Toss of the Cosmic Dice

by Lady_Inari

Summary:

Jackie has a private word with the Doctor and changes his mind about leaving Rose and his Metacrisis in the parallel universe.

BBC and Affiliates are the sole proprietors of all things Doctor Who or attached to its universe, I do not. I merely do this as an exercise in fun and do not earn anything but gratitude for getting to play in the DWU sandbox.

Notes:

As Usual, my fics are all labeled AU because I consider them to be. So I was inspired by DoctorMulder and Aeolist to try my hand at doing a Doctor/MetaDoctor/Rose fic as well as Hawkerin's The New Stuff of Legends series, several of GroovyKat's - The Highway Man, A New Journey, and Leaving it All Behind, come to mind, The Bee's Pearl of Great Price - Plus a few others whose titles I can't remember off the top of my head or their wonderful Authors. They're somewhere in my bookmarks, I'm fairly sure. Unless the authors deleted them. *sad sigh* If I haven't said it before, I tend to hoard bookmarks of stuff I like. I'm not sure how well it will turn out, but the back of my mind's been itching to post one. I wanted to wait till I at least got along further in the other stuff, but nope. My will broke. So here I am posting a new story.

Strangely I don't seem to be able to do short or just one story. This will probably turn into one of my monster multi-storied ideas. *grumble* Probably why I've been hesitant to get past thinking about participating in the Paul Spragg Memorial Contest Big Finish has once a year. I actually thought about it this year since they opened it all the way up to the 12th Doctor minus the War Doctor due to copyright issues but I chickened out. To be fair, I think it was the idea if my entry (well this year two entries were allowed) might be picked and actually having a contract sent to me like it was an actual job. I prefer to do this as fun. Maybe next year? We'll see.

Anyway, as mentioned in my summary I do not own Doctor Who or any of its spin-offs that take place in the DW Universe. BBC and its affiliate companies have complete control. I make no money from this thankfully.

Chapter 1: End of one Journey and Beginning of Another

The Daleks were defeated and everyone was in very high spirits, off in their own little worlds of celebrations. Jackie Tyler, for all her sarcastic and seemingly unobservant personality, could be observant when she wanted to be. At that moment, she saw Rose quietly talking to the Doctor in blue with the one in brown just a little off by himself.

She quietly made her way over to him and got his attention with a small gesture of her head. "Do you have a place where I can speak with you for a few moments? I know we just got done fixing that mess with the Daleks, but it really is important."

The Doctor nodded. "We have time, let me introduce you to the Tardis Library. Follow me."

Jackie followed the Doctor to the Library looking around as they walked down the hall. The Doctor said his ship was sentient and it was like she wanted to impress her, which was daft. But the hall she walked down had open doored room to either side and the hallway showing a variety of interesting contents. One had a groomed garden with butterflies and what looked to be a variety of species of Roses. Another was filled with art. Another looked like a beautiful garden park with pathways for walking, what looked like a labyrinth made from bushes and a statue of what looked like her daughter in the center among some others. The Hallway coral itself had slight rose tinted iridescence to it. It was as if the Ship knew just what she was going to talk to the Doctor about; wait, didn't Rose say something about telepathee or something like that?

She glared at the Doctor, "Oi! This ship better not be reading my mind Doctor!" she grumbled.

The Doctor glanced back warily. "Er, that's not quite how it works. She mostly translates languages so that you hear and understand it as your own." he admitted.

Her gaze became sharper. "Mostly?"

The Doctor stammered, "Th That's That's not, I mean..." he subtly widened the physical distance, just in case.

Jackie chuckled, " Oh you plum, don't worry. Rose told me a little about the Tardis. It just occurred to me and I figured I'd tease you a bit. "

The Doctor rolled his eyes a bit as they came to the library door. "And here we are, the Library. Normally it wouldn't have taken so long, but for some reason, the old girl made us take this route. I don't understand why."

Jackie, in turn, rolled her eyes, "Well if you call her old, it's no wonder and quite a surprise she doesn't just make you get lost for hours."

The Doctor chuckled, oh I've been calling her that for a long time now. she was going to be decommissioned and either sent to a museum or the scrapyard when I first borrowed her. Sometimes I wonder if she knew I was coming and made it easy for me." He frowned, "of course there was a young girl who also pointed me toward her. I haven't thought of that in ages and I don't recall her properly. I never did find out or get to thank her. I wonder whatever happened to her." he mused.

Jackie's brows rose at the surfeit of information the Doctor spouted at her. It was the most he'd ever revealed to her. "I'd have thought you'd have stolen something newer." then she glanced up to the coral wall, "No offense, you're definitely lovely."

The Doctor smiled, "There wasn't time, my granddaughter and I had to leave in a hurry." He frowned guiltily, "I originally had a type 50 that was assigned to me, but I had to leave her behind. I didn't find out till my fifth incarnation that she broker her protocoled conditioning and left Gallifrey on her own trying to follow me. I found her on another planet with the companions I'd been traveling with then...." He trailed off before continuing, "long story but in the end, she died. And I didn't steal this Tardis, I borrowed her!"

Jackie snorted in sarcasm, "It's only borrowing if you return her and you still have her, don't you? You stole her."

The Doctor opened his mouth to protest but she held her hand up, "And who's to say she didn't make it easy for you to take her because she was stealing you? From the sound of it, Tardises are alive and those arrogant people of yours were going to just put her into what's the human equivalent of an old folks home when she still had life in her yet. Perhaps she needed a Time Lord so she could go off and have a chance to live more? But that's neither here nor there, I needed to speak with you Doctor before we reached any destination. It's important because it's about my Rose. You've kept your promise regarding her and I love you for it and you've earned my respect for it, but now I'm here to tell you, don't leave her behind this time. She won't tell you, probably won't think with all the distractions, but she won't be safe in the other Universe. I can't tell you all the details, you need to ask her, but we talked as a family about this, and we're supporting her on this. I only came to make sure she made it safely. She may be a grown woman now, but she's still my daughter and I love her. Her intent is to stay here so that she can keep her little brother and us safe because the longer she stays, eventually the wrong people will notice. And yes, Pete's explained it to me, once the walls close, we won't be able to talk to each other again. I don't like it any more than I did then, but please Doctor, I'm begging you, don't leave Rose behind. She'll have to tell you the rest, but I reckon it'll take her time to wind up to it. Just be patient and communicate with her, don't close off. In many ways she still trusts you, but in many ways, she's grown up and become much more cautious. Just show her she can open up to you and she will."

The Doctor carefully looked at Jackie as he thought. There was more going on than he would have known if he hadn't spoken with Jackie. "Is her life in danger? You can tell me, Jackie, I want to help."

Jackie shook her head, "I won't breach her privacy, but I can tell you she isn't dying or anything like that, but you really really need to speak with her. It's very important. But she won't tell you if she doesn't feel she can trust you not be a prat. You've got time, take it slowly and eventually, she'll open up."

The Doctor slightly tilted his head, "What about you and her family? This will be quite permanent, she won't ever be able to go back? Are you all ok with that? Really? Is she truly ok with that?

Jackie took in a deep breath, "I am aware, yes and so is she and the rest of our family. Trust me, it's necessary."

The Doctor nodded. "Ok Jackie, I promise, I won't leave her behind then."

The Doctor did a mental one eighty turn in direction, making a note to himself to speak with his other self.

Jackie nodded decisively, "Good, that's settled. Now how do I get back to the front?"

The Doctor sighed, "Console Room, Jackie, it's the Console Room and I'll show you the way. C'mon!"

The Doctor's mind raced. What could have happened to Rose in their time apart that her own mother drew him aside to beg him not to take her back to the other parallel? Jackie had said she wasn't dying but was she ill in some way? Just what would make it dangerous for her to stay with her family? Was it because the parallel did not have a Rose into whose role she could step into? He hated not knowing. He needed more information. Sadly, Jackie was right, he'd have to exercise some patience because Rose was definitely a Tyler through and through. Stuborn to the core, especially about things she had strong convictions in.

Chapter 2: Goodbyes and Hellos and Welcome Homes

Summary:

The Doctors and Rose see their friends off and the Tardis welcomes Rose home exuberantly.

Notes:

Ok, I've been trying to work on all my Doctor Who fics more. Sorry, it's taking so long. This is another of my feel my way through stories since it started as a spur of the moment and I don't actually have any notes on it. Just an idea where I want it to go. A vague idea, but still an idea.

The Doctor followed slowly behind Jackie back to the console room taking time to contact his other self. *Change of plans, Jackie's just given me some information and asked me not to leave Rose behind.  Question is, what do we do about you?*  He mused.  

The other Doctor huffed *I beg your pardon!  I only did what needed to be done! We've done it before.  It doesn't mean I don't regret it, but presented as a choice between the safety of the universe and leaving the Daleks alone, it was no choice at all!  If Rose is staying, so am I!*

The Doctor rolled his eyes  *I figured that idiot, but I meant once everyone's home.  Nevermind, let's just get everyone home first*

Jackie and the Doctor made it to the console room where everyone was chatting.  She immediately made a beeline for her Daughter who was chatting with Sara Jane, Donna, and Jack.   Mickey and Martha were not far off, chatting with each other.  By the looks of it, there was a spark between the two.  The two went over to the other group and joined in the conversation, stories, and gossip.  Oh, Rassilon!  What was he thinking of putting all these people together in the same room?  He supposed it could have been worse.  Imagine if Ace or the Chestertons were here!  Or Charlie or Melanie or well any of them.  No time for sad reminiscence, time to get his friends home.  They were practically his family really.  

"Ok! Let's get everyone home!" he said brightly as he quickly walked toward them.

 

Mickey called out to him "Hey Boss, I'll be staying this time.  My Gran had a full good life, but she's passed on.  Time for me to live my life."

 

The Doctor nodded,  "Brand new life then, what will you do?"  he asked.

 

The Other Doctor shoved his hands into his pockets as he rocked on his feet as he watched the unfolding scene before him.  Mickey smiled. "A clean slate, I can do anything now.  Just watch me."

 

Rose smiled, "No worries Mickey, I'll be sure to drop in and visit from time to time."

 

Jackie pulled Sara Jane to the side,  "Not much time now, but I need to ask a favor of you.  My Rose, she won't be coming back with me and the parallels will be closed off soon.  Could you please keep an eye out for her?  I know she's a grown woman now but she'll need some family still outside of Torchwood I mean.  Someone for her to stay connected to where she comes from.  Mickey'll be there, but she should have more family to keep her grounded.  Now that she's legally dead as Rose Tyler and she used to speak of you when we spent time together. "

 

Sarah Jane nodded solemnly, "I'll do my best.  Besides, we're all part of a bigger circle now, the Doctor's family. We will all do our bit to reach out, I'll make sure of it and tell the others."  

 

Jackie teared up a bit as she hugged Sarah Jane, "Thank you!  I'll never be able to repay you but this means so much to me, Pete and Tony.  Tony's her baby brother, around five now, but rather bright for his age.  Sometimes I think too bright!"  she muttered.

Sarah Jane lightly chuckled.  "Aren't they always?  With each passing generation, it seems like they always get smarter at much younger ages. But your Rose turned out just fine, so I don't think you have too much to worry about."

Soon they made their first stop at Cardiff to drop off Jack, Martha, and Mickey.  Both the Doctors and Rose accompanied the trio out of the Tardis and Rose smiled hugging them all.  "Don't worry I'll make sure we drop in from time to time,"  she told them as the Doctors both grumbled in the background. 

Jack paused and looked back, "But I can't help but wonder Doctor, I obviously can't die but I'm still aging.  Very slowly yes, but still aging.  What happens to me in say a million year?"  he asked.

The Doctor gave Jack a sad look after a brief sideways glance at Rose.  "I'm sorry but it's irreversible as far as I can tell.  Did you want to die Jack."  

Jack saw the glance and realized it had something to do with Rose.  "No, I'm used to it now and you and Rose taught me to make a difference."  He really wanted to draw the doctor aside and ask more questions but now was not the time.  "It a bit of vanity really, I was the first one in my community on the boeshane peninsula to sign up for the Time Agency.  The Face of Boe they called me."

 

As he turned away, he didn't see the shocked looks of his friends behind him.   Martha's jaw dropped and Mickey's eyes widened as Rose gasped.  The Doctor shook his head in disbelief.  "No!  Definitely no!  It can't be!"  

The other Doctor laughed joyously causing the others to laugh.  "Well, in the  nine hundred plus years we've existed there's still things left we don't know, so that's something."

Mickey and Martha ran to catch up to Jack as the Doctors and Rose turned back to the Tardis.

Notes:

Sorry it took so long, I've been juggling multiple things. Hopefully, this chapter didn't turn out too badly. Sorry, it's not longer. I needed a good place to leave it at for a better flow. In addition to this, I've also been attending to my account at Good Reads and getting back into reading my ebooks. Not to mention a few other things I've been juggling in RL. And now my muse for some of my Original stuff is back! Yeesh! Sorry, it's taking so long.

Chapter 3: Next Stop - Bannerman Road

Summary:

Another Drop off and an exchange of phone numbers

Notes:

Just got through seeing the new Doctor Who episode which made me a bit teary-eyed. As an American, seeing history sort of come alive like that was a pretty awesome and heart-rending thing at the same time. Rosa Parks is still one of my iconic heroes.

Anyway, after playing catch up on some stories, I figured I'd attempt to add another chapter. I'm still working on my Clean Slate one, but as this one doesn't have notes, I'd let my mind just let the words flow here before all those little ideas swimming around in my head decided something new needed to be written.

The Tardis dematerialized once again and Rose sat quietly speaking to her mother and Sarah Jane. Jackie looked at her daughter with a bit of sadness and pride. "I'm so proud of you sweetheart. Your father's right proud of you too. He made sure to give me this package to take with you. Tony and I have also added to the package."

Sarah Jane smiled, "perhaps you should take a group picture with the Doctors to take back with you so they have a memento as well?" She suggested gently with a smile. She was so relieved to know they weren't really dead as listed at the Canary Wharf Memorial. While the others had been briefly occupied, she'd spoken a bit more with Jackie and got a bit of the story from her. Not all, she guessed, but enough for her to realize just how important it was for this woman that her Daughter had people in her lift to act as a touchstone.

Jackie's eye lit up excitedly. "Yes!, I think that would be a fine thing to go along with the letters put together for Tony on the ejournal software. And me and Pete will make sure to tell him more stories too." She turned back to both Doctors, "You may not know this but my Rose has had many adventures of her own and she's grown into a woman any mother would be proud of."

One of the Doctors went and dug up a tripod and they put the digital camera on a timer before they all grouped together. Rose between the Doctors, the three of them kneeling in the front with their arms around each other and Sarah Jane and Jackie standing in back, each had one hand on Rose's shoulders and the other hand on the should of the Doctors with huge smiles of joy.

The Tardis stored pictures of them together in her banks as well, though none was aware of that fact. She softly hummed in smugness. They landed on Bannerman Road but Sarah Jane paused by Rose before heading toward the door. "I'd love it if you'd keep in touch with me, we could get together with some of the others, a sort of companion's reunion get-together if you will." She smiled with a touch of mischief. "I've even got contacts with some of his earlier assistants as well."

The Doctor in the brown suit groaned "Sarah! That, That's a terrible idea! There's no telling what they'll tell Rose!" he grumbled as the ladies exchanged numbers.

Sarah Jane turned towards the Doctors then. "You act like the loneliest man on the planet when you have one of the biggest families on Earth, Doctor! It won't kill you to keep in touch sometimes." she chided

The Doctor in the blue suit smiled proudly at Sarah Jane. "Quite right Sarah, it's time to remember that." He gave her a brief solemn look, "and Sarah, thank you."

Sarah Jane gave him a small smile of her own. "Any time Doctor. Or is that Doctors now? Just what will you do now?"

Both Time Lords smiled "Oh we'll figure it out. " The said together before glaring at each other.

The three ladies laughed and Sarah Jane followed the brown-suited Doctor out the door with the others following behind. She hugged each of them before hurrying off, before pausing "Don't forget, to come to visit. My son Luke -long story - still has to meet you." she told them, a big smile on her face as she continued on home.

The four people left all trooped back into the Tardis. The Doctor in brown spoke as he and his twin flipped levers and pushed buttons "One last stop, but don't worry Jackie, I remember what we spoke about." He turned to Rose, "I know we haven't had time to do a lot of discussions, but once we land and drop your mother off, we won't have much time. Are you sure you want to stay? Jackie's spoken with me a little, though she hasn't told me much, so I'm going ask you now before we land, are you sure you don't want to stay with your family? "

Rose studied the Doctor in brown for a moment or two before answering. Whatever she found there, strengthened her resolve. "I love my family and I'll miss them, Doctor, but I've discussed this with them beforehand, and I've told you before, I choose this life and I chose you. I never did that lightly. Once mom and I have said our goodbyes I'm sure you'll want to talk, and we will, but we will have all the time we need to talk and adjust."

Both Doctors nodded as the Tardis gently landed on a beach. Jackie hugged her daughter and tucked her digital camera into her coat pocket. "It's time luv. You have a wonderful life, you hear? And Doctors, if I ever find out you made Rose cry, I will claw my way back to the other Universe and I will slap you so hard it'll burn through all your regenerations!"

Both Doctors gulped. The one in brown turned to his twin and Rose, "It's best not to tempt the universe too much. Why don't you stay put and I'll see Jackie off."

The Doctor in blue nodded. "You're right of course," he turned to Rose, "Why don't we take the time to do some catch up while he's seeing to your mother? We can go have some tea and find out what foods I like now." he said.

Rose took a deep breath and nodded. "Of course, and I could use a shower afterward."

The brown-suited Doctor followed Jackie out of the Tardis, grabbing two coats the Tardis seemed to have made, one that had Jackie's name in Gallifreyan equivalent sewn into the collar and looking like a fancy applique design, and the other with Pete's name.

He hoped just hoped they wouldn't mind the transandental pockets they came with or some of the surprises in the pockets.

Notes:

Sorry it's short, but I didn't want the scene to drag out too much. Sorry! Sorry!

Chapter 4: Endings and Beginnings

Summary:

Jackie goes home and Pete and Tony surprise the Doctors by being there. It's nice to have a vacation home near Bad Wolf Bay. Rose changes her mind and stays a bit longer in the Console room on a hunch and the other Doctor decides to follow her lead

Notes:

So, I wanted the Siblings to have some last minute bonding time. Heartfelt send offs all around

Rose started for the hall when she paused and the other Doctor paused behind her. "What is it?" He asked.

She looked up at him and then back at the doors. "We don't have to step outside, but perhaps just stand in the doors? Mum's right, we all have a lot to talk about, but for my family's safety and mine, it's a rather involved story, but I'd like to at least see the last glimpse before we leave."

The new Doctor nodded, "I completely understand Rose, shall we?" he asked gesturing for her to lead the way.

She gave him one of her special smiles and took his hand leading the way to the door, just pausing on its threshold. Not that the Doctor nor Jackie had gone far. Rose saw why as soon as she gazed a few paces further. There stood Pete, her sort of father, and her little brother Tony.

As soon as Tony saw his sister, he slipped his father's hold on his hand and pelted toward her. "Rose! You're here!" he exclaimed in loud delight as he hugged her legs tightly.

Rose picked him up and gave him a firm hug. "Tony! How you doing kiddo?" she asked as she held on to him.

"I was sad because I thought I wouldn't get to say goodbye in person. I know we recorded a lot of messages for you, but it's not the same. If you're here, does this mean you might be staying?" He asked excitedly.

Rose shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry Tony, I only wanted to see mum off before we left. I thought you might be in school, so this is a nice surprise."

Pete cleared his throat and came forward to hug the young woman who became a daughter to him. One he was going to lose. " Tony was a little sad and I felt this was more important and since I wasn't sure how long it would take you, I figure coming down for a mini-vacation couldn't hurt. We've actually been here about three days."

He came and gently hugged her and studied her face. "You sure you don't want to stay? I'm sure we could figure something out, this doesn't have to mean goodbye." he softly pleaded. "We'd all be much happier."

Rose shook her head. "It's better not to take the chance and I think the Doctors may have to help me out with this one, there might be some things that we wouldn't be able to deal with on our own. And with two Doctors around, I don't want one or the other to be alone. Plus..." She trailed off looking at both Doctors as Pete nodded. She didn't have to say anything, he could see it written on her face.

Tony gave his big sister the biggest hug his little arms would let him, "I love you sis, and someday, I want to be just like you." He let go and turned around to return to his father's arms and hid his head against his neck and shoulder, trying hard not to cry.

As Tony went back to his father's arms, Pete turned back toward both Doctors as Donna came out to stand next to Rose. " You two take good care of my Daughter, or it won't just be Jackie you'll have to deal with," he told them gruffly as he held tight to Tony, gently rubbing his back in consolation.

Rose's face turned a bit pink. "Dad! " she protested as Donna chuckled.

"Not to worry, Mr. Tyler, I'll be around, between Rose and me, we'll make sure they remain vigilant. I'm Donna Noble, been traveling with the Doctor for a bit." She told Rose's family though she directly addressed Pete.

Pete shook her hand with a small smile. "Thank you, we'd all appreciate it and I know Jacks' is happy to know there will be others for her around besides just the Doctor. No offence Doctor." he said quickly turning to the Doctor.

Both Doctors spluttered a bit in protest giving everyone a bit of a chuckle.

She looked to Tony and put her hand out to him as he rested in his father's arms, "I'm Donna Noble, I'm a friend of the Doctor and now your Sister." she introduced herself with a smile.

Tony shyly smiled back, "I'm Tony, Rose's Brother. I wanted to protect her when I grew up the way she protects Earth, but I won't be able to now." he told her a little sadly.

Donna nodded gravely, "I know, but your family's here to watch after this Universe, so it's very nice and brave of you to let us have Rose for our Universe.

Tony giggled at that as Jackie snorted. "Please don't give my son ideas yet, I'd like to raise him to adulthood with as little incident as possible, thank you!"

Pete smiled when the Tardis gave its warning. All three Tylers came forward to hug Rose. "We'll miss you so much, but we're so proud of you" Jackie choked out on a sob.

Pete nodded, "We're very proud of you Rose and all you've managed to accomplish. We'll never forget you. I know we didn't get off to a great start the first time around, but you are in all ways that matter the daughter I've always dreamed of. I love you."

Rose teared up as Tony wrapped his little arms around his sister for the last time. "I love you Rose, and one day I'll grow up to defend Earth just like you do. I want to make you proud of me too."

Rose sobbed a bit. "I'm already proud of you kiddo, you just follow your heart and be happy and I'll always be proud of you," she told him before letting him go and stepping back.

The Tylers stepped back and continued to watch as the doors closed and the Tardis began to slowly disappear. Tears streaming down their faces unnoticed, they turned away as a family and headed back to their vacation home.

Notes:

Did a bit of an edit, but not too much change. I'd had the idea earlier in the week for it, but didn't have time to do it then. Thanks for your patience. :)

Yeah, I felt this chapter had to happen. I wanted to make it as heartfelt as I could. Apologies for any and all mistakes. Also sorry it's a bit short, but I just couldn't justify dragging it out further. The Doctor didn't get much talking time, but I think they were trying to be a bit respectful of the situation by trying not to say much which left Donna as their spokesperson. *lol*

Chapter 5: Home Universe Again, Home Universe Again

Summary:

The crew head back to the Prime Universe

Notes:

Hi guys! I know, it's been a while. I'd been in a bit of a rut (and believe it or not, actually busy! Trust me to be one of the ones working in a clinic during the shelter in place. Er, not really big stuff though, just receptionist work). I've let a lot of my stuff stew a bit, haven't I?

Still no notes, I'll just let this one take me where it will. Then I really need to get back to my Clean Slate idea. Thanks to Groovykat and The Bee for poking the lazy bear (not sleeping, just a bit lazy) :P

The two Doctors and Donna got the Tardis up and running while Rose sat in the seat with a sad pensive look on her face. The Doctor in the Brown Pinstriped suit covertly glanced her way while the other Doctor and Donna were in conversation. Rose seemed to be deep in thought, though no less animated for it. Her face still looked as he remembered, a face that easily smiled and warm golden hazel eyes that invited friendship with an eye hug. Eye hug? Did he just invent a new word in his mind? Eye hug. Nope, never using that one in thought again. He continued to study her covertly.

Still warm and friendly, yet when one looked closely, you could see the shadows of secrets and sadness in her eyes. A maturity tested by time and adversity. Time. And yet she still had the freshness of youth that she had when he first met her. Still, her younger brother wasn't that much older, well-spoken for what he assumed was a child of around three or four, so it couldn't have been all that long, could it?

At that moment, Rose looked with a small smile as if she'd been aware that he'd been studying her and gave him a small wave. Donna and the other Doctor stopped talking and looked over smiling.

"In case it hasn't been said, welcome home Rose. We haven't officially met yet, but my name's Donna. Donna Noble, and I've been keeping this skinny boy in line. :)

Both Doctors glared and there was an "Oi!" in stereo surround sound. Rose snorted.

"No doubt. Though at least you got to keep fit with all the running you wind up doing when he's around." Rose laughed.

The Doctors both sighed and rolled their eyes as the Ladies chuckled.

Donna smiled wide, "Well, now that's all sorted, how about a trip to Felspoon? Did you know the mountains that sway in the breeze? Can you imagine, Mountains that actually move!"

The Doctors glanced at each other before the Doctor in Brown asked "And how do you know that Donna?"

The other Doctor slowly inched until he was in back of Donna as his 'older brother' got closer to Donna. "Because it's in your head, and if it's in your head, it's in mine." Donna gave a wide joyous smile. "I get it now, all that science stuff. Great big Time Lord knowledge packed into my brain. I even know how the chameleon circuit."

He stared intently at Donna, "And how does that feel?"

Donna laughed smiling widely, "Molto Bene! Oh! I know, why don't we go see Charlie Chaplin instead? I bet he's as fantastic as Agatha Christie! Shall we do that? Go see Charlie Chaplin, Charlie Chester, Charlie Brown? No wait, he's fiction, friction, fixing, mixing, Rickson, Brixton. Oh my god!"

As Donna took a deep pained breath, Rose looked on concerned, "Doctor, what's wrong with Donna?"

Donna shook her head, "I was gonna travel with you guys for the rest of my life. Having adventures and traveling in the Tardis forever. Please don't make me go back, please no!"

Donna stepped back right into the other Doctor's arms as the older Doctor stepped forward. He whispered in her ear as he held her, "We have to, this knowledge is killing you and it's all my fault. I'm so sorry."

Rose stepped forward at that point, "Please! Someone explain what is going on!"

No one noticed the golden swirl deep in her golden hazel eyes as everyone was focused on Donna.

One of them replied, "There has never been a Human Time Lord Metacrisis before now, and do you know why?"

Donna replied in tear chocked voice, "Because there can't be. Please! I want to stay. I can't go back, please don't make me go back!"

The Doctor reached forward. "Donna, Look at me. I'm so sorry, we had the best of times, so many adventures. I'm so sorry."

Rose stepped forward putting her hand on the Doctor's wrist, "Doctor stop!"

The other Doctor replied, "She'll burn if we don't Rose. She'll die."

Rose shook her head, "Not this time." she firmly stated as she stepped in front of the Doctor, a glimmer of gold shone brighter in her eyes. "Donna deserves the life she chooses." She placed a hand at Donna's temple and her eyes flashed wide before fainting.

Both Doctors looked at Rose in shock. The last thing she heard before she herself passed out was in stereo "Rose! What have you done?!?"

Notes:

Sorry, it's short, I kept getting distracted but I had an idea of where I wanted this to go. I didn't parrot what was said on the TV episode, but I felt it would make a great Jumping off point.

Chapter 6: Dream Interlude

Summary:

Rose relives memories as she dreams

Notes:

Sorry it's slow going. I've been trying to multi-task but some things sort of got put on the back burner. Still don't have notes, so I'm just letting the journey take me where it will. This chapter is actually a tribute to the fact that Christopher Eccleston will be doing audio dramas with Big Finish! Yay! My first intro to Doctor Who was through the Ninth Doctor

Rose looked around her as she wandered around what looked like a huge library that seemed to go on into infinity. There was no actual sunlight, but a golden glow seemed to permeate and light up the entire area she was in and parts of the multitude of corridors. A soothing hum that felt so familiar made her feel safe and welcomed.

The place was familiar and yet not quite. It was both ancient and new all at once and felt like home. "I think I'm dreaming, but I don't recognize anything. Hello? Anyone around?"

From around a corner, her first Doctor came into the open dark leather jacket, dark green t-shirt, jeans, boots, and a great big smile. "Rose, there you are! What's wrong? Surely you're not lost? Don't you recognize the library or at least one of them?"

Rose's eyes widened as she swooped forward and tightly hugged the Doctor, "Doctor! You're here! You're really here!"

The Doctor hugged her tightly as he awkwardly patted her on the back, "Here now, what's all this fuss about? I haven't gone anywhere, I'm right here by your side. Did you have a bad dream? Or perhaps you are having trouble sleeping? We're here in the library, so why don't we pick something interesting out and I can read it to you? We'll get some tea and just hang out. How does that sound? Maybe some of Charles Dickens work since we just got through visiting?"

And as Rose looked up, they were in the library with a couple of cups of tea on the table, steaming hot. She frowned because she could have sworn just a moment ago the library looked different. Now it was the room she remembered when she and the Doctor first visited after their adventure with Charles Dickens. "Doctor, I think I'm dreaming but it looks just like I remembered and you look just like I remembered but, nothing is the same anymore."

The Doctor smiled tenderly. "Of course not, nothing ever stays the same for long, but your mind picked a setting you felt the most comfortable with. I'm assuming I've regenerated by now? This is in part a dream and in part memory, but it's also a bit more than that. Your mind has reached out to my mind and I must have picked up on a passing memory of when we first traveled."

The Doctor frowned slightly, "Come to think of it, why not my current generation? Rose?"

Rose blushed a bit as she stepped back, "Nothing like that Doctor, I love you whatever you look like. Er, can you really wind up with no head?"

She shook her head, "Never mind, so if this is part dream, part memory, and part communication, and I can't believe I'm saying that although I should probably be a little bit used to that by now, why am I asleep and what happened?

The Doctor's fierce blue eyes seemed to pierce her soul as he solemnly gazed at her, "What's the last thing you remember?"

Rose frowned in thought, "We defeated Davros and the Daleks and there was a lot of celebrating and reuniting. Then. Then we -" she frowned in concentration, "we took everyone home except Donna."

The Doctor nodded encouragingly, "What else Rose?"

As Rose concentrated more fiercely the Doctor morphed into his Tenth self and her eyes widened in happy surprise as she smiled brightly, "Well, Jack and got to chat before we dropped him, Martha, and Mickey off; When did he get back?" she asked in delight.

The Doctor tugged at his ear nervously, "Er. that's a long story. did you two have a good chat?"

Rose's laughing eyes shone with mischief, "Now Doctor, you're not afraid he might have told me some deep dark secrets, are you? I promise we didn't talk about anything embarrassing or nefarious."

The Doctor chuckled, "I don't know what you mean. Honestly, I'm just trying to figure just how much you remember at the moment."

Rose nodded continuing to focus, "Let's see, after we dropped everyone off and said goodbye to my family, we came back to our universe and Donna was talking about going on an adventure. But something wasn't right with her. After that, it sort of goes fuzzy. I think she was talking about Felspoon and moving mountains?" She shook her head, "Doctor, it's fuzzy after that. I don't remember."

The Doctor took a deep breath as he briefly tugged at his ear before gently taking her hand. "Ok. We'll go over that, but I need you to stay calm. Right now we're telepathically connected because you are unconscious. So, do you remember the conversation about Human/Time Lord Biological meta-crisis?"

Rose nodded and waited for him to go on. He seemed to look into her soul with his gaze as he gently cradled her hands in his. "Well, the thing is, there's never been one before because it's not sustainable. My other self is mostly Gallifreyan with just a bit of Donna's human. Just enough to give him one heart and some of her sassiness. But it wasn't just one way, it went both ways, Donna gained some of my mind and a human brain isn't structured for that kind of input. Her mind was starting to collapse and burn out."

Rose's eye widened, "Wait, Donna's dying? Can't we do something to save her? Why are you here with me when Donna's dying?"

The Doctor gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "That's just it Rose, I was going to do something to save her, only something happened that I don't fully understand yet, but the main factor is that somehow you stepped in. I can't be sure what we saw for certain but when you interfered, you produced some kind of energy that stabilized her but it's knocked you both out and now neither of you can be awoken. Rose, we don't know what you did and we didn't want to cause any further damage."

Rose wasn't sure where he was going with his ramble. "Just spit it out, Doctor."

The Doctor paused with a slight wince before continuing, "I'm doing it right now, I had to enter your mind to see if I could find you. I'm so sorry Rose. I wouldn't normally, but it was a bit of an emergency. I promise, I always seek permission, but in this case, it was impossible and we are still running tests on Donna."

Rose slowly nodded as she carefully thought about the implications of his statement and squeezed his hand gently before withdrawing her hands from his and handing his tea and picking hers up. "I see, I understand Doctor and I'm not upset but I am confused. I wasn't hurt, what do you think caused me to lose consciousness and how long have we been out? Are either of us currently in physical danger?"

The Doctor paused to sip his own tea as he considered her questions carefully and weighed his options about beginning the next part of the discussion. "Hm, well, there's no time in the vortex but in terms of timeline, it's been two days. We didn't want to use this option prematurely if there were other things we could try first. But Rose here's the thing, I know we've been separated for several years now before you found your way back and it's been a while, but I need you to think back to your travels with my previous self. Specifically the Game Station. It's not one of the better memories, I know but it's important. How much of if do you remember now?"

Rose's eyes narrowed in concentration as she thought about what the Doctor was asking. Here they were in her mind sipping 'mental' tea and conversing as if it was an everyday occurrence. Suddenly another thought occurred to her, "Wait Doctor, where's the other Doctor?" she asked as she looked around.

The Doctor smiled, and reached out to squeeze her hand before picking up his cup again, "he's on the outside monitoring us. We both felt since he was also part of the meta-crisis, and what happened is an unknown, we didn't want to add another factor that could make it worse. He's telepathically linked up to me and keeping an eye on the monitors. But we need to focus because it's important. How much do you remember?"

Rose focused and thought back, "You sent me away and I was desperate to get back to you. I didn't know what to do and then I saw the words 'Bad Wolf' and it came to me that I was meant to go back and then I remembered what happened to Blon and what you said about the Tardis possibly granting one's heart's desire. So I took a chance. Mum argued about it a bit but eventually helped and we opened the Tardis' heart. And. This is where it gets a bit fuzzy, but I've been remembering a bit more. The Tardis, she showed me what to do and we piloted back to you. I - I don't know exactly what happened, it's almost like remembering a dream. There were Daleks turning to golden dust and I think - I'm not really sure, but I think you kissed me? Doctor, what is this really about?"

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck as his leg absently jittered as he took a moment to think. There was still so much unknown, but clearly she was remembering things he thought he'd locked away. He put his teacup down and took her teacup and set it down and clasped her hands in his. "Rose, you did get back to me, you and the tardis were so clever about it. But you did it by absorbing the heart of the Tardis. Those words Bad Wolf? " he paused as watched as Rose nodded, "You and the Tardis combined and became a powerful entity, a Goddess of Time if you will, called Bad Wolf. You did it with the purest of intention. All you wanted to do was protect me and those people. And you did, with a wave of your hand you broke down the molecular structure of every Dalek there spreading them through eternity. But you couldn't let go."

Rose tilted her head, "What do you mean?"

The Doctor looked at her so solemnly, she was a little frightened, he looked so sad and then he was speaking again, "Jack died before you came back but you brought him back to life. Only, in doing so you made him a fixed point in time."

Rose gasped one of her hands covering her mouth as her eyes watered. The Doctor sat closer to her but still faced her, as he studied her. She hadn't said anything but apparently she seemed to realize what that meant for Jack. Her mind was processing information rather quickly. He shook his head, "No Rose, you aren't to blame, you saved us and that's very important. Jack and I, we talked before. It was wrong of me to leave him behind, but he was someone that shouldn't have existed as he did, and being a Time Lord, it really grated on my sense. There I was dying and worried about you. I'm not proud of it, but I ran. I left him there and I ran.

Rose's eyes widened, "I-I killed you? It's my fault you died?" she asked tearfully

The Doctor pulled her into his lap and rocked as she cried. "Shhhh! Hey now! It's not your fault. You saved us and it was my honor to save you from dying. You would have burned. I couldn't allow that, I really couldn't. You mean everything to me Rose and you are always worth it. Hush now."

The stayed there as he let her cry herself out, rocking her in his arms and whispering nonsensically to her until she calmed down. They separated and she sat there looking down at her clasped hands, not able to look him in the eyes at the moment. The Doctor gently reached out and tilted her head back up, "Rose, look at me. It's not your fault and right now that's only the tip of it. We haven't run any tests yet, but I suspect there's more going on, isn't there? If we're going to fix things with Donna, we need your help. We can't do this alone Rose."

That seemed to get through to her. And she took a deep fortifying breath and looked at the Doctor. "Ok Doctor, what do you need me to do?" she asked, looking at him in complete trust.

He smiled and stood while tugging her up. "All you need to do is wake up!"

Notes:

I also added a few more characters to this work because I intend to play with them eventually. A bit of trivia for some: The character of Bernice Summerfield was created by Paul Cornell, Irving Braxiatel by Justin Richards, Jason Kane by Dave Stone

I might have repeated added, I'll correct that. Oh and I'm terrible at portraying accents in writing, so I'll be typing the sentences normally.

I did my best to make it a little longer but apparently, I'm horrid at making my chapters longer. My apologies.

Chapter 7: The Bad Wolf Fix

Summary:

Rose wakes up but Donna remains in a healing sleep

Notes:

Ok, had to think how I wanted to handle this. I've got a vague outline in my head in mind. Sorry for the delay.

It's a bit shorter than I wanted it, but I felt this might be a great place to ah, cliffhanger it. Don't shoot me folks! Promise I'll still continue.

The Doctor's voice echoed in her around her like pealing bells silkily whispering around her. "Wake up!"

One moment she was in her dream library and the next she was cracking her eyes open to the warm glow of the Tardis' medical bay and one of the Doctors lying next to her, his jacket off and shirt sleeves rolled up, his cool gentle fingers lightly touching her temple as he faced her. His kindly ageless eyes boring into hers as she opened them.

She gazed softly back a moment before detangling herself and slowly sitting up. "What happened?" she asked.

The Doctor next to her also sat up and got off the medbay bed as Rose sat cross-legged letting her hands fall into her lap. She remembered the dream state but then, not only was she good with lucid dreaming but apparently her memory among other things had increased and sharpened quite a bit. Not that she thought anything about it at that moment.

The other Doctor who'd been keeping one of his hands on the other Doctor's exposed arm that wasn't in use got up from his chair and moved over to the scanning console to read the recorded data. "It's been a couple of days since-" he cut off and looked at his other self before redirecting his thoughts, "It might be better if we all sat down and got comfortable before we talk about this. We both have some questions, especially about some of the 'data' the Tardis seems to feel is necessary for us to know. She's been rather concerned about you too."

Rose carefully got to her feet, feeling just a little wobbly. Both Doctors steadied her as she regained her balance before stepping back as she stretched and shook out her limbs. "That's fair, I'm sure you both have questions and it was never my intention to withhold any information. I just wanted a few days to settle before tackling the issues that sort of cropped up before we got the dimension cannon working."

Rose went over to the occupied medical bay bed and peered down at Donna who seemed to exhale a near-invisible fine golden mist of energy. "Is she ok?" she asked as she turned to both Doctors. Surely they noticed that mist if she noticed?

The Doctors joined her, one of them with a slight frown as he gazed down. "Whatever you did seems to have stabilized her, but she seems to be in some sort of coma. We aren't sure but the scans say that her Brain structure has been somewhat altered and enhanced. You went all 'Bad Wolf' and your eyes started glowing vortex gold. Then you did something when you touched Donna. It hit me a moment later and apparently knocked all of us out." He nodded toward the other Doctor in Brown, "He did a scan of me while I was out. Apparently, I have two hearts again, though I still seem to have bits of Donna in my personality and my eyesight's not 20/20 anymore, my respiratory bypass at least didn't get affected by the original meta crisis." He tugged at his ear.

Rose glanced at the Doctor who wore blue and bit her lip as she looked to the ground. What did he mean he had two hearts again? "Maybe that cuppa would be good right about now."

They left Donna resting in the Medbay and made their way to the Galley where three steaming cups of Tea with the accompanying accouterments awaited them. As they sat, the newer Doctor took a cautious sip of his tea and made a face before dumping it in the sink and starting over again. The older Doctor gave him a sympathetic look. "New new new You, new new new taste buds." He simply remarked.

Rose ping-ponged her gaze between the two as she sipped at her own tea with a look of deep thought as the two Doctors interacted surprisingly amiably. Wasn't there that one time they ran into what apparently was his third regeneration? They'd bickered something awful then. "Ok, which of us should go first? This silence is making me feel a bit awkward."

The older Doctor took in a breath and looked straight at Rose, "Ok, I'll start but please bear with us. There's apparently more going on than we originally realized and I'm so very sorry Rose. So so sorry." he said somberly.

Notes:

Just a side note the meta-crisis in my story originally maintained his respiratory by-pass but had one heart and no more regenerations. His life span though was that of a Modern Gallifreyan without regenerations. Hm, say about 1500 years? Just my head cannon.

Notes:

I should add, I listen to a lot of the Doctor Who Audios from Big Finish, so a lot of them figure into my stories. The type 50 I mentioned was from a Fifth Doctor Audio Drama called "Prisoners of Fate" it's rather really interesting and shows that Tardises are indeed another sentient species on Gallifrey that developed symbiotically right along with the Time Lords. The Seventh Doctor Audio Drama "Unregenerate!" shows their arrogant disregard for the Tardis sentience really. Like they seem them more as tools to manipulate than another sentient species to be respected.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Bad Wolf Roulett