Through Space and Time
iii
Sitting beside Rose on a seat near the center console, Brooke watched in amusement as the Doctor spoke to Jack at ninety miles an hour and moved around the controls as if unable to stand still. She had given up on trying to translate his science talk into words that she could understand and judging by the blank look on Rose's face, she had as well.
Taking a sip of the tea in her hands, Brooke's attention wandered to her surroundings and was only drawn back to the conversation in front of her, when Jack pulled something from his pocket. Putting on a pair of glasses, the Doctor took the object from Jack and frowned as he examined it closely.
"How can something so small emit such a large amount of energy?" The Doctor said, more to himself than anyone else, "Where did you find it?"
"I didn't," Jack replied, "A few months ago, I was accidentally teleported to some planet and that was in my pocket when my team finally managed to get me back."
"What planet?" The Doctor asked curiously.
"I don't know."
The object in the Doctor's hand looked like an old fashioned watch or perhaps a locket of some kind, but something about it was definitely familiar to Brooke. She stared at the markings on it's outer casing and trailed her eyes along the chain that was connected to it, a nagging voice in the back of her head telling her that she should recognize it. The Doctor soon passed it to Rose, who turned it over in her hands a few times in interest and then held it out for Brooke.
Taking the object, Brooke examined the markings closely and gently ran her fingers over them. Everything around her faded as she focused on the item in front of her, the doctors voice becoming distant and her thoughts beginning to jumble the longer she stared. Feeling a slight pressure on her shoulder, Brooke's mind snapped back to reality and she looked up to find Rose watching her concerned.
"Are you okay?" Rose whispered as the Doctor carried on talking to no-one in particular.
"Yeah," Brooke lied, noticing the look Rose gave her and letting her shoulders slump, "The markings on this look familiar to me, but I don't know where I've seen them before or even if I have."
"They're extremely intricate engravings," Jack stated, moving to stand in front of Brooke and looking at the object still in her hand, "If you'd seen these before, I'm certain that you would remember..."
"Not necessarily," the Doctor added, a look of realization washing over his face as he stopped pacing and stared at Brooke for a few minutes, "I guess now is probably a good time to tell you a few things..."
"Tell me what?" Brooke inquired.
A long silence followed her enquiry, the pause a cruelty that the Doctor unintentionally inflicted upon her and she could do nothing but wait for him to answer. Her mind was racing with different scenarios, each worrying thought a little more crazy than the one before and Brooke could feel her patience slowly evaporating with each second that passed.
"Well, you already know that you were adopted as a baby, but things are a bit more complicated than that," the Doctor finally told her, breaking the silence and moving towards her.
"Jack," Rose said, grinning at the Captain and linking her arm through his, "Let's go get some coffee."
Waiting for them to leave the TARDIS, the Doctor took a seat beside Brooke and carried on with his explanation.
"I met your mum before you were born, on a planet where being human was a crime and punishable by death," the Doctor continued, "Once she had you and discovered that you were human, she did the only thing she could to keep you alive... she placed you in my care."
"She left me amongst the wreckage of a crashed ship, didn't she?" Brooke asked, remembering the dream and looking over at the Doctor for confirmation.
"How do you know that?"
"I had a dream about it, your face was different then too and you were travelling with an older woman," Brooke explained, "Gran knew about all of this, didn't she?"
"She did."
"If the stories she told me about you are true, then you're going to leave again," Brooke stated, feeling her heart sink and shifting her gaze to the floor.
"It's true that I can't stay here," the Doctor added, "There's so much I haven't seen with these eyes, but this time is different... this time you could come with us."
"You'd really take me with you?"
"When your mum first asked me to take care of you, she wanted me to bring you up myself... but the TARDIS was no place for a baby and so, I placed you in the care of a family that I knew would look after you properly," the Doctor said, "As you grew up, I realized that you had a great life and I didn't want to take that away from you. Now, you're old enough to decide for yourself if you want to come along or not."
"Do you think Rose would be okay with that?"
"I'll talk to her about it, but I don't see why she wouldn't be."
"I've always wondered what really existed beyond our own planet... is it really as magical as gran told me it was?"
"Probably more so," the Doctor stated with a far away look in his eyes, "Words can't describe the world out there, but magical is a good place to start."
Taking a sip of the tea in her hands, Brooke's attention wandered to her surroundings and was only drawn back to the conversation in front of her, when Jack pulled something from his pocket. Putting on a pair of glasses, the Doctor took the object from Jack and frowned as he examined it closely.
"How can something so small emit such a large amount of energy?" The Doctor said, more to himself than anyone else, "Where did you find it?"
"I didn't," Jack replied, "A few months ago, I was accidentally teleported to some planet and that was in my pocket when my team finally managed to get me back."
"What planet?" The Doctor asked curiously.
"I don't know."
The object in the Doctor's hand looked like an old fashioned watch or perhaps a locket of some kind, but something about it was definitely familiar to Brooke. She stared at the markings on it's outer casing and trailed her eyes along the chain that was connected to it, a nagging voice in the back of her head telling her that she should recognize it. The Doctor soon passed it to Rose, who turned it over in her hands a few times in interest and then held it out for Brooke.
Taking the object, Brooke examined the markings closely and gently ran her fingers over them. Everything around her faded as she focused on the item in front of her, the doctors voice becoming distant and her thoughts beginning to jumble the longer she stared. Feeling a slight pressure on her shoulder, Brooke's mind snapped back to reality and she looked up to find Rose watching her concerned.
"Are you okay?" Rose whispered as the Doctor carried on talking to no-one in particular.
"Yeah," Brooke lied, noticing the look Rose gave her and letting her shoulders slump, "The markings on this look familiar to me, but I don't know where I've seen them before or even if I have."
"They're extremely intricate engravings," Jack stated, moving to stand in front of Brooke and looking at the object still in her hand, "If you'd seen these before, I'm certain that you would remember..."
"Not necessarily," the Doctor added, a look of realization washing over his face as he stopped pacing and stared at Brooke for a few minutes, "I guess now is probably a good time to tell you a few things..."
"Tell me what?" Brooke inquired.
A long silence followed her enquiry, the pause a cruelty that the Doctor unintentionally inflicted upon her and she could do nothing but wait for him to answer. Her mind was racing with different scenarios, each worrying thought a little more crazy than the one before and Brooke could feel her patience slowly evaporating with each second that passed.
"Well, you already know that you were adopted as a baby, but things are a bit more complicated than that," the Doctor finally told her, breaking the silence and moving towards her.
"Jack," Rose said, grinning at the Captain and linking her arm through his, "Let's go get some coffee."
Waiting for them to leave the TARDIS, the Doctor took a seat beside Brooke and carried on with his explanation.
"I met your mum before you were born, on a planet where being human was a crime and punishable by death," the Doctor continued, "Once she had you and discovered that you were human, she did the only thing she could to keep you alive... she placed you in my care."
"She left me amongst the wreckage of a crashed ship, didn't she?" Brooke asked, remembering the dream and looking over at the Doctor for confirmation.
"How do you know that?"
"I had a dream about it, your face was different then too and you were travelling with an older woman," Brooke explained, "Gran knew about all of this, didn't she?"
"She did."
"If the stories she told me about you are true, then you're going to leave again," Brooke stated, feeling her heart sink and shifting her gaze to the floor.
"It's true that I can't stay here," the Doctor added, "There's so much I haven't seen with these eyes, but this time is different... this time you could come with us."
"You'd really take me with you?"
"When your mum first asked me to take care of you, she wanted me to bring you up myself... but the TARDIS was no place for a baby and so, I placed you in the care of a family that I knew would look after you properly," the Doctor said, "As you grew up, I realized that you had a great life and I didn't want to take that away from you. Now, you're old enough to decide for yourself if you want to come along or not."
"Do you think Rose would be okay with that?"
"I'll talk to her about it, but I don't see why she wouldn't be."
"I've always wondered what really existed beyond our own planet... is it really as magical as gran told me it was?"
"Probably more so," the Doctor stated with a far away look in his eyes, "Words can't describe the world out there, but magical is a good place to start."