Title: Domestic Travels
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Anything you recognise from 'Doctor Who' episodes, books, or general canon, is not mine. Izzy, Tim, Rose's extended family and the storyline are mine, however.
Notes: Sequel to 'Domestic Battleground' and 'Domestic Space'. I highly recommend reading at least the latter, because otherwise a lot of this won't make any sense. This is the third instalment in the larger 'Domestic' universe.
Notes 2: Gallifrey is back, through means unknown to any except Bad Wolf. Old friends have appeared, and more will come, as time and space are woven into knots by Bad Wolf. Something is very wrong with the fabric of the universe, and the Doctor is torn between protecting his wife and unborn child, and saving Gallifrey. Things are going to get a lot more complicated. He never really planned for domestic.
Previously, in 'Domestic Space':
Romana looked at the Doctor. "Would you like to eat here, or in the dining room?" she asked. "People will have to know about you at some point." The Doctor shrugged. "The dining room, then." She rose. "Tim, Izzy, please follow me." She headed towards the outer door, but before she got there it slid open and a slender woman stepped through. She was about Jack's age, with short, dark hair and wide eyes.
"Romana, have you seen –" she began, but was cut off by the Doctor.
"Susan?"
Chapter One
The Doctor stared in pure disbelief. It couldn't be. It wasn't possible. She hadn't been on Gallifrey when it had been destroyed, she'd been on Earth, but she should have been wiped from time with the planet.
"Susan?" he repeated in shock.
The woman – Susan – looked at him, a faint frown drawing her eyebrows together. For a long moment it seemed as though she wouldn't recognise him, then her mouth fell open.
"Grandfather?" she whispered. He gave a single nod, a jerk of his head. She took a step towards him, then faltered. "Grandfather?" she repeated.
"Susan," he whispered. "Oh, Susan."
And then suddenly she was hugging him tight, and he was clutching on to her as if he'd never held her before. And they were crying and laughing and half-formed words tumbled from their mouths.
Rose looked on, hugging her stomach, a feeling of mistrust growing within her. This was the Doctor's granddaughter, then. Her granddaughter.
Something was wrong. She moved to lean against the TARDIS; Izzy joined her, resting a hand on her shoulder. The sounds of the reunion faded; all she could hear was the hum of the TARDIS and a faint, faint whisper that was the living ship…
It seemed to be only a moment later that she opened her eyes to see the Doctor's concerned face in front of her.
"Rose? Rose, are you alright? What is it?"
"Don't pregnant women get dizzy?" Tim asked from further back.
Rose realised she was kneeling on the floor, still leaning against the TARDIS. She tried to stand up; the Doctor rested his hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"No, you might fall again," he said. "Stay still for a bit, yeah?" He felt her forehead with the back of his hand. "You're hot," he muttered.
"I feel strange," she said in a low voice. "There's something wrong." She shook him off and stood up, looking around. Susan sat on the desk, legs swinging slightly. Romana sat nearby. Izzy and Tim were hovering close. Jack was next to her. She looked at him for a moment. Was it him? No.
"I don't know what's going on," she said, her voice sounding distant. "It's Bad Wolf. There's something going on."
"Into the TARDIS," the Doctor directed after a moment. "Whatever it is, we should be able to contain it there."
But Rose pushed past him, and went to stand in front of Susan. She offered a smile.
"Hi," she said. "I'm Rose."
Susan smiled faintly. "I know. I remember you – from when I was small, before I met Grandfather. I'm sure we're breaking all sorts of laws of Time, meeting like this."
"Probably," Rose said. She pressed a hand to her stomach. "I suppose…I suppose this is your mum or dad, in here." Susan nodded mutely. The Doctor came to hover next to them, cautious. "Sorry, I'm a bit weird today," Rose said after a moment.
"You're always a bit weird," Izzy called out. "Rose, if you're done fainting, some of us are hungry." Tim elbowed her in the stomach. "Ow." Tim rolled his eyes at her and walked over to Rose.
"Rose, you should get checked out," he told her. "You just fell – it's not normal, I'm sure it's not." He poked her gently, then turned to smile at Susan. "We didn't get introduced. I'm Tim, Rose's cousin."
"Susan Foreman," said the Doctor's granddaughter. "I suppose we're related, then." She took Tim's offered hand to shake it. Rose began to shake uncontrollably; the Doctor grabbed onto her.
"No," she whispered.
There was a loud sound, almost a tearing noise, and a flash of light. When it dissipated, Tim lay slumped on the floor, not moving.
Rose staggered away, gasping for breath. Susan went after her, grasping her arm and keeping her upright. The Doctor knelt and felt for a pulse at Tim's neck. Jack held Izzy back.
"Doctor?" Romana asked, dreading the answer that she already knew.
"He's dead," the Doctor said flatly. He rose and closed his eyes for a moment before turning and crossing the room to Rose. "Rose, love…"
Rose shook her head, blinking tears away. She held Susan's hand tightly. "It was me," she whispered. "Bad Wolf. I killed him."
Izzy had disappeared into the depths of the TARDIS. Romana and the Doctor were performing a forensic examination on Tim's body, in a room adjacent to the infirmary. Jack and Susan sat on either side of Rose on the sofa in the kitchen.
"It's my fault," Rose said dazedly, not for the first time.
"Rose, no," Jack said instantly. "You are not to blame. You're not. Please believe me."
"You didn't do anything, grandma," Susan murmured.
"I killed Tim." Rose closed her eyes briefly; her salty tears stung under her eyelids, and she rubbed almost angrily with the hem of her t-shirt. "God, what am I going to tell Mum?"
"Don't think about that," Jack urged. "It's not important right now." He touched her hand gently, careful not to spook her. She didn't react. "Rose, sweetheart…"
"Tim's dead," Rose murmured. "And I'm alive. And I brought Gallifrey back and I killed Tim, because I know it was some sort of paradox when he and Susan touched, but I don't know why. I'm so confused."
"Grandfather will be able to –"
Rose shook her head with a bitter smile. "The Doctor can do a lot of things, but he's not all-knowing," she told her granddaughter.
Jack cupped her cheek and turned her head so she was looking at him. "You've changed," he told her. A tear ran down her cheek, and he wiped it away with his thumb. "Oh, Rose." He pulled her to him and hugged her.
"Rose."
The three looked up to see the Doctor standing in the doorway. He held a hand out to her, and she almost ran into his arms.
"You alright?" he asked her in a low voice, tilting her head up so she had to meet his eyes. She shook her head. "No. You ready to hear this?"
"I have to be," Rose said, and took a deep breath.
"It was a kind of temporal paradox," he told her. "Romana thinks it's to do with Susan being from another time, and Tim being from outside the rift, and the meeting of the two in a place and time that shouldn't exist. There was some sort of external force, as well."
"Bad Wolf?" Rose asked, dreading the answer.
"Possibly," the Doctor allowed. "But we can't say for certain." He held her face in his hands. "Don't you blame yourself, Rose Tyler. Don't you dare."
"Says you," Rose whispered, with the ghost of a smile. He gave a huff of acknowledgement, then ducked his head and kissed her.
Susan looked away, not quite sure how to react to her grandfather in this regeneration. She'd seen him young before, of course – they'd met during his fifth regeneration. But she remembered her grandmother as an old woman, and this was a little strange.
Jack caught her eyes and grinned, jerking his head at the couple and rolling his eyes. She gave him a small smile.
"Stop flirting with my granddaughter," the Doctor directed, having pulled away from Rose. "It's just…wrong."
"I wasn't flirting!" Jack denied. "So what're we doing now?"
"We need to take Tim back home," Rose said quietly, turning around within the Doctor's arms. "To Auntie Julie." She frowned suddenly. "Has anyone seen Izzy?"
"Romana went to find her," the Doctor told her. "Rose…"
"No." Rose pulled away from him. "No, Doctor. I don't want to hear it. I don't care. I have to take Tim back to his mum, and to Grandpa Mark, and to everyone else. I don't care what damage it might cause with the rift. I have to take him back."
Jack stood up, shaking his head and looking regretful. "Rose, the Doctor's right. If you leave now – if they're right, if you're the cause of this – it could be catastrophic."
"I don't care!" Rose lashed out. "Gallifrey shouldn't exist anyway! What does it matter if I leave and it all goes back to normal?"
There was a sudden, dreadful silence in the room. Jack stared at her, shocked. Susan's mouth dropped open.
Rose slowly turned to face the Doctor. He refused to look at her, his face dark.
"I didn't mean it," she whispered. He didn't look at her, didn't speak. "Doctor – Theta, please, I'm sorry – " She broke off as he turned abruptly and left the room.
Jack took a step towards her. She flung a hand up in the semi-universal gesture of 'halt', and fled.
"I remember, when I was very little, you used to tell me stories."
Susan had found Rose in the Cloisters, and for a while the two had sat in silence. Susan had broken it with her reminiscence.
"Yeah?" Rose said idly.
"About Earth, mostly," Susan nodded. She glanced sideways at Rose. "I never told Grandfather that I remembered you. Because of course I was born in a different time to him. I don't remember how I came to be with him, in the past. I don't really remember my parents, either. But you – I always remembered you telling me stories."
"I haven't told them yet."
"I know. I probably shouldn't talk about it," Susan said, with a slight shrug.
"I…I won't tell if you don't," Rose offered, glancing up. She gave a half-smile. "God, this is weird. You look older than me, but I'm your…grandmother. How weird is that?"
"Yes, it is quite," Susan agreed. "That's the trouble with time travel."
"I never thought it would be so complicated," Rose confided. "When I first met the Doctor, in London, I thought it was some students having a laugh. And then when he asked me to go with him, I said no. But he came back." Her smile dropped. "He's always done that. Given me second chances. I've gone too far now, though."
"He is very different with you," Susan said after a moment. "He is far more affectionate than I have ever known him to be."
"He's been like that since the beginning," Rose shrugged. "He told me, a while back, that he'd take any physical contact he could, because the mental contact had disappeared with Gallifrey. And from things Romana has said…he's different since the war."
"I don't understand that fully," Susan remarked. "Although I suppose I shouldn't ask too many questions."
"Questions are good," Rose said firmly. "The Doctor's taught me that."
They sat in silence again for a while, but a more comfortable silence. Rose was the one to break it again.
"So how did you end up back on Gallifrey?" she wanted to know.
"I'm not entirely sure," Susan admitted. "One minute I was on Earth with the resistance movement, and the next thing I knew I was here. Or to be more precise," she added, flushing, "I landed in Captain Harkness' bed."
Rose laughed. "Oh, I bet he just loved that!"
"He did seem to be pleasantly surprised, yes," Susan nodded. "But rather suspicious. He said something about having been conned the last time a beautiful woman landed on top of him…" She raised a questioning eyebrow when Rose bent double with laughter.
"That was me," she said between giggles. "Oh, poor Jack!" She shook her head fondly. "He's a good friend."
"Yes, I have found that," Susan said. "After we had introduced ourselves, he brought me to Romana. I had never met her, but she knew Grandfather, of course. And he told me a little about you and Grandfather, as well."
"What did he tell you?" Rose wanted to know.
"He said that he'd never seen two people more in love," Susan said candidly. "He said that if he ever found what you two have, he'd grab hold of it and not let go." Rose glanced at her sidelong. Susan looked back levelly. "You can't leave Gallifrey, you know," she continued. "Jack's right, it could be catastrophic."
"I can't stay," Rose said after a moment. "After what I said…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "Anyway, I need to take Tim back." She closed her eyes. "I owe my family that much."
"Tell me about your family," Susan urged, minutes later.
"Not much to tell," Rose shrugged. "There's Mum and me – my dad died, years back. Grandpa Mark – the Doctor's terrified of him." She smiled slightly. "I think he threatened to castrate him, or something." Susan looked mildly shocked, so Rose moved on. "There's loads of cousins. Auntie Julie and her lot, Auntie Bridget – that's Izzy's mum. The last time I saw them all was at the wedding – Bella's wedding." She wrapped her arms around herself. "That's when the Doctor and me…"
She stood up suddenly. "I have to take him back," she said in a choked voice. "I don't care what the Doctor says, I have to!"
"Grandma – Rose – "
"No, Susan." Rose was shaking her head. "I have to go." She pushed her hair away from her face. "I need to find some way of getting home," she continued. "I don't know –"
"There's TARDISes," Susan said slowly, obviously reluctant. "There are always a few spare…some will be older models, but…"
"Can you fly one?" Rose demanded. "I've helped the Doctor, but I've never done it alone, and I can mostly help because of my connection to the TARDIS – our TARDIS, I mean."
"Because of this…Bad Wolf?" Susan tried to clarify.
"Yes," Rose nodded. "Susan, can you pilot a TARDIS?"
"Of course," Susan said. "It's been a while since I did, but you never really forget…" She stood up, eyes wide, and shook her head. "No, I couldn't. I couldn't possibly!"
"Please, Susan." Rose grabbed her granddaughter's hands and held them tightly. "Please. Do this for me."
Susan felt her resolve failing. "We'll never get past Grandfather," she said helplessly. "Not to mention Jack and Romana."
"We will," Rose contradicted her. "We'll take Izzy – can you and Izzy get Ti- the body into another TARDIS, while I distract Jack and Romana? The Doctor's still in the TARDIS somewhere, he won't realise until we're gone."
"But his telepathic link with the TARDIS – "
"I can block that," Rose overruled her. "Can you do it, Susan?"
After a moment, Susan nodded.
Jack narrowed his eyes, leaning back in his chair next to Romana's desk. Rose was up to something.
He couldn't quite work out what it was. He'd been expecting her to act differently – her cousin had just died, and she'd had a fight with the Doctor the likes of which he'd never seen before, not even when Rose had gone off with Mickey in Cardiff. But this…this was strange.
She was leaning against the TARDIS, cheek pressed against the blue wooden exterior. Her lips were moving, but lip-reading was not among Jack's many talents, and if she was speaking aloud, she was doing so in less than a whisper.
"Rose," he called out, after Rose had patted the TARDIS yet again. "What're you doing?"
Rose looked up at him, startled, as if she hadn't realised he was there. "Oh," she said. "Jack. Um." She stepped away from the TARDIS hurriedly. "Sorry."
Romana glanced up from the paperwork she was perusing. "Rose? Is there something wrong?"
Rose shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I'm fine," she repeated, as Jack looked at her with scepticism. "Really."
"Liar," he pronounced. "You talked to the Doctor yet?" Rose flushed guiltily. "Rose…"
"I know," she said shortly. "I know. I shouldn't have said it. But I did, and I couldn't find him anyway, he's off sulking somewhere." She glanced over her shoulder as Izzy and Susan came out of the TARDIS. Tim's body had already been taken by transmat to the TARDIS they were going to escape in.
Part of her wondered at that word. Escape. Was that what she was doing?
"Izzy and I are going to have some food," Susan told Romana. "We won't be long." She glanced at Rose and offered a smile. Izzy didn't look up; she kept her eyes focused on her shoes. Rose nodded.
"I'll come with you," she said, and shoved her hands into her pockets so nobody would see her clenched fists and whitened knuckles. "We'll be back in a bit, right?" Susan nodded. "Right." She looked at Jack. "If you see him…" She shrugged. "Tell him I'm sorry."
"You should tell him yourself," Jack said, a hint of disapproval in his voice. Rose shrugged awkwardly. Romana was watching her with something akin to suspicion.
"I will," Rose said after a moment. She nodded at Susan, and the three of them left Romana's rooms. The moment the door closed behind them, they started hurrying.
"Is it all ready?" Rose asked in a low voice, barely even taking in her surroundings.
"Yes – we can go as soon as we get there," Susan told her.
"Rose, why are you doing this?" Izzy demanded quietly. "The Doctor – "
"I don't care," Rose said, a strange tone in her voice. "I have to do this, Izzy. This is my fault. This…it's the least I can do."
"I'm not objecting," Izzy muttered. "But he'll be devastated."
They paused as Susan entered a code on a door lock.
"He'll know where to find me," Rose murmured to her cousin. "He always has done before, after all." The door slid open and the three entered the room. A TARDIS sat waiting for them – a plain white box. "The chameleon circuit must be working on this one," Rose observed with a slight grin.
"Quickly," Susan urged. "Someone might have noticed something." She opened the door of the TARDIS; they hurried in.
It was quite different to the Doctor's TARDIS. That ship had an organic feel to it – Rose had observed once that she rather felt as though it had been grown. This TARDIS was far more uniform. The walls sloped, similarly to the Doctor's TARDIS, but they were white, with blue lights dotted at intervals. The console was octagonal and appeared to be far more functional than the Doctor's – there were no odd levers and dials here.
Rose didn't like it, but she refused to stray from the path she had chosen.
"Do you need help?" she heard herself as Susan as the doors closed behind them.
"Yes, please," Susan answered. "I'm setting the co-ordinates now. London, Earth. Two thousand and six, yes?"
"That's right," Izzy said, when it became clear that Rose was not going to answer. "How close will we get to when we left?"
"I can't promise anything," Susan said honestly. "This isn't a new TARDIS – it's fully functional, but I'm afraid it's not likely to be as accurate as we'd like."
"Just get us back," Rose said absently. "Get us to the right spatial co-ordinates. Bad Wolf will do the rest."
Susan and Izzy shared an uneasy look, then Susan directed Izzy to the console and the three women left Gallifrey.
To be continued...soon.