rose tyler (tylerose) wrote in thedisplaced, @ 2017-10-25 20:20:00 |
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Rose was fairly amused by the fact that she was sharing a drink with Dr. John Watson. While here, she had only seen a bit of the show he was actually from, and it was still pretty strange to see him in the flesh. Then again, she imagined it was the same for anyone else who had watched and enjoyed Doctor Who. Rose has been welcoming and made sure to find a ride to the military base to pick John up. While she didn’t have a car in this world, there was the wonderful invention of the UBER that allowed her to get ahold of a driver, and it was less expensive than taking a cab. She introduced herself properly to John once he was let out, and then they took a car ride over to a small pub. The town itself was very Texas, but thankfully with the town magically expanding it came with many new places, one just a simple sports bar, but they had pretty good chips. Not quite like home, but good enough to satisfy her. They found a spot outside where there were a few tables and some shade. The dog that arrived with John was fairly cute, and she was curious to know more about how John and Sherlock knew her from the other world he had been in. Of course she had no idea, but she couldn’t help but want to know more about what her life was like. Once their drinks arrived, she took a sip then smiled at John. “Feels good to be out, doesn’t it?” Rose asked him. “It’s such pain when you first get there, but the days really don’t seem all that bad once you get out. At least now some of us know how it all got started and how they got the technology for the quarantine rooms. They’re specially made, you know, so it neutralizes any kind of power.” John nodded his head to reply to Rose’s question, but the worry worn upon his brow and in his eyes spoke a different story. He didn’t want to come across as ungrateful or gloomy, but it was hard to be happy when Sherlock was on his mind. Where was he? Had Sherlock been returned to London without him? Would he appear someday? When? These thoughts preoccupied his mind, and made John uneasy. He had barely during his quarantine, having lost his appetite, and nothing on the menu appealed to him, so John settled for a shot of whiskey with a beer chaser. Noticing the expression on Rose’s face, John tried to alleviate any concern for his well-being with conversation, hoping that might distract him for a while. “I’ve never been to the United States before, much less the American Southwest, but strangely enough, the weather and the geography remind me of Afghanistan.” He reached down and scratched Puppy (a basset hound who hadn’t been named yet) behind the ears. “Are you one of those people who know how this started? Or is that top secret information?” A smirk briefly flicked upon his face. Rose was nice, easy to talk to, and exuded and sort of familiarity that made it easier to open up to - just like the Rose he knew in Preya (the place where he’d just been a little over twenty four hours ago). If he didn’t know any better, John would’ve thought she was the same woman who helped him adopt Puppy. “I think Mount Weather was technically the United States, but it was so far into the future that there wasn’t really a United States. It had been uninhabitable for centuries, I think, so this is the first time I’ve ever visited during modern times.” Out of all the places she had seen with the Doctor, she wondered why they never found places to travel on Earth. At the time it didn’t seem all that appealing to her, not when she had the rest of the universe and time to explore, still she should have made some kind of list. Then again it probably would have made things harder when they finally parted ways. The Doctor and Donna had given them a piece of the TARDIS so they could grow their own, but Rose wasn’t there long enough to see if anything came of it. Almost immediately she had arrived in the pod at Mount Weather. Rose did her best not to think about it, things were better now, but Mount Weather was full of complications. “Oh! I was actually!” Rose said grinning at him. “When I first got here the word was that there had been an alien landing in the 1950s, but it was mostly all speculation from the locals, and of course the Military was all hush hush about it.” Her face scrunched slightly as she continued on. “Then one day, poof!” She snapped her fingers. “All of us just appeared in 1950s Tumbleweed. It was-” She sighed. “It wasn’t great. There was no water, a few people with powers were kind enough to create us a shelter, but there was also the racial and sexist problems you find in the 1950s. Not that those go away in modern times, but they certainly were in full force back then.” Rose might not have known what it was like, but that didn’t mean she was oblivious to the issues. “Turns out we were the original aliens that landed. We arrived in pods, similar to Mount Weather, and those pods had the ability to neutralize any power. That’s how the military got the technology for the quarantine rooms. It’s all very timey wimey.” “Roswell!” John exclaimed, as soon as Rose mentioned the alien landings and military coverups in the 1950’s. He wasn’t a huge nerd or into conspiracy theories, but knew enough to understand what she was talking about. Realizing the implications, he then paused and gave Rose a bemused look. “You and the others were Roswell?” That made him laugh, despite his generally melancholy mood. “That’s funny, if you think about it.” The mention of 1950’s social problems wiped his smile away. People of that era were also against homosexuals, which played upon his own anxieties about coming out publicly. John tried to lighten the mood by suggesting, “Well… at least the music was cool?” He tilted his head to one side and curiously asked, “How did you all return to now? Did the Doctor have something to do with it?” That made sense, being a Time Lord and all. “No, actually. I mean I assume something in Roswell still happened, but no, we were here in Tumbleweed, just 1950s Tumbleweed. I guess you can say that Tumbleweed probably has the same myths and everything as Rosewell does, but at least here we know for sure that it was us.” Rose grinned at him. She laughed as well. “Though now it makes me even more curious about Roswell.” “The music was cool, yeah.” Rose shook her head with the mentioning of the Doctor. “No, though I can understand why, sort of thing that’s right up his alley.” Rose, when things went wrong, still had that mentality that perhaps the Doctor would figure things out. Despite everything that had happened between them, she still very much believe and relied on the Doctor. “We aren’t sure, it’s the same thing that always happens. We just popped back into modern Tumbleweed one day. The biggest mystery is how the town magically got bigger. It was smaller than it is now, and all the locals insist that it had always been this large.” “Maybe that’s something you and the Doctor can do,” John cheerfully told Rose. “Find out what happened in Roswell.” That certainly sounded like an adventure from the television show. He imagined it might even be an investigation that might interest Sherlock, and he briefly amused himself with that thought. “Who knows? Maybe the Doctor was responsible for it, but in the future. Like you said, timey whimey.” John paused to look at the surrounding town, taking in the sights. “It really is a mystery.” But was it one really worth looking into if people who were more knowledgeable about this area and have been here longer hadn’t figured it out, themselves. Better to stick with the practical side of things. “Do you have a job here?” he asked. “Yeah, maybe. The TARDIS, unfortunately doesn’t travel through time at the moment.” It did make Rose a little sad, even more so because they had yet to really take a trip together anywhere. She made a mental note to talk about it with the Doctor later. They’ve spent time together, of course, but they haven’t actually traveled. “Hopefully that’ll chance at some point. I miss it a lot.” Rose nodded at his comment, and then again at his question. “I do. I actually work at the Military Base, nothing fancy, mostly paperwork and filing. But it was a much better option than going back to a shop. Plus I figured, given my experience, I’d probably be more useful there.” It wasn’t exactly what she wanted to do, but since there was no Torchwood here, it was the best option. “What do you think you’ll do here? I’m sure you can get a job here either at the hospital or work in medical at the base.” A TARDIS that wasn’t a time machine wasn’t much of a TARDIS, but it still could be a lot of fun. John remembered from the television show, the wonder of seeing how it was bigger on the inside. The mention of the military base perked up his ears with interest. “You really think you could get me a job at the base?” he asked. He then thought for a moment. “How do you like working there? I used be a medic in the Army, but it could also be very restrictive, depending on how tight they are with civilians. Which brings up the point of whether or not they’ll see me as a civilian, since I was discharged.” He didn’t want to admit that he missed the adrenaline thrill of going out into the field, the danger involved while helping wounded soldiers - without Sherlock and cases to solve, he’d have to get his fix from somewhere. “Does the base see a lot of action? Or is it somewhat slow?” “I can certainly ask and get all the information you might need.” Rose replied. “It’s not too bad, pretty slow most days. Still, you have experience, and they usually work pretty well with us. Most of the time, anyway. They aren’t keen on having people with powers using them in front of the locals. The locals don’t know who we really are. I mean I can say that my name is Rose Tyler, but they just roll their eyes at you.” Rose waved her hand. “I get why they don’t want anyone to use their powers, but I know there was some tensions a while back, but I think things are getting a little better now. Mostly, lately it’s just been real quiet around here. Sometimes we get an influx of new people, but sometimes we’ll get an influx of people who disappear. It’s pretty unpredictable.” Rose could only shrug. There wasn’t much anyone could do about it, so Rose just lived in fear that one minute she’ll find herself back in quarantine and someone telling her that she’d been gone for weeks or months or years. Likewise, she was worried about people she cared about disappearing. It was how everyone lived their lives here. This sort of unpredictability was both disquieting and exciting, but at the moment, John couldn’t decide which emotion he felt most. He thoughtfully rested his the knuckles of his fist against his mouth, then said, “Slow is safe, but I admit, I need a some variety in my life.” It wouldn’t do well to immediately confess to a practical stranger he had an addiction to danger - his adventures solving crimes with Sherlock was really the amount he needed, among other things. “It sounds reasonable, not showing off powers in front of the locals, but that’s not something I need to worry about.” A thought struck him, and John asked, “Are you happy here?” “As a whole, it’s about as exciting as a smallish town in Texas can be. Some days it’ll seem boring, but things do happen that will keep you on your toes.” Rose added again. “Who knows, we might randomly find ourselves on another planet next week.” She shrugged and a small grin appeared on her face. “Not that I would mind.” His question surprised her though really it made sense for him to ask. It seemed like a polite enough question when getting to know a new town. “I am.” Rose wondered how much of that was the truth or because she wanted to be happy here. “Not to say there aren’t things I’ve had to get used to or things I miss back home, but I am happy here.” Rose smiled. “I have my friends, so that definitely counts for something.” Just like in the world he’d just been taken from, Tumbleweed offered an opportunity for something different, another chance to start afresh. And as much as he loathed the thought, he would have to get used to the idea that Sherlock might not be around for a while, if at all. “It does count,” John agreed, smiling at Rose’s happiness. Even though she wasn’t the Rose he met at Preya, she was similar enough to feel close. He might not have cases to solve, but it sounded like there would be enough interesting things going on to whet his need for adventure and excitement. “I’m sure I’ll find a way to fit in,” he said, trying to convince himself more than Rose. Rose smiled in return. “I have no doubt!” It was funny that she was here sitting with John Watson. Obviously not in a cruel way, but even though she knew anyone from fiction was fair game to arrive, she still couldn’t believe that they were here making polite conversation. It easily felt that the two could become friends, though she supposed it would lead that way since he knew and was a friends with another version of Rose Tyler. It really made her curious as to what her life was like there, but a small part of her thought it would be better not to ask. When they were finished she gathered her things and smiled. “Shall we keep up the tour?” |