The Rose Garden

Tardisode 2: Shades of Life

2008-09-06T17:38:32Z

Title: Tardisode 2: Shades of Life
Author: Coru
Characters/Pairing: Nine/Rose
Rating: PG-ish
Summary: Rose just wanted a relaxing spa day. Really, in the whole of time and space, is that such a request? Part of Series 2 AU with Nine, but could fairly easily stand alone. Just a bit of fluff and humor in the TARDIS.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, BBC owns it all.
Beta: Eternal gratitude to Bonnie (anepidemic) for beta reading!

~*~*~*~Fic Journal~*~*~*~

x-posted to nine_love and time_and_chips

My first batch of Doctor Who icons!

2008-09-04T05:47:01Z

217 total

10 As the World Turns (all but one Luke/Noah)
75 Doctor Who/Christopher Eccleston (Small spoilers for Journey's End)
31 Harry Potter (including two Dr. Horrible Quotes)
22 High School Musical
2 Idina Menzel (from an icontest_here entry a long time ago)
7 Legally Blonde: The Musical
15 Lord of the Rings (Eowyn and Faramir)
6 Phantom of the Opera (2004 ALW movie)
22 Pirates of the Caribbean (AWE Spoilers)
7 Star Wars Prequels
15 X-Men
4 Misc (Dr. Horrible, food_stillness entries, etc.)

Fake cut to my icon journal

Teasers:

x-posted EVERYWHERE since it is such a huge post. I'm really sorry for spamming your flist!

Fic Update: Miraculously Their Own

2008-09-03T02:56:48Z

Title: Miraculously Their Own - Chapter Nine
Author: RamblingRose / irishlullaby
Rated: R…ish
Beta Babe: crimedoc1
Disclaimer: DW & co are not mine. I am just playing with them.
Warnings: baby!fic (sort of). Adult situation in chapter(s): 7
Spoilers: Most of S1
Characters: Ninth Doctor, Rose, Jackie, others.
Pairings: Nine/Rose
Summary: The Doctor gets Rose pregnant in a most unconventional way and it becomes their duty to protect the child at all costs.

( Chapter Nine )

-------

Missed a chapter? Go to the Miraculously Their Own Masterlist

Where the Moon Howls (2 of 2)

2008-09-02T16:20:58Z

Title: Where the Moon Howls (2 of 2)
Author: Coru
Characters/Pairing: Nine, Rose, the general cast of Tooth and Claw...
Rating: PG-ish
Summary: Rose and the Ninth Doctor face a werewolf, warrior monks and rather irritable monarch. Episode two of Series-2-with-Nine AU.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, BBC owns it all.
Beta: Eternal gratitude to Bonnie (anepidemic ) for beta reading!

~*~*~Fic Journal~*~*~

Chapter one and previous episodes can be found at my fic journal as well. x-posted to nine_love and time_and_chips

Where the Moon Howls (1 of 2)

2008-09-01T18:16:34Z

Title: Where the Moon Howls (1 of 2) Part of series, 'A Man Who Wasn't There'
Author: Coru
Characters/Pairing: Nine, Rose, the general cast of Tooth and Claw...
Rating: PG-ish
Summary: Rose and the Ninth Doctor face a werewolf, warrior monks and rather irritable monarch. Episode two of Series-2-with-Nine AU.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, BBC owns it all.
Beta: Eternal gratitude to Bonnie (anepidemic ) for beta reading and fashion commentary :-D

~*~*~Fic Journal~*~*~

x-posted to nine_love and time_and_chips

Fic: Time is not a Straight Line

2008-09-01T17:52:31Z

Title: Time is not a Straight Line (4/?)
Pairing : Nine/Rose
Genre: Romance/Smut
Rating: Adult (for later chapters)

Written for the smut prompt : 'Nine meets Rose before the episode 'Rose'. Romantic smut ensues. She has to forget.

Chapter Four : Mrs.Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?
http://lillibetm3.livejournal.com/59457.html

Chapters 1 - 4 also at Teaspoon:
http://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=25008

Treading Water (3/3)

2008-08-30T08:09:02Z

Title: Treading Water (3/3)
Author: amberfocus
Characters/Pairings: Nine/Rose
Genre: Smut, Romance, Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Beta: JeopardyFriendly
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Swimming and first time love-making, no real plot.

3. http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/127076.html

Previous chapters:
http://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=25163

The Weather Series Part 02 Raining - Chapter 02 - Changes

2008-08-30T05:23:19Z

The Weather Series Part 02 - Raining
Author - Other Me Writer (Story Index)
Characters/Pairings: Nine/Rose
Genre - Smut, Stand Alone
Disclaimer: Not mine, has never been mine, no money earned :(.
Rating: Adult (R/NC-17)
Summary: Nine/Rose smut with a little bit of a plot
A/N: Inspired by the weather, a series of short stand-alone ADULT stories. (Not intended to fit into the Moving Forward series)

I watch as she makes her way out of the shelter of her mother’s home and moves down the stairwell. She doesn't see me, but that's okay - I can see her, my own personal little Miss Sunshine no matter what the weather is surrounding us. Silky blonde hair, bright pink button up top, simple blue jeans and trainers; I watch her move and she is all fluid grace. Does she have any idea how beautiful she is doing the most ordinary things?

The Weather Series Part 02 Raining - Chapter 02 - Changes

Treading Water (2/3)

2008-08-29T04:33:44Z

Title: Treading Water (2/3)
Author: amberfocus
Characters/Pairings: Nine/Rose
Genre: Smut, Romance, Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Beta: JeopardyFriendly
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Swimming and first time love-making, no real plot.

2. http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/125698.html

Previous chapter:
1. http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/124115.html

Hearts in Time - Layout Contest!

2008-08-28T21:59:43Z

Welcome!

It's time, finally for Hearts in Time's official layout contest. A couple of months ago, you all took part in this poll, and from that, it was decided that our next layout would look like this.

So, with that in mind, we have finally decided to host our layout contest! The entry time will consist of three weeks (from today), which takes us to September 18th, 2008. Those entering are required to leave a comment to this post (screened) with links to all the related images (details below). After the three week entry period is over, the mods will then post a poll of all the qualifying entries. The entries will be anonymous, and members of this comm will be allowed to vote for their favourite. Voting will be open for one week only, and after that, the winner will be decided and their graphics will be used for the comm's layout. Everyone who enters will get a mention on our user profile, and special credit will go to the winner.

For details on the images you should make, and various themes, click the cut.

So, you want to be part of our layout challenge? Hooray! You will need to make a minimum of three images, and a maximum of six. Here are the images you will need to make.

1. The Header

The header will be based on this image here. Whether you want to copy the exact layout of this image, or simply use its height and width attributes (300x900 respectively) is up to you. However, bear in mind that it does have to fit with the overall look of the layout (linked above the cut). The header should include images of Nine and Rose, whatever images you like (although remember our focus is more on the ship ;)), and should also include the comm's name. A subheading is also encouraged, or even a quote from the show, but the extra bits and bobs are really up to you. There's no set colour scheme to bear in mind, just the fact that everything you make has to match!

2. The Sidebar Image

The sidebar image will be based on this image from the layout. Again, you can copy the layout of the image exactly, or simply go by the height and width (644x200 respectively). You can use whatever image/fading techniques you like for this, but seeing as there will be text/the calendar/the comm userpic over it, I would advise it isn't anything too bright/detailed. It's just a background. Also, the image must fade out to white at the bottom, to prevent a clunky shift from tones. *grins*.

3. The Comm Userpic

It's important that we have a very nice-looking community userpic! The only thing to remember about the comm pic is that it should match whatever other graphics you do, whether it be by colour, theme etc. The only text needed on the community icon is our name, but if you can think of anything else to put on that's entirely up to you. Remember, icons are 100x100 pixels.

4, 5 & 6. Mod Icons

These images aren't compulsory to make for application, they would just be nice for us mods! It's always nice to have icons that match a layout, so if you're feeling particularly inspired, you can make up to three mod icons. Mod Post and/or Mod Comment icons are perfect, it's up to you. Go wild!

That's about it for the layout challenge. When you've made/uploaded your graphics, post links to them (all of them) in a comment to this post, and at the end of three weeks you will be put into the poll.

You may only enter the contest with one entry. You're free to go back and edit your comment if you change your idea, etc., but each person is only allowed to post one theme.

Other than that, enjoy and have fun and happy graphics making. Good luck!

4 entries so far -- thanks guys! :D

A New Hope 1 / ?

2008-08-26T14:35:19Z

Series: Forever and Always
Pairing: Nine/Rose
Spoilers: None
Rating: Teen - Adult for later chapters
Fic Summary: Nine and Rose return to earth for the birth of their first child.
Author's Note: The long promised next story in the Forever and Always series. Thanks to my wonderful betas, Calliope, Solar Flare and PncWho. You guys are FANTASTIC!

Disclaimer: If I owned this I would not be living in my parent's attic.

http://mkejenkins.livejournal.com/4460.html#cutid1

A Man Who Wasn't There Series: Tardisode 1

2008-08-26T02:40:02Z

Title: Tardisode 1: Comfort and Company
Author: Coru/corusca
Characters/Pairing: Nine/Rose
Rating: G
Summary: Following All Human Ills, Rose picked up a bug. The Doctor takes care of her. Part of 'A Man Who Wasn't There: An Alt!Series 2', but can easily stand alone.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, BBC owns it all.
Beta: Many many thanks to Bonnie (anepidemic) for beta reading!
Warning: Here be fluff.

(~*~Fake cut to fanfic journal~*~)

x-posted to nine_love and time_and_chips

Fic - Under a Patchwork Sky - (2/?) - Nine/Rose - PG13

2008-08-25T22:31:36Z

Title: Under a Patchwork Sky (2/?)
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Nine/Rose, Jackie, affectionate mentions of Adam (thus far).
Original Characters: Isabel Lamberth, Catherine Lamberth.
Summary: In which both the Doctor and Rose learn that things are not always as they seem.
Excerpt: Their eyes met and, in that second, Rose felt something almost disturbing ripple through her body.

| I. The Protector | II. The Time Traveller |

Under a Patchwork Sky
II. The Time Traveller
“Adventure is just bad planning.”
Roald Amundsen (1872 - 1928)
--
They landed with less of a bump than usual, and this time Rose managed to stay on her feet. She threw the last few items into her bag (a warm jumper and an extra pair of running shoes because, really, when you travel with the Doctor you can never be sure) then bounced happily back down the corridor. The Doctor was waiting for her in the console room, and he wore that smug expression he always wore when he was introducing her to someplace he knew she would like.

She paused in the doorway.

“Ready?” asked the Doctor, a twinkle in his eye, and Rose nodded with a grin. She was more than ready. The way the Doctor had been enticing her into this place made her not want to wait another minute, so she made sure she was first out of the door.

She stepped out into glorious sunshine, bringing a hand up to shield her eyes.

“Oh,” the Doctor said from her side as the TARDIS door closed behind them.

Shifting the weight from her packed bag, she turned to him. “What?”

“So much for the out-of-the-way alley we were supposed to park in.”

They had walked out onto crisp green grass, certainly nothing like a dingy alleyway in a run-down town that Rose might have expected to see. Colourful lawns stretched out in all directions, and a couple of hundred metres up the gently sloping hill, there was the grandest mansion Rose had ever seen. Where they were, she could only guess, was some sort of exquisite garden. A fountain trickled gently not far away and haphazard trees stared down at them all across the lawns. A gravel path, just ahead of them, led up to the house and also broke off into forks in all directions. The house itself was settled in amongst a collection of hedgerows, the privet leaves gleaming bright emerald in the shocking sunshine.

Something almost alien sounding called to them and, looking over, Rose saw a peacock pecking absently around the grass.

She breathed a sigh of admiration. “This is...” she started, but didn’t have the words.

The Doctor grinned at her. “Thought you’d like it.”

“Where are we?”

“That, up there,” he nodded his head in the direction of the house, “is the Lamberth family estate. Madley Court. Recently converted into a hotel for visitors, although the family live there as well. Comes complete with butlers, housekeepers, cooks, gardeners... everything, really. The town’s a little way down the road.”

“And this – this is where we’re staying?” Rose asked, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice. She had imagined maybe an exotic planet, or s strange visit to an ‘old friend’, or simply something alien that she may not have understood. But this, she definitely understood. It was a swanky hotel, what more needed saying? She didn’t even care why they were here.

“For the moment,” replied the Doctor with a cheery grin, and he turned to Rose with a mischievous look. “Want to go check in?”

“You betcha.” She grinned back at him. Then, without warning, shoved her bag into his hands. “And I think you can carry that, seeing as you’re acting like the gentleman.”

“I am?” he asked, seemingly confused but taking the bag in any case.

“Well, if you’re paying for me to stay here, definitely makes you a gentleman in my eyes.”

Their footsteps crunched loudly on the gravel as they walked, the summer wind blowing happily around them. Rose could tell it was summer by the bloom on the trees and the way the air danced fresh and clean around her. She loved the alien planets the Doctor took her to, and loved all the trouble they caused and the excitement that came with it. But she also couldn’t deny the fact she really loved the Doctor showing her parts of her own world that she didn’t even know existed. The thought was quite exhilarating.

“So, when are we?” she asked, careful to make note about everything she could and couldn’t say. Being a time traveller, you had to be careful about these things. No point in making a comment about a song you love if the song hasn’t been released yet.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the Doctor check his watching, and she smiled to herself.

“About... twenty-ten,” he came to, then looked up at the large house as it drew nearer. “Quite close for you.”

“God, that is,” Rose agreed, thinking hard about the way time worked and making her head hurt. “I wonder if there’s another me running around?”

“How do you mean?”

“Well, like... I dunno.” She screwed up her face slightly, thinking. “ Like a version of me who never went with you.”

The Doctor frowned. “But you did come with me,” he pointed out, perhaps rather needlessly.

Rose rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know, but what if I hadn’t? If I hop into my own future I could still be in London, working at Henrik’s. Still with Mickey, even.” She could feel his eyes on her, and when she looked at him, he found the Doctor giving her a very strange look. “What?”

“Just – nothing,” he said, and looked away.

“Doctor?”

“It’s nothing. I just thought... oh, never mind. We’re nearly there.”

Rose looked ahead, and sure enough, the great house was only a few more metres away.

‘House’ was actually a poor word to describe this building. As they got closer Rose could see the grand marble pillars framing the front door, and she couldn’t have counted the windows in the front of the house. It was at least three floors high and she to crane her neck to look up at the very top, where statues of angels and even a weathervane lay guarding the teal slated roof.

“It’s pretty big,” she said in awe, wondering just how long it would probably take to explore it.

“It’s one of the oldest buildings in the country,” the Doctor replied, pausing at the bottom of the steps leading up to the entrance. “I haven’t been here in a long time,” he added wistfully.

She glanced at him, surprised. “You’ve been here before?”

“Once or twice. I helped the family out a few centuries ago, both in my time and theirs. They had a bit of trouble with ghosts.”

Rose froze. “Ghosts?” she asked, and gulped.

The Doctor looked at her and chuckled. “Not real ghosts, you daft ape. There’s no such thing as ghosts. They did give residence to a few gaseous beings, though, who enjoyed playing tricks on the villagers. Bit like the Gelth, I s’pose, but less with the megalomania and more with plain boredom. Family was considered cursed. ‘Til I turned up, of course, and booted them – the aliens, not the family – back to their home planet.”

“Not smug about that at all, then,” Rose teased.

“Nope,” he returned with a large grin. “Figure they owe me a favour, though, so here’s hoping they let us stay.”

“Here’s hoping,” Rose echoed dimly, looking up at the large mansion again. “To be honest, I’m not surprised they had ghosts,” she said wistfully. “Looks a bit creepy if you stare at it for too long.”

The Doctor just laughed. “Come on, you. We’ve go a holiday to start.”

“Wait, hang on – a holiday?”

“Yup.” He started up the first step.

“No, like, a proper holiday? No aliens or monsters or hidden plans?”

“I hope not. Now, stop dawdling, check-in time will close soon.”

She followed him into the main entrance of the building, a new kind of excitement blossoming. She’d thought this would be just like any other visit somewhere. The Doctor would show off his amazing skills, or take her somewhere he really thought she would enjoy. Classic moments in history, that’s what the Doctor did. Not week-long holidays in posh looking hotels from places that owed him a favour.

He dropped her bag just in front of the reservation desk and smiled cheerily at the receptionist, the way he always did when he wanted something. Rose stood beside him, trying not to smirk.

“Hello,” he said good-naturedly while the receptionist scribbled busily into a very large notebook.

“Sir,” came the reply in a very well-spoken voice. The receptionist looked up, eyeing Rose and the Doctor warily as though they were something he’d rather not step in. Obviously, Rose thought, this hotel wasn’t used to any old commoner wandering in and wanting a room. Not that she and the Doctor were commoners, far from it, but she knew exactly how the stiff little man saw them both. She used to get it a lot in her old job.

“We’ve come to stay!” the Doctor almost sing-songed back. “Haven’t we, Rose?”

“Yeah.”

The receptionist, whose name read ‘Roland’, sniffed and pushed his glasses up his nose. “And do sir and madam have a reservation?”

“Well, don’t be daft. Course we don’t,” the Doctor said, looking at Roland as though he’d just dribbled on his shirt. “That’s why we need you to book us in.”

“I’m sorry, sir. If you haven’t booked in advance then we cannot let you into a room, I’m sorry. And even if we could - ” he paused and leant over the desk, considering the conspicuously large bag of Rose’s items “ – all of our rooms are full.”

“Oh.” The Doctor’s expression was deflated, and he turned to Rose with a mock pout. She found it very difficult not to laugh; she always enjoyed it when he wound people up. “Did you hear that, Rose? This lovely man says they’re all booked up. Nevermind, I suppose we’ll just have to go and spend our masses of money elsewhere. Unless...” He looked slyly back to the receptionist, “he would care to reconsider.”

Roland sat up, his back straight and tense. “I’m sorry sir, but rules are rules.” Even if you don’t look like a man who follows the rules, said the silent words hanging off the end of the sentence, and the Doctor’s eyebrows rose.

“Ok. Well, just to be polite, are any of the Lamberths in the house?”

Roland sniffed again, then started shuffling some files. “I can’t tell you that, sir.”

“Oh, come on,” the Doctor encouraged conspiratorially, leaning over the desk.

“Sir, please do not lean on the counter!” Roland squeaked, then pointed to a sign that said just that.

The Doctor sighed, standing back. “Well, look, if any of them are here – and I’m not saying they are, I’m saying ‘if’ – you’d best run along and tell them their old friend the Doctor has come for a visit.”

The receptionist frowned suspiciously. “Nobody is sick, we have no need for a doctor.”

“Aha!” He slapped his hands together, grinning. “So they are here. Thought so. Now, run along and tell them I’m here. Rose and I can wait.”

Roland blinked back at them. “Sir, if you don’t leave this minute, I will have to call security.”

“Oh, like I don’t here that every day,” he retorted, rolling his eyes. “Just go and tell them. And then, honestly, if they don’t know what you’re talking about, I’ll throw myself out of here, and Rose too.”

The Doctor and Roland locked eyes and, eventually, Roland looked away. Rose smiled.

“You wouldn’t want to make this poor girl sleep outside, would you?” he added, patting Rose’s forearm and earning a peevish glare from her. “We’ve come an awfully long way.”

“If it will get you to leave me alone, sir, then fine. But would you kindly wait outside? Thank you.”

Roland stood up from his desk, positively glaring at the Doctor.

“And if I get fired for this,” he added testily, “you can rest assured you will be getting a law suit.”

“That’s nice,” countered the Doctor sarcastically, turning back towards the door where a slice of the outside peered back at him and Rose.

They waited outside patiently, the sunlight warm on Rose’s skin.

“Do you really know these people?” she asked casually, staring around the lawns again.

He turned to her, a face that said he was shocked and insulted, but eyes that said he was simply amused. “Of course I do,” he replied indignantly, examining his fingernails. “I don’t know why you’d think otherwise.”

Rose leant against one of the large, marble pillars, grinning at him. He really was a fascinating man, was the Doctor. Just when she thought he had him a little bit sussed out, he threw something new at her that she just couldn’t fathom. This hotel holiday was a good example.

They waited for about ten minutes, chatting idly in the lazy sunshine. Eventually they were joined by Roland, who stood in the doorway between and cleared his throat. The Doctor, who was in the middle of a tale of a giant squid and... something else Rose didn’t quite catch, ignore him.

“So I turn around, and there’s this huge tentacle coming at me from nowhere. I’m wondering what do I do, do I duck and try to run away or do I try to reason with the thing. I’m betting reasoning is probably the safer option, in the long run, so I say – ”

“Ahem,” Roland interrupts loudly.

“’Scuse me,” the Doctor says to Rose, then turns to the squat little man. “I think you’ll find Rose and I are in the middle of a conversation. It’s rude to interrupt. I would have thought a man of your calibre would know that.”

Roland fixed him with an icy glare, and his mouth smiled almost cruelly. “Sir, I have been told that here is no use for a doctor at Madley Court. It is just as I said – no one is sick.”

“Oh for Pete’s sake,” the Doctor snapped, and even Rose sighed with mild irritation. “Look, I’m not ‘a’ doctor, I’m ‘the’ Doctor. The – Doctor. It’s not hard. I was here a few years ago, they’ll remember me, I’m sure. You just have to be specific.”

“I’m sorry sir, but I won’t – ”

“Doctor?”

Rose turned, surprised at the voice, and peered in through the great double doors to a woman, clad in a lacy white dress, standing at the bottom of the stairs. She was one of the most beautiful women Rose had ever seen. Her skin looked white and pure, like china, but she had swirling dark hair and even darker eyes. She looked hesitant, nervous, as though she were expecting to be threatened with a knife at any minute.

“That’s me,” said the Doctor, and he pushed easily past Roland as though he weren’t even there. Rose followed, very tempted to make a face at the balding, middle-aged man; but she decided to rise above it, for decency’s sake if nothing else.

“Are you – are you here to visit one of the guests?” the woman asked nervously, and she glanced over to Roland, who was silhouetted in the doorway and, Rose noticed, trying to look like he wasn’t Very Annoyed Indeed.

“Technically,” the Doctor replied with a smile, and an extra layer to his voice that Rose had rarely heard before. She turned back with interest, noticing for the first time the way the Doctor’s attention was totally fixed on the woman standing by the stairs. He’d stopped a few metres away from her, as though scared of getting too close. But she knew the Doctor, to a certain extent, and his body language was practically yelling that this woman was very important to him.

Rose refused to listen to the irrational spike of jealousy that stabbed through her, but it was very difficult to ignore it completely.

“Are you...?” the woman asked, but trailed off, looking slightly uncomfortable and, for some reason, glancing to Rose.

Their eyes met and, in that second, Rose felt something almost disturbing ripple through her body. Whoever this woman was, she didn’t like her.

“I am,” was all the Doctor said, and he suddenly seemed to relax. “I assume you got the message, then.”

She smiled. “Yes. Roland said something about a doctor and at first I had no idea what he was talking about... but then I wondered, and I thought, maybe, after all these years, you had come back.”

“And I did.”

Rose felt very much like a third wheel, and wondered briefly if she should just go and stand by Roland at the door. It was about as useful as she felt right now.

“Roland,” the woman commanded, lifting her head. “You can return to your duties. The Doctor and...” She looked pointedly at Rose.

“Rose,” she supplied, when the Doctor evidently wasn’t going to.

“The Doctor and Rose will be staying in our private quarters. Please escort their luggage to the second guest bedroom.”

Rose was sure she heard a groan come from Roland’s direction, but she was far too focused on the Doctor to really notice.

Roland disappeared quickly, presumably to a further part of the house that led upstairs, leaving Rose, the Doctor, and the surprise women to themselves. It was only then that the Doctor ascended the stairs, approaching her with – judging from his voice – a very large grin.

“Catherine,” he said warmly, and – to Rose’s complete astonishment – he took her hands.

“Isabel, actually,” said the woman, teasing in her voice as though she’d known the Doctor for years. “Catherine was my great-grandmother. Although, I gather you knew her rather well.”

“Ah.” The Doctor cleared his throat, and Rose got the distinct impression it was one of the few occasions he was caught embarrassed. He slowly lowered Isabel’s hands, before releasing them and – finally – turning back to look at Rose. He smiled broadly; she didn’t.

“This is Rose,” he explained to Isabel, trotting back down the stairs to Rose’s side. “She’s my friend.”

Oh, great, Rose thought.

Isabel nodded. “So I see.”

“I thought I’d bring her here for a bit of well deserved rest and relaxation,” he continued, turning and grinning at Rose. She forced a weak smile out at him, but inwardly, she was positively seething.

“I’m sorry if Roland seemed in any way curt with you,” Isabel, said, descending the rest of the stairway and trailing her hand down the banister. “We have been known to get people wandering in, and the poor man has learned to turn away anyone who doesn’t have a paid reservation. We don’t even get visitors any more,” she added sadly.

“Well, you have me,” replied the Doctor, and Rose felt that stab of jealousy once again. She would never have believed he could be so insensitive.

“I do. We have a lot to talk about. You haven’t visited our family in a very long time.”

“Well, you know,” he joked, “nothing to stop me from popping back to an earlier time. Have to be careful about timelines and all that, but...”

He smiled up at Isabel, who smiled back.

“Yes,” she confirmed, in the voice of someone who knew a lot more about the Doctor’s life than Rose ever would. “I’m afraid you’ve come at a rather bad time, however – although, as I understand it, timing was never your strong point, Doctor.” She smirked easily when he shifted from foot to the other. “My husband is away on business and isn’t due back until later in the week. But you are free to stay until whenever you like. The house is open to you.”

The Doctor nodded his thanks. “It’s appreciated.”

“I’ll have Roland show you to your rooms. And then perhaps, Doctor,” she paused, focusing on the Doctor like someone who was very aware there someone else in the room. “...Perhaps you and I could have a chat. It has been ever so long.”

From the corner of her eye, Rose caught the Doctor frowning. “If you want,” he said casually.

“Splendid. I will send someone to you in about half an hour. Will that be suitable?”

“Er, yeah,” he answered quickly, and Rose realised his nerves were getting the better of him. She subtly reached for his hand, brushing her fingers against his, and he made to grip them. “Perfect.”

“Roland,” Isabel called again, and like magic he appeared from behind a door at the other end of the hall. “Show the Doctor and Rose to their quarters. Then get back to your desk.”

He nodded, and Rose got the distinct impression he absolutely hated the woman to bits. She couldn’t blame him.

They were quickly shuffled out of the grand hall and into another room, with a large banquet table and a flight of stairs that led to a balcony higher up. The Doctor and Rose walked hand in hand, neither of them saying anything.

Roland took a key from one of about two hundred he must have had on a keychain, and unlocked a door down a corridor a few rooms away.

“It’s a twin room,” he said blandly. “If you need anything, simply ring the bell. A servant will be with you shortly.”

Servant? Rose mouthed to the Doctor, and he nodded discreetly.

“Well, isn’t this fantastic?” he asked when they were on their own, and he settled into a large sofa placed in the middle of the room. It faced towards a TV and what Rose could only assume was a drinks cabinet.

Rose hesitated, licking her lips. “She seems... nice,” she started, fiddling with her hands. “Your friend.”

The Doctor looked up, a happy, lazy expression on his face. “She’s not who I thought she was,” he explained, obviously all too happy to take a trip down memory lane. “She looks the spit of Catherine, though. Catherine was the woman I helped when I was last year. Seeing her in the flesh, so to speak... I forgot I’d jumped forwards a few hundred years. I thought it was still her.”

“I guessed,” Rose said in a clipped tone. She didn’t want to hang around for any more of the Doctor’s speech, so she made up an excuse. “I’m gonna go unpack. Might as well suss out the bedroom, I s’pose, if we’re going to be here for a while.”

“Good idea,” he agreed, either being obnoxiously stupid or literally having no clue about how women worked. “I thought we were only staying for a week, but who knows? Isabel seems to like us, so we may well stay a bit longer.”

“Great,” she said bitingly, stalking across the seating area to a pair of double, wooden doors. She slid them open, revealing a bedroom and, fortunately, her bag.

“Rose?” the Doctor said from behind her, for the first time concern in his voice.

“I’m gonna have a shower,” she stated blankly, not even sure there were showers, let alone if she had one. “You’ll probably be gone by the time I come out.”

“Are you all right?” She heard the rustle of fabric as he got to his feet, but she didn’t turn around to look at him.

“’M fine,” she semi-lied. “Just want a shower.”

With that she closed the doors, angry with the Doctor, but mostly with herself for acting like a petty, jealous teenager. Sighing with irritation, she rummaged angrily through her bag in search of shampoo, before she realised she hadn’t packed any.

“Great,” she said again, eyeing an open doorway in the bedroom which, she assume, led to a bathroom. The trip that started out so well in her mind had already taken a sour turn. The Doctor would be lucky if he made it through the week, because she couldn’t promise that she wouldn’t end up killing him.

“Prat,” she cursed to herself, and that made her feel slightly better.

One thing was for certain: she was absolutely not going to enjoy this trip at all, and after it was over, she was going to force the Doctor to come home with her and have shepherd’s pie with her mum and go out with all her friends.

Cringing at the insane childishness of her thoughts, Rose stepped into the bathroom and locked the door. When she came out, half an hour later, the Doctor had indeed gone.
End this Part

Treading Water (1/3)

2008-08-25T20:20:10Z

Title: Treading Water (1/2)
Author: amberfocus
Characters/Pairings: Nine/Rose
Genre: Smut, Romance, Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Beta: JeopardyFriendly
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Swimming and first time love-making, no real plot.

http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/124115.html

Fic: Time is not a Straight Line

2008-08-25T18:28:35Z

Title : Time is not a Straight Line (3/?)
Pairing : Nine/Rose
Genre : Romance/Smut
Rating : Adult (for later chapters)

Written for the smut prompt : Nine meets Rose before the episode 'Rose'. Romantic smut ensues. She has to forget.

Chapter Three: You had me at 'hello'
http://lillibetm3.livejournal.com/59184.html#cutid1

Chapters 1-3 also at Teaspoon
http://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=25008&warning=Adult

An idea

2008-08-25T17:44:24Z

I thought it would be a nice idea for the comm if - seeing as not all Nine/Rose stuff gets posted here - the members could link to other Nine related material around LJ as it crops up. The goal is, of course, to get as much Nine related stuff posted to this community -- and if it doesn't get posted directly, there's no harm in any of us telling the comm there's some more content out there we may not have seen :)

So, with that in mind, I present:

"Watch", by drabblewriter

Title: Watch
Rating: G
Characters: Nine, Rose
Summary: It was his favorite part just to watch.

( Watch )

Fic - Under a Patchwork Sky - (1/?) - Nine/Rose - PG13

2008-08-24T18:38:06Z

Title: Under a Patchwork Sky (1/?)
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Nine/Rose, Jackie, affectionate mentions of Adam (thus far)
Summary: In which both the Doctor and Rose learn that things are not always as they seem.
Excerpt: They left the TARDIS hand in hand, the old doors creaking shut behind them.

Under a Patchwork Sky
I. The Protector
“The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well.”
Horace Walpole (1717 - 1797)
--
“This is so not fair,” Rose complained, folding her arms and collapsing into the captain’s chair. From across the console, the Doctor grinned broadly. She made a face and stuck her tongue out at him. “Seriously, why won’t you tell me?”

He’d been teasing her for the better part of half an hour, saying that he knew exactly where they were going next but that he wouldn’t tell her. He had then proceeded to drop hints, saying things such as, “You’re really gonna love it, you know,” and other irritating things like that.

“It’s a surprise,” he replied now, mischief sparkling in his eyes as the light from the time rotor bathed his skin. “And you know as well as I do, Rose, that you don’t go spoiling surprises. It’s just not the done thing!”

Rose muttered words that distinctly sounded like ‘obnoxious Time Lord’ under her breath, and the Doctor just grinned and grinned.

“We could just go,” she suggested thoughtfully after a moment, sitting up in the chair. “Now, I mean. You keep going on about this place, whatever it is, so why don’t we just go?”

The Doctor shook his head. “Nope. Proper preparations have to be made. We’ll be out of the TARDIS for a week or so, so I’ve got to take you home first. You need to pack up a few things.”

Rose’s face instantly lit up, a measure of her own teasing coming into play. She slid off the seat and sidled around the console, eyeing the Doctor playfully. “You’ll have to see my mother,” she sing-songed.

“Don’t,” he warned good-naturedly. “I’ll have to do no such thing. I’ll be staying here, ta, you can just go in and pack up a few things. In and out in twenty minutes.”

“You won’t even come in for a cuppa?” Rose pouted.

“And get slapped in the face again? I think not.”

“Well,” Rose reasoned with a happy smile, “just so long as you don’t turn up a year late again. Don’t think Mum could forgive you for that again.”

“I don’t think she forgave me for it the first time,” he commented in response, eyebrows raising. “Now, go and get your bag. The quicker we can leave, the quicker we can be off. So to speak.”

Grinning, Rose disappeared into the corridor of the TARDIS, leaving the Doctor to muse over thoughts on his own. There was nothing wrong with what he had in mind for her, he told himself firmly. Nothing wrong at all with wanting to surprise your companion and take her to a nice, expensive hotel, the kind she probably only ever dreamed about staying in when she was a kid. Certainly nothing wrong with investing a bit of the surrounding culture and listen to the myths and legends told by the folk in the nearby town.

Nope, nothing wrong with any of it. He was doing it just as much for him as he was for her, yes.

Rose returned to the console room not two minutes later, a large empty bag in her hands.

“Come on then, driver,” she said cheekily, dropping the bag on the floor and bounding down to the Doctor’s side.

He pulled a lever and grinned at her. “You know, I can’t remember the last time I saw you this excited about something. I’ll have to hide things from you more often,” he teased.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Rose replied, hitting him on the arm. “I hate not knowing, and you know I do. So you’ll be telling me everything from now on, thank you very much.”

The Doctor darted around to the other side of the console, where he pulled at the bicycle-pump-that-wasn’t and spun a dial on the surface. “Now, when you say ‘everything’,” he countered, checking the dial to make absolutely sure he was arriving on the right date (give or take), “does that include the current stock of the kitchen cupboards? Because actually, we’re a bit low on washing detergent, and I thought we might be able to – ”

“Just drive,” Rose cut across with a huge grin. “And stop taking the piss.”

“Me, take the piss? Rose Tyler, I am insulted.”

“You’ll be more than insulted if you don’t hurry up.”

“All right, all right, I’m driving as fast as I can. Blimey.” He shook his head laughingly, checking everything was going according to plan. The TARDIS was shaking like there was an earthquake, but Rose was laughing, the way she always did.

The Doctor instructed her to hold various buttons down while ran around like a mad thing, pulling a lever here and spinning a dial there. Eventually, the TARDIS pulled to a shattering halt, and Rose tumbled to the floor.

The Doctor stood above her, a smirk on his face. “You’d think you’d learn by now,” he commented, offering a hand for her to get up.

Rose took it obligingly. “Not my fault you drive like a bloody lunatic.”

“Oi! You were the one who was telling me to drive faster.”

On her feet, she glared at him, then bent down to pick up her bag. “So, I’m gonna need...” she prompted from him, looking expectant.

The Doctor faltered. In all honesty, he hadn’t actually thought about what she would need. “Um,” he said uncertainly. “You know. Stuff. Like, what you pack when you usually go away somewhere.”

“Passport?” she suggested.

“Er, no.”

“Okay, summer clothes? Winter clothes?”

“Uh... I don’t know. Mix and match, we’ll see when we get there.”

She gave him a dubious look, frowning slightly. “What about food?”

“Oh, no, we’ll be well set up for food.”

“So, what exactly,” she began, putting on hand on her hip and looking terrifyingly like her mother, “do I need from home that I couldn’t pick up here?”

“I don’t know!” the Doctor admitted, tones of frustration laced in his voice. “We’re going somewhere that’s nice, relatively quiet, but I can’t promise nothing will happen, I never can. You should take some running shoes, just in case. Imagine you’re going on a surprise holiday for a week and go from there. I’m sure you’ll find something.”

He wasn’t expecting the squeal of delight that came from Rose. “A surprise holiday? Seriously?”

“Why else do you think we’d be out of the TARDIS for a week?” he asked, folding his arms in humour.

“I dunno, I thought you were gonna do some weird sort of maintenance, or something. Like, it would be a hazard for us to use the TARDIS.”

“No, you silly ape,” the Doctor said affectionately, laughing. “We’ll leave the TARDIS somewhere out of the way for the duration, unless we really, really need her. Now, go and get your stuff.”

Rose hesitated, her grin dissolving into concern. “Mum won’t want me to just pop in and out. She’ll want me to stay for a couple of hours, at least, have a catch up on everything I’ve been doing.”

“I know.” The Doctor nodded.

“Won’t you come in? Please?”

He considered, his mouth growing distinctly thinner. “If you don’t want to be on your own with her for a couple of hours, what makes you think I will?”

“She’s good at cooking,” Rose tempted. “She makes this awesome shepherd's pie, right, that – ”

“No. Absolutely not. I draw the line at dinner.”

“So... you’re just gonna stay here. On your own.”

He began moving away from her, fingering a pointless button on the main console. “Yup.”

“She won’t forgive you,” Rose announced, almost with an air of pride in her voice. “You don’t come in and she’ll be marching down here herself getting you to come in.”

“In which case,” the Doctor half-teased, “I will simply lock her out.” A moment of silenced between the two, and he could feel Rose’s eyes on him like two hot pokers. Eventually, he looked up with a sigh. “You really want me to come, don’t you?”

Rose nodded.

“I don’t get what the big deal is,” he continued. “All I’m gonna do is sit there and moan until you’re ready to go.”

“Yeah, but,” Rose sidled towards him, bag in hand, “my mum needs to trust you. I don’t like leaving her in the lurch while I rush off all over the place. She worries.”

He sighed through his nose, knowing that he was beaten. “You can be really cruel when you want to,” he sulked. “I hope you know that. S’pose we’d better go, then, TARDIS won’t fly herself.”

Rose beamed at him. “Knew you’d see sense,” she said, taking his hand.

“Yeah, yeah,” he groused. “Just don’t expect me to say anything nice.”

They left the TARDIS hand in hand, the old doors creaking shut behind them. He had parked in the same alleyway he had last time, and according to his calculations, it was only a few days after their first visit. There was a cold wind around them, blowing Rose’s hair in all sorts of directions, and the a car rushed past them as they tried to cross the road.

The flights of stairs seemed longer than he’d ever remembered, and the higher he climbed, the bigger the sense of dread ballooned in his stomach, until finally, when they were outside Rose’s flat and she was knocking furiously on the door, he had to fight very strongly against the urge to run away.

And when Jackie opened the door and screamed, pulling her daughter into a crushing hug, the Doctor was left to stand awkwardly in the frame, reminding himself exactly why he never did domestic.

-oOo-
Half an hour later he sat in the living room with a cooling cup of coffee, listening to Rose recount the various tales of their life.

“...And there was this thing in his head, right, and you clicked your fingers and there it was, this massive gaping hole. You could see right through to his brain, Mum, it was gross.”

“Oh, I can imagine sweetheart. Though I wish I couldn’t.”

“And then, we got to the top, and there was this massive... Great Jagrafess of the... something. Anyway, it was huge, like huge. Basically, a huge worm with teeth.”

The Doctor sipped his coffee, listening to the continuing adventures. Why did he have to be here for this? In fact, why was he even putting up with it? They’d been here half an hour already and Rose had made no attempt to go and pack. She hadn’t even mentioned it, as far as he could remember, and it was all very well spending time ‘catching up’, but when it was his time that was being used up too, well, he had one or two things to say about that.

The only problem was that he couldn’t get a word in edgeways, and even if he’d been able to, going head to head with two Tyler women was probably not the most sensible idea he would ever have. It would probably result in an early regeneration, to say the least.

He only really came out of his inner musings when he noticed a few beats of silence, and – judging by the way Jackie was looking at him – he suspected he’d just been asked a question.

“Er,” he said elegantly. “Yes?”

Jackie rolled her eyes. “See? He doesn’t listen to a word I say. I hope he treats you better than that,” she added, addressing Rose.

“I think he’s just tired,” Rose replied, slightly patronisingly, and patted his leg with the kind affection one might give to a stray dog.

“’He’ is still in the room,” the Doctor said pointedly. “And he’s also getting impatient. Rose? Didn’t you have something you had to do?”

She removed her hand. “Yeah, Mum. The Doctor’s... taking me somewhere, and I need to pack a few things.”

The moment she’d said those words, he just knew they were the wrong thing to say. Jackie gave him a look that all but shouted, ‘don’t you dare be up to any hanky panky with my daughter, mister’ and he really, really wished he had put his foot down in the TARDIS and stayed there. Even hordes of flesh-eating rabbits would be better than what he was undergoing right at this second.

“Where’s he taking you?” Jackie casually asked her daughter, but with her steely eyes fixed on the Doctor. He shuffled on the sofa, feeling uncomfortable.

“I dunno.” Rose shrugged. “He won’t tell me.”

“Well, then,” Jackie continued, finally releasing him from her gaze and looking kindly to her daughter. “You’d best pop upstairs and get packed. Everything’s the same as how you left it.”

Feeling distinctly as though he were about to suffer an onslaught of inquiries, the Doctor took a large mouthful of coffee for artificial courage. Rose got up slowly from the sofa, her hesitation making him wonder if she could sense the atmosphere brewing around them.

She left the living room without a word, and the Doctor took another swig of coffee.

“So,” he attempted conversationally, looking around the living room that was becoming all too familiar and doing everything he possibly could to avoid looking at Jackie. “Flat looks nice – ”

“Don’t you ‘flat looks nice’ me – I should have you locked up for what you made us go through last time you were here.”

He couldn’t think of anything to say that would make things any better, so he just sipped at his coffee once again, daring a glance at the woman who, for reasons he couldn’t quite fathom, scared him more than most things he and Rose encountered on a daily basis.

“Where are you taking her?” Jackie asked, folding her arms and sitting back into the chair.

He shrugged. “Nowhere in particular.”

“So you’ve brought her all the way home, to pack up, for ‘nowhere in particular’?”

He could see where Rose got her argumentative streak from. But then, he highly doubted she got it from her father.

“It’s a nice place,” he tried to assure, very aware that if he admitted to Rose’s mother that he was thinking of booking them into a hotel, she might very well get the wrong idea. “We’ll be away from the TARDIS, and I wasn’t sure if Rose needed anything from home. That’s why we’re visiting.”

“Oh, make a mother feel loved, why don’t you.”

“Rose wanted to see you anyway, obviously.” The Doctor couldn’t help but feel he was digging himself further and further into a hole.

“And I suppose you didn’t want to see me at all.” Jackie glared at him, probably unaware of just how accurate she was. “She probably had to drag you down here by the scruff of the neck, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you were kicking and screaming the whole way.”

He wondered if there was anything he could possibly say that wouldn’t come across as a blatant lie, but fortunately Jackie continued without leaving him room for an answer.

“I don’t really care if you want to be here or not. I just want to know that my daughter is safe, Doctor, and right now, I’m not so sure that she is.”

With that, he leaned over and put his mug on the coffee table, the china chinking against the glass like they were going to war.

“Jackie,” he said firmly, turning to look the woman directly in the eye. “There are things about my life with Rose that I can’t promise you. I can’t promise when she’ll be home next, or that she’ll always be happy when you see her. I can’t promise that she’ll always call and I can’t promise that we won’t end up somewhere dangerous. But what I can promise, what I can swear to you in words you’ll understand, is that I’ll protect her. I’m not someone who picks girls up for the jollies, I know what it means to take someone in and care for them. I don’t care if you trust me, but for your own peace of mind, I suggest that you do. Nothing you can say is going to make me protect her any more than I already do.”

He finished with a resolute nod, reaching back over for the dregs of his coffee. By the way Jackie was staring at him he assumed he had got through, and a few moments later Rose’s feet thundered down the stairs.

“Right,” she said, dumping the bag in the middle of the living room floor, “that’s everything I’ll need. I think. It’s kinda hard to know what to pack when you don’t know – ” She paused, looking from the Doctor to her mother. “Have I missed something?”

“Nope,” said the Doctor.

“Nothing,” agreed Jackie, smiling up to Rose. “We were just having a chat.”

Rose frowned. “...Right.”

“Well then, if you’ve got everything,” the Doctor said brusquely, getting to his feet, “I s’pose we’ll be going. Nice to see you again, Jackie, thanks for the coffee.”

He went towards the door, leaving the two women alone to say their goodbyes. He suspected that Jackie wanted them (or Rose, at least) to stay longer, but as far as he was concerned he had outstayed his welcome, and time was pressing.

He caught a few words of “don’t wait too long until your next visit” and “I promise I’ll call you”, and then suddenly Rose was by his side.

“Now, take care,” Jackie said from behind them as Rose handed the Doctor her packed bag. He was pleasantly surprised by how light it was. He looked up just in time to catch Jackie’s eye. “Both of you,” she added.

He nodded. “Don’t worry,” he attempted to reassure.

Leaning over for a final hug, Rose kissed her mother on the cheek, and then the two of them were – finally – making their way back down the stairs. It had been a much shorter visit than the Doctor had imagined, and he had no intention of hiding his glee about it.

However, in the face of his jokes and teasing, Rose was rather tranquil, and by the time they reached the bottom of the staircase he decided that maybe he should just be quiet. After slipping the key into the lock and letting them back inside, he asked her if she was all right.

She smiled, assuring him she was fine, just worried about how her mum would cope with all the worry she was obviously going through. The Doctor nodded understandingly, then suggested she should finish packing up any bits and pieces she may want from her room. Excitement began to gleam in Rose’s eye again, and she went off down the corridor.

Feeling unusually happy, the Doctor set about planning their course. At least this trip would mean one thing: he would get to see that smile, the smile he had recently become addicted to seeing and did everything in his power to see more of. Oh, yes. This trip was going to be fantastic.
End this Part
x-posed to oh_she_knows, multiverses and my LJ

'The Long Game' rewatch-review

2008-08-23T21:54:24Z

Another week's gone by and I just got my write-up of "The Long Game" done. If you're interested follow the cut and check it out. (Clips and images included in this one.) :)

And the lots and lots of rambling starts here ...

x-posted plenty lots.

fic : Time is not a Straight Line

2008-08-22T23:07:32Z

Title : Time is not a Straight Line (2/?)
Pairing : Nine/Rose
Genre: Romance/Smut
Rating : Adult (for later chapters)

Written for the smut prompt : Nine meets Rose before the episode 'Rose'. Romantic smut ensues. She has to forget.

Chapter Two : I have always depended on the kindness of strangers
http://lillibetm3.livejournal.com/58990.html#cutid1

Chapters 1 and 2 also at Teaspoon
http://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=25008

Fic: Of Lazy Days and Nightmares

2008-08-21T20:44:17Z

Title: Of Lazy Days and Nightmares
Characters: Nine/Rose
Rating: All ages
Spoilers: None, really. But if you know how series one ends (and I'm assuming most of you do) you should catch the reference to the last episode.
Summary: Rose wanted to sleep in, but a nightmare shakes her to the core.
Author's Notes: This is my very first Doctor Who fic, so please be gentle! I wrote this in response to the prompt "lazy" at aibhinn's Just for Fun Ficathon. But I kind of failed on the "little to no angst" rule. There is fluffiness, and I grinned when I wrote it, it's just very rare when I write something fluffy. Even my fluffiest of fics have some sort of conflict in them. I just can't help it.

And a thousand thanks to my awesome beta corusca. You're the best!

At my fic journal

x-posted to time_and_chips, hearts_in_time, nine_love and dwfiction

fic : Time is not a Straight Line

2008-08-20T22:49:37Z

Title : Time is not a Straight Line (1/?)
Pairing : Nine/Rose
Genre : Romance/Smut
Rating : Adult (for later chapters)

Written for the smut prompt :
04 : Nine meets Rose before the episode 'Rose'. Romantic smut ensues. She has to forget.

Chapter One : Of all the gin joints in all the world...
http://lillibetm3.livejournal.com/58447.html#cutid1
And at Teaspoon:
http://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=25008

Fic: After Dark (1/1)

2008-08-20T00:01:44Z

Title: After Dark
Author: Gillian Taylor
Character/Pairing: Rose Tyler, Ninth Doctor
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Dalek
Summary: There’s a reason he avoids sleep. She’s only just learning why.
Disclaimer: Don't own them. I just like playing with them...a lot.

A/N: Thanks, as always, to the brilliant wendymr for BRing and for the title suggestion/being awesome. This was written for rallalon in thanks for this. Admittedly, there is no Jack in this fic, but, well, there is Nine. *g*

( After Dark )

x-posted to: dark_aegis, time_and_chips, & hearts_in_time

Fic: Smut Bunnies 2

2008-08-18T22:29:36Z

Title: Smut Bunnies 2 - Revenge of the Smut Bunny
Author: RamblingRose / irishlullaby
Beta Babe: crimedoc1
Rated: Adult (in final chapter)
Characters/Pairing: Ninth Doctor/Rose
Summary: A sequel to the thriller "Smut Bunnies - Attack of the Smut Bunnies". Totally crackalicious. And Smutty.
AN: Me thinks this will only be two chapters… but I’m not sure.

( Chapter One )

I totally just realized I forgot to xpost this here... ^.^;;

All Human Ills

2008-08-18T10:52:16Z

Title: All Human Ills (Part 2 of 2)
Author: Coru /</a></b></a>corusca
Characters/Pairing: Ninth Doctor, Rose, the general cast of New Earth...
Rating: You watch the show? You can read this. PGish.
Spoilers: New Earth, that's about it
Summary: First in a series 2 rewrite depicting the continued adventures of the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler...
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, BBC owns it all.
Beta: Many many thanks to Bonnie (</a></b></a>anepidemic ) for beta reading!
AN: This story came about largely because I wanted to read a rewrite of series 2 with Nine...since they seem to be nonexistent, I realized I had to write it myself. If it's well-received, I will probably continue through the rest of the episodes.

"Surgery...post-op...nano-dentistry...nothin' off," the Doctor tapped the screen a few times and frowned.

Cassandra nudged him away from the terminal and began to scan it herself, shaking her head. "When I was alone, those Nurse/Cat/Nuns were talking about Intensive Care. Where is it...?"

He glanced at her then quickly turned back to the screen. "Well done."

"Why would they hide a whole department?" She pulled back a bit as the Doctor reached into his jacket and pulled out the sonic screwdriver. "It's gotta be there somewhere. Search the subframe."

She didn't notice how his body tightened, nor how his eyes darkened. She would have noticed his clenched jaw, had he not forced himself to relax. "And if it's locked?" He watched her carefully as she rolled her eyes.

"Try the installation protocol," Cassandra enunciated the words as if speaking to a child.

He tensed again, and began running the sonic screwdriver against the terminal. The faint buzzing ceased after a few moments, and he stepped back with a tight smile as a portion of the wall slid away. "Well. Intensive enough for you?" He gestured toward the dark corridor blemishing the otherwise stark white walls of the hospital.

She smirked. "I suppose it will have to do."

He stopped suddenly and took her shoulders, staring deeply in her eyes. "Whatever is going on here, Rose, I will sort it. Understand?"

Cassandra blinked and nodded hesitantly, attempting nonchalance. "Well, of course you will."

"Come on," apparently she had not given him the answer he wanted. He led the way, not reaching for or even acknowledging her presence any further.

That the cavern inside had ever been hidden was hard to believe; it was massive in every direction. The metal stairs creaked under their feet, but they paid it no mind — indeed, could not pay attention to anything but the thousands of glowing green cells that lined every visible wall.

The Doctor held his screwdriver against a lock and pulled the door open. A man, propped up slightly, wavered in the enclosure.

"That's disgusting," Cassandra hissed. "What's wrong with him?"

"I'm sorry," he murmured, expression soft for the first time since Cassandra had joined him. She backed away, covering her nose and mouth with her hand. The Doctor closed the door gently and moved to the next, only sagging more when he saw a woman inside in the same condition as her neighbour.

"What disease is that?" Cassandra asked, disgust still lacing her voice.

"Everything. Every disease left in the galaxy, they're forcibly infected." He closed the door and looked over the cavern. "Lab rats, tortured from birth like animals. That's why they have cures when no one else does — no one else would do something so disgusting."

"Why haven't they died?"

"They're carriers. Always the last to die."

A new voice, gentle and sad, pulled their attention to the end of the row. "It's for the greater cause," Novice Hame informed them softly.

"You agreed to this? This was part of your vows?" The Doctor's voice was rising steadily.

"The Sisterhood has sworn to help," she replied, lowering her eyes.

"Help who exactly? Not these people — not the living beings tortured beyond recognition!"

"They aren't real people," she corrected him gently. "They are grown here, for this purpose."

"And how many have died? How many a day — a year? For how many years? How many, Novice Hame, answer that!"

"Mankind needed us. They came to this planet with so many illnesses. We couldn't cope. We did try. We tried everything. We tried using clone-meat and bio-cattle... but the results were too slow. So the sisterhood grew its own flesh. That's all they are. Flesh. "

"They're alive, Hame."

"And so are thousands of people, living real lives, out there in the city...people who would have died if not for us."

"Ah," Cassandra interrupted, ignoring the ever-increasing tension in the Doctor's shoulders. "Just to confirm, none of the humans actually know about this?"

Novice Hame hesitated, her expression dimming. "Well, we thought it best not -"

"Stop," the Doctor clenched his fists and took several deep breaths. "Let's ignore that, for now." Novice Hame took a step back as his voice became deadly quiet — far more terrifying than any shouting could ever be. "All of this, I get it — the road to hell and all. But what have you done to Rose?"

Hame glanced at the blonde and shook her head slowly. "I don't know what you mean."

"You need to be aware of somethin'," his tone didn't change, but Novice Hame was suddenly struggling against an instinctive desire to flee - although she would never admit it, the top of a very tall tree seemed the best destination. "And that's the fact that I am being very, very calm right now. Were I not very, very calm I might tear this place down bare-handed — and I'm not going to risk her mind. So you will reverse whatever you've done and you will do it now."

"We haven't done anything," Hame tried to say again, still backing away, very slowly.

"I'm perfectly fine," Cassandra attempted.

The Doctor ignored her, the full focus of his intense blue gaze still resting on Novice Hame. "Rose does not know about installation protocols and she definitely cares when people are being killed. So I'll ask one more time -"

"Oh, all right, clever clogs," Cassandra snapped, pulling the Doctor to face her. She ran her hands along his lapels, her nails scratching the leather gently. "Smarty pants...lady-killer."

He grabbed her wrists and pulled them away from his chest. "What's wrong with you?"

"I knew something was going on in this hospital, but I needed this body and your mind to find it out."

The Doctor's grip on her wrists tightened and he glared into familiar eyes and felt an unfamiliar mind staring back. "Who are you?"

She leaned forward, pressing her palms against his chest again. Her breath tickled his cheek as she shared her identity. "The last human," she whispered softly, for his ears alone. She smirked for half a moment before leaning a bit further and biting his earlobe playfully.

He shoved her away roughly, eyes dark and furious. "Cassandra," there was surprise in his tone, hidden deep beneath his anger and disgust, to which she smiled. "What did you do to her?"

She held up her wrist so he could he saw the small black device there — and he fairly vibrated with fury. "It was surprisingly easy to lure her away, just a few whimpers from my sweet pet Chip and she was holding his hand and trying to comfort him. I knew someday I would find someone worthy of sharing in my beautiful essence, I had it all prepared."

"That thing is banned on every planet for a thousand light-years," the Doctor grabbed her, pressing his screwdriver to the pyschograft link at her wrist. "Let her go," he growled.

"I think not," Cassandra smiled. "And any attempt to force the issue will cause an unfortunate overload of her cerebral cortex, leaving it a bit...liquid. You try to push me out, I take her with me."

He levelled her with his darkest stare. "I will get you out of her, Cassandra."

"Oh, you can have her back as soon as I find someone younger and...less common," she shrugged and tugged herself loose — noting with a good deal of concern the way his hands flexed into fists as she slid from his grip.

"Right," he spun back to face Novice Hame, who'd observed the exchange with equal parts confusion and horror. "Where're the controls for this system?"

She pointed a trembling hand to a panel on the wall. "But — what are you doing?"

"You got the cures to every disease in the world?" He put the sonic screwdriver in his teeth as he pried open the cover. "I'm going to administer them."

"Oh, no," her voice broke. "No, you can't — we haven't enough! The patients upstairs, the real people -"

"These people deserve to live!" A familiar blue light filled his hands as he pressed the tool against the computer system. "All they need is a drop each — their immune systems are primed to heal. They just want a bit of a boost."

"I am afraid I cannot let you do that," Matron Casp stood at the end of the hall, eyes flashing gold in the dim light. "The flesh must remain as they are."

"You lot'll get what's comin' to you in your own time!" The Doctor snapped, not lifting his eyes from the computer terminal.

"And who will arrange that? You?" The Matron smirked. "You underestimate us, Doctor."

"Yes. Me," he turned his head to meet her stare, unblinking and silent.

Sister Jatt shifted awkwardly beside the Matron, lowering her eyes. "We heal those above, Doctor, isn't that good enough?"

"No." He turned back to the screen, and the sonic screwdriver flashed a few more times before it was turned off and sparks began to flash from the controls. He straightened, shoving the tool in his pocket once again. "You try touchin' that, even the slightest attempt at overridin' my orders and it's primed to fry every control in this place — includin' the ones keepin' them in. Don't touch it."

"Oh," Matron's voice was steady. "I think you might regret that. We have no intention of allowing this destructive behaviour to continue."

"And how do you intend to stop me?" He folded his arms and leaned against one of the glowing doors. "Goin' to point a weapon at me? How's that rank in your vows?"

"Our vows demand only that we work for the greater good," Casp replied, her lips curling sinisterly. "Fortunately, the order has never been terribly particular about methods..." she raised her hands and he became very, very aware of the sharp, thick claws at the ends of her fingers. "Jatt! Call up the Sisters!"

The Doctor spun and grabbed Cassandra's hand, pulling her with him. "Run!"

They ran.

~*~*~*~

"What are we going to do?" Cassandra was breathing heavily; the body was used to running but the mind wasn't used to the strain of it.

"You're going to leave that body," the Doctor replied, not even looking up as he secured the door with his screwdriver. "You're going to die, and Rose is going to live." He turned around and let the full force of his glare hit her.

"Fascinating, really, but wrong. As long as I'm in this body," she ran her hands over the curves in appreciation and saw his jaw tic slightly. "You will do everything you can to protect me. And I'm beginning to get comfortable."

"No," he corrected, striding forward. "That's not how it works. You're compressing Rose, you'll kill her either way if you stay. And if you do that, there's nothin' in this universe that will be able to keep you alive, Cassandra."

"And if I leave I die anyway," she pointed out. "My original skin is dead!"

"That's your own fault!" He aimed his screwdriver at a contraption on the wall and then to the link on her wrist. "You didn't get her in the psychograft itself, you haven't got the control you should. You can already feel it — you're going to melt in there."

She pressed her fist to her mouth, biting back a sob. "I don't want to die."

"Everything dies."

"I could take her with me," Cassandra looked at him through watery eyes. "You deserve it, both of you."

"Cassandra," his voice was velvety smooth, but the steel was beginning to show. "Give her back to me."

"You want her back so badly? Fine. You asked for it," a pale pink mist seemed to flash from Rose's body, careening across the room toward the Doctor's body...and dissipating, mid-air.

Rose swayed and felt her knees buckle, but strong, leather-encased arms wrapped around her before she could fall. She tried to get her legs under her, but only managed to stumble deeper into his embrace. "Oi, now!"

She glanced up and saw blue eyes and familiar smile. "Hello," she murmured, smiling back.

"Hello!" He helped her stand but didn't quite release her, his eyes moving quickly over her and his hands maintaining contact at her waist. "Alright?"

"Yeah," she patted his lapel, as if attempting to smooth it. She smiled at him again. "Hello!"

He grinned and moved a hand to cup her cheek. "Welcome back."

She giggled nervously. "Our holidays are never boring."

"Nope, excitin', that's me," the pad of his thumb caressed her cheek lightly. "Luckily, I'm brilliant and solved it all."

"What d'you mean? Where'd Cassandra go?" She pulled back and looked up at him curiously.

He grinned and twirled the sonic screwdriver. "Well, a typical application of a psychograft lets the consciousness jump from host to host, uses the brain like a sort of transmitter. But to get to you, Rose Tyler, she had to use a booster signal," he twisted Rose's arm to show her the link. "And she didn't pay near enough attention to the settings on my screwdriver. When she tried to jump, I reversed the signal."

"So...where is she?" Rose glanced around the room — the ruined brain matrix bubbling useless in one corner.

He tapped a button on the psychograft link and it dropped from Rose's arm; she immediately pulled it close to her chest as blood beaded where the wires had been. He held it up, smirking. "Rose, meet Lady Cassandra O'Brien.Δ17."

"She's in there?"

"Yup," he grinned wider.

"You think you're so clever," she couldn't help smiling back.

If he'd had something to say in response, he didn't get the chance. The atmosphere was shattered as the Doctor's careful securing of the doors failed, and nurses appeared in the entryway — hissing and spitting as they ran into the room.

"Up!" He threw one of the IV stands at the leader, tripping her as he and Rose raced for the ladder. "Quick, Rose, move!"

"I'm goin'!" She pulled herself as quickly as she could, the Doctor right behind her — and a dozen catkind nurses just behind him.

The climb itself would have been exhausting enough, but with the speed Rose soon felt her arms tiring.

"Just keep goin'," the familiar bass drifted up from the Doctor. "I can open that elevator shaft once we get there, don't slow down!"

"I'm not!" She pushed herself harder, moving faster.

He let out a grunt and she looked down to see one of his heavy booted feet caught in the claws of Matron Casp. He jerked, but the feline grip only tightened. "Oi!"

"Doctor!" Rose hesitated, looking desperately for something to throw at the nurse.

"Keep going, Rose!" The Doctor struggled, wrapping his arms around the pole and managing to place a solid kick. There was a sickening crack, and the Matron's head twisted at an odd angle. Her grip loosened and gravity took hold of her...along with several of the nurses climbing below her. When he looked back at Rose his eyes were dark, but he was climbing again and so she did the same.

It seemed like an eternity before they reached the top, but the catkind were still close behind.

The Doctor stopped below her and pulled out the sonic screwdriver, scowling as he flipped through settings. "No good, I can't reach. Can you climb higher?" He looked up hopefully, but she shook her head as she held tight to the top rung. "Right, don't mind me then," he held the instrument between his teeth and continued to climb.

Rose held herself very still as the Doctor leaned against her and grabbed hold of the the screwdriver again, this time opening the door. He jumped through gracefully then pulled Rose inside. He slammed the door behind and sealed it, then turned to her with a grin. "That was fun."

"Thrill a minute," she laughed a little. "So how do we get out?"

"Easy," he grinned. He pointed to a computer terminal. "I'd say that cure is just about worked by now, wouldn't you? What d'you say we let out our little friends?"

~*~*~*~

'All staff will present themselves to the officers for immediate arrest. I repeat -- immediate arrest. All new life forms will be catalogued and taken into care. All visitors to the hospital will be required to make a statement to the NNYPD.'

The Doctor watched with satisfaction as the nurses were being led from the hospital. Novice Hame caught his eye, and his smile dropped. There was a short pause, then he grabbed Rose's hand.

"The Face of Boe!" He jumped into action, dashing for the far side of the ward.

He grinned as they approached the fully conscious Boekind. The Face smiled back, showing only the faintest hint of weakness.

"Thought you were dyin'," the Doctor stated casually, leaning against one of the struts.

[There are better things to do today. Dying can wait.]

Rose jerked and went wide-eyed at the sensation.

"Telepathy," the Doctor squeezed her hand gently. "Now, hush."

"I didn't say anything," Rose hissed at him.

[I have grown tired with the universe, Doctor, but you have taught me to look at it anew. ]

The Doctor moved forward, tugging Rose with him. They knelt in front of the glass, and he pressed his free hand against it. "Legend says you're millions of years old," he said instead.

[Well, now that would be impossible.]

The Doctor grinned slightly. "Guess so. An' you wanted to see me?"

[These legends...they also say that I have a great secret...to reveal to a lonely traveller.]

"They do that," he agreed, squeezing Rose's fingers.

[It can wait.]

"It can?" His face fell. "Bit ungrateful, after the trouble I've had today."

[We shall meet again, Doctor, for the third time... for the last time... and the truth shall be told. Until that day...] with a soft buzz cool blue glow, he teleported away.

The Doctor stood, frowning at the spot. "Enigmatic, that's what he is. Oh, well done." There was a long pause and he glanced down at the blonde by his side. "No more wanderin' off for you," he informed her a bit severely.

"What, me? You're the one who -" she was interrupted a bit roughly by a face full of leather — specifically, his jacket. "Oh."

He hugged her tightly for just a moment, then released her with sudden cheer. "Enough chit-chattin', no point in hangin' around this sad place. There's a whole city over there and you haven't seen a bit of it. I believe you ordered New Broadway?"

Rose hugged his arm as they walked; her lips curled up in a bright smile and she rested her head lightly against his shoulder. "Fantastic," she replied.

He grinned.

~*~*~*~

So sorry about the formatting insanity and earlier lack of cut, it appears to be fixed now.