Chapter Text
“Morning Rose,” Jess said lightly as the other blonde shuffled into the kitchen. Rose wasn’t a morning person until she’d had at least one cup of tea and generally showed up in the kitchen in a state of disarray, only to vanish with her cup and return dressed a few minutes later.
Rose mumbled something back that might have been a good morning, of maybe just a moan as she absently fixed her tea. She didn’t even give Jess a glance as she shuffled back out the door. Jess snorted into her coffee mug. Jess had been cursed with life on a farm as a kid. Four am was no stranger to her and she was pretty sure that she couldn’t physically sleep past seven-thirty unless she was deathly ill. Usually, her body was up and going at six or so. On the TARDIS, time worked a little differently. There was no night and day, but Jess’s body didn’t seem to mind. Seven hours of sleep was plenty before she started to wake up.
Jess did need coffee though. It was a vice, she was sure it would probably kill her one day, but it didn’t matter. She could function without it, but it made the wake-up process more pleasant for everyone involved.
Of the two humans, Jess was the early riser, but the Doctor was another story. Jess was like 97% sure that he never slept. Like, ever.
She’d never even caught him looking tired. On the occasional nights that Jess couldn’t sleep, and she wandered the TARDIS trying to convince herself to sleep, she would find him reading, or tinkering, or doing any number of other tasks. Jess was certain he saw her most of those nights- sometimes they spoke, but often Jess retreated. This was his home, he deserved to wander in peace.
But, Jess mused as she drained the last of her coffee, he probably did sleep some right? Who knows. It couldn’t be healthy not to, but then again, Jess was only a human nursing student. No idea about alien biology or sleeping patterns.
Almost as if her thoughts summoned him, The Doctor strolled into the kitchen, looking fresh as a daisy.
“Morning Jess,” He said brightly, going to fix his own cup of tea “Seen Rose?”
“Already got her morning cup, and is getting dressed, I assume. Just missed her.”
The Doctor nodded “She’ll be back.” he said, “Once she wakes up.”
Jess grinned “I spoke to her, but I’m not even sure she realized I was here.”
“Rose isn’t much of a morning person. I don’t understand how you humans waste so much time on sleep.” The Doctor said, taking a seat across from Jess “So much time you could be doing other things!”
Jess just rolled her eyes “Oh, I’m sorry, I forget you and your alien biology is so superior.”
“Well, it is!” The Doctor exclaimed,” It’s not my fault we have inherently superior traits.”
“Whatever you say, Doctor,” Jess said, “Just keep telling yourself that.”
“I will have you know-”
“Good morning!” Rose said cheerfully as she breezed through the door, “Doctor, lay off about the superior biology. We know you have two hearts.”
The Doctor pouted, but shut up right away. “Whipped.” Jess sing-songed under her breath. The Doctor’s head whipped towards her as a flush rose in his cheeks, but Jess just smiled innocently. Rose hadn’t heard her comment- apparently, his superior biology was good for something after all and sat down beside the Doctor, effectively cutting off his protests. His face only burned a brighter red as Rose casually leaned into his side, her arms bumping into his.
“What’s that face all about, Doctor?” Rose asked with a grin.
“Oh, I’m sure it has something to do with his superior alien biology.” Jess teased, crossing her arms.
“It most certainly does not!” The Doctor exclaimed, jutting his chin out haughtily. “I’m not making a face. This is my normal face. I don’t know what you are referring to. Anyway. If you two are done ganging up on me again, would you like to talk about where we are going today?”
Jess was halfway tempted to push him more- the Doctor was such an easy target, but her curiosity won out over her need to make the Doctor squirm. Rose apparently agreed.
“Ooh, what do you have for us today Doctor?” Rose asked, all teasing- well, most of the teasing - gone from her voice “Setting it on random again?”
“God, I hope not!” Jess interjected, “I was kept in a prison last time we went random- you two got to have all the fun.”
“Not true” Rose countered “You managed to free all the prisoners.”
Jess sighed theatrically. That had been fun, in a way, letting everyone go, especially because she was in a block full of political prisoners, where all they’d done was speak against the old government. “I suppose. But you two got to threaten the tyrant.”
“Good point” The Doctor chimed in “Getting tyrants to flee, starting a new government, always a hoot.”
“Please don’t say that again.” Jess said and the Doctor’s face fell a bit “You’re not my grandpa. But anyway, where are we going?”
The Doctor brightened again, after “Dress for the seventies- you’ll see.”
-----
Jess balanced on the rails of the TARDIS’s control room, grinning as she watched Rose kick her bag out of the way, and show off her outfit with a flourish, which happened to be a short dungaree skirt and a shirt.
“What do you think of this?” Rose asked the Doctor, grinning wickedly and she twirled her hips a bit “Will it do?”
The Doctor’s eyes widened a fraction but he grinned back “In the late 1970s? You’d be better off in a bin bag!”
Jessica laughed, just to remind them she was there. The two of them were great, but when the Doctor started staring at Rose like a lost puppy, Jess sometimes had to bring him back to Earth.
The Doctor pretended not to hear her as he moved around the console. “Hold on, listen to this!” He exclaimed, putting a CD into a slot on the console. He grinned as a song Jessica didn’t recognize came blaring out of the speakers. “Ian Dury and the Blockheads! Number one in Nineteen seventy-nine!” The Doctor shouted over the music. He grinned and began to dance around the console, bobbing his head to the beat, casting Rose a side glance.
“You’re a punk!” Jess shouted over the music, laughing. That’s what her dad had called this music anyway. “You’re a complete punk!”
“It’s good to be a lunatic.” The Doctor sang in response, winking rakishly. Jess rolled her eyes but still grinned. The Doctor acted tough and mysterious, but all he really was, was an idiot with a soft heart.
Rose smacked his arm “Jess is right! You’re a punk, that’s what you are! A big old punk with a bit of rockability thrown in.”
“Would you like to see him?” The Doctor asked as he pulled Rose into the odd dance he was doing around the console.
“How’d you mean? In concert?” Rose asked as they continued to dance around the console.
“What else is the TARDIS for?” The Doctor exclaimed, grinning like a madman. “I can take you to the Battle of Trafalgar. The first anti-gravity Olympics, Caesar crossing the Rubicon, or Ian Dury at the Top Rank, Sheffield, England, Earth, Twenty-first of November, nineteen seventy-nine! Besides we can take Jess here on a safe first trip since we’ve already had us a few adventures! What do you girls say?” He looked between Jess and Rose.
Rose grinned. “How could I pass it up?”
“Sounds like fun Doc!” Jess said, tucking a curly piece of hair behind her ear. She’d never cared much for Ian Dury, not like her dad. But, a concert, in England, in the seventies! How could she say no? She’d always heard the seventies were fun after all. Based on the pictures she’d seen of her parents from the seventies, well, Jess was damn sure it was going to be a lot of fun.
She’d probably need to change, but then again, it was the seventies, Who cared? Everyone was hot in the seventies and wore whatever they pleased. Suddenly she was struck with the image of Sam, dressed as a man in the seventies, twirling her around a festival. Sideburns… they worked for him, in theory. But Jess shook that fantasy asway and the pang in her chest with it. She missed sam like hell and was going back. She was going back, but… there were still so many things she wanted to see! She couldn’t give it up yet.
“Sheffield it is!” Rose exclaimed with a brilliant, smile, directed at The Doctor, and it jarred Jess from her thoughts. Right- the seventies, they were going there right now!
The Doctor smiled his slightly crazy smile in return. “Hold on tight!” He shouted as he pulled a lever, sending the TARDIS into motion, causing the occupants to lurch forward Jess clung to the railing, as the Doctor started shouting the lyrics over the sound of the TARDIS, and began hitting the console with a mallet of all things, to the beat of the music. Jess laughed, while The Doctor continued his manic dancing.
“I know you can drive better than this!” Jess shouted, barely audible over the music and laughing- including her own “Stop being a showboat” The TARDIS lurched even harder,
“Stop it!” Rose admonished playfully, but the Doctor just laughed and continued. The laughter didn’t stop, even when they landed roughly, throwing them into a pile on the floor. The Doctor was the first to stand, practically bouncing back up.
“1979!” He exclaimed “Hell of a year! China invades Vietnam. The Muppet Movie. Love that film. Margaret Thatcher. Urgh. Skylab falls to Earth, with a little help from me. Nearly took off my thumb. I need my thumb. I’m very attached to” He rambled as the girls got to their feet, much more slowly.
“And I like my thumb! I need my thumb!” The trio stepped out of the TARDIS, The Doctor still rambling about his thumb. Rose only had eyes for The Doctor, but the second the door opened, she knew something was up, as she peeked around them
Now, Jess was an American. She’d never been to Sheffield. Hell, beyond “in the UK” she had no clue where Sheffield even was. But she was almost certain that they were meant to be in a city. Not in the middle of a grassy field.
She was also like 63% sure that people didn’t dress like soldiers from the 1700s. But maybe England in the 70s was different.
“I’m very attached to…”. The Doctor trailed off, and Jess had a sinking feeling that this was not, in fact, how people from England in the 70s dressed. Damn. Her eyes widened at the sight of guns leveled at their faces, though, really, what else could she expect. The Doctor slowly raised his arms in surrender. Jess frowned, but she and Rose both followed suit. She swallowed thickly, at the ominous click the rifle made. “My thumb?” the Doctor finished weakly.
The Doctor hazarded a glance over his shoulder at Rose and Jess “1879. Same difference” he muttered. It was all Jess could do to hold back a groan because it was most certainly not the same difference. Jess was only somewhat surprised- but part of her was surprised that she could even still be surprised by things that happened with the Doctor.
Jess wanted to curse at him, but since there were people pointing guns at them, she figured it was best not to do anything that could be seen as a sign of aggression. Especially when she was basically wearing nothing more than ripped blue jean shorts and a tie-dye tank top.
“You will explain your presence.” Demanded the most imposing of the soldiers, probably the leader, Jess mused. He looked over at Rose and Jess. “An’ the nakedness of these girls.”
Jess scowled as she caught sight of Rose staring at her outfit in slight confusion, and bit back an angry retort. She knew it was the culture, but men like that always pissed her off and she wouldn’t hesitate to tear into them. However, this man had a gun. And she liked her head where it was.
“Are we in Scotland?” The Doctor asked, his voice suddenly thick with a Scottish accent, causing Jess to frown. Scotland?
“How can you be ignorant of that?” The leader asked, his mouth twisted in distaste. Jess scowled deeper. Sure it was his job, but he was an ass.
“Oh, I'm... I'm dazed and confused. I've been chasing these... “ He glanced at them “these wee naked children over hill and over dale. Isn’t that right, ya... timorous beasties?”
Before Jess even had time to process what that meant, Rose cut in. “Ooch, aye! I've been oot and aboot. “ Which, while hearing the Doctor switch to a Scottish accent was disconcerting, Rose’s accent was terrible.
“No, don't do that.” The Doctor whispered.
Jess didn’t really know much about Scotland, but hey, she could contribute with her terrible accent and she was pretty sure she’d heard the phrase in a movie before. “Hoots mon! “
“Seriously, both of you stop it.” He hissed, then turned back to the guard, who did not look at all impressed by them. Especially not Rose and her. Rude. Also, her arms were starting to burn from being held up so long.
“ Will you identify yourself, sir? “ The soldier asked. Well, more like demanded.
“I'm Doctor James McCrimmon.” The Doctor said, “From the... Township of Balamory. Eh... I have my credentials, if I may…”
The soldier nodded and the Doctor pulled out a small wallet, that looked like it should hold credentials. Psychic paper, of course. Jess and Rose shared a glance. The Doctor’s hands were down. They lowered theirs slowly. The soldier ignored them. Thank God.
“As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Doctor Bell himself” The Doctor explained. The soldier frowned, and for half a second, Jess was certain he was seeing a blank paper and was about to shoot them.
Then from the fancy carriage/coach/thing, a soft feminine voice called: “Let them approach”
The solider looked pained “I don’t think that’s wise-”
“Let them approach'' Her tone, while not unkind, left no room for argument so the soldier finally lowered his gun. He didn’t look any happier, though. If anything he looked like someone had just pissed in his cereal and driven a stick up his ass.
“You will approach the carriage. And show all due deference. No sudden moves.” He ordered and stepped aside to let them by. Jess wasn’t sure what that meant exactly.
A guy, oh what were they called, footman? Coachmen? Whatever, opened the door to reveal… a very fancy lady. Rose seemed to know who it was because she sucked in a sharp breath and Jess could practically see the Doctor vibrate with excitement.
“Rose, Jessica... might I introduce her Majesty, Queen Victoria. Empress of India and Defender of the Faith” The Doctor’s tone was almost reverent and certainly fascinated as he dipped into a bow. Rose dropped into a curtsey and after a moment Jess stumbled into one too. It was certainly awkward. She just hoped she kept her head.
“Rose Tyler, Ma'am. And my apologies... for being so naked” Rose stumbled out, following it by a nervous laugh.
“Jessica Moore.” Jess added quickly, just because it seemed like the thing to do “My apologies as well.”
“I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me. “ The Queen said. “Though, you, the tall one, have a very strange accent.”
Jess wasn’t sure what to say to that. she only managed a nervous laugh.
The Queen turned to the Doctor and, holy shit that woman was intense. “But you, Doctor... show me these credentials' ' The Doctor handed them to her confidently, and she hoped to god that the Queen couldn’t see through it. “It says here you have been appointed my protector! Why didn’t you just say so?”
The Doctor just grinned sheepishly.
--
They end up going with Queen Victoria and her entourage, to the Torchwood estate in the middle of nowhere. Monks surrounded the estate, it seemed, dressed in weird outfits. The guy who met them at the door seemed… odd, but Jess wasn’t well versed in England’s past beyond the revolutionary war. They’d explained Rose and Jess as cousins, and both had been whisked away by a maid to get put in what they called “decent clothing”.
Of course, that meant big poofy dresses that were entirely impractical for running. And then, Jess had just left the room so that Rose could change, and got distracted by the odd tapestry on the wall down the hall. When she went back, because Rose was taking forever, Rose and the maid were gone. Damnit Rose.
When she found her own way to the dining room, the talk was of fucking werewolves of all things. She tried not to be obviously freaked out when Rose hadn’t wandered down by herself.
“Where’s Rose?” The Doctor asked, his eyes darkening. That was never a good sign. It was always something with these trips, wasn’t it?
“I… I assumed she’d wandered down there on her own.” Jess said, frowning “But obviously that’s not the case. The maid she was with is gone too.”
Jess wasn’t telepathic and couldn't talk to the Doctor like he did with the TARDIS. She also couldn’t quite manage the silent conversations he and Rose could have with only a look. But, they were close enough, (she at least liked to think so, after so much trauma bonding) that she could read him in situations like this. The look he was giving her read ‘Rose has been kidnapped again and I’m not happy about it’. Jess could relate. She didn’t even try to hide her displeasure in her expression.
Then the monk started chanting, the rich man was a traitor, the Doctor, and once again, Jess was running for her life in a gown. God, why was this a recurring theme in her life?
---
Meanwhile, Rose wasn’t exactly having the time of her life either. She’d been kidnapped, tossed in a basement with the other women, and discovered that there was a creepy werewolf in the cage.
Brilliant. Of course, everyone else was terrified of it and hated it for that. Rose was a bit scared of it herself, but the poor thing was trapped, probably had been its whole life by those stupid monks. And if nothing else, it was still in a cage, what harm could ask a few questions do? She brushed off the pleas of the other women to stop. She wasn’t scared, even it’s pitch black eyes were a mite unsettling.
“Where are you from,” she asked the young man in the cage, trying to sound both compassionate and brave. She wasn’t sure it was working. The Doctor was much better at that. “You’re not from Earth. What planet are you from?”
“Oh, intelligence.” the thing in the cage rasped. Its voice was creepy- certainly not human- but that didn’t make it evil.
“Where were you born?” Rose repeated. If she could find out, perhaps she could promise to help it get back there. Help it.
“This body? Ten miles away. A weakling, heartsick boy, stolen away at night by the brethren for my cultivation. I carved out his soul and sat in his heart.” It bared its teeth at her and it was only sheer stubbornness that kept Rose from shivering. That was bloody terrifying.
“All right, so the body's human. But what about you, the thing inside?” She pressed on. It could still be helped. Maybe it was scared- stranded.
“: So far from home.” It mused. Its black eyes were still locked unerringly with hers.
“If you want to get back home, we can help.” Rose offered earnestly “We’ve helped stranded being like you before.”
The alien twisted its human mouth into something that didn’t quite look like a smile. “Why would I leave this place? A world of industry, of workforce, and warfare. I could turn it to such purpose.”
So, no. This thing didn’t want to go home. It wasn’t a refugee, it was an invader. They’d dealt with this before. The next step is to figure out its plan. “ How would you do that?”
“I would migrate to the Holy Monarch.” the alien said as if it were obvious.”
Rose, a fearing citizen of the crown, was somehow struck with even more apprehension at the mere thought. “ You mean Queen Victoria?”
“With one bite, I would pass into her blood, and then it begins. The Empire of the Wolf. Many questions.” That wasn’t detail, but it was enough. They had to keep this thing away from the queen, no matter what.
The alien lunged at the edge of the crate and it was only months of exposure to situations arguably more dangerous that didn’t send Rose reeling back in fear, despite the spike in her heart rate.
“ Look. Inside your eyes. You've seen it too.” he rasped, and his black eyes seemed to stare beyond her now- in her.
“Seen what?” Rose managed.
“The Wolf. There is something of the Wolf about you. I see it in you. ” the alien took a deep breath through his nose, like a dog getting a scent “And on you, I smell others. I see the wolf. I smell the Storm. I smell…. The Bane.”
Wolf. There is was again. She thought she was done with Bad Wolf, after what had already happened. The Doctor had gotten rid of bad wolf. Hadn’t he? “ I don't know what you mean.” Rose bit out. She had no idea what the second half could refer to.
The alien smiled again. “I only know what I can see. I see the Wolf. But you burnt like the sun, but all I require is the moon.”
And with that, the creatures turned towards the tiny window in the cellar and began to change as the moonlight shone directly in on it.
Bloody brilliant.
----
They found Rose and all the other women in the basement, desperately trying to escape as something that, was in fact a fucking werewolf struggled against its cage It looked angry, which okay, it had been trapped in a cage. But, then Rose said it was definitely out to kill and Jess felt a little less bad about that.
And, it was a damn good thing they showed up to help them out since the flimsy wooden cage was doing little to hold back the werewolf. Rose, of course, knew more about what was happening, because she was, as always, fucking brilliant.
Jess, much to the dismay of literally everyone (including the Doctor and Rose) managed to strong-arm Robert into giving her a gun while Rose and the Doctor were busy discussing what the werewolf had said. She managed to catch something about the crown. Always people after power, huh?
Despite being from the 21st century and living in San Francisco, Jess was a farm girl and had shot a fair amount of things in her day. Her parents had trained each of their kids on how to defend themselves and livestock with a variety of guns the family owned, including a few antiques that looked pretty similar to the one in her hand.
Jess didn’t like shooting at things, but when it came down to shooting or being eaten? She’d take the inevitable ribbing about being an American that would come later. The women fled the area, headed outside. She hoped they made it past the monks.
Only moments later she heard the wooden door crash open and the werewolf barreled around the corner. “Fire!” The steward called, and the whole line let out several shots. There was a howl of pain and enough smoke that Jess choked on it a bit. Her shoulder already ached from the impact of the gun.
The men seemed relieved enough, thinking it was killed. If it had been a normal wolf, no way it would have survived, but this wasn’t from Earth. She glanced back at the Doctor and Rose. They didn’t seem to think the werewolf went down either, from the look of it. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy.
Something creaked overhead.
“All right, you men. We should retreat upstairs. Come with me.” The Doctor said. He was trying to get them to higher ground. Jess reloaded her gun as she slipped past the men to stand by Rose.
The steward scoffed “I'll not retreat. The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault.”
“I'm telling you, come upstairs!” The Doctor was practically demanding it now.
“And I'm telling you, sir, I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall.” The Steward rebuffed. Before anyone could stop him, he stepped back into the hall the thing had come from. For a moment everything was still, then he was pulled up into the ceiling like he was a puppet and someone had just yanked the strings. There was a terrible sound of ripping flesh, that no puppet could make.
Jess’s stomach turned, as blood dripped down from the ceiling. The steward hadn’t even had time to scream. She’d always thought puppets were creepy.
“ There's nothing we can do!” The Doctor exclaimed as he practically pushed Rose and Jess up the stairs.
On the landing of the staircase, they found the Queen again, looking rather put out. Jess couldn’t blame her. She understood the feeling of thinking your showing up somewhere, then being put in life-threatening danger. (She was supposed to be at a fucking concert!).
Apparently, the monks were evil. She called it. Father Angelo was no surprise either. Jess was also not surprised when the escape attempt met them with bullets. Yet, the queen still didn’t believe there was a werewolf, even after Rose told her what had happened to her.
“I saw it with my own eyes.” Jess chimed it. “Hell, I even shot at it and the bastard didn’t go down. This thing is out for blood, your majesty. Your blood.”
“What a foul mouth!” Queen victoria exclaimed. I can’t believe a word that comes out of it. Now, top this talk. There can't be an actual wolf.”
A howl rang out loud and clear- louder than any wolf Jess had ever heard. It felt like it vibrated in her very soul. And from the pale faces around her, she wasn’t alone.