Chapter Text
The wheezing sound of the TARDIS dematerialising was usually a comforting sound. One that would always feel like home to Rose. This time though, the sound was a goodbye. Both Rose and the Doctor knew full well they’d never see that blue police box ever again. Nor would they see its owner. For the Doctor this was a mixed bag of emotions, losing the one permanent fixture in his life forever was a kind of devastation hard to put into words. But when he looked over at Rose, his heart swelled in anticipation of the future he might have. He had the same face as when they had met all those . Rose’s emotions were somewhere so muddled she could hardly tell how she felt. On one hand, the Doctor and TARDIS were gone forever, but on the other hand, another Doctor was right next to her, with a new TARDIS. There was a silence between them, broken only by the sound of Jackie yammering away on the phone to her husband. Rose suddenly felt a strange sense of Deja Vu wash over her as she watched the Doctor in her peripheral vision.
“Rose?” The Doctor’s familiar voice broke the silence. His grip on her hand loosened. She looked over at the Doctor. She inspected his face again, scarcely believing he was real. The look of doubt in her eyes was the same as that Christmas, years ago. The Doctor remembered that look as clear as day, and he remembered the fear that it stirred within his heart.
“Blimey, it’s bloody cold isn’t it? Out of all the beaches to drop us on, it had to be the cold one!” Jackie shouted with her usual tone of voice.
“I suppose it’s not that bad, at least there’s a café up the road we can wait in” Rose says. She remembered that café clearly. She had spent a good while there, crying over a blueberry muffin. She wasn’t enthusiastic to return. The Doctor nodded
“Well, no time to waste, longer we wait here, the higher chance we have of getting hypothermia” he said.
“Takes a bit more than some cold weather to get hypothermia” Jackie scoffed.
“Feels like I already have it” He muttered. Pulling a petulant face, like a child. He was feeling the cold more acutely than usual. Even with his old jacket on.
“Well, Mr Meta-whatsist, you’re gonna have to toughen up, cause England is bloody cold. You’re not a fancy Time Lord anymore.” Jackie said. She’s enjoying this, the Doctor thought, of course. Privately, he was a bit glad to see her though.
“Isn’t that just… wizard” he muttered. Rose gave him a confused look.
“Wizard? You sound like Donna” she smirked a little. “From what I know about her”
“Well, I inherited a bit of Donna, in the metacrisis.” He replied, with a big grin. Rose smiled wanly and shook her head. What a combination, she thought to herself. Donna had grown on her during the short time they had known each other, she had wished they could have been friends. She was glad that the Doctor had someone like her to travel with, even if she wished that she could be there too.
“Come on then. We can talk properly once we’re out of the cold.” She pulled the Doctor’s hand, and together with her mum, they all trudged up the hill and towards the rundown café.
When they scaled the hill and wandered to the front door, the Doctor looked around at the few people populating the cheap outdoor tables. One pair was an elderly couple, sitting together in serenity, looking out at the sea. The Doctor couldn’t help but imagine himself and Rose in fifty years. He had trouble summoning a clear image, He had never really thought that this would be his future. He also hadn’t thought that he would end up as a clone of himself, separate from the original. Which was odd to get his head around. Inside the dingy café, a sullen barista manned the counter. Faded beach photos and an old calendar adorned the walls. The glass case contained pastries, the standard kind, made in some factory and baked in the café’s oven. Jackie ordered two small tarts, one strawberry and one custard. Rose lingered at the door, attempting to find a suitable table. Most were either small and rickety, or squished in close to another customer. Seeing a suitably isolated table, she gestured to the Doctor, and slumped down in the chair. It wobbled when she leaned forward, obviously not very level with the ground. The Doctor took the chair next to her. He went to lean forward as well, but stopped halfway, as the table had hardly any room, and he wasn’t sure what Rose’s boundaries might be, it would be best to be cautious.
“There you go love, I got some tarts. Not as good looking as the ones near us mind you, but better than nothing” Jackie said gently, a hand on Rose’s shoulder. Rose smiled in response, resting her head on her mum’s hand.
“Now love, you can rest on the zeppelin. Best not fall asleep here, we’re going in a few hours, and you’re a monster to wake up. Not to mention the time zones.” Jackie removed her hand, taking a seat in the remaining chair. Her eyes never left her daughter. The Doctor could see a worry there. No wonder, he supposed. Sensing that the silence could become tense, he felt the urge to say anything to break it.
“I forgot about the zeppelins! I actually get to ride a zeppelin!” The Doctor couldn’t help being excitable. Rose let out a tired laugh.
“You’ll see one soon enough,’’ Rose muttered. The Doctor smiled affectionately, before reaching for the custard tart. He hadn’t realised how hungry he was. He had never been this starving, the dry pastry and sickeningly sweet custard did help. A little.
“Humans. You all eat so much food with no nutritional value. It’s fascinating.”he muttered.
“Says the man who eats sugar cubes on their own. Anyway, You have to deal with human issues now, Lord of Time ‘' Rose joked, lifting her face just enough to show her eyes. The Doctor felt relieved that he could maintain the same easy conversation with Rose and Jackie, perhaps they still trusted him. He doubted that everything would go back to how it was, but that was natural. They both knew that they needed to have a serious conversation, most likely, but secretly both wanted to avoid it. Eventually, despite Jackie’s repeated attempts to prevent it, Rose fell asleep. Her face on the table, and her tart untouched.
“Ooh. I’m tempted by that tart, but I’m on a diet. You want it?” Jackie said, gesturing to the lone strawberry tart. The Doctor nodded, almost swallowing it whole.
“You’re just like my Tony.” Jackie said quietly. She seemed to soften when talking about him. The Doctor angled his head curiously, mouth still full of tart.
“He’s always talking, you know. Never sits still. I should introduce you, I dunno how you are with kids though. ‘Born from Blood and Anger” She continued. Probably not expecting a response. They sat in silence after that, Jackie stroking her daughter’s hair absent-mindedly.
“When is the zeppelin arriving?” The Doctor asked, as much as he enjoyed food, another few hours in this dingy cafe did not sound appealing.
“Pete’s borrowing it from a mate at UNIT. So it should be another couple hours. I reckon we start walking into town half an hour before, there’s a zeppelin port there for all the rich folks. The loony ones have cabins around here” She sighed, conveniently forgetting that she herself was a ‘rich folk’ now.
“Do you still live in the mansion?” The Doctor asked, the question hadn’t crossed his mind until now, but he wondered if Pete could stomach staying in the place where the original Jackie had met her fate. He didn’t know where he would live, sure if Rose let him, he could live with her, but she hadn’t said anything yet. Jackie sighed.
“It’s a new townhouse. Pete sold the mansion, said it was too painful. Rose lives with us, if that’s what you’re wondering. She had no time to really settle in, too focused on the Dimension Cannon.” He swallowed and nodded, steeling himself.
“Can I stay with you? I promise I’ll leave as soon as possible if you need me out of your hair. It’s a sticky situation…” he tried not to say it all at once. He hated needing something from Jackie Tyler, it felt strange. He missed the security of the TARDIS. Jackie burst out laughing.
“Of course you can, you plum! We were never gonna kick you out into the street, besides, Rose would certainly have something to say about that” The Doctor said nothing, but felt a pleasant relief.
“She’s spent the last few years looking for you! Now that you’re really here, sort of, she’ll probably want to have you join UNIT” Jackie said
“UNIT? I thought you were all in Torchwood?” He asked. For once, not knowing more than Jackie.
“Yeah, we were. But Harriet Jones merged us with the Preachers and now we’re all one organisation. Makes life much easier.” The Doctor almost grimaced at the mention of Harriet Jones, but this universe’s Harriet could be different. And he thought he might have forgiven the other Harriet anyway, after all, she did die in service to the universe. Besides, he really didn’t have room to judge anymore. He nodded to acknowledge Jackie.
“I used to work at UNIT. Long time ago though, different face, different UNIT too.” He remarked, remembering his friends from his old workplace. He couldn’t use the TARDIS back then, so he had used a car instead. It was almost scarily similar, and it made him want to talk to Sarah Jane and the Brigadier, he imagined how strange this would have all been to them. He felt a pang, knowing he couldn’t ever see them again. Jackie said nothing. For once, two of the most talkative people in the universe were perfectly content with sitting quietly together. Not much happened after that, the next two hours passed surprisingly quickly, even with virtually nothing to do. The Doctor passed time within his own head. Jackie chattered on the phone to various friends, telling them she was ok, and that yes, she’d be there for dinner on Saturday.