stay calm. it will be okay. you have my word. Episode Four: Can’t Get You Outta My Head
This is episode four! To start reading from the beginning, check out Pilot : The Season Two Ending We Deserved
Story Summary
Turn off “The Reality War” at 40:15 and start here instead. This is the story of what happened after—the story where the Doctor, Bel, and their extraordinary daughter Poppy get to live the life they deserve.
It’s about finding family across time and space. It’s the Doctor and Bel co-parenting like the besties they are, Poppy growing up splitting her time between 21st-century London and the far-future of the Preservation Alliance, and a Sanctuary Moon fanclub that spans across the universe. It’s Rogue getting the ending he deserves, Jenny finding her fathers, Murderbot reluctantly acquiring more humans, and a universe where love, in all its forms, is the most powerful weapon we have.
This is a fusion-fix-it full of gratuitous wish fulfillment, because sometimes the best way to heal is to rewrite the story. 💕💕
Episode Summary:
Stranded on early 21st century Earth with a damaged ship, Rogue and Jenny navigate the new millennium with the help of the Ocean’s crew, finding family where they never expected it.
Notes:
Thanks so much to everyone who has left comments and kudos, and special thanks to Fire_Phoenix2305 and tinysugacube for letting me blow up their DMs on a daily basis as I come up with ideas for this fic, and to Marvin for his seal of approval! This chapter is when we dip into the universe of the Ocean’s movies, and I talk in very general terms about the events of Ocean’s Eleven and Ocean’s Twelve. The movies came out like, 20 years ago so tbh I don’t think it’s a major deal to include vague details so it’s not a big deal if you haven’t seen them, but I highly suggest watching them anyway because they’re excellent. 😊
Episode Four: Can’t Get You Outta My Head
The Yossarian was in bad shape. River had apologised about dropping them off so long after the last time that Rogue was on Earth, but unfortunately now that they had found the ship in a state of disrepair over 200 years after the fateful ball when Rogue had met the Doctor, finding it in that state was an established part of the timeline.
On the bright side, whatever the Doctor did to keep the ship in cloaked orbit around the Earth, while not stopping the ship from falling into disrepair, did preserve the contents of the ship. As such, Rogue’s clothes and personal effects were intact, and none of his food had achieved sentience via mold.
Still, that didn’t change the fact that they were now stuck in the early 21st century. Luckily enough, that was a place where Rogue had friends.
—
The last time that Rogue had been to Las Vegas, he and Art had assisted in stealing $160 million dollars from a Casino Vault. As such, he had a hefty sum waiting for him when he returned to the time period. He also had a lot of missed calls.
“Jon, where have you been, mate? It’s like you disappeared off the face of the Earth!” Basher exclaimed upon picking up Rogue’s call.
“I’m not sure you’d believe me if I told you. What’s been going on? I’ve got dozens of increasingly ominous calls only to get your ‘it’s settled’ text, what happened?”
“We got sold out. Someone spilled the beans about the Bellagio heist. You and Art were the only ones Benedict never managed to track down and threaten. Of course that means we couldn’t contact you either.”
“Sorry, Bash. You know I would’ve been there if I’d known.”
“It’s a non-issue now. Benedict’s been paid, with interest. Where have you and Art been hiding? A spot that off the grid would be useful for us to know.”
“Art’s dead, Bash. We got caught up in some… bad stuff. Then I was stuck in hell, and now I’m stuck in Vegas, at least for the foreseeable future.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, mate. If you’re in Vegas, make sure you stop by and see Reuben. I’ll let the rest of the crew know that you’re back, and about Art.”
“Thanks, Bash, you’re a good friend. I should be sticking around for a while, so hopefully we’ll be able to see each other soon.”
“You know it!”
—
Jenny was fascinated by Earth. It was loud, noisy, big, and bright in a way her home planet never had been. She may have had the body of a teenager, the muscle memory and knowledge base of a soldier, but she had only truly been alive for what people on Earth referred to as a week. Everything was new, and exciting, and more than a little bit scary. She was happy that Rogue was there to help her, and that he had forgiven her for getting them captured by space pirates.
Rogue’s house was the first one she had ever visited, but even with her limited knowledge she knew it was nicer than many others. He had given her a room to herself, and a proper bed that was much nicer than anything she had slept on previously. After Rogue rather messily landed the Yossarin on his lawn, they had entered the home and he had instructed her first on where the bathroom was, and second on how the shower worked.
Jenny had never taken a shower before, had never actually taken off the clothes she was born in. He had given her a fluffy bathrobe (that was the softest thing she had ever touched) to use before taking away her old clothes and promising to wash them so that she would have something to wear before they could go shopping for more clothes.
Jenny supposed it would be nice to have other clothes, but it didn’t feel particularly necessary, and she would prefer to avoid the crowds. This lasted right up until she met the Oceans.
The story that she and Rogue had decided to go with was that Rogue had rescued her from a militant cult that raised her completely underground and trained her as a child soldier and that is why she knew next to nothing about Earth in 2004.
Honestly it was not that far off from the truth.
What that did mean, though, was that Rogue’s friends had taken it upon themselves to teach Jenny how to live in the modern (to them) world, which meant they insisted that she needed to go shopping.
Jenny would not go as far as to call it torture, but it came close. The first store she went to was with just Tess. It was a lingerie boutique, where Tess and the store attendants helped her pick out a variety of undergarments that she found flattering and comfortable.
“I’m not going to say that fashion is never about what other people will think of what you’re wearing,” Tess explained patiently when Jenny protested that no one would ever see her undergarments, so why did it matter what they looked like. “It’s about making sure that you feel confident and comfortable in what you wear and how you look. You’re pretty, and you’re young, and people will always be judging you and how you look, it’s part of every woman’s experience. If you don’t love and have confidence in yourself, the world will eat you alive. The world will do its best to tear you down, don’t do that to yourself.”
They left with three bags for Jenny and two for Tess. They met up with Danny, Rusty, and Isabel to go to the next store, and Jenny felt a lot of the pressure she had felt when it was just Tess with her release, as being in a group provided cover that it was not just her they were shopping for. She had no real concept of what kinds of clothes she liked wearing, and so in the process of also shopping for themselves, the four had her try on what felt like every clothing combination in the store. After they paid, Tess insisted that Jenny switch into some of her new clothes and shoes before going to yet another store because they also wanted to get her some formal wear. This one was different, however, because Jenny had in the process of being at the first store discovered how much she hated dresses and their frequent lack of pockets.
As such, the third store they took her to was actually that of a private tailor, who took her measurements and helped her pick out materials for three custom suits, as well as flat shoes that she preferred to the offered heels.
“Are we done now? Please say that we’re done now,” Jenny asked. “I am tired and I want a bath.”
“Yes, we are done,” Tess laughed. “You’ve been a good sport. But we’ll be back tomorrow.”
Jenny scowled. “I think I have enough clothes to last me at least a year, we do not need to do more shopping.”
“Not for shopping,” Rusty corrected. “We’re having a spa day.”
“What is a spa day?” Jenny asked warily.
“Very relaxing, and very fun. We’ll get Jon to come along as well.” Danny clapped his hands excitedly. “Well, best get you back home.”
—
“Did you have fun?” Rogue asked as Jenny walked through the door, carrying a good dozen bags of clothes.
“It wasn’t completely awful, but fun seems like the wrong word to use.” Jenny grunted. “You’re lucky you didn’t have to come,” she collapsed onto the couch, the bags falling all around her. “What have you been up to all day anyway?”
“Been trying to see what can be done about the ship. I don’t expect that you want to stay here forever. The early 21st century isn’t the worst place for us to have ended up, but probably not the best either.”
“No, I suppose not, but did you really have to tell them I’m sixteen? They kept treating me like a kid,” Jenny scowled.
“Jenny, my dear, you are a week and a half old, you are a kid. And it’s much easier to forge an identity for a minor than for an adult. Also you’re the one who said you were interested in going to school, and again, forging an identity for someone to get into high school is much easier than getting someone into college.”
“I suppose,” Jenny sighed. “Thank you, though, really. I don’t know how I would have managed being on my own if I hadn’t found you.”
“You saved me too, Jenny. We’re both on our own now.”
“Not anymore,” Jenny reached out and clasped his hand.
“Not anymore,” he smiled back.