Watson's Ghost. Part Two, Ten/Rose.
May. 26th, 2006 02:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
misscamWatson's Ghost 2/?
by Camilla Sandman
Disclaimer: Just written for my own and other's amusement, BBC. Please not be suing me.
Rating: Mature, eventually.
Summary: Wherein the Doctor and Rose face a murder charge, Rose walks with ghosts, the Doctor tries for life and an alliance changes its nature. [Ten/Rose]
Author's Note: Prompt 029 for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
50lyricsfanfic (just give me one more moment, another walk out in the sun; one more day to find some justice with your shadow by my side - As One - Dropkick Murphys). Written for an anon request in my LJ. Thanks to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lotus79 for beta-ing and being awesome. Love ya, darling.
Table of Prompts
Part One
II
A Remark on a Planet: Wherein a story of Nattdvalve's dead is told
Life, it is known, ends in death. For every first breath there's a last breath too, almost always regretted. Only the very tired wish to die. The will to live is strong, the Universe knows. Sometimes too strong.
There is a story whispered among the stars of a planet where the dead's last breath can be preserved. Where it can linger, stuck in the moment the body died, waiting to exhale. Only the very desperate would cling to life so. The young. The afraid. The murdered.
They are the ghosts of Nattdvalve, and it is said you can walk with them. If you give them your breath, they might even tell their story. You can help them let go.
Only the brave dare.
Walk with ghosts, they say, and the ghosts also walk with you.
II
Part Two: Wherein the morning brings a possibility, innocence may be proven, Rose makes a choice, the Doctor steals a breath and a message is given for a ghost
Rose awakes to the dark and for a moment she doesn't think she's opened her eyes at all. Then her vision adjusts slightly, becoming dark grey and eventually vague shapes. She feels cold, and there's no comforting blanket to reach for. There's just her skin and cloth smelling badly, and neither feels particular pleasant. Why is she here, why is...
"Doctor!" she blurts out, her memories crashing into awareness in a jumbled mess. The planet, the dead alien, the accusation, her name, everything coming back without any softening blow first.
"I'm here," his voice says, and as she focuses, she makes out the shape of him, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, face blank. "It's morning."
"How do you know?"
"I always know," he says distantly, and he feels so far away he might as well be a star in the sky. "Dawn is just another clock measuring time. I feel it."
He's every bit the Time Lord now, power even in his voice, and she feels a little small at it. And then he looks properly at her, and it fades and it's just him. The Doctor, her friend, her... Her Holmes. She stands up a little shakingly, but her legs carry her well enough as she walks up to him. He opens his arms, and she rests her cheek against his chest, letting him hold her.
"Listen, Rose. They'll be coming soon, offering us the only sure way on Nattdvalve to prove your innocence. Don't say anything. Let me speak."
Her mouth feels dry, as she tilts her head up to look at him. "What are you going to say?"
He smiles, but with no warmth at all. "I'm talking a walk."
II
They do come with morning. Stern, pale faces, clad in what Rose guesses if formal wear. There is a sense of ritual to it, though she can't quite pinpoint why. Maybe it's the actions seeming so automatic. Maybe it's the way the Doctor seems to know what's coming. He's got a hand on her shoulder, and it feels almost like a steel grip, unwilling to let her go. But no one makes any move to seperete them, simply leads them through hallways and halls. Eventually, they're escorted into what almost looks an elevator of dark metal, but the moment the door is closed, it moves much faster than any elevator she knows. The Doctor seems to expect it again, already steadying her, and she leans against him a little gratefully.
"Rose," he whispers against her ear, "take a deep breath."
"Why?" she whispers back, just as the elevator-thingy comes to a stop, and the doors open. She barely has time to draw breath before a wind knocks into her, feeling almost to rob her body of all breath. "What...?"
"This planet has a particular wind system," the Doctor says a little breathlessly too. "This is where winds go to die. And they're not alone."
"They're not alone," one alien agrees, the one she guesses is a senior guard just from how his dark clothes gleam a little brighter. "You stand with the blood of Berho's life on your hands and claim innocence. Is this your claim?"
"Yes," the Doctor says, lips tight.
"Only one voice can confirm your claim," the alien goes on, sounding almost as if he's delivering a sermon. "Only the murdered can speak the name of his murderer with truth. If you claim your innocence, you must find his ghost and bring it back to testify for you. Will you?"
"I will," the Doctor says, and Rose feels the taste of doom as metallic in her mouth and she knows what he's decided, what he's going to do instead of her. It wasn't his name that was spoken with a dying breath, and he knows it.
It's meant to be her.
"No!" she blurts out. "Doctor, no!"
"Shut up, Rose," he says harshly, a command. But though he is a Time Lord, she is not time and even Watson had his own will and his own choices.
She makes hers.
"The man who died, he asked my name," she rushes out. "He said I was to comfort his ghost. Rose, he said. That's me. Rose."
The aliens exchange glances, clearly not quite expecting this. The Doctor is, though, she can feel it in the way he breathes, almost a sigh, almost no sound at all.
"You never do what I tell you, do you, Rose Tyler?" he says, letting go of her shoulder finally. She dares look up at him and feels almost gutted by the expression on his face.
"Stranger Rose, will you walk with the ghosts until the murdered is satisfied?" she hears a distant voice rumble, but her eyes are on the Doctor, and he's shaking his head at her, eyes a little wild.
"I will," she says, and her voice sounds foreign.
"Oh, Rose..." the Doctor whispers, and his voice is painful to listen to.
"I'm sorry..." she offers, the only apology she knows.
He nods a bit, and she has no idea what to say to comfort him. She refuses to feel guilty, just as he would refuse to. She knows him well enough for that.
She doesn't know him at all when he puts his hands on her cheek and with a jolt she realises he's going to kiss her. Softly, ever so softly, parting her lips and taking her breath away, his fingers burrowing into her arms painfully. She lets him, feeling almost apart from herself.
"I have your breath, Rose," he says oddly, rubbing his nose slightly against hers. "Remember! Remember!"
She feels hands on her, tearing her away, but she keeps looking at the Doctor, looking at him fighting the aliens holding him back, fighting and failing, calling after her even as she's pulled away.
"Rose! Rose! Remember! I hold your breath! Remember that! Promise me! Rose! Rose!"
"Doctor..."
"Rose!"
And then there's just the wind, whispering as strokes past her, blowing the way she's being led. She doesn't fight her escorts, letting them push her ever forward, until whatever is waiting. It can't be worse than a fleet of Daleks, she reasons, but the Daleks were predictable. This, this is constant night and not knowing where the next step leads.
She looks up when she sees a great gate, more guards waiting, all looking serious. The winds are picking up, and sometimes she thinks she can almost hear a voice in them.
"Do you walk willingly?" she is asked, and she tries to focus on the face. "Do you wish to prove the innocence of your friend and yourself?"
"Yes." She licks her lips, wishing her voice would sound more confident so maybe she could feel it too. "Yes, I do."
"Then you may walk and if the ghost speaks for you, you may walk freely."
She nods, watching the gates open to just more darkness beyond. Something is pressed into her hand, and she realises belatedly it is a sort of lamp, and one of the guards is looking at her. He looks young, smaller than the other aliens and even paler.
"Are you afraid, stranger Rose?" he asks, and it might be sympathy, resting a hand on her arm.
"Yes."
The alien nods, and looks at her, and she thinks maybe it's fear in his eyes too. "If you meet Milekka, tell her not to wait."
"What?" she mutters dumbly, following him as he leads her past the doors, into the darkness.
"Milekka. Tell her. Tell her... Wenhor isn't coming. Tell her to breathe."
She can just nod as he lets go of her arm, and then the doors close, and she's alone. She just stands still for a moment, trying not to shiver, trying not to feel anything. The light flickers as she steadies the lamp in her hand, but it doesn't die and she takes comfort in that.
Right then.
Taking a deep breath, she starts to walk and the whispers, the whispers follow her.
The dead are talking and she can almost hear them.
(To be continued...)
by Camilla Sandman
Disclaimer: Just written for my own and other's amusement, BBC. Please not be suing me.
Rating: Mature, eventually.
Summary: Wherein the Doctor and Rose face a murder charge, Rose walks with ghosts, the Doctor tries for life and an alliance changes its nature. [Ten/Rose]
Author's Note: Prompt 029 for
50lyricsfanfic (just give me one more moment, another walk out in the sun; one more day to find some justice with your shadow by my side - As One - Dropkick Murphys). Written for an anon request in my LJ. Thanks to lotus79 for beta-ing and being awesome. Love ya, darling. Table of Prompts
Part One
II
A Remark on a Planet: Wherein a story of Nattdvalve's dead is told
Life, it is known, ends in death. For every first breath there's a last breath too, almost always regretted. Only the very tired wish to die. The will to live is strong, the Universe knows. Sometimes too strong.
There is a story whispered among the stars of a planet where the dead's last breath can be preserved. Where it can linger, stuck in the moment the body died, waiting to exhale. Only the very desperate would cling to life so. The young. The afraid. The murdered.
They are the ghosts of Nattdvalve, and it is said you can walk with them. If you give them your breath, they might even tell their story. You can help them let go.
Only the brave dare.
Walk with ghosts, they say, and the ghosts also walk with you.
II
Part Two: Wherein the morning brings a possibility, innocence may be proven, Rose makes a choice, the Doctor steals a breath and a message is given for a ghost
Rose awakes to the dark and for a moment she doesn't think she's opened her eyes at all. Then her vision adjusts slightly, becoming dark grey and eventually vague shapes. She feels cold, and there's no comforting blanket to reach for. There's just her skin and cloth smelling badly, and neither feels particular pleasant. Why is she here, why is...
"Doctor!" she blurts out, her memories crashing into awareness in a jumbled mess. The planet, the dead alien, the accusation, her name, everything coming back without any softening blow first.
"I'm here," his voice says, and as she focuses, she makes out the shape of him, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, face blank. "It's morning."
"How do you know?"
"I always know," he says distantly, and he feels so far away he might as well be a star in the sky. "Dawn is just another clock measuring time. I feel it."
He's every bit the Time Lord now, power even in his voice, and she feels a little small at it. And then he looks properly at her, and it fades and it's just him. The Doctor, her friend, her... Her Holmes. She stands up a little shakingly, but her legs carry her well enough as she walks up to him. He opens his arms, and she rests her cheek against his chest, letting him hold her.
"Listen, Rose. They'll be coming soon, offering us the only sure way on Nattdvalve to prove your innocence. Don't say anything. Let me speak."
Her mouth feels dry, as she tilts her head up to look at him. "What are you going to say?"
He smiles, but with no warmth at all. "I'm talking a walk."
II
They do come with morning. Stern, pale faces, clad in what Rose guesses if formal wear. There is a sense of ritual to it, though she can't quite pinpoint why. Maybe it's the actions seeming so automatic. Maybe it's the way the Doctor seems to know what's coming. He's got a hand on her shoulder, and it feels almost like a steel grip, unwilling to let her go. But no one makes any move to seperete them, simply leads them through hallways and halls. Eventually, they're escorted into what almost looks an elevator of dark metal, but the moment the door is closed, it moves much faster than any elevator she knows. The Doctor seems to expect it again, already steadying her, and she leans against him a little gratefully.
"Rose," he whispers against her ear, "take a deep breath."
"Why?" she whispers back, just as the elevator-thingy comes to a stop, and the doors open. She barely has time to draw breath before a wind knocks into her, feeling almost to rob her body of all breath. "What...?"
"This planet has a particular wind system," the Doctor says a little breathlessly too. "This is where winds go to die. And they're not alone."
"They're not alone," one alien agrees, the one she guesses is a senior guard just from how his dark clothes gleam a little brighter. "You stand with the blood of Berho's life on your hands and claim innocence. Is this your claim?"
"Yes," the Doctor says, lips tight.
"Only one voice can confirm your claim," the alien goes on, sounding almost as if he's delivering a sermon. "Only the murdered can speak the name of his murderer with truth. If you claim your innocence, you must find his ghost and bring it back to testify for you. Will you?"
"I will," the Doctor says, and Rose feels the taste of doom as metallic in her mouth and she knows what he's decided, what he's going to do instead of her. It wasn't his name that was spoken with a dying breath, and he knows it.
It's meant to be her.
"No!" she blurts out. "Doctor, no!"
"Shut up, Rose," he says harshly, a command. But though he is a Time Lord, she is not time and even Watson had his own will and his own choices.
She makes hers.
"The man who died, he asked my name," she rushes out. "He said I was to comfort his ghost. Rose, he said. That's me. Rose."
The aliens exchange glances, clearly not quite expecting this. The Doctor is, though, she can feel it in the way he breathes, almost a sigh, almost no sound at all.
"You never do what I tell you, do you, Rose Tyler?" he says, letting go of her shoulder finally. She dares look up at him and feels almost gutted by the expression on his face.
"Stranger Rose, will you walk with the ghosts until the murdered is satisfied?" she hears a distant voice rumble, but her eyes are on the Doctor, and he's shaking his head at her, eyes a little wild.
"I will," she says, and her voice sounds foreign.
"Oh, Rose..." the Doctor whispers, and his voice is painful to listen to.
"I'm sorry..." she offers, the only apology she knows.
He nods a bit, and she has no idea what to say to comfort him. She refuses to feel guilty, just as he would refuse to. She knows him well enough for that.
She doesn't know him at all when he puts his hands on her cheek and with a jolt she realises he's going to kiss her. Softly, ever so softly, parting her lips and taking her breath away, his fingers burrowing into her arms painfully. She lets him, feeling almost apart from herself.
"I have your breath, Rose," he says oddly, rubbing his nose slightly against hers. "Remember! Remember!"
She feels hands on her, tearing her away, but she keeps looking at the Doctor, looking at him fighting the aliens holding him back, fighting and failing, calling after her even as she's pulled away.
"Rose! Rose! Remember! I hold your breath! Remember that! Promise me! Rose! Rose!"
"Doctor..."
"Rose!"
And then there's just the wind, whispering as strokes past her, blowing the way she's being led. She doesn't fight her escorts, letting them push her ever forward, until whatever is waiting. It can't be worse than a fleet of Daleks, she reasons, but the Daleks were predictable. This, this is constant night and not knowing where the next step leads.
She looks up when she sees a great gate, more guards waiting, all looking serious. The winds are picking up, and sometimes she thinks she can almost hear a voice in them.
"Do you walk willingly?" she is asked, and she tries to focus on the face. "Do you wish to prove the innocence of your friend and yourself?"
"Yes." She licks her lips, wishing her voice would sound more confident so maybe she could feel it too. "Yes, I do."
"Then you may walk and if the ghost speaks for you, you may walk freely."
She nods, watching the gates open to just more darkness beyond. Something is pressed into her hand, and she realises belatedly it is a sort of lamp, and one of the guards is looking at her. He looks young, smaller than the other aliens and even paler.
"Are you afraid, stranger Rose?" he asks, and it might be sympathy, resting a hand on her arm.
"Yes."
The alien nods, and looks at her, and she thinks maybe it's fear in his eyes too. "If you meet Milekka, tell her not to wait."
"What?" she mutters dumbly, following him as he leads her past the doors, into the darkness.
"Milekka. Tell her. Tell her... Wenhor isn't coming. Tell her to breathe."
She can just nod as he lets go of her arm, and then the doors close, and she's alone. She just stands still for a moment, trying not to shiver, trying not to feel anything. The light flickers as she steadies the lamp in her hand, but it doesn't die and she takes comfort in that.
Right then.
Taking a deep breath, she starts to walk and the whispers, the whispers follow her.
The dead are talking and she can almost hear them.
(To be continued...)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 12:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 12:26 pm (UTC)"You never do what I tell you, do you, Rose Tyler?" he says, letting go of her shoulder finally. She dares look up at him and feels almost gutted by the expression on his face.
900 years of phonebox travel, and he hasn't learned yet that companions have minds of their own? Silly Doctor.
And also, this fic is so masterful. Your best yet.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 12:27 pm (UTC)"Rose! Rose! Remember! I hold your breath! Remember that! Promise me! Rose! Rose!" Oh, it was painful. But lovely. More please? :)
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 12:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 12:59 pm (UTC)Oh yes, very good.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 01:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 01:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 02:08 pm (UTC)Loved this bit:
She doesn't know him at all when he puts his hands on her cheek and with a jolt she realises he's going to kiss her. Softly, ever so softly, parting her lips and taking her breath away, his fingers burrowing into her arms painfully. She lets him, feeling almost apart from herself.
"I have your breath, Rose," he says oddly, rubbing his nose slightly against hers. "Remember! Remember!"
Beautiful!
But a tiny nitpick: if his hands were on her cheeks, how can his fingers burrow into her arms?
Daily posts continue, I hope?
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 03:05 pm (UTC)It's so "Martian Chronicles meets Who" that it's going in my memories.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 03:29 pm (UTC)But thanks!
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 03:33 pm (UTC)Dun dun dun is right - of course, you know what happens, so it's not that exciting for you.
:D
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 03:34 pm (UTC)And thanks!
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 03:34 pm (UTC)Thanks!
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 03:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 03:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 03:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 03:38 pm (UTC)Glad you liked, anyhoo. And yeah, the Doctor knows all too well, as we'll see more of later.
There shall be a next part tomorrow, yes.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 03:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 03:52 pm (UTC)It is good to have read ahead, oh yes. *is smug*
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 03:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 04:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 04:26 pm (UTC)*wants more*
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 04:45 pm (UTC)Thanks.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 05:09 pm (UTC)Disturbing and wonderful and confusing and breathtaking. Especially the ghost thing.
But that 'I have your breath'...methinks they're going to try and keep her...
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 05:14 pm (UTC)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martian_Chronicles
It's worth reading just for Bradbury's prose. :-)
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 08:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 10:43 pm (UTC)Thanks!
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 10:44 pm (UTC)And thanks.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-26 10:44 pm (UTC)Do I get a prize?
no subject
Date: 2006-05-27 12:46 am (UTC)I'm anxiously awaiting more.
♥
no subject
Date: 2006-05-27 01:30 am (UTC)For crying out loud, Cam, how much clearer does the wallwriting have to be?!?!?!?
Don't make me bean ya on the head with a Quahog...
no subject
Date: 2006-05-27 05:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-29 04:57 am (UTC)Bravo. *Off to read part three*