SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Chapter Two Damn him. Damn that bastard for doing this to Rose. Rose, who was so faithful and trusting and loving towards him. Rose, who stuck with him and changed him for the better. Rose, who risked everything to come back and find him and how does he repay her? He dumps her off in the middle of nowhere without so much as a by-your-leave. Rose, who has shown him more love and devotion than anyone he has ever know just had her worst fears confirmed. He told her that night outside the coffee shop that he would never ditch her and run. Well, never let it be said that the Doctor wasn’t a master bullshit artist. God, look at her. How could he do this to her? Her heart is shattered and instead of comforting her and letting her know that everything will be alright, he scarpers off and leaves me here to try to mend her broken soul. And worse yet, she’s been reduced to being a babysitter for a freakish Time Lord human. I can’t believe he did this to me. So, I’m a threat to the universe, am I? I’m just a genocidal maniac who must be watched at all times, lest I annihilate some other species. Never mind that he drowned the Racnoss babies and let their mother be blown to bits. He caused their extinction that night. Well, gee, isn’t that genocide? Shouldn’t he be the one that’s kept on a short leash? Back before he and Rose met the Cult of Skaro, they thought that the Daleks had been wiped from existence. And who did the wiping? Rose. The Bad Wolf power inside her turned them all to dust. But, gee, I don’t recall the Doctor freaking out in the aftermath and running to dump her off somewhere because she just committed genocide. If it’s him or Rose who does it, that’s okay. But, the moment I save the entire universe from being atomized…FOR GOD’S SAKE, HIDE HIM, SO HE DOESN’T GO NUTS AND DESTROY ALL OF CREATION! Hypocrite. Self-important sanctimonious hypocrite. I know it’s weird, but right now, I hate him far more than I could ever hate Davros or the Daleks because of the way he treated the precious little angel who’s walking beside me. I just hope that for her sake we can make this odd arrangement work and live out our life together peacefully. The poor girl has had enough heartache in her life as it is without losing the Doctor a third time. “Doctor?” The Doctor looked at Rose. “Yes?” “I’ve been thinking…” “Yes?” “Well, if you’re gonna live as a human now, shouldn’t…you have a proper name?” The Doctor frowned. “I do have a proper name.” “No, I don’t mean, Doctor, I mean a human name. Something you can use on a day to day basis.” The Doctor sighed. “I…I guess so. But, what about Doctor? I mean, that’s who I am…kinda.” Rose took his hand. “No, you are the Doctor.” “Am I?” She swallowed hard. “Yes,” she said, trying to keep from crying. “You are. You’re my Doctor and you always will be. I don’t want you to give up who you are; I’m just saying that there are certain times when you’ll need a human name.” “Like John Smith.” “Yes, like John Smith. Use John Smith for everyday things like signing forms and bank statements and stuff and then you can use Doctor the rest of the time. I’m just saying that if you’re gonna be on Earth long term, you need to…change some things in order to function in society.” The Doctor sighed and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. If I’m going to be human, I need a human name. But…” He thought for a moment. “If I’m gonna be stuck with a name for the rest of my life, I don’t wanna use John Smith, it’s boring and generic.” He looked at her. “Help me think of something I can use, Rose. Something better than John Smith. That way we can have something to pass the time while we walk. Besides, if we’re going to be together, then I want you to have a part in my birth, so to speak. I can no longer be the Doctor as you know him, which means I need to adapt and make up a persona of sorts. I want you to help me with that.” “Okay, I will.” He smiled. “Okay, scratch John Smith. What’s a good name for me?” he said. Rose thought for a moment. A smile spread over her face. “Arthur?” she said. The Doctor chuckled. “Hmmm, Arthur, good name for a horse, but is it a good name for me? Arthur…Arthur…I don’t know, doesn’t seem very me, somehow.” Rose thought again. Suddenly, she giggled. The Doctor gave her an amused grin. “What? What are you thinking?” “How about…Alonzo? Then, you can have me say alons-y Alonzo whenever we’re ready to go somewhere.” The Doctor beamed. “Ah, Rose Tyler, you are brilliant. Alonzo. I love it. It’s not boring like John. It’s has a bit of zing to it. Alonzooooo! Yes, just rolls off the tongue.” “And for short, we could call you Alan.” The Doctor thought. “Alan. That’s nice too. Alan’s a good name. Okay, first name’s Alonzo or Alan. Middle name next. Your thoughts?” Rose scrunched up her face while she thought. “Um…Mickey?” she said, giggling. “Oh, hell, no.” Rose laughed. “Jack?” “No, I don’t want his name attached to mine either.” “Um, Pete, Jake, Ianto, David, Benjamin, Jeremiah...” “How about using Arthur for my middle name?” the Doctor said. Rose considered that. “Alonzo Arthur….Alan Arthur…Alan Arthur is very nice, I like that,” she said. “Yeah, but when are you gonna use Alonzo then?” “Oh, I’ll use it, trust me,” Rose replied. He smiled. “Good, just checking. Okay Alan Arthur…what? Last name?” “Hmmmm…” Rose scratched her cheek while she thought. “Wow, I’m not sure,” she said. “Well, just don’t think of something too goofy. I want something dignified. Something a Time Lord could live with.” “Time Lord…Time Lord….That’s it, Doctor. Timelord. Make Time Lord one word and use that.” The Doctor grinned and took a hold of her. “Oh, Rose, I knew I could count on you to help me. Yes, I love that. Timelord. Alan Arthur Timelord. Oh, yes! Yes, that’s a name I could live with for the rest of my life.” He fell to one knee. “Okay, Rose, I order you to christen me with this new name and mark the beginning of our life together.” Rose stared at him. “What do I say?” “Just say something that sounds official. It’s technically my birthday, so name me, Rose.” Rose cleared her throat and put her hand on his shoulder. “I…hereby christen you, Alonzo Arthur Timelord. Happy birthday, my Alan, and may you have many more happy birthdays to come.” Alan grinned and stood up. He took Rose’s hand and kissed the back of it gently. “And…I hereby proclaim that the Doctor moniker shall be a pet name for me that is yours and yours alone. No other but you can use it now,” he said. “Oh, really? Brilliantl!” “Yeah, well, I don’t want give up my other name entirely. After all, I’m not entirely human.” “Oi, Doctor, what’s going on? Why have you two stopped all of a sudden?” They looked over at Jackie who was now nearly thirty feet away from them. “Um…it’s Alan now, Jackie. You’re not allowed to use Doctor anymore.” He and Rose snickered at the perplexed look on Jackie’s face. “What? Alan? Where did that come from?” she said. “It’s the Doctor’s new human name, mum. I helped him pick it. His full name is Alonzo Arthur and his last name is Timelord run together. So, you have to call him Alonzo or Alan.” “Yes, because I’ve just decreed that Doctor can only be uttered by Rose now, so stop using that name immediately.” Jackie shook her head. “I don’t know about you two,” she said. She sighed. “Okay…Alan; let’s get going before it gets dark.” Alan saluted her. Jackie rolled her eyes as he took Rose’s hand and followed her. An hour later, they reached a small village. After talking to a couple of the locals, they found a small inn. Alan breathed a sigh of relief when they finally reached it. “Blimey, I’m knackered. Having one heart is gonna be rough on me,” he said to Rose. “Not to mention I’m going to be feeling my age from here on out.” “Oh, my poor Alan,” Rose cooed. “Come on, we’ll get a room and you can take a nice long bath.” “That…sounds completely heavenly right now,” he replied. They entered and walked over to the front desk. “Do you take British money?” Jackie asked the man standing behind it. He shook his head. “Do you know where I can get it exchanged?” The man nodded and gave her directions to the nearest bank. Jackie turned and looked at Alan and Rose. “Stay here, I’ll be right back. Blimey, it’s a good thing I thought to bring money with me when I crossed over into the other universe. I can’t believe that man dropped us off in Norway of all places.” Muttering to herself, she walked out the door. Alan put his arm around Rose. “So…we’re in the inn,” he said to her. “Now what do we do?” “Wait?” “Ugh, where’s the fun in that?” “Um…if I were you, I would just wait. Mum’s already upset without you adding to it.” “She’s not the only one,” Alan muttered under his breath. Rose swallowed hard and drew near to him. “Alan, the Doctor…he meant well.” “No, Rose, he didn’t. I know you’re defending him because you love him, but what he did was callous and cold. He didn’t mean well, not in the least.” Rose’s eyes misted over. Alan pulled her close to him. “Hear me now, Rose Tyler. I swear with all my heart that I will never abandon you. Never.” Rose wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly while he gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. “Things are going to be different from here on out. I’m not going to be reticent when it comes to expressing my love for you. You will know it, Rose Tyler, every day of your life. I will tell you I love you until there is not an iota of doubt in your mind, do you understand me?” Rose nodded. He leaned his head down towards hers. “I will be everything you ever wanted in a man. I will be everything you wanted the Doctor to be and much more besides. I will treat you like a queen and make you feel like you are the most loved thing in the whole of creation. I, Alan Timelord, swear that to you here and now.” Rose looked into his soft, brown eyes and felt complete and utter love for him. Her lips met his and as before, there was no hesitation, no backing away. He returned the kiss completely. They stayed that way for a moment and then Alan nuzzled her forehead with his nose and looked at the man, who was watching them with silent amusement. “Sorry, we just get these sudden urges to snog in odd places,” he said. The man chuckled and nodded. Just then, Jackie came back in carrying a handful of money. “Okay, sorry about that,” she said. “I need…” She looked over at Alan and Rose. “You’re sleeping together, I guess.” Alan glanced at Rose. “Yeah, mum, we are,” Rose said. Alan smiled and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Okay, I need two rooms for the night,” Jackie said to the man. “Okay, please sign the register while I get your keys,” the man replied as he pointed to a leather bound book on the counter. Jackie signed it and looked at Rose. “Sign in,” she said to her. “Alons-y, Alonzo, time to try out your new name,” Rose said, smiling. Alan snickered. Taking her hand, he walked with her to the registry book He watched while Rose signed in and then took the pen from her with great anticipation. “Let’s seeeeee…” he muttered. “A…L…O…N…Z…O…aka… He looked at Rose. “When I use Alan, how do I spell it? A…L…A…N? A…L…Y…N? A…L…A…I…N?” “A…L…A…N, use that,” Rose replied. “Okey-dokey, aka A…L…A…N. Now, I write…Arthur and last, but not least…Time…lord.” Rose watched as he trailed off the D in Timelord with the pen, circled back, made a figure eight under his name and put two lines through it. Then, giggling, he drew a little heart next to Alan and a smiley face after Timelord. “Are you finished?” Jackie said as Rose bent over laughing. “Yes, I’m finished now,” Alan said, laying the pen down. Smiling, he examined his name for a moment and then wrapped his arm back around Rose. Jackie finished paying the man, handed them their key and all of them went upstairs.
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