Fic: Though Memory Imperfect (Epilog)
Jan. 30th, 2013 03:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedi_of_urthTitle: Though Memory Imperfect
Author:jedi_of_urth
Fandom: Doctor Who
Characters/Pairings: The Doctor (John Smith), Rose Tyler (Anne Young), Martha Jones. Doctor/Rose (John/Anne)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~39,000
Summary: HN/FoB AU, when Martha and John Smith arrive in 1913 they encounter the mysterious Anne Young, whose forgotten past is more important than any of them know.
Disclaimer: Doctor Who isn’t mine. And the basic idea of HN/FB isn’t either.
Author's Notes/Warnings: See fic master post for full fic notes .
Past Chapters:
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4
Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7
Outside the sun was rising with brilliant color after the rain the day before, but Jackie thought more rain would have better matched her mood. She had stayed up all night hoping Mickey would call to say everything had turned out okay she couldn’t shake the terror that her daughter would never be found alive.
Would Rose never realize what this dangerous life she’d chosen did to her family? In the old days Jackie had blamed it on the Doctor, but it had continued without the man. Sometimes it seemed like the only thing that had changed was the fact that while plenty of people looked out for Rose, Jackie knew none of them needed to keep her safe the way the Doctor had.
It wasn’t fair to think that of course. Pete didn’t assign Rose to the most dangerous missions unless he absolutely needed her on it, and Mickey would never let anything happen to her if he could help it. And of course, Rose had other friends and colleagues who relied on her and helped her out.
But right now Jackie wished for the small comfort that could be found when she knew the person most committed to Rose’s safety would be out there looking for her. There had never been much comfort in Rose traveling with the Doctor but there had been that.
Jackie shook her head and turned away from glowing gold sky outside. The only time the Doctor seemingly had given up on Rose had broken Rose’s heart even though Jackie loved him for it. He had never come here looking to take her away again; this time never to return to her family and just run around the universe with a mad man in a police box. The mad man that Rose loved with all her heart.
Pete came in the room as Jackie lowered herself onto the couch with a sigh. Soon Pete sat down next to her and she sank into the crook of his shoulder. Sometimes she still found herself noting the difference between him and the Pete she had married when she was young. But this was less a difference of universes and more of maturity. He knew there was nothing he could say to fix this so he just sat beside her and they held onto hope together.
“Mum,” Jackie thought she heard. But it wasn’t little Matthew asking for breakfast, it sounded like Rose.
Jackie hadn’t realized her eyes had fallen closed but when she opened them she knew she must have. Because now it seemed she was standing on a grassy coastline; across the water stood a gleaming futuristic city, so this couldn’t be real. And there at her side was Rose, and when Jackie turned she could see the Doctor standing in the distance.
Rose was smiling more broadly than Jackie had seen in years, as if Jackie had needed more proof that this was a dream. “Hi mum, I’m sorry I just disappeared like that. But it all worked out.”
“What did?” Jackie asked, which was silly, arguing with a dream.
“Before I forget, warn Mickey about the angel statues, the Doctor says they can be pretty nasty. They zap you and you end up back in the past, only in my case it also sent me back to our old universe.
“Now you probably think this is just a dream, but it’s a message the Doctor figured out we could leave in your subconscious that would show up once I disappeared. Don’t ask me how, it’s a Time Lord thing and we don’t really have time to get into it.”
“Rose what’s going on?”
But it was useless; it was hard to argue with a message. “It’s alright mum, this is my home, it’s where I belong. I’ll miss all of you, but this is what I wanted, you know that. I know you know that, even never approved. I hope you can be happy for me.”
And Jackie realized she could. She would never stop missing her little girl if there never was a way for her to come back, but she knew Rose would be happy; happier than anything in this universe had ever made her. She would love and be loved and live the life she wanted. Jackie hated it, but it wasn’t anything she could deny.
“I love you Mum. Give my love to Dad and Mickey and Matty. Tell Matty all the wonderful things that I’ve seen in my life, all the fantastic stories that are out there to live.”
The dream of Rose laughed and smiled a little. “Because there’s one other thing I finally figured out…”
~~~~~~~~~~
“To grandma Lily,” Arthur’s oldest daughter said raising a glass to toast the memory of Arthur’s mother. The old woman had lived a long life and had gone peacefully only a week ago; and though Arthur grieved for his mother she had accepted her coming death long ago, and her acceptance had made it easier for him as well.
It was a small funeral, Aunt Lucy and most of mother’s friends had died before her especially in the recent years and Arthur had been his parents’ only surviving child. His three daughters and their families had come, though most of his grandchildren were too young to really understand what was going on.
Arthur sat on the edges of the crowd and watched the family and a few friends as they chatted, remembering Lily whether they’d been related to her or not.
A bit later one of his small granddaughters climbed up on the chair next to him. She was only two and small, so had to jump a few times before she managed to hoist herself upwards but she didn’t give up until she had and could sit close to Arthur’s side. “Granda’, tell me a story,” she said. It wasn’t quite an order and it wasn’t quite a request, but he didn’t feel like refusing her or even telling her to ask nicely; as he grandfather it was his right to indulge her he figured.
There was no question what story he would tell. It was one his mother had loved to tell, said it was told to her by a friend when she was young and she’d never forgotten it. His youngest daughter – this fair haired child’s mother – hadn’t cared for the story, but that was no reason not to tell it to someone else.
And so he passed the old story on to his granddaughter, who listened with rapt attention. It was a story of the beautiful and adventurous princess, of her wild prince, and of the wolf that stalked them as they explored their fantastic world. The story of how they had feared the bad wolf, but in the end, when the prince was captured by his greatest enemy it was the wolf that showed the princess how to save him.
“I remember that story,” his daughter said as she sat down with them. “That was gran’s story. Do you think she knew I didn’t like it?”
“Yes Jackie,” he said with laugh, “you didn’t exactly make a secret of it. But,” he continued as he looked down at the toddler who looked at him with intense eyes and beautiful smile, “I think she actually liked it. Didn’t you Rose?”
Rose smiled and nodded. She always liked stories where everyone ended up where they belonged.
Author:
jedi_of_urthFandom: Doctor Who
Characters/Pairings: The Doctor (John Smith), Rose Tyler (Anne Young), Martha Jones. Doctor/Rose (John/Anne)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~39,000
Summary: HN/FoB AU, when Martha and John Smith arrive in 1913 they encounter the mysterious Anne Young, whose forgotten past is more important than any of them know.
Disclaimer: Doctor Who isn’t mine. And the basic idea of HN/FB isn’t either.
Author's Notes/Warnings: See fic master post for full fic notes .
Past Chapters:
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4
Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7
Outside the sun was rising with brilliant color after the rain the day before, but Jackie thought more rain would have better matched her mood. She had stayed up all night hoping Mickey would call to say everything had turned out okay she couldn’t shake the terror that her daughter would never be found alive.
Would Rose never realize what this dangerous life she’d chosen did to her family? In the old days Jackie had blamed it on the Doctor, but it had continued without the man. Sometimes it seemed like the only thing that had changed was the fact that while plenty of people looked out for Rose, Jackie knew none of them needed to keep her safe the way the Doctor had.
It wasn’t fair to think that of course. Pete didn’t assign Rose to the most dangerous missions unless he absolutely needed her on it, and Mickey would never let anything happen to her if he could help it. And of course, Rose had other friends and colleagues who relied on her and helped her out.
But right now Jackie wished for the small comfort that could be found when she knew the person most committed to Rose’s safety would be out there looking for her. There had never been much comfort in Rose traveling with the Doctor but there had been that.
Jackie shook her head and turned away from glowing gold sky outside. The only time the Doctor seemingly had given up on Rose had broken Rose’s heart even though Jackie loved him for it. He had never come here looking to take her away again; this time never to return to her family and just run around the universe with a mad man in a police box. The mad man that Rose loved with all her heart.
Pete came in the room as Jackie lowered herself onto the couch with a sigh. Soon Pete sat down next to her and she sank into the crook of his shoulder. Sometimes she still found herself noting the difference between him and the Pete she had married when she was young. But this was less a difference of universes and more of maturity. He knew there was nothing he could say to fix this so he just sat beside her and they held onto hope together.
“Mum,” Jackie thought she heard. But it wasn’t little Matthew asking for breakfast, it sounded like Rose.
Jackie hadn’t realized her eyes had fallen closed but when she opened them she knew she must have. Because now it seemed she was standing on a grassy coastline; across the water stood a gleaming futuristic city, so this couldn’t be real. And there at her side was Rose, and when Jackie turned she could see the Doctor standing in the distance.
Rose was smiling more broadly than Jackie had seen in years, as if Jackie had needed more proof that this was a dream. “Hi mum, I’m sorry I just disappeared like that. But it all worked out.”
“What did?” Jackie asked, which was silly, arguing with a dream.
“Before I forget, warn Mickey about the angel statues, the Doctor says they can be pretty nasty. They zap you and you end up back in the past, only in my case it also sent me back to our old universe.
“Now you probably think this is just a dream, but it’s a message the Doctor figured out we could leave in your subconscious that would show up once I disappeared. Don’t ask me how, it’s a Time Lord thing and we don’t really have time to get into it.”
“Rose what’s going on?”
But it was useless; it was hard to argue with a message. “It’s alright mum, this is my home, it’s where I belong. I’ll miss all of you, but this is what I wanted, you know that. I know you know that, even never approved. I hope you can be happy for me.”
And Jackie realized she could. She would never stop missing her little girl if there never was a way for her to come back, but she knew Rose would be happy; happier than anything in this universe had ever made her. She would love and be loved and live the life she wanted. Jackie hated it, but it wasn’t anything she could deny.
“I love you Mum. Give my love to Dad and Mickey and Matty. Tell Matty all the wonderful things that I’ve seen in my life, all the fantastic stories that are out there to live.”
The dream of Rose laughed and smiled a little. “Because there’s one other thing I finally figured out…”
~~~~~~~~~~
“To grandma Lily,” Arthur’s oldest daughter said raising a glass to toast the memory of Arthur’s mother. The old woman had lived a long life and had gone peacefully only a week ago; and though Arthur grieved for his mother she had accepted her coming death long ago, and her acceptance had made it easier for him as well.
It was a small funeral, Aunt Lucy and most of mother’s friends had died before her especially in the recent years and Arthur had been his parents’ only surviving child. His three daughters and their families had come, though most of his grandchildren were too young to really understand what was going on.
Arthur sat on the edges of the crowd and watched the family and a few friends as they chatted, remembering Lily whether they’d been related to her or not.
A bit later one of his small granddaughters climbed up on the chair next to him. She was only two and small, so had to jump a few times before she managed to hoist herself upwards but she didn’t give up until she had and could sit close to Arthur’s side. “Granda’, tell me a story,” she said. It wasn’t quite an order and it wasn’t quite a request, but he didn’t feel like refusing her or even telling her to ask nicely; as he grandfather it was his right to indulge her he figured.
There was no question what story he would tell. It was one his mother had loved to tell, said it was told to her by a friend when she was young and she’d never forgotten it. His youngest daughter – this fair haired child’s mother – hadn’t cared for the story, but that was no reason not to tell it to someone else.
And so he passed the old story on to his granddaughter, who listened with rapt attention. It was a story of the beautiful and adventurous princess, of her wild prince, and of the wolf that stalked them as they explored their fantastic world. The story of how they had feared the bad wolf, but in the end, when the prince was captured by his greatest enemy it was the wolf that showed the princess how to save him.
“I remember that story,” his daughter said as she sat down with them. “That was gran’s story. Do you think she knew I didn’t like it?”
“Yes Jackie,” he said with laugh, “you didn’t exactly make a secret of it. But,” he continued as he looked down at the toddler who looked at him with intense eyes and beautiful smile, “I think she actually liked it. Didn’t you Rose?”
Rose smiled and nodded. She always liked stories where everyone ended up where they belonged.
