wishiknewwho | Miles to Go: Eight

Title: Miles to Go
Author: wishiknewwho
Rating: PG (for now)
Warning: AF for Angst that Will be Fixed (Seriously, parts of this are gonna make Both look like fluff)
Characters: Ten / Rose, OC
Dislcaimer: I don't own Doctor Who and it's probably just as well that I don't because it'd be nothing but hugs and hair ruffling for the foreseeable future.
Spoilers: None really. This is set before Doomsday even.
Summary: And it's all here for you, as long as you choose to stay. It's all here for you, as long as you don't fly away.
Author Notes: This story is the result of many things, but primarily too many rotations of the Death Cab for Cutie album Narrow Stairs, an album about the claustrophobia of growing up and the comfort of giving in, at least to me anyway. All song lyrics are from there.

You might have heard of my betas:

salimali ,

electrictoes , and

tardismate . They are all amazing and all deserve just as much credit for this story as I do. Seriously, they are the reason it's here.
The fantastic banner and icon were created by

corusca.

Why yes, this is in two parts. It was awfully long and a couple of people gave me the brilliant suggestion to split it. I'm not naming any names, but it wasn't

tardismate. Next part up on Wednesday. *evil grin*

And I sunk below where I swore I would never go

“Pity and Fear”

As soon as he got back to the TARDIS, the Doctor sent her into the Vortex and then took a nap. He woke up with a smile on his face. He was going to be able to see his daughter, to be a part of her life. Just once a week for now, but he hoped that Rose would soften over time as she saw that she could trust him. He made a vow that he would always show up exactly on time and do everything he could to prove to her that he was back for good.

Feeling refreshed from his nap, he made his way into the laboratory. He needed a shower, but he wanted to make Kira’s sonic screwdriver first. He thought it would make a nice gift for their first visit, and he had six birthdays to make up for.

Several hours later, his back ached and his fingers were singed, but the sonic was a perfect miniature replica of his own, only it couldn’t do any sort of real damage. And, he’d made the light shine pink instead of blue. He hoped she liked pink as much as Rose did.

After he was done with that, he didn’t know what to do with himself. He poked around under the console and flipped through a couple of books in the library. He made it about fifteen minutes before the nerves and anticipation got to him. “Right then,” he said, flying into motion. They’d never know that he’d skipped ahead.

He went and showered and changed into a clean suit. He spent several long minutes sorting through his ties and arranging his hair. He’d likely only see Rose for a few minutes, but he wanted to look his best.

He dashed back to the console room and set the coordinates to land him outside their building on Sunday morning. He couldn’t help the grin that took over his face as he drummed his fingers against the console and waited for the ship to land.

Once the TARDIS touched down, he checked and then double-checked the date and time. He didn’t want to risk hurting Kira’s feelings by being even a minute late, and he feared what Rose would do if he wasn’t prompt. Everything was perfect. He was going to see his daughter. There was a little spring in his step as he walked out of his ship.

He reached their door and gave it three quick knocks. Moments later, the door was thrown open and Kira was grinning at him, one half of her hair plaited, the other half hanging loose.

“Hi,” she exclaimed.

He slid his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Hello, Kira.”

“Kira,” Rose said, appearing at the door as well. She was holding a brush and looked a little flustered. “You’ve got to let me finish your hair.”

“Hi, Rose,” he said, giving her a small smile.

Her eyes met his. “Hey,” she said. He couldn’t read her expression. “Come on in.”

She pulled Kira back into the flat and he followed them inside. He surreptitiously looked around, his eyes taking in as much as possible. He sucked in a breath. The flat was exactly as he imagined: messy, but it felt like a home.

“Give us a couple of minutes,” Rose said, lifting Kira and settling her on a stool. She ran the brush through her hair, and then with a few expert motions, had the other half of her hair plaited. When she finished, she kissed Kira’s forehead. “You’re done now.”

Kira jumped down from the stool and ran over to him. “I’m wearing my shoes from the TARDIS,” she said, kicking out her feet so that he could see the red Converse.

“I see that,” he said. “Are you ready to go?”

“Where are we going?” she asked, excitedly.

“Yes, where are you going?” Rose asked with much less excitement and a note of sternness in her voice.

He scratched behind his ear. “Well, it was sort of a surprise.”

Kira’s eyes grew wide.

“Not for me,” Rose said, fixing him with a hard look. “I need to know where you’re taking her.”

He nodded. He should have expected that, of course. He hadn’t been around them long, but he could already tell that Rose was fiercely protective of Kira, and she wasn’t likely to let them out of the flat if he couldn’t assure her of Kira’s safety.

He turned to Kira. “Can you give your mum and me second to talk?”

She frowned, obviously annoyed at being left out of things, but did as he asked and went to her room.

Once she was gone, he turned back to Rose. “I was just going to take her to Bestring VII. Safest planet in the universe. The skies are the most amazing shade of pink.”

She gave a little nod and a hint of a smile played at her lips. “She’ll love that. Pink’s her favourite colour.”

“Just like yours,” he murmured, his eyes meeting hers. He took a step towards her. “You should come with us.”

She held his gaze for a moment, then turned away from him, straightening some letters on the table. “That’s okay. I think the two of you should spend this time together.”

“Rose,” he started, but she cut him off with a wave of her hand.

“I was wondering what happened with the prophecy,” she asked, turning back around, her eyes meeting his, but the look she gave him was all business.

He set his jaw. “I took care of it,” he said, hoping she would leave it at that.

“How?” she asked, gripping one of the letters tightly in her fist, crumpling the edge of the paper.

He sighed and rubbed a hand across his eyes. “Please, Rose,” he whispered. “Please trust me when I tell you I took care of it and let it go. Don’t make me talk about what I did. She’s safe.”

She watched him for a long moment, and he could tell by the twitch of her mouth that she wanted to question him further, but something passed between them and she let it drop, sitting the letter back on the counter and giving a little nod.

“Kira,” she called. “It’s time for you to go.”

Kira came bounding back into the room. “Did she say we can go?” she asked him.

He gave her a wide grin and nodded. “Yes.”

She did a little shimmy, then ran over and retrieved her rucksack from by the door. “Let’s go.”

“That has everything she needs,” Rose said, gesturing towards Kira’s bag. “Change of clothes, one of the juice boxes she likes, her teddy.”

“She’ll be fine,” he said soothingly. “We’ll just be gone a few hours and then we’ll be right back.

“Oh, that reminds me.” She turned toward him and fixed him with another firm look.

He found himself wondering if they’d ever reach a point where she treated him like Kira’s father and not her babysitter. “Yes?” he asked.

“You have to bring her back in a few hours. And that doesn’t mean run off for a week or a month and then show up again five minutes from now. That means you’re gone for a few hours and then you’re back. I don’t want her coming back a month older.” Her posture and her tone were strict, but he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was worried.

“Rose, I promise that I’ll have her back to you in a few hours. Everything is going to be okay.” He started to put a hand on her arm, but thought better of it.

“You’ll hardly know I’m gone, Mum,” Kira said, looking like she was going to come out of her skin if they didn’t get going soon.

Rose looked down at her and grinned. “Come here, you,” she said, kneeling and pulling Kira toward her. “You behave yourself. And listen to the Doctor. Do everything he says. Don’t wander off. And make him strap you in when the TARDIS is in flight.”

“Mum,” Kira cut in, stretching the name out into a whine.

Rose laughed. “All right. Sorry for being such a mum.” She gave Kira a hug and kissed both of her cheeks. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mum,” she said.

Rose and Kira turned back to him. “I want her back in one piece,” Rose warned.

He gave her a little salute and she almost smiled at him. He ignored the way his heart sped up. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”

She nodded. “Not this time.”

“Okay,” he said. He looked down at Kira and held out his hand. “Well, Kira Tyler, are you ready for your first real trip?”

She slipped her little hand in his. “Yes!”

“Let’s go then.” He pulled her toward the door. He could feel Rose’s eyes on them as they left and he felt a little pang of guilt. She’d had Kira to herself for six years, and now he was taking her away. He didn’t like to think of her waiting around for them to come back.

Kira told him stories about her friend Ben all the way to the TARDIS, but once they drew near, Kira reached under her shirt and pulled out a key. “Mum gave me her old key to the TARDIS,” she said.

He faltered for a moment. He wondered what that meant. Was Rose completely giving up on them? He got himself back together, and looked down at Kira. “Would you like to open the door, then?” he asked, hoping she didn’t notice the tremor in his voice.

She watched him for a moment, then moved forward, removing the key from her neck and putting it in the lock. She gave him a little grin as she turned it. “Mum says the TARDIS can make it so I can understand alien languages. Is that true?”

He followed her into the ship and up the ramp. “Oh most certainly. She can translate any and every language in the universe. Even French.”

Kira ran around the console. “Where are we going?” she asked. She shrugged out of her rucksack and tossed it on the captain’s chair.

He circled the console behind her and went to type in some coordinates. She tried to look over his shoulder, but he shook his finger at her. “Uh-uh, I told you it was a surprise.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s not like I would know where it was,” she grumbled good-naturedly.

“It’s the principle of the thing,” he said, just as good-naturedly. He grinned at her. Oh, he could see the two of them, having adventures and arguments, and he wanted nothing more than to have her in his life, not just once a week, but every day. He slowed himself down. He had to take it one day at a time.

He took a deep breath, then turned to Kira. “Are you ready?” he asked.

She nodded, but looked a little afraid. He remembered that she was scared on the last flight.

“Come here,” he said, motioning for her to stand by him. She walked over to him. He put his arm around her. “It’ll be a really smooth flight, I promise. I’ve got you.”

She gave him a weak smile, and he sent the TARDIS into the Vortex. He held onto her tightly, not so much because she was in danger, but just to help her through her fear. Kira’s fingers gripped the console until her knuckles were white.

He used his free hand to flip a couple of switches and press a button. “Almost there,” he said. A few moments later and the ship landed with a thud, throwing them to the floor. He angled around so that he absorbed Kira’s fall. They lay there in silence for a beat, and then Kira’s laughter rang out in the quiet ship.

“That was fun,” she said, pushing on his chest to get up.

He winced, but tried to ignore the pain of her bony elbows pressing into his ribs. “You thought that was fun? Just you wait.” He scrambled to his feet, and grabbed her hand. “Are you ready?”

Her eyes were glittering with excitement, and he had a flash of Rose, giving him that same look, when they’d set off for New Earth. He shook his head, dispelling the vision. It wasn’t the time for that; he needed to focus on making sure Kira had fun.

He pulled her along behind them, but stopped when they reached the door, tugging her in front of him. “I want you to see it first,” he said.

Kira reached out to open the door. “Is this really another planet? You didn’t just take me somewhere on Earth and are telling me it’s a new planet?”

“Of course not,” he said, giving her shoulder a little squeeze. “On the other side of that door is Bestring VII. It’s 150,000 light years away from earth and it’s brilliant. It’s just waiting for you.”

Kira gave a quick little nod and then threw open the door. Her eyes grew wide as she looked around. He followed close on her heels, not even looking at the pink sky, the fuchsia trees, or the soft orange grass. He only had eyes for his daughter and the wonder on her face as she got her first sight of something new. His hearts clenched in his chest; she was brilliant.

“Well, Kira Tyler,” he asked, grinning down at her. “What do you think of Bestring VII?”

She answered his grin with one of her own. “The sky is pink,” she breathed. “I love it.”

And that’s when everything went to hell.

Eight - Part Two