Life Less Ordinary, Chapter 16
Chapter Title: Allons-y!
Author: stormwolf10
Character/Pairing: 10.5/Rose, Alt!Jack, OCs
Rating: PG
Summary: The Doctor and Rose ponder what to do about this new Jack, and they finally arrive back at the Black Hole spaceport to pick up the TARDIS.
Disclaimer: Still don't own Doctor Who or any of it's canon characters.
Rose groggily made a face as the Time Agents' ship made somewhat of a bumpy landing in the Black Hole's docking bay. Freshly-washed, damp hair fell into her eyes as she gripped the doorjamb. She had once been used to such things when she travelled in the TARDIS on a more regular basis, years ago. She had become a pro at juggling the need to keep herself upright and the need to get herself dressed.Now, however, she had spent three years on mostly-solid ground, and she and her new Doctor spent about a year on land while the new TARDIS grew. Suffice it to say, her balancing-on-one-leg-while-surfing-the-bumps-of-an-unruly-ship skills were a bit rusty.
With her clothes finally put on and straightened into their proper position, Rose grabbed her jacket and wandered her way down a corridor and through a succession of wooshing doors. With the military orderliness of the Time Agent ship, finding the canteen was fairly easily. The metallic door slid open with a hiss and Rose stepped through, but the tone of the Doctor's voice made her stop short with a quizzical look. She knew that tone; it was one of those breezy, overly-chirpy, conversational tones the Doctor put on when he was trying to extract information without sounding like he was interrogating someone.
"So, you're telling me that in this highly dangerous job, you've never been badly injured?" the Doctor asked, leaning back casually in his chair, "Blimey, that's lucky. Not even I've been that lucky."
Jack laughed, completely oblivious to the true nature of the Doctor's questioning, and patted his stomach. "Yeah, I guess I am. I haven't had anything worse than a knife to the gut in a bar brawl on Fyros." The Doctor nodded mildly at Jack and sipped from the paper cup in his hand, but by the look in his eyes, Rose could tell he was trying to work out the puzzle that was this alternate version of Jack.
"Morning, boys," she said cheerfully, stepping further into the small, brightly-lit room, "How long until we land at the spaceport, Jack?"
"Another hour at most, I think." Jack smiled at the two of them and stood, offering Rose his chair. "I'll leave you two alone, then. I've got a few things to discuss with the Major and the General before we land," he said, ambling out of the room.
When he was gone, Rose leaned in close to the Doctor. "So, what was that all about?" she asked.
"What was what about?" he mumbled around a mouthful of the toast he'd just taken a bite from.
"Oh, don't start. What was all that questioning Jack about whether he'd been injured for? You don't think..."
The Doctor set the cup and the toast down, chewing thoughtfully and swallowing before he answered. "Yeah, I do think, actually. The time lines are warping around him, just like our Jack. It's almost as if...as if the fact of Jack's existence has been imprinted over all realities, not just the one we came from. I was just testing to see if he already knew that."
"And so you wanted to know if he'd died and come back already."
"Yep."
Rose frowned a bit, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Doesn't he have the right to know, though? I mean, if I was immortal, I'd like to know."
"Yeah, but we don't know this Jack. Who knows what he'd do with that information in this universe. I mean, think of what our Jack was like when we first met him. A liar, a thief, and a coward. This one could be just as bad, and if he knew he could do anything and not die --"
"I get it, I get it," she said, raising her hands, "So, what then? Do we just wait until he gets himself killed before we explain what's going on? It doesn't sound...right."
The Doctor sighed and rubbed at his eyes. It was the eternal dilemma; do the right thing by telling the truth, or do the right thing by keeping a potentially dangerous person from knowing that they're indestructible. Both choices were potentially right, and yet they had the equal potential of being absolutely wrong. "I don't know, Rose. I'm sorry, but I just don't know. Look, let's just not worry about it right now. First, I'd like my TARDIS back, and secondly I'd like to stop this John Hart bloke before he kills anyone else. Jack's predicament can wait until after that, can't it?"
==========================
The TARDIS gave a frenzied, high pitch whine as the Doctor stepped inside, making him wince with the force of her panic at being left behind. The Doctor stroked the console gently and murmured soothing words to her, apologizing profusely. This TARDIS was still so young, and had never, ever been so far away from the Doctor in all her short life.
After settling the General, the Major and Jack into the TARDIS, Rose stepped up beside the Doctor. She brushed her fingertips against the smooth glass of the time rotor with a slight frown. "What's wrong with her, Doctor? I haven't heard a noise like that from her in a long time."
"She'll be alright," he replied, giving the console one more soft pat before stuffing his hands in his trouser pockets, "She's not used to me parking her and being gone for days yet. The TARDIS just panicked a bit, is all." As if in response, the TARDIS gave one more high pitched whine before settling back into her usual quiet hum.
"Now," the Doctor said, turning to his new passengers, "A quick introduction: This is my ship, the TARDIS. It stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. It's bigger on the inside, as you can see, and she can go anywhere in time and space, so that will cut down our traveling time by quite a bit. Two rules: Do not touch any of the controls, and do not wander off. It's too easy for you to get lost in this ship, and I don't want to spend a week looking for you."
"A week?" Major Loretti asked skeptically.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Yes, a week. Like I said, it's bigger on the inside. Much bigger."
"Never mind, Major," the General ordered. "Lets just get this box flying, Doctor. I don't want to give Hart anymore time to plan than he's already had."
"Right, then! Allons-y!" the Doctor hopped back around to face the console. As he worked his hands over the controls, he muttered to himself, "I really should find something new to say. It just doesn't sound right anymore."
Rose smiled to him as she began to work beside him. "Oh, I don't know. I kinda like it."
"Yeah? Doesn't remind you too much of him?" The puppyish look in his eyes made her laugh.
"You look exactly like him, but you're worried that 'Allons-y' will remind me?" she shook her head. "Keep it, Doctor. I like it."
"Alright then... Allons-y!" he whooped with excited glee and yanked down on the lever that sent the TARDIS careening into the Vortex. Their hands met as they both clutched at the console to keep steady. With a light tug on her hand, the Doctor pulled Rose close and held her through the shaking takeoff, beaming down at her as she turned her bright smile up to him. Allons-y indeed.
Author: stormwolf10
Character/Pairing: 10.5/Rose, Alt!Jack, OCs
Rating: PG
Summary: The Doctor and Rose ponder what to do about this new Jack, and they finally arrive back at the Black Hole spaceport to pick up the TARDIS.
Disclaimer: Still don't own Doctor Who or any of it's canon characters.
Rose groggily made a face as the Time Agents' ship made somewhat of a bumpy landing in the Black Hole's docking bay. Freshly-washed, damp hair fell into her eyes as she gripped the doorjamb. She had once been used to such things when she travelled in the TARDIS on a more regular basis, years ago. She had become a pro at juggling the need to keep herself upright and the need to get herself dressed.Now, however, she had spent three years on mostly-solid ground, and she and her new Doctor spent about a year on land while the new TARDIS grew. Suffice it to say, her balancing-on-one-leg-while-surfing-the-bumps-of-an-unruly-ship skills were a bit rusty.
With her clothes finally put on and straightened into their proper position, Rose grabbed her jacket and wandered her way down a corridor and through a succession of wooshing doors. With the military orderliness of the Time Agent ship, finding the canteen was fairly easily. The metallic door slid open with a hiss and Rose stepped through, but the tone of the Doctor's voice made her stop short with a quizzical look. She knew that tone; it was one of those breezy, overly-chirpy, conversational tones the Doctor put on when he was trying to extract information without sounding like he was interrogating someone.
"So, you're telling me that in this highly dangerous job, you've never been badly injured?" the Doctor asked, leaning back casually in his chair, "Blimey, that's lucky. Not even I've been that lucky."
Jack laughed, completely oblivious to the true nature of the Doctor's questioning, and patted his stomach. "Yeah, I guess I am. I haven't had anything worse than a knife to the gut in a bar brawl on Fyros." The Doctor nodded mildly at Jack and sipped from the paper cup in his hand, but by the look in his eyes, Rose could tell he was trying to work out the puzzle that was this alternate version of Jack.
"Morning, boys," she said cheerfully, stepping further into the small, brightly-lit room, "How long until we land at the spaceport, Jack?"
"Another hour at most, I think." Jack smiled at the two of them and stood, offering Rose his chair. "I'll leave you two alone, then. I've got a few things to discuss with the Major and the General before we land," he said, ambling out of the room.
When he was gone, Rose leaned in close to the Doctor. "So, what was that all about?" she asked.
"What was what about?" he mumbled around a mouthful of the toast he'd just taken a bite from.
"Oh, don't start. What was all that questioning Jack about whether he'd been injured for? You don't think..."
The Doctor set the cup and the toast down, chewing thoughtfully and swallowing before he answered. "Yeah, I do think, actually. The time lines are warping around him, just like our Jack. It's almost as if...as if the fact of Jack's existence has been imprinted over all realities, not just the one we came from. I was just testing to see if he already knew that."
"And so you wanted to know if he'd died and come back already."
"Yep."
Rose frowned a bit, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Doesn't he have the right to know, though? I mean, if I was immortal, I'd like to know."
"Yeah, but we don't know this Jack. Who knows what he'd do with that information in this universe. I mean, think of what our Jack was like when we first met him. A liar, a thief, and a coward. This one could be just as bad, and if he knew he could do anything and not die --"
"I get it, I get it," she said, raising her hands, "So, what then? Do we just wait until he gets himself killed before we explain what's going on? It doesn't sound...right."
The Doctor sighed and rubbed at his eyes. It was the eternal dilemma; do the right thing by telling the truth, or do the right thing by keeping a potentially dangerous person from knowing that they're indestructible. Both choices were potentially right, and yet they had the equal potential of being absolutely wrong. "I don't know, Rose. I'm sorry, but I just don't know. Look, let's just not worry about it right now. First, I'd like my TARDIS back, and secondly I'd like to stop this John Hart bloke before he kills anyone else. Jack's predicament can wait until after that, can't it?"
==========================
The TARDIS gave a frenzied, high pitch whine as the Doctor stepped inside, making him wince with the force of her panic at being left behind. The Doctor stroked the console gently and murmured soothing words to her, apologizing profusely. This TARDIS was still so young, and had never, ever been so far away from the Doctor in all her short life.
After settling the General, the Major and Jack into the TARDIS, Rose stepped up beside the Doctor. She brushed her fingertips against the smooth glass of the time rotor with a slight frown. "What's wrong with her, Doctor? I haven't heard a noise like that from her in a long time."
"She'll be alright," he replied, giving the console one more soft pat before stuffing his hands in his trouser pockets, "She's not used to me parking her and being gone for days yet. The TARDIS just panicked a bit, is all." As if in response, the TARDIS gave one more high pitched whine before settling back into her usual quiet hum.
"Now," the Doctor said, turning to his new passengers, "A quick introduction: This is my ship, the TARDIS. It stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. It's bigger on the inside, as you can see, and she can go anywhere in time and space, so that will cut down our traveling time by quite a bit. Two rules: Do not touch any of the controls, and do not wander off. It's too easy for you to get lost in this ship, and I don't want to spend a week looking for you."
"A week?" Major Loretti asked skeptically.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Yes, a week. Like I said, it's bigger on the inside. Much bigger."
"Never mind, Major," the General ordered. "Lets just get this box flying, Doctor. I don't want to give Hart anymore time to plan than he's already had."
"Right, then! Allons-y!" the Doctor hopped back around to face the console. As he worked his hands over the controls, he muttered to himself, "I really should find something new to say. It just doesn't sound right anymore."
Rose smiled to him as she began to work beside him. "Oh, I don't know. I kinda like it."
"Yeah? Doesn't remind you too much of him?" The puppyish look in his eyes made her laugh.
"You look exactly like him, but you're worried that 'Allons-y' will remind me?" she shook her head. "Keep it, Doctor. I like it."
"Alright then... Allons-y!" he whooped with excited glee and yanked down on the lever that sent the TARDIS careening into the Vortex. Their hands met as they both clutched at the console to keep steady. With a light tug on her hand, the Doctor pulled Rose close and held her through the shaking takeoff, beaming down at her as she turned her bright smile up to him. Allons-y indeed.