SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
Chapter Twenty Five After changing back, both Doctors recommended Rose and Rory sleep for a bit while they sorted out the other raptors and competitors with River, Amy and Jack. They told them they needed to get rid of the residual effects of the chloroform and recover from their ordeal. Rory's wife and daughter guided him to his bedroom while Eleven walked with Rose. While they were doing that, Ten was going back to the console room with Jack to set a course for the competition area. Eleven walked Rose back to her old room and Rose smiled when she stepped inside and saw it was the same as her room on Ten's TARDIS. "I never touched it," Eleven said. "I left it just as it was." "So you can come in here and remember me?" Rose said. Eleven gave her a sad smile and nodded. He guided her to the bed and helped her get in it. "You can get some kit on when you're over your grogginess," he said, covering her up. "So do you want me to implant the message now or wait till you've rested?" "Do it now," Rose said. "Close your eyes," Eleven said softly. Rose closed them and Eleven put his fingers to her temples. Rose felt a sensation of love flood her body and in her mind's eye she could see Eleven smiling at her. My hearts will belong to you always, Rose, she heard him whisper in her thoughts. "And my heart will belong to you," Rose whispered back to him. She felt Eleven's lips on her own and she kissed him while he kept his fingers on her temples. She saw flashes of his memories while he implanted the message within her subconscious. Image of other Doctors and she even saw glimpses of Gallifrey. When Eleven was done implanting the message, he broke off the kiss and smiled at her. "And now you will always know deep down inside that I love you," he said to her. "Never doubt again that my love for you is real." Rose smiled and accepted one more kiss from him before he stood back up. She watched lovingly while he stroked her hair for a moment and then with a whispered goodnight he walked towards the door. Rose watched from her bed and when he was outside and the door was closed, the TARDIS dimmed the lights while she relaxed and went to sleep. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX Nearly four hours later, Rose woke up, completely refreshed. She lay in the semidarkness for a moment, staring at the metallic walls and thinking of the difference between this TARDIS and her own as well as the differences between Ten and Eleven. Then she rose and walked over to her chest of drawers as the lighting returned to full strength. She put on a white t-shirt and jeans, white socks and trainers and she stood at her full length mirror, loving the feel of the clothes on her body after being a raptor. She combed her hair and made herself look presentable before stepping outside. She walked up to the console room but there was nobody there so she walked down the steps to the main platform and ran her hand around the rim of the console, her heart aching at the thought of forgetting all of it. She went to the chair and sat down, looking around the room. "Take care of them, girl," Rose said to the TARDIS. "Take care of all of them." The TARDIS rumbled an affirmative to that and Rose smiled. Then she got the urge to go to the kitchen and she stood up and followed that urge. The TARDIS moved the kitchen to the back door and when she stepped through, she saw Rory sitting at the kitchen table sipping a mug of tea. "Hey," Rory said. "Everyone's still outside. I assume they're rounding up the other people and raptors. I woke up about a half hour ago and decided on a cuppa. There's hot water in the kettle on the stove if you want some." Rose thanked him and Rory sipped his tea while Rose made some of her own. "Feels odd being in my own body after being a raptor," Rory said to her while she fixed her tea. "Yeah, tell me about it," Rose said, looking over her shoulder. "But I'm glad to be back to normal." "Same here," Rory said. "I don't think Amy would fancy being married to a dinosaur." Rose giggled. "I don't know about that," she teased as she went to get the milk from the fridge. "She enjoyed riding you, yeah?" "Yes, a little too much, I'm afraid," Rory said, grinning. "I nearly had to bite her foot off to persuade her to get off." "Poor Doctor, he never got to ride me," Rose said. "Now Jack has bragging rights and he can rub it in my Doctor's face." "Well, at least they didn't marry us," Rory said while Rose finished pouring some milk in her tea and carried it back to the fridge. "How long have you been married?" Rose asked as she opened the fridge door. "Nearly a year now. I've known Amy since I was a kid. We're from Leadworth." "Yeah, the Doctor said that…your Doctor said that. I pity ya," Rose said. "Yeah, it wasn't the most exciting place to grow up," Rory said, nodding before he took a sip. "So you and Amy jumped at the chance to leave it behind for all this," Rose said, carrying the mug to the table. "Actually, Amy jumped at the chance. I didn't go with them at first until she got a bit too friendly with him and he threw me in here to keep her from…shagging him or whatever she was planning to do in my absence. I liked the experience after getting over the terror of dying a horrible death and I've been with him ever since." "Her as well?" Rose said. "Wait…mother and daughter…" "She didn't know River was her child before she snogged him," Rory said, holding up his hand. "I think she was dazzled by him and it went to her head and she lost control of herself." "Yeah, I can understand completely," Rose said with a nod. "You sound like my ex-boyfriend Mickey, he traveled with us for a bit for much the same reason you did and he ended up in a parallel universe…his choice but by the time he realized he couldn't compete with the Doctor, I had fallen hard for him." "I'm glad that Amy didn't do the same thing," Rory said while Rose sipped her tea. "Amy's the only women I've ever really loved. I actually died and came back to life as a roman centurian, a plastic centurion. Auton, I think the Doctor called it. But I guarded Amy for 2,000 years because I loved her that much." "Auton, that's how I met the Doctor," Rose said. "I worked at Henrick's and shop window dummies came to life one night and nearly killed me and the Doctor rescued me. But there was this…thing called the Nestene Consciousness that was controlling them and the Doctor killed it." "When was this?" Rory said. "2005." "I was a centurion at Stonehenge in 102 A.D. so perhaps the…Nestene Consiousness was still alive at that point," Rory said. "But at least you know what I'm talking about." "Have you met the Daleks?" Rose asked. Rory nodded. They continued to chat and compare notes for about an hour when Amy walked into the kitchen. "The Doctors used the Tenth Doctors TARDIS to find the survivors and the other raptors," Amy said. "They're mutating the raptors now but they wanted me to come find you and tell you what was going on." "What about the Valeyard?" Rose said. "Don't know but I'm hoping he doesn't escape," Amy said. "Amy, she knows about the Autons," Rory said, nodding at Rose. "She saw them the night she met the Doctor." "We've been comparing notes," Rose said. "About what we've seen and done in our time with the Doctor. I wish I didn't have to go back and forget about you. I would love to have you as friends." "Same here," Amy said. "It's not fair that we're allowed to remember but you can't." "I know but timelines and all that," Rose said, rolling her eyes. "So are they ready for us? Do the Doctors need our help?" "Not really, they actually told Jack and River to come back here as well. They're handling it now," Amy said. "So if you don't mind, can I join in the conversation?" They nodded and Rory told his wife about the kettle. After Amy warmed up the water and made some tea, the three of them sat in the kitchen and kept on chatting.
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