To Call Our Own (11/36)

[amberfocus]

Chapter Eleven:  To Save the Future

They felt it at the same time. One moment they were floating in bliss and in the next, time ceased to flow around them. “This isn’t good,” said the Doctor gently pushing Rose away from him and pulling on his clothing. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he said and rushed to the control room. The time rotor had frozen in place, its light clouded as if it were being viewed through ice.

The sound of materialization echoed through the console room, but a quick check ensured it was not his ship doing anything. He stared around him, urging himself not to panic as he tried to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. The object appeared at last and he stared at it in shock. A TARDIS? It couldn’t be.

It was much simpler than his own and as he pressed his mind forward he realized it was indescribably young. The large trunk was nine feet long, two feet wide, made of coral and ornately carved with symbols that were Gallifreyan as well as Terran. The lock popped open and the lid was flung back from the inside.

The first thing he saw was a shock of messy blond hair, emerging upward from the trunk as if someone were climbing a ladder. The man was about twenty-five years old, lanky, freckled, and brown-eyed, with a grin that hit him hard. “Hi, Dad,” the man said throwing one long leg over the side of the trunk and scrambling out.

He reached back behind him and retrieved a box, handing it to his father then reaching back into his TARDIS and handing someone else up out of his ship. Martha grinned, her face near to splitting as she gave the Doctor a happy wave. “Hey, Doctor.”

“Vandarian? Martha?” he said shocked. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s just Dare now, Dad,” he said taking the box back and handing it to Martha then embracing his father. “Good to see you again. It’s been about a year for me.” He took a step back from his father and smiled Rose’s smile. “Now for the important bit. Is Mum still pregnant with me?”

The Doctor nodded, at a loss for words. “Is she about?”

“She’s in the library,” he said.

“Still in the same place?” asked Martha.

The Doctor nodded and then amended, “Well, usually.”

“I’ll take them to her.” And Martha strode rapidly out of the control room.

“What’s going on? You shouldn’t be here,” the Doctor said.

“Had to. How pregnant is Mum right now?”

“Fourteen or fifteen weeks. Why?” An edge of concern had crept into his voice.

“So you haven’t been to Sandoval yet?” His son’s intense copper eyes drilled into him.

“No. We’re just about to go there.”

“Okay, listen to me. This is very important. There’s something you need to know--.”

“Stop right there. I’m sure I’ve taught you better than this. You can’t go interfering in your own time line. All kinds of bad things can happen.” The Doctor had fallen naturally into a very stern fatherly voice.

“Don’t I just remember that tone?” laughed Dare. “But sorry, you don’t get to win this one. If you don’t listen to me, I’m not going to be born. And I grew up with this story so I know that it happened.” His son crossed his arms and shot him an unyielding stare.

“Martha’s in with Mum right now, giving her the box that has everything you will need after leaving Sandoval. You’re going to go to a planet called Kranamar after that and while you’re there my life will end up in jeopardy. And you can’t just avoid the planet either, because that will change the course of history. Here’s what you need to do.”


Rose was surprised to see Martha Jones poke her head inside the library door. She was grateful that she’d dressed, but was pretty sure Martha could tell by the state of her hair just what had been going on previously.

“Where’d you come from?” Rose asked greeting the other woman with a smile.

“The future,” laughed Martha.

“Was it you who stopped time?” Rose asked.

“Not me. Dare did it. I’m here with your eldest. We needed a safe place to meet with you. Here, take this. Once you leave Sandoval keep its contents with you at all times. If you don’t then Dare won’t be born.”

Rose gasped at Martha’s words, accepting the box. She opened it up to look inside. “They’re beautiful,” Rose gasped again fingering the pieces of jewelry inside.

“They’ll track you and they’ll monitor your health and the baby’s health. There’s a set for the Doctor as well. As long as you’re wearing them the Doctor will be able to find you anywhere. They bind to your skin and will look like tattoos, though they’re easily enough removed with a bit of a psychic shove. The baby should be able to do it if you can’t. Your link with him should be strong enough for you to channel it.”

Martha tried not to let worry cloud her face. “Whatever you do, just make sure you have them. Dare Tyler is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I don’t want to lose my husband before he’s even born.”

“You’re married? Already?”

Martha laughed. “I travelled with him for 3 years first. And don’t worry. You were at the wedding. You cried. So did your Mum. It was wonderful.”

“Mum!” And the man striding rapidly towards her with her own smile and her own eyes and the Doctor’s nose and freckles and frame, with his father’s messy hair the color of her own made her heart skip a beat.

“Vandarian?” she laughed, her hand going to her abdomen.

He pulled Rose to her feet and then wrapped his arms around her kissing her check. “It’s good to see you,” he said. “It’s been too long.”

“You’re beautiful,” said Rose.

“Mum!” He looked embarrassed. Her gaze went to the Doctor who was standing in the doorway, a bemused expression on his face.

“How did you even get here?” Rose asked.

“In my TARDIS,” he said simply.

“But…how? How can you have a TARDIS? I thought when Gallifrey was destroyed…?”

“This TARDIS,” and he waved around at the interior of the room, “Is a very clever girl. When we leave, go look in the garden, in the Gallifreyan section, nestled in the roots of the time vine. They started growing when Mum got pregnant. And speaking of getting pregnant…” Vandarian trailed off looking at Martha questioningly. She shook her head.

“I hadn’t gotten to that part yet,” she said ruefully. “Dare and I want to have a baby, but we’re not completely compatible. How did you change, Rose?”

“The TARDIS,” Rose said. “She programmed nanogenes and used them on me.”

“Are they…does she still have them?”

In answer to the question a shimmering clear cylinder appeared before Martha. Inside could be seen glistening, golden nanogenes. She glanced at her husband who gave her an encouraging smile. “It’s up to you, love.”

Rose smiled to see that her son had picked up his father’s term of endearment for his wife. Martha picked up the cylinder, unscrewed the lid and took it off. The nanogenes swarmed her body, bathing her in a swathe of golden light. It only took minutes for them to trigger the changes, then they swarmed back into the cylinder.

Dare took it and closed it back up, setting it on the table where it promptly disappeared. “If it’s anything like with your Mum it should take about three or four days,” the Doctor said. "She may faint or pass out for several hours. Just take it easy."

Dare looked down at an old fob watch that hung from his vest pocket. “We’ve got to get going. I could only stop time for an hour and we need to be off your ship before it resumes.” He stood up holding his hand out to his glowing wife.

“Wait,” said the Doctor, “Stopping time? How’d you manage that?”

“Can’t know too much of your own future, Dad,” he reminded him.

“Oi, what cheek!” the Doctor complained.

“Learned it from the best,” said Dare. “We’ve really got to go.”

The four of them hurried to the console room and hugs were exchanged all around, then Dare and Martha climbed down into his TARDIS pulling the lid shut behind them, the lock slipping with a thunk into place. The sounds of dematerialization were soon heard and the trunk disappeared.

“If they make me a grandmother before he’s even born, I’m going to have a few choice words to say to that pair!” Rose said with a laugh. “Now, my loving husband, where were we?” And she dragged him to the bedroom for round two
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Ch. 12:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/68739.html