Leap of Faith: Chapter Twenty-Four

[amberfocus]

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Title:  Leap of Faith (24/?)
Author:  amberfocus
Characters/Pairings:  John Smith (alt!Nine)/Rose Tyler, Toshiko Sato, Jake Simmonds, Mickey Smith, Ianto Jones, Jackie Tyler/Pete Tyler, Tony Tyler, various original characters
Genre:  Romance, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe
Rating:  Adult
Betas:  amyo67, jeprdyfrndly
Summary:  Hiding from the Family of Blood, the alt!Ninth Doctor turns himself into John Smith via the chameleon arch and with his companion Toshiko Sato, takes a job at Torchwood.  He clashes with everyone he meets and Rose Tyler, the beautiful young director of Torchwood Field Operative Training and the daughter of his boss, is no exception.  AU after season 2.
A/N:  I'm sorry if the formatting is wonked up.  I've been fighting with LJ for an hour.

Previous Chapters:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/327895.html

Chapter Twenty-Four: Regression

When Tosh stumbled bleary-eyed up to the break room from the Torchwood barracks to make herself breakfast, she found John and Rose had arrived at last. Rose was sitting on the counter next to the microwave and John was standing in front of it waiting for the timer to ding. His body was turned towards Rose, his hip brushing her knee and his hand resting casually on her thigh. Rose had her head tilted towards him, her eyes were shining, and her expression showed she was completely absorbed in whatever he was saying to her.

Rose threw back her head and laughed and John smiled so fully that Tosh swallowed a gasp. She’d never seen him like this before, so utterly happy and for a moment it scared the hell out of her, made her think he had turned into a completely different person. It took her heart a moment to still, to realize that he had turned into a completely different person, which was the whole point of their staying on Earth for a year and turning him from Time Lord to human.

John pushed a stray lock of hair back from Rose’s face and she leaned into his hand. One of her hands reached out to snag him by the belt buckle and gave a little tug. He shifted to stand between her legs. “You are a sweet, sweet man, John Smith,” Rose said.

“Take that back,” he said softly, his eyes drifting to her mouth.

“Make me,” Rose flirted. There was something familiar in their exchange, as if they’d repeated it on more than one occasion. She was shocked when John dipped his head down and kissed Rose firmly, like someone who’d had much in the way of practice. She’d only been away from them for ten days! What the hell had happened? She watched as Rose’s hands came up around him, slipping under his jumper just a little to stroke the small of his back.

Tosh felt the strangest flash of—not jealousy, but insecurity. She was used to being the most important person in the Doctor’s—in John’s—life, but now it was clear that Rose occupied that position. And quite frankly, she’d adored becoming so close with Rose, having a girl friend for the first time in ages. Was that all going to change too? She hadn’t been close to many women in her life or many girls as a child, but when she had, she had often found herself thrown over for the new boy of choice. She didn’t know Rose well enough yet to know whether or not Rose was that sort of woman. She didn’t like to think so, but experience was a teacher she’d yet to ignore the lessons of.

Tosh didn’t want to be one of those people who couldn’t be happy for her friends, and she did feel a strange, staggering happiness for them underneath all of her sudden confusion, but she hoped that didn’t mean getting left behind. Especially when John turned back. Oh, good heavens, what happened to Rose when John turned back? Would the Doctor be as besotted as John so clearly was? Could the Doctor love a human? Another small frisson of fear wafted through her. He barely tolerated Tosh and he liked her. If he saw love as a weakness, and from some of the very few things he’d let slip about his past, he did, where would that leave Rose?

It could all go so wrong. She should have stopped this, stopped it before it had started. But he was so happy. They were both so happy. How could she interfere when she’d never known the man to be happy before? How could she deny him this? Or Rose who had been so painfully broken when they’d met? Was that just a very human way to be thinking?

When the kiss broke Rose said, “That didn’t convince me at all. Still say you’re sweet.”

The microwave beeped and they moved reluctantly apart. As John opened the little oven Rose glanced over into the open doorway and her face flushed as she saw Toshiko standing there. “Morning, Tosh,” she said with a slightly distracted grin.

“Good morning, Rose, John,” she said with a nod. John spun about to see his assistant standing there and a smile of welcoming pleasure was directed towards her. Tosh shook her head, her decision made in that moment. She was just going to relax and be happy for them. They both deserved it. She forced her fears away and thought only about how incredible this was and the fact that she had called it long before it had happened. She knew she must have been looking incredibly smug considering the expressions that were now flitting across his face. “Sooooo,” she drawled teasingly. “How have things been without me? You two getting along okay? No knock down drag out fights? No arguments loud enough to break the sound barrier?”

“Don’t know what you mean, Tosh,” John said with a straight face, refusing to rise to her bait. “Rose and I get on splendidly.”

“Mmm hmm, so I saw,” she said. John’s ears turned pink. Rose slipped her hand into his, weaving their fingers together, and his body lost its tenseness at Tosh’s teasing. It was clear Rose was claiming this relationship and had no intention of hiding it.

“We’ve started dating,” Rose admitted. “And I don’t foresee us stopping.”

“I’m happy for you,” Tosh said solemnly.

Rose’s face split into another wide grin and she jumped down from the counter. “Have you had breakfast? John was just making up some microwave waffles.”

“No, I haven’t,” she said. “I just got up a little while ago. I was up late last night helping with Marcie.”

“Marcie?” questioned John.

“She’s the youngest of the victims of this so-called healer,” Tosh said. “The young mother who was dying of cancer? She’s about eight now and she was having night terrors. I can’t even imagine not remembering who I am or what I’m doing in a place like this. Grandmother is trying to help, but she forgets periodically herself. She looks younger than mother now.”

John pulled the plate of waffles out of the microwave and emptied the rest of the box onto a plate to make more. “You two get started,” he said handing them the ready waffles and gesturing to the table.

Rose jumped down off the counter, grabbed the plate of waffles in one hand and the bottle of syrup with the other, taking it over to the long conference table that served as a dinner table whenever necessary. Tosh retrieved paper plates and plastic utensils from one of the shelves and went to pour herself a large mug of very black coffee.

“So you didn’t go out for breakfast?” Tosh said, her tired brain still catching up to the events of the last few minutes.

“Obviously,” John said acerbically.

Tosh yawned and ignored his tone. “I’m just surprised you’d want to eat frozen waffles when you could have gone to any of the fine establishments near the manor house.”

Rose shrugged. “I don’t think John trusts the restaurants here.”

“Why ever not?” Tosh asked doctoring up her waffles and digging in.

“Bit of a disaster last night,” John muttered.

“But we ended up in a fabulous chippie so it worked out okay. Besides, we really wanted to get into it, find out what’s going on,” Rose said.

The microwave dinged again and John joined them at the table, snagging Tosh’s coffee cup and taking a big swig, grimacing slightly at how strong it was. Tosh sighed and got up, getting another mug then glancing back at Rose. “Do you want any?” she asked.

Rose nodded. “Two sugars, no milk, and cinnamon if they have it, please.” Tosh prepared two more coffees, plopping two sugar cubes and a cinnamon stick into Rose’s, and setting them down on the table. “So, have there been any new developments in the case?” Rose asked stirring her coffee and then sipping it with so much loving adoration that Tosh almost blushed. “Mmm,” Rose murmured.

“We got a call from John’s uncle late last night…you knew he worked for UNIT, yes?” Tosh asked. Rose nodded. “This…man has moved onto other places. Non-hospice places. He’s healing people with non-life threatening issues. Coma patients, quad and paraplegics or those with severe mobility issues, brain injuries, or major burn scarring. We’ve not been to interview them yet. You and I will do that today, Rose, while John works with Dr. Harper.”

“I thought Rose and I would work together,” John said with a slight frown on his face.

“No,” said Tosh. “Owen, Dr. Harper, I mean, needs your expertise in testing blood and DNA samples to see if we can identify a physical causative factor. I know you are more than just the alien archeologist and artifacts expert you pass yourself off as. I know you have a doctorate in biochemistry, too, and right now your skills are best put to use right here. Rose and I can do the interviews.”

John looked reluctant but didn’t protest further. “I suppose,” he said grudgingly.

“Where is Dr. Harper?” Rose asked. “Shouldn’t he be here by now?”

“Yes, he should,” said a new voice. “Hi, I’m Delilah Morgan.” The head of Torchwood Cardiff strode into the room and offered her hand to John. “You must be Dr. Smith.” She smiled across the table at Rose. “Hello, Rose. Nice to see you again.”

“Hello, Li,” Rose said with a smile.

“Tosh has explained what you’re to do?”

“I’ve started to,” Tosh said.

Delilah nodded. “Then I’ll leave Rose in your hands. Dr. Smith, as soon as you’ve finished your breakfast, please head down to the lab. Dr. Harper is going to be a bit late, but you can get started looking over his research results.”

“Do you know when Owen will be in?” Tosh asked.

“In about an hour. He was…unavoidably detained.” Tosh wanted to ask with what, but the look on Delilah’s face was curiously expressionless and instinct told her not to press.

Delilah handed Rose some papers. “I’ve prepared a packet for you on the questions you need to ask and how you need to ask them that I want you to read and sign before you go out there. You did all this the last time and nothing has really changed, but as you know, we handle things a bit differently here in Cardiff. Protocols that are ignored in the London branch are strictly adhered to here. We can’t quite operate as above the law as you do there.” She sighed and ran her hand through her silver hair, which hung loose to her waist today. “Would that we could.”

Rose accepted the packet of papers with a grimace. Tosh well knew Rose’s aversion to paperwork, but at least in this case all she needed to do was read it. “Okay.”

Delilah excused herself to get back to work and Rose sighed and flipped the packet open to the first page and started reading while she ate her waffles and drank her coffee. Tosh didn’t try to talk to the Doctor. He was busy watching Rose read, his face an unguarded mixture of emotions. He was definitely crazy about the blonde. From time to time Rose would glance up and catch John staring at her and give him a sweet half smile before returning her attention to the boring job requirement before her.

“They’re not going to make me sign one of those, are they?” John asked quietly.

“Only if you deal with people and you shouldn’t do working with Owen.”

John fell silent again. He finished his food and disposed of his plate then refilled his coffee just as Rose finished the packet and signed it. “We can leave that off before we go out,” Tosh said. John sat down and sipped from his mug as the two women finished their food off and cleaned up their messes.

“See you later, then?” Rose said softly to John. She reached out and squeezed his hand. They looked like they wanted to kiss each other, but refrained from doing so.

“We’ll likely be back for lunch,” Tosh said.

“See you then,” John said. Reluctantly he let go of Rose’s hand and left to go to the lab. Scooping up the signed packet from the table Tosh led Rose to Delilah’s office to deliver it. Delilah was talking on the phone.

“Well, bring her in if you have to, but I need everyone here.” There was a pause. “Jane can watch her. Heaven knows she’s not of much use otherwise two weeks from her due date.”

“I heard that!” came a soft, Welsh-accented voice from the next room. A very pregnant woman appeared in the doorway. “I’m not useless, you know. I’ve done fifteen tons of paperwork and called at least one hundred people this week alone!” She turned to Rose. “And I’m only slightly exaggerating. Hi, I’m Jane Simmonds.”

“Rose Tyler,” said Rose. “Nice to meet you. Simmonds? Any relation to Jake?”

Jane nodded. “Sort of. He and my husband are cousins about…three times removed,” she said thinking on it. “Maybe four. They’ve got the same great, great grandfather.”

Delilah put her hand over the phone’s mouthpiece. “You wouldn’t mind watching Kathlyn, would you, Jane?” she asked.

“Of course not. She’s a love.”

Delilah uncovered the phone. “Jane says it’s fine if you can’t find someone.” She tapped her fingers on her desk. “Yeah, okay. Fine, just don’t be all day about it. I’m waiting on two of you as it is. Good-bye.”

Rose handed Delilah the packet and the older woman reviewed it quickly. “Okay, it all looks in order. Rose, here is your Torchwood Cardiff ID and your assigned weapon.” She removed them from a drawer and handed them over. “Tosh only carries a stunner so if anything lethal happens you’re in charge.”

“You’re not expecting that, I hope?” Rose asked.

“It’s Cardiff. Anything can happen,” said Delilah. “The weapons’ black market has gotten ridiculously large. Just be careful and if someone pulls a weapon on you, shoot first, preferably in an extremity, and ask questions later.” Rose visibly shuddered but nodded. “Off you go then.” And just like that they were dismissed.



Marcie O’Brien, who absolutely would not believe that the last name they said was hers was really hers when she was a born and bred O’Brien, was bored. Why everyone kept trying to convince her that her own last name was not hers was beyond her. She was eight years old and she’d had her name and address and telephone number memorized since she was four. It was ridiculous. She didn’t like the doctors here. They lied to her. The only one who didn’t was the nice Japanese woman, who looked after her, even if the lady had a faulty memory, but everything the doctors had given her to do was either too young, too old, or for some reason she couldn’t hold inside her head.

She sighed and the woman looked over at her. She’d forgotten her name again. It wasn’t fair. Her brain felt like that really good cheese her daddy sometimes brought home from his travels. Not the fake kind made in the Republic, but the real kind made in…made in…why couldn’t she remember the name? She stamped her foot in frustration and went to stare at the photographs on the wall. She found one that looked like the lady and it told her the woman’s name was Mayumi.

Marcie stomped back to the table and picked up a thick black crayon. She went back to the pictures and drew a line through one of the words under her own picture then wrote the word O’Brien in a large, childish scrawl that looked unfamiliar to her. She didn’t want to look at the pictures surrounding her. One of the doctors had explained to her just this morning that the older girls were her, that she was somehow aging backwards and that the one picture of a man and a woman with some children was supposed to be her family, that she was supposed to be a grown up. She knew that was a lie, she was just a little girl. What she didn’t know was why she was being lied to.

She dragged her feet heavily across the room and plopped down on the bed, crossing her arms and staring moodily up at the ceiling. She kicked grumpily at the mattress with the heel of one shoe. She wanted to go to school. She wanted to see her family. Her real family, her Mam and her Da and her big brother and little sister. She wanted out of here.

“Are you okay, Marcie?” Mayumi asked her.

“I want to go home!” wailed the little girl.

“So do I,” said Mayumi calmly, “but we can’t. We’re sick.”

“I don’t feel sick.”

“Me, either, but we are. Our minds are sick. The doctors say so.”

“I don’t believe ‘em,” Marcie said rebelliously.

“I don’t blame you.” It was a new voice. Marcie hadn’t heard the door open. She sat up, staring at the man with interest.

“Who are you?” she demanded, arms still crossed over her chest.

“I’m—.”

“Let me guess,” she interrupted rudely. “Another doctor?” Her opinion of that profession was quite clear.

“John Smith,” he said quietly. “I’ve been looking at your blood.”

“That’s gross,” she said.

“Blood isn’t gross. It’s amazing. If you promise to be very careful with the microscope, I’ll let you look. Want to come and see?” he said holding out one hand towards her.

“You mean I can leave this room?” she asked, suddenly excited.

“Only if you stay right with me,” he said. He looked over at the Japanese woman. Marcie had forgotten her name again. “You can come, too.”

“I don’t imagine there’s much I can do.”

“You’re a scientist, aren’t you?” he asked.

“I was. Or I will be. I don’t…know anymore.”

“Well, best you come in case the girl forgets again while we’re out of here,” he suggested.

“I have a name, you know!” said Marcie indignantly about being talked over.

“I know you do,” he said calmly. “It’s Marcie.”

“That’s right! It’s Marcie O’Brien and I live at…I live at…” Suddenly the little girl collapsed into tears and fell down on the bed. Her body snapped rigidly open until all of her limbs were stretched straight and she suddenly shriveled in on herself. Pain wracked her little body. She was visibly smaller.

The woman moved to comfort her, holding the sobbing child in her arms. “I’m sorry, Mr. Smith. She’s not going to be able to walk for a good ten minutes. The residual pain lingers in her limbs. I’m told I have it easier since I’ve not hit adolescence yet, my body stays more or less the same size with each change.”

“You remember?”

“I’ve got notes.” She nodded to the wall.

“It hurts!” cried out Marcie. “I want Mam!”

John came to her side and knelt down by the bed. “Turn on your side for me.” Marcie didn’t know why she trusted him, but she did. Her distrust of him literally forgotten, she rolled onto her side. He pressed carefully at pressure points on her back and the pain quickly receded.

“How did you do that?” Mayumi asked. “That wasn’t acupressure.”

“I…I don’t know.” John looked down at Marcie with a puzzled look on his face. “Trained a bit with a UNIT medic once. Maybe I picked up something from her.”

“I feel better,” Marcie said sitting up. “Who are you?” she asked. “Where am I?”

“You’re in a special medical ward,” said Mayumi soothingly. “This man is one of the people taking care of you.”

“Oh.”

“How old are you, Marcie?” John asked.

“Six,” she said with determination. “And a half,” she added importantly.

Mayumi walked over to the desk to look at her notes. “The rejuvenation is speeding up. Her last change was an hour ago.”

“What’s wrong?” Marcie asked.

“You’re sicker than we thought, dear,” the woman said.

“Oh.” She looked at the man. “Do you want to play checkers? Mam says I’m good at checkers but Gregory won’t play with me and Anna is too little."

“It’s as good a way as any to check your memory functions,” he said.

The little girl retrieved the checkers board and set it up on the table. “You talk funny. Like a doctor. Are you a doctor?”

“Sort of.”

“How can you sort of be a doctor?”

“I’m a scientist, but not a medical doctor. But I’m here to make you better,” he explained.

“By playing checkers with me?”

“By any means necessary.” He sat down in one of the empty chairs.

“Red or black?” he asked

“Red,” she said. “It’s my favorite color.” They started the game, but by the time they neared the end, Marcie could no longer remember the rules and furiously threw the game and all the pieces into the air, stomped back to the bed and regressed once again, falling to the floor in a stiffened lump. The strange man in the room watched her with worried eyes before the lady came and held her tight and sang her lullabies until she fell asleep.




John returned to the lab, a frown of confusion on his face. He’d hoped to get young Marcie out of the medical isolation room and observe her, but after two regressions in just a few minutes of time, it was better that he hadn’t moved her. Rejuvenating obviously caused a great deal of pain for children, much more than he’d been led to believe in a few brief phone calls from Tosh.

He sat down in a chair in Dr. Harper’s lab and started going over the man’s findings once again. If Owen didn’t get here soon to answer a few questions he was going to be more than irritated. He found the entry he’d only skimmed earlier, one that dealt with pain and why Owen thought any rejuvenation pain should go untreated. He couldn’t fault the man’s logic, but he didn’t like it. With all the new nerve endings coming into life and Marcie’s body weight shifting so rapidly, there was no way to properly dose her.

His instinct in using the pressure points on Marcie’s back to help dull the agony had been right. He just wished he understood where that had come from. He didn’t remember learning it during his own education or coming across it when he’d worked with that pretty young doctor at UNIT, despite his mumbled explanation.

He sighed and pushed himself away from the desk, getting up again and heading towards the stairs that led up to Delilah’s office. He stopped at the base, his eyes arrested by the sight of a man in a lab coat and the little girl next to him, who was clutching his hand and looking around her with wide eyes. His heart sank as his mind put two and two together and came up with yet another victim of rejuvenation.

The little girl was about seven years old and had dark brown hair that fell in two thick plaits and pale green eyes. She was a far cry from the little blue-eyed blonde in the medical ward. He bounded up the stairs and she stared at him with interest. “Another patient?” he asked with trepidation.

“You must be Dr. Smith. I’m Dr. Harper,” he said. “This is Kathlyn and no, she’s not a patient.” He turned towards the door next to Delilah’s office. “Jane, Kathlyn’s here.”

A heavily pregnant woman waddled out of the nearby room and held out her hand to Kathlyn who threw her arms around the unwieldy woman. “Careful, Kath, you’ll knock me off my feet.”

“The baby’s huge,” she said with large eyes. “Shouldn’t he be here yet?”

“In a couple more weeks,” Jane said. She unpeeled Kathlyn from around her and took her hand. “We’ll be fine, Dr. Harper. You’ve kept Dr. Smith waiting long enough, it appears.”

Owen gave John a brief glance before kneeling down next to Kathlyn. “I’ll try to come up and see you at lunch, but we might have to work through.”

“That’s okay. Jane and I always have fun!” She hugged the man fiercely and laid a wet kiss on his cheek. She pulled away from the embrace. “Go work now,” she said slightly imperiously and John held back a laugh. Owen climbed to his feet.

“Shall we, Dr. Smith?”

John followed the man back down to the lab. “So she’s your daughter?”

“Yes. Her nanny seems to have done a runner,” he said with a sigh.

“And her mother?”

“Katie was killed in the Cyber War when Kathlyn was small,” he said abruptly. “It’s just the two of us.”

“I thought when you brought her in she was like Marcie.”

Owen winced. “No, thank every mercy known to man.”

“Marcie’s regressed twice since I got here this morning. She’s in horrible pain,” said John.

“I’ll look in on her. You’ve had a chance to go over my notes?” Owen asked.

“Yes. I don’t really see any answers obvious from your research,” he replied.

“No, nor did I. I’m afraid we’re going to lose her. I’ve got the artificial womb ready to hook her up to if it becomes necessary, but it’s only a prototype, and at best it’ll just give her a few more hours,” he said.

“You sound like you’ve given up, like you’ve already accepted her death as inevitable!” protested John. “Where there’s life there’s hope.”

“Yeah, well my wife was ‘alive’ if you could call that living at the end of the Cyber War. And there was no hope. She suicided. Don’t tell me when there’s life there’s hope,” Owen said flatly.

A sharp buzzer sounded and Owen went over to his desk. “Yes, Mayumi?” he said.

“Dr. Harper, it’s Marcie,” she said. John could hear the desperation in her voice and moved to where he could see the view screen that monitored the medical ward.

“What is it?” he asked.

Mayumi disappeared and a moment later returned to the camera, a small baby of about a year clad only in a long t-shirt wrapped in her arms. The pretty woman had tears of desperation in her eyes as the little one started screaming in agony a few seconds later. As they watched in horror the child reduced to the size of a young infant. John and Owen turned to look at each other in horror. One more regression like that and little Marcie was going to die.

Ch. 25: http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/373183.html

Comments

[juliet316]

EEK! Thinks are not looking good with the regressions!

Oh poor Tosh, what a dilemma to be in. Wanting John to be happy, but knowing he'll eventually have to turn back into the Doctor and not knowing where that will leave him and Rose in the aftermath.

[emraldeyedauter.livejournal.com]

Oh no poor Marcie. I hope they can save her.

Lovely little scene in the kitchen with John and Rose and of course with Tosh seeing them. Its human to feel like she did, concerned about losing her best friend and then she also has the Doctors secret to keep on top of everything else.

Great chapter. Looking forward to the next one.

[got_swagger]

Oh, wow.

I really adored the kitchen scene, it was touching and bittersweet all at the same time. I really loved Tosh's feelings in this too; I'd been wondering how she'd react once things got serious between Rose and John. (And the kiss was sweet and hot, not gonna lie.)

And I'm really worried for Marcie and Mayumi now. The tension is just killing me.

Wonderful update!

[susanb03.livejournal.com]

Oh wow.... What a place to leave it!

[amishamj.livejournal.com]

oh poor little Marcie. I hope they can save her. Oh, and poor Owen too, he needs a hug.
I really like that whole bit about Tosh feeling conficted, it gives more depth to that line in the oneshot about her not having intructions for if he fell in love.

[housemaid79.livejournal.com]

I love how we get to see what John and Rose are like through Tosh's eyes. It's fun and sweet, but it also forces us to remember that John Smith isn't always going to be John Smith.

And the regressions/rejuvenations...holy cats, that's scary!

I am so enjoying this story!

[feerocious.livejournal.com]

Great chapter! Poor Marcie and that must be awful for Mayumi to have to watch.

I loved the bit at the beginning, with Tosh's reaction to John and Rose :D

[yenly-gozal.livejournal.com]

Okay, that's not good. Not good at all. I hope they can find the cause and fix it soon before they're running out of time.

[mkejenkins.livejournal.com]

Poor little Marcie....

There you go again with your cliffies.......

Great chapter hon. Can't wait for the next one.

[sunnytyler001.livejournal.com]

Amazing chapter as always! :D

[stillbrainfried.livejournal.com]

Poor Marcie. The regression speeding up the younger the people get doesn't bode well.

And my heart broke a little in the first few paragraphs. They're so happy and we know that it won't continue like that forever... That's definitely not an easy situation for Tosh.

[sigmastar79.livejournal.com]

YAY update

NO Marcie cant die *cries*

I feel bad for Tosh, having the knowledge she has about John and Rose. And Owen being a dad, priceless!

Cant wait for the next chapter *Grins Madley*

[dragonmom64.livejournal.com]

This is such an awesome story! I can't wait to see what happens next....poor Marcie!

[jellybean728.livejournal.com]

Oh gosh, it's so easy to get sucked into this as a Nine/Rose AU and forget that in the end he's going to have to turn back into the Doctor. Ouch.

and poor Marcie! And Mayumi, having to watch her and basically be able to do nothing for her.

[geordie-chick.livejournal.com]

Fantastic update as always and love the direction you are taking this.

[qtrhorserider.livejournal.com]

Wow that chapter was really full. I loved John and Rose on the road, but it's good to have them back with other people also. Poor Tosh, she must feel like she's watching a train wreck about to happen.

I loved the way John interacted with Marcie. Apparently he's better with children than with adults.

Owen was a big surprise too.

Can't wait for more.

[valiant-queene.livejournal.com]

*Le gasp* Oh no! Poor Marcie! I hope the Doctor and Owen can work together and save her!

And Tosh once again demonstrates that she is, without a doubt, pure unadulterated awesome. She is happy for her friends, understanding of the problems that could result, and acknowledging of her own fears of changes in her relationships with these two people who are becoming so central to her.

[maniacalshen.livejournal.com]

She’d only been away from them for ten days! What the hell had happened?

Hehehe. Though I do feel bad for Tosh here. This is so much more than Martha had to deal with (not the job, obviously, but with the Doctor having new/worrying emotions). Catching a shy schoolteacher version of Ten trading a few timid kisses with another teacher isn't the same thing as watching tetchy, damaged human Nine slowly fall head over heels in love with Rose Tyler.

In other news, who on earth microwaves waffles? Does Torchwood Three not have a toaster?

[lostwolfchats.livejournal.com]

meep!

[ruthieg.livejournal.com]

I am loving this story, always waiting for the next chapter!

I just wondered, where did you get the picture of Christopher Eccelston for the banner?

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Nope, they're not. Regressions are nasty the younger they get.

Tosh is really torn, but she wants them both to just be happy.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I really wanted to show what they looked like together from another person's perspective. Tosh is strong, she can manage this, even if it does leave her feeling insecure, a bit.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Thank you. There were definitely a lot of emotions going on in that room. Glad you liked the kiss. It's a little strange writing it without it being from either John or Rose's point of view, but obviously it worked.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know. I won't leave it there for too long,

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Owen's quite a bit different here, isn't he? A much more sympathetic character. Yeah, I really wanted to play to that one line for Tosh. There's so much emotion there to be mined.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly. He won't be him forever, so it's a little bit of a wake up call to the reader. Yes, the regressions are horrifying. Thanks.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I wouldn't want to watch it, knowing that could be my fate, too. Thanks. I liked writing that scene from Tosh's point of view.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Yes, time is becoming a very precious commodity.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Oh, you know I can't help myself. Thank you.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

It really doesn't, does it?

No, Tosh won't have an easy time of it, but she's not going to interfere, either. She's just going to helplessly watch and give them what they have found together.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Yeah, it's a bit tough for Tosh, but she's pretty much made up her mind just to go with it. Glad you like Owen being a father. I wanted a reason for him to not be such a git, and I think the unselfishness of parenthood would really alter his personality enough that he would be a fairly good man.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it is. I actually feel quite the same way about it. But he is the Doctor and he does have to change back to save the day near the end.

It's a very difficult situation for Mayumi, not just watching it happen to someone, but knowing that it's going to happen to her, too, if Torchwood doesn't find a cure.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I needed to move the plot forward. I think Tosh is just a little afraid of what is going to happen eventually, but she almost aches for them to be happy together in the meanwhile. It's a very conflicted place to be.

Yeah, he's somewhat better with children. He at least attempts to be patient with them!

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

They are certainly going to try. Tosh is really in a hard place, but she's got a lot of strength and she can handle it.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's a lot more than Martha had to deal with, but at least she's stuck in her own time, which makes it so much easier on that score. But yeah, watching the Doctor start what promises to be a rather torrid affair with Rose, who is just as badly damaged as he is? Not easy. Oh, I like making toaster waffles in the microwave. They cook more evenly than in the toaster, so that's a ME thing. *laughs*

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Yep.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Um...I don't remember exactly wehre I got it. I know it was from an interview in a newspaper that he gave, I think maybe in his home town paper (though I can't be sure), but it's been a long time ago since I found it. This is the original picture.

[ruthieg.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I was hoping that it was from a movie or show that he has done, because I would have loved to see him in action looking like that. He seems more natural and attractive like this and works great for your story!