PREDATOR AND PREY

Chapter Sixteen

At first the Doctor saw a series of disconnected images and memories and it took a moment for him to start sorting through them to find a cohesive timeline. After a few more moments he was able to locate the day he left her with John at Bad Wolf Bay. He was able to control where to start and stop and to speed up and slow down the memories so he went past the part he knew about to the part that occurred just after he left. Once he was ready, he allowed the memory to play out and he observed it as he would if he were watching a film. For a moment, nothing happened. Rose, John and Jackie stood there staring at the space where the TARDIS had been as if they couldn't believe he was gone. Then Jackie finally spoke up.

"That's it? He's gone? He's left us here?" she said.

Rose let out a sigh and turned with John.

"Looks like it, mum."

"HE LEFT US IN THE MIDDLE OF BLEEDIN' NORWAY?"

The Doctor winced at the rage in Jackie's voice and he was glad she wasn't able to reach out from the memory and grab him. He was glad he didn't turn around and come back too since he was sure Jackie would have made him regenerate right there on the beach.

"Mum, come down, just ring dad and tell him to send a zeppelin," Rose said, holding up her hands while she tried to pacify her mother.

"Oh, Rose, you are far braver then me," the Doctor murmured while he watched.

"You know how long that'll take, Rose?" Jackie was saying. "The zeppelin isn't the TARDIS! We'll have to find somewhere to stay in the meantime. And what about you?" she said, finally turning her attention to John.

"What about me?" John said angrily.

"Where are you staying?" Jackie said to him.

John's mouth fell open and the Doctor noticed the he was desperately fighting the urge not to deck her. He had to admire the level of self control his clone had.

"Well gee, Jackie, I s'pose I'll just find a straw, dig a hole in the sand, cover myself up and breathe through it," he finally said.

"I mean, where are you staying when you leave here with us?" Jackie said.

"He's staying with us," Rose said before John could answer.

The Doctor sniggered at the shocked look on Jackie's face and grinned at the smug look on John's face that followed it. Jackie looked like she wanted to say something else but then let the matter drop while she reached into her pocket and took out her mobile. While she walked away Rose looked at John and put a hand on his chest.

"Don't worry about it, I'll sort it out with mum," she said to him.

The Doctor backed out of that memory and went further on. He stopped at one when he noticed that Rose and John seemed to be fighting and focused in on it. They were inside a large library. The walls behind them had cherry wood bookcases that were filled with books and there was a grey marble fireplace directly behind him. A fire was blazing and cracking in the fireplace while John and Rose stood in front of it. The Doctor started the memory and watched.

"John, you're being unreasonable," Rose said angrily.

"No, I'm being realistic," John said. "I want to know if you still have feelings for him."

Rose sighed and slumped her shoulders while John nodded to himself.

"You do. I knew it."

"Okay, yes, I do," Rose said angrily. "I do still think of the other Doctor but that's because I loved him deeply and seeing you…seeing some of the things you do makes me think of him sometimes. But that doesn't mean I want to go running off in search of him. I'm trying to make our relationship work, John. But you keep on being paranoid about every kiss or hug I give you. I'm sorry that you're a clone, I really am. I would hate to be the duplicate of someone else, but that doesn't mean you have to live in his shadow for the rest of your life. The Doctor is gone. He's in the other universe now! But I'm here, John. I told you I want to be with you and here I am!"

John turned away from her a moment and Rose leaned against the bookcase near the fireplace while she watched.

"Look," John finally said after a few moments of thought, "maybe I should move out and find somewhere else to live. Living with your mum is not exactly my idea of bliss and this is putting a strain on our relationship. Perhaps we both need our space."

"You want to date other people, you mean?" Rose said.

"No, Rose, I want time to adjust and it's hard to adjust when your mum is in my face all the time telling me to act like a human and get a proper job. I love you, I do. But I think you and I both need some space."

Rose thought about it for a moment and then nodded.

"Okay, sounds fair," she said. "Perhaps you're right. Mum isn't thrilled that you're here and it's hard to be loving when she's in the house."

"At last! Someone understands!" John said, throwing up his hands.

The Doctor chuckled and pulled back out of that memory. He went on further but stopped short when he saw one memory where Rose was sitting on an examination table in a med bay and John was standing beside her dressing in a white lab coat while he looked at a clipboard. Intrigued, the Doctor focused in on the memory and started it.

"That can't be right," Rose was saying while John studied some papers attached to the clipboard. "The blood work must be wrong!"

"The facts don't lie, Rose," John said. "According to this, you are part Time Lord, just like me."

"What?" the Doctor said as his head jerked in shock.

He forced himself to focus back on the memory.

"I can't be. How can I be part Time Lord?" Rose was saying. "I didn't touch the jar, Donna did!"

"I don't know, Rose," John said, shaking his head. "The body scan indicates you're human but your blood is more like a Time Lord."

"So we really are alike, you and me," Rose said. "Perhaps the Doctor was right to pair us together if we're both Time Lord."

"Perhaps…"

John trailed off and Rose raised her eyebrow.

"Why do I sense a "but" after that perhaps?" she said.

"But…" John said, "it appears your body clock has slowed significantly. And I mean, significantly…as in almost no aging."

"I'm not getting older?" Rose said, alarmed.

John shook his head sadly.

"Does that mean you're not getting older?" Rose said.

"No, I did a scan of my body after I read this to compare and I appear to be aging normally according to the machines."

"Well…machines can be wrong," Rose said.

"Maybe…but if they aren't…that means you'll stay young while I grow old. So now we have the reverse of what the Doctor was going through."

Both the Doctor and Rose were shocked. The Doctor pulled out of the memory and pulled out of Rose's mind for a moment. He sat back and looked at Rose while she slept soundly, too shocked to speak.

"How?" he said while he watched her sleep. "That can't be right. You can't be part Time Lord, how can you be part Time Lord? I'm going to have the TARDIS run a scan after all this is finished because I want to be sure the results are right."

Still…as he looked at her, the Doctor couldn't help but think of what this new development meant. He had always feared giving himself to her completely since he knew that one day she would grow old in front of his eyes and die. But if her aging process were slowed to the point she wouldn't age...and if she were now part Time Lord…

The Doctor let that thought die in his mind for the moment. He put Rose under so he could see what the Valeyard had done to her. The question of whether or not she was part Time Lord and the implications of that would have to wait for later. Getting himself back under control, he leaned back in and put his fingers back on her temples.

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