Work Text:
2008 - Pete's World
Yusuf convulsed as he came back to life, blinking his eyes open in the inky blackness of the depths of the sea. Every time he came back, he hoped that water wouldn’t be filling his lungs, but every time, the same thing. Wasn’t that the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?
Maybe he was insane. After decades, centuries, with only the weight of the water pushing down on him, maybe he’d lost his mind.
There was a light, but there always was when he started to die again.
Yusuf convulsed back to life, to sound. Something was happening in the depths around him. Something had changed. Something hit his tomb, sending a sound around him.
The currents were cruel in that way. Perhaps a shipwreck had found him.
And then the light again before darkness consumed him.
Yusuf convulsed as he arose again. There was sound again. Something was striking his prison. The water around him was warmer than he was used to. His hand brushed the metal wall that confined him, and pain tore through him. It burned. How could something burn in the depths of the sea?
And then came the light again.
And a shift in the water around him.
Yusuf convulsed. There was a patch of light. There was a hole in the cage around him. He wouldn’t let himself hope, though. When the hope was only a dream but never a reality, that was one thing. But to give hope a breath of reality, that was too much so he pushed it down.
And when the light flooded his vision, he told himself it was death dragging him to its depths again, not the door of his prison being ripped off by someone ringed in light.
Yusuf convulsed. The water around him felt different. It flowed around him, and seemed to glitter. He lifted his head and saw a ball of light from above, dancing and breaking into fractals. He felt something move at his back. He was bound.
Then something ascended before him. It looked human, sort of, with dark flesh and long, finned feet. It had some sort of shell like a turtle on its back, but at the same time, completely different. It was large and hunched, hard to make out through the water. Its face was bulbous and had a long trunk-like nose.
It swam up to him, taking his face in its hands. This close he could make out more of the face… which wasn’t at all what he thought he saw. Behind a clear shield were human eyes. The creature made a hand gesture, and he felt himself moving again.
The creature disappeared through the fractals, as he drew closer. Then he hit the breach, as the death consumed him.
Yusuf convulsed, gasping for breath, knowing none would come. He coughed, his body forcing the water from his lungs, only to drag water back in…
Except…
It was air.
He blinked up at the sky and he felt tears of despair burn his eyes. He’d finally lost his mind.
He let himself breathe in what his mind had decided was air, waiting for death.
Death was better than insanity.
He looked to the side, and the creature climbed out of the water and sat on the edge of the boat. There were others… humans around him. He was on the deck of a boat. The creature tore the fins off its feet, tossing them to the deck. He watched as it shed what he’d thought was a shell, its trunk coming away from its mouth. It shed everything that had made it a creature until it was a human in a black suit.
The hood came off, and the woman shook out yellow hair. She started speaking, and the other humans around her jumped into action. She was in charge.
She was in charge, and she pulled him out of the sea. Which meant she knew he should be dead.
He needed to defend himself, but even the thought of movement was exhausting. She walked over to him and knelt.
“I know you’re scared, Yusuf,” she said.
How did she know his name? How did she know that language? “If you’re going to kill me, just do it,” he said, his voice foreign to his own ears.
She gave him a sad smile. “I think we both know that wouldn’t work.” She reached toward him, ignoring his flinch. “I know you have no reason to trust me.” Her fingers were warm and gentle on his cheek. “I mean you no harm. I’m going to give you a sedative to help you sleep. I swear on my life, you’ll be safe.”
She leaned forward and a sharp pain bit into his neck
Yusuf felt foggy as he awoke. He blinked his eyes open, finding himself, once again, not in his prison. He lay in a bed, a blanket tucked around all but his arm, which had all sorts of things sticking out of it. Beside him with the blonde who spoke the language she shouldn’t know, asleep with her head on her arms on the edge of his bed, her hand loosely holding the one ensnared by the tendrils.
He lifted his arm to tear the things off of him, but she grabbed his wrist.
“Don’t, Yusuf. Those are helping you.” She sat up and rubbed her face. “Give me a minute to wake up. I’ve been here the entire time we’ve kept you sedated.” She rolled her neck and he heard it pop. “By rough guess, you’ve been down there for about four hundred and seventy years. Your body is a wreck. We’ve been giving you everything we can to get you back to proper health. But it’s going to take time.”
“Why did you find me?”
She stood and sat on the bed, taking his hand in hers. “Everyone on the team with me knows about your immortality. They’ve met Quynh, Nicky, and Booker.”
Two new ones? “What about Andromache?”
Her face fell, and her gaze dropped from him. “Andy died a few years ago.”
He felt sick. “How?”
“It’s a bit complicated. But… she helped take down the bad guys when she did.”
“And Nicolo?”
She gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “He goes by Nick or Nicky, now, mostly because I call him that. He’s… different.” She raked her fingers through her hair. “God, he’s so different without you.” She laughed, but it was sad. “That probably makes no sense to you. I’m just a kid. Everything is complicated.”
“Try.”
She took a deep breath. “I’m not from here, from this world. I was travelling with an alien called the Doctor, who could go anywhere in time or space. In my world, it wasn’t you trapped at the bottom of the sea. It was Quynh. I never met my version of Quynh. But I knew you, and Nicky, and Andy, and Booker. The Nicky I knew from there…” she brushed a tear from her cheek. “He’s so different here. He’s so lost without you.”
“Have you told them you found me?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t want to get their hopes up. And I wanted to give you time to adjust before reintroducing you to them. I imagine there’s going to be a lot of healing that needs to be done that your immortality won’t quite manage. I did tell Booker, so if he saw anything, he knew not to tell the others.”
Rose, as the woman told him she was called, stayed by his side for the entire journey back to land. Yusuf remained in the healing room, until they reached land, Rose spending all of her time with him, save when she left to bathe.
When they finally disembarked, Yusuf on shaky legs, Rose was by his side, ready to lend her support the moment he needed it. She led him down the docks, toward metal boxes. Someone opened the side and Yusuf realized they were going to put him inside.
He tore himself away from Rose and staggered back, screaming and sobbing, begging not to go back. Rose’s voice warred with his, her tone soothing.
He crumpled to the ground, huddled in a ball. She carded her fingers in his hair.
“Yusuf, shh, you’re safe. I promised you that you’d be safe with me.”
“Don’t put me back in a box.” He curled into her chest, shaking in terror.
“What?”
He felt her shift.
“Oh.” She stroked his cheek. “Oh, Yusuf, I’m sorry. I didn’t think. Can you look at me?”
He pulled back to meet her gaze.
“I never thought about how times have changed but how some things may look the same. The metal box. It’s not a prison or a cage or a danger to you. We have a long way to go to get to where I live. That type of metal box will get us there faster than walking. I’ll be with you the entire time. I promise.”
After he calmed, he let her lead him back to the box that still scared him. She got in first, letting him follow. He sat frozen as the door closed, trapping him inside. But Rose didn’t seem frightened, so he settled back in his seat and stared out the window.
Yusuf got out when the door opened for him, staring at the large house in front of him. Rose slid out after him.
“Welcome to my place. This is where we’ll be staying for as long as you need. And when you’re ready, there’s plenty of room for Nicky, Quynh, and Booker. My mum and dad and my friend Mickey might pop in occasionally. But they know to tell me before their first visit, so I can introduce you.”
“What will you tell them?”
“Oh, they already know. Mickey and my mum are from my world, too. My dad is from here, but he’s met the others. He, sort of, paid for the entire rescue operation to get you back.”
Rose led Yusuf into the bathroom. “Alright, so I don’t know if you’ll have some form of PTSD reaction to water, so I want to take this slow.”
He felt shame writhe in his gut. She felt the need to help him bathe. Like he was a child.
“I’ve drawn up a bath, because you’ve never used a shower.” She motioned to the bath, with clear, clean water.
But one look had his chest tightening. He took a step back.
“Nope,” she said. “Okay.” She walked over and pulled something out of the basin, and the water drained out. “We’ll just do a sponge bath and I’ll wash your hair in the sink.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No.” Rose sounded harsh for the first time, making him look at her, fear slicing through him. “You do not get to apologize for that. It’s not your fault. You have spent centuries drowning and coming back only to drown again. You don’t need to be sorry for being afraid. I don’t want you to be sorry for being afraid, because it’s normal.” She softened, cupping his face in her hands. “I want you to heal. At your pace. I don’t care if you can never set foot in a pool of water again. I don’t want you to do something that makes you afraid.”
She pushed herself up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
And for the first time in a long time, he felt safe.
Yusuf tossed and turned, but everything was… wrong. Every night before this one he’d slept with the help of… sedatives, Rose had called them. Before that, the only sleep he’d gotten was the brief bouts of death, for nearly five hundred years.
He got up and walked out of his room, toward Rose’s. Then he stopped. He shouldn’t bother her. He turned away and returned to his room, only to stop at the door. He turned back to Rose’s room but only got a few steps before he stopped. Again and again, pacing the small stretch of hallway between their rooms.
“Yusuf?”
He turned and found her standing in her doorway. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I told you you could get me any time you needed. Are you alright?”
“Can I…” He flushed in shame looking at his feet.
“Do you want to stay with me tonight?”
His cheeks burned brighter, but he nodded.
“Okay.” She walked toward him and took his hand.
He let her lead him into her room. She settled him into her bed, curling up on her side, and her even breathing lulled him to sleep.
The process was slow. Yusuf didn’t know a lot about the world, so she taught him everything, starting with modern English. Once he had at least a tentative grasp on the language, he was introduced to Rose’s family.
Her mother was bubbly and not big on personal space, wrapping him in as best a hug as her very pregnant belly would allow. He expected to be afraid, but something about her set him at ease, maybe the pregnancy.
Pete fussed over the woman, throwing Yusuf cautious glances. Mickey gave him a warm smile, but kept his distance.
Over the next weeks, they all made appearances, but if Mickey and Pete weren’t with either of the women, Yusuf made a hasty exit. He usually ended up in Rose’s room, or the nursery he’d been helping her set up for when the baby was born.
Rose had locked herself in her study to deal with a few meetings, while Yusuf sat with Jackie in the kitchen. She was chattering on about this and that, and he wasn’t really following it. And it didn’t seem like she really cared all that much, either. She just wanted someone to talk at.
Then she stopped, brow furrowed. She looked down. “Oh, no.”
Yusuf rounded the counter to find her standing in a pool of liquid. The baby was coming, and it was early. They hadn’t expected it for another four weeks.
“Get Rose,” Jackie gasped.
Yusuf raced from the room and threw open the door to Rose’s study. “It’s Jackie. She’s having the baby.”
Rose shot up from her chair. “Now?”
They made their way into the kitchen, where Jackie was leaning on the counter, breathing heavily.
“We need to get you to the hospital,” Rose said.
“Can’t you deliver a baby?” Yusuf asked.
“That’s not how things work now. We have specially trained doctors.”
Yusuf stepped toward Jackie, pressing at her belly. Muscle memory reawakened from centuries ago. “How long until we can get her to them?”
“Couple hours.”
He shook his head. “She doesn’t have that long.”
“What are we going to do?” Jackie cried.
“I have training. It’s a bit outdated.”
“A bit!” Jackie screamed.
“Better than nothing. Rose, get me clean sheets and hot water.”
And ninety-two minutes later, little Tony Tyler was born.
“So, this is a shower,” Rose said, turning on the water. She waited for some kind of reaction from Yusuf.
He extended his hand under the falling water, face betraying no fear or hesitation. “It’s warm.”
Rose stripped off her robe, leaving her in a bathing suit. Yusuf, however, ended up naked, not that Rose was overly surprised. He wasn’t quite used to modern propriety yet.
She showed him how to adjust the temperature, the pressure and which products to use. He smiled as he tipped his face into the shower spray.
Rose fussed over Yusuf’s jumper. “You’re sure you’re alright with me going? With my mum staying with you?”
Yusuf smiled. “I’ll be alright, Rose.”
“It’ll just be a couple days. And you can call me if you need to.”
“Oi, look at you!” Jackie chuckled. “You’re a right mother hen, you are. He’s a hundred times older than you. I think he’ll be fine.”
Rose flushed and tugged Yusuf into a warm embrace. “I’ll be back soon. I’ll call if anything happens.”
When Rose walked into her office at Torchwood, she groaned at the pile of paperwork. What happened to her assistant?
Her intercom buzzed. “Miss Tyler, you have visitors.”
“I’m busy.”
“They don’t seem to-- sir, you can’t just-- they’re coming in, Miss Tyler.”
The door to her office flew open and Nicky stormed in with Quynh and Booker trailing after him. Booker looked terrified, Quynh a mix of fear, hope, and anger. Nicky, though…
Rose imagined this is the Nicolo de Genoa Yusuf faced outside the walls of Jerusalem. There was nothing but rage. “Where is he?”
“Thank you, Elena,” Rose said, not taking her eyes off the Crusader. “You can leave for the day.”
“But, ma’am, I don’t know--”
“I’ll be fine. As angry as he is, he won’t harm me.”
As Elena left, Nicolo sneered at her. “You seem so certain of that. You don’t know me, girl. You know another version of me, and we are not the same.”
Rose sat in her chair, looking up at Nicolo. “Then, by all means, do your worst.” She stared him down, neither breaking. “I have seen more than just a pissy immortal and far more terrifying. I have fought aliens and monsters. And the only thing that terrified me was watching one of you die, even if I knew you would get up again, because I’d met you in the future. Because, what if time was wrong? I’m not from this world, Nicolo. All my time here is wrong. What do I have to lose?”
Nicolo folded back into Nicky, the rage bleeding out of him. “You left five months ago on some top secret Torchwood mission. Not long after, Booker stopped waking from nightmares, gasping for breath. Please, tell me. Did you find Yusuf?”
“Yes.”
Nicky let out a strangled sob and crumpled to the floor. Rose hurried around her desk and knelt beside him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered.
“I didn’t know if we’d found him, or even what we’d find. And then, I didn’t know if he was ready. I still don’t. I mean, he can’t even be in the same room with Mickey or my dad without me there. He’s better with my mum and brother, but not great. He barely eats and has trouble sleeping. Everything makes him flinch. I managed to finally get him into the shower yesterday. Water terrifies him. I told him everything would be at his pace. And I don’t know if he’s ready.”
Rose worried her lip as Yusuf told her about the drawing he did, about how his hands are beginning to remember his old skills.
“What is it, Rose?” he asked.
“The others figured out I found you. Nicky wants to see you.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone.
“Are you still there, Yusuf?”
“Yeah, I… I want to see him.”
“Alright. We’ll start with just Nicky. We can talk about Quynh and Booker later.”
Rose stood beside Yusuf, as he clutched her hand. They sat in the room they’d converted into his art studio, where he was most comfortable.
When Nicky walked in, Yusuf tensed, his breath catching in his chest. Nicky’s steps faltered and he froze, just staring at Yusuf.
Yusuf stood and took tentative steps toward Nicky. When they were within arms reach of each other, they both extended their hand until fingertips touched, then palms, then the other hand, like neither was certain if it was real, if they believed it.
“Habibi?” Yusuf breathed. “Nicolo?”
“Yusuf, mi amor.”
And they fell into each other’s arms, weeping as they embraced.
Rose felt tears prickle in her eyes, and wanted to give them privacy, but she’d promised Yusuf she’d stay, just in case.
Rose trudged up to bed, swinging her bedroom door open, to find Yusuf and Nicky there. Yusuf was asleep, arms wrapped around a still conscious Nicky.
“Did you need something?” Nicky asked.
“I was about to ask you the same thing, since you’re in my bed,” Rose said softly, so as not to wake Yusuf.
“Oh, Yusuf came in here, so a thought…” His jaw tightened. “If you two are…”
“We’re not, Nicky. But this has sort of become his room. He doesn’t like sleeping alone. I think it reminds him of the… nothing of the ocean.” She walked over to her wardrobe, pulling out everything she would need for bed. “And he likes to snuggle.”
“He’s always been like that.”
“I’ll stay in one of the other rooms for tonight.” She turned to leave.
“Maybe you should stay. He’s done alright today, but I don’t want him to be afraid when he wakes, if he doesn’t remember… me.”
Yusuf adjusted well to having Nicky back in his life. And soon after, Quynh and Booker joined them at the house.
Torchwood was pressuring her about returning to work, after a six-month absence, but she was hesitant to leave Yusuf just yet.
That is, until she walked into the lounge one day and found Yusuf and Nicolo trading soft kisses.
He was healing, and he had the best person to help him. And maybe he could help Nicolo heal as well.