Doctor Who | songs from the vortex [Songfic Collection]

Call My Name

Summary: John Smith has been dreaming for months about a blonde woman named Rose. He has no idea just how real his dreams are—or that they're about to become reality.

Note: Sequel to I Don't Want to Be Your Friend. Set in the same series 3 AU as that fic featuring a dimension-hopping Bad Wolf!Rose Tyler. Set during Human Nature/Family of Blood. Recognizable dialogue on Rose's part comes from The Day of the Doctor

Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler

Song: "Call My Name" by Night Ranger

Originally Published: 16 January 2014

= = =

I hear your voice; it was the sound of the city.
I hear you call my name.
And I hear that now you spend your life feeling pity,
But who am I to blame?

John Smith stirred restlessly in his sleep. He was trapped in his fantasy world again, where he was some sort of adventurer called the Doctor who traveled in a mysterious blue box. Sometimes his maid, Martha, was there; sometimes it was unspeakable horrors. But tonight, his dream was about a girl named Rose.

Funny, she showed up quite frequently in his dreams. And, oh, the things his dream self wanted to do to her . . . thinking about it when he was awake made him uncomfortable. He was in his thirties, at least, while she looked no more than twenty.

But in this dream, all he could do was watch in horror as she was torn from him. Even as she fell, her name tore from his lips, rendering his throat hoarse with his screams.

"ROOOOSSEEE! NOOOOO!"

Then the scene shifted, and he was standing with her on rocky ground while strange-looking birds flew in the sky. Turning his head to look at her, he asked, "How long are you gonna stay with me?"

He smiled as she replied, "Forever." His hand squeezed hers in silent confirmation, and their gazes returned to the sky. . . .

He was standing facing Rose on a beach. The wind whipped at her hair, tears stained her cheeks. "Am I ever going to see you again?"

"You can't."

"What are you going to do?"

"I've got the TARDIS. Same old life. Last of the Time Lords."

"On your own?"

He nodded. She paused, looked away. Then she faced him again and choked out, "I . . . I love you."

He smiled sadly. "Quite right, too. And I suppose . . . if it's my last chance to say it . . . Rose Tyler—"

She was gone before he could finish the sentence. He was alone in his TARDIS, mouth poised to say the letter I. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he bowed his head.

His dream shifted again. Now he was with Martha walking down a medieval street when a noise made him turn around. He saw a familiar face, a flash of blonde hair, and he stepped forward, her name slipping from his lips: "Rose . . ."

Why did she keep showing up in his dreams? What was she to this Doctor? Was she just a companion, or something more, like a lover?

"I am the Bad Wolf." Rose was standing before him, eyes glowing gold. "I create myself. I take the words. I scatter them through time and space—a message to lead myself here."