Life Less Ordinary, Chapter 4
Chapter Title: The Night the Stars Fell
Author: stormwolf10
Summary: Night falls, and all hell breaks loose
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any canon characters. Don't I wish!
The Doctor and Rose sat cuddled together on a thick buffalo-fur blanket, watching the band of Lakota as they celebrated a successful hunt. Well, Rose was watching, at least. The Doctor was gazing in their direction, but when Rose glanced over, she could tell his mind was far away from the dance.
"What is it, Doctor?"
"Just trying to guess who's behind the chaos that Ten Crows thinks is coming. I'm dreading the thought that the Cybermen of this universe have developed time travel. Or maybe those creatures who attacked London, trying to get the coral. I destroyed a lot of them, but who knows how many live scattered around the universe. I mean --"
"Does it matter?" Rose sighed.
The Doctor lifted his head to look up at her, an utterly baffled, not to mention disapproving, look on his face. "Of course it matters!" he hissed, trying not to bring attention to their discussion by shouting, "If I know what's coming, I'll know the best course of action to stop them."
"As if you've ever planned ahead before."
"Yes, well, maybe it's time I started, don't you think?"
"No, I don't think, actually," Rose replied, "Why are you so adamant about planning now?"
He shifted uncomfortably, sliding his fingers through his hair for a moment. "I made a promise to Jackie," he said, sounding a bit ashamed to admit it.
"You what?"
"I promised Jackie that both of us would come home in one piece," he finally admitted after a moment, "And I can't make sure that happens by flying by the seat of my trousers. Having a human body makes things a bit more complicated. I mean, before, who cared if an idea I thought up on the fly didn't work? I was much harder to kill, because of my Time Lord biology. Two hearts, respiratory bypass system, resistances to extreme cold and heat, and so on. And, if I did get myself killed, I could regenerate. Sure, I could only do it a limited amount of times, but I knew I was clever enough not to screw up that many times."
Rose reached out and took his hand, squeezing it as she gave him a sympathetic look. "You're still clever enough, Doctor. You still have a Time Lord brain, you know."
"Rose," the Doctor said with a sigh, "I wasn't in this universe more than a few weeks before I nearly got myself killed when a bright idea of mine went wrong."
"Stop it," Rose scolded him, "You have to let that go. It was one mistake. It's over now. Look, you'll think of something when the time comes. Now please, can we at least enjoy part of this evening, since that's what we came here for?"
He took a deep breath and nodded. She had such faith in him, even after what happened. "Yes, of course. Thank you," he said, lifting his free hand to run his fingertips across her cheek and smile softly down at her. It was times like these when he half expected himself to wake up and find himself still in his original body and his original TARDIS, having taken one of his rare naps and finding that these past months with Rose were all a dream. He remembered the dreams his human counterpart, John Smith, had been having in 1913, of the blond girl named Rose, who remained out of reach until she disappeared altogether. And now, here she was. Sharing a life with him for as long as they lived.
Cupping her cheek, he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers and felt her arms slide around him to pull him closer to her. Emboldened by the gesture, the Doctor tilted his head and parted his lips, deepening the kiss as he tangled his fingers in the soft hair at the nape of her neck, anchoring Rose to him as much as she was holding him to herself. His single, human heart was pounding in his chest, both in excitement and panic. She felt so good against him, like she was made to be locked with him in body as much as in soul, but was he ready for what comes next? Was she ready for that? They'd both carefully avoided going too far up to this point, and it seemed terribly inappropriate going that far in the middle of a crowd of people. Still...by Rassilon's ghost, she felt good pressed against him. If they didn't stop now, who knows how far he would go. Maybe just a bit longer...
A shocked cry rung out across the village, startling both the Doctor and Rose so badly that they practically flung each other away. The Doctor grimaced and held a hand to his mouth where Rose had accidentally bitten his lip when they forcefully pulled apart.
"Sorry," Rose squeaked, running a hand through her dissheveled hair as she got to her feet.
The Doctor grinned slightly, looking quite a bit out of sorts himself as he patted his bottom lip with his fingers. "It's fine, it's fine. You didn't break skin...or...anything. Anyway, I wonder what the problem -- oh, blimey!"
"What?"
Everyone in the crowd was staring into the sky. Some looked awed, others were frightened by the spectacle that was occurring over their heads. Great streaks of fire were shooting across the sky. Hundreds, even thousands of them. The heavens were giving off a light show that none of these people would ever forget. Soon, an almost reverent silence fell over everyone, even the Doctor and Rose, as they all gazed up at the sheer beauty of it.
Then, one of the meteors seemed to veer away from the course the rest of the pack were taking, heading straight for Earth. The ground lurched under their feet and sent many people to their hands and knees as the meteor made contact. Rose clutched the Doctor as they hit the ground, and they exchanged a look of dread.
"It's time, isn't it?" Rose asked.
The Doctor set his jaw as he pulled her to her feet with him, casting a glance past her to where Ten Crows had regained his footing. The two men exchanged a knowing look, and the Doctor's shoulders fell. "Yeah...it's time."
Author: stormwolf10
Summary: Night falls, and all hell breaks loose
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any canon characters. Don't I wish!
The Doctor and Rose sat cuddled together on a thick buffalo-fur blanket, watching the band of Lakota as they celebrated a successful hunt. Well, Rose was watching, at least. The Doctor was gazing in their direction, but when Rose glanced over, she could tell his mind was far away from the dance.
"What is it, Doctor?"
"Just trying to guess who's behind the chaos that Ten Crows thinks is coming. I'm dreading the thought that the Cybermen of this universe have developed time travel. Or maybe those creatures who attacked London, trying to get the coral. I destroyed a lot of them, but who knows how many live scattered around the universe. I mean --"
"Does it matter?" Rose sighed.
The Doctor lifted his head to look up at her, an utterly baffled, not to mention disapproving, look on his face. "Of course it matters!" he hissed, trying not to bring attention to their discussion by shouting, "If I know what's coming, I'll know the best course of action to stop them."
"As if you've ever planned ahead before."
"Yes, well, maybe it's time I started, don't you think?"
"No, I don't think, actually," Rose replied, "Why are you so adamant about planning now?"
He shifted uncomfortably, sliding his fingers through his hair for a moment. "I made a promise to Jackie," he said, sounding a bit ashamed to admit it.
"You what?"
"I promised Jackie that both of us would come home in one piece," he finally admitted after a moment, "And I can't make sure that happens by flying by the seat of my trousers. Having a human body makes things a bit more complicated. I mean, before, who cared if an idea I thought up on the fly didn't work? I was much harder to kill, because of my Time Lord biology. Two hearts, respiratory bypass system, resistances to extreme cold and heat, and so on. And, if I did get myself killed, I could regenerate. Sure, I could only do it a limited amount of times, but I knew I was clever enough not to screw up that many times."
Rose reached out and took his hand, squeezing it as she gave him a sympathetic look. "You're still clever enough, Doctor. You still have a Time Lord brain, you know."
"Rose," the Doctor said with a sigh, "I wasn't in this universe more than a few weeks before I nearly got myself killed when a bright idea of mine went wrong."
"Stop it," Rose scolded him, "You have to let that go. It was one mistake. It's over now. Look, you'll think of something when the time comes. Now please, can we at least enjoy part of this evening, since that's what we came here for?"
He took a deep breath and nodded. She had such faith in him, even after what happened. "Yes, of course. Thank you," he said, lifting his free hand to run his fingertips across her cheek and smile softly down at her. It was times like these when he half expected himself to wake up and find himself still in his original body and his original TARDIS, having taken one of his rare naps and finding that these past months with Rose were all a dream. He remembered the dreams his human counterpart, John Smith, had been having in 1913, of the blond girl named Rose, who remained out of reach until she disappeared altogether. And now, here she was. Sharing a life with him for as long as they lived.
Cupping her cheek, he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers and felt her arms slide around him to pull him closer to her. Emboldened by the gesture, the Doctor tilted his head and parted his lips, deepening the kiss as he tangled his fingers in the soft hair at the nape of her neck, anchoring Rose to him as much as she was holding him to herself. His single, human heart was pounding in his chest, both in excitement and panic. She felt so good against him, like she was made to be locked with him in body as much as in soul, but was he ready for what comes next? Was she ready for that? They'd both carefully avoided going too far up to this point, and it seemed terribly inappropriate going that far in the middle of a crowd of people. Still...by Rassilon's ghost, she felt good pressed against him. If they didn't stop now, who knows how far he would go. Maybe just a bit longer...
A shocked cry rung out across the village, startling both the Doctor and Rose so badly that they practically flung each other away. The Doctor grimaced and held a hand to his mouth where Rose had accidentally bitten his lip when they forcefully pulled apart.
"Sorry," Rose squeaked, running a hand through her dissheveled hair as she got to her feet.
The Doctor grinned slightly, looking quite a bit out of sorts himself as he patted his bottom lip with his fingers. "It's fine, it's fine. You didn't break skin...or...anything. Anyway, I wonder what the problem -- oh, blimey!"
"What?"
Everyone in the crowd was staring into the sky. Some looked awed, others were frightened by the spectacle that was occurring over their heads. Great streaks of fire were shooting across the sky. Hundreds, even thousands of them. The heavens were giving off a light show that none of these people would ever forget. Soon, an almost reverent silence fell over everyone, even the Doctor and Rose, as they all gazed up at the sheer beauty of it.
Then, one of the meteors seemed to veer away from the course the rest of the pack were taking, heading straight for Earth. The ground lurched under their feet and sent many people to their hands and knees as the meteor made contact. Rose clutched the Doctor as they hit the ground, and they exchanged a look of dread.
"It's time, isn't it?" Rose asked.
The Doctor set his jaw as he pulled her to her feet with him, casting a glance past her to where Ten Crows had regained his footing. The two men exchanged a knowing look, and the Doctor's shoulders fell. "Yeah...it's time."