SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Chapter Fifty Seven After waking up, Alan sat quietly and stared at the rain as it cascaded down the windshield. Why the hell would I dream about a Dalek marrying me? He thought to himself. Am I scared that something is going to happen because I’m going to allow myself some happiness in my life? Damn the Doctor’s fatalist worldview. Now I’m sure if the wedding does happen, I’ll be on edge just waiting for a real Dalek to appear. “Alan?” He looked over and saw Rose was awake and staring at him through half closed lids. “Where are we?” she murmured. “I pulled off into a lay-by for the night,” he said softly. Rose pulled the sleeping bag down to her chest and stared out the windshield. “It’s raining?” she muttered. “Yes. It’s been raining for awhile now.” Rose looked at him. “Aren’t you going to get some sleep?” “I tried.” “What’s wrong?” Rose asked. “I...had a bad dream.” “Really? What about?” Alan rolled his eyes. “I dreamed I married a Dalek.” Rose giggled softly. “Really? Is that the kind of thing you and the Doctor dream about?” she said, poking him in the side. “No, actually the Doctor dreams about Slitheen chasing him while they’re riding a rocking horse.” Rose stared at him. “What?” she said. “Are you serious?” “Very.” Rose put her hand over her mouth trying to quiet her giggles. “What?” Alan said to her. “Why is the Slitheen on a rocking horse?” “How the hell should I know?” he said as she sniggered. “That’s just what he dreams about.” “I’m surprised he dreams at all,” Rose said softly. “He does…on occasion. Most of the time he just takes quick naps but there are times when he does need to actually sleep.” “And that’s when the rocking horse Slitheen attack.” Rose said melodramatically. Alan rolled his eyes when the giggling resumed. “I’m sorry, just the image of one of those things on a rocking horse is hilarious to me,” she said. “Yeah, well, consider yourself lucky that you can’t see it like I can.” Rose frowned. “I thought he didn’t meet the Slitheen until after he met me.” “He didn’t.” “Then…what did he dream about before that?” Rose whispered. Alan lowered his eyes. “Time War,” he said softly. Rose’s heart ached at that. She could only imagine the kind of nightmares the Doctor had from that. “Is that why he hates to sleep?” she asked. “Pretty much. Before the Time War, he dreamed about all the various horrors he had seen in his lives.” “Has he ever had any good dreams?” He glanced at her. “He had some about you,” he said. “But those were rare. Most of the time it was all the monsters he fought and the madmen he defeated and the people he saw die in front of his eyes.” “And is that what you dream about as well?” Rose asked worriedly. “No, apparently, I just dream about being married to Daleks,” he said. She giggled. “That would be an odd life.” “You’re telling me? I couldn’t even begin to stomach the thought of shagging the thing or even imagine how you would shag it.” “Ew! Don’t say that or I’ll have that in my head for a month.” “Sorry.” He smiled at her. “So, what were you dreaming about? You had a big smile on your face, so I’m guessing it wasn’t you-know-who.” “Nah, I was dreaming about you and me and the Doctor and Awinita and Donna.” “Wow, your dream was crowded. What were we all doing?” “Traveling together. Our TARDIS was inside the Doctor’s TARDIS and he was taking us to a land of chocolate and candy canes and gingerbread.” “Wow, wonder where that’s at? I wouldn’t mind visiting it.” “Gongolia?” Alan frowned. “Never heard of it. Apparently your mind made up a nonsensical word for a fictional planet. So, the Doctor and I were together in this dream then?” “Yes,” Rose yawned. “You were piloting his TARDIS together.” Alan raised his eyebrow. “Yeah, I can definitely tell you’re dreaming because I don’t think he’d let me breathe on his controls, let alone use them to pilot his ship.” “You were friends.” Alan let out a ruthful laugh. “Yup, you were definitely dreaming, Rose.” “You were. He called you his little brother.” “I hate to tell you this, Starlight, but I think I have a better chance of marrying my Dalek than that happening.” “And speaking of being married, we were, actually.” Alan perked up. He tried to keep his voice steady while he adopted a casual manner. “We were?” he asked, half afraid Rose would hear his rapidly beating heart. “Yeah, we were going to Gongolia for our one year anniversary.” “And…how…were we acting? Did we act like we were in love?” Alan said hesitantly. Rose smiled. “Yup, we were very much in love.” Alan relaxed at that. “So…the Doctor wasn’t throwing a tantrum at my being married to you?” “No, he was very happy for us.” Alan snorted softly. Still, the fact that she had dreamed about them being married gave him hope and erased a few more of his fears about proposing. If Rose is dreaming about it, then maybe she wants it too. Maybe my plan to propose to her isn’t so daft after all, he thought. He glanced out the side window when he heard a rumble of thunder in the distance. “Do you wanna try to find a room for the night?” he asked Rose. “I think we better. I don’t feel that safe sleeping here,” Rose said. Alan nodded. He started up the car and slowly backed out of the parking space. Luckily they weren’t that far from an off ramp. Alan found a Holiday Inn and after rousing Awinita, the three of them grabbed their rucksacks and a couple of bags of food, locked the van and headed inside to check in. Once they made it into the room, Alan closed the door and the three of them had just enough energy to pull back the covers and snuggle under them before they passed out. The next morning, they ate some of their food, checked out and headed out. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining, obliterating all evidence of the previous night’s rainstorm. Rose drove while Alan sat beside her and Awinita sat behind them. No one felt like watching a DVD or reading so Alan decided to finish telling Rose what the Doctor had been doing during her absence. Awinita listened, spellbound, as he told them about their meeting the Ood. Rose felt sick to her stomach when he told her about the Ood’s lobotomies. “I knew it. I knew there was more to that whole slave thing,” she said, angrily. “I can’t believe people would do that to those poor creatures.” “Wait a moment; you’ve met these Ood things?” Awinita said. She nodded. “Yeah, they were with this research team on this asteroid called Krop Tor. They were the servants for the humans there.” She let out an angry puff of air. “I’m glad I wasn’t there. I would have gone ballistic on those bastards,” she said. “Just thinking about it is making me so angry I can barely think straight. They sorted those assholes out, I hope.” “Yup.” Alan finished telling her the story. “Good, I’m glad they’re finally free,” Rose said. “No one should have to live like that or have parts of their brains lobbed off. God, that is completely disgusting. I can’t believe anyone would do that.” “Um, should I just talk about something else then before you get so angry you run us off the road?” Alan asked. “Yes, that’s a good idea because I feel like I’m about ready to. What else did they do?” Rose said. “Well, I told you about the Sontarans. Did I tell you about Jenny?” Rose frowned. “No, who’s she?” Alan told her the story. As he talked, Rose’s eyes widened and kept on widening until they were ready to pop from their sockets. “Oh my God, he has a daughter?” she said to herself. “Had a daughter.” Alan corrected. He finished the story and Rose found herself tearing up. She shook her head when he finally stopped talking. “God, how can the universe be so cruel to him?” she said. “The poor guy,” Awinita said. “And I guess poor you also since you’re his clone and I’m sure you cared for her too.” Alan nodded and Rose took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Yes, she would have made a great companion and a wonderful daughter. She had so many good qualities and the Doctor did think of her as his own flesh and blood by the time it happened. That’s why guns are one of the abominations of human culture. People don’t think when they’re wielding one and poor Jenny paid the price because everyone on Messaline was bloodthirsty and tainted by war. His only consolation is she died in his arms and he did get to say goodbye to her before she went, but she was far too young and she had too great a future in front of her to be taken like that.” “She was another one that died in the Doctor’s name,” Rose muttered. Alan glanced at her. “Another thing Davros said to him,” she explained. “All the people who have sacrificed their lives for the Doctor. Jenny is one of them.” Alan nodded. “But…if she was his daughter, why didn’t she do the regeneration thing?” Awinita asked. Rose glanced at her and then looked at Alan. He shrugged. “I don’t know, perhaps the machine only took a portion of his DNA, enough to make a soldier, but not enough to allow her to regenerate,” he said. He’d never seen that machine before in his lives and he really didn’t have time to ask questions about it, especially after the door opened and Jenny stepped out, ready and willing to wage war on the Hath.” “But, wasn’t she also born in battle and filled with blood, anger and revenge?” Rose said. “Yuuuuuuup,” Alan said, popping the P. “Funny how he gave everyone else a chance except yours truly here, huh? But, you know, can’t cry over spilled milk, what’s done is done and all that, so I won’t dwell on it. I’ll just move on with the next story and…hello?” Rose looked at him. “What?” He grinned and pointed out his window. They were going past a cemetery. “Turn in here for a moment,” he said to her. Rose frowned. She found the entrance and slowly entered. “What’s in here?” she said. “Old gravestones if we’re lucky.” “Why? You like old gravestones?” Rose asked. He shrugged. “I’m just curious. It looks like an old graveyard and I’d like to see how far back the dates go. Haven’t you ever done that?” Rose grinned. “Well, when I was younger, we used to go into cemeteries, but it was usually at night and we were trying to scare each other,” she said. Alan gave her an amused look. “Scare each other with what? There’s nothing in here except dead, decaying matter,” he said. She shrugged. “We were young and stupid. It was just something we did to pass the time,” she said, heading towards the back of the cemetery. “Was Mickey-boy with you when you did this?” Alan asked. “Sometimes.” Alan snickered. “Did he scream like a little girl when you scared him?” Rose rolled his eyes. “Sometimes,” she admitted. Alan giggled and looked back at Awinita. “You haven’t lived until you’ve heard her ex-boyfriend scream. Poor boy sounds like he’s sucked a ton of helium.” “Alright, Alan, that’ll do,” Rose said. “Well, he does. When he screamed in that high school, it was a wonder half the dogs in London didn’t start barking in response.” “Alan…” “And the windows didn’t shatter either, they must have been reinforced.” “Alonzo, that’ll do,” Rose said. “Yes, mum,” Alan replied, pretending to pout. They reached the back of the cemetery. Rose let the car idle while they climbed out and walked over to the gravestones near the back of a black iron fence. Alan whistled when he saw some of the dates on the faded tombstones. “Late 1700’s, I was right, these are old,” he said, bending down to examine one. “Did they bury people like this on Gallifrey?” Awinita asked him. He shook his head. “No, cremation and the person’s memories were stored in this repository called the Matrix for all eternity. There was no burial.” He straightened himself and looked over at Rose. He noticed she was several feet away from them. Awinita gave him a confused look when he began snickering. She followed his gaze and noticed Rose was standing in front of a tombstone, staring up at a weeping angel statue with a wide-eyed look on her face. “Rose, what’s wrong?” Awinita said, walking over to her. She looked back when she heard Alan laughing even harder. “What?” Awinita said, looking from one to the other. “What is going on here?” Alan grinned. He walked over and put his hand on Awinita’s shoulder. “I told Rose a little story about some weeping angel statues and now it appears she’s spooked,” he told her. He walked over to Rose and put his hands on her shoulders. “Come along, dear,” he said. “Not on your bloody life.” “Rose, this isn’t that kind of weeping angel statue.” “Oh yeah, how do you know that?” Rose said, staring at the statue. Alan resisted the urge to laugh. “Because if it was, we would have been zapped into the past while we were climbing out of the car. Just trust me, you’re safe.” Rose turned slightly, but still kept her eyes on the statue. Alan sighed. “Alright, everyone, on the count of three, we are all going to look away from the angel statue,” he said. “1...2...3!” Alan forced Rose to turn and Awinita turned with them. They stood there staring at the entrance to the cemetery. “Gee,” Alan said after a few minutes. “Either the angel is really, really slow in getting to us or it’s not that kind of angel statue.” “I don’t get it,” Awinita said. “What’s the deal with the angel statue?” Alan beckoned to her. As they walked, he explained the weeping angels to her. “Are you serious? There are aliens that look like those statue things?” she said, when he finished. “Yes, indeedy, and apparently I scared Rose into thinking that all weeping angel statues can move when they really can’t. There are actual angel statues that humans have made. The aliens just happen to look like them. Helps them to blend in on Earth. And I’m sorry, Rose, I should have said that before but I didn’t think you would freak out when we actually came across one.” “Well, how can you tell the difference between the real statues and the alien ones?” Rose asked. “Um…you can’t.” “Oh, just lovely,” Rose said. “First it’s sunbeams and road kill I have to look out for, now it’s cemetery statues.” “Rose, for the hundred thousandth time, you aren’t going to die if you walk through a sunbeam or walk by road kill.” “Okay, what’s the deal with the sunbeams and road kill?” Awinita asked. Alan told her. Her eyes widened. “Oh my God, you could die from going past road kill,” she said when he finished. “No!” Alan said, exasperated. “No, no, no, there is a one in a google zillion billion million chance that you might die if you go by road kill or go through a sunbeam, will you two stop worrying about it and the Weeping Angels? I’m sorry I ever mentioned any of this to you. You faced the emperor of the Daleks without breaking a sweat and here you are being terrified of a hunk of stone and a dead rabbit. Could you please get a little perspective, my dear? You could step out of the people carrier and get hit by a car while you’re worrying about the Weeping Angels and Vashta Nerada. There’s more chance of a jet falling directly on your head than there is of a sunbeam picking your bones clean.” He stopped her and pointed back to the statue. “See, not moving. It’s still there. Just calm down and enjoy the pleasant sunny day, alright?” They slowed their pace and examined a couple of stones. Alan frowned when he noticed a couple of the graves were carved to resemble dead tree trunks. “Why would you want to be buried under this?” he said, gesturing to one of them. “What is the significance of it? I get the weeping angels, but dead trees? What is the symbolism?” “When I was alive, I was tall and healthy and strong like a tree, but now I’m dead and rotting?” Rose offered as Awinita laughed. “I have a feeling that’s bang on,” Alan said. “Crazy nutters, being buried under stone tree trunks. What were they thinking?” “Maybe I’ll bury you under one when you die,” Rose said. “Like hell you will, Rose Tyler,” he said as she and Awinita bent over laughing. “I am going to be cremated like a proper Gallifreyan. I’m not going in the ground and have to endure the indignity of watching you mark my remains with a crappy, creepy, bizarre tombstone. And if you outlive me and you do that to my corpse, you better run for your life because my ghost will make the Gelth look like puffs of smoke.” “Gee, I thought you said that there was only dead matter under these graves,” Rose teased. “There is, I’m talking about whatever passes for my soul or spirit. That will be fully conscious and it will be in the afterlife watching every move you make with an eagle eye. So if I were you, I’d treat this body with respect because I have no qualms about haunting you for the rest of eternity. And don’t think I won’t do it because I will.” Rose looked at Awinita. “I just love when he makes empty threats, it’s so cute,” she said, hooking his thumb back at him. She ran away when Alan tried to grab her. Awinita laughed as she watched him chase her around the graveyard while he yelled at the top of lungs.
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