Life Less Ordinary, Chapter 1
Chapter Title: The Open Sky
Author:stormwolf10
Summary: The Doctor and Rose head out and a brand new adventure with their newly-grown TARDIS, a gift from the other Doctor. Rose has work in mind, but the Doctor has better plans for their first trip out: to see the greatest astronomical event in Earth's recorded history.
The Doctor lay under the grating beneath the TARDIS console, sonic screwdriver held beneath his teeth as he fiddled with some wires as a last bit of fine tuning before he took her on her first trip out into the Time Vortex. Just this once, he was determined to land in the right place at the right time. He grinned around the sonic as he heard footsteps and a body flopping itself onto the jumpseat. "Blimey, that was quick packing," the Doctor said as he grabbed the sonic out of his mouth and sat up to peer over the edge of the console, "You did remember to pack both of our stuff, 'cause....oh. Hello, Jackie."
Jackie Tyler sat with her feet on the edge of the console, giving the Doctor a weak smile as he crawled to his feet and slumped down next to her in the jumpseat. "Just a few days you said, yeah?"
"Sure, maybe not even that," the Doctor said, grinning at Jackie and nudging her lightly with his shoulder, "C'mon, Jackie, how long has it been? You should be used to this by now. It's fine. Really, it's fine. I'm only taking Rose back in time a bit to see a bit of astronomical history. It's not like we're going to go out in search of alien races to fight."
"Yeah, but that's the problem, Doctor. You two never go out and look for aliens to fight. It just ends up happening."
"Rose and Pete work for Torchwood, they're dealing with aliens all the time. Why is it a problem when we go out in the TARDIS? Trust me, Jackie, if anything should happen that's completely beyond my control, I'll do what I've done before and send Rose back to you."
Jackie frowned and narrowed her blue eyes at him. "Really, Doctor, after all we've been through, you still think it's only Rose I care about? That you could pop off and as long as Rose is safe and home, I'll be happy? I think I've progressed a bit more than you give me credit for. I care about both of you. I don't want you hurt anymore than I want Rose to be hurt. And from what I've seen of this version of you, all reckless and forgetting that you don't have a bunch of lives to throw away, I think I worry more about you than about her. My Rose is good at taking care of herself. You on the other hand..."
She sighed and looked up into his eyes. "I'm worried you'll get yourself killed. I love ya like family, Doctor. Even if you and Rose never officially settle down, you'll always be like a son-in-law to me. When you were in a coma, I had a lot of time to think about what you mean to me, and I realized it wasn't all for Rose's sake. You mean plenty to me all on your own. So don't do anything stupid, all right? I want you both back in one piece."
The Doctor stared at Jackie for what seemed to be hours. Something in the back of his mind suggested he should be offended at the idea that he couldn't take care of himself, but that little nagging voice was being overwhelmed by the total shock of having Jackie Tyler sit there and open up her heart to him like family. He spent so long thinking she detested him that he had only just gotten used to her accepting his presence in her life, and now she was giving him an honored place in her family.
He opened his mouth wordlessly a few times as Jackie raised her eyebrows and watched, and then lept from the jumpseat and grabbed Jackie with him, enfolding her in a bear hug that knocked the wind out of her. Setting her back down on her feet, he grabbed her shoulders and smiled. "I promise, Jackie. I promise I won't do anything rash...well...rash enough to ensure my death, that is. I'm not usually known for my in-depth tactical planning."
"Tell me about it," Jackie wheezed, grabbing her poor, abused ribcage.
The Doctor's expression sobered into a more solemn smile. "But really, Jackie, thank you. It's been a long time since I've had a family."
"Yeah, well, just don't start calling me mum," Jackie sniffed, "I'm much too young to be called mum by a nine-hundred-year-old man."
"No. No, of course not.
============================================
Rose dumped the last of their bags on the floor of the TARDIS wardrobe and smiled, stroking one of the curving spires. The hum of the TARDIS pitched higher in response, seemingly pleased by the appreciation she was being shown. "I'm getting as bad as the Doctor," she chuckled as she bounded up the spiral staircase two steps at a time.
Back outside in the garden, the Doctor was letting Tony chase him around with a dinosaur toy, the little boy roaring fiercely as he pursued the half-Time Lord. Jackie and Pete were standing near the TARDIS, ready to see the two of them off with slight looks of trepidation. "We'll be fine, don't worry," she said as she wrapped the two of them in hugs, "And don't look so worried around Tony. He'll catch on and think something's wrong."
"You've got your mobile, yeah?" Jackie asked.
"Of course, and I'll call you if anything comes up, I promise. Do you have those files, Dad?"
Pete nodded and handed over a thick folder of paperwork. "Try not to get into any major battles on your own, got it?"
"What's that, then? I thought they were just going on a little trip!" Jackie snapped at the two of them.
"Mum, it's fine. I just thought, while I'm out there, might as well do some work before work comes to Earth."
"It's mostly diplomatic missions, Jacks," Pete tried to reassure his wife.
"Mostly?!"
Rose kissed her mother on the cheek and turned before Jackie could argue anymore. "Alright, Doctor!" she called, "You can stop playing with Tony now so I can give him a hug goodbye."
"Ah, good!" the Doctor called back, scooping up Tony as he jogged over to where the other three were standing; "Off we go then?"
Lifting Tony from the Doctor's grasp, Rose spun the toddler around and gave him a big hug. "Now, you be good for mummy and daddy, and we'll be back in a couple days, yeah?" she said as she tapped him on the nose with the tip of her finger. Tony giggled and nodded, and was gently settled into his father's arms.
The Doctor leaned over and gave Jackie a large, warm hug, waved to Pete, then snatched Rose's hand and tugged her along with an excited, "C'mon!" Laughing at his enthusiasm, she let herself be pulled along, waving the file-bound hand cheerfully to her family as she disappeared with the Doctor into the TARDIS. Once inside, he let go of her hand and sprinted around the console, jabbing at buttons and flicking switches while Rose flipped through the files her father had given her. "Ah, this one's easy! Just a run over to the Shadow Proclamation to report that some of their Judoon have gone rogue."
"What was that?" The Doctor shouted over the grinding of the engines.
"I said, we could go to the Shadow Proclamation to report some rogue Judoon!"
He stared at her in disbelief for a moment before pulling a lever that hurtled them into the Time Vortex. Leaning over to clutch at the edge of the console as the TARDIS lurched towards its destination, he stammered, "What...what would you want to do that for?"
"Because," she began to shout, then lowered her voice as the TARDIS quieted and began to float through the Vortex in relative peace, without a destination as of yet, "Because I told my dad we'd try to do some work for Torchwood before it reached the Earth."
The Doctor huffed and strode over to where she was standing, plucking the file out of her hands. "No, no, no, you're kidding me! Work? On our first trip out? You're joking!"
Rose smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. "Alright," she said, "What did you have in mind?"
"So glad you asked!" he grinned cheekily, waggling his brows as he tossed the folder onto the jumpseat, "I'm not going to tell you just yet, though, because it's a bit of a surprise. He led Rose over to the jumpseat and gently sat her down, turned a few dials on the console, and grabbed the handbrake. "Here we go! Into the open sky!" the Doctor shouted joyfully and he yanked down on the handbrake and sent the TARDIS careening through the Time Vortex.
Author:stormwolf10
Summary: The Doctor and Rose head out and a brand new adventure with their newly-grown TARDIS, a gift from the other Doctor. Rose has work in mind, but the Doctor has better plans for their first trip out: to see the greatest astronomical event in Earth's recorded history.
The Doctor lay under the grating beneath the TARDIS console, sonic screwdriver held beneath his teeth as he fiddled with some wires as a last bit of fine tuning before he took her on her first trip out into the Time Vortex. Just this once, he was determined to land in the right place at the right time. He grinned around the sonic as he heard footsteps and a body flopping itself onto the jumpseat. "Blimey, that was quick packing," the Doctor said as he grabbed the sonic out of his mouth and sat up to peer over the edge of the console, "You did remember to pack both of our stuff, 'cause....oh. Hello, Jackie."
Jackie Tyler sat with her feet on the edge of the console, giving the Doctor a weak smile as he crawled to his feet and slumped down next to her in the jumpseat. "Just a few days you said, yeah?"
"Sure, maybe not even that," the Doctor said, grinning at Jackie and nudging her lightly with his shoulder, "C'mon, Jackie, how long has it been? You should be used to this by now. It's fine. Really, it's fine. I'm only taking Rose back in time a bit to see a bit of astronomical history. It's not like we're going to go out in search of alien races to fight."
"Yeah, but that's the problem, Doctor. You two never go out and look for aliens to fight. It just ends up happening."
"Rose and Pete work for Torchwood, they're dealing with aliens all the time. Why is it a problem when we go out in the TARDIS? Trust me, Jackie, if anything should happen that's completely beyond my control, I'll do what I've done before and send Rose back to you."
Jackie frowned and narrowed her blue eyes at him. "Really, Doctor, after all we've been through, you still think it's only Rose I care about? That you could pop off and as long as Rose is safe and home, I'll be happy? I think I've progressed a bit more than you give me credit for. I care about both of you. I don't want you hurt anymore than I want Rose to be hurt. And from what I've seen of this version of you, all reckless and forgetting that you don't have a bunch of lives to throw away, I think I worry more about you than about her. My Rose is good at taking care of herself. You on the other hand..."
She sighed and looked up into his eyes. "I'm worried you'll get yourself killed. I love ya like family, Doctor. Even if you and Rose never officially settle down, you'll always be like a son-in-law to me. When you were in a coma, I had a lot of time to think about what you mean to me, and I realized it wasn't all for Rose's sake. You mean plenty to me all on your own. So don't do anything stupid, all right? I want you both back in one piece."
The Doctor stared at Jackie for what seemed to be hours. Something in the back of his mind suggested he should be offended at the idea that he couldn't take care of himself, but that little nagging voice was being overwhelmed by the total shock of having Jackie Tyler sit there and open up her heart to him like family. He spent so long thinking she detested him that he had only just gotten used to her accepting his presence in her life, and now she was giving him an honored place in her family.
He opened his mouth wordlessly a few times as Jackie raised her eyebrows and watched, and then lept from the jumpseat and grabbed Jackie with him, enfolding her in a bear hug that knocked the wind out of her. Setting her back down on her feet, he grabbed her shoulders and smiled. "I promise, Jackie. I promise I won't do anything rash...well...rash enough to ensure my death, that is. I'm not usually known for my in-depth tactical planning."
"Tell me about it," Jackie wheezed, grabbing her poor, abused ribcage.
The Doctor's expression sobered into a more solemn smile. "But really, Jackie, thank you. It's been a long time since I've had a family."
"Yeah, well, just don't start calling me mum," Jackie sniffed, "I'm much too young to be called mum by a nine-hundred-year-old man."
"No. No, of course not.
============================================
Rose dumped the last of their bags on the floor of the TARDIS wardrobe and smiled, stroking one of the curving spires. The hum of the TARDIS pitched higher in response, seemingly pleased by the appreciation she was being shown. "I'm getting as bad as the Doctor," she chuckled as she bounded up the spiral staircase two steps at a time.
Back outside in the garden, the Doctor was letting Tony chase him around with a dinosaur toy, the little boy roaring fiercely as he pursued the half-Time Lord. Jackie and Pete were standing near the TARDIS, ready to see the two of them off with slight looks of trepidation. "We'll be fine, don't worry," she said as she wrapped the two of them in hugs, "And don't look so worried around Tony. He'll catch on and think something's wrong."
"You've got your mobile, yeah?" Jackie asked.
"Of course, and I'll call you if anything comes up, I promise. Do you have those files, Dad?"
Pete nodded and handed over a thick folder of paperwork. "Try not to get into any major battles on your own, got it?"
"What's that, then? I thought they were just going on a little trip!" Jackie snapped at the two of them.
"Mum, it's fine. I just thought, while I'm out there, might as well do some work before work comes to Earth."
"It's mostly diplomatic missions, Jacks," Pete tried to reassure his wife.
"Mostly?!"
Rose kissed her mother on the cheek and turned before Jackie could argue anymore. "Alright, Doctor!" she called, "You can stop playing with Tony now so I can give him a hug goodbye."
"Ah, good!" the Doctor called back, scooping up Tony as he jogged over to where the other three were standing; "Off we go then?"
Lifting Tony from the Doctor's grasp, Rose spun the toddler around and gave him a big hug. "Now, you be good for mummy and daddy, and we'll be back in a couple days, yeah?" she said as she tapped him on the nose with the tip of her finger. Tony giggled and nodded, and was gently settled into his father's arms.
The Doctor leaned over and gave Jackie a large, warm hug, waved to Pete, then snatched Rose's hand and tugged her along with an excited, "C'mon!" Laughing at his enthusiasm, she let herself be pulled along, waving the file-bound hand cheerfully to her family as she disappeared with the Doctor into the TARDIS. Once inside, he let go of her hand and sprinted around the console, jabbing at buttons and flicking switches while Rose flipped through the files her father had given her. "Ah, this one's easy! Just a run over to the Shadow Proclamation to report that some of their Judoon have gone rogue."
"What was that?" The Doctor shouted over the grinding of the engines.
"I said, we could go to the Shadow Proclamation to report some rogue Judoon!"
He stared at her in disbelief for a moment before pulling a lever that hurtled them into the Time Vortex. Leaning over to clutch at the edge of the console as the TARDIS lurched towards its destination, he stammered, "What...what would you want to do that for?"
"Because," she began to shout, then lowered her voice as the TARDIS quieted and began to float through the Vortex in relative peace, without a destination as of yet, "Because I told my dad we'd try to do some work for Torchwood before it reached the Earth."
The Doctor huffed and strode over to where she was standing, plucking the file out of her hands. "No, no, no, you're kidding me! Work? On our first trip out? You're joking!"
Rose smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. "Alright," she said, "What did you have in mind?"
"So glad you asked!" he grinned cheekily, waggling his brows as he tossed the folder onto the jumpseat, "I'm not going to tell you just yet, though, because it's a bit of a surprise. He led Rose over to the jumpseat and gently sat her down, turned a few dials on the console, and grabbed the handbrake. "Here we go! Into the open sky!" the Doctor shouted joyfully and he yanked down on the handbrake and sent the TARDIS careening through the Time Vortex.