State of Confusion (Doctor Who Fanfic)

Chapter Seven - Miscommunication

CHAPTER SEVEN

Miscommunication

Rose wandered out of the hallway rubbing her eyes and immediately saw the Doctor, sitting next to the console, leaned over the monitor.  He sat up straighter as he saw her, and smiled through the worry that was written all over his face. 

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine."  She yawned as she came closer and he moved over to give her room to sit.  Lazy and still half asleep, she flopped down and leaned on him.  "My head still hurts."

"Not surprising."

She hesitated a moment, eyes closing and then opening again to stare at the console in front of her.  "Why is that not surprising?"

"Well," he leaned back, drawing her with him, "best I can tell, that experience last night was some sort of glitch in the Tardis internal communication circuit."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, it means that some of her information somehow got transferred to you and I.  My brain more or less filtered it out; barely even noticeable, but yours...  Your brain didn't know what to do with it so it experienced it as trauma."

"So you're saying the Tardis was trying to talk to me?  Like... telepathically?"

"I don't think it was intentional.  Telepathy implies intent."

She stared at him for a moment, slowly waking up more.  "Doctor... you said before that the Tardis was telepathic."

"She is."

"Right, so when it talks to me, doesn't it have to use your brain somehow?"

  "What do you mean?"

"The Tardis isn't not telepathic unless you're around to sort of channel it, right?"

"Well...Sort of.  But it's not just my brain she can use."

"She?"  Rose smiled.  "Your Tardis is female, then?"

The Doctor smiled back.  "She is a sentient consciousness.  Whatever else you'd like to think of her is just a matter of perception."

"Alright, so she does need your brain, though - specifically, your brain - for some things.  Like translating?  It didn't do that when you were... unconscious."

"She didn't do that when I was neurologically dead.  Bit of a difference there."

"Well, whatever you call it."  She frowned as she considered the thought of neurological death.  "She still needed you."

"I'm part of her...circuit.  It's sort of difficult to explain.  She doesn't think or act like us; she uses me to interact with the universe."

"So does that mean you know about all the things she says to me?  Because they go through you?"

He glanced at her, but she was focused rather intently on picking at the edge of the blanket she had pulled around her. 

"No. Why?"

"No reason.  Just wondering."

The Doctor smiled.  "Are you worried about me seeing inside of your head?"

"No," she answered too quickly.  "I'm not worried.  I just... want to know."

"Want to know what, exactly?  If I read your mind?"

"Do you?"

"No."

"Can you?"

"Yes.  In a manner of speaking."