Fic: Seuls - Chapter 1

[mtemplar_fic]

Title: Seuls
Author: mtemplar
Rating: Adult
Characters: The Doctor (Tenth), Rose Tyler
Disclaimer: I do not own 'Doctor Who' and am making no profit from this fanfiction.
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Graphic Sex, Graphic Violence, Romance
Spoilers: Set mid Series 2
Author's Notes: This story follows the events in To Have And Not To Hold (first chapter of that story is here) and Not Here (the first chapter of that short follow-up is here). It is loosely based on the Fourth Doctor serial 'Image of the Fendahl', and contains elements from the 1996 TV movie and the novel 'The Taking of Planet 5'. Huge hugs to principia_coh for the amazing icon and banner!
Betas: Many, many thanks to platypus, brit_columbia and garpu!

Summary: The Doctor and Rose have been mysteriously diverted to the ice planet Seuls, located within the constellation of Canthares. It soon becomes apparent that things are not at all as they should be, and the newly-formed bond between them will be tested as the trap of an ancient enemy is sprung.

Crossposted to time_and_chips, dwfiction, Teaspoon and The Zero Room.







Chapter 1

"Try again."

Rose shuddered at the seductive tone in the Doctor's low voice. She wondered how close he was to her and decided that keeping her eyes closed was going to be impossible at this rate.

"No, no, no, no. Stop that! Try to clear your mind and concentrate on one thing. One thing other than me, that is."

That did it. Rose couldn't suppress her snort of mirth and burst into the giggles, opening her eyes to see a rather annoyed expression on the Doctor's face. "'M sorry," she got out between fits of laughter.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at her. "I should be the one laughing. You do look rather silly."

Still snickering, Rose pulled the helmet-like device off her head and placed it beside her in the captain's chair. "How'd I do this time?" she asked, leaning to the side in an attempt to see the odd, circular symbols on the monitor.

Her companion raised a single eyebrow at her in a mock glare, and turned the monitor away from her toward himself. Only his head was visible over the top, a pale face crowned with a spiky mop of unruly brown hair, with prominent sideburns present on the sides. Chocolate brown eyes peered at her over the thick rims of his glasses, which had slid to the very end of his nose. "No peeking," he growled as he brandished an index finger at her, a scowl darkening his handsome face.

Rose struggled to suppress a shiver as her light-hearted mood did a complete one-eighty. Her current relationship with the Doctor was... complicated... to say the least, made more so by the recently realized 'bond' between them. While Rose was unable to sense the presence of the bond, the effects of it on the Doctor were quite dramatic. His normally flirty, yet somewhat detached exterior would give way, leaving him intensely drawn to her and vulnerable, but only when his 'mental barriers,' as he called them, were down. While he had told her that, in theory, a Time Lord's mental barriers were quite difficult to get down, the exact opposite seemed true in practice. Rose had inadvertently dropped them quite readily recently, resulting in an unfortunate incident at her mum's flat. Mercifully, Jackie had thought that the Doctor's shy, hurried departure was due to the fact that she'd 'over-mothered' him, not realizing how embarrassed he was by what had happened.

Which led to Rose's current situation. The Doctor had thought that Rose might harbor some latent telepathic abilities, which might explain how she was able to drop his barriers so very easily, but it now appeared that this might not be the case after all, given the frown on the Doctor's face. "Everything ok?" she asked nervously.

The Doctor leaned away from the monitor he had been looking at so intently, sighing and pushing his glasses back up his nose. Then apparently he thought the better of it and pulled them off, slipping them into the breast pocket of his brown pinstriped suit. "Fine, everything's fine," he said tiredly, rubbing at his eyes with his long fingers. "Except that the instruments aren't picking up anything from you. Not a smidge of telepathic impulse. Zip, zilch, nada."

Rose shrugged, not at all bothered by this information. "Maybe it's just one of the mysteries of the universe, then? One of those things that'll never be explained?" She frowned as he picked up the helmet from beside her and shook it before placing it on the TARDIS console and sitting heavily beside her in the captain's chair. "'S not bad, is it?" she asked, suddenly worried.

"Oh, no - it's not bad, it's just a bit unexpected," the Doctor replied, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "I thought for sure there'd be something." He tapped his chin thoughtfully for a moment before suddenly springing to his feet, startling Rose. "The equipment might be faulty - it is rather old, I'll admit, but the opportunity to use it hasn't presented itself of late. Maybe there's something here we can use...." He trailed off as he began to tug at a hatch in the grating of the floor. After he disappeared beneath the TARDIS floor, Rose watched in alarm as several unidentified objects began to be tossed to the surface.

"Doctor? Really, can't you just leave it?" Her question fell on deaf ears as the pile of mechanical devices and cables continued to grow.

"I know it's down here somewhere, saw it just the other day... ah! Here it is!" Rose watched as he hauled himself up from beneath the grating, the strap of a weathered canvas bag clutched in one hand. "Guess what I have!" he said, grinning broadly.

She gave him a wary look. "Besides that bag, I've really no idea," she replied dryly.

"Oh, come on, Rose. You're no fun. At least guess," he implored.

She couldn't help herself and giggled. "Ok, then. The bag's bigger on the inside?" she asked, pausing briefly before continuing in a low voice. "There's not something slimy inside, is there?"

He laughed brightly. "No and no."

"Is it going to make me want to kill you?"

"Probably not," the Doctor said with a smile. "Give up?"

"Ok. Tell me," Rose said, bracing herself to be hooked up to another strange contraption.

"Look," the Doctor said while opening the bag with a flourish, revealing what appeared to be several pieces of shiny medical equipment, similar to what she'd see if she walked into any general practitioner's office. Rose watched as he rummaged through the tools, grabbed up a stethoscope and jammed the ends into his ears, confirming her suspicion. "Diagnostic equipment of the finest caliber! We'll get to the bottom of this in no time."

"No," Rose said flatly. "Please tell me you're joking." She looked around furtively for a possible escape route, failing miserably.

"Nope, this'll only take, oh... say three or four hours tops?" the Doctor replied as he climbed up on the captain's chair and tried to press the bell of the stethoscope to her temple.

Rose flushed to the roots of her hair as the Doctor closed his eyes to concentrate, his warm breath ghosting across her cheek as he moved closer. "I don't believe this," she murmured.

He opened one eye to wink at her. "Just like before - try to think of one thing. And nothing naughty, please."

Rose grinned. "Ok, but I have something I want to ask you after."

"Deal."

***************

After what seemed like an eternity of being poked and prodded by medical instruments, Rose was rapidly becoming annoyed. When the Doctor shone what seemed to be an everyday ophthalmoscope into her eyes for the umpteenth time, she batted the offending instrument away and he blinked at her, startled.

"I suppose you've had enough, then?"

"Yeah, I'm done," she responded. "Now it's your turn. Why is it that you're so affected by the bond and I'm not? Is it because I'm not..." She hesitated, trying to remember the name he'd given her. "...Gallifreyan, like you are?"

"Possibly," came his cryptic answer. "It could also have something to do with the fact that you don't appear to have any telepathic ability whatsoever, which I find extremely odd." He replaced the instruments in the canvas bag, and Rose felt her eyes beginning to prick with disappointment - disappointment that he might find her deficient in some way and might regret his decision, however unconscious it might have been, to bond with her.

"Why's it so odd? I don't know anyone, other than you, of course, who can really read someone else's mind," she mumbled, fighting to keep her composure.

"Well... it's odd in the sense that most humans do have a low-level latent telepathic ability. You just need a bit of training up. But it's not a talent the human race is ready for in your timeline - not just yet, anyway. Still - I'm not reading anything from you at all."

"Is that bad?" she asked, her voice unsteady. "I mean, for... for you?" He looked over at her and Rose quickly averted her gaze to her shoes, unable to meet his eyes.

The captain's chair shifted, and she felt him take a seat next to her. "No, Rose - it's not bad at all." Several moments passed before he spoke again. "Just different."

"Different?"

"Good different, really," he said in a small voice.

"You said before that you put this, this bond on me because you wanted to be close to me," Rose said, wondering if he was telling her the truth. "Do you really not remember putting it on me at all? 'Cause I don't remember what happened after I looked into the TARDIS - all I know is that I woke up in the TARDIS just before you changed."

Several more moments passed before he responded. "I don't remember actually bonding myself to you, but I think I did have some degree of awareness that the bond was there. After I regenerated, that is. I knew I felt quite drawn to you, well... I should say more so than I had before."

"What?" she exclaimed incredulously. "You felt that way, and you never...." She trailed off, looking down at her hands. "Doctor... why didn't you ever tell me?"

He sighed. "I don't know if I can put it into words."

"Try."

He nodded, looking more tired than ever. "All right." He sat up straighter, and took both of her hands in his. "My mentor, K’Anpo Rinpoche, taught me a lot of things, but one of the most important things he told me was that dealing with the dark forces at work in the universe is discouraging and disheartening, and if you're going to fight the darkness, you need to have somewhere to retreat to, a place that's right and pure, a place untouched by evil." He looked up into her eyes, his expression unfathomable. "I look at you, and I remember what I'm fighting to protect. You are my sanctuary, Rose Tyler."

Rose blinked back tears at his confession, unable to speak, and held his gaze for a few seconds - just long enough for it to become uncomfortable before they both looked away. "Doctor... I don't know what to say." He was silent, staring down at their clasped hands. "Are you... you're saying, really, that you... you... "

"Yes?" he said, Adam's apple bobbing.

"Are you trying to say," she said softly as she squeezed his hands within hers, "that you lo…"

A sudden lurch from the TARDIS cut her off, and the Doctor was sent sprawling to the grating while Rose clung to the captain's chair for dear life. The ship continued to shudder violently as the Doctor clawed his way up the side of the console to the monitor to see what had happened. "Hang on!" he shouted.

"What happened?" Rose yelled back while struggling to maintain her grip on the chair. "Have we hit something?"

"No," the Doctor responded as he looked incredulously at the monitor. "It can't be - we're caught in a relative continuum displacement zone... and it's dragging us in!"

"Relative what?" Rose exclaimed, clinging to the captain's chair. "Can we get out?"

The Doctor grappled with the controls he could reach while trying to hang on. "I don't know," he yelled. "I've had this happen before, but.... " He trailed off as he glanced at the monitor, his eyes widening. "Hang on, Rose," he shouted. "We're going to crash!"

Comments

[principia-coh.livejournal.com]

Eeeeee! You posted!

*ahem*

I'll be back with proper comments later!

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Yes, I did! *grins* Banner looks great, thank you again!

Teaspoon is still weird. I posted 'Ties' there yesterday, a little over 24 hours ago, and it has yet to make an appearance. 'Seuls' has been approved after 2 hours. Eh?

[elrina753.livejournal.com]

YOU POSTED!!!!!!!

*runs around in an excited tizzy*

I'm assuming you got this to the point where we'll be seeing updates every Wednesday again?

And I'm really liking that the Doctor is oh so confused by Rose's ability to drop his barriers. And it sounds like he may be looking in the wrong place for why they come crashing down to easily. Methinks he needs to take a good long look at himself.

I can't wait for more!

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Yep, with a 2-week break over Christmas (will be out-of-town again, much woe).

And yes, the Doctor is most perplexed by this strange power Rose seems to possess and is determined to get to the bottom of things. By the end of the story. *grins*

[sumeria.livejournal.com]

!!!

Oh, I love this series, I'm so happy to see more of it.

And I love that she's getting to him *not* because she's telepathic... but am I wrong in suspecting that having such an (apparently) abnormal level of testable psychic abilities is going to turn out to be a symptom of something larger?

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

And hrm... what can I say without spoiling the entire story.... Rose's apparent lack of testable psychic abilitites is going to be something important. I'll stop there. *grins*

[garpu.livejournal.com]

I love how deliciously old school the first part of this is. I can practically hear the cliffhanger music at the end. :)

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Well, it is another old-school cross, so.... *shrugs* I think it's an ingrained thing.

[soupforlife.livejournal.com]

Yay! So glad to see another story from you! This is an interesting start! Looking forward to more!

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Thanks! This chapter is a little slow - things get interesting next week.

[melnay13.livejournal.com]

Hurray! Wednesday is fun again!

Okay, so we are sticking to the running theme of the Doctor not getting to say the "l" word, which is always a tad fun (I'm sort of sadistic;)

Crash landing! The pacing of this chapter was great, and the Doctor's little speech was very sweet.

I'm a bit afraid for them, but I can't wait (again, sadistic)

Oh, and the banner's beautiful:)

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Hurray! Wednesday is fun again!

Silly you! *throws confetti*

Okay, so we are sticking to the running theme of the Doctor not getting to say the "l" word, which is always a tad fun (I'm sort of sadistic;)

Well, in canon, he never does say it. Just goin' with the flow. And sadistic? You? *grins*

Crash landing! The pacing of this chapter was great, and the Doctor's little speech was very sweet.

I'm a bit afraid for them, but I can't wait (again, sadistic)

Mmmmm... the proverbial shite hits the fan next chapter. Sadistic people might enjoy it. *grins some more*

Oh, and the banner's beautiful:)

Isn't it lovely? principia_coh made it. *pets banner and matching icon*

[prynne12.livejournal.com]

SCHWEET!!!! THIS VERSE IS COMING BACK!!!

::shakes self:: I'll try and restrain the squee.

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

*grins* I'm glad to see you're not all throwing eggs and tomatoes. So far so good.

[wildwinterwitch.livejournal.com]

I haven't read the rest of the series... don't know how that could happen, but I'm doing my best to catch up.

So Wednesdays it is... Great!

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

*waves* Welcome! It's actually very easy to miss seeing stories, as there's a huge glut of DW fiction out there these days, so no worries. If you ever have some time on your hands, there's links to the previous outings in the Author's Notes portion of the header. Warning, though - THANTH is a little over 60,000 words. NH is a little more managable, but follows on from THANTH.

Thanks for the kind comment, and see you next Wednesday?

[jesmel.livejournal.com]

I'm really looking forward to this.

And crash landing!

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Nice to hear, thanks!

And yes - that's your little cliffy for the week. Just to carry on in the tradition. *grins*

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Very intriguing. You've got me curious as to what happens next. I shall have to go an investigate the older fics, too and see how this bond was formed.

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Warning for the *long* on THANTH - you might have to do it in stages! *grins*

[ascendant-angel.livejournal.com]

Yay I've been waiting for this, I can see I'm easily going to get addicted to it and probably end up on the floor begging for more at some point.

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Probably so. I'm trying to go easy on the cliffies this time around. *grins*

[lostwolfchats.livejournal.com]

Hooray - new story.

Is it next Wednesday yet?

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

You have tomatoes ready over there, I can tell! *grins*

[measi.livejournal.com]

Hooray! It's Wednesday and there's an mtemplar fic on my friends list.

All is now right with the world again. :)

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Silly you! *hugs*

[spandango.livejournal.com]

Oh! Another new story from you.

*Does happy dance*

Great chapter, great cliffhanger.

*Waits impatiently for next chapter* May have to re-read THANTH to get me through the week!

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Thanks! This one's actually pretty slow, but things pick up in Chapter 2. Happy re-reading!

[angel932.livejournal.com]

Yay for the exciting beginning! I'm looking forward to more.

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Things will get very interesting in the next chapter.

Where is your icon from? Can't... stop... staring....

[littlebatti.livejournal.com]

*does the Thursday is Wednesday happy dance*

Hurray! Happy Thursdays are back with new ficcy goodness.

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

*dances* The Aussies are up! *throws confetti and grins insanely*

Silly you! *hugs*

[roxyk630.livejournal.com]

*MASSIVE GLEEEEEEEE* :3
I've been waiting on this one!!!

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Really? Thanks!

You might hate me in a few weeks, though....

[editrx.livejournal.com]

Woohooo! It starts!

(Sorry for the late posting -- I was dragged off to do other things last night, and then fell asleep today until ... 9pm. Arg.)

Poor Doctor. Poor Rose. Poor us! Cliffhanger!

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

No worries - and yes, I posted! Now I have to try to keep ahead of all of you.

And this cliffie really isn't that bad, is it?

[helygen.livejournal.com]

Ooh what a cracking start! Roll on next Wednesday :)

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Next Wednesday will be here before you know it. *grins*

[ladychi.livejournal.com]

Yay! Someone else to fangirl every Wednesday! I adored the fics that came before this and I'm definitely looking forward to having something more to read from you. I'm on the edge of my seat... I have a feeling the Doctor and Rose are missing something that's going to be vitally important for this next installment!

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And yes, something is being missed that will be vitally important for the next installment! *grins* It will be rectified in this fic, but not without much angst.

[lucyd3.livejournal.com]

Woo hoo, a new story at last - can't wait!! Will it be Wednesday updates to look forward to again? And smut and adventures?

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Yep - I'm looking at weekly installments on Wednesdays, just like with THANTH. I like Wednesdays. I'm usually off, though I wasn't yesterday, which was a bit of a challenge. And lesee - adventures yes, smut yes, though prolly nothing like THANTH. Ten needs a break! *grins*

Prin Seuls Ch 1 Comments 1 of 1

[principia-coh.livejournal.com]

Still snickering, Rose pulled the helmet-like device off her head and placed it beside her in the captain's chair.



"No peeking," he growled as he brandished an index finger at her, a scowl darkening his handsome face.

What, does he think the bond has taught her Gallifreyan?

While he had told her that, in theory, a Time Lord's mental barriers were quite difficult to get down, the exact opposite seemed true in practice.

Once you have human, you’ll never go back. *snerk*

Mercifully, Jackie had thought that the Doctor's shy, hurried departure was due to the fact that she'd 'over-mothered' him…

…and not because her daughter had given him a handjob while she was a few yards away? Hee!

"Except that the instruments aren't picking up anything from you. Not a smidge of telepathic impulse. Zip, zilch, nada."

But she can’t be mind-blind; if she were, how could they even have a bond?

"Oh, come on, Rose. You're no fun. At least guess," he implored.

Whiny!Ten FTW!

"Nope, this'll only take, oh... say three or four hours tops?" the Doctor replied as he climbed up on the captain's chair and tried to press the bell of the stethoscope to her temple.

*Stop bleepin’ me!*

He opened one eye to wink at her. "Just like before - try to think of one thing. And nothing naughty, please."

*raises hand* Might I request an omake where he forgets to add that codicil? XD

"Is that bad?" she asked, her voice unsteady. "I mean, for... for you?" He looked over at her and Rose quickly averted her gaze to her shoes, unable to meet his eyes.

The captain's chair shifted, and she felt him take a seat next to her. "No, Rose - it's not bad at all." Several moments passed before he spoke again. "Just different."

"Different?"

"Good different, really," he said in a small voice.

Well, it means she’s not consciously or subconsciously jerking him around, for one thing. Not that he’d ever be daft enough to say he thought she was doing so. Under most circumstances.

He looked up into her eyes, his expression unfathomable. "I look at you, and I remember what I'm fighting to protect. You are my sanctuary, Rose Tyler."

What, so he had to keep her pure and unsullied? Like he’d contaminate her or something?

Or was he writing it off to be a Courtly Love sort of thing?

"Yes?" he said, Adam's apple bobbing.

"Are you trying to say," she said softly as she squeezed his hands within hers, "that you lo…"

One wonders how many times he’s already said it to her and she didn’t understand it.

"Relative what?" Rose exclaimed, clinging to the captain's chair. "Can we get out?"

The Doctor grappled with the controls he could reach while trying to hang on. "I don't know," he yelled. "I've had this happen before, but.... " He trailed off as he glanced at the monitor, his eyes widening. "Hang on, Rose," he shouted. "We're going to crash!"

Duh duh DUHHHHHHH!

Re: Prin Seuls Ch 1 Comments 1 of 1

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Is it bad that that picture (minus the glasses) is what I was envisioning for Rose's headgear? *sniggers*

What, does he think the bond has taught her Gallifreyan?

Nah, he's just cranky. He has a problem that he can't figure out. Starts with an 'R'.

But she can’t be mind-blind; if she were, how could they even have a bond?

Are you referring to her meadow?

*raises hand* Might I request an omake where he forgets to add that codicil? XD

Stoppit! *sniggers* Would be funny, though. You might want a funny omake later. *ponders*

Well, it means she’s not consciously or subconsciously jerking him around, for one thing. Not that he’d ever be daft enough to say he thought she was doing so. Under most circumstances.

No, but he is lying through his teeth so that she won't feel bad. He is missing mental stimulation terribly, but he'd never tell her that.

What, so he had to keep her pure and unsullied? Like he’d contaminate her or something?

Or was he writing it off to be a Courtly Love sort of thing?

He's doing his best to tell her he loves her in a roundabout sort of way and failing miserably.

Duh duh DUHHHHHHH!

But of course! *grins*

[dragonmom64.livejournal.com]

Yay! New story begins! And already a situation crops up....can't wait for more!

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Yup - starting out slow, things will pick up next week. And thanks!

[tempusdominus10.livejournal.com]

Damn.

So K'anpo Rinpoche...was he the one who gave Third! Doctor DSL with Power Boost way back when? Is he really the Doctor's mentor, or was that just a part of your story? I am anxious for any background I can get on my beloved Tempus Dominus.

[mtemplar-fic.livejournal.com]

Yes, that would be the same K'anpo Rinpoche from 'Planet of the Spiders', and he's also mentioned in THANTH as the Doctor's mentor/inspiration. He figures fairly prominently in old school canon and his alias of 'the hermit' (I believe) has been mentioned in the new series? In any case, he's a fairly important figure in the Doctor's lives.