IT WAS 20,000 YEARS AGO TODAY

Chapter Twenty Four

After everyone gathered in the sleeping quarters, the Doctor began by giving everyone a brief explanation of who Rose was and what had happened to her to bring everyone up to speed. Once he was finished with that, he told them his idea about going to get her and his clone.

"So we're going to get your former girlfriend and another one like him?" Ringo asked, pointing to John Smith.

"Yes. But the difference is even though he and the clone resemble each other the other clone is only half human while he's all human. But you won't be able to see that difference. Even though I would like to see Rose, the main reason I'm getting her and him is because we need the help. Rose is a seasoned fighter; she traveled with me for a couple of years and worked for an organization called Torchwood who trained her further. She will be an asset to us and my clone will as well. The Diablon are fierce fighters and I'm sure by now they have the whole of Pepperland subjugated. We need all the help we can get to free everyone. I wanted to ask what you thought of this since you're in the ship with me and it isn't fair for me to go off on a personal mission when we're trying to get back to Pepperland."

"I think the more help we can get the better," Paul said. "Former girlfriend or not, if she can fight, we need her."

Everyone murmured their agreement of that and the Doctor nodded.

"I figured you wouldn't mind but I wanted to be sure because as I said, this is really a personal diversion when we're trying to get back home. I know how to get to her universe and I'm fairly sure I can get to her London since I made it to Norway. John," he said, looking at John Smith, "how's the wiring?"

"I believe it's passable, at least for us to make the jump to another universe. It will take more work but I think the navigation is reliable enough for you to try this."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get Rose," Rory said.

"Very well, I'll go input the coordinates to her universe while everyone here cross your fingers and hope for the best," he said to them.

They watched while he climbed the ladder and left them alone.

"Ooo, we get to meet his missus now," John said, waggling his eyebrows.

"Yeah, we get to find out a little more about the Doctor," Paul said.

"Why? You don't know much about him?" John said to him.

"I know a little, there's a lot I don't know," Paul said with a shrug.

"And you're flying around with him?" George said.

"Yeah, isn't it brilliant?" Paul replied.

"See, always said Paulie was off his trolley, now we have proof," John said while they laughed.

"And we're apparently off our trolleys as well since we're in the same ship with him," George added.

"Yeah, if you think I'm nuts, why are you in here?" Paul countered.

He grunted when John ran over and gave him a bear hug.

"Cause we love ya, that's why!" he said.

They laughed when John gave him a big wet sloppy kiss and ran back to his bed. They gasped when the ship started to vibrate again.

"I s'pose we're going over that void thing again," Paul said while they held on.

"I hate when we do this," Ringo added.

"Yeah, it makes me think the ship's gonna break apart," Bill added as he kept his arm around Michelle.

The vibrating stopped and a moment later, John Smith appeared at the hole.

"I believe we're here," he said.

"We're in Rose's universe?" Amy asked.

"Think so. The Doctor's flying to the house Rose's father owns. Luckily we've been there before so he knows the way. Makes it easy when you don't have to ask for directions. So everyone hold tight and hopefully we'll be there in a few minutes."

Meanwhile, Rose was outside the Tyler family home, wearing a two piece red bathing suit while she was sunning herself on a lawn chair. It was her day off from working at Torchwood and she was determined to soak up the morning sun and get a bit of a tan for her fiancée. The half human Doctor who took the name Jeremy was currently living in a flat near Chiswick. Much to their dismay, Donna and her family didn't live there but he found the neighborhood nice and he decided to live there in order to give Rose and her family some space while he decided what it was he wanted to do with his life. He had tried several things but so far he hadn't found anything that was satisfying him. Rose knew he missed traveling and was trying to find something to take its place and that's why he was going from one thing to another in a desperate search to find his niche.

While she sunned herself, she kept her eyes closed. She frowned when suddenly she sensed the light being blocked out and she cursed.

"Bloody rain," she said with a sigh.

She opened her eyes and they bulged out when she didn't see a raincloud above her but a big yellow ship slowly descending in front of her. She leapt up from the lawn chair and hurried back to the veranda of her house while the ship slowly landed.

"MUM!" she screamed towards an open window in the front of the house, "MUM, GET DAD. ALIENS ARE LANDING ON OUR GARDEN!"

The ship landed with a thump and powered down. Rose stood on the veranda and watched with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation as the side hatch lowered in front of her. She got in a fighting stance when the hatch lowered completely. Then to her shock, Paul peeked around the opening and peered at her.

"Rose?" he said.

"Yeah?" Rose said hesitantly.

Then it hit her who this man was and her eyes bulged again.

"Wait? Aren't you Paul McCartney?" she said in disbelief.

Paul grinned.

"At your service," he said with a little bow.

Then Rose realized that the ship resembled a yellow submarine. She stood frozen in shock as Paul came down the ramp holding Jane and Tia's hands. Behind him came the Beatles, then Amy and Rory, Bill and Michelle and finally Pepa. They all looked around and headed towards her. Rose stared at the four Beatles coming towards her and shook her head slowly, wondering if she was dreaming. Just then, the door opened and Jackie stepped out onto the veranda with Pete. They stared at everyone.

"Wait? Isn't that John Lennon?" Jackie said, pointing at him as they came forward. "What the hell is this? Who are all these people?"

Rose's eyes glanced up when John Smith hesitantly stepped out onto the ramp.

"Jeremy?" Rose said, "you…you found a ship. And…"

She stared at the Beatles who were standing in front of the veranda with the others.

"You found a way to go back in time and you…brought the Beatles to me?" Rose said as everyone in front of her chuckled.

She frowned when a strange man stepped out onto the ramp beside John Smith. She took in his youthful appearance, tweed jacket and bow tie and watched while the two of them came down the ramp together. Both men had wistful looks on their faces as they approached. Rose looked from them back to the little group in front of her and back to the two men.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Jackie finally said, going down the steps and heading towards John Smith. "Jeremy, who are all these people?"

Rose heard Paul saying, "Jeremy, that's his name?" to Jane. She stared at his face and felt herself getting turned on. She had always loved the Beatles since she was a little girl and Paul had always been her favorite and she had to admit, the man was dead sexy in person. Paul glanced up at her and winked, a gesture the made her heart melt into goo. She looked at the two men who continued to walk towards Rose while Jackie walked with them and demanded an explanation. Finally, the Doctor sighed.

"Jackie, some space please? I'll explain everything but please back up and give me room," he said.

Jackie backed up but followed them as the two men walked up the steps and stood in front of Rose. Rose's eyes darted from one man to the other.

"Who are you?" she asked the Doctor. "Jeremy, who are all these people? How did you build a time machine and manage to keep it a secret?"

"My name is not Jeremy," John Smith said. "I'm John. I'm not from this universe."

Rose stared at him for a moment and then her eyes widened when his words sank in.

"Doctor!" she screamed as she ran to him and threw her arms around him. "It's you! The proper Doctor."

"No, actually, I'm a clone like your Doctor," he said to her.

Rose's face fell.

"You're a clone as well? How…how did it happen then? Where's the Doctor?"

"Here, Rose."

Rose's face turned towards the man in the tweed jacket and he gave her a loving smile. Rose stared at him silently, taking in his appearance.

"You…you regenerated again?" she said.

The Doctor nodded.

"Yeah, I wasn't able to save myself for a second time," he said.

Rose let go of the clone and walked over to him. The Doctor smiled tenderly while she examined him and looked into his eyes. Her eyes misted over slightly as she suddenly embraced him. The Doctor smiled and held her close while his companions smiled at that.

"How?" Rose said in his ear, "how did you regenerate?"

"I'll explain but I need to ask a favor. I need your help, yours and my clone's. Where is he?"

"He's in a flat near Chiswick," Rose said. "We're engaged but he's living apart from me at the moment so he can sort himself out and find a career. His name's Jeremy."

"Chiswick? Donna?"

"No, Donna's not here, not in Chiswick anyway, we looked," Rose said. "What about your Donna? Is she here? And what are the Beatles doing here?"

Everyone laughed as the four Beatles bowed to her.

"We're his companions, Madam," Paul said.

"What? You're travelin' with the bleedin' Beatles now?" Rose said while everyone laughed.

"I'll explain but first can we go get Jeremy? I want him to hear what I have to say."

"Yeah, we can take my car, except…"

"Jackie, do you mind if the others stay here while John and I go with Rose?" the Doctor said to her.

"We won't bite," John said.

Jackie looked at the Beatles who were smiling warmly at her.

"Have the Beatles in my house? You bet," Jackie said while they laughed.

"Can the rest of them come in or are you just inviting the Beatles inside?" John Smith said.

"No, they're all invited. Just hurry up and go get Jeremy, the rest of you come inside and have a cuppa while you wait."

Pepa went to close up his ship while the others walked up the steps. Rose, John Smith and the Doctor headed the other way. While Rose took them around to her car, she glanced up at the Doctor.

"I missed ya, you left without saying goodbye," she said.

"Under the circumstances, I thought it best to just leave the two of you alone," the Doctor said. "You were kissing Jeremy and I didn't want to disturb that. I had to leave, I told you that. I couldn't stick around and wait for the snogging to end. I'm sorry, Rose. I'm sorry if I upset you but I stand by my decision. I can't be there for you like Jeremy can."

Rose nodded.

"But can we at least still be friends, close friends?" she asked.

"There was never any problem with that, Rose. You always have my friendship," the Doctor said. "I just want you to know that it couldn't work out between us. I…you drive a camaro?" he said when he saw the red car with a two black stripes running from the back of it to the front.

"Yeah, dad gave it to me for my birthday last year, get in."

The Doctor waited until John Smith got in the back and then he got in the passenger side. John Smith settled himself in the back while the Doctor closed the door and watched Rose walk around to the other side.

"So far, so good, at least she isn't cursing your name to the four winds," John Smith said just before Rose got in.

Rose glanced at the Doctor as she took her keys out of her pocket.

"You look good," she said. "Just so you aren't wonderin'. Outfits a bit…strange though?"

"Gee, thanks, Rose," the Doctor said while his counterpart sniggered.

Rose started the car and headed out of the driveway.

"I'm glad you're alright," Rose said while she drove. "I was worried. Well, that's nothin' new, I s'pose, I always worried about ya. You've only had one regeneration, yeah?"

"Yes, this is my eleventh body."

Rose nodded.

"You look good, slightly younger but I like it."

"I'm glad you approve," the Doctor said.

"I have to tell ya, there's one thing I am angry about," Rose said.

"Yes?" the Doctor said with trepidation.

Rose giggled.

"You waited till I left to bring the Beatles on board, ya bastard?" she said.

The Doctor grinned while John Smith giggled.

"Believe me, that was by accident for the most part. I'll explain when everyone's together."

"And you?" Rose said, glancing back at John Smith, "you're another half human clone?"

"No, I'm completely human but I'm still extremely intelligent," he replied.

"Human? Where'd ya come from then?"

"Pepa made him, without my permission I might add," the Doctor said. "The place we were at was under attack and Pepa made him after learning I was a Time Lord in the hopes that he would be able to help me repel the invasion."

"And did you?" Rose said, stopping at a traffic light.

"No. And that's part of the reason why we're here. We need your help and Jeremy's as well," the Doctor said. "We need all the help we can get and I know the two of you can fight."

"And the other part?" Rose said as she turned left.

"I missed you, we both did," the Doctor said while John Smith nodded in agreement.

Rose smiled and patted both their cheeks.

"I miss ya too. Life's not too bad with Jeremy but he's still trying to find himself. Without a TARDIS, he's a bit lost, to be honest," she said. "We got engaged a couple months ago. Took him awhile but he finally felt ready to commit to me."

"I'm glad," the Doctor said. "I want you to be happy, that's all I've ever wanted."

Rose nodded. She took his hand and gave it a squeeze and he smiled as he squeezed back. The Doctor looked back at John Smith when he tapped him on the shoulder.

"Remember when Paul asked when we'd meet Jeremy? I think this is it," he said.

Rose frowned.

"Huh? Paul? Paul McCartney?" she said.

"Yes. It's complicated but…"

He briefly explained about the connections to Yellow Submarine while Rose drove and listened in silent shock.

"Paul figured at some point we'd meet Jeremy from the film," John Smith said when he finished his explanation. "It seems a tad too coincidental that the other clone's name is Jeremy."

"But…I know that film, I have it on DVD. Jeremy is this little beast thing with a bunny tail. My Jeremy doesn't look like that."

"No, but the events we described haven't matched the film 100 percent," the Doctor said. "There are just similarities."

"But…my Jeremy, how does he fit with the film then?"

"In the film," John Smith said, "Jeremy was the Nowhere Man. You know, he's a real nowhere man, sitting in a nowhere land, making all his nowhere plans for nobody. Doesn't have a point of view, knows not where he's going to, isn't he a bit like you and me?"

Rose's mouth dropped.

"God, I hate to admit it but that's Jeremy right now. He is sorta lost and can't decide what he wants to do or be."

"Then we were right to come here," John Smith said, "since the similarities are obviously continuing."

"But wait, what about me, where do I fit in?" Rose said. "Jeremy didn't have a fiancée in the film."

"Yes, but I said we weren't following the film to the letter just that there are many similarities. Nothing so far has fit the film except for the way Pepperland looks and the basic structure of the ship which resembles the submarine. Everything else has been very loosely based on the film. We've been hopping from dimension to dimension after taking an emergency jump and we've landed in one dimension where Bill was aged almost to the point of death like the scene in the Sea of Time and I suppose the robot fashion show qualifies as the Sea of Science."

"Robot fashion show?" Rose said while John Smith turned beet red.

"We'll explain, promise. Trust me; you'll get a laugh out of the robot fashion show."

"Oh yeah, it was a real rib tickler alright," John Smith said, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, well, here we are at any rate," Rose said as she slowed down and pulled into a car park next to an apartment building.

She found a parking spot, stopped the car and got out. Everyone followed her as she led them to the entrance to the apartment building.

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