My Name is Jackie Tyler
Okay, So I watched Doomsday again today with my mom and a blubbed like a baby again, so I thought I’d post this. It’s been posted elsewhere before so don’t be surprised if you’ve seen it before. I wrote it a while ago, so please be kind if you review. Please do so though if you like it.
Synopsis: Just a alternate ending to Doomsday. I do however give an explaination for the blue suit in this one, if you pay attention.
Spoilers: Doomsday, obviously
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Obviously I don’t own this stuff, or it wound have ended like this. Oh, and some of this dialogue is directly from the episode. Sorry RTD, you get paid to write them, I don’t. No copyright infringement is intended.
That being said, please enjoy.
My Name is Jackie Tyler
“I led a pretty normal life for 39 years; better than some, less lucky than others. I was loved by a wonderful man with daft ideas that died too young. He left me with the most beautiful little girl, my Rose. She was my shining star, so full of life. Just like her Dad, she was; always looking for something better, never satisfied with simply living. So when she disappeared for a year I wasn’t really surprised; devastated, yes, desperate, yes, but not really surprised. I was frantic to find her; blamed her boyfriend, (who’d never been anything but nice to me), had the police track down Rose’s ex, (the deadbeat with no future who’d tried to take Rose down with him), and posted hundreds of flyers around the city, begging for just a word, any sign of her.
Then she came back, with a man who called himself the Doctor, a man who could change his face. He was dangerous, this Doctor, always saving the world, always putting my Rose in danger. But she loved him, a mother always knows and that kind of life appealed to her restless heart. I made him promise to keep her safe, to always bring her back to me. He kept his promise for a while, but then came the army of ghosts, then came Torchwood and the War.
My name is Jackie Tyler, and this is the story of how I died.”
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Rose ripped the 3D glasses off her face and stared at the Doctor, dread bubbling up in her stomach. “We’re all contaminated, we’ll get pulled in.”
He didn’t even flinch as he replied, “That’s why you have to go, back to Pete’s world.” He turned, to point at her father, a manic grin stretched over his hansom face. “Hey,” he said lightly, feigning levity, “we should call it that, Pete’s World.” He turned back to look Rose in the eye before continuing, “I’m opening the void,” he said gravely, all silliness suddenly gone, “but only on this side. You’ll be safe on that side.” Rose couldn’t speak, couldn’t fathom that he was sending her away.
“And then you close it,” her father asked, her mother standing dumbstruck beside him, “For good?” the words barely registered in Rose’s ears.
“The breach itself is soaked in void stuff,” The Doctor replied nonchalantly, “in the end it will close itself. And that’s it, caput.” He emphasized the last word by clicking his teeth together. It was so characteristic of him, and so unbearably normal that Rose just wanted to scream. This was not okay!
“But you stay on this side?” she asked, trying to remain calm.
Mickey piped up from across the room, “but you’ll get pulled in.”
“That,” The Doctor replied, running across the room and behind the glass door, “Is why I’ve got these.” He held up one of the metal weight lifting devices from Torchwood research. “I’ll just have to hold on tight; been doing it all my life.”
Rose couldn’t believe this; after all they’d been through together. “I’m supposed to go?”
“Yeah,” he answered, dropping the device to the ground with a metallic clang.
“To another world and then it gets sealed off.”
“Yeah,” he repeated like a petulant child, running away from her to fiddle with the computer.
“Forever?” There was simply no way he was getting rid of her that easily. “That’s not going to happen.” She said it with a bitter laugh, denial pasted across her face in a sad smile.
The urgency of their situation came back in sparkling clarity as the whole tower shook. It was enough to startle her father into action. Pete motioned to his team and said something to get them all moving. No, she thought, this isn’t the end. “I’m not leaving him!”
Her mum and dad argued for a minute, her mum refusing to leave her behind. Rose couldn’t let that happen either, they’d just been reunited! “I’ve had twenty years without you so button it!” Jackie Tyler was a frightening force to behold when her child was at stake, “I’m not leaving her!”
“But you’ve got to.” Rose turned her mother to look her in the eye.
“Well, that’s just tough!” Jackie wasn’t budging an inch.
Rose couldn’t let it end like this; she wanted her mum and dad to be together, they deserved to be happy. “Mum,” she said gently, “I’ve had a life with you for nineteen years. But then I met the Doctor. And all the things I’ve seen him do for me, for you, for all of us, for this whole stupid planet, and every planet out there, and he does it alone Mum.” Her voice wavered with emotion as she started to move away from Jackie; wanting to be close to this man she praised, wanting to show how much he needed her. “But not anymore,” she continued, almost next to him now, confident in her belief that they’d always be together, “because now he’s got me.” Rose smiled; this was the way it was supposed to be.
Then she felt the Doctor touch her, sliding something around her neck, NO! Suddenly the world around her shifted and he was gone. He’d tricked her! “Oh no you don’t.” she said, reaching for the yellow medallion around her neck. There was no way he was doing this to her again. No way was he going to die to save the world and leave her behind to mourn him, not again! She fumbled with the button for a moment. Why wouldn’t it work?
Pete Tyler ran to his newly discovered daughter and ripped the device from around her neck. She screamed and reached for it but he cut her off. “The Doctor said that every time we use this it damages the whole world!” Rose lunged at him again, desperate to get it back, to reach the other side. “Now that’s enough!” He was authoritative; assuming a role she’d never had filled before. She finally had a dad and he was keeping her from her life.
“NO!” She sobbed in denial, clawing desperately at the air, trying to get the device he held behind his back. Pete held her back easily, bearing the brunt of her tirade, letting her pound his chest with ineffective punches. “Take me back!” she screamed, sobs shaking her slender form. “He needs me, Take me back!”
Jackie pushed Pete away and enfolded her daughter into loving arms. “Come here sweetheart.” She said it gently, as if soothing a wild animal.
Rose continued to sob, letting her mum rub little circles on her back as if she were still a child and this was just a fight she’d had a school, or a bruised knee. “I have to go back.” She wailed, repeating it over and over in a desperate mantra, “Take me back!”
Jackie led her over to a corner where they could have some privacy. “He wanted you save Rose,” she gently soothed, “He cares about you. He wants you safe.” She said it over and over again like a litany as her daughter’s tears finally silenced into shudders of desperate emotion.
Mickey couldn’t stand it any longer, wiping at his stinging eyes he made his way to join the two women. He leaned in, wrapping his arms around mother and daughter, needing to lend his strength. Rose turned into his arms, snuggling into his warmth for a second. He kissed her temple, muttering nonsense words, trying to sooth her, needing to make this better.
Rose pulled back to look up into his eyes and all the love he’d ever felt for this woman soared through his body in cascading waves. He reached up to touch her hair. “You belong with us Rose.” He reassured her, “With me and your Mum and Dad.”
Rose gave him a sad smile, her tears in no way marring her beauty, “No I don’t Mickey,” her voice wavered but was full of conviction, “and you know it.” His face fell. “You’ve known it from the start.”
Mickey took Rose’s small hand in his and noted the beautiful contrast between light and dark as their fingers intertwined. It was a perfect commentary on their relationship; polar opposites. She’d always shined so bright while he was afraid of everything. But she’d changed him, her and The Doctor; they’d made him better, stronger. The Doctor had done the same for Rose, only she’d had so much more to give, so much farther to go. How could he compete with that?
Making his decision, Mickey leaned down to whisper in Rose’s ear, her beloved fragrance blessing his nose for the last time. “Come with me.”
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The Doctor held on for dear life, watching the Daleks and Cybermen swirl and plummet to their doom as the breach sucked them into Hell. He laughed in triumph as his ancient enemies finally got the fate they deserved. Once the breech closed the war would be over, once and for all. It seemed less than a victory though, because when this was over he’d be alone again. He supposed, if he was being maudlin, that he deserved it.
A flash of light out of the corner of his eye caught the Doctor’s attention. No! It was Rose, right behind him in the little office that had once been enclosed with glass, tumbling head over feet for a moment before clawing at the tiled floors. Daleks and Cybermen sailed dangerously close over her head. “ROSE!” he screamed in denial. She shouldn’t be here. He’d sent her home!
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Rose dug her hands into the floor, the glass shards slicing her skin and making the way that much more slippery. Crimson streaks marred the gleaming surface as she slid backwards a little further towards the void. She had to find something to hold onto!
A Dalek screamed in outrage millimeters from her body before slamming into the ground next to her and ricocheting into the wall. Rose closed her eyes, the wind was so violent it burned, and it was hard to see through the tears. Then she heard her name.
“Rose!” It was the Doctor, calling her, urging her on. With renewed strength she clawed for anything solid, finally getting a precarious hold on one of the beams that had originally held up the glass wall. Some of the shards were still attached, and they brutally cut into her flesh, marring her already damaged hands. She cried out in pain and frustration.
“Hold on!” The Doctor screamed, real fear lacing his voice. And oh how she wanted to. She wanted to stay with him, was terrified of the hell he’d described the void as being. But she didn’t know if she could do it. Her hands hurt so badly.
Rose screamed as the blood started to flow through her fingers, making the metal slippery and her grip harder to maintain. “No!” She cried, trying to keep purchase, desperate to stay where she was. A blood curdling scream ripped from her throat as Rose slipped from the beam. She flew through the air for a second before slamming into something solid, thoroughly knocking the wind out of her.
“I’ve got you!” A familiar voice yelled in her ear as a strong arm wrapped around her waist. He held her tightly against himself for a moment, her bloody hands permanently staining his pin-striped jacket, as the wind slowly died down, and the void closed.
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“He did it.” Pete’s voice was solemn as he stared at one of the now inert yellow medallions. “He closed it.”
Jackie nodded sadly. Rose was going to be devastated.
Just then Mickey came into view from around the corner. He and Rose had walked away a few minutes ago. Jackie looked around frantically for her daughter, sudden dread welling up inside her. “Where’s Rose?” she demanded, hysteria threatening to surface. “Please tell me she’s out in the hall.”
Mickey shook his head sadly, tears welling up in his dark eyes. “I sent her home Jackie.” He told her brokenly. “She never would have been happy here.”
“No!” she screamed, lunging at Mickey, barely missing clawing his face before Pete wrapped his arms securely around her and held on tight. “Get off me!” She pushed him away and sobbed into her hands, moving towards the far wall, and collapsing against it.
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“What where you thinking?” the Doctor’s voice was harsh as he shook her in his rage.” “You will never be able to see her again; your own mother!”
Rose let him see the tears that had flown down her face constantly since he’d sent her away. “I belong here.” She told him firmly. “I made my choice a long time ago.”
“You almost got sucked into the void,” he cried brokenly, “I almost lost you!”
“But you didn’t.” she told him as calmly as possible, “and you’re never going to.” He pulled her to him, breathing heavily. The relief of holding her in his arms was overwhelming and he drew them both to the floor. She snuggled in close, soaking his shirt with her tears. “I love you.” She whispered.
The Doctor laughed, the tears catching in his throat. “Quite right too,” he told her joyfully. Then he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her senseless.
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Mum.
“Last night I had a dream. I heard a voice, calling me. I told Pete and Mickey. Most people wouldn’t have believed it, but they’ve met the Doctor’ they know where my Rose went, and so they listened to the dream. We packed up into Pete’s old jeep and followed the voice. We drove across the water, hundreds and hundreds of miles. And so here I am at last, this is the story of how I died.”
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Jackie stood on the beach in a beautiful pink coat that Pete had bought for her in an attempt to cheer her up and looked up and down the desolate beach. She wasn’t crazy, she couldn’t be. She’d heard Rose calling her name.
Pete gestured for her to continue and so she started walking down the shore, leaving her husband and friend behind, looking desperately for a sign that this wasn’t just a foolish hunt for nothing. She didn’t have to wait long.
Rose appeared a little ways down, a strange hollow figure wearing a pink jumper. “Hello Mum,” she said with a watery smile. “How you been?”
“Rose!” Jackie sobbed, running to where the flickering image stood by the water. “Where are you sweetheart?”
“I’m on the TARDIS,” She replied, “The Doctor found a tiny crack between the two worlds, just enough for me say goodbye,” she laughed a little at that, “and he had to burn up a sun to do it Mum, you should be proud.”
“Can’t you come through properly?” her mother asked, the tears falling down her cheeks in little streams.
“No Mum,” Rose answered her gently, “it would destroy everything.”
Jackie thought about this for a second, wishing desperately that nothing else mattered but being with her daughter again, but knowing full well that it did. “You look like a ghost.”
“Oh!” Rose turned around to speak to the wind. “She can’t see me properly. Can you fix it?”
The image of her daughter grew in clarity until it solidified completely. Jackie moved forward with a little sob, arms coming together to embrace air. “I’m sorry Mum,” Rose replied, her voice breaking a little, “I’m still not really here.”
Jackie nodded sadly, her breath coming in little hiccups now. “How long have you got?”
“About two minutes.” Rose told her mother blankly, before breaking into a cheeky smile. “Got any last advice?”
Rose’s attempt at levity didn’t have the desired effect and Jackie’s whole face fell. “I’m never going to see you again. It's just gonna be you and him up there, all alone. You won’t have any family with you. You won’t even be human anymore soon.”
Rose smiled again, pride welling up inside her small frame and illuminating her face. “No Mum,” she contradicted, I’m always gonna be human, and you know why?”
Jackie just shook her head, too overwhelmed to reply.
“Because who you are isn’t just what you do and who you’re with,” she answered, “It’s every day of your life all jumbled into one. I spent nineteen years with the best mother in the world and no amount of traveling or aliens, or anything else can change that.” Jackie smiled behind the tears, and nodded. “Besides mum you know what?”
Jackie wiped at her eyes viciously, “What?”
“I’m not gonna be alone, and I am going to have family. There’s three of us now.” Jackie looked up sharply, shock covering her face. “There’s me, the Doctor, and the baby.” Rose beamed, her left hand moving to cup the still flat surface of her stomach. “I’m three months gone.”
“Oh no, you don’t!” In an instant Jackie’s whole countenance changed from intense grief to vengeful woman. “Where is he!” she demanded. “Doctor!”
Rose rolled her eyes and held out a hand. The Doctor’s hansom form slowly slid into view as he clasped it. He was surprisingly wearing a new blue suit. “Hello Jackie” he said calmly.
“You’re going to take care of my Rose!” She was sobbing again, crying for the loss of her daughter, and now her grandchild.
“I promise.” The Doctor said sincerely, moving behind Rose to wrap loving arms around her. “I’ll keep her safe. I’ll keep them both safe.” Jackie sobbed even harder, barely able to stand now. “You’re dead,” The Doctor added sharply, startling both her and Rose, “Officially, back home.” Jackie nodded in understanding. “So many people died that day and you’ve gone missing, you’re on the list of the dead.”
“I’m happy mum,” Rose cried brokenly, changing the subject. “I’m where I’m meant to be, and I’ll teach our child all about you and being human, and being better than all the bad stuff out there. It’s not going to be a bad life.” Rose glanced over her mother’s shoulder at Pete and Mickey. “What about them?”
Your dad and I got married last month in a beautiful little ceremony.” She chuckled softly, “Pete told everyone I’d been missing since the cyber attack because I was at some hospital somewhere. They think I’ve lost most of my memories. It works in most situations. Mickey’s doing well, still misses you though.”
Rose nodded, “tell them I love them okay?”
Jackie looked up at her daughter for the last time and forced a brilliant smile. “Course I will,” she answered, “I love you Rose Tyler. Then she let out a little laugh. “You take care of him too,” she added, gesturing at the Doctor. “I think he might need it.”
Rose smiled, giving her mother one last good look at her. “Love you too Mum, always will. Oh and…” The image faded and Jackie was left standing on the beach alone. Her desperate cries accompanied by the rolling surf and howling wind. She waited there, unable to move, for her husband to come and comfort her.
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Rose turned into the Doctor’s embrace and cried softly against his chest. He held her silently for a moment, rubbing circles into her back and rocking a little. She sniffled a bit, before talking into his jacket. “I was going to tell her we’re naming the baby after her.”
Her lover gently kissed the top of her head, offering comfort. “I’m so sorry Rose,” he said against the soft strands of her hair. “I can’t take you back to her.”
Rose pulled away to look into his beautiful brown eyes. He was everything, how could he not realize it. “I belong here,” she said, “this is home.” Rose smiled weakly, “doesn’t mean I won’t miss them though.”
The Doctor didn’t comment, what does one say when given such a gift? So he just pulled her back into his arms. Rose was right, this was where she belonged.