Travellers' Hearts {The Wattys 2017}

Chapter 9

//NOTE: I DO KNOW THAT IT'S NOT THE FIRST AND SECOND BUT RATHER THE NINTH AND TENTH DOCTOR!! HOWEVER, KATE AND ROSE DON'T KNOW THAT - TO THEM, IT'S THE FIRST AND THE SECOND DOCTOR THEY HAVE KNOWN. SO WHEN I WRITE FIRST DOCTOR, I MEAN 9, AND WHEN I WRITE SECOND DOCTOR, I MEAN 10! THAT IS BECAUSE THE FANFIC IS WRITTEN FROM KATE'S AND ROSE'S POINT OF VIEW!\\

It was the 20th of May, 1706 on Gallifrey, the constellation of Kasterborous, at galactic coordinates 10-0-11-00:02 from Galactic Zero Centre.

The Tardis had landed more or less steadily on this old planet with it's big rocks and uneven surface. The Doctor went from the controller to the door and held it open for Kate and Rose, who hesitantly, but also with great curiosity, went through it and stepped onto the planet of the Time Lords. Neither of them could surpress a 'wow' that escaped under their breath. The planet was illuminated by light in the shade of a deep orange, and above them, an enormous white sun send it's rays across the sky. 'Doctor, this is... beautiful', Rose whispered, but the Doctor gave no answer. Instead, he sat down on a rock and signaled them to be quiet and wait. 'What are we waiting for?', Kate asked curiously after a few moments of silence.

In response, a loud noise behind them started off. All three of them jumped up and whirled around to see a blue box, which looked very like the Tardis, materialise next to them. After a moment, a man pushed the door open and stepped out of the time machine. 'Oh my god!', Rose thought aloud. The man who had just stepped out of the Tardis was the Doctor, but the previous regeneration of the Doctor, the one she had met when she had still been working in the shop. He was the man who had taken her hand and whispered 'Run', who had shown her all the things she never could have imagined, and who had died saving her life. He was there, standing around, not having noticed them yet. 'Ah, Doctor!' The first Doctor whirled around and looked at the... second Doctor. 'Who are you?', the first Doctor asked, sounding confused. The second Doctor raised an eyebrow. He smirked as he sheepishly said: 'I'm you', and winked at the first Doctor, who looked back in surprise and murmured an 'Oh no' under his breath, which made the second Doctor laugh. 'Stop insulting yourself!' 'Yeah, sorry.' He looked at himself. 'What are you doing here?', he finally asked. 'Oh, that is rather complicated', the second Doctor answered with a small laugh that didn't succeed in hiding his fear. He turned over and pointed at Rose. 'This is Rose', he introduced her to the first Doctor.

'Rose, I've brought you here because you deserve a choice.' 'What do you mean?', Rose asked in confusion. The second Doctor took a deep breath, as if he was plucking up the courage to say something. 'A lot of things went wrong', he began, 'and it was mostly my fault, so I brought you here so you could decide what you want yourself. It's your choice, Rose. You can stay with... him if you want to. Or you can come with me.' 'What?', Rose and the first Doctor burst out in discomposure. 'You mean I can stay with him?', Rose checked to make sure she had understood him right. He nodded. 'And eventually, he's going to regenerate into... you?' The second Doctor tilted his head and furrowed his brow. 'I don't know', he admitted in a low voice. 'He might or might not, I really don't know.' Rose looked between the Doctors in stress. Finally, she turned over to Kate and gave her a desperate look. 'What are you going to do?', Rose asked her. 'Me?', Kate burst out, asking herself if she had understood her well. What would Rose care about what she was going to do? She looked at Rose, but when she saw her honest expression, she thought she understood. 'I'll stay with you, Doctor', she said, looking at the man who had brought her here. 'You haven't met me yet', she said, addressing the first Doctor, 'but we'll meet. Eventually.' Saying that, she stepped over to the Doctor she had come here with and took his hand. They both looked at Rose now. Her lip began to quiver, but she shook her head as if to demonstrate strenght as she stepped over to them. 'I'm sorry', she said honestly, 'but I think I'll have to stay with you.' She gave the Doctor a warm look, and he nodded softly. He then lifted his head and looked at the past version of himself, who was standing there, still seeming confused. Hesitating, he took Rose by her hand and led her back to the Tardis. Kate followed them in silence as they stepped through the door. The Doctor was about to close it, when Rose slipped through it and ran outside to the first Doctor, the man who had saved her life so many times and who didn't even know her yet, and she wanted to embrace him and tell him that she was happy to see him, but she had to stop herself. He didn't know her, to him, she was just a weird stranger. He gave her a questioning look. 'What is it?' Rose shook her head and gave him a light smile. 'Nothing', she giggled, 'it's just that... you're fantastic.'

Having said that, she hurried back to the Tardis and closed the door behind her. Inside, she broke into laughter. The Doctor furrowed his brow. 'Did you just...' 'I did.' 'You just-' 'Yes! Oh my god!' Rose nodded, and he broke into laughter, too. 'This is... Hold on a second-', the Doctor gave her a smirk- 'Fantastic!' They started to giggle like crazy. Shaking her head, Kate joined in their laughter. Absolutely fantastic.