Flowers on Air 11/11
TITLE: Flowers on Air
CHARACTERS: Ten/Rose, OC (lots)
RATING: PG/Teen
SPOILERS: None past mid-series-2
SUMMARY: After being temporarily stranded in 1999, the Doctor is faced with a temptation he may not be able to turn from. Can Rose save him from himself?
DISCLAIMER: If I owned any of these characters, I'd have already released a collectors edition of Until the End of the World on region 1 DVD. BBC, RTD, Wim Wenders, full props.
A/N: This is a crossover fic between Doctor Who and the mid-90's film Until the End of the World. Knowing anything about the movie is not required (besides, I'm taking some liberties, and then the Doctor shows up and the timeline's all shot to hell anyway).
This Chapter: "They are like dreams or flowers on air: foolish to try and grasp them."
Rose Tyler, time and space traveler, picked herself up off the desert floor, brushed herself off and gathered the many items now littering the ground around her. The Doctor’s coat (which was surprisingly heavy), canteen, glass, blanket, hat, all of the detritus left from her foolish plan. Her foolish plan that seemed about to work.
"So, how about we take a walk back to the TARDIS, see if she's missed us?" She continued to organize the items she'd collected back in to a bundle, but left the Doctor's minidisc player on the ground. This would be the moment of truth and she glanced towards it meaningfully while the Doctor vigorously rubbed the back of his head and looked askance at it.
"Be careful there, you'll start a fire," she joked, indicating his nervous habit, but then grew serious again. "So, what're you going to do?"
He met her gaze and furrowed his brow even more than it already was. "First I'm going to beg for your forgiveness, Rose Tyler. I'm a weak man."
Rose made a gesture that was going to be the beginning of a long "Do shut up, you're being silly" soliloquy but he stopped her.
"No, just let me just say one last thing. Back home, I was the black sheep, as you would say. Time Lords as a rule aren't--weren't--much like me. I didn't like them terribly much and they didn't like me either. Being brilliant among a bunch of other brilliant people doesn't make you special. Maybe one reason I hang around you lot so much is that you do make me feel special and, as I say, I'm a very weak man. This won't be the last time I make a dreadful mistake. But you never give up on me." At this, Rose cocked an eyebrow. "Oh yes, I know I accused you once, but that was just bluster. I like to bluster. Makes me feel important. And I hurt your feelings when I said that. I roam around the Universe apologizing to people because I just can't stop making mistakes. But I'd like to keep on apologizing to you a while longer, if you still want to travel with me after all this."
Rose's smile was so large she felt suddenly how dry her face had become in the sun, and she didn't care. She dropped her bundle and ran to him, like the very first time he opened the TARDIS doors in a London alleyway, tackling him with such force that he was pushed back on to the rock face behind him and let out an "Oof!" She hadn't waited for him to open his arms as he normally did when it was the hugging portion of their adventures, so had pinned his arms to his sides with her embrace. There were a lot of things still left to deal with, but for this moment it was good to just forget about them and drown herself in him and in her own foolish forgiveness. She really would have accused any of her mates of being completely mental if any of them had chosen to forgive a man who had behaved in this way, and who on top of it all had so many bloody issues.
She buried her head in his chest and savored the moment. Without letting go, her words muffled by the dusty fabric of his shirt, she said, "Doctor, can I tell you something?"
He looked down awkwardly, arms still pinned to his sides, and appeared as if he might be bracing himself for some bad news.
"You smell terrible," she laughed, and then, releasing him, held him at arm's length. "Really, really terrible. And y'look like hell. Can we go get some showers now? If she'll even let us in the front door like this."
He finally smiled. A real smile, not a wry, twisted self-hating leer. To Rose it was even brighter than the blazing desert sun, and a good deal more refreshing.
"You go on. I have something to take care of here but I'll be right behind you." He caught a shadow of worry on her face. "No, really, I'm alright. I'm always alright. Well, not always, but when it counts. Okay, maybe not then either. You know what I mean. You were right, though. There is a reason why this technology doesn't exist in 2006. It's too dangerous. I think it has to be destroyed, as beautiful as the genius that went in to creating it is."
He heavily walked over to the minidisc player, ejected the disc and broke it in two, handing both pieces to Rose. "Take that back to the TARDIS and make sure she disposes of it properly. And get a shower. I think we need to hit a leisure planet for a few days and I can't have you looking all...desiccated. People will wonder what I've been doing with you." He winked. Same old Doctor, the biggest flirt in the Universe. Rose made a mental note: deal with that. Knowing what she knew now, he probably sat in his study all night, every night feeling bad about flirting with her all day, every day. Repeat, ad infinitum.
"Go easy on them," she said. "Well, not Dr. Farber. You can give him hell, he's a horrid old man. But the rest of them. Maybe not so much with the Wrath of the Time Lord, yeah?"
"I'll be gentle," he said as he turned and strode back to the path that led to the centre, squaring his shoulders and before her eyes becoming the ancient and eternal Time Lord once again. Rose gathered up her bundle and took one last look around at the site of her hardest, most important battle yet. A shower would be lovely, but there was one last thing she had to do too.
~o0o~
"Mr. Fitzpatrick?" Rose looked for something hard to knock on outside of Gene Fitzpatrick's tent, as he was so wrapped up in his typing, he had not noticed her approach.
"Miss Tyler!" He pushed his typewriter back and placed a heavy rock on top of the stack of completed pages on his desk. It had grown perceptibly in the day since she'd seen him last. "You picked him up. Good show." He opened the netting for her to enter.
"How do you--" Rose's mouth formed a little bit of a confused "O."
"Of course you did. I can see how happy you are." He tapped his temple. "I'm a writer, I notice things. And I can tell you this Miss Tyler, you've saved him many times in the past and you'll save him again. He rushes through the world always running at a top gear, but you're always there to help him slow down. You know why he does it, so he doesn't have time to stop and feel anything. He's terrified of his feelings, but you...your feelings are your greatest strength. Don't ever lose that. I wish you both the best of luck. I have a feeling you'll need it."
Rose stood, rooted to the spot, blinking and opening and closing her mouth, trying to find something to say. All she got out finally was, "Yeah."
Mr. Fitzpatrick broke the awkward silence created by Rose's floundering. "So, you're leaving then? Now?"
"Oh. Yeah. Yeah, we're pretty much off. The Doctor though, he's got some...some words he has to have with Dr. Farber and that lot. I think you might want to take Claire away from here soonish. Like, now. Just for a little while. Or maybe for good. I don't think it's going to be pretty, though I told him to go easy on them." She hugged her bundle close to her chest, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden. "And thank you. I've never been that close to leaving him. It would have been the biggest mistake of my life."
And with that, Rose turned and went back out of the tent, walking without looking back, out of the centre, through the desert and back to the TARDIS. The ship did let her in the doors, but the nearest bathroom was quite a bit closer than it normally was, and already filled with steam and bubbles. When she came out again, she found the ship already in flight but the Doctor nowhere to be found. Wandering the hallways however, she could hear the distant sound of water running, and an off-key but rather enthusiastic rendition of "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" echoed faintly.
~o0o~
"They are like dreams or flowers on air: foolish to try and grasp them."
Verses on the Faith Mind, The Third Zen Ancestor
~o0o~
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for the sequel, coming to a fic archive near you at some point in the not so distant future.
(To Chapter 1 of the sequel, Touching Time)
CHARACTERS: Ten/Rose, OC (lots)
RATING: PG/Teen
SPOILERS: None past mid-series-2
SUMMARY: After being temporarily stranded in 1999, the Doctor is faced with a temptation he may not be able to turn from. Can Rose save him from himself?
DISCLAIMER: If I owned any of these characters, I'd have already released a collectors edition of Until the End of the World on region 1 DVD. BBC, RTD, Wim Wenders, full props.
A/N: This is a crossover fic between Doctor Who and the mid-90's film Until the End of the World. Knowing anything about the movie is not required (besides, I'm taking some liberties, and then the Doctor shows up and the timeline's all shot to hell anyway).
This Chapter: "They are like dreams or flowers on air: foolish to try and grasp them."
Rose Tyler, time and space traveler, picked herself up off the desert floor, brushed herself off and gathered the many items now littering the ground around her. The Doctor’s coat (which was surprisingly heavy), canteen, glass, blanket, hat, all of the detritus left from her foolish plan. Her foolish plan that seemed about to work.
"So, how about we take a walk back to the TARDIS, see if she's missed us?" She continued to organize the items she'd collected back in to a bundle, but left the Doctor's minidisc player on the ground. This would be the moment of truth and she glanced towards it meaningfully while the Doctor vigorously rubbed the back of his head and looked askance at it.
"Be careful there, you'll start a fire," she joked, indicating his nervous habit, but then grew serious again. "So, what're you going to do?"
He met her gaze and furrowed his brow even more than it already was. "First I'm going to beg for your forgiveness, Rose Tyler. I'm a weak man."
Rose made a gesture that was going to be the beginning of a long "Do shut up, you're being silly" soliloquy but he stopped her.
"No, just let me just say one last thing. Back home, I was the black sheep, as you would say. Time Lords as a rule aren't--weren't--much like me. I didn't like them terribly much and they didn't like me either. Being brilliant among a bunch of other brilliant people doesn't make you special. Maybe one reason I hang around you lot so much is that you do make me feel special and, as I say, I'm a very weak man. This won't be the last time I make a dreadful mistake. But you never give up on me." At this, Rose cocked an eyebrow. "Oh yes, I know I accused you once, but that was just bluster. I like to bluster. Makes me feel important. And I hurt your feelings when I said that. I roam around the Universe apologizing to people because I just can't stop making mistakes. But I'd like to keep on apologizing to you a while longer, if you still want to travel with me after all this."
Rose's smile was so large she felt suddenly how dry her face had become in the sun, and she didn't care. She dropped her bundle and ran to him, like the very first time he opened the TARDIS doors in a London alleyway, tackling him with such force that he was pushed back on to the rock face behind him and let out an "Oof!" She hadn't waited for him to open his arms as he normally did when it was the hugging portion of their adventures, so had pinned his arms to his sides with her embrace. There were a lot of things still left to deal with, but for this moment it was good to just forget about them and drown herself in him and in her own foolish forgiveness. She really would have accused any of her mates of being completely mental if any of them had chosen to forgive a man who had behaved in this way, and who on top of it all had so many bloody issues.
She buried her head in his chest and savored the moment. Without letting go, her words muffled by the dusty fabric of his shirt, she said, "Doctor, can I tell you something?"
He looked down awkwardly, arms still pinned to his sides, and appeared as if he might be bracing himself for some bad news.
"You smell terrible," she laughed, and then, releasing him, held him at arm's length. "Really, really terrible. And y'look like hell. Can we go get some showers now? If she'll even let us in the front door like this."
He finally smiled. A real smile, not a wry, twisted self-hating leer. To Rose it was even brighter than the blazing desert sun, and a good deal more refreshing.
"You go on. I have something to take care of here but I'll be right behind you." He caught a shadow of worry on her face. "No, really, I'm alright. I'm always alright. Well, not always, but when it counts. Okay, maybe not then either. You know what I mean. You were right, though. There is a reason why this technology doesn't exist in 2006. It's too dangerous. I think it has to be destroyed, as beautiful as the genius that went in to creating it is."
He heavily walked over to the minidisc player, ejected the disc and broke it in two, handing both pieces to Rose. "Take that back to the TARDIS and make sure she disposes of it properly. And get a shower. I think we need to hit a leisure planet for a few days and I can't have you looking all...desiccated. People will wonder what I've been doing with you." He winked. Same old Doctor, the biggest flirt in the Universe. Rose made a mental note: deal with that. Knowing what she knew now, he probably sat in his study all night, every night feeling bad about flirting with her all day, every day. Repeat, ad infinitum.
"Go easy on them," she said. "Well, not Dr. Farber. You can give him hell, he's a horrid old man. But the rest of them. Maybe not so much with the Wrath of the Time Lord, yeah?"
"I'll be gentle," he said as he turned and strode back to the path that led to the centre, squaring his shoulders and before her eyes becoming the ancient and eternal Time Lord once again. Rose gathered up her bundle and took one last look around at the site of her hardest, most important battle yet. A shower would be lovely, but there was one last thing she had to do too.
~o0o~
"Mr. Fitzpatrick?" Rose looked for something hard to knock on outside of Gene Fitzpatrick's tent, as he was so wrapped up in his typing, he had not noticed her approach.
"Miss Tyler!" He pushed his typewriter back and placed a heavy rock on top of the stack of completed pages on his desk. It had grown perceptibly in the day since she'd seen him last. "You picked him up. Good show." He opened the netting for her to enter.
"How do you--" Rose's mouth formed a little bit of a confused "O."
"Of course you did. I can see how happy you are." He tapped his temple. "I'm a writer, I notice things. And I can tell you this Miss Tyler, you've saved him many times in the past and you'll save him again. He rushes through the world always running at a top gear, but you're always there to help him slow down. You know why he does it, so he doesn't have time to stop and feel anything. He's terrified of his feelings, but you...your feelings are your greatest strength. Don't ever lose that. I wish you both the best of luck. I have a feeling you'll need it."
Rose stood, rooted to the spot, blinking and opening and closing her mouth, trying to find something to say. All she got out finally was, "Yeah."
Mr. Fitzpatrick broke the awkward silence created by Rose's floundering. "So, you're leaving then? Now?"
"Oh. Yeah. Yeah, we're pretty much off. The Doctor though, he's got some...some words he has to have with Dr. Farber and that lot. I think you might want to take Claire away from here soonish. Like, now. Just for a little while. Or maybe for good. I don't think it's going to be pretty, though I told him to go easy on them." She hugged her bundle close to her chest, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden. "And thank you. I've never been that close to leaving him. It would have been the biggest mistake of my life."
And with that, Rose turned and went back out of the tent, walking without looking back, out of the centre, through the desert and back to the TARDIS. The ship did let her in the doors, but the nearest bathroom was quite a bit closer than it normally was, and already filled with steam and bubbles. When she came out again, she found the ship already in flight but the Doctor nowhere to be found. Wandering the hallways however, she could hear the distant sound of water running, and an off-key but rather enthusiastic rendition of "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" echoed faintly.
~o0o~
"They are like dreams or flowers on air: foolish to try and grasp them."
Verses on the Faith Mind, The Third Zen Ancestor
~o0o~
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for the sequel, coming to a fic archive near you at some point in the not so distant future.
(To Chapter 1 of the sequel, Touching Time)