Title: Linear Thinking

[lovely_ambition]

Title: Linear Thinking
Pairing: Mild Rose/Nine, Chase/Rose, Chase/Jack
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Oh, but if they were only mine.
Summary: Rose hand-selects a new companion and the first trip is made to Australia, 1980, ANZAC Day. At least, that's where they'd meant to go.
Notes: Written for rheanna27's challenge of Choose Your Companion. This would be the Ninth Doctor, then, and I hope it's enjoyed.



Time and relative dimension in space.

They weren't really words that you normally thought to put together. In fact, Chase had never even thought about that before. But now that he'd met people who seemed to be able to step through time and space, he had begun to wonder if all his childhood wonderings might finally be achievable. All through time, he had wondered about going back and fixing things. He was only human after all and he spent countless hours wondering if he'd just done this differently or that, would his mother still be alive? Would his father still treat him like dirt? Time was linear and for that, it was an enemy, but not by choice.

But then the big blue box arrived with its' three passengers and everything changed.

After delivering House's Vicodin to him an hour later than was expected, he was given the patient, a woman named Rose Tyler and accompanied by 'two hulking walking annoyances, though I'm sure you'll 'fancy' one of them quite a bit'. Chase had gone to do his job and found a cute blonde girl, a guy with funny ears, and Mr. America - or looking like it - standing in the clinic in a wall, the girl in the middle of the two taller bookends.

Her name was Rose Tyler, he'd learn soon enough and the other two were Captain Jack Harkness - introduced himself with the most lascivious wink a person could imagine - and the Doctor; just the Doctor. She stepped forward, holding out her arm and glancing to the side, almost ashamed. "Scratched it up, a'bit," she admitted quietly. "We were s'posed to be going to London, but we wound up here on accident." She was British. No wonder House had sent him down for this. Chase could just picture the league of insults he was in for.

He'd taken care of the cut in no time, watching the two other men conversing while Rose smiled prettily at him.

"You're good at this," she observed. "You should come 'long with us," she continued, glancing to the Doctor. "He was just saying we could use a good pair of healing hands with us." Chase looked over to the way the two men were talking quietly and shooting him suspicious and curious looks. "Oh, don't mind them," she assured blithely, leaning back and grinning up at Chase, her tongue pressed to her lower lip. "You ever wanted to travel?"

"I'm already miles from home," Chase's answer was even and without emotion as he reached for bandages and wrapped Rose's arm up slowly.

"Rose," the Doctor called over. "Don't chat up the nice doctor." He gave Chase a giddy grin. "Hello," he said brightly, waving enthusiastically. "We save the chatting up for Jack, or else he gets cranky." Chase just shot the brunette a bemused glance and received another lascivious wink for his trouble. "Doctor Chase, is it? I'm not so good with my hands. I was a few times ago, but not anymore. Rose seems to have taken a liking to you. So tell me, Chase. You ever longed to see the stars?"

Chase was getting thoroughly confused by now.

"Are you all astronauts or something?" he asked, leaning back against the counter while the Doctor twirled a key in his hand. "And why me?"

"Rose picked you," the Doctor said, beaming widely - a smile which Rose mirrored and seemed to brighten. "And Rose has good judgment, for the most part."

"I'm choosing not to take offense," Jack remarked under his breath. "But I definitely agree. Love the hair," he praised Chase. "It must take you hours to get it like that." He turned to the Doctor. "I like him."

"So do I," Rose chimed in.

Chase watched the by-play with a suspicious gaze, watching the Doctor throw up his hands in the air. "Majority rules, you humans and your democratic voting. You know, it never solved anything," he told Rose seriously, poking a finger in her direction. That finger turned on Chase and relaxed, another smile on the Doctor's face. "Well, then, Chase, what do you say? Want to see time and space from the comfort of a police box?"

"But…my job…"

"Will be a thing of the past," the Doctor said, very seriously. "Or I could have you back in a lick-split second after you left."

Rose stepped forward. "Careful with that. He said that to me too and I wound up coming back a whole year later." He was confused, but in the back of his mind, he was reminded of the realities of working for House and just how dead-end it could be sometimes, doomed to take abuse and weird cases.

"How about it?" Jack encouraged, slinging an arm around Chase. "It's like nothing you'll ever be offered again."

Maybe it had been temporary madness, but Chase had agreed.

Time and space were at his feet to be conquered.

*

The answer to 'Where do you want to go?' had slipped past Chase's lips without him ever actually intending to go back there. But he'd been asked and Rose and Jack had simply looked at him expectantly while he thought it out. Where did he want to go? The past, the future, which location?

"Australia," wound up being his answer, before he was really even done thinking about the question.

"Australia it is," the Doctor agreed, tugging down a lever and suddenly, the alien craft started grinding gears and sounding like it must just conk out and die any second. Chase held on tightly, even though somewhere deep down, he got the feeling that he was safe. At least, for now.

The noises abated slowly and Chase let go of the railing, wandering about, while Rose and Jack grinned at him and the Doctor watched him thoughtfully.

"Where are we?" Chase asked warily.

"Melbourne, 1980. ANZAC Day," the Doctor announced, tossing a round object from hand to hand, nodding to the door. "Go on, then. Take a look."

Chase couldn't help but grin. "I'm two right now," he scoffed. "This has got to be impossible." Jack and Rose were at his sides, flanking him while the Doctor held the door open and they stepped out to a celebration at night, fireworks going off and signs proclaiming "Happy New Year! 1977!"

As one, the three companions turned to the Doctor.

"Three years," he protested. "I'm getting better, oi. Now, go celebrate. I'm sure there's something you can drink and kill even more of those precious human brain cells."

"We've irritated him," Rose confided in a teasing whisper, grasping three flutes of champagne from a passing tray and handing them to Jack and Chase. "C'mon then, let's go mingle." Chase followed closely with Rose, not wanting to get lost amongst the milling crowd of strange people from his past; before he was born, even. Everyone was so lavishly dressed, laughing about the new designer in society and Chase overheard something from nearby that made him stop in his tracks.

"Rowan!" A delighted squeal. "Really, stop fussing."

"Rebecca, really. I just want to feel him kick."

"Well, we can do that when there aren't a dozen people looking."

Chase slowly spun, his eyes falling upon both his mother and his father, twenty-nine year young versions of them. Rose noticed that he'd stopped and stood by him, staring up curiously, then looking at the sight Chase was witnessing with his own two eyes. "Who's that, then?" she asked softly, tone warm and curious.

"My parents," Chase exhaled, unable to stop staring, his eyes a little watery from just seeing his mother again after so long and seeing his father so youthful and vivacious and happy. "They're both dead, where I'm from, but look at them. They're so happy and in love." And his Mum looked to be pregnant with him. "Look at them," he marveled quietly.

"D'you want to go and talk to them?" Rose asked, looking up into his eyes. "The Doctor wouldn't like it, but a hello can't hurt."

Chase just shook his head, smiling weakly and shakily, watching his father spin his mother on the dance floor, the both of them laughing gaily. "No," he said, voice barely audible. "No, this is good. This is good enough," he promised Rose. It was like watching ghosts spin around an empty ballroom, but there they were and they were still alive and Chase had the vague feeling that he was in the midst of a genuine miracle, being brought back and being able to see them so happy again.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and glanced back to find Jack had joined them, the Doctor hovering by their sides.

"Acquaintances?" the Doctor inquired.

"Family," Chase answered simply, a warm smile slowly growing on his face. Looking at them as they were, he could almost believe that things would never go wrong between them and that they would survive through all the hardships, even though he knew where that rollercoaster ended.

"Ten! Nine!" people around them counted down.

Chase watched his parents slip away from the dance floor to escape to a balcony. "Just ghosts," he added, with a bit of a smile. He turned to Rose, who was smiling sympathetically back at him, and reached out to grasp his hand tightly with her own.

"Eight! Seven! Six!"

Jack squeezed Chase's shoulder. "Your Mom's pretty damn hot, if I do say so myself," he opined with a cheeky grin, as though intentionally meant to lighten the mood.

"Homewrecker," Rose teased warmly.

"Five! Four! Three!"

The Doctor stepped forward to be at Chase's other side, glancing sideways at him. "Not even going to try and talk to them? Ruin the paradox of time and space?" He had his arms crossed and he cocked an eyebrow up at Chase.

"They'd never believe me," Chase snorted. "And they don't need that kind of stress."

"Two! One!"

"Happy New Year," Rose wished him, leaning over to plant a chaste kiss on Chase's lips before doing the same with the Doctor and with Jack, smiling warmly as confetti fell from the high-arched ceilings. Jack surprised Chase by leaning in and wrapping an arm around his neck, pulling him in for a much less-chaste kiss than Rose had given to him.

He eased away, sputtering in surprise, but Rose had grasped his hand again as they looked up to the ceiling and the showers of confetti.

"Fantastic," the Doctor murmured reverently. "Celebrating just another puny year of life out of billions on this rock. But you do it with such care, with such enthusiasm. Absolutely fantastic."

Chase, looking up at the party favours and looking out to find his parents sharing a long, loving kiss on the balcony, had to agree.

THE END