SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Chapter Seventy Eight Rose lay in Alan’s arms staring blankly at the window. The curtains were slightly parted and she watched while the rain slowly streamed down the window. Every so often, lightning lit up the sky illuminating the faces of her lover and friend while they slept peacefully. She had tried to drift off to dreamland when the rest of them went to bed. But fears and worries plagued her mind, keeping her from joining the others in sleep. Still, she had kept her eyes closed and her breathing even so Alan would drift off and not worry about her. He worried about her enough without this on top of it. Besides, Rose wanted to have this time to herself, to reflect on everything that she had seen over the past few months. All the horrifying dreams, the Doctor being tormented and turned by the Valeyard, his soul being twisted and mutated beyond recognition, her first real love being turned into the very thing he was fighting against. It sickened her to think of that but nothing sickened her half as much as recalling the dream where the transformed Doctor had slaughtered Alan in front of her eyes. The light leaving her fiancé’s eyes terrified her more than a million Daleks ever could. She glanced at his face, the slight smile playing around his lips while he slept. Whenever lightning flashed, she could see his eyes moving back and forth under his eyelids and briefly she wondered if he was dreaming about her, about their wedding and their life together. She swallowed hard when the image of his cold, lifeless face flashed in front of her eyes and she snuggled up closer against him seeking some kind of protection from the disturbing visions. She felt him stir slightly and felt his strong, protective arms tighten around her body. She glanced up and noticed the muscles in his face slacken as he went back into a deep sleep. If the Valeyard did threaten them would his half human body be enough to stand up to him? She held no illusions about the fragility of his body, at least compared to the Doctor’s. He only possessed one heart, one heart that could be stopped in a second and then Alan would be no more. Knowing that he still had the ability to read minds heartened her. What other abilities did he still have? She knew the Doctor had a respiratory bypass system, she had seen it in action a couple of times. Did Alan have the same thing even if he only had one heart? This thought led to another. What if Alan could regenerate? He had thought that because he was half human he had lost that ability but that had only been speculation on both his and the Doctor’s parts. What if they were wrong? What if they were wrong on the aging? What if Alan still had enough Time Lord DNA in him to allow him to have multiple lives? All they knew for sure was a huge portion of his mind had gone into Donna but what about the rest? Having the ability to regenerate didn’t make his body any stronger or more resistant to the Valeyard but it did give him a safety net of sorts, as painful as it was to think about that. She would rather see him regenerate and be a new man than lose him forever. A sudden crack of thunder made her gasp and she was shaken out of her reverie. She was startled when she felt Alan begin to rub her back. “Shhh, it’s alright, Starlight, I’m here,” she heard him mumble. She glanced at his face. For a moment, his eyes looked shut and then another lightning flash showed her that they were open the tiniest bit. “Did the thunder wake you?” she heard him say in a barely audible voice. “Yes,” she whispered, not wanting to give away the real reason why she was awake. His eyes opened a bit more and he slowly drew the covers up around her shoulders. Then he wrapped his arms around her body and lowered his head to hers. “It’s alright, it’s just a thunderstorm,” he murmured. “It’s not the hurricane, go back to sleep, my love.” Rose heart overflowed with love for him. She shifted slightly and felt Alan adjust his arms until she was resting comfortably against him. Once she was settled, he adjusted the cover so it was covering her back up to her neck. Then, he slowly rubbed her back. Rose raised her right hand and put it against the side of his neck. They gazed into one another’s eyes for a moment and Rose saw a loving smile on his face when the lighting lit up the room. “So far, it’s been a pretty active mornin’” he said, softly. “I guess we won’t be doing too many outdoor activities today, eh?” “I guess not,” Rose whispered back. There was another thunder boom. “Knock it off, Mother Nature, my fiancée’s trying to sleep,” he murmured. Rose laughed softly which earned her a kiss on the cheek. Feeling comforted and secure, she put her arm back around Alan’s body and sighed softly while she closed her eyes and finally surrendered to sleep. The next thing she was aware of was the sensation of warm lips on her cheek. She opened her eyes and saw Alan gazing at her. He was fully awake with a huge grin on his face. “I trust once you went back to sleep this morning, nothing else disturbed you?” he asked. Rose nodded. “Good.” It had been the truth. She couldn’t even remember dreaming about anything which came as a surprise to her given her concerns about the Valeyard. “The rain did stop,” he said to her. “Whether it stays stopped is anyone’s guess. I would check the Weather Channel but I’m having trouble getting to the remote because I’m nice and warm and comfy and you’re snug in my arms. It’s not giving me much incentive to move this mornin’” Rose smiled. She put her head on Alan’s left shoulder and reached over him for the remote on the bedside table, noticing as she did that Awinita was already out of bed. She was going to move back to her position when suddenly Alan put his hand against her cheek and held her face against his. “That feels good right there,” he said. “Have Awinita fetch a blowtorch so she can weld you to this spot.” Rose chuckled. She turned her head and gave his cheek a kiss before turning on the TV. She found the Weather Channel and Alan shifted onto his back so he could see it. Rose put her head on his chest and he put his hand on her back while they watched. As they did, the front door opened and Awinita came back in holding a small can of Coke in her hand. “Rose finally wake up?” she asked, walking over to her bed. “Yeah, I let her sleep in a bit. Thunderstorm we had last night woke her up.” “Huh, I didn’t hear a thing,” Awinita said, opening the can. “So, does that mean there’s gonna be more rain today?” “Yes, but later on in the afternoon,” Alan said. “Bang goes the zoo if that happens but we can always go to Graceland and then just drive around the town looking for trouble.” “You mean causing trouble, don’t ya?” Rose said. “Of course not, I’m a perfect angel,” he said. “Rose snorted and Alan waggled his eyebrows at her. “Weeeell, are you about ready to get out from under these covers into the cold air so we can go see Graceland?” he asked. “Oh, if I must,” Rose replied, groaning. Alan grabbed the edge of the covers and with a flourish, flung them off their bodies. Rose shivered for a moment when the chilly air hit the skin on her arms but she quickly warmed up and sat up with Alan. The two of them got up together and headed towards the bathroom while Awinita finished drinking her Coke. The first thing Rose thought of when she saw Graceland was how huge the estate was. She had never been much of an Elvis fan. Her mother had several of his albums and used to play them constantly when she was growing up to the point that she had grown sick of them. So she had no idea just how elaborate Graceland really was until she saw it up close. It struck her that her step-dad’s mansion paled in comparison to it, but then this universe’s Pete Tyler didn’t really feel the need to be ostentatious and advertise his wealth. Still, she couldn’t help but admire the beauty of the place. That impression quickly soured when she saw the interior. All the décor had been left as it was the day Elvis died in 1977 and it showed. Rose made a face at the ‘70’s furniture and wall coverings. It was all tacky looking to her. She glanced at Awinita and noticed she had the same expression on her face but Alan was staring at everything with his usual look of interest. “Amazing,” he said. “Not the word I’d choose,” Awinita said. Alan looked at her. “Why?” “I’m not into ‘70’s retro looks,” she said. “Neither am I,” Rose said, thankful her friend had expressed what she was thinking. “Well, be fair, the man died in 1977. This was all current when he was alive, you know,” he said. “Yeah, but that doesn’t make it any less ugly,” Rose said. “The 1970’s had some really daft color schemes, that’s for sure.” They walked into the Jungle Room. Rose took one look at the lime green carpeting and shook her head. “What were people thinking back then?” she said. “The carpeting is ugly and the furniture is weird. It’s horrendous. You’d have to be blind not to see how mismatched everything is.” “I suspect massive wealth and eccentricity go hand in hand,” Alan said, shrugging. “Well, I mean I loved the dining room with the blue marble and the curtains and I loved the music room with the stained glass peacock windows but this, this is a bit much,” Rose said. “Now aren’t ya glad the Doctor never decorated the TARDIS like this?” Alan said. “YES! I don’t think I would have stayed two seconds in the TARDIS if it looked this gaudy!” He chuckled. “Well, let’s move on to the next room then and let others comment on how tacky the Jungle Room is,” he said, putting a hand on her back. Rose let out a low whistle when they entered the Trophy Room. Lining both sides of the wall were framed gold and platinum records he had earned. “Blimey, I knew he was successful, but wow!” she said. They slowly walked through staring at all the awards and trophies and the elaborate rhinestone outfits Elvis had worn on stage in his later years. Rose’s mind boggled at it all. “This is just…wow, I’m just amazed at all this,” she said, taking it all in. “It’s sad to think that he was successful and had all this and died young,” Awinita said. “Yes, a brilliant, talented human done in by drugs,” Alan said, sighing. “Makes ya wonder how much more he would have done had he lived.” As they walked through Rose couldn’t help but wonder if the Doctor would have as many awards if he bothered to collect any for his heroic deeds. She could easily see one and possibly two large rooms filled to the brim with plaques and awards that would be given to him from all the people he had saved over the centuries. All the times he could have stayed to bask in the accolades and adoration and instead he had gotten into his TARDIS and headed for the next great adventure, his only thanks knowing that villains had been thwarted and planets and people spared. No, there would never be a room like this on the Doctor or Alan’s TARDIS and she was glad. Neither man needed a roomful of awards to demonstrate their worth to the universe. It saddened her to think that all these trophies had been heaped on Elvis in life and now they were here just gathering dust along with the rest of the memorabilia because, unfortunately, he couldn’t take it with him. Once they had gotten through the house they went outside. Rose glanced up and noticed the sky beginning to darken a bit but so far there was no sign of rain. They walked over to a museum housing Elvis’s cars and once again, Rose was taken aback at all the makes and models he had owned including the famous pink Cadillac. It seemed so over the top to her. All these cars, more cars than any one man needed. She couldn’t help but think of all the homeless and hungry people the money could have helped with the money he spent and now these cars were sitting here gathering dust and going unused just like everything else in Graceland. “It’s so unnecessary,” Rose muttered. “What is?” Alan said. “This, all of this,” she said gesturing to the cars. “It’s just…sitting here now and it’ll be sitting here for all time because Elvis owned them. Everything in the house is going unused because Elvis owned it. It’s wasteful.” Alan nodded. “It’s the cult of celebrity,” he said. “People put famous people on pedestals and treat their possessions like holy relics. There’s nothing wrong with honoring achievement or having money and fame but people like Elvis are in the minority. There are many other humans out there who never get any honors or accolades yet they make as much of an impact on humanity as movie stars and singers do. You’re right, Rose. No one will probably get to drive all these beautiful cars just because Elvis Presley sat in them. It is a waste. A life frozen forever in time because some people can’t bear to think of them being put to use or auctioned off. It’s almost the same as the Egyptians building huge monuments to their pharaohs. They were honoring god kings and this isn’t that far off, to be honest. I admire the man and his music but I won’t be building any kind of shrine to him in our TARDIS because he doesn’t have that much importance in my life. If I were going to build a shrine to anyone, it’d be you. You helped saved the universe from Davros and the Daleks, not to mention the other acts of heroism you performed. You did more to benefit humanity than this man did in my eyes.” “I was thinking the same thing as you guys, actually,” Awinita said. “Just thinking that Graceland is so beautiful and it is a shame that no one can live in it. It’s like a tomb now.” “Exactly,” Alan said. “It’s exactly the same thing as Egyptians burying their kings with everything they used in life. Elvis is buried on this property and this is everything he used in life. You’re spot on, Awinita. It’s the modern equivalent of an Ancient Egyptian Tomb.” They walked towards the exit. After seeing the private jet he owned and the graves and meditation gardens the three of them were ready to leave. They glanced up at the sky and noticed the sky hadn’t grown any darker. “Do you guys wanna try the zoo?” Rose said. “Maybe we can see it before the rain comes.” “I don’t mind,” Awinita said, shrugging. “If you want to give it a go, that’s fine.” Rose looked at Alan. “I s’pose you wanna go find the giraffes,” she said. He gave her a huge toothy grin. “Yup, that’s what I thought,” she said. She glanced up at the sky. “Okay, let’s go and see if we can get it in before the rain starts then,” she said.
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