Cracked Fairy Tales, Part 2 of 5

[indiana_j]

Title:  Cracked Fairy Tales (Chapter 2)
Fandom:  Doctor Who
Characters:  Rose, Nine, Ten, Jack, Romana, Donna, (Jack/Rose, Rose/Doctor, Jack/Rose/Doctor)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,692
Disclaimer:  Nothing in here belongs to me.  Alas
Summary:  Not every story is told in a straight line and sometimes one has to follow the bread crumbs in order to get back home.

A/N:  Many thanks to bounce  who took a look at the start and to deathpixie ,  who beta read this on her vacation. :D  This is a direct sequel to my story ‘Composed of Nows’ (linked to the last part because there are links to the first chapters from there) and the nugget of an idea in that story blossomed into this 10k+ story.  Ow, my brain. :D  And cross posted.  And yes, all the chapters have been written and I will try to post them for the next few nights.

Chapter One

"Where have you gotten off to ... aha, found you." Jack settled back down in the kitchen with the found screwdriver clamped between his teeth. He was just tinkering today, which meant the remains of the coffee pot, part of the lawnmower and even some of the fridge lay scattered around the kitchen table. They'd eventually find their way back to the original pieces. Eventually, and in some form, at least. As long as it didn't result in an explosion of some sort, Rose left him to it, content with the fact that if he couldn't put it back together, he'd simply buy her a new one.

That had only happened once or twice. And the toaster had only belched flame and wrecked part of the ceiling that one time...

Whoops.

He paused, every muscle in his body tensing when he heard the humming. "Oh no," he murmured and tossed the tool on the table, forgotten, as he ran towards the bedroom. It had been late and he hadn't been able to sleep - he'd left Rose alone in their bed, curled up and stealing all the covers like she normally did. But when he reached the doorway, the bed lay empty except for shadows. "Rose?"

The singing grew louder and he looked up.

She was on the roof.

In a blink of a moment, he was scrambling out of the window and onto the shingled roof. Neither of them could die properly but it didn't mean he had to like it when he saw the life go out of her beautiful eyes. It was a traumatic experience for the both of them and he had made it his business to have Rose experience those moments as little as possible. It wasn't always easy, she was a bit of a hard head when it came to certain things.

Like him.  Like the Doctor.

He quickly found - she was sitting on the edge of the roof, legs dangling off, eyes on the stars. And she was singing.

Rose Tyler normally couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, though she liked to believe she could. It was horrid and amusing all at the same time. This ... this was not his Rose singing. It was other worldly and, if he was honest, completely creepy.

Jack gently gripped her shoulder. "Rose? Rose, you need to come back to me. If you fall off this roof, you're going to ruin your favorite nightclothes and then you'll really be mad." He felt her tense slightly under his palm and then relax as he tugged her away from the edge. He got her as far as the window before Rose turned to him. Normally after these 'attacks' she was tired and sometimes slightly sheepish. Now, though...

She grabbed his hands and stared, eyes wide. "He's coming."

~~

"What the bloody hell are those things?"

Two anomalies in one spot? Granted, it was in a parallel universe and the only reason he'd been yanked through had been because of the two of them being in one spot...

The Doctor shook his head and frowned at the screen. His instincts were going nuts, trying to get him to run, to leave it behind. One of them had to be a fixed point in time, then. He shuddered. But the other was weird, something he'd never really seen before. The TARDIS was going nuts and if he had to be perfectly honest with himself, which he could be from time to time, he was just along for the ride. "Where are you taking me, old girl?" he muttered as it slammed to a stop, nearly sending him arse over kettle.

He frowned. The two oddities were heading his way.

"Fantastic."

~~

"Is your chest glowing or are you just happy to see me?"

"Shove off, Jack," Rose murmured absently, a hand clutching the key that hung around her neck. A soft glow emanated from between her fingers and a glance showed her that Jack's copy was doing the same thing. Their hands gripped each other without them consciously reaching out and she took a deep breath.

He cleared his throat. "Explain to me again how this won't shatter the worlds into itty bitty pieces?" he asked.

Rose frowned as she listened for the tell tale signs of an incoming TARDIS. "Don't think we belong here," she responded, sounding uncertain. She was still feeling out the vague idea - it was like a memory that existed on the outskirts of her mind and she couldn't quite bring it into focus - and she wasn't one hundred percent positive about it. "It'd be okay if we could have died, I think, but we're ... wrong. Like a puzzle piece that doesn't quite fit, no matter how much y' stomp it in. The Doctor didn't jus' land here on a whim, Jack, he's here because of us."

They exchanged looks as the familiar noise of the TARDIS materializing shook through their chests. "Why," he asked dryly, "does that not make me feel any better?"

~~

The Doctor stared.

The two humans - if he could really call them that - stared back.

He glanced over and hid a shudder as he took in the male. By far, he was the one giving off the worst vibe. A fixed point in time was one of the most unnatural occurrences in the known universe - backwards, forwards and even sideways in time. Unnatural. Fascinating, though, which was the only reason the Doctor hadn't stomped back in his TARDIS and bolted.

One alternate reality (which meant he'd managed to cross over the Void) one fixed point in time and ... something entirely else.

Turning ever so slightly so that he lost sight of the male from his vision, he eyed the girl. She was just weird, that one was. But not in that "wrong in the gut" way her friend was. More like catching a hint of a smell that made you want to remember but the actual memory itself was not forthcoming.

In a way, it felt like coming home.

But home was forever gone, burned out of the existence of time by his own hands. Mind. Same difference. He hadn't expected to survive the damned thing, had thought he'd burn out that nancy boy shell of his once and for all and be done with it. Eight regenerations was enough for him now that everything else was gone. Everyone else.

Susan.

In other words, he did not appreciate the feeling of coming home.

"What have you lot done?" he hissed, blue eyes narrowed in irritation. Not only were they anomalies but if the TARDIS sensors were correct - and he had to admit they were a tad dodgy at the moment - they weren't even supposed to be in this reality. He waved a hand around in irritation. "Jus' looking at you makes my head hurt."

"I don't remember him being quite this rude," the man muttered but stopped when the girl planted her elbow in his ribs.

Focus on the blond. Just focus on her and...

The Doctor took a step forward as the blond reached in and brought up a key on a chain. In his mind, the TARDIS burbled slightly even as he patted down his own pockets with frantic motions. Moments later, he brought forth the exact same copy from the inner workings of his pocket. It swung on the chain in a lazy circle and he finally met her eyes.

She gave him a tinny smile that bordered on downright weepy. "Hello, Doctor," she said. "I think we need ta have a word. Care for a cuppa?"

~~

It had been obvious that the last thing the Doctor had wanted was Rose and Jack on board his TARDIS but they hadn't given him much of a choice in the matter. In fact, he'd been somewhat steamrolled. She'd strode past him and ignored his angry mutterings about stupid apes - it sounded far more insulting now than it had before. Or would be.

This entire thing was giving her a headache.

"Oi, no touching!" he snapped and she saw Jack step back from the column in the middle, hands raised up and an easy smile on his face. The Doctor might have missed the tension lines in his face, the way his shoulders were kept up and tight or the quick looks towards her but Rose didn't. Rose wasn't fooled at all.

The Doctor stopped and pointed at each of them in turn. "Explain."

How to explain?

'Hi, I'm Rose Tyler and we will travel together in your future but you need to give us a lift home so you can do it'?

'Hi, I'm Rose Tyler and you changed your face because of me'?

'Hi, I'm Rose Tyler and I will come to love you'? She glanced over at Jack and changed that 'I' to a potential 'we'.

This man, this poor man, in front of her was a rotten mess. Her Doctor had put up a good front when they had first met but now she could clearly see the pain behind his eyes. He was so alone and part of her wanted desperately to forget the plan and travel with this version of him, to fix him now.

But she couldn't because if she did, they'd never get to this point anyway. There was a paradox just waiting to happen and she had to tread lightly.

Rose opened her mouth to give some sort of explanation but grunted softly instead, a hand rising up to press tightly against her forehead.

"Rose?" That was Jack but he sounded far away, like he was in some sort of vacuum.

"What's wrong with her?" The Doctor and he sounded almost like he would when she would know him. Gruff but worried. "And why's she singin'?"

She was, she realized, she was humming to herself and the TARDIS was responding. Behind her, the control unit was flashing almost like notes being played on a keyboard and it was in time to the wordless song that has been haunting her for months now. Both of her hands were gripping, pulling, at her hair as she looked up at the Doctor.

"My head," she whispered, "it's killin' me."

And then she exploded in a shower of golden light before falling backwards onto the control panel.