An Unexpected Stop
@timepetalsprompts
Written for the timpetalsprompts ficlet prompt: Springtime/Spring is in the Air
Pairing: Nine x Rose with Donna Noble
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1640
Read it at AO3
Read it at Teaspoon
Summery: The Doctor tells Rose he is going to take her someplace truly “alien”! However, he and Rose are in for the biggest shock of their lives so far when they end up in 21st century London and are faced with an incensed Donna Noble.
The TARDIS groaned as it landed. The Doctor grinned that beautiful, manic grin of his as he leaned back, arms folded across his chest.
“Well Rose, you wanted to see something completely alien, off with ya then,” he chided her nodding towards the TARDIS doors.
Rose grinned back at him, “You think y’erself so impressive. For all I know there’s some human eating plants right outside those doors,” she accused him, her hands perched on her hips.
The Doctor looked affronted, “ONE TIME an’ I’ll ne’er hear the bloody end of it!” he proclaimed, rolling his eyes at her. “If that’s how you feel Rose Tyler, I can take you some place safe, predictable… BORING,” he threatened as his hands hovered over the TARDIS’ controls.
“Doncha dare!” she exclaimed, shooting him a look, “I’m goin’, I was just puttin’ you on notice is all, ” she informed him with a laugh as she made her way towards the doors of the ship. “Keep in mind, if anything happens to me; it’s you that has to deal with my mother.”
He winced at the very idea, “Don’t remind me,” he moaned before grinning at her again. He joined her in front of the doors, “ready to go?” he asked, a glint of mischief reflected in his soft blue eyes.
“Always,” she responded, not missing that glint in his eyes that caused her stomach to tighten involuntarily. Reaching for his hand, she grinned up at him with her tongue touching teeth smile that made the Doctor’s hearts race just that much faster.
“All righty then, off we go” he called to her, grasping her hand in his and pushing past the TARDIS doors. The twosome burst into the sunshine and were faced with the wild landscape of…
“London?” Rose looked up at him quizzically, “really Doctor? London? 21st century London at that,” she deadpanned, clearly disappointed.
The Doctor looked baffled. Sure, he’d been off a decade or two before, no big deal, but this?! This wasn’t even remotely close to his intended destination or time! He turned and looked at his ship, “What ‘ave you gone and done this time?!” he accused her, the annoyance practically dripping from his words.
Just then, a clearly upset redhead burst onto the scene, nearly slamming into the two of them as she came racing around the corner towards the TARDIS. She came skidding to a halt just in time, shooting them an infuriated look.
“Oi! Beat it!” she shouted at them, “you are blocking my bloody way you two!”
The Doctor noticed she had a key in her outstretched hand.
Rose shot the older ginger a look, “Um, you almost ran into us,” she emphasised, narrowing her whiskey coloured eyes at her.
Not to be outdone, the other woman levelled her gaze at her, “Look here Blondie, I don’t have time to stand here and explain to you all the ways you are only dooming the entire bloody universe by being stubborn and blocking my way to my lovely blue box behind you. So if you could be so kind as to bloody shift it before I have to physically move you myself, I’d appreciate it!” The blue-green eyes of the newcomer were practically spitting fire as she came toe to toe with Rose.
The Doctor finally stepped in, “Where did you get that key?” he asked her, clearly perplexed. Something about this woman was causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end. He was fascinated by her, couldn’t look away and he wasn’t sure why.
The woman groaned, “I don’t have time for this, which is actually ironic when I come to think of it,” she chuckled to herself before she groaned again, “look here Big Ears, just get out of my way will ya’? “She stretched her hand out to push past him when the exposed skin of their hands brushed against each other’s.
Suddenly, their eyes were drawn to each other, and neither one found they could look away. Donna’s breath hitched in her chest as she stared into the man’s eyes. Held within those spheres of steel blue, she could see entire galaxies! Entire galaxies, so much pain and loss and all of time and space. Looking deeper, she also could see a hand holding hers and a pair of very familiar chocolate brown eyes… She gasped and stepped back, breathing heavy and placed her hand over her heart.
The moment wasn’t lost on the Doctor either. The instant her hand touched his, the Doctor felt suddenly at peace. He felt rejuvenated. Like he was a child running barefoot through the red grass on Gallifrey. It took him by surprise and he shuddered, staring at the ginger feeling a connection with this total stranger. Her blue-green eyes shown with all of time and space and something more; something no human being should ever possess, but what? He felt drawn to this bawdy, attractive ginger, but in a way that was different, but not any less as intense as what he felt for Rose. It rattled him and he wasn’t a man who rattled easily.
For her part, Rose had stood there in silence watching as the Doctor and this mysterious, previously incensed woman, seemed to have some sort of moment. “Doctor?” she asked quietly as she touched the sleeve of his leather jacket, looking up at him with worry.
The tone of her voice seemed to pull him out from wherever he had gone, “Yes Rose?” he answered, seeking out her hand in a gesture to comfort them both and threading his fingers through hers.
An audible gasp came from the stranger. “OH.MY…. You are… and you. You are…” she suddenly didn’t seem capable of completing a sentence, her eyes wide as her hand shot up to cover her mouth briefly. “You are him, just not MY him,” she said quietly observing the Doctor before turning to Rose and taking her hand from in front of her mouth and resting it on the other’s shoulder, “and you are his Rose!” she gasped.
The Doctor stepped forward, his eyes searching her face, “Who are you?” he probed, “who are you and how do you have a key to my TARDIS?” he queried, indicating the key in her other hand.
Donna had completely forgotten about the TARDIS. “The TARDIS…” she whispered, “this isn’t our TARDIS then,” she managed to eek out shaking her head slightly. She straightened up to her full height and looked the Doctor in the eyes the best she could, “I’m Donna. Donna Noble and you, you are gonna be really glad to know me in a few years Spaceman,” she grinned at him. “However, this,” she said, waving her hands in the air, “isn’t right,” she furrowed her brow. “The Doctor and I,” she looked over at the leather clad Doctor, “I mean, the future Doctor and I, we were looking into some temporal disturbance when we found some of those Weeping Angels!” she told him with a shudder, “I was on my way back to the TARDIS to fetch Jack but instead ran into you lot!” she proclaimed with a flourish of her hands. “But why on Earth, or any other planet for that matter, would you two be here now?!” she questioned him.
The Doctor looked at her again and nodded. He had so many more questions for her, but now that she mentioned the Weeping Angels, everything was falling into place and he dared not give voice to them. He could already feel how their time lines were all in flux as it was. “Weeping Angel, eh?” Things were making more sense now. As much as he didn’t like knowing his future, he couldn’t help but smile, liking the feisty ginger he obviously had chosen to travel with him later on. “Rose and I must have gotten caught up in their shenanigans,” he groaned, knowing he was oversimplifying things. He never did like the Weeping Angels.
He turned and looked down at Rose, “’ave I ever told you about them, Rose?”
Rose simply shook her head, too confused by everything to really know what to say. She looked back at the redhead, Donna. Her name was Donna, she remembered.
“Wait, you said you and the future Doctor… What does that even mean?” she shifted her look between the two of them, expecting an answer.
Donna looked at the Doctor, and he back at her. However, neither one was exactly rushing to answer her.
Finally, the Doctor cleared his throat and brushing his thumb over the back of her hand he began, “Rose, think of me like a flower. After a long winter, instead of dying, spring comes, and I bloom again, fresh and new, the same, but a bit different. I am rejuvenated, better than ever! “he laughed a little, trying to keep the conversation light, “that’s all Donna meant, isn’t that right Donna?”
Donna nodded, “Yea, that’s it exactly,” she said softly, smiling at the two of them. “Now, as touching as all of this is, and really it is,” she insisted with a little roll of her eyes, “Weeping Angels… MY Doctor and an incredibly good looking American in a blue box,” Donna grabbed the leather clad Doctor by one hand and after tucking her TARDIS key in her pocket, Rose Tyler by the other, “COME ON THEN!” she ordered them, “Allons-y!”
“Allen what?” Rose laughed as she tugged them along.
“Allons-y,” the Doctor repeated, letting the phrase roll around on his tongue a bit, “it’s French. I rather like it,” he grinned.
“You bet you do Sunshine! Now come on you two!” Donna asserted with a laugh as they ran towards the area where she had last seen her Doctor and the Weeping Angel that had him cornered.