantly lost all its signal. Even the Doctor's jiggery-pokery hadn't worked in this universe. So, naturally, Pete had bought her a new phone. A fancy new phone too, with Internet access and e-mail and unlimited call minutes and texts. And it was touch-screen. All she wanted was something simple, and yet again, Pete outdid himself. Or rather, his money outdid itsself.
Rose had kept her old phone, though. She didn't care about the phone itself. She only cared what was stored on it. She had at least forty pictures of the Doctor on that phone (which for some odd reason could not be transfered onto the new phone) and did not want to give them up. It was all she had left, minus her TARDIS key and the silver ring he'd given her on Leraxon IV.
Rose scrolled through the pictures, smiling each time a new one came up. She was currently looking at one they took in China in the year 2001. They had arrived just in time for the Chinese New Year and decided to stay for the festival. Rose smiled at the picture. The Doctor, his mop of brown hair sticking up at all ends, was smiling that goofy lopsided grin of his. Rose was smiling too, her biggest smile, as the Doctor's lanky arm rest across her shoulder.
Rose scrolled to the next picture. It was of the two of them on the beaches of Sanifaar. They stood in front of the green ocean, the purple sand visible in the photo as well. The Doctor smiled that goofy grin again, while Rose's face was turned up, her lips puckered, giving the Doctor a kiss on the cheek.
Oh, what she would have given to do that again. Just to get on her tiptoes and give him a peck on the cheek. She'd give anything.
Rose closed the phone, smiling to herself. They'd had the best of times. But that life was over. It was time to move on. Rose got up, leaving her phone lying on the bed, and went to draw out a bath.
***
The klaxon tolled loudly throughout the ship, worrying the Doctor more and more as each new thing went wrong.
"What is it?" he asked of his ship. "What's wrong?"
The TARDIS hummed again, and then the screen lit up. The Doctor ran over to the screen, putting on his specs as he went. A blurry, grainy image filled the screen. The Doctor focused hard, trying to decipher what the TARDIS was showing him. Then he saw it.
A tiny crack in reality. A small space in the Void, only big enough to perhaps send a banana through. But it was getting bigger. Every second it grew, larger and larger, until ten seconds later it was big enough to crawl through. The Doctor gasped, jamming down buttons and turning levers.
"No, no, no, no, no!" he cried, hitting the console with his mallet. "This isn't supposed to happen! It's impossible!"
The TARDIS hummed as if to say, "Obviously not." The Doctor sighed in frustration as the TARDIS hummed again. Then realization dawned on him.
"No," he said quietly, just above a whisper. "No, it can't be." The TARDIS hummed again. "But I can't. It's impossible." If the TARDIS had eyes, she would have rolled them.
The Doctor dropped the mallet and more sparks flew off the console. He gave a frustrated growl as the TARDIS hummed again. "I can't! I just can't! This isn't supposed to happen, okay?" Another hum. "You know if I had any chance of seeing her again, I'd go for it, but this is too dangerous!" Another hum. "Both universes could rip apart!" Yet another hum. "Are you sure? You'd raelly be straining yourself." And another hum. "Okay. Alright. Thank you so much, old girl." One final delighted hum.
The Doctor smiled to himself. He couldn't help not smiling. He was going to get Rose back.
***
Rose sat in the bath rub, letting the stress of the day just melt away. She'd woken up extra early that morning and had worked all day until ten at night. She'd come home to find the family asleep in their beds, and the maids all gone home for the night. She'd eaten a scant dinner of leftover pasta and then went up to her room. That's when she'd gotten out her phone and began reminiscing.
Rose sighed, letting the memories of the man she loved fill her head. Normally she didn't spend her days brooding over the Doctor, but lately she felt some strange urge to let those thoughts take over her mind. She'd decided that being in misery all day was not ideal for her job, so she made the compromise with herself to spent the day living her normal life, and spend the nights letting memories of her life with Doctor encroach upon her mind.
Rose sighed, ready to end her bath. It was nice, but she was tired and it was time to get some well-deserved rest.
***
The TARDIS fell through the crack in the Void, spiralling round and round through the alternate vortex, until it fell through the clouds and appeared in the sky above the parallel Earth.
Inside, the Doctor hung on tight to the console as the ship lurched violently, sparks flying madly off the console, lighting up the console room.
Just as the Doctor tried to convince himself that this was not quite the worst flight he'd ever experienced, the ship crash-landed, hitting the ground with a thud. The console room went dark for a moment, then finally lit up again, though dimmer than it was before. The TARDIS hummed.
"Thank you, old girl," said the Doctor, patting the console. "I owe you one." The TARDIS hummed again, delightedly. "I'll be back in a little while, okay? You just rest now."
And with that, the Doctor ran down the ramp and out the double doors, shouting a quick goodbye to his beloved ship.
***
Rose sat on her bed, wrapped up in nothing but a pink satin dressing gown over undergarments, her old mobile in hand. She scrolled through to the next photo. It was taken at her mum's flat while they'd been visiting. She remembered that she'd been upset about Mickey staying behind in the parallel world, and despite the amazing comfort only a mother could give, it was the Doctor who really comforted her. The picture had been taken the next morning, when everyone was feeling better. Rose had handed the phone to her mum and sat down on the sofa, snuggling up to the Doctor. Without knowing it, Jackie had taken a picture of it. Rose smiled, remembering how she smelt of cinnamon and the Time Vortex. She remembered how her head fit right under his, how her hand fit perfectly in his, how his arms wrapped around her in just the right way. Now the image was forever frozen in time. Her head on his chest, her eyes closed, his lips gently kissing her head, his arms wrapped around her middle. She smiled. It was a good image to have.
Rose yawned loudly, deciding it was time to turn in for the night. She set her phone down and walked over to head of the bed. She was about to get in when she heard it.
The sound of the universe. The familiar grinding noise of the best ship in the universe. Rose gasped, her eyes widening, her mouth falling open in a perfect "O".
He was here.
***
The Doctor trotted up to the Tyler mansion, a huge grin spread across his face. He quickly climbed the large gate, hopping over and running at top speed across the large yard. He was halfway there when the big double doors opened.
***
Rose wrenched open her bedroom door, flying out of the room. She sprinted down the long hallway toward the main staircase. It was certainly a good thing her room was at the front of the hallway, not in the back of the house.
Rose flew down the stairs at lightning speed, her bare feet padding across the tiled floor. She finally reached the double doors, pulling them open with all the force her body could muster. It was then that she saw him. Standing in the front yard, about halfway from the gate to the house.
He grinned widely, that lopsided grin she knew so well. She smiled too, the widest smile possible, unable to keep the tears pricking at her eyes from flowing.
He moved forward, first a leisurely walk, then a jog, then breaking into a full-on sprint. Rose did the same, sprinting at full speed to reach him.
When they finally collided, the force with which they hit eachother was stronger than anything either of them had ever felt before. The Doctor's arms wrapped around her middle like steel girders, threatening to trap her there forever. Rose jumped up and wrapped her arms around him, her feet kicking at his shins in order to get higher. After many tries, she successfully wrapped her legs around his waist. Tears flowed freely down her face as she pressed soft kisses all over his. He whispered her name over and over, like a mantra, keeping him sane. Choked sobs fell from her trembling lips as she kissed his face, and strangled whispers fell from his. One small tear glided down his face as he said her name.
After a long time, she finally let up, and he released her, setting her down gently in front of him. He cradled her face in his hands, wiping the tears away with his thumbs.
"Look at me, Rose," he said to her closed eyelids. "Please, look at me."
Her eyes fluttered open, still flooded with tears. She looked into his chocolate eyes and he looked into her copper ones.
"My Doctor," she said simply, smiling through her tears. He smiled back.
"Rose, I need to tell you..." he said, unsure of himself. "I never got to say... I wasn't... I just... well, I love you, Rose. I'm sorry I never told you before."
"I love you too, Doctor. So much."
"I know," he said, and pulled her close, one arm around her waist, the other hand stroking her hair. Her arms wrapped around his middle as she pressed her face into his chest.
"I've missed you," she said quietly.
"I've missed you too," he replied. "Now hush, love. I've got you."
And they stayed that way for a long time.
***
After much hugging they finally decided it was cold out and went back to the house. When they opened the doors, they found Jackie and Pete standing at the bottom of the stairs, worried looks on their faces. As soon as they saw the Doctor, their faces softened, their mouths turning up in smiles.
"I'm guessing you heard it," said Rose, smiling.
"Yeah," said Jackie, smiling back. "How'd you get here?" Her question was directed at the Doctor.
"A crack in the Void," he said, wrapping his arm around Rose's waist. "Just a tiny little crack, but enough to get the TARDIS through. She convinced me." He pointed out the door in the general direction of the TARDIS.
"She?" asked Pete, confused.
"The TARDIS," said Rose. "She's a she." Pete nodded.
"So I suppose you'll be taking her with you then?" asked Jackie.
"Not just yet, actually," replied the Doctor. "The TARDIS strained herself quite a bit to get here, so she'll need some time to cool down. A few days, probably. A week tops." He turned to Rose. "That okay?"
"That's fine," said Rose, hugging the Doctor. "As long as you're here, everything's fine."
"Alright then," said Jackie. "It's settled. Your ship needs to recover, so you'll not be visiting her. If I know anything about women, I know that they do not like to be bothered. You'll be staying here with us."
"Thank you, Jackie," he said.
"You're welcome. Pete?" She turned to Pete. "I'm gonna go check on Tony. Go and make up a room for the Doctor." She made to walk off, but paused. "Not Rose's." Then she walked off to check on her son.
The Doctor and Rose both blushed.
"Gotcha," said Pete. "This way, Doctor." Both men walked off into the hallway.
Rose followed, smiling.
***
"Wait, this is my room, Pete," said Rose as soon as they walked in.
"I know," he said, grinning evilly. "Your mum's a bit over-protective. But I think you can handle sharing a bed, don't you?"
"Yes," said Rose. "Thank you."
"Thanks," said the Doctor.
Rose closed the door behind her and walked over to the bed. She pulled down the covers then patted the bed. "You getting in?"
"Are you?" he replied, kicking off his shoes.
"Yeah, one sec," she said, taking off her dressing gown to reveal a lacy burgundy bra and matching knickers.
"I... I..." the Doctor drooled. "Wow."
"Stop drooling," she said playfully, her tongue poking between her teeth as she smiled.
"I am not drooling!" he replied indignantly.
"You so are."
"I'm just... applauding your fashion sense. With my eyes."
"And your saliva?"
"Erm, yes."
"Shut up, you!" she said, grinning.
"Shutting up."
"Are you ever gonna get in bed?" said Rose, getting under the covers.
"Yes, sorry!" he replied, getting in with her. "Better?"
"Much." She scooted closer to him and he wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest and put one arm aroun his middle and a leg over his. "Mmm..." she moaned. "This is nice."
"You're warm," he said simply. She looked up at him. "It's nice." They both smiled.
"Thanks, you are too."
"Mmm, thanks."
"Doctor?" she asked, looking up at him.
"Yes, love?" he replied, smiling at her warmly.
"Nothing. Just... I love you."
"I love you too, Rose."
"I know, Doctor. I know."
-fin-