Doctor Who Fan Fiction ❯ Rose and Nine The Inbetweens and backstories ❯ Chapter Seven ( Chapter 7 )

The Doctor had managed to take Rose to the British Empire Exhibition, the day after they arrived.

It was a Tuesday, and it was massive: a city of classical buildings fashioned from grey concrete. A size and scale and sense of optimism that put the Millennium Dome to shame. Each and every country and dominion and colony of the British Empire had been represented, some with their own vast concrete pavilions, some sharing with others.

It was both boring and fascinating in equal measure. Whenever they got tired of one thing, they simply moved on until something else caught their interest. They seemed to walk for miles. By late afternoon, as the light was fading and the crowds were thinning, Rose found it hard to distinguish between the different pavilions and exhibitions.

They had been staying at the posh, opulent, Imperial Club, due to the fact that someone had the stolen TARDIS. As usual, a quiet day out had turned into a busy few days putting the world to rights.

The poshness of the Imperial Club had been reduced somewhat by having the front door kicked in by clockwork suits of armour. They were alien robots, disguised and undetectable due to their clockwork construction.

And the aliens themselves, Katurians, hiding as humans. One of them a ruthless, psychopathic despot called Shade Vassily, exiled on Earth in disgrace. Another was a decoy, along with his jailer. And finally there had been the zealous revolutionary, hell bent on revenge for a slaughtered family.

The clockwork robots had killed people when trying to get information about Vassily, and the revolutionary found it regrettable but necessary to find the dangerous psychopath. Rose could see no difference between them. People had been killed, and the only thing that was different was their justification for doing it.

Little did she know that someone close to her had killed billions to save the entire population of the universe. How would she feel about that if she knew the truth?

'I shall miss this strange planet with its ugly-looking people,' The Katurian confessed as she and the Doctor shook hands on the Embankment.

'They won't all miss you.'

She inclined her head, perhaps in sorrow. 'Vassily is dead,' she said quietly, 'and I have destroyed his body. I have succeeded, but it was not worth the cost.'

Rose and Vassily's decoy watched from the other side of the road. The three of them stood together a few minutes later, watching as the surface of the Thames seemed to heave upwards.

The slick, dark shape of the Katurian ship detached itself from the water and lifted soundlessly into the night sky. It paused over their heads, as if bidding farewell, then with a streak of impossibly bright light it was gone.

'One more job to do,' the Doctor said. They walked to Sir George's house in silence. Sir George Harding had shown them kindness when they first arrived in 1924 when the TARDIS had been taken by the Katurian revolutionary.

Sir George's wife, Anna . . . or Anastasia . . . was a cousin of Tsar Nicholas II and also related to Queen Victoria. Rose had befriended their young son Freddy, and had taken quite a shine to him.

The Doctor let Rose do the talking, as she explained how Freddy had helped them to save London from an incineration by ignited ozone. Sir George sat silently listening, his hands clasped tightly in his lap and his face pale as death.

'He was a hero,' Rose said. 'He really was. He saved us all, several times. He was so . . .' She couldn't think of the words and looked away. Brave didn't even start to describe the actions he'd taken, especially when she realised he had the Romanov's inherited haemophilia.

Freddy had scratched his leg climbing through a window in to St Stevens Tower. Rose was being held hostage by Vassily, who was planning to use Big Ben to power his escape ship. The scratch wouldn't stop bleeding.

Sir George leaned forward and put his hand over Rose's. 'Yes, he was. Such enthusiasm, such love of life. Such a willingness to help. Always wanting to help . . . in the house, the garden, the kitchen.' He smiled sadly. 'Drives his mother potty, you know. No wonder she worries about him so.'

'She will be all right?' Rose asked quietly.

Sir George nodded. 'I'm sure she will. She's very strong, you know. But she's been through a lot in her life. Like Freddie.' They had escaped the Russian revolution, but Freddy's real father had been killed creating a diversion, so his family could escape.

'I'm sorry,' the Doctor said quietly. It was the first time he had spoken since they arrived.

'That's all right, Doctor,' Sir George said. 'We'll be fine now. And you never know . . .' He stood up and shook the Doctor's hand. 'It might have shocked some sense into the boy.' He smiled weakly. The smile turned to a look of surprise as Rose hugged him tight. 'I say, steady on.'

There were tears on her cheeks when she stepped away. 'Give Freddie our love, won't you. And Anna. He may not remember that we said goodbye.'

'Indeed I will.' Sir George glanced upwards as he spoke.

And in the room above, a mother sat on her son's bed, holding his pale, cold hand. She cried soundless tears. Tears of relief and joy as she felt every weak rhythm of his pulse. Tears that became sobs as he opened his eyes, and managed to smile. Then his eyes closed again and he slept on peacefully . . . dreaming of clocks and cats and cogwheels. And of how he had been a hero.

The reassuring blue shape of the TARDIS was standing at the back of the Katurian revolutionary's house, just as she had promised.

'I'm surprised you trusted her,' Rose said.

The Doctor clicked his tongue. 'You've no faith.' He turned to Vassily's decoy. 'Goodbye, then.'

The Katurian reached out to shake first the Doctor's hand, then Rose's.

'I like the new arm,' she said. 'And thanks. You know.' She held on to his hand for a moment. It was like the gauntlet of a medieval armoured knight. The fingers were jointed metal; the hand was stiff and cold. His arm was plain gunmetal, attached . . . expertly, the Doctor claimed proudly . . . to the shoulder.

Except that Rose couldn't see the arm, because it was hidden beneath a new coat. A battered brown leather jacket.

'It's no good to me,' the Doctor had sighed. 'Stitching's coming apart.'

When she let go, he lifted up his hand in front of his face, inspecting it. Behind his expressionless face Rose knew was a mass of cogs and gears and sprockets. It was hard to believe. He seemed so ordinary. So human.

'I don't think the previous owner will be needing the arm back,' the Doctor reassured him. 'Sorry it's not more in keeping.'

'Thank you, Doctor.' He flexed his fingers, then let the arm drop to his side. 'It reminds me of who I really am.'

'The Al's gone,' the Doctor said. 'Burned out and disintegrated. So there's nothing to stop you leaving, assuming there ever really was. We can give you a lift, if you want,' he offered.

'Where to? This is the only home I have.'

The Doctor nodded. 'See you then.'

'You'll do all right,' Rose said. 'Hey, if you're still around in eighty years or so, come and visit me.'

'Thank you. Perhaps I will.' He stepped back, and surprised Rose by snapping a salute.

'Don't get lonely,' she said, waving her fingers at him and smiling.

The Doctor opened the door of the TARDIS, and she followed him inside. They walked up the ramp to the console, and the Doctor adjusted a few controls to start the Time Rotor pumping up and down.

`So, when you were trying to entice me into this box, you said that I could go anywhere,' she reminded him.

`Yeah, that's right, you can.'

`Well, what about an alien planet then? Y'know with weird life forms an' everythin', so I can put my feet on alien soil.' She had met so many aliens now, that she felt it was about time she saw where they lived.

The Doctor grinned at her. `What, one small step for man, one giant leap for Rose Tyler? Right then, if its aliens the lady wants, then its aliens the lady gets. Go and get changed into something more appropriate, and I'll see what I can do.'

Rose flashed him an excited grin, and headed out of the console room. He sauntered out after her to change his shirt for his black jumper, and find a new leather jacket. He returned a short while later, with Rose arriving a few minutes after that.

He gave her THAT grin and twiddled a couple of knobs. `Spatial coordinates set for . . . anywhere but here.' He adjusted a few more controls. `Temporal coordinates set for . . . anytime but the present. Hold tight Rose Tyler, you're about to boldly go where no one has gone before.'

He started the Time Rotor, and it started to pump up and down with its familiar wheezing grind, until there was a `thump' as the TARDIS unexpectedly landed, and the Time Rotor stopped.

The Doctor thought that it was a bit odd that the TARDIS had landed so soon, without him preparing it for landing. It was as though the TARDIS was eager to land, or something was eager for them to land.

Rose was already at the doors and had opened them wide. Wherever it was, it definitely wasn't Earth, not with that shimmering green sky, oh, and the three suns kind of gave it away as well.

The muddy ground was an olive green colour, and sloped up sharply, partially obscuring a range of pale, pyramidal mountains, which stood like pitched tents on the horizon.

She had an enormous grin on her face as she realised that it wasn't Earth. She was . . . Somewhere Else, another world, this was proper alien this was.

She closed her eyes, opened her arms, and leaned out slightly. She felt giddy for a moment as a gentle breeze blew up and ruffled her blonde hair about her shoulders.

`You did it then,' she called back to the Doctor.

`Huh?' he said, preoccupied with the TARDIS's unexpected landing. He looked up and saw her looking out of the doors. `Oh, yeah, right, the alien planet thing. And about time, we've done space stations . . . space ships . . . we've done your planet so often we should get T-shirts made up.'

Rose heard him walking down the ramp to join her and smiled to herself. `What, you mean like, `I saved the Earth and all I got was' . . .'

`Aggro?'

He gave her a gentle shove in the small of her back and she stumbled outside. The alien soil squidged beneath her white trainers.

`Oi, Doctor, I was building up to that!'

He just grinned at her. `What were you gonna do, plant a flag?' Make a speech?' He stepped out after her, looking all about.

`Nah, take a giant leap for humankind, and nine times out of ten you squash whatever's beneath you. The best things are always just stumbled upon.'

`The way you stumbled on me, you mean?' she asked cheekily.

`Look,'' he said softly, pointing to something just the other side of the TARDIS. A single flower. Rose went over to see. It was a scraggly specimen, but smelled sweet, and its red petals were the only splats of colour in the muddy desert.

`There you go,'' the Doctor murmured. `Your first contact with alien life on its own turf . . . literally.'

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Rose emerged from underneath the surface of the hot, fragrant, bubbly water, letting out a contented sigh. The bath in her en suite was larger than the one at home, and she made full use of it.

She was trying to wash the dirt, grime, and memory of the Justica system from her. If she never saw a Slitheen again, it would still be too soon. Only this lot hadn't been Slitheen, they'd been another family, the Blathereen, and they were just as bad.

She'd thought being hunted through 10 Downing Street, and then blown up by a cruise missile was bad, but being stuck in prison with them with no where to run, well . . . She shivered at the thought of what could have happened, and very nearly did.

And back home, her Mum and Mickey had been hunted at Mickey's flat. The bastards, nobody messes with her mum and gets away with it. Where had the Doctor said they were from? Rats a comical tally porous? Bloody stupid name if you asked her.

She let the memories and the stress float away, just as she was floating in the bath, her toes just touching the tap end as her head just touched the other. Her hair floated out, forming a halo around her head.

She had been luxuriating for about an hour now, and noticed that her fingers were starting to go wrinkly. `Time to call it a night then,' she said to herself, and climbed out of the bath and then realised that she had made an oversight when packing her rucksack.

`Oh bugger, I forgot to pack a bath towel,' she said to herself as she reached for the small hand towel on the rail by the basin. She didn't have to worry though, as she stepped out of the bath, jets of warm air started to caress her wet body. She laughed at the tickling sensation, and held her arms out to get the full effect, rubbing her hair occasionally to get the last bit of moisture out.

When she was dry, she put her pyjamas on and went to make a bedtime drink of hot chocolate, and say goodnight to the Doctor, who, it turned out, was in the kitchen already eating a sandwich.

`Feeling better now?' he asked her as she reached her mug from the drainer on the sink.

`A hundred percent thanks. And if I ask to go an' visit an alien planet again, just slap me,' she said with a smile.

`Oh, don't let one bad experience put you off; there are millions of worlds out there that are really great.'

Rose finished making her hot chocolate and took a sip. Okay then, next time make it somewhere less Alcatraz, and more Alicante, eh?'

`I know just the place, goodnight.'

Rose shuffled to the door in her slippers. `Goodnight,' she said with a yawn over her shoulder as she headed back to her room.

When she was incarcerated on Justice Beta, Rose had not slept well. The mattress was thin, lumpy and smelt musty, and the blanket was thin and also smelt musty. Add to that the fear of being attacked in your sleep, and you had the recipe for serious sleep deprivation, so, that night, after her long soak in the tub, and a relaxing drink of hot chocolate, Rose slept like the proverbial log.