Doctor Who: Nowhere Else I'd Rather Be
Feb. 22nd, 2010 08:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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milieva_ficsTitle: Nowhere Else I'd Rather Be
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
milieva
Characters: Ten/Rose
Rating: PG
Beta:ladymalchav
Summary: The Doctor thinks about the state of his life after losing the TARDIS on Krop Tor.
Author’s Note: After reading part of a fic which was an alternate ending to the Satan Pit, I was struck with a craving for more stories which focused on this life that might have been had the TARDIS never been recovered. Not finding enough, I decided to write one.
He was lying in bed that night watching the lights move across the dull ceiling, as he did most nights after Rose had fallen asleep. For the first time his thoughts didn’t drift to the guilt and regret of losing the TARDIS. Instead he was contemplating the mundane things which made life on this new planet possible.
The figures from that week’s budget were drifting through his head as he lazily made adjustments and considered all the possible alterations which could give them something to spare. Rose’s pay packet from her job at the little shop downstairs barely kept the roof over their heads and food on the table. What he made on his various odd jobs just covered the lights, heat, and water.
His calculations were momentarily interrupted by a sigh from Rose as she rolled over in her sleep. Her hip bumped his slightly as she moved.
Turning to his side, he traced the outline of her silhouette with his eyes, feeling the pains of guilt as he again took note of how thin she seemed. Neither one of them had eaten much those first few weeks, they were just too numb, but that was months ago.
Now not eating enough had little to do with grief. With the recent scarcity of his odd jobs, they had been relying more heavily on Rose’s job, which meant less food made it to the table. For the past few weeks, they had subsided on various soups, anything that could stretch their money enough to last until payday.
This wasn’t the life he wanted. This was nothing like he has ever envisioned that ‘one adventure he could never have’.
His guilt and feeling of uselessness were only amplified when Rose’s stomach murmured at him.
She deserved better than this.
He’d offered her the stars, and now he couldn’t even support her. She was the one supporting him.
Perhaps he could try to look for a night job, something to do instead of lying in their bed staring at the ceiling for hours. Doing recreational maths was only entertaining for so long, and Rose would be furious with him if he dismantled another appliance. The washing machine might run more efficiently after his modification, but the toaster now burnt the bread more often than it toasted it. One had to stand vigil with a spatula to pull the toast out before the element fried it.
Perhaps if he could find a replacement spring mechanism, or make one, even.
As it was, they were stuck with the broken toaster until they could afford to buy a new one, and there wouldn’t be nearly enough saved up until some time late next month or the month after.
If he couldn’t find a night job, perhaps he could search for more odd jobs, then he could get Rose a new toaster, one that worked properly. He quickly calculated how many microwaves, view screens, and transport vehicles he would need to repair so he could not only meet his end of the bills, but afford such a luxury item as a new toaster.
Rose shifted again and moaned in her sleep as she curled up closer to him. The night job idea was quickly scrapped again. He didn’t know if she would want him to be gone at night. She knew he didn’t need the same amount of sleep she did, but that didn’t mean she would want to go to bed by herself. He wasn’t going to admit that he didn’t want her sleeping alone.
Reaching out a hand, he gently brushed a few stray strands of hair from her face.
Her strength and persistence were all that had kept him going those first awful weeks, making her words ring true. Of all the companions he had had over the years, being stuck with her wasn’t so bad.
If only he could do more to repay her.
Tomorrow he would ask their neighbor, Mrs. Leedson, if she needed any more work done around her flat, or if she had any friends who did.
Perhaps he could even repair that toaster until they could afford a new one.
Pressing a soft kiss to his companion’s forehead, he extracted himself from the bed, carefully so not to disturb her. He crept silently across the floor until his toe met his current stack of books with more force than he thought possible at so slow a speed and he let out a yelp.
“Doctor?”
Damn. He’d woken her.
He glanced at the door, thinking about the possible toaster repair her could accomplish, and then back at the bed, where Rose was sitting up, clutching the blankets fearfully.
There was never a choice.
“I’m here,” he whispered as he crawled toward her across the mattress.
As soon as he had returned to his pillow, she moved closer to him, resting her head on his chest. He stroked her back, running his fingertips lightly over each and every vertebra. She stayed quietly in his arms, sighing at his touch, for only a few short moments.
Gentle feather soft kisses trailed up his chest and neck as Rose moved again. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat when she finally reached his lips. Wrapping his arms around her, he rolled the both of them over and firmly returned her kiss.
He wouldn’t deny that he would rather be on his TARDIS traveling the universe, but if he had to live life in one place, he was glad it was with Rose Tyler.
He would rather spend those long sleepless nights beside her than alone anywhere else on this tiresome little planet.
Author:
milievaCharacters: Ten/Rose
Rating: PG
Beta:
ladymalchavSummary: The Doctor thinks about the state of his life after losing the TARDIS on Krop Tor.
Author’s Note: After reading part of a fic which was an alternate ending to the Satan Pit, I was struck with a craving for more stories which focused on this life that might have been had the TARDIS never been recovered. Not finding enough, I decided to write one.
He was lying in bed that night watching the lights move across the dull ceiling, as he did most nights after Rose had fallen asleep. For the first time his thoughts didn’t drift to the guilt and regret of losing the TARDIS. Instead he was contemplating the mundane things which made life on this new planet possible.
The figures from that week’s budget were drifting through his head as he lazily made adjustments and considered all the possible alterations which could give them something to spare. Rose’s pay packet from her job at the little shop downstairs barely kept the roof over their heads and food on the table. What he made on his various odd jobs just covered the lights, heat, and water.
His calculations were momentarily interrupted by a sigh from Rose as she rolled over in her sleep. Her hip bumped his slightly as she moved.
Turning to his side, he traced the outline of her silhouette with his eyes, feeling the pains of guilt as he again took note of how thin she seemed. Neither one of them had eaten much those first few weeks, they were just too numb, but that was months ago.
Now not eating enough had little to do with grief. With the recent scarcity of his odd jobs, they had been relying more heavily on Rose’s job, which meant less food made it to the table. For the past few weeks, they had subsided on various soups, anything that could stretch their money enough to last until payday.
This wasn’t the life he wanted. This was nothing like he has ever envisioned that ‘one adventure he could never have’.
His guilt and feeling of uselessness were only amplified when Rose’s stomach murmured at him.
She deserved better than this.
He’d offered her the stars, and now he couldn’t even support her. She was the one supporting him.
Perhaps he could try to look for a night job, something to do instead of lying in their bed staring at the ceiling for hours. Doing recreational maths was only entertaining for so long, and Rose would be furious with him if he dismantled another appliance. The washing machine might run more efficiently after his modification, but the toaster now burnt the bread more often than it toasted it. One had to stand vigil with a spatula to pull the toast out before the element fried it.
Perhaps if he could find a replacement spring mechanism, or make one, even.
As it was, they were stuck with the broken toaster until they could afford to buy a new one, and there wouldn’t be nearly enough saved up until some time late next month or the month after.
If he couldn’t find a night job, perhaps he could search for more odd jobs, then he could get Rose a new toaster, one that worked properly. He quickly calculated how many microwaves, view screens, and transport vehicles he would need to repair so he could not only meet his end of the bills, but afford such a luxury item as a new toaster.
Rose shifted again and moaned in her sleep as she curled up closer to him. The night job idea was quickly scrapped again. He didn’t know if she would want him to be gone at night. She knew he didn’t need the same amount of sleep she did, but that didn’t mean she would want to go to bed by herself. He wasn’t going to admit that he didn’t want her sleeping alone.
Reaching out a hand, he gently brushed a few stray strands of hair from her face.
Her strength and persistence were all that had kept him going those first awful weeks, making her words ring true. Of all the companions he had had over the years, being stuck with her wasn’t so bad.
If only he could do more to repay her.
Tomorrow he would ask their neighbor, Mrs. Leedson, if she needed any more work done around her flat, or if she had any friends who did.
Perhaps he could even repair that toaster until they could afford a new one.
Pressing a soft kiss to his companion’s forehead, he extracted himself from the bed, carefully so not to disturb her. He crept silently across the floor until his toe met his current stack of books with more force than he thought possible at so slow a speed and he let out a yelp.
“Doctor?”
Damn. He’d woken her.
He glanced at the door, thinking about the possible toaster repair her could accomplish, and then back at the bed, where Rose was sitting up, clutching the blankets fearfully.
There was never a choice.
“I’m here,” he whispered as he crawled toward her across the mattress.
As soon as he had returned to his pillow, she moved closer to him, resting her head on his chest. He stroked her back, running his fingertips lightly over each and every vertebra. She stayed quietly in his arms, sighing at his touch, for only a few short moments.
Gentle feather soft kisses trailed up his chest and neck as Rose moved again. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat when she finally reached his lips. Wrapping his arms around her, he rolled the both of them over and firmly returned her kiss.
He wouldn’t deny that he would rather be on his TARDIS traveling the universe, but if he had to live life in one place, he was glad it was with Rose Tyler.
He would rather spend those long sleepless nights beside her than alone anywhere else on this tiresome little planet.
