thelongnow_logs | 'cause when I'm standing here in the dark

Entry tags:

'cause when I'm standing here in the dark

Who: Rose Tyler and Metacrisis Ten/John/Handy
What: Rose hunts down her Time Lord
When: Thursday evening
Where: Second Floor and elsewhere
Status: COMPLETE!!
Warnings: None

Wednesday had been a bad day for Rose Tyler. She had not left her room at all. More disturbingly, she hadn't eaten, despite Buffy's protests. Rose never refused a meal- not even in her darkest times. Yes, Wednesday was a bad day, indeed.

Thursday morning was spent sleeping, and through Thursday afternoon, she made faces in the mirror. Happy, sad. Very sad. Thankful. Cross (that one bore a shocking resemblance to her mum). Betrayed, devastated, overjoyed. Any observer would have fancied her mad. Rose, however, found this ritual to be of utmost importance. She had seen The Doctor in her journal. She was going to find him, and when she did, she was going to give him such a look! ...She only had to choose one, and how did a person fit almost two years of conflicting emotions into a glance?

Happy, sad. Very sad.

The Thursday sun began to set. Rose armed herself with a shorter-than-usual skirt, and the eyeliner and lipstick that she'd stopped wearing weeks ago. She opened the door to her room. Her heart quickened. Her stomach grumbled, too, but the girl ignored this sudden hunger. There was an entire house to explore, and nothing could possibly be more satisfying than finding The Doctor. And slapping him. Or kissing him. Or... or something. She hadn't exactly planned it out, despite being unable to think of anything else for the past 48 hours.

Closing the door behind her, Rose looked down the hall. Nobody was there- only green carpet, wooden railings, and the fading daylight. Taking a deep breath, she cupped her hands about her mouth for volume. "DOCTOR!!" the faithful Companion cried. No response. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. She took off running down the corridor, yelling his name.

If she was running to find someone so dear, why did it feel more like being chased?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yea, mus' be," she said, and that was that. She certainly didn't want to talk about other men anymore, not with John. Thankfully, the Human Doctor seemed to bore easily. He was already a subject ahead- maybe two or three.

"O' course we tried the door," Rose replied, a little defensive. "An' jus' abou' every other possible thing." She could recall zip lines, tunnels in the ground, fire- Pavel apparently knew something of teleportation devices, but they didn't exactly have that kind of technology available. "If you're gonna be human, Doctor, ya need t' be a li'l more careful abou' considerin' us stupid apes." Though she was offended, a bit of a smirk crossed her face. "You're stuck monkeyin' around with our lot, now."

She laughed at her own jokes every single time.

"Ah yes, life among the gorillas," he joked before he very slowly realised how offensive that could be. He really needed to stop doing this, usually Rose was there to hit him when he said the wrong thing and now she was here but too far behind in the time line! Oooh well, he was sure she'd soon learn to love hitting him one when he was trampling all over humans and their customs by accident. "Right, sorry, forget that!"

He actually loved living with humans for the most part, it was bracing really. He was always amazed how such simple things, like who some celebrity was dating, could brighten up their day.

Frankly, he was less interested, perhaps thats why he got bored fast. "I wouldn't say I'm stuck-- Well, actually, rather am, aren't I? But its not exactly like I hate it."

She raised an eyebrow as John tried to backpedal. It was difficult to tell what parts of his floundering were a Time Lord's, and which were a human's. He was so much like The Doctor at points. Then, he'd just turn into something else- something like a silly child.

Rose let out a laugh. "O' course ya don' 'ate it," she smirked. "Ya got brilliant company like Rose Tyler!"

In her own way, she was saying she'd be there for him. In what capacity, she could not yet tell. The girl just couldn't say no to that face. She loved that face. His stumbling humanity needed a guide, and her familiar presence was surely the best option. When it came to the deeper, future-y stuff, well... that would work itself out, wouldn't it? They could be careful.

"Lemme show ya where the kitchen is," Rose said, gently pulling John toward the stairs. "My mate Buffy 'as the key. Did'ja get a key t' anythin'?"

"Oh yes, brilliant company, couldn't get better," he agreed with a small smile, hurrying along after Rose so he could get a good look. His hand slipped free, digging into his pockets so he could locate the keys he'd grabbed, he wasn't quite sure why he had it but he supposed it was best to keep a hold of it. "Medical ward apparently, not sure if they actually thought I was a Doctor or not."

Either way, he wasn't about to pass up a chance to see it. Or the kitchen. What century would the kitchen be in, part of him was curious how food even appeared here, there must be a delivery or something like that for any of this to be possible!

"Jackie said I should train as a Doctor now-- Well, more like 'get off your lazy arse and get a job, didn't you say you were a Doctor?!'-- but same things," he dismissed, idly toying with the key in his hands. He wasn't going to get a job or a stupid bus pass! Frankly, this weird house detour was perfect, it saved him from having to put up with the mundane bored that was normal human activities.

No matter where he was stuck, he always seemed to find something out of the ordinary to do.

"Oh," Rose blinked, amused. "Sam 'as the same key. You two'll be like brothers in a matter o' days." Her tongue poked through her teeth as the girl grinned. She was kidding, of course- though the boys bonding would certainly make things easier.

The pair walked down the stairs, Rose leading the way. She listened attentively as John ranted. Frankly, she agreed with her mum- if The Doctor was going to be human, living in their house, he needed to carry some of his own weight. Funny how making something of her own life changed Rose's perspective on employment. She would not, however, simply bark like Jackie. Instead, the Companion posed suggestions.

"I'm sure there's somethin' ya could grow t' like," she assured. "Animal Doctor, Pilot... ooh, ya could work in a museum! Ya love museums, don'tcha?"

Pulling a face of disgust at the very idea of getting a job, it was clear that he wouldn't go get one without a fight. He'd managed a month without even looking, he just hid in the Tylers basement, experimenting with different bits and bobs, popping into Torchwood on occasion to lecture them on how wrong they were. Even if they were right!

"Course I love museums, I love visiting them but I don't love working in them. It'd be boring and then I'd never be able to set foot in one without associating it with work," besides, he was 1000 years old and a universal genius, was he really going to waste his time dusting bones?

Getting a job was like giving in and admitting he was stuck on Earth, half human and doomed to a life of domesticity and servitude to the government. "I'll find a way to make money, I'm good at making money and if all else fails, I always have my sonic."

Rose's face showed obvious distaste. She remembered their "mortgage" talk, back when there was only one Doctor and he was almost stranded with her for life. She hadn't realized how serious he'd been about this apparent horror. Humanity wasn't that bad.

If only John knew how lucky he'd been! Rose had lived in this house for six months, while the Metacrisis got to see her mum and dad and Tony every day. "Tell me abou' my brother, Doctor," she asked, changing the subject. She didn't want him throwing a bloody fit over work anymore. Moreso, Rose Tyler was homesick.

Her train of thought derailed at the mention of a certain intergalactic lock-opener. The blonde gasped. "You 'ave a Sonic Screwdriver??" Rose's mouth gaped open. How had this not been the first thing to come up? "Wha'- 'ow is tha' even possible?!" And why weren't they using it at the front gate right now?

"Your brother? Annoying, he keeps throwing his food at me and calling me Johno for some reason," Miscommunication were the death of him, he said his name wrong one time and the little brat never let it go, it was Rose fault for distracting him in the first place with cookies. Trying to speak around food was difficult whether your human or Time Lord. "We watch cartoons together every weekend morning 7 til 10, cereal is always at 8:26, when the break starts."

He was oddly rigid with his morning schedule these days but he needed a way to ground himself, mornings proved to be his only stable and consistent time of day and frankly, he was starting to love it. Plus human TV was always brilliant on the most part.

Pulling out his relatively busted up sonic, he pressed the buttons, its spluttered, made a crackling nose and sparked in his hand. Yelping, he dropped it and pulled a face at his burnt hand. "It broke when I left it in the washing machine by accident, haven't fixed it yet."

"Johno, eh?" Her mouth twisted oddly. Rose wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry. It sounded like Tony was growing up just fine, and she wasn't there! Well, she was. Sort of. The timeline was somehow holding, even with her imprisonment in this building.

John's story had a second significance. If Rose estimated Tony's age, she could figure out when she'd be seeing The Doctor again! Quickly, the blonde started counting... and just as quickly, she stopped. That sort of math was probably against the rules of timeline preservation. Sigh.

Rose looked in wonder at the Sonic Screwdriver. "Tha' belongs to The Doctor, though," she said, as if John didn't know. "'ow is it with you?" The answer barely mattered. A renewed energy was already rising in the Companion's chest. "We 'ave'ta fix it- now! Tonight!"

She'd seen the Sonic open all sorts of locks. If it could open the locks that held them all here, John would be a hero.

...With that sort of victory under his belt, he'd never get a job.

"Johnny. Prefer John personally. Actually! I prefer the Doctor but John'll do," After all, he knew as well as any that he couldn't exactly own the title, he had to let go and accept he'd changed. The Doctor wasn't his name but he was getting used to it. It was all down to getting used to things.

Giving Rose a small look, he rolled his eyes and snatched the screwdriver back almost defensively, he knew it wasn't originally his but he was the Doctor, sort of. Every Doctor needed a screwdriver. "I made it, exact replica, took some assistance from Torchwood but I've done it before and I'll do it again. Easy. Welll... not easy, not really. It just took longer than expected and I ran out of parts, have to improvised a bit. Torchwood never has what I wanted."

Well, it wasn't there fault, he was expecting more technology but he supposed them having less was more a blessing than anything. Humans with alien tech was always a bad idea.

"Fix it? Do we have tools here?"

If they did, he could fix it pretty easily. Grinning at Rose, he twirled the screwdriver around in his hand before giving it a closer look. Nothing a little tinkering wouldn't solve!

"Johnny is a bit more excitin' than John," she mused, "a very teensy bit."

She was surprised to hear about The Doctor working with Torchwood. He didn't have much reason to trust or even like the organization. Rose herself had been working with the Torchwood London of Pete's World. They had the resources for the Dimension Cannon, and heaven help her if an alien expert was going to be a shop girl again!

"Do I still-" For a second, Rose considered asking John if she'd stayed with Torchwood after finding the TARDIS. "...Nevermind." Again, she refrained.

"We don' 'ave much," Rose admitted, particularly when it came to the alien goods he'd be looking for. "We're brilliant, though! I'm sure there's somethin'." The girl could tell she'd sparked some motivation in John. She wondered if getting him moving wasn't her job in the future, too.

They reached the kitchen. It was open, but the pantry was locked, as usual.

"I like John. John is good, don't you like it? Simple, human, doesn't draw attention, perfect to blend in," Which is still what he wished to do, he wasn't about to prowl around the neighbourhood showing off, he was happy enough to try and play it cool, not draw attention to himself.

Even if he often did unintentionally. But scaling your neighbours roof to amp their TV signal without permission probably wasn't the stealthy way he could of gone about introducing himself.

"Do you what? You can ask, the world won't implode on itself," he promised as they stepped into the kitchen. Raising an eyebrow, he looked around before frowning. How exactly did this even work.

"Where does the food come from?"

Rose thought about the name John- really thought about it, not just as a label, but for its implications. "I suppose I see the point," she nodded. "Nobody ever expects a name like John Smith t' be the one doin' the mischief." No, John Smith was the bus driver, or the unassuming bloke behind the counter at the bank. Surely, this very idea had already saved him more than once.

"I-" Once given permission, Rose couldn't help herself. Her mouth became uncorked like a bottle. "Do I still work for Torchwood? Does my dad do any inventin'? Do the papers try t' photograph ya like they did with me? Does Tony say any words? 'ow abou' the zeppelins-"

She could almost hear the sound of their future shattering. And she didn't much care.

He had to pause as he slowly processed all the questions and broke them down so he could work out what part to answer first. So what if their time line fell apart? It probably already had. For all he knew, they were meant to meet to change the time line and if they didn't then that could end badly, badly like the end of the world! Then again, he could just be over-reacting and trying to justice to everything!

"You work for Torchwood, though I try to stop you, still don't trust them, I just like to steal their parts. Your father does inventing but I'm banned from watching him after I tinkered with his last one. Never been photographed, Tony has the average vocabulary of someone who recently turned 3 and I'm pretty sure the zepplins are as they've always been."

Taking a breath as he finished his explanation, he smiled before venturing into the kitchen to have a prod around.

If Rose had any more questions, he'd try and answer then.

Blimey. Rose mouthed the word "three" as John wandered further into the room. Lips parted, she filed all the answers away in her brain the best she could. Six months for her, a few years for him- nothing about time really shocked her anymore... unnerved, maybe, but never shocked.

Her wits returned, and Rose trotted to catch up with the Metacrisis. "The food," she piped in, having at first ignored his query. "We don' know where it comes from. It jus' sorta is. People 'ave been down 'ere all hours o' the nigh', and we never see nothin'."

Her eyes scanned the kitchen around them. The kettle was still in the sink from a few nights prior. She tried to think about what she'd be wondering, were she seeing the room for the first time. "S'pose we could jus' sit an' wait 'ere, one day, watchin' for a delivery."

John would probably find that boring.

"So food has been randomly appearing in the kitchen and no one ever thought of staking it out and keeping an eye on delivery? Or maybe trying to work out where it comes from or if its dangerous?" Perhaps he was overly cautious but he had his doubts, it was like his clothes following him here, it just made very little sense.

It was as if someone wanted to keep them here.

Sure he wanted to find out how it worked but not himself, he pulled a face at the very thought of it. Until he realised slowly that it could actually work. He could sit up, watch over the kitchen and work on the sonic at the same time! Grinning at his new found plan, he clapped his hands together and nodded.

"I'll watch it, tonight even. You have to go at midnight, I'll stay here, work on my sonic and keep an eye out. I'll let you know if I find anything, hows that?"

Well, when he put it that way, he made the entire house sound braindead. They didn't exactly have time for pantry stakeouts, what with the monsters and such. "Guess not."

Rose decided not to tell John about the dangers- not yet. If he could have a few days of peace, that would be worth the surprise later.

His sit-in idea wasn't half bad, albeit a spot lonely. Rose smiled at the Human Doctor's generosity. "Couldn't 'urt," she said with a nod. "You've slept all day, so ya prolly ain't tired." With that, the Companion moved to take a seat on the floor. "I'll stay with ya as long as I can. Now let's see tha' Sonic, eh?"

Edited 2010-09-27 14:57 (UTC)

Producing his sonic, he leaned over it and started to tug it apart, looking more in depth as he tinker with the inards.

"See, it'll be easy to fix it I can get the right kind of part that'll slow down the charge and cool it, preventing the energy from overheating and burning my hand but at the same time I can't cap the sonics power, especially here, so I'll have to up the power."

And he rambled on like that for as long as he kept watch, fiddling with bits and pieces until Rose left.

...And if Rose Tyler, listening intently, fell asleep on the kitchen floor while John talked, she'd have to be forgiven. She didn't dream of Bad Wolf Bay for the first time in months because he was there. It was the best nap she could recall in recent history, despite the distinct lack of bed.

...and if Rose Tyler was late to the meeting, well, perhaps someone could forgive her for that, too. Ironically, time travelers never seemed to get anywhere on time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

'cause when I'm standing here in the dark

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

EDIT to ask: Should we wrap up here?

Sure sure <3

Aww <3 COMPLETE.