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Chapter Text

Chapter 1

If someone had said to Martha that seeing Brighton one day would have thrilled her, she would never have believed it. But, after nearly a year of avoiding the Master's agents and talking about the Doctor, she was overjoyed to see the shores of England again. Because it meant that she was finally near the end of this nightmare. The horror she witnessed during this past year made her more than ready to end all this and go back to her life. She really loved the Doctor for all of the adventures that he took her on, and the sights that she never thought she'd get to see, but this year only proven to her that her first love would always be her desire to be a proper doctor.

"We're almost there. We need to be very quiet. The Master has a lot of agents snooping around here, and it's worse as we approach London. Are you sure you want to go there?" her visibly nervous escort asked while looking over his shoulder. The young man had been under order by the head of the local UNIT contingent to escort her from France to Brighton. He had been uneasy the whole trip, and would only be calm once he reached the safety of his base.

Martha sighed while looking around the desert town. "If we're going to stop the Master and all this madness, then I need to go to London." She looked at him. "You know, you weren't commanded to escort me this far. You could have given me the boat and told me where to go. Or you could have let me go alone into the city. I would have understood." That wasn't a lie. His family was a country away, and until three days ago he didn't even know her at all. Aside from her stories, she was a nobody to him.

Bolero was the name he wanted to be known as, and she didn't feel as if she knew him enough to ask for his real name. He smiled. "Someone brave enough to travel the world unarmed by herself? Was just something I needed to see for myself. Beside if I let you go alone, she'd probably kill me." He snorted while kicking at a pebble.

Martha was intrigued. "Who?"

"Me," a voice called from behind them.

Martha and Bolero spun around with Bolero raising his weapon just in case.

"At ease, soldier," the person commanded with a hint of amusement in their voice. "You can holster your weapon. Sorry to have surprised you."

Martha eyed the young woman before them. She appeared to be roughly two or three years older than her. She seemed friendly enough, with a nice smile and dark blond hair. However the habit of staying on guard when meeting a new person, regardless of if they held any sort of power or not, caused her to remain rigid and alert. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

The woman's smile morphed into a smirk. "I was waiting for you, Martha Jones. Please feel free to call me Wolf if you want. Everyone else does." She turned to Bolero. "Good job, Captain, I will take it from here. Do you want to come with us or do you prefer to go back?"

"Thank you, Colonel. If it's alright with you, I would prefer to leave now. If I speed a little I should be back before the morning," Bolero answered after a perfect salute.

Wolf shook her head, as if she was expecting this answer. "As you wish. Have a safe return and give my respect to Ahmed will you?"

"Yes 'Ma'am" He turned to Martha and held out his hand." It was a pleasure to be your escort. Best of luck to you in your mission."

She shook his hand and smiled. "It was really nice knowing you. Be safe." Then in a surge of gratitude she hugged him. "I really hope one day you will tell me why you named yourself Bolero."

"If you survive this, I will tell you my whole life story if you want."

She released him with a small laugh. "That a promise."

"Sorry to interrupt but we have to go, it's not really safe here," Wolf reminded them with a cautious glance around her.

With a last smile and waves, the small group separated. But two seconds later Bolero turned around and shouted, "Hey Martha?"

The two woman halted and Martha raised an eyebrow

"My name is Thomas. Thomas Berger." And with one last smile he ran away, as Martha enjoyed the first real laugh she's had in a month.

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They were walking in silence after seeing Bolero off. Wolf was walking without even looking everywhere except straight ahead. A sight that Martha was not accustomed; whereas she had gotten used to sleeping with 'one eye open' and always keeping to the shadows. All out of fear of being discovered by someone working for the Master or a roaming Toclafane. She still had her key but for even that wasn't comforting enough. Not with everything she witnessed. During the first few months after the Doctor sent her on this mission, she had constant nightmares of what would happen to her if they found her. And now, with her mission almost over, that fear was back almost in full force.

"So why Wolf?" Martha inquired in an attempt to break the uncomfortable silence.

She shrugged her shoulder. "That's sorta my name. But to be fair, I was more known as Bad Wolf in the very beginning." When Martha looked at her funny, she continued, "not that I'm a fan of the story or anything. It's just..." She looked into the distance with a sad face. "At first it was a joke. To remind me of something really important for me, even if that had gone to hell. But that was taken a little too seriously. So since that day it's also my code name. But it was a little too fairytale for some, so it's just Wolf. And with what's happening now, I think it's not a bad sign." She smiled at Martha. "But if you don't like it, you can still call me Colonel."

"You seem to be quite young to be colonel." Martha noted. "You're what… 25 maybe 27 at the most?"

Wolf smiled widely, her eyes taking a golden reflection with the sun. "Don't judge a book by its cover. I look younger than I am"

That surprised Martha. "Oh really? By how much?"

"Let's just say that I moisturize." Wolf snickered as if she had a private joke with herself, confusing Martha at the same time.

Martha opened her mouth to ask about the context, however Wolf suddenly announced, "Here we are." They walked through a maze of abandoned buildings, before finally entering one of the warehouses. "We'll stay here for a day. Two at most. Just some time to find a safer way to get into London?"

Martha nodded her head, temporarily distracted by the number of people in the warehouse. She hasn't seen this many people, at least a hundred by her count, in one place since Russia three months ago.

"Like you can see, we are a rather large crowd. In the scheme of things, it's really not safe, but I don't have the heart to separate anyone..." She sighs. "At least we can try to defend the maximum of people here. We do have the advantage of strength in numbers incase we get unwelcome guests."

"So you have plenty of people. Why am I here? Do you need me for medical assistance?"

"No, no we are good on that." Wolf motioned towards the little group of men and woman in brown jackets. "That's our medical support. They are the survivor of the local UNIT medical branch. Thank you though for the offer, and if we need anything we will not hesitate to ask." She then led Martha towards the back of the room.

"You were an UNIT officer before all this Master craziness?" The picture was seemingly getting clearer, yet fuzzier for Martha which each passing second. This woman was an all out mystery, and an inquisitive habit formed by her travels with the Doctor pushed her to learn more.

Wolf showed her something which could pass as a chair while taking a seat herself. "Yeah, technically I was. Well, I'm more the one sent in when everything is going pear shaped. They'll send me and a few other people wherever we're needed no matter the location. Almost like an expert in alien life if you want to see it like that. Well… not an expert like the Doctor, but we are trying to do our best. And I must insist that I'm more of a science person than a soldier." She shrugged. "Not really a fan of gun, me. But we can't afford to be too much peaceful these days." She looked at the other people in the place, some of them clearly way too young to have a gun in arms. Martha wanted clearly to ask more questions, including how she knew of the Doctor, but she was interrupted by a soldier who was frantically running towards them.

"Colonel, we have a situation!" He began. Martha made a move to let him take her seat, but he dismissed her with a gesture of his hand. "The alpha team is under fire. They had an encounter with a dozen of the Master's soldiers and three Toclafane are said to be on their way. If we don't do something now, they are lost!"

"Rashtek!" Wolf shouted, at the surprise of Martha, who hadn't heard this particular insult since her travel in the market of Cashel. "Alright, tell team beta and omega to gear up and move out, we're going now!" She gave Martha an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I need to go." She looked around, visibly searching someone. "Apollo!"

A boy no more than sixteen answered as he jogged over. "I need you to take care of Martha until I come back," Wolf said quickly before taking off to finish preparations with her teams.

The young man smiled at her timidly. "So you are Martha?"

She smiled. "Yes. Martha Jones. And you?"

"I'm Apollo." He then added, "Wolf named me after she found me in a basement with my guitar."

"Nice. So everyone has a nickname here?"

"Yeah. With the Master so close, it's better that way. We are not supposed to say our real name to anyone. Wolf says that name have meaning and power. We have to hold them close."

Time passed, and the more she and Apollo talked, the more she was intrigued by Wolf. "So she's the person in charge here?"

"Oh yes! You can't find better person here!" Say Apollo with pride. "She the one who has kept us safe. Taught us things to help keep us alive."

Martha was still curious. "And you know her well?"

Apollo shook his head. "No. But then again, nobody really knows her. Some of the soldiers say they've heard this story, or that story but they never have proof. Even one that claims her to be this legendary figure. But I don't know that much, they don't really talk to me. I'm just a kid for them..." He was somber for a few seconds, like he was remembering something before suddenly smiling brightly. "But she's really nice, and sometimes she's funny, I think you'll like her alot!. She saved my life! She also protects all of us." He was quiet, looking into the distance with a look who broke Martha heart. So many lives destroyed by the Master. It was really not fair. He looked around briefly before asking the burning question on his mind. "So is it true? Wolf said that you are the one with the stories, and that you were tasked with the mission to go around telling them. Did you really travel into the stars?"

She smiled at the his hopeful expression. She could tell that he'd remember everything she was about to tell him as he spread the tale. "Yes, I am. Would you like to hear one of them now?"

When he nodded enthusiastically, Martha took a deep breath and began the story.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

Wolf and her men didn't come back until well into the night. Almost everyone was asleep, happy and joyful after having listening to Martha for hours. They were eager to know everything about her and the Doctor. However, the opposite applied to Martha, as the excitement and the joy of telling her story made her more wired than anything.

"Still not asleep I see," Wolf offered as she joined Martha by the fire. "What’s keeping you awake?"

"Just the adrenaline.” Martha gave a tiny shrug. “I normally don’t sleep right away when I'm talking about why I'm here. Your mission was successful?"

Wolf sighed and sadly shook her head. "We lost two men..."

"I'm sorry." Martha turned her full attention towards Wolf, ready to be a sympathetic ear if needed.

After a moment of silence the blond woman turned her head toward Apollo, who was sleeping close to Martha. "Did he take good care of you?"

"Oh yes," Martha said with a smile. "He was very nice, and a very good listener." She looked at the kids and older one scattered all around the fire. "They all were."

"You know you give them hope. It's a good thing to have."

They stayed in silence during a long moment, staring at the fire. After a few minutes Martha considered asking more questions to know this Wolf person a little better, when the other woman began to talk again.

"Can I ask you a question?" she said, almost shyly.

"Yes. Of course." Martha nodded.

"How he is? I mean the Doctor...How he is when he is with you?"

"What do you mean?" Martha asked, giving Wolf a curious look. And for the first time, the woman seemed lost.

"Is he happy? I mean before the Master, he was happy?" Wolf diverted her gaze towards one of the groups of slumbering children. Martha recognized Wolf’s intent almost immediately; trying to subtly gather information on a particular subject.

Martha tooks a few seconds to consider her response. Is the Doctor happy? Outside of current circumstances… Yes, he appeared happy most of the time. But, there times where she could see just how deeply sad and wounded he was deep down. She knew what a person in mourning looked like, and it was obvious that it was for his planet and probably of Rose as well.

But right now people needed a hero. Someone who was still capable to make you want to fight. Especially after having lost people, like the colonel did today. And like she said earlier that evening: hope was a good thing. "Yes, I think he was. Before everything happened with the Master, He smiled a lot and he couldn’t seem to stay still." A smile was on Martha’s face now as she recalled her adventures. "He hates it when I sleep, said it's a waste of time. If I was crazy enough to take his advice, I will only sleep every four days. Sometimes he reminds me of a giant baby." She chuckled. "You know what the funniest thing about him is? He’ll talk to his ship a lot! Like all the time! Sometimes I'm almost waiting for his ship to respond."

Wolf was smiling with what Martha could swear was longing. She was also moving her head, like she was pondering something. "Great! That's great. I'm happy he’s not alone. Having someone is the most important thing in the world. Especially someone like him."

"What do you mean?" Martha was intrigued by her choice of words.

She waved her hand in dismissal. "I work for UNIT, I know his story. It's been years since we even heard of any Time Lord beside him or the Master. Saving the world, traveling in the entire Universe and being a hero. It can be hard on you, and you need to have someone to keep you in check and hold your hand. If you don't, you start to forget why you are doing this."

"You seem to know a lot about saving the world and all..."

"I have my fair share of adventures. The perk of being employed by UNIT for years. So yes I saved the world once or twice." Wolf stated proudly, looking directly into Martha eyes. The stare of the soldier was full of sorrow and pain, reminding Martha too much of the Doctor. Maybe that's why she looked so sad. Losing everything could do that to a person.

"For what you've lost I'm sorry," Martha offered, surprising herself by taking Wolf’s hand in hers. This year had been very hard on everyone. But those who were still trying to resist, who were still fighting, were generally those with nothing to lose. And she had a feeling that the colonel was one of those people.

Wolf was clearly startled by the gesture. "Oh! Well, uhm, thank you." She frowned, not looking at her and slightly uncomfortable at the contact. "I have to check on the perimeter. Good night, Martha." In a flash she was gone, walking with long strides towards the other end of the warehouse.

Martha sighed while rubbing at her eyes, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. She hoped that she hadn’t inadvertently set back progress between her and Wolf. She liked her and still wanted to talk to her more. It had been a long time since she had any sort of connection like that with someone, regardless of how big or small the interaction was. With a last look, she stood up and took one of the blankets. A good night of sleep, that's what she needed.

Tomorrow was another day.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

The next day Martha was suddenly woken by a very enthusiastic Apollo who was smiling ear to ear. "We found a secure way for you to go to London! I heard Wolf mentioning it to Gandalf a few minutes ago! Isn’t that awesome?"

Martha grumpily rubbed at her eyes as she yawned. Too much information before coffee. "What? First who is Gandalf? And secondly, what are you talking about?"

He pointed out the gruffy looking man with a small beard and a perpetual frown on his face. She recognized him from last night, he was one who came back with Wolf. "I'm talking about the fact that Wolf found a way to let you go without any agent of the Master tracking you. I don't know the details, because I didn't hear it all but the conversation seemed very serious. But I know if she said she can do it, then she’ll get it done."

"Let Martha breath, will you? Go to see the nurse, she needs help with the younger one," Wolf gently admonished Apollo as she approached, and handed Martha a cup of something that could pass as coffee, if you were not too picky, in her hand. Martha gave her host a thankful smile and drank it after blowing on the liquid. Anyone else would have raised an eyebrow at it. But eating and drinking ‘strange’ things on her travels with the Doctor, combined with her body growing accustomed to drawing every ounce of caffeine from all beverages made a difference.

Once Apollo disappeared, with a long sigh and a visible pout, Wolf started to laugh. She took a seat next to the other woman and smiled.

"Sorry I think he may have a tiny crush," Martha groaned, now a little more awake.

Wolf shrugged. "You made quite an impression on him. But as he just mentioned, we found a way to let you go to London in the most secure way possible. One of my men heard that a doctor from the next town over is trying to go back to London, just like you are. He is expected to start out tomorrow, so I'm going to have him escort you until it’s time for you to part ways, and during that time me and my men are going to make a diversion. It will let you guys get at least two hours into your journey without any trouble. We will try our best, but I don't know if we can do better."

Martha frowned. "Wait, I don't want you to sacrifice yourself. I need people like you in this world. I can't let you die just to have a couple of hours!"

Wolf smiled fondly. "Oh Martha Jones! You are worth ten of me. You're saving the Doctor and the world. I would gladly die a few times over for that. Believe me." She looked suddenly way older. "Just...In case I don't came back, tell… No that would be pointless." But before the other woman had time to say something, she was already up. "I need to coordinate my men. See you later." She quickly waved and then she was gone.

Marth tried to stop her, but without success. And despise her effort to seek her out later, she only saw her once that day. Wolf was talking to the one named Gandalf when suddenly she clutched her head into her hands. Before Martha had time to move, Wolf had disappeared outside. She tried to track her down but nobody let her follow her. Even after a lot of fuss.

It's with frustration she approached Apollo and the other kids after that. They kept her busy, and she gladly helped the elders who were trying to do as much as possible with almost nothing. They might have been former UNIT doctors and nurses, but without supplies and possibilities to go out, they seemed to make do. But Martha was nothing but stubborn, with plenty of hope too. The fact that she knew the end of this hell was near helped a lot. So, she worked for hours, almost forgetting Wolf and her disappearance.

It was during dinner that thing started to change. A little boy, who was not much older than six, asked her timidly if she had other stories in hand. She remembered him from last night, he was the one who squealed loudly when she started telling her story about Shakespeare. And when she lifted her head, she saw a lot of people who were visibly eager to hear more stories. But they were also something more. Something who looked a lot like hope.

It was during her third story; the one when the Doctor had slipped and fall into the Sacred river of TellSom, and they had to run to the TARDIS because they suddenly had furious natives on their heels that she noticed Wolf. She was in the back of the crowd, but she was visibly listening. And she was smiling, seemingly normal again. Not the smile full of sadness, and longing that she occasionally sported since they came into this warehouse. No, this was a genuine one. And when she started to tell how the Doctor had to give his trousers to the locals to appease them, she saw her laughing. A laugh that exuded real joy and better times. And in that instant she was not a soldier or a mystery, just an everyday person. Who visibly had way too much fun at the expense of the Doctor. Like she knew what Martha had to endure. So, Martha laughed too, happy to have a good laugh in these dark times.

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"Ok so in less than one hour, you and Dickens are going to go this way" Wolf pointed to the path on the map. "At the same time, Gandalf’s group are going to wreck havoc into the village, letting the Master think they are going to search for supplies. Me and my group are going in the opposite direction and attack one of the factories. In forty five minutes, Simba and his two mates are going to create a third diversion in another warehouse, letting them believe it was for that all along. And the civilians… Well, they know what they have to do when the time is right. Clear?" For the first time since the beginning of the speech, Wolf looked Martha in the eyes.

Martha wanted to say no, she wanted to fight Wolf and her apparent death wish. Maybe it was for the greater good: the end of the Master. But that were too many good man and women who could possibly die, because she told them that maybe hope was on the way. And Wolf was someone she needed in this new World if she failed to do exactly what the Doctor asked her to do in order to fix what the Master did.

Even if the Master died, the Earth would still be in shambles. But she saw the fierce determination in Wolf’s eyes and the craving to do what is good. Too much like the Doctor now that Martha thought about it. So she said nothing, only nodding in agreement when necessary. Because today she was like her best friend, and if she had to choose between these people and the world, the world would win. Especially when she wanted to choose these people. But Wolf and her men would never let her choose anything but the greater good.

What she would give to go back in time when things were easier. Yes, she knew the irony of that statement. She gave a sigh while giving a last look at Wolf, who was now busy giving instruction to everyone. Sometimes doing the right thing sucked.

Saying goodbye was always hard, and today was no exception. She knew she had to leave them, she had a specific mission to do, and people to see. But it was not something simple, saying goodbye with no way to know if they are going to survive another day. It had been really hard for Apollo, who revealed to her that his real name was Jamie. She promised him that she’d do everything in her power to come back one day, as long as he promised her that he was going to survive. Tears and hugs were exchanged, and he was not the only one to be missing her already. People young and old had woken early to be able to say goodbye, while passing on their thanks for her stories. Martha had felt relief in their solid belief, and it was with a big smile on her face, and a melancholy in her heart, that she followed Wolf and her men outside the camp.

Wolf passed her the map and a bag full of things. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes I think so," Martha lied, she was not ready to go deep down. She was weary of all this.

Wolf had a small smile. "Ok good. Did UNIT did tell you about the son of the professor?"

"Oh yes! They’ve had this information for almost a month. It is still the case?" Martha asked.

"Don't worry, if this information was no longer relevant I would had found out. Don't be worried" She smiled at Martha. "I gave you a copy of the CD UNIT was supposed to give you. I was not certain if they had it."

She took out of her pocket the CD she carried since Munich and show it to Wolf. "Yes. Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Wolf smirked at that. "Oh, I'm certain of that, don't worry. I think that nobody is better suited than you."

"Sometimes I feel like you know more than you let me think. It's aggravating. And frankly it reminds me of the Doctor. You should be proud."

The smile dropped a little. "It’s time for you to get going. The Doctor you will meet is named Tom Mulligan. We’ve already informed him that you are coming. If you have any problem on arrival, tell him that the pack sent you. In case he's already gone or any other problem, go to the village and tell them that Wolf said you needed a transport, and that you are the storyteller."

"So this is goodbye?" Martha tried hard to hide the sadness in her tone.

Wolf had a big smile. "I like you, Martha Jones, I really hope it's not the last time I see you! It's more of a see you later, ok?"

"Ok. I promise when all this is over, I will come back." Martha promised with a smile.

"I would love that. Really." Wolf replied also with a smile.

"I’ll hold you to that. Now you have to survive." Martha laid her hand on Wolf’s shoulder. "Don't forget, think of the Doctor and have faith."

Wolf looked into the sky - her face somber. "That's two things I will never forget to do. Believe me." She looked into Martha eyes again. "And you, Martha Jones… Don't forget that you are a star. One in a million. Promise me you will never stop being wonderful."

Martha laughed. "If you can promise me the same!"

Wolf shared her joy for a few moment before going somber again. "For the first time in my life I can say that I don't know what will happen next. But one thing is certain, I'm going to send you to London and you are going to save the Doctor and the world. Ok?"

"I promise." Martha glanced at the group of soldier with a frown. "Wait...Why did don't you have a big gun like the rest of the group?"

Wolf smiled enigmatically. "A magician never reveal their secrets. But what I can say is that I have a few things in my sleeve. And I'm not the only one displeased with what the Master has done. Goodbye Martha. See you!" She hugged Martha suddenly, causing her to gasp in shock. But before she had time to hug back, Wolf was already moving away. "Alright, let’s set off some fireworks, boys!" She smiled again in direction of Martha, a fierce look into her eyes. "Let's cause a diversion they will never forget!" With a last wave she disappeared into the labyrinth of warehouse, followed by all the soldiers except the one was supposed to lead her into the right direction,before causing a distraction himself.

"Time to move, Doctor Jones," said the young boy, looking with nervously behind him. "All hell will break loose in a few minutes, so we need to be long gone."

"She’s that good?" Martha laughed lightly, still looking towards the direction where the group had headed.

"No. She is better."

Martha had more questions, but the man had already moved away, leading her towards the end of her adventure. But she would never forget the enigmatic Wolf and all the questions she wanted to ask her. When the Doctor was saved, and the Master put into the ground once and for all, Martha vowed to return for all of them.

But Martha never had the chance to search for Wolf or the others except for a few of them. Between the year that never was, and all that happened after she had other things in mind.

Maybe one day.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4:

The reign of terror of the Master disappeared from memory, making him a passing dream in some minds, becoming ‘the year that never was’ for the few in confidence. Martha returned to her studies and family, never forgetting those who helped her during the darkest moment of that forgotten history. 

In fact… Everyone continued their life, never knowing how they fought for their life and freedom in the name of the Doctor. 

Rose smiled proudly the day she heard that Martha had been recruited by UNIT.  Every person who had become a companion of the Doctor had the potential to achieve greatness; it’s usually what draws him towards someone as a potential companion. And Martha was no exception to that rule. However, Rose didn’t knew it was her own actions, and the bravery of so many UNIT men and women, that was a major factor in Martha’s inspiration to join this institution.

Sometimes, Rose would sit and think about how she would enjoy to talk to Martha about her time on the Tardis. To know how the Doctor has been doing, to hear about his latest adventures. But those ideas do not last long, just enough to yearn about that life again, before running head first again into action.

Little did she knew that day would come way sooner than later…

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Rose was an happy camper for once. She had asked to be assigned to the Valiant for a few weeks, yearning for a change of scenery and to discuss science with people who weren’t going to roll their eyes after a few moments. She really needed the break after a string of missions which became harder and harder, and what better than the only place in UNIT who was filled to the brim of scientific and people eager to share everything they knew? Even the science department of London UNIT was less enthusiastic than them (and they have Dr. Malcolm Taylor).

“We’re working on improve our engines. We recovered a few spaceships in the last ten years, and if we can understand and reverse engineering some of them, maybe in a few years we are going to be able to travel into the stars!” One of the engineers named Liam Scott had enthused as soon as he saw Rose.  She had been seized as soon as she had set foot in the engine room. Everyone who knew her, or about her, knew how she loved to talk or listen about science with anyone.

Rose smiled. “So the problem at hand is understanding what we have right in front of us. And if I read the department memos from last year correctly, we are still stalled somehow.”

The look of pure joy he gave her made her almost laugh out loud. That what she missed sometimes, the simplicity and the delight. It was a refreshing change from past experiences.  It always came onto her shoulders when push came to shove.  And while she was glad to do her part, it grew tiresome to be the only one expected to make a decision around here.

He opened his mouth to reply, but the speaker cut him off. “Colonel Wolfe is urgently requested on bridge. I repeat, Colonel Wolfe is urgently requested on bridge! 

She rolled her eyes with a chuckle. “I seriously can’t have five minutes.” She smiled at Liam before departing. “I will try to come back later to finish our discussion.”

It didn’t take Rose long to reach the bridge. “What is wrong?” She approached the second in command of the Valiant, Sergeant Azarmov.

“We are receiving a very strange reading from our people on the ground. At first I was thinking it was probably an issue with our radar, and asked Private Hillman to check in with London.  But it’s not just a problem with the Valiant, but it’s worldwide!” Azarmov explained, not bothering to mask the extreme anxiousness in her voice.

Rose frowned at the news. “Show me.”

Hillman waved her over, and pointed at one of the multiple screens around him. “Screen two has the results.”

Rose squinted at the multiple numbers and lines that scrolled without interruption. “Wait, am I reading this correctly?”

Azarmov nodded as she stood behind the two. “I’m afraid so ma’am.”

“How can our atmosphere suddenly became poisonous?” Rose turned around. “Has UNIT sent any information in the last 24 hours on anything that could point to the culprit?” Normally, she would had been contacted on her mobile if something really catastrophic had happened. But of course, she had asked for a sort of downtime (first in almost four years - so she definitely was entitled to it) after two months of continuous hellish missions. So, now that she thought about it, It was most likely they hadn’t bothered her with this until it got to this level.

One of the men raised his hand. “We have a report from Colonel Mace from today 0100 GMT stating they were investigating the ATMOS incident…”

“Yes, the suspicious manner in which 52 people all died at exactly the same time. I read the memo.” Rose answered impatiently. “But how does this related to our atmosphere being dangerous for people down there?”

“Just they are entering the ATMOS factory and starting operation blue sky. No communication since 0800 GMT. 

Rose raised her eyebrow. “Operation blue sky? Someone want to tell me what that is?” One week on downtime and she was already out of the loop.

“It’s one of...” Someone had begun to explain before Hillman frantically interrupted with, “Atmosphere saturation at 38%, and it’s rising again!”

“Okay, everybody stay calm,” Rose commanded and turned to the first person she saw. “You’re Private Vasquez right? Call Geneva, request a status update, and then ask why the Valiant was not informed.” She then turned to another soldier. “Call Colonel Mace, I need to know what is exactly happening on the ground.” When the soldier acknowledged his task, Rose let out a small sigh. The holiday was officially over.

While everyone were furiously working at their stations, Rose took a second to send a message to the people she had worked with, asking about what they knew about the situation. But unfortunately they were as much in the dark as she was. Something that she did not like. As that almost always meant the situation had come out of nowhere and they had either missed the warning signs or whoever was behind this was an ace at stealth.  Both were never a good thing, as one would involve competency questions from higher up, and the other was just really bad news

“45% now and rising!” Tillman called out.

Rose put a hand on her forehead. “That's not good. Not good at all...That's rising too quickly...” She mumbled to herself, before realizing that Vasquez was looking at her with a sort of anxious yet concerned look. “What did Geneva say?”

Vasquez rolled her eyes. “They put us on hold." 

Rose wasn’t expecting that. “What? Why?”

“They said that the Valiant was not top priority right now, and that we could hold or be called back later. The United Nations is holding an emergency session.”

“Fine. We’ll have to get by without them.” She scowled then turned to Azarmov. “Did any of our scanners pick up anything abnormal around the Earth? Any spaceships? A weird light, perhaps?”

Azarmov lifted his chin, already pulling up a few communications logs. “Our men are looking at it right now. We’ve also asked the other Unit bases to report their findings.”

“Level rising at 50%! “ Interrupted Private Hillman, his eyes glued to the screen.

“50%? Do we even any idea what is in that fog? And where on earth he is coming from?” Rose tugged at her hair before calling over to someone, “Has anyone been able to reach Colonel Mace?”

“Channel two, Colonel!” said one of the technicians.

“Finally! Maybe I’ll get some bloody answers now…” she muttered while crossing her arms. “Ok! Onto the big screen now!”

Colonel Mace’s head and shoulders appeared before them. “Trap One for big Hawk! You wanted to speak with me?”

“Colonel Wolfe, acting command of the Valiant.” Rose watched him blink a few times while processing her words. Like every high rank officer of UNIT, he that when Wolfe was brought into the situation, that it was extremely serious.

And that didn’t always apply just for their enemies.

“I'm going to be brief, Colonel Mace. With the situation at hand, we don't have the time to run around blindly. What is happening down there? Is this connected to your investigation on ATMOS?” She looked at him very seriously, waiting for answers.

“Yes, it involves ATMOS,” Mace admitted, “but we don’t have a clear answer as to what is the cause of the problem. But, we strongly suspect that it’s alien, and originated in all ATMOS devices. We’ve passed a message for people to stay away from their cars.”

Rose shouted a very nasty curse, making the Sergeant beside her look at her in surprise. “Are you sure? Because do you know how many cars have ATMOS on it?”

“Yes, we’re sure!” Mace nodded, pleased with himself that it was his people who discovered not only the origin of the devices, but their inner workings. “It’s good you called me,  I was just about to contact you. We require the Valiant as back up. We're sending in a fresh batch of soldiers right now, and we are probably going to need you to clear the frog from the area. And be ready to shoot on my command. We need to be prepared on all front.”

Rose had stopped listening after the revelation that ATMOS was responsible, and that they clearly had no idea on what to do. She was now too busy tinkering with something on her wrist. “Colonel, I need your coordinates.  I’m coming down. I will be more helpful on the ground than up here.”

Mace looked affronted. “Colonel, we have the situation completely covered! And you are well aware that your machine is not that good! You yourself have said that you don’t know if it’s still working!”

“Yeah, I know this thing is dodgy at the best of time, but it’s not the time to discuss semantics! The Valiant will remain completely functional under Sergeant Azarmov.  You however obviously need help on the ground.”

“I’m the head of UNIT England, you can’t just--” Mace sputtered as his face grew red with frustration.

Rose interrupted him with a scowl. “Mace. Don’t make me pull seniority on you. Remember that I’m not Brigadier only because I refused the promotion.” She clenched her hands, wishing for the ability to smack him through the screen. “Right now is not the time. So, if you have a problem with my decision, then you can still file a grievance with Geneva or the prime minister. But only after I’ve saved your sorry arse. Am I clear?”

“But the D…” He tried to start again.

“For Pete’s sake, Colonel!” Rose’s eyes flashed and she looked so angry that the men besides her took a cautious step back. “The whole world is choking! Do you really want to debate on who has the biggest toy?”

With a resigned sigh, Mace transmitted the coordinates of the mobile HQ, and waited for the her to show up. Wolfe was one of the most mysterious agents of UNIT, and probably the very best they had in the years since the Doctor was about.

Speaking of the rather frustrating alien… He took a moment to consider the potential of them crossing paths, wondering if he could survive a meet up between the her and the Doctor (who easily proved that he could be just as hard headed).

Rose was still typing on her machine, which looked a cross between a steampunk watch and intricate bracelet. “Right, so in fifteen seconds I'm going to move down to the ground. Stand by and wait for my signal or for Colonel Mace to make a move. Am I clear?” she commanded, not even looking back over her shoulder. She knew her crew well enough to know they would obey her order.

Sergeant Rinkins, who had been with the Colonel for the week nodded his understanding. Like almost all UNIT agents, he knew the legend of Colonel Marion Wolfe. It said she was with UNIT since its creation, and that she even had superpowers. She was the wild card when everything was supposed lost. And he didn't want to be the one to contradict her. “Crystal clear, ma’am.”

She looked at him for the first time since the beginning of this situation and smiled. “You’re going far Rinkins. See you later.” And in a flash, she was gone.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5:

A few seconds later, in a blinding flash, she reappeared in front a very surprised soldier, who didn’t even had time to point his weapon before she presented her credential. “Colonel Wolfe. I’m coming from the Valiant. I need to know where Colonel Mace is.”

Still totally stunned by what he just saw, the soldier just pointed in direction of the UNIT field base. Rose thanked him and marched with a resolute step into the secured space.

“Okay, I'm here. What do we know exactly? And what is your next move? ” Rose said with determination, her sudden appearance clearly surprising a few of the people. A few people even looked at her in surprise at the fact that the Colonel Wolfe was there. Some of them tried to salute, but she stopped them with an annoyed look.

Mace sighed irritably. “Wolfe, like I said...”

Rose growled, making a lot of them nervous. She was clearly totally over the lack of information. “Don’t push me, Mace. What. Is. Happening.”

A few people started whispering among themselves, they knew Rose was high rank, but they didn’t know that she was that high of a rank. Mace throwed them a black look before replying, “It’s ATMOS. We think it’s alien, but we don’t have total confirmation. I sent a group of soldiers into the factory to secure the area. We are waiting for advice from our expert but meanwhile we are sitting ducks. Satisfied?” His tone clearly displeased with the intrusion.

“Do we have any idea about what’s in that gas?” Rose asked. After a few seconds a woman gave her a clipboard. She thanked her, and looked at her distractedly before doing a double take. “Oh you’re Martha! Martha Jones, right?” She smiled.

The woman gave a somewhat forced smile. “Yes, that’s me. Do I know you?”

“No, no but I heard about you. You were the one to save us all during the year that never was. You were also traveling with the Doctor, right?”

“Yes, yes, she was,” said Mace impatiently as Martha stalked off, annoyed by all the small talk. “And like I’ve mentioned, we are waiting for him to report his findings. So, I’m sure you will be very helpful but...”

Rose blanched, the clipboard slipping from her fingers. “The Doctor? He’s here?”

Mace looked at her with curiosity. “Yes he is our expert. Who do you think operation blue sky was targeting? It’s not like we have a lot of allies and expert on alien technologies. Even you’ve had your limit.”

But Rose was not listening, she was too lost in her own head. She looked all around her with a frantic look. “I can’t be here. I need to go.”

“But Wolfe...” However, a sizzle on the radio made Mace pause to listen properly. “Greyhound 40 to Trap 1, I have just returned the Doctor to base safe and sound. Over.”

“Trap 1, received. Over.” He responded.

At the same time Martha came back with her phone on hand. “Sir, message from the Doctor. He says Code Red Sontaran.”

Mace cursed under his breath. “One moment.” He grabbed his radio. “All troops: Code Red Sontaran. Repeat: Code Red Sontaran.” He glanced at Rose, who was still, and pale as a ghost. “Well, you wanted in. Now you are! If you have any idea how to sort this mess, I’m all ears!”

Rose felt the familiar adrenaline begin to flood her body. She licked her lips, hoping that the idiot would heed her advice so that she could get out of here quickly. She wanted to be anywhere but here. “You said that you sent some troops into the factory? The Sontarans are a warrior race, and they will not resist to draw your people into a firefight!” She grabbed her weapon from her holster. "I'm going in. And don’t you dare tell the Doctor I was here!” And before they were able to say something, she was out of the UNIT field base. Less than a minute after her departure it was the Doctor’s turn to rush inside.

“Right then, here I am. Whatever you do, Colonel Mace, do not engage the Sontarans in battle. There is nothing they like better than a war. Just leave this to me.”

Captain Price rolled her eyes. “She goes out. He goes in. Seriously... This place is worst than a vaudeville act!”

The Doctor spun around, and looked at her confused. “What?”

Mace interrupted him, diverting his attention again. “And what is your plan for dealing with this problem?”

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It was a very determined Rose who caught a slightly stunned Jenkins. “You. Are you the one in charge down here?”

He saluted, a little unsure about what’s happening. “Just for my unit, yes. But my orders are coming from Colonel Mace. You want me to call him?”

"No, I'm good." She showed him her UNIT card. “Colonel Marion Wolfe. I'm taking over the command here.” The men made themselves all stand at attention, annoying Rose who was clearly not in the mood. “At ease, and don’t salute again, it's not necessary.” The men looked at each other confused.

“Sorry, Ma’am, but why are you here? I mean we are honored, but we’re only responsible for securing the building.”

She ignored his question. "How many soldiers here?"

He looked at the other men with a shrug. "I don't know. I think maybe 30 or 40."

Rose reached for her radio before realizing it was on the Valiant. She cursed softly. "Shit don't have mine." She looked at Ross. "Ok, I want you to spread the word that we’re on high alert. Nobody is patrolling alone, and if anyone sees anything suspicious they report and go back to base. We are up against Sontarans. They don't take prisoners, and they are a highly skilled warrior race. So we are playing on the safe side. Clear?" she commanded in the most serious tone that she had. Plus, anxiety was creeping it’s way in, with the Doctor nearby and the Sontaran, it was a recipe for disaster.

He nodded gravely. "As clear as possible, Ma'am."

She smirked. "Great." She turned to one of the men. "You, what's your name."

"Pri...Private Cahnahan Ma'am," he stuttered, still surprised that Colonel Wolfe was addressing him directly.

Rose smiled widely. "Nice to meet you! You’re coming with me, and we are going to see further inside what's happening!" She turned to Jenkins. "Don't forget what I said." She turned back to Cahnahan. "Can I have your radio please?"

Ross nodded, already passing the message. "Greyhound Forty to all factory troops. Everyone on code Red. I repeat, everyone on code Red. If anything appears suspicious, report immediately and retreat. Alpha Wolf order."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

All of the radios began to crackle. "Greyhound Forty to all factory troops. Everyone on code Red. I repeat everyone on code Red. Report immediately if anything is out of place. Alpha Wolf order."

Mace sighed while listening. Of course she would take over and do whatever she wanted. Sometimes he wanted to scream in frustration. Between her and the Doctor, if he didn't have a heart attack by the end of the ordeal, he would consider himself lucky. He then turned to the operative besides Price. "Call NATO, we are starting operation Defcon One initiatives. We don't have any other choice."

"Right on it, sir!" the man replied and got to his mission.

"And what about the factory...?" Price asked uneasily.

"Let the Colonel do whatever she wants, like she always does. If she prefers to prepare for imaginative objectives instead of saving the world then good for her. But I'm not going to be a coward." He puffed himself taller. "I'm going to do what is necessary."

"Green light from NATO, Colonel!"

"Great! Let's save the world!" Mace said with a smile.

The Doctor suddenly barreled in. Again. "Change of plan," he began while looking a little worried.

Mace smiled. "Good to have you fighting alongside us, Doctor."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So Cahnahan, do you have a first name?" Rose asked her temporary partner as they passed the west corridor.

"Lee, Ma'am," he answered, his weapon firmly in hand. He waved to signal her that the corridor was clear. "I was named after my grandfather."

Rose opened a door to do a quick, yet thorough check before they moved on, reassured to not see anything resembling a Sontaran. It appeared to be all clear except for the two other teams they saw earlier in another hallway. "That's sweet. And have you've been with UNIT long?"

"It's gonna be a year in three weeks."

They continued their progression in silence for a few minutes, passing through doors and hallways without seeing anything. It was a little eerie to see so much empty space. It was not really reassuring to Rose, who was certain that some sort of trouble was brewing.

Sontarans were not reputed for a peaceful nature.

They were walking mostly in peace, except for the few orders that Rose gave here or there. But she noted how Lee looked at her with nervousness, obviously trying to ask something without having the courage. After two false starts, which Rose pretended to not notice, he finally managed to ask, "And you? How long have you been with UNIT? If I may ask."

She stopped her progression and looked at him, smiling. "Don't be shy, Lee. How about you ask me what you’ve really wanted to ask."

"It's true you've been with UNIT since its creation?" He asked with trepidation. He knew that he was one of the few that had the gut to ask the question that everyone wanted to ask.

"Well..." Rose started but was cut by a sudden frantic radio message that she recognized as Jenkin’s voice. "Sontarans within factory grounds. East corridor, grid six!"

She cursed. She knew that something will happen. She knew it. "Alpha Wolf One to all stations immediate retreat! I repeat immediate retreat! Everyone out !" She screamed into her radio, already moving rapidly to the south exit. A few teams were on her six, or already out, making her sigh with relief. She hoped that everyone had time to run out.

"Troop moving, I'm going to slow them down!" Jenkins said a few seconds later, making Rose and Cahnahan stop abruptly. "Jenkins, evacuate immediately! That’s an order!" She screamed again into her radio, making a desperate half turn, already running towards his direction. "Or I swear to god I will make your life a living hell!!" she lowered her radio and called over her shoulder for Lee to get out and make sure that everybody was following orders. Without another word, she started running faster.

Jenkin’s voice came through the radio again. "My weapon is not working! Tell the Doctor it's that cordolaine signal!" The shoot and sudden static that followed his last words made her blood run cold. It was too late for him. She wanted to scream and cry, but now was not the time. He gave his life to save others, and she will not let another soldier die for nothing.

She shoved her weapon hazardly in her back and started to search the ground, hoping to not come face to face with a Sontaran. But she was lucky and only found three soldiers, trying to run desperately to the exit.

"Colonel!" One of them shouted with relief that it was one of their own that they ran into. "They’ve taken the factory!"

"Yes, I know! You need to evacuate!" She pushed them in front of her, already hearing the heavy footing of the aliens. But she didn't have the time to say another word, her radio crackled again. "Alpha Wolf One report. Over!" came the extremely stressed voice of Colonel Mace.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Doctor and Mace were arguing when the loudspeaker came to life again. "Sontarans within factory grounds. East corridor, grid six!" Jenkins called out over the the radio, almost immediately followed by another voice, just as frantic as the last one. "Alpha Wolf One to all stations immediate retreat! I repeat, immediate retreat! Everyone out!"

The Doctor looked startled by that voice. "Who is that? The second voice, who is she?" he demanded while looking at Mace, who tugged at his collar nervously.

"Why do you ask?" Mace replied as the exchange continued in the background.

The Doctor started to pace, occasionally looking at the speaker like it had the power to answer all of his questions. And as the exchange continued on the radio he suddenly turned around and stopped just a few centimeters short of Mace, who retreated under the surprise. Even the soldiers around were visibly uneased by the comportment of the Doctor. "Because it's probably the most important thing in the universe right now!" The glint in his eyes made the Colonel shiver.

Mace moved back a few steps. Uneasy and troubled by the direction the conversation was heading. "It's clearly not the time, Doctor, we have a planet to save!" he said with irritation.

But the Doctor was clearly not having it, looking more frazzled by the moment. Passing his hand through his hair again and again. Making the hair stick up every which way. A few soldiers started to look around, puzzled by exchange and who they were discussing. Even Price and Mace were starting to be worried about the well being of the Doctor.

"TELL ME!" the Doctor growled, furious at the lack of responses. He knew that voice belonged to Rose. He didn't know how that was possible, but he would have recognized it even in his sleep.

He would not let the universe separate them again. Even if he had to step into the factory himself and take her back into the Tardis where she belonged.

He started to move towards Mace, a determined look in his eyes. The oncoming storm was there, daring the man to deny what he knew. Thank god Donna was not here, she would have slapped him into oblivion, reminding him that there were more pressing issues at hand in this moment.

But the Colonel was clearly more brave than he would have think. "Greyhound 40 was talking about a cordolaine signal. What is it? There are too many lives at stake, not only my men, but the entire world! We need you, so don't make me arrest you, because that would be counterproductive," He threatened in a firm and clear voice, making the Doctor slightly back away, clearing the madness a little.

He looked around, feeling guilt as his comportment, seeing so many look of confusion made him realise that it was not only his life at stake, he was responsible for all of them. He sighed suddenly tired. He didn't mean to lose control like that. He finally turned his head to Price, who looked a little afraid of the sudden attention. "They need to stay as far away as possible from the Sontarans. Or they will all die."

"Alpha Wolf One report. Over," Mace said into the radio, before turning to the Doctor. "For your information her name is Colonel Marion Wolfe, and she is the commander of the Black Operation, and one of the finest soldier UNIT ever had. She's been under my order for two years. Under Colonel Chaudhry for three. She has special recommendations from Brigadier General Lethbridge. I can go on and on if you’d like to continue to waste time! Do you also want her medical records, or are you going to start to question the credentials of all my men?" Mace’s tone was tight while glaring at the Doctor, all while being aware that they had an audience. Everyone around them had been waiting for things to come to a head between the Colonel and this Doctor, and they were not disappointed.

Mace was waiting for the Doctor to make some sort of retort, but to his surprise the Doctor only sighed and slumped his shoulders before turning around. The man looked like the life was squeezed out of him, which puzzled the colonel to no end. But Mace was brought out of his thoughts by his radio which crackled to life again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"They have taken the factory! A few of us got out, but I don't know how many soldiers are still in there!" Rose reported while gripping her radio. She was able to get out with the few soldiers that crossed her path, but the Sontarans made it impossible to come back looking for other survivors. Not without any functioning weapons at the very least.

"Get to the industrial estate and stay on standby. Don't try to engage, we are trying to find a plan to get around the signal Greyhound 40 talked about. Trap one over."

"Wouldn't dream of it..." She murmured as she helped a wounded soldier to climb into an ambulance. She looked around and saw Cahnahan a few meters away, talking to another soldier who was visibly shaken while flagging down a medic. But he rapidly vanished into the crowd, as she looked at the wounded and the dwindling amount of soldiers before her. The Sontarans had been ruthless in their pursuit. She taken a few seconds to herself, giving a brief thought to those who had fallen, before she put herself together and went back to concentrating on keeping charge of the situation.

After a handful of minutes, way too long for Rose, a message came from Mace made them all finally smile. They had a breakthrough! They finally had a plan and a way to fight back against the Sontarans. They were back on track. Rose was not a violent person, she clearly preferred to talk and do science than shooting at someone. But she was more than ready to do an exception for the Sontaran. Shoot now, talk later. She smiled into her gas mask and started to ready her troops.

Almost an half an hour later, as she was passing the last of the new weapons, she was surprised by the voice of the Colonel Mace. "Attention, all troops," he called out with a proud tone, causing everyone to stop and give their attention.

Rose almost jumped out of her skin upon noticing the Doctor standing beside him, and in her own opinion, looking way too amused for someone sporting a gas mask in this situation. She started to back away, making a beeline in direction of the majority of the troops, putting as much space between herself, and the Doctor. She quickly hid behind a few soldiers taller than her, making sure to be not seen by anyone important. She didn't want him to see her, she wasn’t ready. Too much time has passed since they parted ways, and she knew that she will fall hard again if she went off with him again. She couldn’t survive another heartbreak. It was way too hard and she was not strong enough.

Not after what she survived.

"The Sontarans might think of us as primitive," continued Mace, not aware of the turnabout on Rose’s part. "As does every passing species with an axe to grind. They make a mockery of our weapons, our soldiers, our ideals. But no more!" he exclaimed.

Rose smiled at that. She did not always see eye to eye with the Colonel, but she could not deny that he was one hell of a motivator.

"From this point on, it stops. From this point on, the people of Earth fight back, and we show them our strength. We show the warriors of Sontar what the human race can do. Trap One to Hawk Major. Go, go, go!"

A few seconds later the Valiant made itself known with the whir of engines that powered the giant propellor blades that began to clear the area of fog. She smiled and removed her mask, happy to be able to breathe again. She turned to a soldier who was just as happy as her at being able to see and breathe correctly and smiled wickedly. "Ready to make history?"

He charged his weapon in one swift movement and smirked. "Like nobody before."

Rose looked in the direction of Mace, waiting for his signal to the Valliant. And as she heard the words, she turned to her men. They were all geared up for the battle, weapons in hand and fire in their eyes just waiting for orders. She smiled. She was proud to serve with these people, all ready to die if that meant Earth would be safe. It would not be something she would ever forget. And with that though in head, she yelled as everyone else was, "Let's show the Sontar how it's done on Earth!"

And just has she finished her sentence, a giant green beam exploded a part of the factory wall, bathing them all in light and smoke. Immediately after, she saw the loading bay doors get blow up. She heard a few soldiers whooping with joy before running head first into combat. She smirked. It was now or never. It was show time.

And with a fierce look and her weapon firmly in hand, she charged into the heat of the battle. More soldiers directly behind her. The Wolf was at the door and she was ready to howl. Bullets were flying everywhere, hitting body after body, mixing all into a cacophony of sound and blood. Soldiers starting to enter the factory at all openings, pushing the Sontarans back as they began to gain ground.

Rose was having the time of her life. Opening fire without hesitation, muscle memory coming to life and making her feet move in a way that one would swear that she was dancing. Shouting the occasional order between rounds of shooting, darting behind cabinets and rumble with a wolfish smile on her face. Sontarans were falling left and right around her.

They didn’t stand a chance.

She wanted to show then that the Earth was defended, even without the Doctor as protector. That the human race was born fighting, and she’d gladly step into the battlefield if necessary to do her part. She smiled at a man beside her and before he had time to blink, she shot at the Sontaran who had tried to line up a kill shot.

She gave him a wink. "You're welcome!" And without another world, she jumped over the rumble they were using as cover and knocked out a Sontaran before disappearing into the melee with a joyous cry. At that exact moment the soldier understood why Wolfe was considered as a legend in UNIT, because she was one you wanted on your side.

She was indomitable. Steel in her eyes, and death on her path. Determined to have as many soldiers as possible going home at the end of the day. She spotted a Sontaran who was aiming his weapon at one of her fallen men. Without any hesitation, she slammed the butt of her gun into the vent at the base of it’s neck, causing him to drop like a sack of potatoes. She'd lost too many soldiers to be merciful. When she was younger, things would have been different. She would have tried to bargain, or at least found a different solution to the problem.

But she knew differently now. Rose was no longer a naive woman, but a hardened soldier who preferred peace, but understood that sometimes war was the only solution. She didn't wait to see if the Sontaran would get up again, instead holding out a hand to help her comrade to his feet. This one was one more person that would go home to their family tonight.

After she making sure the young man wasn’t in need of a medic, she ran back to the fight. By the end of the next round of heavy battle, she took out two more Sontarans and gained a few meters, rejoining a group of soldiers who were trying to gain access to a corridor leading to the north part of the factory.

They didn't have much success. It was heavily guarded by Sontarans, weapons drawn and ready to fire. Not one to resist a mystery, especially in combat with a bloodlust race, she opened fire without hesitation. Pure concentration was on her face, and frustration in her heart as she took cover behind a fallen wall. She screamed to the men and women besides her to keep firing, and that they were almost there.

If she heard to her radio correctly, there were a few groups of soldiers that were deep in the west and south corridors, and if she wasn’t mistaken, the Sontarans were getting a taste of their own medicine. She also knew that Mace had been able to get into the eastern portion of the factory. They were at the end, she knew it. They just had to hold on a little longer. With that determination in her mind, she reloaded her weapon and turned to the sergeant beside her. "Cover me. I will try to open a breach by the side," Rose said confidently.

"Already on your six, ma'am," the sergeant promised with a small nod.

“Great!” Rose enthused with a wink before stepping back out into the firefight.

Not even a moment after Rose shot down the last one, she heard her radio crackle. Even the loud speakers of the factory, those who survived the battle, were coming to life. The voice of Colonel Mace boomed and resonated all around them. Everyone stopped to listen for what they hoped was good news.

"The Sontaran commander who foolishly believed that he could take our planet without a fight is dead!"

A loud cheer, Rose included, broke out all around the factory. The Earth was not completely in the clear, not really, but it was a good start.

And maybe, just maybe, they could be safe.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6:

Rose and a team of few soldiers were deep in the factory, surrounded by leftovers of broken machine and corpses of Sontarans when their radio suddenly crackled to life. Making almost all of them jump in surprise.

"Trap One to all troops, the Earth has been saved! I repeat the Earth has been saved! Trap One over!" called the joyous voice of Colonel Mace. 

Rose felt the tension on her shoulders suddenly melting at the news. She knew what that meant: the Doctor had once again saved them all, swooping into action and being the hero. She smiled as her team cheered in happiness and even shared a few relieved hugs, chuckling at the sudden joyous atmosphere surrounding her men. But it was with a sad smile that she led them again into their mission. Because as she heard the different curious exclamations and silly reenactment. Everyone had their assumptions; even if almost all of them had the Doctor on the front of the action. She knew the truth. The Doctor didn't stick around for the clean up and the questions. He would have undoubtedly have already disappeared onto his next adventure.

Which deep down Rose knew was for the best. She wasn’t ready to see him, probably never would be. But, it still made her heart tighten for a moment in her chest the more she considered this decision. 

She suddenly smirked after noticing that Tygen, a private not more than 22, was trying to do his best impression of the Doctor being his impressive self. Making his comrades laugh more than anything else. She shook her head fondly. "Ok guys? Quite playing, let's go. Those aliens technology will not find themselves."

A few minutes later, as she was examining parts of what was a manufacturing machine before a few explosives turned it to scrap, she heard someone call her name. She turned and after a brief salute was offered, she nodded for the person to speak. 

"Colonel, you have to see this!" The concerned soldier waved her over.

Rose frowned. She handed the bit of metal to the soldier who was working along her, and stood while dusting off her trouser leg. She followed the woman, who looked a rather concerned. "What did you find?" She looked at the nametag on her uniform. "Corporal Felden?" She also noticed that they were walking along the other side of the corridor they tried to gain access to during the battle.

Felden looked uncomfortable the closer they got to their destination. "We remembered during the fight that corridor was more heavily guarded than the rest, so we thought it would be a good idea to start here. At first we didn't find anything out of place. I mean a few things that looked a bit off, like the rest of the factory, but not really something worth raising an alarm over. Then we remembered that we could access the basement by that stairwell." As they passed by said stairs, she pointed it out for Rose. "But when we started to search it… Well it was another story."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "And I suppose it was very alien?"

Felden made a face. "I’ll let you be the judge of that, ma'am." They passed a number of doors and soldiers, who all saluted as she passed. Rose nodded absently, as she looked more and more amazed by the strange machinery that she was able to see in passing.

The corporal grinned as Rose had the same curious expression that they all shared the first they came down here. "As you can see, we have stumbled into science department heaven."

That comment made Rose snort. She could not wait to see Taylor’s face when he got to see this stuff. And even she couldn’t wait to have a closer look. She smiled inwardly, as she knew where she would be passing the rest of her holiday.

"But that's not all. We found something else," Felden continued, clearly still focused on her mission. They passed an automatic door that was heavily guarded by their own soldiers. Making Rose frown again. This was not a good sign.

At first Rose didn't see anything, her brain too focused on the alien equipment around her. Already considering how it would fit UNIT’s use in the future, and how she could insert herself into the science department to be able to look at it from the inside. But then her eyes were drawn to the flurry of animation. A few soldiers and doctors were busy examining something on the floor. She made a few steps in their direction, before realizing with horror that it was the lifeless body of Martha that had everyone’s attention. 

She cursed loudly, drawing the attention of some of the people around her. She turned to Felden. "This is not good. Not good at all. We have to call Mace immediately!" If Martha was lying dead before them. Where was the Doctor? A frightening thought passed her, making her blood run cold. The Doctor could be in very big trouble, or injured, or worse dead. She couldn’t stay here and do nothing.

She started pacing, gripping her radio until her fingers turned white. "Alpha Wolf to Trap One. Please report on the Doctor." She waited a few seconds, and when no response came. "Alpha Wolf to Trap One. I repeat, please report on the Doctor!" 

Felden put her hand on her shoulder. "Ma'am, we don't have any signal here. That's why I came to get you."

"Ok, I'm going back upstairs. Don't move the body until then. Nobody who not already in this room can enter! And we need the scientific team asap! So if they are not already on the move, take a fire under their ass!" Without waiting for a response, she made a half turn and started to jog in direction of the flight of stairs. Rose knew that she was starting to lose her calm, knowing the Doctor could be in grave danger make her reckless. She knew that was not her job anymore, that she was not a companion, that she was probably only a memory somewhere. But he was still the Doctor...

As soon as she hit the last step, she grabbed her radio. "Alpha Wolf to Trap One, do you copy?"

"Trap One to Alpha Wolf. I copy. What's happening?" a response finally came, and Rose smiled, happy to hear Mace voice.

"I need the whereabouts of the Doctor urgently. Something came up." She said while still walking. She wanted to tell him about Martha face to face. Not over the radio if she could avoid it.

She had a few seconds of static before she heard Mace again. His voice less assured than before. "Right okay. One moment." She could hear him moving around in his search, and was in view of the mobile HQ when the Mace’s answer made her instantly stop in her tracks. "He has just left Doctor Jones in the East sector. Are we in danger? Do we need to call him again?" He inquired with just a touch of nervousness in his tone, but Rose was already taking the direction of the East sector.

"What do you mean he left Martha? Are you sure?" she asked in a strained voice. This was not good. Not good at all. It was the opposite of good!

"Uh yeah. I was just speaking with her on the phone. Why? Is there a problem?" His voice now took a confused tone.

She pulled out her gun and verified it was loaded. She would also have loved to take a few men with her, but she didn't have time to ask for them. "Yes that is a problem. We just found the body of Martha Jones in the basement of the factory. So how can Doctor Jones be in the East sector?" Before he could respond she continued, "Send me her coordinates. I'm not far from there. Just tell her not to move, and don't mention the body we found. If I don’t contact you in the next twenty minutes, send the cavalry. Alpha Wolf over."

She packed away her radio, and resumed her progress with determination. A few seconds later they finally came across Martha, who was still on the phone, probably with Mace. Rose frowned. Something didn't look right. And then a second later she realized that ‘Martha’ had the Doctor’s coat over her shoulders. The exact one which he almost never let out of his sight thanks to the sentimentality surrounding the garment. She could still remember the glee in his voice as he told her the story, almost like it was yesterday. “It was Janis Joplin’s coat, Rose! She offered it to me!”

And the fact that this so called Martha had it, it triggered alarms inside her head.

"Hands up! Disclose your identity!" Rose commanded with a clear voice, her gun ready to shoot at any sign of danger. 

As Martha turned around, her eyes wide and phone still in her hands, Rose noted with confusion that she was barefoot and dressed in a hospital gown under the Doctor's coat.

"I'll call you back, Colonel," said Martha with a distracted voice, also confused by the gun in front of her. She hung up and smiled, but was cut short by Rose who was still in full mode Colonel.

"State your identity and badge number. And how did you come across that coat?" Rose asked again with an icy voice.

Martha was visibly taken aback. "Doctor Martha Jones, UNIT, number 45873699. Who are you?"

Anyone else might have accepted that response and lowered their weapon. Rose however was still on edge while responding, "Colonel Marion Wolfe. Now, I’ll repeat my question once more. How did you come across that coat?"

Martha seemed to realize the situation she was in, and replied in a calm yet urgent tone, "I was abducted by the Sontarans. The Doctor found me in time to save my life, but I didn't have time to recover my clothes from my clone. So the Doctor--” 

Rose interrupted her to ask, "I'm sorry what? A clone?" 

"Yes, but I didn't have time to explain that to the Colonel Mace." Martha laughed a little awkwardly, realizing that taking a moment to pass that information could have prevented this confrontation, but stopped when she realized that Rose didn't move a muscle. "The Sontarans abducted me, and put a clone in my place. Apparently she was supposed to spy on us, and stop the nuclear launch, but then the Doctor figured it out. I know it's a little confusing, we didn't really have time to talk with all that was happening. Just that I'm the real Martha. I think you will find the clone on in the basement of the factory."

It started to make sense for Rose, but she was still not convinced. "We already found it."

"Well that explains your comportment," Martha grumbles more to herself than anything. Suddenly she looked at Rose and squinted her eyes for a second. She then recognized who this woman was, and her eyes widened almost comically. "Oh my god, it's you!"

Rose looked puzzled. "I'm sorry?"

"You're Wolf! THE Wolf! Oh my god! I so wanted to find you again, but I didn't knew your real name, and with you not remembering...!" Martha enthused with an excited bounce, but was cut off by Rose, still confused and closed off as ever. 

"Ok, slow down! Explain yourself, because I don’t understand anything that you’re talking about," Rose asked while lowering her gun a little at the same time.

"Oh right, you don't remember," said Martha after remembering that only a few people remembered what happened. "You saved my life during the year that never was. You sacrificed yourself to give me the time to go to London, and you helped me the best you could. I was very grateful. I really was! But you never gave me your name..." she trailed off with a small hint of sadness in her voice. 

Rose shook her head. She was here during the ‘Year that never was’? What was she on about? "I think we really need to talk, Martha Jones. I'm going to escort you to the Colonel, and confirm your version of events." She took out her radio. "Alpha Wolf to Trap One. We found Martha Jones. The Martha we found in the basement was a clone. I suggest we send a team of scientists to confirm what she just said." 

"Alpha Wolf, a team is on their way. Report as soon as you can. Over."

Rose gave Martha a stressed smile. "You heard the Colonel. Let's go Doctor Jones."

However, before they had time to walk more than a few feet, they were stopped by the most wonderful sound in the universe.

The TARDIS had just materialized before them.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7:

As the TARDIS began to slowly materialize, Rose felt panic and dread take possession of herself. This was not supposed to happen. She couldn't see the Doctor. Not today. Maybe not ever. Her weapon already forgotten, she took a step back. And then another one, until she was a few meters away, her heart beating wild in her chest. Alarms were screeching deafeningly in her head, screaming her to run as far as possible. Even her breath was starting to come short. Martha, who was too busy looking at the spaceship appearing, didn't seem to realize her predicament. 

But she had run out of time to hide herself. The TARDIS was there in all her magnificence. After all this time, it was time for her to face the music. After a few seconds, a century for Rose, the Doctor opened the door and stumbled out of the TARDIS. His face brightening when he saw Martha, who was just beside the door. 

"Martha Jones! Just the person I wanted to see! Hold on, why haven’t you changed into normal clothes?" he asked, frowning at the fact she was still barefoot and wearing that hospital gown under his coat. 

Martha started to reply with a large grin on her face. However, Rose didn't hear a sound with the thud of her heart pounding loudly in her head. Her entire being entirely focused on the man in front of her. If she was not as scared as she was right now, she could have cried.

She had dreamed about this moment a very long time ago. Hoping every day to see his face, telling herself it was just a bad dream that she will soon come out. But that day never came, and she had to make peace with it and move on. She started a new life, and with that came a path which lead her to a life that she could never have imagined when she was growing up in the estates. 

But now he was in front of her. Not more than a few meters away, still as beautiful as she remembered. If she was still the old Rose, she would have probably wept at the sign. But the old Rose was long gone and the only thing she wanted to do now was run far in the other direction. Because everything had changed. She had changed. Drastically. And she was not that sure that the Doctor would want that version of her on the TARDIS. 

She started to back away, after deciding that it was better to leave when he just happened to look her way, the ending of a laugh still on his lips. For a split second his gaze passed through her, as if she were simply a ghost, something that couldn't possibly be here. 

But then he did a double take, his face paling slightly. He put one foot forward but stumbled, stepping backwards instead into the TARDIS, as if his brain decided otherwise. Martha moved towards him, slightly confused as to the reason behind his stumble. Rose met his gaze and it was like coming home, their eyes not tearing from each other.

Later on, after the fact, she would swear that time had stopped during that moment. She didn't see Martha trying to get a response from the Doctor, nor the soldiers who were advancing on them, curious to see the famous Doctor outside of battle. She didn't even realize she dropped her radio, letting it bounce aimlessly on the ground. The world was suddenly two bottomless brown eyes. Filled with ice and fire, the burning of the stars themselves, overflowing with a grief and sorrow almost too bright to turn away. During those few seconds, it was like the universe itself held its breath. Reducing it to the Doctor and Rose, stuff of legends.

"Rose..." he murmured, his voice choking with emotion. 

And just like that, time resumed his course.

Rose gasped at his tone when he said her name. A sound she hadn’t heard for so long, she almost forgot it. Absently, she realized she could hear the world again around her. But she was rooted in place. "Doctor..." she whispered in a reply. As soon as those words left her lips, she swore she saw tears forming in his eyes as he realized she was not a product of his fatigued mind.

Martha squeaked in excitement as she witness the brief exchange. "Oh my god! You're Rose!" Her eyes were huge with amazement. "We found you. Oh my god!"

This made Rose turned her head to the young woman in surprise, easily breaking her gaze from the Doctor who, by the way, still had the the same look of shock that one could expect after being hit square in the stomach. She wasn’t expecting to hear that they were looking for her. "What do you mean? How do you know me?" she asked, puzzled by the fact that this stranger, who she knew had been the Doctor’s companion sometime after their separation, seemed to know her well enough.

Martha opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to find the right words but failed. She looked at herself and seemed to finally realize she never changed into some proper clothes. "You know what? I’m going to run and change real quick. Don't move!" She turned to the Doctor who still looked at Rose like the world around them didn't exist. "Don't you even think of swanning off without me!" He nodded almost absently. She started to say something else, but after realizing that Rose was the only thing in the Doctor’s the focus right now, she quickly took her leave, telling the few remaining soldiers to follow her out of the field. Leaving Rose and the Doctor alone. 

Rose was still feeling paralyzed, her heart and mind still at war on what to do. A part of her, the one who still remembered the happiness of old days, wanted nothing more than to run into his arms and bury her head into the crook of his neck, to forget everything ever happened. But she couldn't. The past was just too painful and she had to remember she had a mission now. Responsibilities to the people who depended on her. Things happened in their past that could not be forgotten. But her heart in this moment was winning over her rational thought. She took a step forward, not really sure about what she was going to do, when he finally spoke.

"Rose. How?" he asked after a few seconds, the pain and hope in his voice so strong she almost cried then and there. 

Rose tried to play it natural and shrugged as if it were common fact. "I hitched a ride, and here I am." 

Her nonchalance at traveling across the void as if she merely caught a cab downtown threw him off for a moment. He moved from the TARDIS towards her, his voice betraying his shock and light fear, "But. But, it's impossible! Rose, those walls were sealed!" 

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." She smirked gently while quoting back their favorite movie, which made him almost smile. "As for the walls… Don't worry, it's safe. We were very careful. It's just..." She sighed, her fingers wiggling in anticipation as she considered the best way to explain her reasoning. "It was an emergency. We didn't have a choice. One by one, the stars were dying. One day they were there and the next...Nothing.” Rose paced as she wondered how he would react to the solution they had devised. “So, we built this machine. A cannon really, so that I could cross over and discover what’s was happening. And we realized that it wasn't just a problem for Pete's universe. It was happening in every universe, Doctor. The walls were weakening and their stars were going out too. And we became conscious that the point of origin was right here, in this universe. So my intention was to found you and solve the issue" She sighed. "But during the last jump, I somehow landed earlier than intended. Then my hopper burnt out for some reason, and I was stuck here. Ironic isn’t it? Stuck in my home universe again. So, time passed on and things changed." 

She wanted to tell him about the fear of not being adequate for the challenge, the misery of being suddenly totally alone in this universe, the dread to move in a world that forgot about her, the horrors she had to face. She wanted to tell him everything that happened since the last time she saw him. But before she could let her heart go wild, possibly ruining everything she was working for, he was in front of her, wrapping her into his arms. Hugging her like she was his lifeline. She didn't even hesitate and hugged him back fiercely and desperately, like she was afraid he would disappear at any moment. It would not be the first time.

"Oh Rose," he sighed in a hushed almost reverent voice, tightening his embrace a little more. Like he was trying to melt all their pains away with the sheer force of his mind. And for a while, he succeeded. She was Rose Tyler again, travelling the stars with the one brighter above all. The other part of her soul. 

She didn't know how long they stayed that way. In a peaceful state of grace where nothing could touch them. But of course, reality caught up in the form of a returning Martha Jones. 

"Oh good you're still there!" Martha said in a relieved voice. 

They broke apart at her voice, and Rose had the sudden urge to take a few steps back. She needed to regain herself and her thoughts. She saw the hurt in his eyes, and felt her heart clench but she needed to stay strong. Soon he would be gone and she would stay behind, and she was already too deep. 

"I still can't believe you're here! I’ve heard so much about you. 'Rose this'. 'Rose that'. It can give a woman a serious complex!" she joked with a smile. Rose turned to the Doctor with wide eyes, blinking a few times in shock. 

"You talked about me?" She was stunned. He never mentioned past companions. Ever.

The Doctor squirmed a bit, scrubbing his neck, deliberately not meeting her eyes. "I might have mentioned you once...Twenty times..." 

Martha snorted with a roll of her eyes. "Right. You are so full of..." But she was interrupted by the sound of her phone. "Oh excuse me!" She accepted the call, and swept a few feet away. "Martha Jones!"

They looked at each other awkwardly, the Doctor’s smile painful as he drank her in. This had to be some cruel trick of the universe - hiding her from him until this seemingly random moment. "I still can believe that you’re here," he said with amazement, his eyes going soft. "Look at you." He looked at her for a few seconds before taking her face with his hands, touching her forehead with his own. Breathing out a shaky, "Rose."

"I missed you, Doctor," she answered with tears in her voice. Her eyes fluttered close as she felt his fingers caressing her cheeks and temples. "I really missed you." She mirrored his actions, stroking his face with her hands. Trying to reassure herself that he was really here, and not a product of her broken spirit. It had been really hard for her all of these years, learning to live without him again. Like she couldn't breathe properly. It had taken a long time for her to be able to live without his ghost on her shoulder. She wondered how long it had been for him. 

She heard his smile in his voice. "I missed you too Rose. So much." He released her face, taking a step back to look at her in the eyes. "Like you wouldn't believe." They stood there for a few moments, staring at each other with what was undeniably stupid smiles on their lips. However, in addition to that, the Doctor had this determined look on his face. Like he was trying to make a decision on some long internal debate, and the romantic in her made her dream that he was mustering up the courage to kiss her. But the realist part of her, the one who knew this would be a bad idea caused her to panic internally. Which side would win out? Would she hold her ground and walk away? Or would she let herself be swept back into their old routine of mixed messages and adventure.

But they were interrupted by Martha who was hurrying back in.

"Sorry to interrupt" She grimaced. She had caught a fleeting sight of them standing close together, assumingly on the brink of reunion when Rose took the opportunity to jump back a few steps. Not noticing the Doctor display a brief look of grief in his eyes before going blank again. "That was Donna. She said she's ready to be picked up! And I quote: 'hurry up spaceman! Don't have all day!" 

The Doctor sighed and also took a step back, putting his hands into his pockets. They were almost there. He could feel it. He knew when Rose was deep in thought, and he had hoped that the heavy contemplation in her eyes was a sign that she was considering coming home. "Okay, everyone in the TARDIS." He pushed Martha, who laughed all the way to the door. "You're coming Rose?" he continued, a hopeful smile on his lips. He had a niggling feeling that he still had a chance. 

Rose took another step back. Her smile faltering. "I...I can't, Doctor. I have a mission now. I have a life." She closed her eyes and turned around. She could not face the Doctor, not without showing tears. She told herself again and again that it was for the best. For all of them. "I'm sorry but… I'm too different now." 

For a few seconds, an eternity for her, she heard nothing, only the sound of her own heartbreak. But just as her resolve was at its breaking point, and ready to let the old Rose take control and say screw it to everything, she heard the sound of a closing door. She bit back a sob, biting at her lip to not make a sound. She thought that if she was going to watch the TARDIS go, it's going to be with dignity and pride even if it killed her inside. It was with this notion in mind that she turned around, ready to say goodbye to the only man she ever loved more than life himself, and the home that she called her own for so long.

But she was shocked to see he was still here, looking at her with agonizing eyes, his hand on the closed door of the TARDIS.  At the moment she knew she was staying upright only by the sheer will of her own stubbornness.

"Rose,” his tone was pleading, and she wanted to cry. "I just… For one moment? Please?"

Rose shook her head. "Doctor, you know if I come into the TARDIS, it will be too hard to stay away," she replied. She was drained in almost every way right now. Physically because of the battle, and emotionally from coming face to face with the Doctor.

His shoulders slumped at that. The dejection on his face as he replied, "I just want to have a little more time. Because..." He briefly closed his eyes, visibly pained to say that. "But you’re right. It's your decision. I just want you to meet Donna and after that I will..." He looked away. "I will drop you off wherever you want."

Rose knew that she should say no. She should ask him to bring Donna to her if he wanted them to meet each other so bad. She knew it was a bad idea, probably the worst since her big incident with the Ice Warrior, even worse than her jumping universe to universe. Even her inner voice was screaming about repercussion. Possible reapers and therefore consequences worse than death.

But the look in his eyes. Those sad eyes that were full of hope, it make every resolve that she had break under the weight of the love that she still felt for him somewhere. Even if she’d never openly admit it. "Open the door," she said before she could change her mind. “I would love to meet Donna.”

The Doctor’s demeanor instantly changed. He straightened and the smile on his face was so bright and wide, that she saw his previous face for a split second. He opened the door of the TARDIS, and as she stepped inside for the first time in many years, she was welcomed by the most beautiful sound of the universe.

"She missed you," he murmured as he passed by her while looking to the ceiling with a fond smile. "She didn't hum so brightly after you..." His voice hitched. "Since you’ve been gone."

Rose walked to the console, passing a curious Martha casually leaning against a pillar. As she touched one of the panels, the column illuminated brightly for a second. "Oh, I’ve missed you too, beautiful," she said with a warm voice. "Has he been treating you right?" 

"Oh god, there are two of you now!" Martha scoffed. "If you start stroking her, I swear I'm leaving to search for Donna myself!"

"Don't listen to her, you're perfect!" continued the Doctor, suddenly appearing beside Rose. He patted the grating before doing his magic, moving the TARDIS up to the house of Donna.

Rose rejoined Martha, sitting down beside her. "She needs attention too, you know. I know he’s a little extreme" She snickered, remembering all the times she caught him caressing some part of the TARDIS. "Okay not in the magnitude of what the Doctor does, but some love from time to time doesn't hurt."

Martha huffed. "I know she's alive and all that, but she's still a machine. And if she didn't play with her lighting from time to time, or move the kitchen into one of the holo-rooms every two weeks, I still would be a little skeptical."

"You just have to listen to her. With time it becomes easier as she gets to trust you," Rose offered.

"What do you mean listen? To what?" Martha frowned.

But before she could reply the Doctor declared proudly they arrived, and the door to the TARDIS opened suddenly, admitting a very distressed redhead.

"Donna are you ok?" The Doctor looked at her in concern, moving rapidly around the console to approach his friend.

"Yes, yes it's nothing I swear." Donna began to smile, but then realized there was one more person than earlier. "Oh and who are you?" She turned to Martha with a raised eyebrow. But Martha could only smile like a cat who swallowed a canary. 

Rose stood with a smile. "Hello. I'm Rose. Rose Tyler. I used to travel with the Doctor. You're Donna right?"

Donna looked at her with astonishment for a few seconds, making Rose a little awkward, before she pulled her into the fiercest hug. Making Rose huff in surprise. But before she could do anything, Donna had released her and turned to the Doctor. "Why you didn't tell me you found her, you dumbo!" she exclaimed while hitting him on the shoulder, making him yelp with pain. "And you!" She turned to Martha. "A little warning could have been nice!" She looked again at Rose, smiling like she had won the lottery. "Oh my god, I'm so happy to see you! How did you find each other?"

In the background the Doctor, still rubbing his shoulder, peaked up at the question. He had been wondering the same earlier. "Oh yes! Why were you here by the way?" 

Donna groaned and covered her face when she heard him. "Oh my god! Sometimes I seriously wonder how you are still alive, Doctor."

"I work with UNIT," Rose replied as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I needed a job, and since I’m deceased in this universe, my job prospects are rather limited." 

The Doctor scratched the back of his neck at the reminder of the repercussions of the events at Canary Wharf. He didn’t know if it’d be right to say anything in response to that really. While Rose didn’t seem angry, he was sure that she didn’t need to reminder. 

Donna opened her mouth to reply. But before she could voice her thoughts, the door slammed shut on its own and the time rotor activated - throwing everyone around. 

The Doctor looked around in alarm. "What? What?!"

"Doctor, what's happening?" Rose asked while trying to hang onto one of the coral pillars.

"I don't know! I didn't touch anything! She's flying herself!" he said as he lost his footing and slipped while trying to access the console board.

"Where are we going?" Donna asked as she was practically launched from the chair. 

"I just said that I don't know. It's out of control!" the Doctor replied while pushing button after button without effect. This wasn’t good at all! He couldn’t figure out how this happened. What if she was malfunctioning? Or if someone found a way to control his ship.  But how though?

"Doctor you have to take me home!" shouted Martha, trying without much success to get up.

Rose nodded vigorously. "Make her turn around! Do something!" 

"I'm trying! I swear!" And without any other warning he started to whack the console with a hammer. However the only thing that came out of that was sparks and some new dings on the surface.

The TARDIS was out of control, and the Doctor had absolutely no way to regain it.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: 

"What the hell is it doing?" Donna screamed as she was tossed around, almost colliding with the ground only to be saved at the last second by Rose, who was just barely hanging onto one of the pillars with one hand. Martha, who was on the other side of the TARDIS, was in no better situation. She was currently on the ground, waiting for an opportunity to stand and move in a safer place, but without much success as the TARDIS was shaking everywhere. The only still upright was the Doctor, who was bouncing all around the place.

"I can’t seem to get control!" He said, with panic in his voice as he frantically hit and turned different levers and buttons on the console. Trying anything to make her fly right. But the TARDIS continued her frenetic course through the vortex. And at the surprise of the three other people, he suddenly lost his footing and yelped while disappearing out of view.

"Doctor!" Rose shouted while trying to make her way around to help him despite the turbulence. But before she made not even three steps, he was already standing and smiling with a jar in his hand.

"I don't know where we're going, but my old hand is very excited about it!" he said with great enthusiasm while still gripping the console. With a grin he showed the jar off, passing it in Donna’s direction who looked at him like he was barmy. She even tried to take a step back but was stopped by another violent trust of the TARDIS. Making her fall right into the captain’s chair. Rose, seeing her new friend being violently thrown about again, started to move in her direction. Before realizing with a start what was in the Doctor hand. "Whoa, hold on! Did you lose another hand?" she said stunned.

He scratched his ear, trying to put it down without dropping it. "No. It's the one that I lost during the Sycorax. You remember?" He was smiling and Rose couldn't do anything but smile too. How could she forget her first Christmas with this him?

Donna, who was clearly more than a little disgusted by the bubbling hand, decided to just not ask questions that she didn’t want answers to. She just huffed and gripped the chair, closed her eyes and muttered under her breath. Meanwhile Martha, finally upright and clutching the column with determination, looked at Rose with interest. "Oh you knew about that thing?"

Rose shrugged while still trying to stay upright. "I was there. But I have to confess, it was a little weird." She chuckled, remembering the Doctor being his impressive self in a pajama.

"You don't say, sunshine," Donna snarked from her seat with her eyes still closed. She even started to look green around the edge.

The Doctor scowled, but the TARDIS suddenly tilted backward, making sparks rain everywhere. Rose lost her grip and fell head first toward the nearest pillar, but was caught at the last second by Martha who was crouching besides her. She heard Donna scream loudly behind her, and she could not really blame her. The Doctor was the only one who by some miracle was still standing, looking around like it was nothing. And as sudden at it started, everything stopped. For a few seconds there was only silence. Martha and Rose exchanged a look, not really sure about what happened. As they were starting to stand up, looking around to be sure that the TARDIS will not start to move again, the Doctor smiled maniacally at them and made a mad dash in direction of the door before disappearing outside.

"No wait, Doctor!" Rose called after him while trying to stand as quickly as possible while Martha was still dusting herself. But it was too late, the alien was now long gone. Probably already poking around and making a fool of himself. She turned towards the other women with a sigh. "Well I see that some things never change."

Martha smiled widely and with a cheeky wink to Rose, she followed the Doctor outside. She was soon followed by Donna, who rolled her eyes at the excitation showed by the young Doctor, leaving Rose completely alone in the TARDIS. She started to stroke the machine in passing, a fond smile on her face as she looked around. She had missed her so much. Almost as much as the Doctor. Because as much as she had loved the Doctor at the time, the TARDIS had been her home. And it had been hard to adjust without her and the gentle hum in her head. Especially at night. As she was starting to think about those difficult times, she received a warm response in return, making her smile bigger. "Don't worry girl, I'm okay now." She looked at the door still open and sighed. "You would think that after all this time they would learn..." And with determination, she finally decided to trail after them.

She got out of the TARDIS and started to walk in direction of the little group, catching the end of the discussion between the two other companions. "I thought you wanted to go home," Donna said to Martha who was smiling with excitement. She also realized that the Doctor was looking at the wall with interest. Poking it with his screwdriver like it contained the secret of the universe.

Martha was bouncing around, making Rose smile with amusement. That young woman was decidedly full of energy. She reminded her a little of Jake when they were off to whatever mission they had at the moment. "I know, but all the same, it's that feeling you get."

"Like you just got on a rollercoaster?" Rose offered as she joined them. She exchanged a found smile with Donna. At least she was not alone in her amusement.

As Martha opened her mouth to reply, a harsh male voice appeared out of nowhere, making all of them jump in surprise. "Don't move! Stay where you are! Drop your weapons." As they slowly turned around, they realized that three men armed with rifles had managed to catch them by surprise.

Rose didn't even think, she moved swiftly and placed herself in front of the group, diverting all the attention onto her person. It was all her fault, she scolded herself internally, how can she have not heard them coming? She was a colonel for god sake!

She briefly considered taking out her weapon, but the possibility of collateral damage was too high, and she could not endanger civilians like that. Before she could even begin to speak and find a better solution than fight for her life in a middle of a cavern, the Doctor jumped in front of her. Gesticulating to divert all the attention to himself. "We're unarmed. Look, no weapons. Never any weapons. We're safe."

Rose frowned, irate at the fact that the Doctor had taken the lead without even considering that maybe she knew what she was doing. Some things obviously never change.

But one the men had already caught sight of Rose, not paying attention to the thin and tall man in front of them, who was moving around wildly. He bumped his chief, who just spared a look in his direction to tell him that he was listening. Clearly he was not the only one not impressed by the clown. "This one looks like a soldier to me," he said with a nod in Rose’s direction. Who, after hearing his correct assumption, frowned as that could either be a good or a bad thing.

The man in charge squinted while evaluating Rose with a trained eye. This of course made Rose turn her complete attention to this man, watching his every move in case she needed to cause a diversion. The Doctor, who clearly disliked the sudden attention to his companion, stood tall and rigid in an attempt to intimidate as many people as possible, hoping it struck unease. Even Martha and Donna stepped closer, not pleased by the turn of situation. "You're right. But I don't see any marks on them," he sneered. "One of those pacifists hmm?" He turned around and motioned towards the machines. "Let’s not waste anymore time. Process them all. Her first."

As one of the men grabbed her arms, the Doctor moved to intervene; not realizing that Rose was more than capable of defending herself if needed. "Woah slow down, gentlemen! Can you explain first what is happening, because I think we have a misunderstanding here."

The only response he obtained was a rifle on his face and a sneer. "Move, boy before I start to shoot."

The Doctor looked offended. "Boy?! Excuse you? Where do you get off calling... " He then scoffed. “I’m probably older than your oldest living relative, and you call me a Boy?!”

"Oh my god," Rose muttered with an eyeroll, as she heard Donna snicker in the background. "Okay, everyone calm down before does or says something they’ll regret." She turned to the Doctor who was starting to look more and more like the oncoming storm. "Look they have three rifles, a target to shoot and not a strong sense of compassion so let me handle this before you get us all killed ok?"

"But Rose..." He cringed, not really liking where this was going. She was not supposed to put herself out there like that. He could regenerate if things went south, so naturally it should be him that puts himself at risk. He couldn’t risk losing her again when he was on the brink of any chance of reconciliation with her.

"I know what I'm doing." She said in her best 'Colonel Wolfe' voice. She turned to the man who still had his hands firmly on her arm. "Ok, let's go."

He nodded before leading her in the direction of the row of ancient machines that were against the wall of the tunnel. They didn't really have time to examine them when they arrived, as Rose let the Doctor looking at them when she had talked with Donna and Martha. She sighed as she heard a commotion behind her. She really hoped that the two girls were able to restrain him before he did something harsh. She was not fond of the idea to have to kill the three men just because the Doctor could not trust her more than five minutes. That's why she had to leave after that. They were not on the same page anymore. As they continued to move she heard Martha said something to the Doctor but she was too far to hear what.

The one in charge led her in the direction of one the machines that suddenly lit up. "Okay. Your hand into the machine. Now."

Rose looked at it suspiciously. "What is this supposed to do?" Like she would just put her hand into a weird machine without explanation. She was sure that the Doctor would have done just that, but that's probably why the man was on his tenth regeneration. She snorted silently to herself. Knowing him, he would have put his head inside just to see what was inside. But she needed more than a 'well do it', because she was not ready to do something rash right now. Not in front of the Doctor, his friends or this rather pushy group of soldiers.

The man pushed her with annoyance. "Like I said, everyone gets processed." He showed her his hand which had multiple marks. Proving that the process was not likely to be fatal. "And we don't have all day, so hurry up! We’ve still got to process your friends."

There was still a slight reluctance on Rose’s part (despite acting all tough moments ago) as she pushed her own arm into the machine. For a few seconds nothing happened except for a faint buzz. She started to think that perhaps the machine in question was probably broken, when she felt a brief but intense pain, making her yelp more in surprise than distress. As she grimaced at the soreness on the back of her hand, she heard a commotion behind her, guessing it was probably the Doctor making a show. But she was too focused on the machine to react.

"Is the machine taking a sample?" she asked the group who looked at her with a blank stare. Ok, not scientific. Noted. She started to turn to share her observation with the Doctor when she felt her arm being released from whatever was holding her arm in place, making her almost miss a step. Before she had time to move more than a few meters, Martha was beside her, soon followed by the Doctor.

"Are you alright? Any pain anywhere?" Martha asked while evaluating her arm and hand, while the Doctor was doing the same with the rest of her body.

Rose shook her head in reply. "I'm okay." She yanked her arm away when the Doctor batted Martha’s hand away from the arm to wave the sonic screwdriver over the skin. "Seriously, it's nothing. I think they just took a sample.”

"What for?" Donna asked as she came around to look at Rose’s hand.

Rose turned to the Doctor, curious to know what was his opinion on the subject when she realized that he was not looking at her. He was looking past her with a curious stare on his face. She turned around following his line of sight and was surprised to see that the pair of glass and metal doors besides the machine, which she presumed was a part of the engine, was starting to open. A mist of smoke rolled out beside the bright light from inside. Without even thinking Rose latched onto Martha and Donna, hoping that the Doctor had also followed, and retreated until they were besides a block of rock. "What do you think this is?" she asked them as the Doctor joined them, his attention still focused on the fog and lights.

"I really hope it's not a remake of Alien!" Donna offered half jokingly, which in turn made Martha snort with laughter.

The Doctor glowered, his concentration finally shifting to his companion. "Donna that's offensive! And...!" But was cut short by Rose seizing his arm, turning him with a shocked face. "Oh god look, something is coming out!"

Just as Rose finished her sentence, a human shape was starting to take form, becoming more visible as the mist was starting to fade away. She realized that this was most probably a man. A tall one even, almost as tall as the Doctor.

When the doors opened and the newly formed man finally stepped out of the device, she was so shocked that she had the sudden and strange impression to see an older Tony in soldier fatigue. She blinked a few times as the young blond man was handed a rifle and orders.

"Who is this guy?" asked Donna with curiosity, passing her head above Rose’s shoulder, who was still trying to wrap her head unto her vision.

"He came from Rose," the Doctor answered with an evident tone of shock. He moved closer to Rose, his hand on her shoulder in a reassuring gesture. He wasn’t sure what sort of reaction Rose would have, but if he could show support, then all the better for him.

"Come again?" said Martha with surprise, looking between the blond man and her new friend. Searching a sign of resemblance.

Rose’s eyebrows raised as high as they could possibly go at that. Did he read his mind to have a joke on her? "What? How he can come from me?"

The Doctor looked away, visibly uncomfortable. He started to take out his specs and scratching his neck in a vain tentative to gain time. But without result, as all the women were looking at him. "Technically that's your son Rose."

"How on earth is that even possible??" her tone was deep with shock. "I mean I remember basic biology. I only carry X chromosomes!" She turned to Martha. "How the hell could this happen?"

Martha looked at her helplessly, just as confused as Rose was. Rose looked at the man, the one supposed to be her child, who was checking his weapons with thoroughness. She could see some resemblance. He had the same blond hair that she did when she was young, and she was pretty sure that she had seen that same determined look on Tony enough times to recognize it from a mile away. But those similarities did not have to mean that this being was her son. The universe was big enough that some people were bound to look alike. The Doctor was mistaken. That had to be it, and she almost laughed aloud at the absurdity.

"Progenation," replied the Doctor, putting his glasses on his face, missing the distress emanating from Rose, who had begun to breathe with difficulty. "Reproduction from a single organism. Means one parent is biological mother and father. You take a sample of diploid cells, split them into haploids, then recombine them in a different arrangement and grow. Very quickly, apparently." He was in full mode Doctor, talking like it was a normal thing, like growing an adult son from an hand was something you saw every day. "And you know, Rose, the fact that you only have X chromosome is not really a problem. Everything is just a question of hormones, balance and all funny things like that. He would clearly not be the first man with two X chromosomes." He beamed in her direction, but his smile quickly dropped when he saw her alarmed face. "Rose I..." But she didn't let him finish, she turned and walked away in the opposite direction. Her head was spinning from this whole series of events.

"You primed to take orders? Ready to fight?" Asked one the man to her son, as she passed them. Now that she had done her duty, they were no longer interesting to the group for the time being.

The 'son' of Rose nodded. "Instant mental download of all strategic and military protocols, Sir. Generation five thousand soldier primed and in peak physical health. Yep, I'm ready." And he smiled in her direction. Throwing a wink for good measure. A smile that she knew intimately as she had saw him enough time in the mirror or on his little brother face. The Tyler smile.

"Oh god, he has my smile." Rose’s face was pale, and she honestly wasn’t expecting that; so no one could really blame her when she took a few steps back and bumped right into Donna.

"Are you okay?" the Doctor asked as he stood nearby, ready to help where asked.

"That's a stupid question, Spaceman." Donna sneered with a roll of her eyes. "Does she look alright to you?"

As Rose was starting to feel claustrophobic under that much scrutiny, she frowned as there was a sudden realization on her part. Something was not right. And she was certain that she just heard sounds that were not there a moment ago. A somewhat mechanical sound. She turned her head, only seeing Martha who was examining the machine from where the man came from.

"Something is coming!" her son called out, followed by the gruff voice of their leader, "It's the Hath! Everyone open fire!"

And just like that both sides opened fired on each other, noise reverberating from left to right. No one could exactly pinpoint exactly where the shooting was coming from thanks to the acoustics of the chamber. Rose crouched immediately, her training taking over. Without even thinking about it, she grabbed Donna and the Doctor, pushing them beside her. Trying her best to shield them with her body. She took out her weapon but realized that she had absolutely no idea who was the enemy in this situation, and she was not going to take a life without a really good reason.

"Everybody move! Take cover now!" she screamed, effortlessly reverting to her colonel persona. She urged everyone to move, pulling the Doctor back down as he started to stand up to probably intervene. She was rewarded by a wounded look, making her only roll her eyes. That man had clearly no sense of self preservation.

They eventually abandoned their hiding spot, running a few meters before she shoved the Doctor in direction of a pile of rocks that seemed safe enough. Just before jumping to safety he threw her a concerned look, a look that screamed 'we are going to talk about this'.

But she didn't have time to discuss her comportment. Right now she didn't have time to argue about what she became. She just wanted to save their live before they all went their separate ways. She saw him take out his sonic screwdriver before she lost sight of him as she pushed Donna under a makeshift barricade. The redhead started to argue but Rose was moving again, her weapon firmly in hand. She had realized that one of them was missing; as Martha was nowhere in sight and she needed to find her immediately.

She turned around widely, trying to see past the battle when she finally spotted Martha who had taken shelter beside a fallen rock deep in the Hath territory. As a bullet hissed past Rose’s head, she became well aware that Martha was way too close to the combat zone. Multiple Hath, or what she heard identified as Hath, were a close distance from Martha and she already saw at least three bullets hit the rocks surrounding Martha.

"I'm coming!" Rose called out while shooting in multiple directions, trying to scare off the aliens from her friends. "Martha, I'm coming!" Martha had finally realized the mess she was in, and she looked at Rose with wide eyes while trying to move without getting hit by a stray bullet. In an act of desperation, she darted to one of the rocks closer to Rose’s position, but she was stopped in her tracks by one of the Hath. It had presumed that she was one of the enemies and thus engaged in combat.

Rose started to run, determined to not lose anybody today, and especially not Martha. She had to take cover a few times, as Hath and what she presumed to be human were fighting left and right. Sounds were reverberating all around her, making difficult for her to advance. But, before she could reach her she fell tremors under her, making her lose her balance. Loud klaxons were starting to blare from all sides. She and Martha looked to each other, realizing with panic that she will never able to reach her before what's happening will hit its crescendo. Suddenly loud explosions rocked the area. Giving her just enough time to jump into a corner before the roof fell.

The shaking seemed to last forever, reminding her that time in Australia, when she had been surprised by an Earthquake in the middle of her mission. And then it ended swiftly, the ground stopped shaking with only a few rocks and dust still falling. Rose carefully stood in case there were aftershocks and looked around to assess the situation.

"Rose! Oh my god Rose! Are you okay?" She could hear someone calling her, but it sounded as if it were from a distance with the slight ringing in her ears. She was checking herself over as the Doctor appeared besides her, giving her his own examination at a frantic pace. Touching everywhere that she’d let him while reassuring himself that she was still alive and in one piece.

She started to smile, looking to reassure him. But then she noticed the cave in where Martha was just standing. Her eyes widened with worry. "Martha!" She looked around, but not seeing Martha anywhere. "She was there! She's on the other side of the tunnel!" She started to try and dig into the wall of stone, when she was stopped by Donna who grasped her wrist.

"Listen Wonder Woman, all you are doing is injuring yourself. Especially since we don’t know how steady those rocks are," Donna tried to reason with Rose. "You look like a snowman."

Rose took a second glance at herself, effectively covered in dust and dirt, and realized there was nothing to be done for the time being. She turned to the Doctor, who had turned to face the four men with the most furious look that he could muster. "You've sealed off the tunnel and almost killed Rose! Why did you do that?" he said in a dangerous voice, the oncoming storm starting to come around.

The man who came from Rose took two steps forward and stared defiantly at him. "They were trying to kill us. I did what I had to do."

"Our friend is on the other side!" said Donna as she marched angrily right onto the face of the blonde man. "You didn't have to right to do that!"

He smiled at Donna. "At least you've still got your friends. The Hath lost more than us, so that's a victory I think."

Donna looked more furious by the second, pointing her finger unto his shoulder. "Her name is Martha. She's not lost; we are going to get her back. Have you got that, GI Joe?" She turned to them. "Right?"

The Doctor nodded; a somber air on his face. "We are going to find her." He was helping Rose dust herself off. "We are not leaving without her."

"You're going nowhere," the one in charge called out. "You’re not making any sense. You don't have marks." He cocked his head in direction of a still morose Rose. "That one has a gun, but no sense of real fight, and you two are obvious pacifists." he spat the word as if it were the most disgusting thing in the English language. "I'm taking you to General Cobb. Now move."

Rose was in his face almost immediately, her self-control lost into the face of her failing. "It's your fault! You understand? It's your fault!" she said angrily, her gun pointed directly under his chin. "I had time to save her!" She would have had the time if she had a few more seconds. All she had needed was a few more seconds! She didn't realize that the three other men had pointed their riffle at her almost straight away. Then all she could see was the fact that that man has authorized an act of murder. He was the one in charge and he didn't think twice about civilian life. If Martha was dead it was all his fault.

A murderous glint started to appear in her eyes, as a feral smile was growing on her face. Making the man pale significantly under her gaze. But before she could do something she'd regret, and get them all killed, she was stopped by a wide eyed Doctor. Who slipped between her and the men, effectively de escalating the situation before it was definitely out of control.

"Rose, it's not the time," he offered in a hushed voice. Looking warily at all the weapons drawn, including her own. "I'm sure Martha is still alive, and we are going to get her back, I swear. I will not leave her here. But we need to go with them and find out everything that we can before our next move."

"Also find a map," Donna added, who was clearly as uncomfortable around that situation as the Doctor.

The Doctor nodded with a smile, relieved that at least one of them was thinking rationally. "Like Donna said." Before looking at her again with a soft look in his eyes. "So Rose?"

Rose sighed and holstered her weapon again. Her fury becoming more and more under control. She looked at the men who were still on their guard. "Okay, we will follow you..." In the corner of her eyes she saw the Doctor sag with relief and felt a little bit of shame. She shouldn't have lost her cool like that. She was an officer, not a rookie. It should not have happened… But the Doctor like every time he appeared in her life had changed everything.

Without another words they started to walk into one of the dark tunnel. Rose was wondering if this day could go any worse.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9:

They walked in silence for a few minutes when the Doctor nudged her, looking at her with soft eyes. "Are you okay?"

Rose smiled weakly. "To be honest, not really. It's a little too much for me… Between seeing you again and then suddenly having a son. Well technically..." The Doctor’s smile slumped a little and he averted his eyes, feigning a sudden interest for Donna who was talking to the blond man. She cursed internally at her word choice. None of this was really his fault. "It's not that I'm not happy to see you! It's just..." She sighed. "Doctor, I thought that I would never see you again, and I made my peace with it. And suddenly having you right in front of me… It's hard." She chewed at her lips. "But now is not the time to talk about this. We have to find Martha as soon as we can."

His shoulders dropped at her admission before straightening back up again as Rose was right. "You have a point, Rose Tyler. Always seeing the entire picture." 

The sound of her name in his mouth made her heart flutter. And before she did something she regretted, she walked a little faster, catching up with Donna and the boy.

"So what's your name?" Donna asked curiously. "I'm Donna and she's Rose," she offered as Rose caught up to them with a smile.

He shrugged. "Don't know. It's not been assigned."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Really? So what do you know?"

He smiled at her, making her falter a little. It was really weird to see her own smile on another person. "The machine told me how to fight. Be a good and efficient soldier. All of those important things. That's all I need to know."

"Nothing else?" asked Donna with surprise and a little pity.

The Doctor shimmed into the group. He smiled ear to ear while poking the son of Rose with affection. Who didn’t bother to hide his uncomfortable expression as the Doctor was coming more and more into his comfort zone. "The machine must embed military history and tactics, but no name. Not really important in that conflict I think. That's really fascinating!" the Doctor explained as he once against leaned in to examine Rose’s son.

Rose nudged him off her son, who gave her a relieved look, making the Doctor protest in response. "Hey, you’re not the one with a sudden adult son, mister. And no you can’t take him to the TARDIS to ‘examine” him." 

The Doctor’ nervous smile at being caught was the only response Rose needed.

But Donna was clearly not finished with the topic. "Well, he needs to have a name. “ She had a few seconds of silence before lighting up like she just had the best idea ever. “I could name you after my granddad! His name is Wilfred." She turned to Rose with a smile. "What do you think? After all he is your son."

Rose’s eyes opened almost comically. "Oh god that's so weird." She approached closer to the man, who smiled shyly at the attention. And she had a sudden realization. "You remind me of my little brother Tony. So what about it?" 

He seemed to think about it for a few seconds, before nodding, mostly for himself. "Tony. Yes I like that name." 

"Congrats mom," Donna said with a little laugh while patting her on the back. At the same time, the Doctor had struck up a conversation with Tony, who responded eagerly in kind as he was rather happy to have a new friend.

"Please don't call me that,” Rose hissed at Donna with a glare. As Tony was oblivious, still too focused on what the Doctor was saying behind them. "It's not against him, really. But kids were clearly not in my plan. And he was a bit...sudden." She shrugged. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. It was not his fault if three mad men decided to play god with her DNA.

Before Tony had time to realize what Rose was saying, the Doctor interrupted with a wild smile. "Oh that's right! Your mother was pregnant! So he was named Tony? Wonder how he survived her..." he trailed off while scrubbing his shin. Before being punched in the arm by both women at the same time. "Hey!" he squawked.

"Not funny Doctor," Rose warned as Donna murmured, "not the time!"

"Oh!" His eyebrow touching his hairline as he realized what he said. "Sorry." He smiled sheepishly, rubbing his neck in a sign of discomfort. "It was clearly not the moment..." He beamed at her with soft eyes. "I would never hurt you." Rose smiled back, taking his hand in hers, as Donna looked on like a proud mama in the background. 

"You’re all weird," Tony declared, looking at them oddly and unknowingly breaking the moment. Rose quickly dropped her hand, diverting her eyes to the men in front of her, not wanting the see the disappointment in the Doctor’s eyes. She had to remember this was temporary. As soon as Martha was found, she will be back to her life.

It was for the best.

After five minutes of uncomfortable silence, with nobody daring to say something for fear of making things worse, they finally arrived in a large room with a slightly domed roof and a gallery. The ambient lighting seemed way redder than in the cave. Rose could also see more clone chambers here. She nudged the Doctor to show him. A nod in return told her he also saw it.

"So, where are we? What do the locals call this planet?" the Doctor asked Tony, who in turn looked all too happy at being spoken to, as well as the chance to exhibit his knowledge. It made Rose smile briefly. Being mesmerized by the Doctor was apparently a Tyler trait.

"Messaline! Well, that's the name the machine taught me," he responded with a big smile before turning to one of the soldiers that were accompanying them. "Do you know where that name comes from?"

"I don't know. The first ones are long dead, and with them a lot of our history," one of the soldiers replied dispationally before being interrupted by Donna. She was a few feet away, looking all around with an impressed look. "But this is a theatre!" she exclaimed while touching the wall with interest.

The Doctor came beside her, nudging her with a smirk. "Maybe they're doing Miss Saigon." Rose rolled her eyes in the background. That man was such a child at times. 

"Ok, that looks like a town for me," Rose observed while squinting at some carving on the wall.

"Yes! Like an underground city!" Donna enthused when she came to look at it as well, as the Doctor was looking at her with a smile in the background. But after a few seconds she frowned as she realized something. "But why?"

"Because it was one," answered a man with a neatly trimmed white beard, making Donna jump almost a foot in the air. The man approached them with a grim figure. 

"General Cobb I presume," said the Doctor while looking at him with a suspicious look, his hands firmly in his pockets. 

One of the soldiers took over the discussion, visibly trying to impress his superior. "Found in the western tunnels, Sir. I'm told they have no marks. There was an outbreak of pacifism in the eastern zone three generations back before we lost contact." He turned to Rose. "Is that where you came from?"

Rose looked to the Doctor furtively. "Mmmh yes. Exactly. That's where we came from."

The Doctor moved to the front, pushing a grumbling Donna in the middle of their group at the same time as Tony trailed behind them. "I'm the Doctor, this is Rose, Donna and this young man is Tony!" 

At the sound of his name, Tony’s chest puffed with happiness. "I was named after Rose’s brother," he said proudly, making Rose smile at his somewhat childish enthusiasm.

Cobb looked at him with annoyance, clearly not happy with his intervention. He turned to the Doctor with a hard look. "Don't think you can infect us with your pacifism. We're committed to the fight, to the very end if required."

The Doctor raised his shoulders, silently urging the Rose and Donna to move. But Rose was too busy glaring at Cobb to notice. "Well, that's all right. We can't stay anyway. We still have to find our friend. Right, girls?" He finished with a nervous smile.

"Girls?" Donna growled while aiming her hand to give him a slap on the head. But Rose stopped her before she started a new incident. 

The general made a face the Doctor’s reply. "That's not possible, all movement is regulated. We're at war."

"Yes, I noticed. With the Hath. But tell me, because we got a bit out of circulation, eastern zone and all that. So who exactly are the Hath?" asked the Doctor with interest while taking out his glasses. 

Rose sighed and rolled her eyes. They didn't need a history of the place, just a map to find Martha. As the general and the Doctor were starting to discuss the place, Rose started to wander. Soon she was followed by Donna.

"So what do you think this place is?" Donna was curious while looking at the few plaque around them.

Rose shrugged. "I don't know. Some sort of remembrance maybe?" She touched one of the machines on the wall. "I wonder how many people were born this way. Without family or friends. Just born to fight without question." She sighed, shaking her head and looked at Tony, who was still with the rest of the men looking interested in the discussion.

Donna put her hand on her shoulder, giving her a sad smile. "He can still have a family and friends you know? Maybe he was not born traditionally, but that's not mean he is not yours. My friend Nerys fathered twins with a turkey baster and she loves them all the same."

Rose averted her eyes, preferring to look at the array of empty machines. "It's just… You don't understand. I had a family but I lost them. Looking at him is hard. Every time I look into his eyes or his smile, it's like looking into the past. I know it's not his fault, but I can't help it." After a few seconds of silence she was suddenly engulfed into a strong hug. 

"For what you lost, I'm sorry," Donna said softly. 

That brief moment of peace was broke by the Doctor, who squealed in their direction, "Donna, Rose I think I found something."

They turned in one movement, looking at their friend who was smiling ear to ear and swaying in his excitement with his hands in his pockets. With one last look, and a pat on her arm by Donna, they joined him besides a table. 

"So what did you find?" Rose asked, looking at the different pieces with curiosity. 

"A map!" With a flourish of his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor made the map buzz and suddenly a whole complex of tunnels and chambers started to appear.

Cobb pushed Rose aside, who looked at him annoyed. "That must be the lost temple. The Source will be inside. You've shown us the way. And look, we're closer than the Hath. It's ours!" He turned to a group of soldiers. "Tell everyone to prepare to move out. We'll progenate new soldiers on the morning shift, and then we march. Once we reach the Temple, peace will be restored at long last." 

The Doctor scratched his ear, exchanging a look with Rose and Donna, as Tony was looking curiously in the back. "Er, call me old-fashioned, but if you really wanted peace, couldn't you just stop fighting?"

Cobb nodded with an almost sinister grin. "Only when we have the Source. It'll give us the power to erase every stinking Hath from the face of this planet."

The Doctor looked at him bewildered. As Rose and Donna seemed more and more worried. "Hang on, hang on. A second ago it was peace in our time. Now you're talking about genocide?"

Cobb gave a uncaring shrug. "For us in this moment, genocide is the way to peace." Then, not caring if his answer was acceptable or not, he turned towards his men poised to issue orders.

"Then you need to..." the Doctor fumed before being forcibly pushed aside by a murderous Rose.

"You listen to me!" She snarled as she grabbed Cobb’s arm, forcing him to come nose to nose with with her, and it didn’t escape her notice that he looked rather stunned as he certainly didn't expect any resistance. "If you think for even a fraction of a second that I will just stand back as you murder an entire civilization then you need to think again!" Her glare was so harsh and judgemental that he even took a step back. And for a split second, Rose wished that she still had her weapon, even if it was to show her resolve to fight for what is right. "And I will not hesitate to..." But before she could finish her threat, she felt a arm around her waist as the Doctor tugged her back while trying to shush her.

"I know you care deeply, Rose. But this is not the moment to possibly get us killed," He murmured on his ear, as she struggled to break free. "Do I have to remind you we need to be alive to find Martha?" 

She wanted to elbow him in the ribs so he would release her, but one look in Donna’s direction and seeing her concern made her lose some of her hostility. Only Tony seemed completely unfazed by the events around him. She nodded in indication that she would not do anything further and waited. After a few seconds, the Doctor released her when he was sure that Rose was completely in control of herself again.

Rose looked away the more she reflected on her actions, not wanting to see the disappointment that she knew was on his face, before taking a few steps in the opposite direction. Taking the time to fully calm herself. She didn't mean to lose her cool like that. It was not supposed to happen. She remembered what happened the last time she lost it like that and was clearly not one for a repeat. She sighed and closed her eyes. 

Cobb, not aware of Rose’s inner turmoil regained his posture, shaking himself like it had been just a little discomfort, and had not been probably a few seconds away from being killed. "Cline at arms," he commanded. And the leader of the group who had found them, took out his rifle in a crisp response. "Show them the cells. We don't need them to spread their treason." He turned to Rose who was still turned to the wall. "And you, Rose. If you try anything, I'll see that the Doctor dies first." 

Rose spun around at the threat, a look of fire and death in her eyes. "Touch him and I swear on my life that I will end you," she promised with a tone that told everyone this was not an empty threat.

"Okay Rambo, calm down will you?" Donna said nervously as Rose was locked in an almost staring contest with Cobb. 

"Come on. This way," said Cline, pushing Rose in the process, breaking the tension without realizing it.

The Doctor looked at Rose with concern before turning to the colonel. "I'm going to stop you, Cobb. You need to know that," he promised.

Cobb smirked. "I have an army and the Breath of God on my side, Doctor. What do you have?"

The Doctor tapped at his temple with that cheeky grin of his. “I have my extremely clever brain. A brain that is going to find a way to stop you, and when I do, you’ll have one chance to make things right.”

Cobb rolled his eyes now that it appeared that he had the upper hand against the small group He waved a hand in dismissal. "Lock them up and guard them."

"What about the new soldier?" Cline asked while throwing a look at Tony, who looked offended at the implication he was a troublemaker. 

"Can't trust him. He's from too wild a stock. Take them all." And with a last hand gesture, he dismissed them all. Looking at the map like they were now non existent. 

And just like that, they were pushed in direction of the prison cell. The Doctor tried to look at Rose and catch her attention, but she was stubbornly looking at the ground, refusing to meet his eyes. He realized suddenly that she changed way more that he was thinking at first. And he wasn’t really sure if it was a good thing.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10

"I don't want to talk about it." Rose stood firm while repeating her answer for what had to have been the fifth time. Because he could never know the truth. Ever. "Like I said, I just lost my cool. That's all."

The Doctor’s agitation grew as he paced the middle of the prison cell they had been put into. "And like I said, your reaction was not normal! You threatened a man Rose! Two times!" He stopped in front of her. "Talk to me," he sighed, "please." But only silence was his response.

"More numbers," Donna observed while trying to break the tension. "They've got to mean something."

"Makes as much sense as the Breath of Life story," the Doctor mumbled, still bothered by Rose’s stillness.

Rose stared curiously at the Doctor. "What?"

"You think it’s not true," Tony asked from his seat on the ground. He was still staring at the wall vacantly, as a startled Doctor looked at him having momentarily forgotten that he was with them. “You think it’s a joke, when it’s the fate of two civilizations at stake.” An ominous silence was his response before Donna gave a nervous laugh, making Tony jump like he had been deep in through. 

"Okay, what’s he’s talking about?" Donna asked while looking at the Doctor, who was still frowning at Tony as if he were trying to find the response to a very difficult enigma. The only person not visibly bothered by that comment was Rose, who was too busy throwing Tony a sad look.

The Doctor scratched his chin, briefly considering Donna’s question and if there was time to get into it before waving his hand in a sort of dismissal. "Just some myth. You know the 'and then there was life' kind of things." He started to path again. "Regardless, I think there could still be something important in that temple. Maybe a piece of technology, or a weapon. Lost in time and became a myth."

Donna looked at him offended. "So the Source you’re talking about could be a weapon, and we've just given directions to Captain Nutjob?" She threw her hands in the air. "Good job, really!" She turned to Rose who was still sulking in a corner. "Back me up please!"

Rose shrugged, still a little perturbed by Tony’s behavior and her own loss of self control. But one thing at the time. "Hey no objection from me, remember I was the one who wanted to stop him." Her sentence gained only a worrying look from the Doctor. She also realized that Tony was looking her way with a curious gaze. "What?"

"You are not like the others. Are you a soldier like me?" he asked with interest.

She smiled at him, still cannot believing she had a son. A son who looked so much like herself that her mother would have probably smothered him to death by now. "Technically an officer really. I'm generally the one who gives the orders rather than the one who follows them." But then her smile faltered as she remembered her life before the Doctor, a time when everything was so still and motionless. That life she had wanted to run from so bad. Sometimes she wondered how that life would have been without the Doctor.

"So, you are like the colonel Cobb?" Tony continued, totally oblivious to the change of mood in Rose.

She flinched, turning her head to the wall. She recalled the multiple times she had people under her command, counting on her in battle to bring them home alive. She always tried to do her best and incur the bare minimum of loss possible. But sometimes it’s too easy to lose yourself in the blood and rage of the battle. Humanity is such a fleeting thing... "No, I'm not. Life is something precious." She turned her head again, making sure that Tony was looking directly in her eyes. "You should never waste it. If I had to teach you one thing, it's that you never take a life when you have other means."

The Doctor and Donna were looking at them, but she had eyes only for her son. Tony was solemn and subdued, like he was pondering what she just had said. But she knew how that moment was important, because he was literally born to fight and kill. She remembered a time when it was a choice that she had to make, and she didn’t want him to suffer like she had. Trial by fire is never without consequence. She wanted something different for him, an alternative choice like she had herself. Even if she had to drag him kicking and screaming.

"Can you teach me? I mean being a soldier like you," he asked after a long moment of silence with a shy look. He was clearly expecting to be turned down, but he asked anyway.

She beamed, so proud she almost burst. "Yes, if it's something you want," she replied with the hint of emotions she was feeling herself. Maybe something good could come from all this.

Donna fell beside her, punching her lightly in the shoulder, making Rose jump almost a foot in the air. She had totally forgotten they were there. "Well good job mom," Donna praised with a fond smile. Rose tensed almost immediately at the moniker, as she was still not at ease with the idea of instant motherhood. The love for her son was already here, she was not denying it, but the shock had clearly not settled out.

The Doctor sensed her sudden panic, and diverted the attention to himself. "Well, we still need to get out of here, find Martha, and stop Cobb from slaughtering the Hath."

"Oh right!" said Donna with suddenness, before getting back on her feet. She offered her hand to Rose who hesitated for a second before taking it and getting up herself. "Do you have a plan?"

"I need your phone Donna. Time for an upgrade." He turned to Rose with a smile. "What happened to yours by the way? You know the one we lost the first time?"

She laughed, remembering the fate of her poor phone. "An unfortunate incident involving my mom, two mentors hell bent on invading east London and a washing machine. He sadly didn't survive."

He chuckled as Donna looked at her. "What's a mentor?"

She shrugged and she walked in direction of Tony who still didn't have moved from in position against the wall. It was time for her to have a real one to one with her son. "Let's say if you don't like slugs, then they’re not going to be your favorite aliens."

The redhead shuddered at the visual as the Doctor was sniggering in the background. "Ok. Got it."

Rose sat beside Tony who was still looking at the ground. Probably still thinking about what she said. She bumped him with a smile. "You know I'm sure my mom would have loved you."

He looked at her with wide eyes, almost childlike their appearance. Making her realize that even if he was fully grown, he was still only a few hours old. It was not his fault if he was there now. He didn't ask to be born from some machine. For better or for worse he was family, and like her mother always said: you don't abandon family. You stick with it and you try your best. If she turned her back on him, she was sure that her mom would have crossed over just to give her the smack of a lifetime.

"You have a mother? That means I have...That I have a family?" Tony was starting to be excited. At that moment she was only seeing the Tyler in him, the one who could have been really hers if her life had been different.

"Yes and I have a dad. And like I said before, a brother named Tony just like you. And even friends!"

"Could I meet them?" he asked as the excitement seemed to radiate from him, just like she used to do when she was a child. She had lost it somewhere during her adolescence but she was so happy to see it was a trait so ingrained in her that she passed it on to him.

She had a sad smile full a sorrow and pain. "No I lost them a long time ago." She patted his shoulder as he started to look saddened. "But I'm sure they would have loved you. My mom would have probably adored you to death."

"Martha, you're alive!" She heard from the other side of the cage, as the Doctor was looking ecstatic, smiling like a madman. She crossed his eyes and realized as his stare softened that he had deliberately let her have a moment with Tony, even if his burning envy to know answers was eating at him. She had a soft smile, thanking him wordlessly.

"I'm so glad you're alive!" Donna shouted into the phone, making the Doctor wince under the volume, and breaking the moment without realizing it.

"Yes, we’re all here together. Donna, Rose and Tony too. Yes, that’s what she called him!" He nodded after being handed the phone, mostly for himself rather than Martha. "We're fine. What about you?" He smiled at her response as she began to fill him in, making Rose relax, who become conscious that she had been tense since their separation with the companion. "Anyway, where are you?" He then frowned at what she was saying before his eyebrow almost jumped to his hairline. He was entertaining to watch she thought. That was a thing she didn't remember and it almost saddened her. Because what else has she forgotten?

"Oh, that was me," continued the Doctor, not seeing the turmoil in Rose. "If both armies are heading that way, there's going to be a bloodbath... Just stay where you are. If you're safe there, don't move, do you hear me?" He stayed silent for a few seconds, waiting for an answer before looking at his phone with surprise. "Well she hung up."

Donna sniggered. "Maybe she was tired of hearing your voice!" They started to bicker, making Rose roll her eyes as Tony looked at them with interest. "Are they always like this?"

"Unfortunately I think so," Rose replied with amusement. She was glad to see that everything had not been bleak for the Doctor. It was good for him.

But her fleeting moment of peace was shattered by the sudden and distant screams of dozens of soldiers. "To war!" They shouted over and over again, triggering in Rose a flashback of a few memories that she tried her hardest to forget or bury deep into herself.

As the screams grew louder and louder, she felt herself shutting down, gasping for breath while realizing helplessly that she was having an episode in a middle of a group less than equipped to manage it. And if the Doctor realized...Well she was clearly not ready to face that storm of questioning anytime soon. 

She started to recite the names of her teammates while taking slow deep breaths, then repeating to herself over and over that it was not real and nothing was happening, just like how she had been taught after the last few disastrous event when she had a flashback without warning. But her control of herself was still wavering, making it harder for her to come back to herself without anyone realizing it.

"Hey are you okay?" Tony asked in a worried voice, encircling her with his arms, as the Doctor was fortunately too busy looking looking for a way to escape to see her state.

And just like that, she felt like she was back into her own body, grappling back to the reality and grateful beyond words that Tony had seemed to know how to do the right thing at the perfect moment. She was still shaken, and a little afraid to see how everything had gone to hell so fast since the return of the Doctor. But she knew that now was not the time to be vulnerable or emotional.  People were counting on her, and she would have to wait to be back on Earth to fall apart if needed. So, she faked a smile to her son, as she let herself relax into the hug, and played that moment as just a fluke. "Yeah, yeah just some memories. No worry.” She diverted his attention to the other topic at hand, and hoped that Tony would be too distracted to talk about what just happened. “So! We need a means to escape before they start to kill everyone. I’m open to any ideas." Donna and the Doctor turned their heads in a synchronized movement, making it almost comical. She shrugged. "Just saying."

“Rose? Can I talk to you for a second?” asked the Doctor, visibly troubled by something. 

She exchanged a smile with Tony, patting him on the knee to indicate him that they were good and started to stand up. With a little difficulty she realized with humor. Maybe she getting too old for this sort of thing. As she joined the Doctor, who was walking along the door nervously, she heard Donna take her place, starting a discussion with Tony.

“So tell me what do you know about this place?” She bumped the Doctor’s shoulder with a smile, trying to stop him from stressing too much while grounding herself at the same time. She knew that the more she had contact with people after an episode, the easier it was for her to grasp the fact it was not real and that she was now well and good. “What do you wanted to talk about?”

He sent a nervous look in Tony’s direct, who was smiling at Donna. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to trust him like that?”

She bristled at his tone of voice. “You seemed to like him well enough before. What changed?” 

The Doctor’s eyes softened as she called him out, and it was the look that said he knew that she was emotional and just needed a pep talk. The one she already wanted to smack down when they were travelling together and now was even more infuriating. Especially in that instant. 

"Rose, he is a man of war. If he had not been thrown in here with us, he would have been chanting just like them."

She came nose to nose with the Doctor, furious at his insinuation. "And what? He doesn’t deserve a second chance? Just because he was created to fight a war?”

He started to back down, his position as non threatening as possible. “I didn’t say that. Just I’m not sure he should follow us when we get out of here. We cannot be sure he’s not a spy or someone here to stop us.” 

“Hey!” called Tony in an indigned voice in the background. 

But neither the Doctor or Rose were looking at him. “I trust him. That’s more than enough for me,” Rose declared. Tony had literally saved her from herself less than a minute before, how could the Doctor be that dense? But he was still looking at her with a patronizing look in his eyes, making her want to hurt him.  “And you know what?” she sneered, her tone helped by the residual anger that an episode tended to leave behind.  “If you make me choose, don’t be so confident about my response.” 

He took a step back, a pained expression on his face at what she implied, that she would leave him again without a second thought. Making her regret instantly what she just said. She started to open her mouth to apologize but the Doctor beat her to it.

“He is a soldier. Literally born to kill!” the Doctor shouted, angry and hurt beyond reason. Touching a weak point of Rose without realizing it. 

"So I am!” she shouted back. “And you know what? I’ve killed people! I’ve sacrificed men just in hope than more would live! I fought in wars! I'm just like him. Are you going to sacrifice me as well?"

She was meet with a choked silence and sad eyes. "Rose I didn't mean..."

But it was too late now. They both said things that could not be taken back, no matter how much they wanted to. Rose realised with sadness that maybe the boat had sailed a long time ago, and now too much has changed. That she was too broken to be someone of any worth to him. The Rose he knew was long gone, and she was deeply sad to see she could not measure up. She sighed and turned her head, too tired and wired to fight.

She just wanted to go home. Get her emotions under lock once again and move on. "No you didn't probably mean it but that's a reality. I’ve changed, Doctor. I will not let you vilify a man just because he could have been..."

"Maybe we can ask Tony what he thinks?" Donna intervened while trying to calm them down before the situation spiraled out of control.

"Well, you are a tad too much emotional, and I would really prefer not being sacrificed. But I can still be the diversion if you want," Tony said with so much sarcasm that Rose snorted. Sarcasm was obviously in his genes as well.

"At least he has a sense of humor. And that's clearly something that came from you, Rose, because that lot of soldiers are clearly not a comedy troupe," continued Donna while smiling ear to ear at Tony who looked pleased with himself.

“No, don’t worry, if a diversion is needed I can do it,” said Rose with a fond look to her son. She had decided then and there that if she could, she would take him back with her.

“Why you? Why not me or Donna?” asked the Doctor with indignation, still mulling over his spat with Rose. It had been very childish of him to be this petty, but seeing her so open with someone else had made him envious, so his mouth had run on autopilot as usual. And the worst thing about his behavior is that he really liked Tony. He was so much like Rose.

“Because knowing you, you will probably annoy them to death and make them kill you,” Donna teased with a satisfied smile as the Doctor puffed. “And well I’m not against doing the diversion, but I’m curious to see what Rose will do.”

Rose smiled at Tony, who was waiting for his cue to do something. “Ok Tony, watch and learn.” She glanced to the Doctor, still hurt by what he said. “And you could also learn a thing or two...” Then without another word she walked to the door, realizing as she leaned against it that the guard had changed. Now it was Cline, the one who moved them here. This could work in their favor as perhaps he will have her weapon with him.

“Cline right?” she asked with a hint of flirting in her voice.

“I’m not supposed to talk to you. I’m on duty,” Cline replied without moving his eyes from the opposite wall.

“Well, I imagine that colonel Cobb would not be an happy man if you fail at your duty…” She bent a little, waiting for the right moment to move then smiled. “And you know what?”

By reflex, he turned his head at the question. “What?”

“He was right.” Before he had the time to think about what she just said, she moved her arms around him and knocked him out, muffling his brief scream with her hand, squatting with the body to let him down gently without a sound. A few seconds later she turned around and with a big smile, showed a key in one hand and her gun in the other one. Making Donna laugh big time.

“No way in hell you would have done that!” she said to the Doctor, who was looking at Rose with astonishment.

“Wow that was awesome!” cried out Tony, jumping to his feet with excitement and smiling like a little kid. “I’m really, really impressed!” He turned to the Doctor, hitting him in the shoulder with enthusiasm, his previous issue with Tony already forgotten. “Isn’t she cool?”

The Doctor could only nod numbly at Tony. He was completely overwhelmed by the contradiction in him. Because while he was fundamentally against violence, especially when an alternative existed, but in that moment he could only be awed by what he just saw.

At least if Rose was leaving him after this, he could still bond with Tony over the fact she was in a league way out of their own.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11:

“Ok, I think it’s enough,” said Rose as she finished tying up the guard she just knocked out. “We need to move now, before the rest of the cavalry realizes that we’re gone and come after us.” As she turned around, she realized that the Doctor was still looking at her with a weird look in his eyes. Which made her roll her own in response. Sometimes she wondered about his sanity. But she was fortunately saved from an uncomfortable discussion by an oblivious Donna, who was still looking around with Tony.

“Ok time to get out!” she ordered a little too loudly for the Doctor, who winced at the sharpness of her tone.

“And we need to find the plan for the secret tunnel,” added Tony, walking besides Rose, who couldn’t stopping herself for smiling proudly every time he opened his mouth.

“Yes, so let’s go.” And suddenly just like that Colonel Tyler was back. “I’m going first.” She turned to Tony. “You are closing the group. Don’t forget to take the guard’s weapon on our way out. Doctor…” The man himself approached her with curiosity, still not accustomed seeing the soldier in Rose. “I want you to stay close to Donna and be right behind me. Nobody move before I said so, nobody try to be a hero and for the love of everything let me handle everything coming our way before someone,” she took an hard look to the Doctor, who started to look around innocently, “tries to save the day with a rubber duck and a strand of liquorice.”

Before the alien in question had the time to look offended, Donna started to laugh really loudly, almost tripping on Tony who was probably wondering if liquorice was a weapon or not. “Ok, after our little adventure blondie and I really need to talk!”

“Please no!” The Doctor cringed at what could happen with the two woman in the same place and no danger on the horizon to distract them.

Rose had a sudden evil grin, making everyone a little nervous. “Oh yes. The stories I have…” She looked a little dreamy for a second before shaking herself and taking out her weapon, looking again like the professional she was. “Ok let’s go.”

“Hey I’m not a damsel in distress!” said Donna, affronted to be treated like a child, almost hitting the Doctor as he tried to move her behind him. Tony had the wisdom to stay away behind, occupying himself by checking the weapon he just recovered.

Rose sighed, a little irritated to lose time like this. Did nobody realize that they had maybe twenty five minutes, at best, before someone came to relieve Clive? “I know, Donna, but you are also the only full civilian here, so it’s my job to ensure your safety.” The Doctor coughed, making her add, “and also the Doctor is here to protect you. So please stay behind. And Doctor, no heroic action. We find Martha. We stop Cobb from doing something stupid, and we run to the TARDIS. Are we clear?”

“Crystal!” He smiled broadly, his hands in his pocket. The perfect image of a nine year old on a sugar rush. Making Rose shake her head fondly. That man was infuriating, but by god did she miss him sometimes.

“Ok let’s go!” And then she was out.

“I so want to be her one day,” Tony whispered to the Doctor as they were walking out. His last row with Rose already forgotten.

“I can understand why...”

“Hey, Fanboy, we don’t have all day!” called Donna while snickering besides them. Between the man with a crush, and the kid with an hero worship; she was five seconds away from telling them to hold their fan club meeting elsewhere. But she wisely decided to leave that for another moment as the Doctor walked in front of her.

She had to convince Rose to stay in the TARDIS first. Because she was not ready to have an heartbroken Doctor on her hands again. One time had been enough.

---

They had been walking for almost ten minutes. Rose making them progress slowly while checking every nook and corner, her eyes entirely focused on the mission at hand. For the moment they had not seen anyone, letting her relax little by little. But it was not enough for the Doctor, who was realizing more and more that he didn’t know at all the Rose Tyler in front of her.

Gone was the joyous and carefree woman who had traveled with him. In her place was a hardened soldier and leader. Not that he was proud to see her so confident and charismatic, but the fact it happened without him made something really ache inside him. He didn’t want that life for her. When he had imagined her in the parallel earth without him, he always imagined her happy, most importantly with her family and endless laughter. It had almost broken him, but that was all that he ever wanted for her.

But now? Seeing her like that, was looking at an uncomfortable mirror from a past life. And he was not sure he was able to support the choices that he would inevitably have to make.

“Someone is there,” whispered Rose in front of him, making him almost jump in surprise. He had been so deep in thought that he had forgotten where they were.

“If I remember correctly, that's the way out,” the Doctor muttered as he was looking at the man who was facing away from them down the stairs. “I’m right?” he continued in Tony’s direction.

“Well yes, this is the most direct route. There are others, but we might run into trouble with some of Cobb’s friends.”

“Let me distract this one. I have picked up a few womanly wiles over the years,” Donna said with grin, eager to prove that she was as much as capable that the rest of them.

“Let's save your wiles for later. In case of emergency,” replied the Doctor, trying to somewhat hold back Donna, as Tony was looking amused beside them. “Let me handle it.”

“Like you handled it the last time? Sure! It worked so well,” Donna said sarcastically.

As they continued their disagreement, not realising they were going up and up in volume, they were suddenly stopped by a loud whistling, putting a stop to their bickering.

“Okay you can stop shouting, it’s done,” Said Rose with a smile as they turned around in a perfect unison, while nudging the unconscious guard with her foot just to be sure he wasn’t faking. “So we need to find something telling us where the Hath camp is.”

“They must all have a copy of that map I saw with Cobb,” said the Doctor, taking out his sonic screwdriver. “Just stay there,” he said, walking tall in front of Rose, trying desperately to regain the upper hand.

“Yeah right…” Rose replied, smiling with Donna who was probably two seconds away to bursting into laughter.

“Wait. This is it. The hidden tunnel. There must be a control panel,” said the Doctor, already in the other room, most probably to Tony who was the only one who had followed him. “I think it’s why you couldn’t know this. It’s clearly in a dead end for you and…”

“There’s another one of those numbers. They're everywhere,” said Donna, looking at one of the pillar in this new area, cutting off one of the Doctor’s infamous monologues.

“Well, the original builders must have left them. Some old cataloguing system,” he offered curious to why she was focusing on that of all things.

Donna turned to Rose, who was guarding the back door just in case. “You got a pen? Bit of paper? Because the numbers are counting down. This one ends in one four. The prison cell said one six.”

“Yeah sure wait…” She started to ruminage into her pocket, taking out a pen. “But I don’t have any paper. I usually just carry the basics on me these days.“

“I have some, Donna.” The Doctor fished something out of his pockets.

“One day I will want to know what you have exactly in those pockets.” Donna rolled her eyes while taking the paper.

“No you really don’t want to know,” Rose replied as she passed her head out of the door to keep an eyes on the stairs

Hey!” The Doctor glared at her, taking his head out of the map looking scandalized. “I said I was sorry about that! I didn’t even remember I had it!”

“Yeah and the fact you had a mouse trap in the first place was not weird at all,” snickered Rose as they started to smile to each other.

“He had what?” Said Donna horrified. “Ok, maybe I really don’t want to know.”

“Ahah! Found it!” called Tony in the background, his hands on two seperate parts of the wall, making them all turn around. “I think I have the control panel and the door!”

“Tony, you are a genius!” the Doctor enthused as the young man beamed. “Now give me just a minute…”

“So… You said that after you will stop the colonel you will leave. We are you going?” Tony asked shyly.

“I travel through time and space. Looking around at the different things.”

“He saves planets,” added Donna. “Rescues civilisations. Defeats terrible creatures. Runs a lot. Seriously, there's an outrageous amount of running involved.”

“I don’t think I ever had a better cardio than when I was travelling with the Doctor,” Rose thought to herself as she looked into space. Did she have better running time as a Torchwood agent or as an UNIT colonel? She will had to take out her few last running time to compare.

“Got it!” the Doctor said enthusiastically, high fiving Tony who was still besides him, making Donna and Rose smile as the door opened.

But the joyous atmosphere was cut short by the voice of Cobb and a few men reverbarting all around them, indicating they weren’t the only ones in this area.

“Time to run!” said Rose, pushing a still motionless Doctor and Donna into the hole made by the door opening.

They started to run. Going faster and faster, surprising even Rose as Donna outdistanced her without issue, following the Doctor, who was still running like his life depended on it. Not unusual at all if she thought about it.

She then realized as she looked at Tony, who was a little in front of her but was showing more signs of effort than the rest of them, that when she resumed her training regime, that she’ll need to drag her son with her. Because she was clearly out of shape compared to them.

After a few seconds however, she noticed that the Doctor had stopped running. After stopping short, and taking a brief glance around, she realized why: an array of laser beams was criss-crossing the passage. Making it impossible for them to pass without being fried to death.

“That's not mood lighting, is it?” asked Donna, the humor clearly more to relax the situation than anything else.

Without a word the Doctor rummaged around one of his pockets, taking out a clockwork mouse and tossing it into the lasers, causing it to instantly disintegrate.

“Wow! You really do have everything in those pockets,” Tony was more impressed by the Doctor rather than what he just saw. The Doctor of course responded by smiling broadly at Tony. Making Rose roll her eyes with a sigh. Soon she will have to separate them if this was going to cause a distraction.

“That’s clearly not good news,” Donna interjected, unaware of the mood around her. She started to have practice with the Doctor. If she survived him into one of his “Rose’s mood” she could override everything.

“Tony with me!” the Doctor commanded as he approached a blue box in a corner, clearly trying adopt the young man by any means possible.

But Rose was starting to be fed up with all this, and pushed her son in the other direction before he had time to make a move. “No, Tony check the corridor. I’m going in.” As the Doctor looked at her in surprise, she started to justify herself. “I have probably a better understanding of the electrical layout than him.”

“Since when?” asked the Doctor, his mouth going faster than his brain like always.

“There's more of these. Always eight numbers, counting down the closer we get,” said Donna before Rose had time to respond, trying to deescalate the situation before they started to shoot at each other again.

“I think I’m hearing the general,” Tony advised as he engaged his weapon, his demeanor going full soldier in a few seconds. He had the time to make a few steps before Rose realized what he was doing.

“And where do you think you are going, young man?” Rose asked icily, channeling her best impression of Jackie Tyler, making even the Doctor freeze in a somewhat forgotten preservation instinct.

The young man looked at her with big eyes, clearly not sure what he was supposed to do. “I can stall them.”

Rose walked in front of him, the blue box and laser already forgotten. “And getting yourself killed in the process? I don’t think so! I’m going,” She declared while taking out her weapon at the same time, her head already forming plan. She could use the machine gun that was a meter away.

But before she could even think about going in that direction, she was stopped by a surprising strong arm and a double “no!” coming from both the Doctor and Tony, who were looking at each other surprised.

“You cannot do that,” commanded the Doctor with a mullish expression on his face.

“And why not?” Rose shot back, her arms crossed, already annoyed with his tendency to shelter everyone who was not him.

He had a brief panicked look in his eyes before looking at her triumphantly. “Because Tony is better suited for that. He know better than us how they work!” She turned around, looking at Tony who was nodding with force. Obviously her son was firmly on ‘team Doctor’. She tried to have support from Donna, who immediately looked away, showing that she was not going get involved.

Rose sighed, knowing when she was outnumbered. “Ok, Tony you do it.” The Doctor and the young man exchanged a big smile. “But remember if you can. Don’t kill them.”

Tony put his hand on her shoulder in a sign of affection. Thus melting her annoyance a little. “I will just try to stall them until you disarm the laser. I promise.”

She nodded and returned to the blue box with the Doctor, who was already deep into it.

After a few seconds she started to hear an exchange of gunfire, and with her heart into her throat that she forced herself to not look. Praying to every deity he will be okay. “Okay do it!” said the Doctor with a last flourish of his sonic screwdriver just as the laser flickered out.

As Donna started to run into the corridor, the Doctor and Rose turned around as one and screamed “Tony let’s go!” before looking at each other with surprise, forgetting for a second where they were.

“Hurry up they are starting again!” screamed Donna, breaking the moment without hesitation. Making them run just in time to see the laser start up again, looking helplessly at Tony who was still exchanging fire with Cobb and his squad. “We needs to help him,” Rose said, her stress going up by the second as she looked at her son risking his life less than fifty meters away. She cursed her reflex to run after the Doctor instead of staying back and fighting alongside him.

“You're a child of the machine. You're on my side. Join us. Join us in the war against the Hath. It's in your blood, boy. Don't deny it.” She heard Cobb scream above the noise of the bullets.

But before she could do something foolish and run into the laser to go hit that man, Tony got up and aimed the machine gun in direction of the general, saying proudly, “I’m the son of Rose Tyler!” He then shot a hole in a steam pipe above Cobb, and turn around with a wild smile on his face.

“Run Tony!” screamed the Doctor, just as scared as Rose. “The circuit's almost finished looping back!”

But before Tony had time to run all the way back to the corridor, the laser were already up and running. This unfortunately cut off his only exit from Cobb, who was already trying to pass the hot steam obscuring his sight.

“Turn it off again!” Donna hollered, as the Doctor was trying desperately to stop Rose from jumping into the laser.

“We can’t leave him here!” Rose shrieked, her eyes bored into Tony’s, who was getting more anxious by the second. “I can’t abandon him!” She tried to the Doctor’s hold but he was too strong. Stronger than her, even now. But she was trying, not ready to see the son she just had disappear in front of her. She had to find another way. Because she was not sure to be strong enough to lose someone else. Not with all her emotions overflowing since she was back in the presence of the Doctor.

“The controls are back there, I cannot do anything from here,” the Doctor answered with a strangled voice, his heart breaking under the situation. Seeing Rose like this was one of the hardest thing he ever witnessed. And knowing that he couldn’t do anything, only watching the bright young man he liked so much be presumably lost to them was devastating. But he had to be strong for Rose. He could do as much for her.

“Go without me!” Tony called while looking behind him as Cobb and the rest of his men was finally moving towards him. “You have to go!” he continued, trying to stay brave for them, but the fear was still clearly in his eyes.

“Not without you!” replied Rose who had stopped struggling, tears running down her face. All trace of fight had deserted her, too heavy under her emotions. As the Doctor was murmuring “I'm sorry, I’m so sorry…” into her hair, trying to comfort her at the best he could do without much success.

As Cobb was only a few meters away, the face of Tony changed suddenly from scared to determined, making them all pause for a second. He looked briefly at Cobb before taking a huge inspiration, and without a second to waste, threw away the weapon and ran. Before their amazed eyes he suddenly flew into the laser, crossing over by doing somersaults between the beams, as if he’s done so his entire life. He dodged every single one of them before landing in front of Rose and the Doctor.

Donna looked at him with an amazed look. “No way. That was impossible,” she said with a sort of reverence.

Rose, who had been released by the Doctor was too busy hugging the life out of Tony, who was laughing madly to say anything.

“Not impossible. Just a bit unlikely. Brilliant! You were brilliant. Brilliant,” said the Doctor who smiled like a mad man. He turned to Rose, who was still clutching to her son. “No DNA test needed! He clearly inherited your gymnastic prowess!” Rose laughed at that, still under the rollercoaster of emotions she just felt.

Tony smiled at the Doctor over Rose shoulder. “I couldn’t let you go on without me. I still have a spaceship to see.”

But the moment was broken by the sound of of Cobb screaming “At arms!” behind them, making Rose jump instantanely in front of Donna and Tony.

The Doctor advanced threatenly, trying his best to conceal the rest of the group, at the annoyance of Rose, who had to push back her son who wanted to follow his new best friend.

“I warned you, Cobb. If the Source is a weapon, I'm going to make sure you never use it,” he said with defiance, letting them all know that their second chance was dangerously close to being squandered on almost killing Tony.

But his only response was a smiling Cobb. “One of us is going to die today, and it won't be me.” But before he had time to order his men to fire, the little group had already run away into one of the corridor, gaining distance once again.

Chapter Text

After a few minutes of running in a tense silence, and the distance between themselves and Cobb and his men growing by the minute, they finally began to relax enough to slow down. Which Tony, who was getting winded by the sprint, was all too happy join in.

“So, are you all travelling together?” Tony asked, partly out of curiosity and partially to cut the tension.

“First of all, don’t ever scare me again like that again!” Rose ordered as she spun on her heel and punched Tony in the arm, making him jump in a combinations of surprise and pain. “And if you do it again, you’re grounded for the next ten years! Are we clear?”

Tony acquiesced with surprised eyes, exchanging a frightened look with the Doctor, who was nervous that he was next on Rose’s list. But he was saved by an amused Donna.

“Just me and the Doctor. I only met Rose yesterday. But the Doctor and her used to travel together. As did Martha at one point.”

“Oh!” He said surprised before turning to Rose. “Why did you stop?”

Rose had a nervous smile, looking all around her except for the Doctor, who was looking at the ceiling with a somber mood. “Let’s just say that at first, it wasn’t really by choice. And after...Well it’s not really the kind of story you can tell while running away from bad guys…”

Tony nodded for a few seconds before looking at Donna brightly. “Can I come with you after? I want to see other planets and the things you talked about!”

“Of course you can come!” enthused Rose and the Doctor before looking at each other surprised by their simultaneous outburst. This made Donna laugh so hard she had to stop and lean onto the wall to not fall over, making them all stop as they looked at her with different degree of surprise.

“You’ll have to share custody! That’s hilarious.” She laughed louder. “So what are you gonna do? One week in the TARDIS then one week at UNIT? If you do that, I will pay big money to see that.”

“Don’t be silly Donna,” said the Doctor annoyed. “We let Tony chose.” But his response only made Donna continue to laugh. “Human sometimes I swear…” he muttered.

Rose rolled her eyes at his remark, like he was any better than them. “Tony is an adult, well technically, If he wants to come with one of us, then that doesn’t mean he won’t have a means to contact the other. Yes, I will be going back to UNIT after we’re finished here.” She pretended to not see the wounded look on the Doctor face at her announcement. “But if Tony wants to travel a little with the Doctor that’s fine. That’s why mobiles exist. As long as I can see him from time to time.” She smiled fondly at her son. “I just want him to be happy.”

And that’s all she could ever want for him. And if that meant see him leave for some time with the Doctor, well she could accept and support that. She already loved Tony deeply, but she was nowhere ready to be a full-time mom, nor have someone depending on her for a long period of time. She still sometimes had difficulty tending for herself correctly. Seeing the state of her life right now, and what she was supposed to do, it was probably for the best for the Doctor to stay with Tony. He could teach and protect him. And she could still arrange to see him enough to keep an eyes on him. Just in case what she thought would could happen in the future came to fruition.

“What is it like going to other planets?” asked Tony, his head already in the stars, making Rose tear up a little. He really looked like her when she was younger. Always dreaming big, and she was so happy that nobody will tell him otherwise. He’ll get to dream all he wants, and go as far as he wanted to go. And just like for her, it was the Doctor who will make the dreams real. Like mother like son in an ironic way.

“Oh, never a dull moment. It can be terrifying, brilliant and funny, sometimes all at the same time. And a lot of time running. It’s like we never stop sometimes,” said Donna, her full attention on Tony and his eyes full of dreams. “You’ll love it!”

“We’re not always running!” the Doctor protested. “It’s just the bit in between.” He started to scratch his chin. “Well…okay lot of bit in between...But I swear that’s not not my intention most of the time.”

“Yeah right,” Donna snorted. “Hey Donna, let’s take tea in this gorgeous planet. I swear they’re peaceful! And then not even half an hour later, I’m trying to depose a murderous tyrant while trying not to be ran over by that beanpole on a bicycle.”

“Hey it was one time!” protested the Doctor as they started to bicker over their accounts of the event while Tony’s head bobbed like he was watching a tennis match.

Rose smiled as she observed the three. She was so happy that he had Donna. They seemed to go on like a house on fire. She started to move forward, deciding to let them have their fun until they realize that she was advancing. But her peace did not hold for long as she realized not even ten meters in front of her a piece of the wall was starting to crumble under the pressure of an heavy object, making her realize that Cobb had probably decided on another route. She ran in the other direction, just as the wall was blasted away, passing her three others companion who looked around surprised.

“They've blasted through the beams!” She screamed. “Time to move!”

“Great! Love the running!” the Doctor said happily, while following her as Donna and Tony were going full blast beside him. But they were not running very far as they were suddenly in front of a dead end.

“We're trapped,” said Donna as Rose was hitting the wall at different place, hoping to open what was visibly a closed door.

“Can't be! This must be the Temple door,” continued the Doctor, standing next to Rose with his sonic screwdriver.

Donna was the only one still looking around, as Tony had started to help the other two. “And again, we're down to one two now,” she said distractly while looking at the number.

The Doctor jumped a little as the door started to make a sound. “I think I’ve got it!”

Rose threw a nervous look behind her as the sound of Cobb was coming closer and closer. “Yeah, but now would be better!”

“I’m nearly done,” he replied, his attention fully on the door which was making more and more sound.

Donna touched one of the numbers. “These can't be a cataloguing system,” she muttered more for herself than the others.

“Got it!” screamed the Doctor, just as Rose and Tony finished forcing open the door, letting them finally escape.

“Woah that was close!” Tony exclaimed just as the Doctor closed the door on Cobb and his men.

The Doctor smiled in his direction. “Not fun otherwise.” But the only response he gained was a hit on the shoulder by Rose. He turned a wounded look to Donna, but the woman was too busy looking around to see what happened.

“It's not what I'd call a temple,” Donna observed with a clearly impressed tone.

Rose examined one of the walls, touching the machinery closely and turned a curious look to the Doctor who was sonicing another part. “More like a spaceship, no?”

He nodded absently. “Fusion drive transport more exactly.”

“What, like the original one? The one the first colonists arrived in?” asked Donna.

The Doctor shrugged as he couldn’t really be sure. “Well, it could be. But the power cells would have run down after a while. This one is still powered-up and functioning.” He pushed Tony in the direction of the stairs. “Come on.”

As they headed up a flight of stairs, they realized that someone was cutting their way through another door.

“I think it’s the Hath,” said Tony with a highly concerned look. “That door is not going to last much longer. And if General Cobb gets through, war will break out.” He exchanged a worried look with Rose this time, but as he turned to ask the Doctor something, he realized that the man was nowhere to be found.

“ Look, look, look, look, look. Ship's log.” They heard the Doctor calling from another part of the spaceship. When they joined him, he was looking at a screen displaying what looked like some sort of official report.

“Messaline Leader One mission log designation XG2482942-372” He started to read while Rose was looking over his shoulder.

“So this was the original ship. I wonder what happened?” Donna mused.

The Doctor signed. “Phase one: Construction. They used robot drones to build the city.”

As Rose was reading, she didn’t see anything about what she was the most interested in. “Nothing on the war...”

“Wait…” said the Doctor, before turning page for a few seconds, using his speed reading to search for what was interesting Rose the most, all while Tony began to look around, interested at was basically his history. “Ah found it! look!” The Doctor showed Rose part of the document, while reading it aloud for Donna, who was behind them and visibly becoming more frustrated by the second. “Mission commander dead. Still no agreement on who should assume leadership. Hath and humans have divided into factions. That must be it. A power vacuum. The crew divided into two factions and turned on each other. Start using the progenation machines, and suddenly you've got two armies fighting a never-ending war.”

“And now they’re both outside,” Tony warned while still touching and probing everything. Something that reminded Rose of the Doctor with fondness. How many times did she have to stop him touching everything and starting a diplomatic incident? She wondered if it’s was something that changed.

“Oh look at that!” exclaimed Donna as a number was being lit by the screen showing the whole planet.

The Doctor dismissed it with a wave, too busy trying to decipher the different volumes around him. “Yeah it's like the numbers in the tunnels.”

She frowned, gesticulating in excitement. “No, no, no, no. Listen, I spent six months working as a temp in Hounslow Library, and I mastered the Dewey Decimal System in two days flat. I'm good with numbers. It's staring us in the face.”

“What do you mean?” asked Rose with curiosity, lifting her head from the book she was immersed in.

“It's the date,” Donna answered smiling more and more. “Assuming the first two numbers are some big old space date, then you've got year, month, day. It's the other way round, like it is in America.”

“Oh!” the Doctor screamed, making everyone jump in surprise. “It's the New Byzantine Calendar.”

“The codes are completion dates for each section.” Donna was now looking more and more excited, jumping on what the Doctor was saying, making him smile more like a madman by the second. “They finish it, they stamp the date on. So the numbers aren't counting down, they're going out from here, day by day, as the city got built.”

“Yes. Oh, good work, Donna.” The Doctor had a pleased expression, even if Rose had didn’t really followed what happened. And at the face of Tony she was not the only one.

But the redhead was not finished. “Yeah. But you're still not getting it. The first number I saw back there, was sixty twelve oh seven seventeen. Well, look at the date today.”

“Oh seven twenty four.” The Doctor shook his head in pure disbelief. “No.”

“Ok, can someone explain what’s going on to those in the room who don’t know what you’re talking about?” asked Tony with Rose nodding in the background.

The face of the Doctor dropped, becoming somber by the second. “Seven days.”

“That’s it. Just seven days,” Donna echoed him in a manner of confirmation.

Rose rolled her eyes. She was seriously fed up with all the mystery. Would it kill someone to be straightforward sometimes? “And what exactly do you mean by seven days?”

“Seven days since war broke out,” the Doctor answered simply. “This war started seven days ago. Just a week. A week!”

Tony frowned, sitting down on of the nearby boxes. “No, that’s not possible. They told us years.”

“No, they said generations,” Donna answered gently. “And if they're all like you, and they're products of those machines.”

“They could have twenty generations in a day. Each generation gets killed in the war, passes on the legend,” commented the Doctor, not really looking at anything, already calculating something in his head. “Donna, you're a genius.” This made Donna smile proudly.

“But…” Rose was confused. She specifically remembered the antiquated look of the machinery when they pushed her arm in. “Everything is in ruin.”

“No, they're not ruined,” replied the Doctor as he took out his specs already getting into his ‘teacher mode’. “They're just empty. Waiting to be populated. Oh, they've mythologised their entire history. The Source must be part of that too.” He helped Tony get up and nudged Donna. “Come on.”

They began to walk in silence, everyone mulling over the revelation before literally running into Martha as they were turning a corner. They looked at each other in surprise for a few seconds before Martha jumped into the Doctor’s embrace.

“Doctor!” she exclaimed, happy to be reunited with her friends.

“Martha!” the Doctor squealed with delight while returning her hug with happiness. “Oh, I should have known you wouldn't stay away from the excitement.”

“Martha!” Rose nudged the Doctor - who protested loudly about who was being the rude one this time - out of the way. She hugged Martha, happy to see her alive. “Oh god I’m so happy to see you! I was so anxious when I didn’t see you after the dust cleared.”

Martha smiled fondly, touched by Rose’s concern. “I was okay, don’t worry.”

“Oh, you're filthy. What happened?” asked Donna as Rose stepped back.

Martha shrugged. “I, er, took the surface route.”

The only person not really approaching Martha was Tony, preferring to stay in the background, not really sure about what he was supposed to do in this situation. But he still smiled at Rose, who looked at him with a slight motherly concern when she realized that he was not beside them.

But the moment was broken when multiple shots and screams were heard from behind the wall, indicating that the confrontation was well on its way.

“So...Time to stop a war?” Rose asked cheekily to the Doctor, who only smiled in response, taking her hand as a sure gesture. And just like that, they started running just like old times.

They were waiting for war and horror, but were surprised to drop in a middle of vast space filled with flower and life, making them all stop in surprise.

“Wow that’s...Beautiful!” Tony said reverently as he looked around in fascination. Overwhelmed by all the beauty around him. And Rose could only wordlessly agree with him as she brushed a few flowers.

“Is that the Source?” asked Donna as she walked up to a glowing globe on a pedestal with wires running to it.

“What is this place?” Martha asked as she looked around curiously.

The Doctor took out his sonic and guided all around the globe Donna was trying not to touch. “Terraforming. It's a third generation terraforming device,” he said while deciphering the reading of the sonic.

Donna opened her mouth to finish asking her earlier question, but she was interrupted by the Hath and the soldiers running in from opposite sides trapping them in the middle of the conflict.

“Stop! Hold your fire!” the Doctor commanded, jumping in front of a startled Donna as the rest of the group gathered around them ready for a fight. Especially Tony and Rose, who had her weapon out.

But Cobb didn’t care about the Doctor’s pleading as his weapon was still directed in the Hath’s direction. “What is this, some kind of trap?” he asked with venom in his voice.

“You said you wanted this war over,” answered the Doctor with his head held high. Like everytime he was sure he had won. And that only increased Rose’s anxious state, as she knew how that ended most of the time.

And she was right to be worried, as Cobb was clearly not in a peaceful mode. “I want this war won,” he spat, his weapon now aimed directly at the Doctor, making Rose and Tony instantly move aside to try and protect him. But the Doctor only pushed them aside, taking a step forward, a speech already on his lips.

“You can't win,” he began passionately. “No one can. You don't even know why you're here. Your whole history, it's just Chinese whispers, getting more distorted the more it's passed on.” He moved around, trying to touch as much people as possible, fully immersed in his role. “This is the Source.” He pointed to the globe. “This is what you're fighting over. A device to rejuvenate a planet's ecosystem. It's nothing mystical. It's from a laboratory, not some creator. It's a bubble of gases. A cocktail of stuff for accelerated evolution.”

Rose looked around, realizing it was working as more and more people were starting to lower their weapons. Even their group, who knew the Doctor and what he was capable of, were enthralled by his words, making her have faith once again that this would end well.

“Methane. Hydrogen. Ammonia. Amino acids. Proteins. Nucleic acids. It's used to make barren planets habitable. Look around you. It's not for killing, it's bringing life. If you allow it, it can lift you out of these dark tunnels and into the bright, bright sunlight. No more fighting, no more killing.” And after a few seconds of silence, as everyone was looking at the life around them, he took out the globe and smiled. “ I'm the Doctor, and I declare this war is over.” Then without another word, he throwed the globe onto the floor where it exploded and released gas and energy.

As everyone watched it slowly rise up, they started to put down their weapons one by one, fascinated by the ballet around them. All except Cobb.

“What’s happening?” Tony asked as he stood beside the Doctor, looking with a childlike delight as the different light and movement.

The Doctor smiled at him, then his eyes found Rose’s eyes who was radiating happiness. “The gases will escape and trigger the terraforming process.”

“And what does that mean?” Tony inquired.

He looked at Donna who was amusing herself with one of the particule, and then to Martha who was laughing with one of the Hath and felt peace for the first time in a long time. “It means a new World.”

Rose and the Doctor were looking at each other once again, soft looks in each of their eyes, soaking in the brief happiness, when the Doctor was suddenly pushed aside by a blur. As he hit the ground hard, he heard the unmistakable sound of a bullet being shot from someone’s weapon and felt his blood ran cold.

Rose had heard a grunt, realizing what happened just as she saw the second body crumbling into himself. He seemed to hit the floor in the slowest motion possible, his blood already spilling into the soil.

“TONY NO!” She screamed in horror.

Chapter Text

chapter 13:

Rose fell to her knees beside Tony after rushing as his side as soon as she had screamed his name, the rest of the world already forgotten. Her vision only focused on her son, who was lying in his own pool of blood. 

She touched him everywhere, trying in her panic to stop the blood flow that wouldn’t stop, completely frozen by the fact that her son was motionless in front of her. Logic told her that there was no hope for Tony. However in that moment she was a mother trying to save her child, not the soldier always cold under the pressure that UNIT knew so well. “Tony! Oh my god, Tony! Talk to me!” she ordered in a tortured voice, her hands pushing harder on his shoulder, the point of impact if the blood stains were any indication. 

Tony suddenly coughed, his whole body jerking up as the adrenaline started to kick in under the pain. “Bloody hell that hurt!” he complained with a grimace. He tried weakly to look in direction of the injury but movement in that area was too painful for him. 

“Langage,” Rose admonished with humor, but all too happy to hear his voice and see him moving, even if he was in complete agony in doing so.

“Is the Doctor okay?” Tony asked with innocent eyes, making Rose chuckle brokenly as she brushed his face with gentleness. Her son, too much like her, his heart already on his sleeve and ready to put his life on the line for the Doctor. How could she have doubted even for one second he was not hers?

“I’m okay, Tony,” the Doctor assured him with a weak yet relieved smile, his face appearing beside Rose. They exchanged a look before focusing again on the man in front of them. “How are you feeling?” He had sonic out already while scanning him at the same time. Worry visible is his eyes. Making the brief relief Rose had felt at seeing him disappear instantly.

“Not so good…” Tony answered, his face losing color by the second, even with the sonic working on his shoulder. 

Rose cradled his head in her hands, locking her eyes onto him. “Be strong, my boy. You still have so much to see and learn! You’ll be the greatest I’m sure! Running from star to star, laughing at everything and making me proud. You can’t miss that can you?” She knew she was crying, but how could she not when her son was fading with each passing moment.

“You clearly inherited Rose obstinate nature. And combined with my TARDIS, I’m sure you will be unstoppable!” continued the Doctor, working endlessly on his wound, smiling brightly at his new friend. “It’s in your genes to be the stuff of legend! Just like your mum! Did I told you about the time when she had overrun the King of the planet Helroz three by accident, and declared planetary peace who lasted for hundred of years without realizing it?” His emotions was showing more and more as the smile on Tony’s face dropped. 

“No, but I would love to hear about it,” Tony answered weakly, his face looking ashen. “Oh that’s beautiful!” he continued with wonder as nature was growing and spreading all around him. 

“Yes.” Rose was crying openly, smiling broadly to him as she was feeling her heart break and her soul scream in agony. But she needed to be strong for him. Sending him force with all her being, trying to make a difference in the inevitable outcome she was seeing right now. She knew that the Doctor was doing his best. But she also knew that sometimes it wasn’t enough. “And you can’t miss that, right? You need to see the beauty that the planet will become. Terraforming, it’s an one time experience and you don’t want to miss that!”

“Well, technically with the TARDIS you can,” the Doctor tried to make a joke, wanting above all to keep Tony awake, and to focus on something to keep him from letting his frustrations loose on the world around him. Today was not the day that he would lose this precious life. 

“See? So you need to hold on,” Rose plead, but to her horror she Tony’s body going limp on her. “Tony? You hear me?” She shook him, without result. “...Tony?” She said, her voice breaking on his name. But she was suddenly pushed aside by Martha, who had been looking helplessly on the side until then. 

“He’s going into shock!” Martha declared. “We need to stabilize him!” She was now only focused on the person in front of her. Determined for him to leave with them alive and well. Because she knew at the moment that she could save four hearts today, or break them all. And that was not an option, not after everything that happened.

“I think one of the arteries had been hit, but I’m not totally sure. I tried to stop the bleeding and clot everything with my sonic. But I think the bullet is still inside,” said the Doctor, visibly living to his name and wanting to staying that way.

But Rose was not listening to the conversation anymore, because all she could see was the blood. She could see it everywhere and on anyone, coating her field of view and invaded her mind, waking the beast inside her. The smell of blood was deep into her nostrils, making her dizzy with the sudden urge to run and howl. The old Rose would have been terrified by what’s inside her mind at the moment, running to the Doctor to stop it before it happened. If she had still been at UNIT, she would have isolated herself to focus on every trick she had learned during the years. But right now? Right now her limit had been pushed. So far and so deep she could not even see the line anymore. All she could see was the man responsible for what was becoming her personal tragedy. The man who wanted war so badly that peace was treated like a disease. The man who shot an innocent man, just to be sure to taint the innocent beauty around him. All just to prove that he could. But she would show him that he was not the only one ready to shed blood for poetic gesture.

She turned her eyes to him, an ominous smirk appearing on her face. Her whole body now focused on him, ready to torn it to piece if she wanted. She knew her power and what was trying to unleash inside her. She had made peace with it a long time ago, knowing how to reign it most of the time. But today, compassion and empathy dissolved like dust into the wind.  

If the Doctor had not been so strongly focused on Tony, he would had been horrified by what she was. She was definitely not the Rose who had shown love to a dying Dalek. That part of her, that innocence had died a long time ago. But right now, the turmoil which was taking over Rose Tyler was clearly not noticeable to the Doctor, who was trying his very best to save the life of young Tony. Later, much later, he would see it as the occasion that triggered the unstoppable chain of events that changed the universe itself. And he would forever regret not seeing the obvious signs in front of him before hell broke loose. 

But right now Rose was still fighting the war inside herself. And she was able to see fear in the eyes of the general in the split second before she was on him, her weapon drawn and ready to shoot. She had took everyone by surprise. She moved so rapidly that nobody had saw her advancing on him. Before he even had time to take a breath, she had him pinned against the wall with such a determination that he could not have moved even if he tried, not without struggle at least. 

“Give me one reason not to kill you,” Rose said in a voice so cold and distant that the few men around them took a few steps back. 

“Because you want peace,” Cobb answered with a smirk. In his arrogance, he was neglecting to realize that she was giving him a chance at mercy, and he was spatting it in her face. “You are just a pathetic pacifist without any ounce of fight inside her.”  

“Don’t push me,” Rose growled, her body going tense under the pressure of the warfare in her mind. She knew she could kill him right in that instant. With her bare hand if needed. But she was totally uncertain of the casualty if her control slipped with that level of emotions inside her. She still had nightmares of the last time it happened. 

Cobb continued to smirk, always arrogant until the end. Determined not to show emotions in front of his men. “I could have killed you. I could have let you rot like the dog you are.” At that Rose pushed her weapon with more force into his chin, struggling hard to keep the control. Letting Cobb think she was showing sign of weakness, making him hit as hard he could in his cockiness. “You are just lucky I was merciful. But then one day you will find a fish much bigger than you. And then you will finish your pathetic son. Dead in a ditch.”  

Rose knew it was all for show. That he only wanted to have the last word before he accepted whatever fate planned for him. She had saw the fear in his eyes and the uncertainty around him. But all she could see was Tony, fighting for his life when this man didn’t have any ounce of remorse. She tried, she had really tried to resist, and to be the better better person.

But now she knew it was too late. The angered beast had broken free, and she would not risk her sanity for him. And in a blink of an eye, she was Rose no more. Her weapon fell on the ground, suddenly useless, as she grabbed his neck with force. She pushed him up the wall with such a force that he had to stay on his tiptoe to avoid choking. Upon witnessing this everyone had scattered a few meters back, afraid of the vibes coming off of Rose.

As soon as she felt the switch in her, the wolf unfurling claw by claw, the man who had glanced around cockily until then started to look terrified. Eventually losing enough color that he was white a sheet.  

“What are you?” he croaked out miserably, as she was smiling gleefully enjoying the sheer terror about him. 

“She wanted to show you mercy, even after you tried to harm those precious to her. Even after you would not repent your sins against the innocent.” Rose’s voice changed just then, mirroring the change within her body. “I am the one you should never wake…” She growled, “you don’t know when to stop pushing, do you?” Her head tilted to the side, as if she were pondering something. “She’s not one to kill without very good reason you know. She tried her very best to stop me, but you broke every limit.” She smiled ferally, making the colonel thrash around more forcefully, trying his very best to escape this nightmare, his eyes going crazy under the fear. “Congratulations. You’re the first one in...so so long…” She tightened her grip around his neck, making Cobb give off strangled puffs of air as he was slowly going limp. 

“Rose!” She could hear from far away. “Rose no!” she heard the voice again, going at her like she was immerged underwater. But all she could see was the man in front of her, but slightly blurry, as if she was observing from behind a glass. A spectator in her own body. She was completely detached from that reality, and she didn’t even really care. Around her was a vast of nothingness. “Martha! I need you to get her! Donna, please calm everyone!” The voice was still screaming, but she couldn’t understand why. It was so peaceful. Seeing the light going gradually dimmer seemed so normal to her at that moment. 

But her thoughts and placidness were abruptly shattered by the sudden apparition of Martha who was grabbing her, trying her best to make her release her grip on Cobb, screaming into her ear to drop him. She felt herself turn her head and the vision of a Martha looking very frightened of her, shook her enough to make her snap her out of the state she was in. As soon as she felt herself, she dropped Cobb with horror, who collapsed with laboured breath. She took a few step back, completely horrified about what happened.

But before she could even start to think about the fact that “she” was ready to once again take a life without remorse, she was suddenly in very strong pair of arms. Arms who belonged to a Doctor visibly divided between clear rage and intense worry. 

“What were you trying to accomplish Rose?!” he asked in a voice lined with fury, his eyes going so hard she could almost see her other Doctor in one of his fits of anger. 

“I...I…” she stammered, still shaken by what happened. “I don’t know.” She looked around, and realized how far back the others stood. Were they were also afraid of her? She almost began sobbing then and there, still not totally sure of the damage she had done. “Tell me I didn’t kill anyone?” she begged, her stare full of unleashed tears, making him waver.

He let her out of his arms, making her falter for a second. “No. You just let out your anger out on Cobb, but he will live. He needs a little time to recover but no lasting effect as far as I can tell.”

She searched around frantically. “Oh my god! Tony! Where is he?”

“He is going to live. We were able to stabilize him and stop most of his bleeding. That’s why I sent Martha over to you. I needed a little more time to lock the bullet in place. Just enough to let me stabilize him enough to have him moved to the TARDIS to take it out.” He rubbed at his eyes, his whole body screaming guilt. “I should have been the one to take this bullet.”

“No!” Rose replied with fervor, making him look at her with surprise. “No one should have had to take that bullet.” Especially not the Doctor in her opinion. If it had been him and he would have ended up having to regenerate. She was not sure if the place would have been left standing. 

“You almost killed a man, Rose.” He started to pace around, nervously agitating his hands around, making her slightly dizzy. “I know you love Tony. I love him too. But if Martha had not stopped you…” He stopped and looked her directly in the eyes, with such helplessness she wanted to cry. Or scream. “You would have watched him die. Rose you almost murdered a man in cold blood. I know you’re better than that!”

“I know!” Rose screamed, making everyone jump a few feet in the air. Except for the Doctor, who was still unflappable and wrapped around his indignity. Making her shake with anger. As if he had been better than her. “Yes I know! And do you think I’m proud of this? Yes, I lost control! Do you want me to promise that it will never happen again?” She saw the brief glimpse of hope in his gaze. But she was not one to feed empty promises. “No I can’t. Because I don’t even know myself! It’s who I am now Doctor. Like I told you, i’m not the Rose you knew.  You have to understand that.” She felt her shoulder slump, and she was tired beyond words. She was still very afraid for Tony, horrified about what happened and with the Doctor still stuck in the past. She just wanted to go home. She turned around, not wanting to fight with him anymore but she was stopped by a gentle hand in his arm, pleading silently to look at him. Just one last time. 

As she met his gaze, she saw a new determination on him. 

“Maybe you are not that Rose Tyler anymore… And I’m beginning to see that.” He sighed, pushing his hands through his hair with a resigned face. “I cannot say that it’s not something I’m happy about, because I’m not. And with you going…” She turned her face around, not wanting to see his stare at the moment. “We don’t have much time right this moment, can we can still talk later?” 

“Yes, we can still talk. But you still want the old Rose back, I understand that, but I don’t know if I can give it to you. You’ve seen what happened. I lost control and almost murdered someone. You don’t need someone like that with you. Even if for a few days.” She was resigned to her fate, to go back to her life and isolate herself from everyone. Just like before. And maybe this time she will be stable enough to complete her mission without breaking down at the sight of the Doctor.

“It’s your choice Rose,” he murmured before turning his back to her. “I’m going back to Tony, I think they had enough time to move him to the TARDIS now.” He threw her one last smile, visibly trying his best to make her think he was alright. “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.” And then just like that, he was gone.

As she started to break down, having waiting to be alone for that, she felt a presence beside her, making her turn around suddenly. Her whole body ready to fight, because the last time she had lost control like that, the aftermath had not been pretty. But it was only Donna, who looked at her with kind eyes and an inviting smile. 

“Why are you not afraid?” asked Rose, surprised to see someone wanting to be beside her voluntary.

“I’ve seen way worse, blondie.” she responded with humor. “And I think that right now what you need is a friend.” And then she sat down beside her, showing her that she was not going anywhere. She didn’t say anything but for Rose it was more than enough. Maybe she was not the total monster she thought she was. 

The Doctor on the other hand was more than conflicted. He abhorred violence, and killing was something he avoided at all cost. Seeing Rose so cold and so careless with a life was a real turning point for him. He had hoped since he had lay eyes on her again that they could maybe have something again. Just like before. He was so certain his Rose was not far from the surface. But how could someone so full of life and empathic change that much? It was impossible for him. But then, this happened. He really wanted to give her a chance, especially when she seemed so broken and dejected. But he was not sure he could see past her hand around the Cobb’s neck, ready to see him die at her feet.  

Rose Tyler was someone from the past. And effectively maybe the best course of action should be let her be and move on. But deep inside him was still that man who needed her oh so badly, he was ready to die without her. And right now? He was not certain who was winning in this fight.

Chapter Text

Chapter 14

“You know you’ll have to talk eventually…” Donna said as Rose was still staring at the wall. She had not moved for almost one hour, worrying Donna to no end.

Donna had tried to be understanding and let her have space, but now the silence was starting to be really concerning. To her, Rose looked just like the Doctor when he was in one of his very dark moods. Which was not something to take lightly. The last time she made that mistake, she almost lost her best friend before she had time to know him. And she would not repeat that mistake again. Even if she had to open old wound again, it was for a friend’s sake.

“I understand what you’re feeling right now, Rose. When my dad had his heart attack...The agonizingly slow wait for news... It was the worst, and I honestly thought I would go crazy,” she swallowed hard at the memories. “You can’t do anything run everything through your head over and over again.” For a moment she was back in that little privacy room. “What you could have done to prevent it. Saying to yourself ‘what if’ over and over again until you drive yourself mad.” She felt her voice crack on the last word. Memories of her mother wailing into her aunt’s arms as the Doctor informed them that they could not do anything more. The scent of sickness all around her, and then the sudden numbness when she realized that she would never see her dad again.

As she was trying not to lose herself to that day again, she saw that Rose had finally moved, looking at her with such sad ancient eyes she felt the weight of old tear in her soul. “I thought I would go crazy not knowing. And I probably would had if not for my grandad.” She smiled weakly to Rose, who was still looking at her in silence. Showing her support by just being there. “I’m sure you would love him, he’s such a silly old man.” She chuckled, more at the memory of Wilf than anything else. “If not for him, I don’t know where I would be. Or my mom.”

Rose finally stood and sat beside Donna, making sure that she was listening. “I lost my dad, but your son is still alive. And knowing the Doctor, he will do everything he could to keep it stay that way. Yes, you did something not really pretty, and your anger was pretty terrifying.” Rose looked away in guilt at Donna’s words, but Donna was having none of that. “But we all did some things back there that we’re not proud of. But that’s life.” Rose started to open her mouth to respond, but before she could say something, approaching footsteps behind them made her suddenly turn around and jump to her feet making Donna turn around at Rose’s actions.

“Well?” Rose asked anxiously over Donna’s shoulder, making the redhead realize that Martha had entered without her noticing it.

Martha gave them an exhausted smile. “He is going to live,” she promised with a rejoiceful voice. “The Doctor is still with him, but I wanted to tell you the good news.” She just had time to finish her sentence before being brutally hugged by a sniffling Rose.

“I knew that man would do something good!” Said proudly Donna, visibly so happy for her friend.
“Oh Donna, the Doctor asked me to have you go back to the TARDIS! He needs you for something,” Martha said over Rose’s shoulder, who was still hugging her very tightly. She saw Donna hesitate, looking at Rose with indecision. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her,” she mouthed, making Donna relax and smile. She nodded one last time, and with a pat on Rose’s shoulder, she left for the Tardis. Leaving her two friends alone.

After a few seconds, Rose disentangled herself from Martha with an embarrassed shrug. “Sorry...I was a little emotional.”

Martha shrugged as well. “Don’t worry, I totally understand. I can imagine it was stressful for you.” She smiled reassuringly. “But the Doctor told Tony that he was going to be completely okay in a couple of days. He is going to be groggy for a couple of hours, and his shoulder will be a little tender. But there’s going to be no after effects.”

Rose eyes widened, her whole body going rigid, ready to bolt towards the TARDIS. “Tony is awake?” But before she had time to move away, Martha was grabbing her, urging her to not run away.

“No wait, I need to talk to you!” Martha saw the look of uncertainty in Rose’s eyes, making Martha realize that Rose was not her friend at the moment but Tony’s mom. “I swear Tony is doing good, but the Doctor still needs a few minutes to finish with him. Just stay with me a little, and then I swear I’m going to take you to the TARDIS, and let you see your son.”

Rose relaxed, but still looked at Martha with a touch of skepticism, not really sure on what she wanted to talk about so desperately. She really hoped that Martha would not ask questions about what happened earlier, because she was not really sure she wanted to talk about it. Especially not if she would be talking to the Doctor later about the very same thing. “Okay… What about?”

Martha sat on one of the broken low walls, patting the spot next to her in invitation. After a few seconds of hesitation, Rose finally joined her. “I know it seems a little weird for you, but I know what will happen if I don’t do anything.” She sighed as Rose looked at her curiously at that comment. “If I don’t say anything then nothing will change, and when this is all over you’ll go back to UNIT as some mysterious soldier going all around the world. I’m going to be the doctor who dreamed of stars and the Doctor… Well the Doctor…” She looked pensively at the ceiling where a few traces of glowing energy were still visible. “He’ll continue on living, bickering with Donna and showing the universe to Tony. Life will go on. Maybe one day you two will cross paths again. Who knows? Especially with Tony on team TARDIS? But one thing is certain...”

“What?” Rose asked, although she was sure she knew the response already.

Martha looked at her with so much sadness, Rose had to look away. “You’ll both end up so miserable, but so stubbornly sure each is doing the right thing that it’s going to drive you away from each other again and again until only memories are left. And I can’t do that to you, and even less to the Doctor, not after what I had to see him go through,” Martha finished with a determined voice.

Rose looked at Martha with curiosity. “What do you mean?”

“I travelled with him for almost two years, three if you count the year that never was. The first thing he talked about when I first crossed the door of the TARDIS was you. I didn’t even knew if that ship had room but I already knew your name. And then he showed me the wonders of the universe. But you were still there somewhere, always in the front of his mind. I would ask him something and he would talk about you. Travelling with him was like travelling with a ghost, I was hardly second best for him. Because you were everywhere with us, it was like I was transparent for him. You know how hard it is to see so much wonder, and realize that he would trade everything in an heartbeat to be there with someone else?” She rubbed her eyes tiredly. “Even when he forgot who he was all he could think was you.”

“I’m sorry,” Rose answered softly. She didn’t know what to say honestly. “I didn’t go by choice you know.”

Martha gave a small humorless chuckle. “I know, don’t worry. Even the Master knew. But my point is: you can’t just leave like that. Not if it means seeing him slip back into his way, it was too heartbreaking to see. I don’t ask you to stay with him. Just that you talk to him. Please, Rose.”

“Do you know how long I was in that other universe? How long I was separated from the Doctor?” Rose challenged as her voice cracking a little under the emotions.

Martha started to think about it, realizing her question was more loaded than she anticipated. “You told us before that you came back a little earlier than expected, but you don’t look that old. I had you at 28 years old. So six, maybe seven years?” She wasn’t really sure about Rose’s response, not that she really knew Rose that well. Only what what she saw during the year that never was, and what the Doctor decided to tell her.

Rose laughed, but more at the situation than the guess that Martha just gave. “43 years. Give or take a few months, I’m not certain at this point.”

Saying that Martha was shocked was an understatement. The Doctor always told her that Rose was human! He even told it to Jack! How could she had been separated that long without aging even by a little? “How?” Was all she could ask.

Rose shrugged, looking around with a false look of relaxation, like she didn’t have a care in the world. “Bad Wolf.” She said simply.

“Bad Wolf?” Martha asked with a confused expression, “as in the wolf from the Red riding hood story?”

“When I was Nineteen…” Rose continued as if Martha wasn’t speaking. “I did something very dangerous to save the Doctor. I pried opened the heart of the TARDIS.” She ignored Martha’s gasp of surprise. “And it did something to me… I didn’t realize at first, but then after a few years I stopped aging. That’s why I can’t stay with the Doctor. He is going to blame himself, and I can’t let him do that.”

“So, you’re going to leave him without any explanation, and let him think it’s because he failed you completely? How is that better in any sort of way?” Martha asked with a frown and judgemental glare. God how those two people were able to even be in the same vicinity, and somehow manage to communicate without any misunderstanding was a goddamn miracle. “Please just talk to him. I’m not asking you to move back into the TARDIS, but at least explain your point of view.”

Rose stood quickly, making Martha jump under the surprise. “I can’t tell him what has become of me! I can’t!” She started to move around, her stress visible in every step and turn. “This is absolutely not something he can know. And I have my mission and…!” She started hyperventilating, her control going out again. As she felt her head going light, she was suddenly engulfed in a hug and steered against the wall, where she could crumble without hurting herself. After a few minutes, she realized that Martha was talking to her in a low voice, helping her going back into herself without hurting herself or those around her.

“Don’t worry, we are not going to tell the Doctor. You are just going to let him talk, and then explain your point of view, and then you are going to see. Nobody is going to force you do anything I promise,” she said in a calming voice, not letting her go from the hug. When she realized that Rose was not shaking anymore, she started to release her little by little. “Better?” she asked in a kind voice.

Rose disengaged herself, embarrassed by her outburst of emotions. She looked up at her new friend with a nervous look, realizing that she had probably shown more emotions and instability in the last 24h than in the last ten years. She really hoped that the new companions didn’t view her as some sort of broken and hysterical girl unworthy of the Doctor. “I’m usually more balanced. I swear,” she promised in a vain tentative of humor.

Martha shrugged. “You forgot that this is not the first time that I’ve met you. I’ve been with you during the year that never was, I had time to know you without any interference from the Doctor.” She smiled. “Well kinda. You just went an hard time, and with what you lived it’s not hard to understand why. I mean everybody would be a little unstable in your situation. You suddenly met the Doctor after more than forty years, and that’s still hard to wrap my head around that… I mean I have so many questions. When did you realize you were suddenly not aging? And how were you not able to return to where you were from?”

Rose grabbed Martha, who just kept rambling question after question. “Martha, I’m sorry to tell you this but I don’t think it’s the time to discuss all that. I want to see Tony and you are right. I have to talk to the Doctor. We can’t end things badly. Not again.”

“Yes, you’re right. Come, I’m going to guide you to the TARDIS, they moved it when the terraforming was working it’s magic.” With a nod of her head, she began to lead the way. They started to walk in silence for a minute before Martha said, “I’m sorry for earlier, you know. It’s just I heard so much about you and finally having you in front of me, I had so many questions.”

“I’m normal you know,” Rose protested, but after a few seconds of silence, she realized what she just had said. “Well mostly. But it’s been years since I did something really out of the ordinary. I’m trying my best to stay out of trouble. Even with UNIT it’s sometimes hard. Especially when you know what will happen and you cannot do anything to change the outcome.”

“But earlier I saw you.” Martha stopped for a second, making Rose falter in her own movement. “Your eyes, they were gold.” As they continued walking, she realized that her friend was blushing hard.

“I’m really sorry…” Rose said in a little voice, averting her eyes. “It hasn’t happened in such a long time, it took me by surprise. I’m much better at keeping it at bay, but too much in too little time and it had to break free. I’m just happy that I didn’t kill anyone.”

“It’s something that happens regularly?” Martha asked in an horrified voice. Not for Rose but about what she went through. “Can we do something to help?”

“Only a handful of time but now I know how to control it.” Rose shrugged. “Most of the time. And we cannot do anything, it’s just a side effect of Bad Wolf. Well, right now I only have a suspicion at this point.”

“And I suppose you don’t want to talk to the Doctor about it?”

“No, never.” Rose felt that agitation begin to creep up again. “You have to swear you’ll never said a word about this to the Doctor. It’s only going to worry him, and then he will try to stop it! And that can’t happen!”

Martha looked puzzled, especially about the worry in Rose eyes. “You don’t want it to be gone? I imagine that you can control it, but that would not be better to not have it at all?”

“I’m here for a reason. I tried to explain it to the Doctor earlier, but it’s a little too complicated to tell in just a few sentences. But to be brief, something is destroying the multiverse and it will start from this one. The only thing I know is it’s going to be there soon. I don’t know how soon, but I’ll say in a few months at most and I’m not going to let Bad Wolf go when I’ll need it the most.” She shrugged. “For you it’s only the visible monster who tried to kill a man in cold blood, but for me it’s the constant companion who’s been in my life for decades. It’s not always easy but I’m not going to separate her from me. It would be like cutting out a part of myself. Just like if I told you to make your hand disappear. It’s the same feeling for me.”

Martha pondered on what Rose told her and realized that she was far from understanding that woman and what kind of implication she could have on the Doctor life. She had wanted more than anything to reunite those two, probably as much as Donna, but maybe she flung herself in something way too big for her for once. Even too big for the Doctor. But she had to do right for her friend, because she could not bear see him that broken again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t understood like that but you’re right. It’s clearly a situation I don’t know well so you need to do whatever you think is right.” She breathed in, braving herself, knowing it will probably the last time she could tell something to Rose before life will interfere again and she really needed to make her point of view clear.

As the TARDIS came into view, Martha stopped Rose one last time before letting her go to her son. “Listen, like I said it’s your life. You do whatever you want. But as a friend of the Doctor I really need to tell you this. For him it’s only been a few years. Nothing compares to you, I know.” She placed herself in front of Rose, completely blocking her view and keeping her in place, trying to showing how serious she was. “When you were left behind in that other universe, you were not alone. Your family was with you, helping you mend your broken heart. You had your whole world to fall back on, to make you hope and heal. The Doctor had nothing except a box and two broken hearts. Everything on this planet and even other was only a reminder of you. All he could see when he was looking at me was you. What you could have been, what you could have said. You were the ghost in the machine and I was the painful reminder that you were never going back.” She had a sad smile. “And like I said, even when he could not remember his own name, you were only what he could think about. That’s how deep he felt. You had forty three years to make peace with what happened. Him? Only maybe four. And one was spent with a sociopath who loved torturing him with memory of you. So please, go see him. But please, remember that when you had a whole system to fell back on, he only had himself.” And with a last smile and a quick hug, she was heading confidently towards the shed she saw the Hath trying to put together, happy to have said what she wanted to say. Maybe if she was lucky she would find Donna and tell her everything. She needed to tell the redhead about what happened. Because if even the discussion between the Doctor and Rose went south, she would need reinforcement.

Rose was frozen in place, still processing Martha’s little speech. She was ready to cry, her heart breaking under the pain that the Doctor had gone through. Martha had been right. When she lost the Doctor, she had lost part of her soul but she had her mom, dad and even Mickey to help her get back up. But the Doctor had nothing. Gallifrey was no more for a long time now, the family he found in Jackie and herself were suddenly gone like smoke. Only the TARDIS had remained. She had asked him on that beach what would happen for him, but she had hoped that after some time he would find someone else and heal. However, she didn’t realize that travelling with someone new would only be a reminder of everything he had lost. She felt a sudden urge to hug him hard and walked with determination towards the TARDIS. After crossing the threshold, she paused on the grating, hearing the gentle hum all around as she was welcomed by the most beautiful sign of the universe. Her son alive and smiling, like he wasn’t near death just three hours prior. He was looking with awe at the Doctor, who was so enthralled in the lecture he was giving that he didn’t realize that anyone had entered the TARDIS. After a few seconds she cleared her throat making both men jump in the air and turn around at the same time.

“Having fun I see?” she said with a tinkle in her eyes, her happiness shooting from every part of her body.

“Rose!” exclaimed the Doctor, as Tony tried to get up before flopping down again with a grunt, making her suddenly worried that Martha had not told the whole truth as to not trouble her.

Temporarily ignoring the Doctor, she moved forward until she was face to face with her son. As he looked at her innocently, she hesitantly touched his head with affection, not wanting to hurt him more than he already was, making him visibly relax with contentement. As she stroked him fondly, she looked at him from head to toe, trying to find any sign that he was not as well as Martha told her. She noted the arm bandaged, the sling supporting his shoulder and the Doctor hovering not far from him, only keeping quiet out of respect for her. But as she started to show signs of anxiety, she looked directly to the Doctor, who looked at her confidently and happily, making her realize that Tony was probably only suffering the aftereffect of a life saving operation and no real ill effect. Rationally, she knew that since he was awake and moving was a very good sign but she could not help but be a little anxious. She smiled nervously at the Doctor and diverted her eyes back to her son.

“Are you okay?” she questioned him, wanting to hear his voice above else.

“Just tired and rather uncomfortable. My shoulder is still bothering me, but the Doctor told me it’s going to be the case for a few days. But I’m just happy to be alive,” Tony answered with a smile, his eyes not totally focused, showing he was still feeling residual effect from his time in the infirmary.

Rose brought back a sob, not wanting to concern him with her emotions and smiled brightly. “I’m so happy to hear that. You are going to be back on your feet in no time, you’ll see.’ She looked at the Doctor, thanking him with a look and a smile before looking back to Tony. “The Doctor and Martha took good care of you.”

“Well it helps when you have someone as strong and stubborn as him,” the Doctor said with a touch of humor trying to make everyone smile. “I used an Argolexian technology to repair your shoulder and regenerate your arm rapidly. It’s going to be a little painful for a week or two, but after that you will have full use of it again.” He scanned Tony with the sonic screwdriver, mostly to show Rose that very fact. “Your vitals show that you came through the operation much more easily than normal.” He looked at Rose with another fond smile, making her blush under the intensity. “Like mother, like son.”

Before she could respond, they heard the door of the TARDIS fly open and Donna rushed through. “Hey, spaceman!” She smiled to Tony. “Glad to see you on your feet. Don’t scare us like that again, or help me god I’ll smack you so hard, your descendents will feel it.”

Tony paled while gulping with wide eyes. “I’ll be good.”

Donna nodded with severity and turned back to the Doctor. Rose had to turn around to not let Donna see the smirk that was threatening to evolve into a full laugh. She definitely liked her, and was very glad that the Doctor found her, even if she frightened her son half to death.
“Cline and the Hath want to know if they could see Tony,” continued Donna, oblivious of the smile on Doctor and Rose face. “They heard that he was alive and on his feet again, and they want to see him.” She rolled her eyes. “Apparently, they want him to help create a peace treaty. I personally think it can wait a few days while he rests, but they were insistent. And Martha wanted me to ask, so here I am.”

“Let me guess,” said the Doctor with laughter in his voice. “She sent you because she was worried you’ll start intimidating everyone if she left you alone with them.”

Donna smirked. “Yes. Because for me that boy needs rest. Not to play referee to a band of idiots.”

“Hey!” Tony protested from the captain’s chair. “They are my people, and I want to help!”

Rose looked at him worried. “You just came back from surgery, you need time to get back on your feet. Rest and we will see tomorrow if you feel well enough to move around.”

“I feel just fine, Mum!” He turned to the Doctor, who was obviously not trying to get in the middle of his companions and their maternal instinct. “Right, Doctor?”

As the Doctor felt the piercing gaze of his two friends, he shuffled around nervously and scratched his neck absently “If he promises to not overdo himself, I don’t see why he couldn’t go see what they want” He felt Rose’s murderous glare on him making add swiftly, “But with moderation! Just a quick discussion and then back to bed!”

Tony pumped the air. “Yes!” He smiled at Rose. “So I can go?”

Rose sighed, sometimes she wanted to kill the Doctor. “Okay, but you stay with Donna and only for half an hour. Just to see what they want exactly and then back to the TARDIS. You need rest.” She crossed her arms, showing him that she was dead serious. Even if a snickering Donna in the background was lessening her effect a little.

Tony nodded eagerly and stood cautiously, noting Rose’s concern. She crossed the gaze of Donna, who smiled at her reassuringly. Promising without words that she would take care of him just like she would have done herself. As Tony was escorted by the Doctor, who was babbling excitedly at him. And with the look on Tony face, he was probably producing some last minute advice and recommendation to help him on the mediation between the two colonies.

And with a last wave from Tony and a last knowing look from Donna, they were gone. Rose realized she was now alone with the Doctor and as he walked back to the console and smiled at her with nervousness, she decided that it was now or never.

She took a deep breath and met his gaze with determination. Now or never she said again to herself, you owe him that. “Doctor, I think it’s time we talk.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 15

As soon as she uttered those words, the smile on the Doctor face melted away, replaced by a look of fear and worry.

“I didn’t mean to…” he started to say, his voice gripping with dread. “I understand but..but…”

Realizing suddenly how her words could be taken, especially with how the last few discussions between them had gone, she had the sudden urge to smack herself right into the forehead. Sometimes she wondered how they had been able to communicate at all in the past without blowing up everything out of proportion.

“No, Doctor, I mean not about me leaving or anything like that,” Rose clarified as the Doctor relaxed at her words, his hand losing his grip onto the console. “Well, I mean we will have to talk about that, but that’s not what I want to talk at the moment.” She mimicked his infamous head scratch for a moment. “First of all, I haven’t properly thanked you for Tony… You did everything to save his life when I couldn’t.” She looked straight into his eyes for probably the first time since the incident a few hours ago. “Thank you, Doctor. I don’t know how I could repay you.”

The Doctor smiled gently, his face mellowing under her words. “Oh but you already have, you know. So many times,” he said with kind eyes, making Rose blush lightly under the undertone. “Well, if you count Abraskal X, I’d say that we are even!” he finished with a blinding smile making Rose snort at the memory.

“I didn’t save your life. At most I saved one of your converse.” She rolled her eyes at the image of the Doctor hopping on one foot, screaming at the little goblin who was running around with a bag of jelly babies and a mousetrap. “And the only thing I needed to do was ask the King nicely to give it back.” She started to think back about that moment. “By the way, you never said why you had a bag full of jelly babies in your pocket,” she mused.

He felt into the driver chair with absent gesture. “Converse… Life... I’d say it’s the same thing. So for me we are even. And for the bag, well let’s say that one of my past bodies was exceptionally fond of it and loved to hide them all over the place.” He smiled more to himself than to her. “I wonder what other things I will find in the future.” He looked at her brightly. “Do you know that I found a recorder from my second body in the bathroom of the Abydos chamber? The one with the non-gravity swimming pools!”

As Rose was ready to retort a witty response about that time where he had almost drowned Jack in one, she suddenly realized that he was trying to divert her attention by any means possible. Just like when she had been travelling with him. Everytime she had tried to have an important conversation with him or discuss past event, he had swiftly changed the subject or derailed the discussion enough for her to forget about it.

And she almost fell right into it. Just like when she was 20. She knew that she should be annoyed or even a little angry at him, but she couldn’t because she knew that he was scared, at least as much that she was right now. But she knew that was something that could not wait any longer. Because if so, they will never do it. And like Martha said, probably lose each other in the process. And with her life, her mission and everything in between, it was something she wanted to avoid. At least for the current moment.

“Doctor…” she said with a gentle voice. “We really need to talk.” The guilty look he had for a second was enough for her. “I think it’s time you don’t say?”

He sighed and after a last look into the ceiling he stood up. “You are right like always, Rose Tyler.” And with a small smile he started towards one of the corridors, not looking back to see if she was following. “The kitchen or the Library?”

She followed him, looking at his tense back. “The library. Less chance to be interrupted.”

He snorted. “With Donna? Yeah sure.” He opened his mouth to add something else before suddenly freezing in place and smacked himself in the forehead, making Rose jump at the sudden change of mood. “Oh we forgot the tea! We can’t go without tea!” He jumped around, a wild smile on his face, already changing corridors at alarming speed. “Start without me. I will be right behind you!” And just like that he disappeared. She looked around, still a little stunned at what just happened.

“I almost forgot about that,” she said to no one in particular, even if she could swear that the TARDIS was laughing in the background. She was ready to clapback a remark to the machine that had once been her home, when the door of the library appeared in front of her. She drew a sudden breath, surprised as the strong emotions taking hold of her body. She touched hesitantly the drawings around the frame, remembering doing the same thing so many years ago the first time she had seen it. It had been her first Doctor back then. Explaining to her what each drawing was supposed to mean. As she walked into the room, everything was a reminiscence of those times.

That couch when he had read Charles Dickens to her while she was wrapped up in his leather, smiling like a loon everytime he tried to do some different voice and failing miserably. The bookcase in the far end of the library when she had laughed until crying when the Doctor had tried to retrieve one of his physics book, and instead had tripped onto his converse and fell right into the purple plant from Zenevor, making him sneeze uncontrollably for three days. That table when Jack and her had an epic battle reenacting “A Midsummer Night's Dream” when the Doctor had forbidden them to enter the console room for a reason long forgotten.

She didn’t realized that she was crying until a soft hand brushed her shoulder in a clear sign of comfort, startling her with a gasp. When she turned around, she looked right into those ancient eyes full of compassion and pain. So much like herself she had to look away.

“I’m sorry,” she said hastily drying her eyes. “It’s just…”

He put the tray onto the coffee table, and placed himself in front of her, keeping a safe distance between them, not totally sure if he should touch her. “Don’t worry, Rose, I know.” He smiled in direction of a chair big enough to contain two people. “Do you remember when you decided that you wanted to read all of the Harry Potter in one go after I told you they did three different spin off?”

She smiled without realizing it. “We camped out for nine days on that chair.”

He scratched his ear. “Well technically seven days, eighteen hours and thirty-six minutes. But who’s counting?”

She pushed him playfully. “Hey, I’m sure if we count every time we had gone out to eat, or use the bathroom, it’s almost nine days!”

“If you say so!” But then his smile dropped, his face becoming more serious. “If you prefer we can go somewhere else. Just tell me. I think the Royal Garden is somewhere nearby. Or the little park that looks like the one we visited on Orion Six.” He turned around to grab the tray but was stopped by Rose.

“No, I’m okay now. I just needed a little time that’s all.” She looked rapidly around. “It’s just that piece has so many good memories for me. And for us.”

They looked at each other in silence for a few seconds before the Doctor grabbed one of the cups and gave it to her. “Your tea with two sugar and milk!” he said with a big smile, happy to show that he still remembered that.

“Thank you Doctor.” She shuffled awkwardly for a moment. “Actually now I take it with only one sugar.”

“Oh,” he said with surprise. “Do you uh… Do you want me to change it?” He started to make a move but she backed up a few steps, almost tripping on the armchair of the sofa.

“No. No, I’m good. Don’t worry!” She said with a pained smile. Now that the Doctor was starting to fully realize that Rose had really changed, the tension was now back with a vengeance.

After almost a full minute of them looking at each other in silence, becoming more restless by the second, the growing tenseness was suddenly broken by the sound of a bunch of bananas suddenly crashing down into the shelf dedicated to Martian mathematics, making them both jump a foot in the air.

They looked at each other incredulously before glancing in a same movement at the ceiling.

“Was that the TARDIS?” she asked with a mix of amusement and disbelief.

“Uh, I think so?” Said the Doctor as he took out his spec. He approached the bananas with caution and as he touched it, the light started to blink a few times. He turned around, the bananas still in his hand and smiled hard. “Yes, she’s the one doing it!” He said, proudly as Rose started to crack up before joining her in the laughter.

“Well it’s safe to say that we can add her to the list of people wanting us to talk,” said Rose with amusement.

He sighed as he walked to the couch and dropped into the plush cushions. the bananas in one hand and his tea in the other. “Let me guess...Donna? She also talked to you?”

“No. It was Martha,” she answered with a glint of humor in her eyes, realizing that even if the Martha’s speech had been very serious, they had been played on both fronts. But then her smile dropped, realizing that the moment had come. “But they are right. We really need to talk.”

He dropped the fruit onto the nearest surface and huffed, his whole body deflating with what about to come. “I know…”

She studied him as he drowned his tea in on go and realized that he was afraid of something. Was he afraid of her? “Are you… Are you scared of me?” she asked with a creeping apprehension. Did he see her earlier when she unleashed the Bad Wolf? Was that why he was trying so badly to stop any discussion?

He looked at her with an outraged look. “Never! What would you think that? I will never be afraid of you. Never, Rose!”

She turned her head in direction of the roof, not wanting the Doctor to see her tears. “So why aren’t you looking at me? Why are you trying so bad to not talk at all?”

“That was not my intention, Rose. I’m sorry.” He stood up, running his slightly shaking hands through his hair, making the strands stand in all directions. She almost smiled at the view but the pain of rejection and incertitude stopped every possibility of showing emotions. She knew it was not healthy, but at the moment it was not even on the fifteen things on the front of her mind. All she could think was of her fear over the Doctor recoiling from her. “It’s all my fault, and if I could change it I would. I swear.”

“What are you talking about, Doctor?” she asked gently, not really seeing where he wanted to go.

“I ruined your life, Rose, and I will forever hate myself for that sin. Without me you’d still have a normal life, your mother, Mickey. Without me you wouldn’t have…” his voice broke as he looked at her with desperation. “You would not have been a soldier.”

She jumped to her feet, not realizing that she had toppled her tea on herself, and in a second she was in front of him, punching him on the shoulder. “Never, ever something say something like that ever again!” She continued to advance on him, making him retreat until his back was against the wall, visibly terrified. “Don’t ever say that to my face! Don’t you dare think for one second I would change anything! You don’t get to take that away from me!”

“But Rose…” He tried again only to be interrupted again by a raging Rose Tyler.

“No! You know what would have happened without you? I would still be stuck in a life that I hated. My mom would still be chasing a love lost decades earlier. Mickey would never have seen what he was capable of. Yes, I turned into a soldier, but I’m a good damn one at that. But you know what else?” As the Doctor shook his head no, still afraid to say anything, Rose continued, “I earned a doctorate in quantum physics! I was the head trainer for Torchwood! Plus so many things that we don’t have time to list! The naive 19 year old Rose Tyler you knew was doomed to a dead end job, doomed to marry someone just because others told her that it would be the best thing for her, and ready to give up on anything outside of estate living. So don’t ever say that you’d change it. You saved me in so many ways, Doctor” She finished in a whisper, her eyes clouding with the memories of despair and desperation. Nineteen and already dying without realizing, no hope or expectation, just the belief that she was destined to end on the Powell Estate with children she would not want with a man she had no choice over on a job she hated most of the time. Yes while knowing the Doctor she had suffered more that you could imagine, lost everything three times over, lived heartbreak so excruciating she had sometimes wished for it to end all but not once she had regretted it. Because she was living life the way she wanted to.

As she stepped back lost in her own thoughts, the Doctor guided her to the couch again, gently guiding her to sit down. “Oh Rose, I would never do that to you. You are entitled to your life. It’s not my place to change it.” He smiled at her gently, stroking her back lightly in a gesture of comfort. “I just wish I would have done some things differently. But you are right, I didn’t see it from your point of view and--” He then suddenly stopped and straightened, looking at her with a stunned stare. “Wait! Did you say that you have a doctorate in quantum physics?!”

Rose blushed hard. “Well technically I have one in Pete’s World. Here it’s more--” But before she could finish, she was engulfed in a strong hug by an excited Doctor.

“That’s brilliant! I’m so proud of you, Rose!” he shouted almost jumping off the couch in his excitement, making Rose cling to him so she wasn’t thrown across the sofa by his wild gesture. “I knew you would do great things! I was so sure of it!”

The pride in his eyes after they pulled back a little was almost blinding, making her divert her eyes. “Thank you. Without you it would not have been possible.” She had suddenly a wicked smile. “Well I think my mom was more proud of it than me. She even had a Zeppelin floating a banner the day I received my diploma. It was really funny.”

“That’s so Jackie. I’m even surprised she did not buy a spot on the TV for that.” said the Doctor while smiling into her hair. Rose didn’t respond, only cuddled further onto his chest. They stayed that way for a few minutes, enjoying each other’s presence in silence. They knew it was only temporary, but it had been too long for either of them.

“I’ve missed you,” Rose finally admitted in a small voice which finally broke the silence.

“Me too, Rose, me too…” He pushed back a little, just enough to see her face. “How long has it had been for you?” he asked in a gentle voice.

“A few years,” Rose answered vaguely. With how he had been earlier, she had decided not to tell him everything in one go. It would be too painful for him, and he would blame himself to no end. And that was something she could not let happen. If she had to protect him from himself, then she would gladly do it without hesitation. “Martha told me it’s probably been three or four years for you.”

The Doctor scratched his chin absently. “Four years, one month, two weeks and three days. Approximately.”

“An eternity for us,” she said with humor as she habitually stretched out her legs onto his lap, making him take one of her feet and massaging it without realizing. Well things didn’t change she said to herself as he was visibly thinking about something.

“An infinitude,” he said with a voice so full of love and yearning, Rose gasped at the tone. He froze instantly, the implication lingering between them like a life sentence, and looked at her with wild eyes. Before she could even think about something, he was already up and occupying himself, turning his back to her “And how did you finish at UNIT?” he changed the subject as if he had not said anything just before.

Rose had two seconds of silence, still trying to wrap her head around what he had just said. She wanted to get up and confront him. She wanted to scream and cry. But she knew that even if emotions weren’t running high, the feelings were still there. Probably for the rest of their life. She could not delve into those feelings without huge repercussions and now was not the time, probably never even. So she just smiled and continued like nothing happened. “Like I said before, I was trying to pinpoint the source of the destruction of the multiverse, and my hopper fried during my last jump. Without any possibility to go back to the other universe, and knowing that I could not contact you without... well unraveling the web of time… I did the only logical thing I could. Search for others, and then I found UNIT! By the way thank god for Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. Because without him and your shared history, I would have never been able to convince them that I knew you.”

He sat down again, but this time on the chair opposite of the couch Rose was on. “Remind me to thank him one time,” he mused with a smile before turning somber again. “But the most important thing is: what about the multiverse dying? Are you sure?”

She stood up straight, looking suddenly like the Rose he had seen earlier in battle, breaking his hearts a little more every time he saw it. “Oh, we are more than sure. Believe me. At first it was only two or three stars. And then it was ten. Then twenty disappeared until whole sections of the sky were completely black. We first through it was an issue with our atmosphere. With what happened with the cyberman it was a good possibility you know?” She shrugged. “So we sent satellites more tuned for that kind of thing. We talked to the alien community. That’s when we realized that everything was dying at an alarming path. Cracks in the fabric of time were now starting to pop up randomly all around the universe so we decided to send multiple probes at first, even to try and understand what the problem was. That’s when we realized that it was not just our universe, but all of them. Some we noticed too late and they were disintegrated completely, the walls so weakened that they were now only ashes and death. So we constructed a cannon to send a team to other universes to determine where the starting point was in all this.”

She paused for a second remembering the long nights, the different projects fizzling on them, the pressure from concerned government officials all around the world desperate for a response and a solution. It had been an hard time for everyone. “We searched for months, until we finally found that the point of origin was right here in this universe. So my intention was to find you and solve the issue. As Mickey and I were the only ones with real links to this universe we were dispatched to different point to try to find you. But during my last jump something happened, and my hopper had burnt out beyond any possibility of repair, so I was stranded here. Trying to go back to the other universe was extremely complicated, especially with the project going back to scratch here. So I joined UNIT and waited for the right moment. My objective was to find you when I was sure to not cause a paradox or any possibilities of reapers. But you found me first,” she finished with a smile.

The Doctor was severely conflicted on how he should feel after hearing her story. “Oh Rose, I don’t know know what to say.” He was torn between expressing just how much he was proud of her, and lecturing her about how she could have killed herself an hundred times over. That going intr-rift between universes could have killed her in an instant, or destroyed everything without realizing it. But knowing that his Rose, the Rose Tyler who never believed she could amount to anything when he had meet her, became an hero so bright and radiant that she was ready to lay down her life in an heartbeat if that mean saving the world. And not even the world, the multiverse! It made him continue to burst with pride and love for her.

Rose not realizing the predicament that the Doctor was now in, she continued like nothing was happening. “So, now you know exactly what happened, and why I have to leave you soon.”

“Leave me?” he screeched, surprised by Rose’s response to his disbelief. “But you just told me that you were waiting for me! That your objective was to find me and resolve everything!”

She took his hand, trying to calm him before he started to hyperventilate. “Yes, but here’s the tricky thing: I don’t know where or when it’s supposed to happen. I’ve deducted that it’s probably going to happen in a few months, but I’m not certain. But also, I can’t leave the Earth without knowing what will happen. What I wanted to do was to tell you everything, and stay on Earth to protect it while you found what is triggering this mess.” She really wanted to stay with him, continue like nothing had happened, as if she did not miss him for four decades. But it was too dangerous.

He smiled at her with hope. “You just said it yourself. You don’t know what will happen, or where it will happen.”

She looked at him curiously. “Yes…?”

“So why can we not search for it together? Just like old times! Shiver and Shake,” he said fondly before pausing for a second. “Well with Donna and Tony too. And Martha if she wants as well. So Shiver and Shake, whizzer and chips?” He looked puzzled. “That sounds weird right?”

She stroked his hand with a sad smile. “Doctor, I can’t. Like I said, I have a life and responsibilities. Others to take care of. I just can’t up and leave UNIT like that.”

He turned his head with a sigh to hide his disappointment. “I understand. So mmh I’m going to…” He stood up, taking the tray with him. “I’m going back to the kitchen.” He started to walk out when he straightened. “You should probably change yourself.” He gestured in her direction with clear discomfort. “You know with the tea and all.” And then he was gone.

She looked at herself and realized that she was covered in the tea she had toppled on herself, making her clothes a little more revealing than supposed. “Oh!” she said to herself as she started to blush.

As she started to move, she was surprised by the return of the Doctor, who looked like he had just sprinted from the other side of the TARDIS.

“By the way, Rose,” he started with a slow almost mischievous smile appearing on his face, “did I mention it also travels in time?”

She looked at him stunned for a second, before finally registering what he had just said. And then she could not help herself as she started to crack up like a madwoman, almost falling from the couch at the same time.

“Okay.” She said, finally calming herself enough to respond. She knew she shouldn’t do it and risk getting sucked back into this life when she had people depending on her back home. Everything was telling her that she should go back to Earth and forget about it. She still had that issue with Bad Wolf, her possible immortality, the stars going out, and of course her feelings for him. But at the moment all she could feel was her heart going out to him, the man in front of her, looking at her with so much hope and faith. Laying everything in front of her just in the hope that maybe, just maybe, she would say yes. How could she reject him? The Doctor, her best friend, the man who had one part of herself for years without realizing it. “Okay I’m in,” she finally agreed, this time more surel about her decision.

The vulnerability surrounding him almost made her cry then and there. “Yes?” he asked, almost not believing the opportunity that he was being given.

To hell with honor and duty, Rose thought to herself. For once she could put herself first before everything. She nodded. “Yes.”

He took a few steps towards her, not enough to touch her but enough to see the sincerity in her eyes. “So run?” he asked while extending his hand to her. This was it. She was either going to take his hand or completely deny him and walk away.

She took it without hesitation, smiling that special smile of her. The one she hasn’t used for a long time since their separation. “Yeah run.”

Chapter Text

As soon as Rose took the Doctor’s hand, she knew that her life had irrevocably shifted. Before that moment she could have changed her mind. She could have walked away, keeping her mind and heart mostly intact. She would have even been able to tell herself that she did the right thing. But now she knew the truth. She could only go forward.

She had waited for that moment for decades, dreaming it for days when she had only the night and stars for company, knowing perfectly at the same time that it was still only a dream. But now she could change everything, even if she knew deep down that second chances were not for people like her. She had made that mistake once after Canary Wharf and she almost lost herself. So this time, she’ll run head first into it and hope for the best, until the universe would stop being kind and let her fall.

But at this moment all she could do was smile as she looked into his eyes. Eyes so full of kindness and pain. At the same time, also made her temporarily forget the countdown towards full disclosure running in the back of her mind. “Doctor, we need to discuss our next move.” Rose said with a smile as he was looking just like the madman he was. “But first I need a change of clothes.”

He dropped his hand, old habits making himself embarrassed at that display of emotions. “Right. I’ll be in the console room if you need me,” he answered while taking a step back.

Rose nodded and started a few feet down the nearest corridor. Suddenly she halted as she looked around in confusion before turning back to him. “I..I kinda forgot where the wardrobe room is,” she admitted with a nervous chuckle and light blush on her cheeks.

The Doctor looked a little taken aback by her statement. “Oh… Really?”

She gave a pained smile in response. “Well a little. It’s just that I’ve had a lot on my mind, and I can’t remember everything. You know how are those pesky human brains are.” She laughed gently, trying to make him at least smile.

But the opposite happened as his face became more somber. “Sometimes I forget…” he said wistfully, looking at her with a painful look.

“Forget what?” she asked as gently as possible, afraid of what his answer would be or how he’d vocalize it. She recalled times when he was like that, and they were never good times to be had.

“How human you are.” He passed his hands through his hair, more in a gesture to not break down in front of her than anything else.

“Hey, I just forgot one little thing. It’s not like I suddenly couldn’t remember my own name. It’s not like I’ll die tomorrow.” She approached him and nudged his shoulder playfully with her own. “I’m sure that I don’t need to remind you how big this ship is, Doctor? And besides, it was not me who fell into the garbage can after I mixed up the place with the Wiklen garden. Even after I told you three times that it was the wrong way.”

He chuckled, her playful manner melting away the bad mood he was falling into. “Okay you’re right. But I’m still sure it was the right door and that the TARDIS was playing with us.”

She snorted. “Yeah right....” She turned around and picked one of the hallways without a second thought, walking like a woman with a purpose.

“Wait!” he called, making her stop in her track and turn around curiously. “You remember?”

She smiled, brilliantly. “No. But she does,” Rose answered while pointing upwards at the ceiling with a flourish before resuming her walking, smirking as she heard his laughing in the background.

---

Almost an hour later, she walked back into the console room, looking much more like the human she was and with a clean uniform. The Doctor didn’t want to even know where she had found it.

“Ok, what’s next now?” She asked, hopping around as she tried to lace her right rangers as she was walking, amusing him to no end. Some things never changed visibly. He winced a little as she almost collided with one of the pillar but she continued like nothing happened.

“Well look who it is!” He said with false surprise. “I almost forgot you were here!” He continued, smiling at her like a loon.

“Ahah…” She said with as much sarcasm she could muster before throwing a yoyo she found on the ground at his head. He avoided it with ease, letting it crash on one of the walls, before making a face to her. Making her laugh at the stupidity of the situation.

The door of the TARDIS suddenly opened with a clatter, startling Rose while her right hand reached instinctively for the weapon that was always at her side, and the Doctor jump in surprise. As he was taking out the sonic, they realized at the same moment that it was only Donna at the door.

“Ah good, you are still here,” she said, oblivious to the fright she just gave them. “If you two could stop making eyes to each other for a bit. We need you outside.”

“What’s wrong. What did you do,” the Doctor asked cautiously while crossing his arms with a suspicious look on his face, making Rose snort in her chair. She was happy to see that she was not the only jeopardy friendly passenger on the TARDIS.

Donna looked affronted. “Nothing!” She looked quickly to Rose the back to the Doctor. “Do you want me to remind you of Xiloras and their princess? Because I can.”

The Doctor looked suddenly alarmed, his eyes going back and forth between Rose and Donna. “The less said about it, the better thanks!” he said in a shrill, making Rose very curious.

“Oh do tell,” she said in Donna’s direction, who had clearly the same look as someone who had won the lottery.

“Oh look at that, they appear to be waiting for us outside!” the Doctor exclaimed, pushing Donna in direction of the door with a desperation that would have looked suspicious on a lesser man. He then had the sudden realization that if the two women decided to talk, like really talk, he was bound to regenerate from the shame alone.

“Hey stop manhandling me, Spaceman!” Donna loudly protested, snatching her arm from his grip. “And preferably before you get your knickers in a twist.” He made a strangled sound at the mere suggestion. “I came to say that Tony is waiting for you. Apparently they are in the middle of a treaty and they need your output.” She looked at Rose above the Doctor’s shoulder. “Well more you than him I’d say.”

All humor disappeared from Rose’s face at the mention of her son’s name and turned her full attention to the Doctor, blasting him with a black look like it was all his fault. “I told him to go easy! He was supposed to just talk and have a rest! I knew this would happen!”

The Doctor grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Like mother like son’ before grabbing his sonic and running outside. Probably aware that going against Rose on the warpath was not something he needed to do if he wanted to stay alive.

“Ha what a wuss,” sneered Donna at the sudden disappearance of her friend before turning to Rose. “Don’t worry, Tony is just fine. He was really having a blast the last time I saw him.”

Rose huffed as she walked slowly to the door. “I through I would never say this, but I suddenly totally understand how my mother felt.”

Donna laughed and gave her a friendly pat on the back. “Come on, blondie, I will take you to him. Because I’m ready to bet that Spaceman is long gone now.”

--

When Donna and her arrived at the makeshift camp, Rose realized that the discussion of a treaty wasn’t being taken lightly amongst the negotiators. A big table had been mounted and at least five people were talking at the same time. And the Doctor was in the middle of it, visibly trying to calm everyone with Martha before it could go badly.

“It’s been like that for ten minutes,” she heard Tony’s amused voice behind her. “I don’t think the Doctor had realized it’s how the Hath are negotiating,” he continued while coming around to face his mother, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

“Are you okay?” asked Rose immediately, her gaze going directly to his shoulder, still held securely into place with a cloth sling.

“It’s ok. Nobody asked me to write or anything like that, so I’m doing good.” He shrugged with a smile. A smile that made her think of her mother. “I’m really happy to see you, Mum.”

“Me too,” she replied, going against her urge to hug him with all she had. “So, how is it really going out here?” She turned around to look at the spectacle, realizing that Donna had gone to the group while she was talking with Tony, and was now talking to Martha, who was laughing at something.

Tony started to walk in direction of the tablep. “Really good. I think that both groups are ready to make peace. What Cobb did made them realize that the violence was clearly not the answer.” He looked a little sheepish. “And your reaction was exactly the electroshock they needed… But don’t worry they’re not holding that against you!” he quickly assured her as he saw the face of horror Rose made. “They totally understand, just believe me on that. What they saw was just grief and pain, not any horror or fear. You made them realize that we can be more than soldiers. How we are worth more than that.”

“They are not afraid?” she asked with a little voice, apprehensive of the response.

“No. Ok, maybe a little. But not so much that they’ll give up on change.” He shrugged. “They are molded by Cobb’s influence and ideology. He clearly lost his mind at some point during the war, and sadly some of them can’t help but think about themselves first.” He nodded with sadness. “I still think it’s my fault.”

Rose stopped him with a hand on his good shoulder, forcing him to look directly at her. “Never think that. It’s Cobb fault, he is the one to choose to fire, not you. You saved the Doctor’s life.” she said with a serious tone, hoping to make him really understand.

“So, it’s not yours either you know.” He shrugged. “You just reacted and if what the other said is true, Cobb tried to egg you on until you snapped.”

She felt her skin ran cold. Did anyone saw the Bad Wolf in action? She through that only Martha and Cobb had been witness to the return of the beast, but perhaps she had been wrong. “Did they told you anything about that?” she tried to be nonchalant in her question, trying to not cross the eyes of anyone as they approached the table.

“Just that they had felt bad for you. If you didn’t notice, they are mostly all big on gun and lost on emotions. It’s going to take time to not go directly to violence to resolve things.”

As she looked around, she realized that Tony was mostly right. Nobody was avoiding her or looking at her like the monster she was. It was just mostly curiosity and apathy. They had seen too much during that endless war to be jaded by her outburst.

“It’s going to take a lot of time to have something really working,” said the Doctor, entering the conversation with an air of thoughtfulness, looking at the different groups talking. “Even if I’m certain that the Hath are saying no, more for the fact that it’s funny for them than anything else.” Rose and Tony exchanged a conspiratorial glance behind his back “So I was thinking!” continued the Doctor as if nothing happened. “We give them a little nudge in the right direction, and then back to Earth we go! Even if Tony already did a lot.” He turned to the young man. “I heard you had been able to make them all sit and talk. It’s already a very good start,” he finished with a look of pride all over his face. His fondness for Tony very obvious.

“Really?” asked Rose with delight. “I’m so proud of you!” She hugged him, making sure to not touch his hurt shoulder. “Just for that, I’m going to take you to the best fish and chips in all of England when we are back in London.” She turned her head to the Doctor. “IF we are back on Earth of course.”

“Hey!” He looked indignant. “That was one time, and I was not even was in that body, so that’s really not fair.”

Before she could respond, Tony ended the hug, talking a few feet of distance. “About that…” He looked uneasy and anxious, fidgeting with the edge of his t-shirt like it was the most important thing in the universe. “I don’t think I will be coming back with you…”

Rose felt like her world had paused for a second, as the Doctor looked at her bewildered. “What?” she asked with a flat voice, staring at her son like he had just spoke chinese.

“I know I can do great things here,” Tony said, his eyes appearing to stare off into the distance, as if he were peering into some potential future. “I want to be sure we have something right for everyone. To not repeat the errors of the past. Like I said to them earlier, we came onto this planet as one. We need to built it like our ancestors wanted. Together,” he finished, looking every inch of the future leader Rose easily could see that in her son. Already so proud and tall, ready to take the world by storm. Everything in him reminded her of herself when she had been young, so sure of her own worth, ready to go in a blaze of glory. But life, and Jimmy Stone, had diminished that fire in her until almost nothing remained. Till the Doctor came along and reminded her of that very potential.

As Rose continued to gaze at Tony, seeing the sparkle ignite in him, she knew she would not have the heart to stop him. She could not be the able to live with herself, not after what she had to live down to gain her own back. She smiled at him again, even if she could not help but let her sadness creep out a little. “I’m sure you are going to be great,” she said with a lump in her throat and tears pooling in her eyes.

Tony looked overjoyed but not surprised.“I knew you would understand, Mum,” he said with a grin as the Doctor had retreated back and engaged in an animated conversation with Cline (who looked rather annoyed). “You are different, just like me.” He jerked his head in direction of the Doctor who was now joined by Martha and Donna, who had been drawn by all the noise made by their friend. “They don’t understand what it means to be between worlds. I will always been different to them, like you are always going to be a stranger to your own world,” he said as he looked at her sadly. “But I know that I can do great things here, just like you can do with the Doctor.”

“But you would have been great too,” Rose rebutted softly, knowing perfectly she could not change his mind. He clearly had the stubborn streak of the Tyler family.

“Hey, I’m not going to stay here for the rest of my life. You’re my mom, I still want you in my life one day! But for the time being, this is where I need to be.”

“Oh god I suddenly understand my mother.” Rose laughed as she facepalmed herself in shame.

“God save us all,” joked the Doctor, materializing beside them with Donna and Martha.

“Is someone finally going to tell us what’s happening?” Donna grumbled as Martha nodded in agreement beside her. “We had to stop Spaceman from lecturing Cline about brainwashing or something and everyone is talking about Tony like he’s the next Gandhi! We are away five minutes and everybody has apparently lost their minds!”

Rose looked at her son, who bowed slightly before turning back to the group. “Tony is going to stay here on Messaline,” she said in one breath.

“What?” Martha gasped as Donna was asking ‘why’ with as much surprise as her friend.

“That’s what I want to know also!” the Doctor erupted in all his manic energy. “Did they tell you something, Tony? Are you being threatened?” In the moment, the Doctor was more frightening than anything else for Tony, who took a step back involuntary.

“Ok calm down, Doctor,” said Rose, placing herself between Tony and the rest of the group, trying to calm down the situation before it was too late. “Nobody is forcing anyone. Tony has just decided that for the moment he would be more helpful here than with us.” Rose was trying to talk as calmly as possible, knowing that any of them could blow up if she was not cautious.

“But for how long?” asked the Doctor, in a somewhat desperate voice, breaking her heart in two. She knew that the Doctor was not good with people turning him away.

Tony shrugged. “However long it takes.” As the silence following his admission was stretching out, it made it harder and harder for Rose to not cry in front of everyone. She was trying her best to be understanding of Tony’s choice, but the Doctor’s reaction had made it very difficult for her to be joyful.

“Well, I’m sure you will be great,” Donna enthused suddenly while trying to infuse some cheer into the group. She moved to hug him, soon followed by Martha who was adding reason after reason how he will be a great asset to the human and Hath, making Tony glow with happiness. They had rapidly realized that Rose was only hanging up by a thread at that point and the Doctor was no better. So for the sake of everyone, they stepped up and distracted Tony, just enough for the Doctor and Rose to recover enough to be able to put on a mask.

The Doctor cleared his throat and looked back at the TARDIS who was still visible with the sunlight. “Well I think it’s time to go home now, right ladies?” A smile too wide on his face to be completely genuine.

“Yes. I need to discuss my decision with UNIT, and Martha needs to get back to her life. I’m sure she would love nothing more than a bath, and some time with her future husband,” she said with humor as the two other woman were starting to move away from Tony.

“I would definitely say yes to any of that!” Martha shouted with part seriousness and part humor, making Donna snicker.

“We needs something to communicate!” Rose said suddenly, panicking that she came so close to remembering when it would possibly be too late. She turned to the Doctor. “Do you still have the Amrax communicator? The one we used when we were on Venus?”

He looked surprised at the proposition. “Maybe, I would have to search for it. But why not give him your mobile? I can amplify it like the old one.”

Donna rolled her eyes at the suggestion and responded before Rose had time to even open her mouth. “Yeah sure, and he’s going to charge it with what exactly, Spaceman? The moon?”

Rose looked at Donna then at the Doctor with a smug expression, making him drop his shoulders in defeat. “Ok, I’ll go find it. I’ll be back.” He sighed and moved back to the TARDIS, trying his best to walk with confidence as the rest of the group were smiling at his departure.

“Well it’s been a pleasure, Tony,” said Martha in a cheerful voice. “But now if you’ll excuse me, I want to say goodbye to some people before we leave.” She waved at him with a smile before walking away to a group of Hath who were talking a few meters away.

“We had a great time and I’m sure we will see you soon,” added Donna with certainty. “With those two not far away, I’m sure we will come here at a drop of a hat!”

Rose sticked her tongue out at the redhead, who laughed out loud before walking away towards Cline, who for some reason still looked annoyed. She turned to her son, who had been quiet since the Doctor’s outburst. “Don’t take it against you. It’s just…” She turned away for a second, looking at the TARDIS who was glowing in the sun. “He’s lost so many people in his life and losing you to is a little hard for him.”

Tony crossed his arms, a mullish look on his face. Sometimes she forgot how young he was technically, how little of life he knew. But in that moment, she could see the teenager that she had been, who sulked at every rejection that was thrown her way. “But I’m know what I’m doing. I saw it.”

She started to smile before the enormity of what he said crashed on her. “What do you mean you saw it?”

Her alarm must have show on her face because he looked suddenly way less sure of himself. “I’m not sure. It’s just I realized that sometimes I just know some things. Like in the cell or right now. I know that I will do great things here, like I know that we will see each other again.” He sighed. “But I don’t know how.”

She had the sudden realization that by using her DNA, a little bit of Bad Wolf had gone over into Tony, making him a little more aware of the universe’s future. She had been worried to let him stay, but now she was terrified. Terrified of the possibilities. How much of the beast had been transferred?

She grabbed him, looking deeply into his surprised eyes. “How do you feel? Do you have the impression that you have something inside you? When you fell to the ground, did you have the impression that you were losing control of yourself?”

He disengaged himself from her, talking a step back. Feeling uncomfortable under that much intensity. “I don’t think so? The only thing I felt was pain and I’m pretty sure I’m just me.” He looked around, but no one was paying attention to them. They were too busy saying goodbye the the two companions of the Doctor. “It’s just sometimes I feel like I’m remembering something, like a weird feeling, and then it disappears.”

She relaxed slightly, exhaling a sigh of relief at his explanation. “Ok that’s good, that’s good.” She would have never forgiven herself if her son had fallen victim to her own actions. She had taken the Bad Wolf willingly, completely understanding the price. And she would do it again in an heartbeat. But he had asked for nothing, and it would had not be fair to him. It seemed only a fraction of that power had been transferred to him, but she would still keep an eye on him. Just in case.

“Did anyone told you that you were weird?” Tony asked with a puzzled look.

She smiled. “All the time.”

Before the discussion could continue, the Doctor appeared beside them, a triumphant look on his face. “I found it!” He showed a little square with a multitude of flashing colors. “Here, take it.” He placed one in Tony’s hand. “With that we are going to be able to communicate with you easily.” He gave the other to Rose. “So it’ll be rather easy to reach us if you want or need to. You only have to press that green button. Say ‘calling’ and then press the blue one. The other one will automatically glow and we’ll know that you want to talk to us.”

“Wow that’s great!” Tony cried out excitedly while showing it to Cline who had approached when the Doctor had came back. “Pretty neat.” He was now smiling, passing it to everyone who wanted a look.

“Sometimes I wonder if it’s not your son too.” Rose said to the Doctor, amused by Tony’s antics.

“Oh by the way, do we know why the TARDIS took us here?” asked Martha who was visibly ready to go.

The Doctor looked at Tony who was now talking animatedly with a group of Hath and human. “Tony was the reason for the Tardis bringing us here. It just got here too soon, which then created Tony in the first place. Paradox. An endless paradox.” They all looked at him silently for a few seconds. “So...Time to go home?” the Doctor asked.

Martha nodded as Donna had finally joined them. “Yeah. Home.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 17:

Rose sighed when she finally closed the door of her apartment behind her. She had spent the last week deciding what to take and what to leave behind. Informing UNIT that she was now officially in the role of offshore consultant for the time being, and except in the case of clear and dire emergencies; she will only respond to emails and phone calls if absolutely necessary. Which of course Colonel Mace, and Geneva by extension, had not been happy with this sudden change in arrangement. Especially when she had told them she was leaving Earth with the Doctor to fight an unknown enemy who could or could not destroy the whole multiverse in the near future. Mace had been particularly vocal about the fact that another of the top minds of UNIT had once again been snatched by the Doctor. And it was quickly getting old. She had played along, especially when Sir Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart; who had been visiting his daughter Kate, had stated that it was a fact of life that the Doctor was to annoy UNIT and those in charge to the best of his ability .

But she knew that deep down that everyone, especially those who knew about her, were fully aware that she will never return to UNIT. Not full time at least. Even if she was successful on what could be her biggest mission ever, she had never hidden the fact that her time on Earth was running out. She had tried to live a somewhat normal life, complete with a circle of friends and the occasional boyfriend here and there. But the fact always remained in the back of her mind: she was not aging, and soon enough it will become an issue.

When as she looked at the three bags balanced precariously against the wall, she realized that everything that was close to her heart were in those bags. She could never return to her place ever again, and not miss a single thing that was inside. That fact made her realize that even if she had a life here, a very good one at that, she had never really placed roots. Not since she had lost everything when she had crossed over without the possibility to comeback.

As she lifted her luggages with difficulty, she vowed to herself that when her adventure with the Doctor does end, she will do everything in her power to change that. But before she could dwell more in those morose thoughts, she head the sound of the TARDIS materializing only a few meters from where she was. As soon as that glorious box became completely visible, Donna almost fell out the door. She had apparently opened the door as soon as they landed to rush out and greet Rose. She eagerly hurried up to Rose, ready to engage her in a discussion, until she saw the bags on her back and shoulder. She frowned and turned around.

“Oi Doctor, Rose needs a hand with her luggage!” She called through the open door.

Before Rose could even begin to insist that she was fine, the Doctor had appeared. “Please tell me she didn’t bring a Hat case too,” he said with a teasing voice, making Donna slap him on the shoulder as a response.

“A what?” Rose asked with a puzzled face, trying her best to not let the bag on her right shoulder slip and fall.

“Nothing, just something that Donna had brought along when she came onboard. She somehow thought there was a planet of the hats out there,” he answered with a smile, trying to keep his nerves at bay. This was it, Rose had was finally back in the TARDIS. Back with him where she belonged. He walked to her with his right hand extended, waiting for her to drop at least one of her bags. “Let me take your luggage, it doesn’t look comfortable.”

Rose tried to protest, but he already had one of them in his hand, and was doing his best to take the one from her other shoulder as well.

“You sure you have enough?” he asked with a quick glance around, not sure if this was all of her bags or if she had one hidden somewhere for some reason.

She shrugged as Donna was giving her a welcoming hug. “Everything needed is here. And if I miss something, I still can ask the TARDIS to drop me somewhere to buy it.”

He scratched his chin. “That’s fair. Ok, let’s go inside. Ladies first!” he said with a flourish, a bigger smile than before on his face.

Rose was first to enter, glad to have taken time to unwind after so much time not having a single minute to herself. She was closely followed by Donna who was looking at her back with genuine interest. “That backpack is really interesting. I think my grandad had one just like that from the war. But his is much more beaten down. And I thought they only came in green,” the redhead observed as Rose was dropping it off beside one of the column.

Rose let herself fall in the driver seat and glanced at the bag, as the Doctor was putting down her two other bags. “My duffel? Oh yeah, normally they are green or black. But with privilege of my rank, mine is brown and blue.”

“Well old girl, it’s not that I do not like that kind of discussion but where are you going to take us next?”

She smiled at him, ready to to playfully mock him about his short span of attention; when she realized how much he was uncomfortable at the discussion of her soldier past. Forgot how he was ready to take responsibility for everything, and how he still sees the fact she was in the military as a failure on his end. Rose knew that they should discuss this. Make him understand that she had loved what she had become. And she had kept it to herself before not just for the sake of it, but because she was genuinely proud of herself and her accomplishment. But now was not the time.

“Well, I propose hanging out in the time vortex. I need to take everything to my room, and then take a shower. I don’t know about you, but it’s been a very long week, and not a fun one at that.”

“Well it’s only been two hours for us, but I understand your point of view,” Donna said as Rose looked at the Doctor with surprise. Who, Donna noted in amusement, suddenly found the ceiling very interesting.

“Only two hours?” Rose was astonished.

Donna snickered as the Doctor was glaring at her with the intensity of a thousand suns. Amusing Donna even more. “Well if I didn’t ask for time to take a shower and change, I think it would have been fifteen minutes top.”

“I needed to be sure that the TARDIS was working correctly!” the Doctor answered in a stronger tone than intended. “She just took us to another planet without input from us. Imagine if it happened again!”

“Sure, Spaceman. Just keep telling yourself that,” Donna teased, changing what had been simple discussion into bickering that lasted at least five minutes before Rose lost interest, and decided to go in search of her room.

She took two of the bags, the ones she knew contained the more important things and slipped back into one of the corridors, the sound of Donna and the Doctor’s debate getting more and more muffled the further she walked. She walked for about a minute, passing multiple doors and a hatch, none of them distinguishable from one another. As she was starting to feel her right shoulder sting under the weight of her backpack, she felt drawn to a blueish door with a carving of a phoenix in the middle and oak leaf all around the frame.

“This one?” She asked to the ceiling. After a few seconds she felt the draw once again. Making her smile. “Okay girl, but the phoenix is a little on the nose, no?” The laugh in her head was all the response she needed.

---

While she was occupied deciding what belonging would go where, she was interrupted by a knock on the door. When she turned around, she was greeted by the sight of the Doctor looking at her sheepily from the doorstep, her last bag in his hand.

“Can I come in?” he asked with bashfulness, proposing his full hand as a tribute.

She smiled. “Sure! You can just drop that one anywhere.” He put it down beside her bed. “I’m trying to unpack everything before being too caught up in everything. I mean, last time I think it took something like three months before I had the mind to take out all my socks from my backpack.”

The Doctor stood straight, his glasses giving him that very serious look. “If I remember correctly, it was four months and you also forgot the tupperware from your mother. Also, I remember there were two bags of skittles that definitely didn’t like that famous tupperware.” The smile on his face was all she could muster before facepalming herself in shame.

“Oh god that tupperware...I think I had to move out for two weeks before the smell disappeared.” She still had nightmare once or two time a year about the odor. And she had a Xylot explode on her.

He laughed for a few seconds before looking serious again. “I’m really sorry about earlier. We both tend to be a little oppiniated sometimes.”

She snorted. “I think I had made my peace with that don’t worry. It’s just I needed a shower and five minutes alone so it was more of a blessing that anything else.”

He nodded before looking around, realizing this was not the original room she had before leaving. “Did you not find your room? You should have asked the TARDIS to get it for you. I’m sure she would have loved that.” He touched the wall, which was now more of a pale orange, completely different from the neon violet she had lived in before.

She got up, walking to the open wardrobe with a few shirts. “No, I don’t really want to have the same room that I did before…”

He approached her, his hands deep into his pocket. “Why?”

She debated with herself about what to say, stalling as much as she could, arranging her shirts like it was her life mission. But as she started to open her month to lie, she realized that she was so tired trying to protect him from her own truth. He deserved to know about her, not all of her, but most of it. If she was starting this renewed friendship on a lie, how could she really deserve to be friends with him again? How could they trust each other? “Because I’m not ready to be back there.” She turned around, looking him directly in the eyes. “Things are different now and I’ve changed. A lot. Just like how you’ve changed too. And I’m not emotionally ready to go back into my old room and see what I left behind. I…” She averted her gaze, his truthful stare too much at that instant. “I need time, Doctor. That’s all.”

“I understand,” he said and they looked at each other in silence for a minute, not sure about what to say after that. “You want me to go?” he finally asked, pointing to the still open door.

”No, it’s okay. I just wanted you to know…” She continued to move her things out of her bag, trying her best to show that everything was good. “By the way where is Donna?” she finally asked, wanting to end the uncomfortable silence that had grown since the end of the conversation.

The Doctor jumped on it, walking around the room with a smile. “Oh she is still in the console room!” he said, looking curiously in the bathroom. “I think she is reading of her magazines or something. I can’t say I understand much of what she is doing sometimes.” He knocked on her bed frame with a interrogative look. “But I wanted to know how you were doing and where do you want to go next.” As she was starting to feel dizzy watching him going round and round, he finally decided to sit down in one of the chairs, making her a little less tense. “But it took forever to find your room. At first I did go to your old room and then when I tried to find you, someone...” He glared at the ceiling. “didn’t want me to find you. So it took forever.”

“I needed time to sort out the essentials and take a shower, so I can understand why.” She smiled cheekily, making him blush a little.

“So where do you want to go next?” He asked like she had said nothing, taking the opportunity to pull out a wooden-like sculpture out of one of her bags, examiniting it with his sonic like it was make of C4.

She snatched it out of his hand, her eyes rolling with exasperation. “Don’t touch that. A shaman from the Chimeran gave me that, and I prefer to keep it in one piece please.”

He looked surprised. “A Chimeran? Really? I thought they were rarely leaving their system now.”

She placed the figure on her nightstand. “Well, one of their spaceships was caught in a wormhole, and they space crashed in our planet. It was not really intentional of course...” She looked around, making sure that everything of value was not in reach of the Doctor. When she was satisfied that nothing could go wrong in the next five minutes, she nodded to herself and took the direction of door, indicating to the Doctor she was ready to go back. “But to respond to your question, I would like a quiet place for a change. Like not running for our life or plead with a megalomaniac that saying no to his marriage proposal is not grounds for a death sentence.”

He sighed and muttered while following her in the corridor. “You promise her one time to someone trying to dominate the world and then you hear nothing else.”

She chortled, pushing him with her shoulder. “One time? Doctor, try three times. And I’m not counting that one time when I had to rescue you from a bloodthirsty princess.”

“Hey! That time was a different me, so it doesn’t count!” he exclaimed, his indignity written all over his face.

“What doesn’t count?” Donna asked absently as they entered the console room, her eyes completely focused on the magazine in front of her.

Rose as a second of surprise when she realized they were already there. She had forgotten how much the TARDIS liked to play around sometimes, before jumping back right into what she was saying. “That I completely saved him from marrying a crazy princess! You should have seen him” She was laughing hysterically at that point. “Screaming his head off to not touch him, clutching as his shirt like a lifeline, and her shrieking that he was the man of her dreams. One minute more and he would have climbed to the ceiling.” She was clutching to the Doctor to stay upright as she was laughing too much at the memory. At the dismay of the Doctor himself. “Jack had to basically strip himself naked, and dance around her to divert her attention.” She looked at him with humor. “I think it took you three weeks to look us in eyes again. And you had to threaten Jack to send him in a supernova to stop him from laughing every time he was seeing you.”

“He would not stop!” said the Doctor with a clear desperation in his voice. “And I had to! Three times he sneaked on me, whispering in my ear to take him right now. It was that or I would have murdered him.”

Donna could not stop laughing at the image. “Oh man! I need to meet that Jack someday.”

All humor left Rose’s face, sobering her up instantanely. “That’s not really something we can do I’m afraid, he is pretty busy at the moment,” she said, completely aware that she was lying through her teeth to her new friend. She stood quickly, needed a little distance now, as she felt the Doctor tense beside her. She knew the Doctor had lied to her that day, saying some beautiful story to placate her, but she was not stupid. Jack Harkness had died fighting for an already lost cause. Dying like the beautiful hero she always knew he was. That day she had lost more than a friend. She had lost a brother, a best friend, a soulmate.

“Jack is… Well…”continued the Doctor, clearly not knowing how to finish that sentence, looking at Rose with concerned eyes. He tried to say something else, but she didn’t want to hear. She never had mourned Jack completely and if brought up the subject right now, she was afraid to lost it there and there.

“But I’m sure you would have loved him!” Rose said, interrupting him with a fake smile, purposely looking Donna in the eyes. “If you ever had the chance to meet him, he would’ve charmed the pants off of you, I’m sure.”

“Quit literally I have to say,” muttered the Doctor in the background.

“Well if one day we cross his way I would gladly introduce myself to him,” Donna enthused, sensing it was a sensible subject and to not dwell on it. “So where are you taking us next, spaceman?”

The Doctor perked right up, jumping to the console with a maniac energy. “Well I was thinking Drexell Three. The sky is red like it’s on fire, and if you’re there at the right time you can see the most magnificent meteor shower!” as he finished his sentence, he was already pushing and pulling buttons and levers all around the console.

As Donna was expressing her enthusiasm, Rose looked at him suspiciously. “Wait. You’re not talking about the planet that was overthrown sixty-six times in three decades?”

He made a strangled sound before clearing his throat and smiling awkwardly. “Maybe?” Donna made her protest loudly clear as soon as the word had left his mouth. Making Rose smile, she officially was fond of the Doctor’s spirited redhead friend.

“But I’m sure everything is going to be fine!” the Doctor said quickly while trying to assure everyone that things would be just fine. “I plan to land on a year when nothing had happened!” he continued, trying to make a point, even if he was sure that he had already lost.

“Yeah sure good idea!” said Donna sarcastically, throwing her magazine in his general direction. “Let’s go to that planet where everything is going to be perfect! Where have I heard that before?” She made a show to look like she was thinking hard, making the Doctor cringe, already knowing what she will say. “Oh I remember! There was Pompeii when you landed on flipping volcano day, and we were almost roasted like a Sunday chicken!” She was now shooting him daggers, and Rose clearly could see it was a sore subject.

“You really landed on Volcano day?” Rose asked curiously.

The Doctor who had now retreated as safe distance, scrubbing his neck with a grimace. “In my defense, I wanted to land in Rome. I didn’t plan to end up in Pompeii…”

Rose had a cheeky smile, humor dancing in her eyes. “How many times I heard that before?”

He pointed to the walls, trying his best to clear his name. “You know that this ship has a mind of her own!”

Donna crossed her arms, a mullish expression on her face. “And that’s why we are not going to Drexwell thing. With your chance we are going directly in the middle of a revolution.”

He sighed. “Drexell three...Ok fine, where would you like to go?”

The two women looked at each other for a few seconds before turning to him again. “Somewhere nice,” started Rose. “Where we’re not running for our life,” added Donna. “And if possible where either of us have never gone,” Rose finished with a smile.

The Doctor looked at the rotor. “You heard that girl? Do you have the place?” And as the light started to blink, the Doctor pulled two lever and with a dramatic gesture punched a big red button. As the TARDIS started to shiver and shake, signaling that she was moving and materializing somewhere, the Doctor looked at them with one of his maniac smile. “Direction anywhere, wherever!”

“Great… We’re definitely landing in the middle of the sun or something,” Donna said with a half serious eye roll as she was resigned their fate where there is no controlling where the TARDIS lands.

Rose could only do one thing in response. She laughed.

Chapter Text

Chapter 18

As the TARDIS materialized, Rose was the first one out of the door. Soon followed by the Doctor and Donna, who were talking about the possibility of the TARDIS going directly into the sun. “For the last time Donna, she cannot go inside a star! It’s ridiculous!” said the Doctor, raising hands to the heaven in exasperation.

“But she can go in the middle of a Black hole without issue,” added Rose with a cheeky smile. Soon followed by a triomphant “Ah!” from Donna, who looked at the Doctor with a boastful grin. He turned to Rose, throwing her a dark look before faltering as she only smiled brighter. He sighed and turned around, trying his best to ignore Donna who was still mocking him with glee, completely aware he could never win when Rose smiled at him like that.

Rose chuckled at the exchange while looking around trying to decipher where they were. She spied a vintage car in the distance. One that her grandfather would have gushed over for hours if he were still alive. Then she rolled her eyes at a realization. Of course, it would be too easy to go somewhere else.

“We’re on Earth. Again,” she said more in direction of the TARDIS than her pilot. “Did we move at all at least?”

The Doctor suddenly started sniffing at the air, looking like one of those anti bomb dog she would sometimes see at the airport. She snorted at the image, almost ready to hear him bark and pant. When he looked at them with a serious look, oblivious to Rose still trying to not double over with laughter, he nodded visibly sure of himself. “Oh, smell that air. Grass and lemonade. And a little bit of mint. A hint of mint. Must be the nineteen twenties,” he said with a satisfied smile.

“You can tell what year it is just by smelling?” Donna asking in surprise of the weirdness that was her best friend. She almost added if he was also capable to smell bullshit but she just barely refrained. And at the face that Rose was making she was clearly not the only one that was thinking that.

Before he could respond, Rose pointed to the Victorian house and car a hundred meters away in front of them, just scarcely concealed by trees and bushes. “I will say, those helped a lot as well…”

“Mostly the lemonade I will say, but let’s see where we are!” the Doctor said before strolling to one of the bushes, closely following by Donna who had never before looked so excited. Rose took one last look at the TARDIS, who was the picture of an innocent time machine, before shaking her head and following them.

“It's supposed to be a party.” Rose heard one of the men say as she moved closer. “All this work will be the death of you,” he finished and then disappeared inside with the two other servants. One she supposed was a butler as he looked rather similar to the one who was employed at her parent’s house in the other universe. At the delight of her mother, who had passed the first three weeks in their new home, asking for the most absurd things just so she could merely say ‘The butler did it!’ again and again. Rose had not been in the best condition at the time to see the humor, but now it was one of her favorite memories of the other universe.

“Never mind Planet Silex or something. A party in the nineteen twenties, that's more like it.” Donna exclaimed, almost jumping up and down at the possibility.

The Doctor looked at them in feigned sadness. “The trouble is, we haven't been invited.” He took out his psychic paper, and glanced at them with visibly forced surprise. “Oh, I forgot. Yes, we have!”

“I need to change into something more...Flapper,” said Donna as they entered the TARDIS again. “Do you think the TARDIS has that?” she asked in direction of her two friends.

“I remember her having clothes for literally every scenario, so I’m sure we can find you something in the wardrobe,” Rose answered before turning to the Doctor. “See you in a half hour!” And took off, dragging Donna behind her.

The Doctor sighed as they disappeared down one of the corridors. He briefly considered moving to the Vortex, because knowing them, they would be at it for hours… “Please, if they aren’t back in one hour, please cut the lights out,” he asked with a tired voice in direction of the time motor. “I want to at least enjoy the cocktails...”

----

“So what do you think of this one?” asked Donna, placing a pink monstrosity in front of her, making Rose frown in disgust. “That’s what I thought,” she said before throwing it back onto one of the rack. “I didn’t realize that the TARDIS had so much clothing hidden back here. It’s really a wonder why he always wears the same thing over and over. I mean, I think I’ve only seen him change ties and perhaps his shirt two times at the most.” She looked puzzled for a second. “Does he at least wash them regularly?”

“I think it’s just how he does things?” Rose answered, not really sure of the answer to that herself. She had try to ask once back when he was in his previous body, but he never really gave her a clear response. “Wait, he doesn't change his shirt? Like ever?” She frowned. That was not like the Doctor she traveled with. Yes he never changed his suit, but she clearly remembered him changing his shirt and tie quite regularly.

Donna shrugged. “I don’t really check, but I’m the suit doesn’t really move that much, that I’m sure.” She suddenly lit up. “Oh! How about that one?” She showed Rose a rather lovely black and gold charleston dress, which was the perfect mix of the era and the spiky personality of the red head.

“Perfect!” Rose exclaimed while still deep into her own rack. “Go try it on. I’m sure you’ll look absolutely banger in that dress.” She took out an outrageous green dress that wouldn’t look out of place in the MET gala and snorted a laugh. She did however hesitate just for one second, wondering if trying to get in it would be worth the look on the Doctor face. But she decided it was clearly too much work and put it back. After a few minutes, still without dress or anything that caught her eyes, she was ready to forfeit and just ask for a perception filter to the Doctor when Donna suddenly appeared, looking really lovely in her new dress.

“Do you think we can found some accessories with that?” She asked, twirling with glee.

Rose smiled widely. “Oh you look fantastic!” She moved to hug her friend, when she tripped on something and almost tumbled into a rail full a clothes. As she tried to get up, Donna asking if she was okay with a voice full of concern, she came face to face with a silver beaded sequin dress that looked absolutely lovely.

“Ooooh! How about this one?” She took it out and showed it to the redhead who grinned instantly when she saw it.

Donna squealed. “It’s absolutely perfect! If the Doctor don’t fall on his arse when he sees you, it’s a real crime against fashion. You have to try it!” Donna pushed her in the cabin, not giving her the possibility to change her mind. “Wait we have to find you accessories too.” Donna was now a woman with a mission.

--

“We'll be late for cocktails if we don’t get out there!” the Doctor yelled from the console room. “And probably supper at this rate,” he grumbled to himself. He would definitely never understand woman in why they needed that much time just to put on clothes, and he resigned to the fact that it would always be a mystery.

“Alright, alright, coming!” Donna called as she appeared. All smile and swagger. “So what do you think? Flapper or slapper?” she asked, doing a little spin as she walked to the Doctor.

He smiled broadly. “Flapper. You look lovely.” He turned around, frowning when he realized that Donna was alone. “Where is Rose? We are really going to be late.”

“Coming, coming!” Rose exclaimed from one of the hallways. “Do you know how hard it is to find nice shoes from that period that’s not a death trap, or look like what my nan would wear?” she asked as she entered the console room, rolling her eyes at the inconvenience. She continued to talk but the Doctor was not hearing anything. All he could see was the striking vision that was Rose Tyler in silver, twirling and spinning around with the biggest smile.

She was magnificent, a picture of beauty and grace. And all he could think was that day back in the early days of their travels, when he realized for the first time that she was simply perfection for him. She had been wrapped in a black dress, all shy smile and excitement, ready to see her first Christmas past. She had stolen his hearts that night. When he had closed the door to the TARDIS, seeing her looking around with childish wonder and big beautiful eyes, he had knew right at the instant that he was doomed. Doomed to fall for an human. A human who would become so important that he would gladly lay his life to save hers, without even looking back. And he would do it over and over if needed, even if the Rose from today would probably make him regenerate again just for having the idea alone.
She had been his supernova back then, the brightest star in the endless sky that was his mind. And now as he looked at her, shining like the heavenly body she was, he realized that nothing had changed. She was still his north Star, the sole light in the darkness.

“Still alive here?” asked Donna, nudging him with a knowing smile.

He suddenly realized he had not breathed since Rose had appeared. “You look beautiful,” he said softly, still a little winded by the vision.

Rose smiled shyly. “You mean for an human?”

She had remembered he realized, as he looked at her hairstyle, which looked rather similar to that night. “No, for any species,” he answered firmly. Before realizing how much he had overplayed himself when the stunned face of Rose was his only response. “I propose that we go now!” he said with an over the top joy, pushing Donna in direction of the door. Sometimes he wanted to hit himself.

--

As Donna and the Doctor were moving at the rapid pace in the direction of the door, Rose was still stunned by the Doctor words. She had been pleased to see his slightly shocked face when she had appeared and even more at his words, but she never expected to have that response when she had teased him. He had always been closed off. Too prompt to divert every compliment and make a joke of heavy moments. She realized that even if she changed, he had changed as well. He was not the same man that shared her life decades earlier. He was still joyful and maddening but he was also deeply wounded. He had not healed from her departure from his life. At least not completely, and she will have to live with that now that they were in each others lives again. She told him to adapt, but it was clear that she would need to do the same.

“You coming?” She heard Donna say from outside. She shook herself, determined to not dwell on it and overthink it and followed behind them.

As she stepped out in the sunlight, the Doctor offered his arms to both of them with a big smile. “Let’s party like the twenties!” Donna laughed, clearly the more excited of the three, and led the way.

They approached the house, seeing more and more people fluttering around, adding food and drink around them. And Rose could not help but smile too. It was the beginning of a great day, she thought, she could feel it.

“Good afternoon!” said the Doctor with his usual charm, already blending in like he belonged.

“Drink Sir? Maam's?” asked the butler with a definite english accent.

“Sidecar please,” asked Donna, looking around with curiosity.

“Lime and Soda for me thank you,” continued the Doctor. Sticking to his non alcohol drink as always.

“Bee knees please, double on the lemon,” requested Rose as the Doctor looked at her with surprise.

She shrugged. “Well, try to survive constant parties at Vitex without alcohol and we’ll talk.”
The Doctor had a second of pause, before shrugging. Fair enough he thought.

“May I announce Lady Clemency Eddison,” the footman loudly announced as a petite older woman made her appearance.

“Lady Eddison!” exclaimed the Doctor when she made her way over to them, like he knew her for half her life. Rose knew it was just a diversion to hide the fact he was, well basically an alien here. But she could not help but the smile at the air of confusion on the lady’s face.

“Forgive me, but who exactly might you be. And what are you doing here?” she asked a little harsly. Not completely sold on the acting of the Doctor.

He pushed his companions in front of him, trying his best to be as charming as possible. “I'm the Doctor. This is Miss Donna Noble, of the Chiswick Nobles.” Donna made a curtsey with much more grace than her when she had to do it for the first time. “And this is Miss Rose Tyler, of the Powell Tyler.” Rose bobbed in a brief curtsey as well, more to the fact that she was not trying to laugh than anything else.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you my lady,” Rose said, trying to remember the few lessons of good manners she had to endure on the other side.

“Good afternoon, my lady. Topping day, what? Spiffing. Top hole,” said Donna in the most hilarious fake posh accent that Rose had ever heard. And that sentiment included her mother.

The Doctor looked at Donna, horrified as Rose was trying her best to not giggle at her friend. “No, no, no, no, no. No, don't do that. Don't,” he muttered as he took out his psychic paper with a flourish and turned around with a smile. “We were thrilled to receive your invitation, my lady. We met at the Ambassador's reception.” Donna and Rose nodded at the affirmation in the background.

Lady Eddison still clearly didn’t know who they were, but was trying her best to not show it. She smiled brightly, leading them to the buffet. “Doctor, how could I forget you? But one must be sure with the Unicorn on the loose.”

The Doctor looked around, positively thrilled at the idea. “A unicorn? Brilliant. Where?“

Rose snorted at the childish manner of the Doctor, rolling her eyes at the posh attitude that everyone was trying to converse around them. Realizing that she’s been there for ten minutes, and she already wanted to bow out and go back to the TARDIS. These kinds of parties were never been her forte, even when she was the Vitex hairess. Well, especially then. It was always anxiety inducing for her, and with time she was less and less comfortable with each party thrown.

As they continued to move in direction of the rest of the group, she did her best to stay behind. Lagging by the buffet as her two friends were oblivious to her departure, too engrossed by the stories of Lady Eddison. When she was sure that she was alone, she turned around, taking out her cocktail as the server passed her, and admired the garden. It was rare for her to see that much peace, and she was savoring it at the best of her capacity, because knowing the Doctor, she would run for her life before the end of the day.

“Rose!” the Doctor called from a few feet away, bringing her out of her thoughts. As she turned around, she could see his face flowing with joy as he approached her with big steps. “I have someone that you have to meet!” he said, taking her hand and pulling her in the direction of a blonde lady that Donna was visibly fangirling over.

“Rose, may I present to you, Agatha Christie,” he said with pride and happiness written all over his face.

Rose looked at the blonde woman, and then the Doctor with shock. “THE Agatha Christie?”

Agatha looked a little taken aback by all the attention. “Yes, that’s me.” She looked at her and then the Doctor for a few seconds and smirked. “Well Doctor, like I said before, the thrill is in the chase, but sometimes even I can be wrong.”

Rose turned to the Doctor, who was visibly embarrassed, as Donna was snickering at the remark. “I don’t understand,”she said, completely lost in the subtext.

“Excuse me, Agatha?” said Roger cutting in the middle of them with a smile. “I have a few questions about your books.”

“If you’ll excuse me,” Agatha announced in direction of the Doctor and his friends before joining the rest of the guests who were visibly eager to grill her on her writing habit.

Rose turned to Donna as the Doctor wandered about. “Did I miss something?” she asked, still not totally sure about what happened.

“Except for fanboy over there making a fool of himself, and me lamenting on the lack of good suitor?” She shrugged. “Not really. But I have to say it’s a banger party! We should let the TARDIS choose more often,” she said, snatching a pastry in passing.

She looked around with a throuthful eyes. “I wouldn’t say no to more authenticity but well you can’t take out England out of the English.”

She raised her glass. “Preach to that.”

The Doctor finally reappeared, looking at a paper with a concerned face. “The date on this newspaper.”

“What about it?” Donna asked mindlessly, still in her discussion with Rose.

He ushered them a few feet away, making sure that nobody would be listening.“ It's the day Agatha Christie disappeared.”

In one movement, Donna and Rose looked at the novelist with interest, who was still laughing away with the colonel and his son. “Why?” asked Rose with intrigue. Donna shared the same sentiment as she looked as eager to learn the response of the Doctor.

“She'd just discovered her husband was having an affair,” he answered, his sad eyes setting on on the joyous blonde. Learning that the person you love with all your heart is now with another was heartbreaking. For every species. Well most of them.

Donna looked somber for a moment, completely understanding the feeling. “You'd never think to look at her, smiling away.” And when she looked at Agatha she could never guess the turmoil she was in. Sad story…

“The curse of being british and with money. If you don’t look happy prepare for a storm...” Rose said with a sad smile, remembering only too well the feeling. She had to endure way too many functions as a Vitex Heiress. Trying her best to look somewhat happy when her heart was still in shreds. Mourning the Doctor while she was vilified in the diverse tabloids because she looked not cheerful enough. Forced too many times to smile when the only thing she wanted was to cry, and grieve her life and love lost to another universe. It had been hell and only time had partly cured that. Time and long months out of view of the world, while she was too busy training for Torchwood and studying for university. She would have exploded if she had to appear like there were no cares in the world again and again. She pitied the poor Agatha.

“Well, that's what they do,” he continued, looking at her with understanding. But she was looking at everything except him. “They carry on. Except for this one time. No one knows exactly what happened. She just vanished. Her car will be found tomorrow morning by the side of a lake. Ten days later, Agatha Christie turns up in a hotel in Harrogate. Said she'd lost her memory. She never spoke about the disappearance till the day she died, but whatever it was…” he said ominously, visibly excited by the mystery that now the heavy subtext was gone.

“And it's about to happen,” said Donna, feeling the excitation of the unknown, sharing smiles with the Doctor.

Rose rolled her eyes, children, they were all children. “And with our chance, right at this instant.”

As soon as she finished her sentence, Chandrakala, who had been sent to retrieve Professor Peach, ran screaming and crying from the house the house. “Professor! The library! Murder! Murder!”

Rose turned to her friends, crossing her arms with a scowl. “You had to jinx it.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 19

Rose had been the last one in the room. When they all barged in, she had been the one doing damage control. She had tried her best to convince the poor butler to wait outside until they could check everything over, wanting of course to spare the poor man the vision of his dead friend. She also had to persuade everyone, well everyone that was not the Doctor, Donna or Agatha Christie to wait in the corridor. Assuring them that the Doctor would be the one with the answers. It had not been easy but she had not been a UNIT colonel for nothing.

“I told everyone to wait outside,” she said in direction of the Doctor as she entered the room, closing the door behind her, making sure they were alone.

“Good choice, Rose “ said the Doctor absently, his attention fully on the various documents he was shuffling through on the desk, as Donna still searched the body of the poor professor for any clue. “We will probably need to ask them some questions after this.” He took out his glasses and scrubbed his eyes.”Nothing worth killing for in that lot. Dry as dust I’m afraid.”

“Hold on,” said Donna, straightening up suddenly, like she just realized something vital. “The Body In The Library? I mean Professor Peach, in the library, with the lead piping?” she asked with a certain glee, looking at Agatha and Rose with the biggest smile possible.

But before anyone could react, the Doctor jumped in the middle, clapping his hands with force and smiled. Redirecting the attention on himself. “I think we’re finished here.”

“Someone should call the police, no?” asked Agatha as the Doctor opened the door, getting face to face with the rest of the guests who were all waiting impatiently in the corridor.

“No need to!” he said, brandishing his psychic paper with a flourish. “Chief Inspector Smith from Scotland Yard, known as the Doctor.” He pushed a startled Donna in front of him. “Miss Noble is the plucky young girl who helps me out. and miss Tyler is...” He turned to Rose with a puzzled look. “Miss Tyler is well…”

She took a step forward, before the Doctor could have the time to put his foot into his mouth and ruin everything. “Rose Tyler, private investigator from the UNIT detective agency,” she said with aplomb.

Clemency looked at her quizzically. “I say…”

“I think it’s time we ask questions to each of you, no?” Donna looked to the group, trying her best to cut the awkward tension that was taking place. And not give the Doctor time to say something stupid.

“Donna is right. Go into the sitting room. We will question each of you in turn,” the Doctor said as Rose closed the door behind them so no one could enter the library.

Agatha Christie nodded in their direction and led the others away, throwing a last confused look at their group before disappearing into one of the sitting rooms. As soon as they were sure they were truly alone, Donna’s smile died out and she turned around, smacking the Doctor on the shoulder who jumped out with a yelp. “The plucky young girl who helps me out?” she said indignantly.

“No policewomen in 1926,” he grumbled, rubbing his arm with a pout, making Rose smile at his childish manner.

“So why Rose is the private investigator then?” Donna challenged with her arms crossed.

Rose grinned widely. “Because contrary of the Doctor, I’m rather good at thinking on my feet in a split second!” she said proudly. The Doctor made a face to her as Donna laughed at his expense.

She gently nudged him, showing him it was just for laughs. As he started to smile at her, she realized something. “So why don’t we phone the real police by the way?” she demanded, curious as to why the Doctor wanted to implicate himself in a human trouble.

“Well…” started the Doctor, putting away his sonic paper into his pocket. “The last thing we want is PC Plod sticking his nose in, especially now that I've found this.” He opened the door of the library and crouched, scraping some gunk off the floorboards. When he stood, he showed them what he had on his finger. “Morphic residue,” he said in a resolute voice.

Donna looked curiously at the strange thing he was showing around. “Morphic? Doesn't sound very 1926.”

He nodded. “It's left behind when certain species genetically re-encode.”

“So does that mean that the killer is an alien?” Rose asked apprehensively, not sure if she wanted the response or not. She could not help but think that she was really glad to wear mostly practical shoes. Because at the rhythm they were going, she was predicting an alien invasion before the end of the evening.

“Yes, and it means one of that lot is an alien in human form,” he said while taking a tissue from Donna, who looked a little repulsed, to wipe out his hand from the weird goo.

“Anyway,” Donna said while trying not to touch the tissue that the Doctor was trying to return to her. “There's a murder. A mystery. And to top it all off, we have Agatha Christie.”

The Doctor looked puzzled. “So? Happens to me all the time.”

“No, but isn't that a bit weird?” Donna continued with extreme excitement at the idea. “Agatha Christie didn't walk around surrounded by murders. Not really. I mean, that's like meeting Charles Dickens and he's surrounded by ghosts at Christmas.”

The Doctor and Rose exchanged a look. “Well…” the Doctor said while scratching his neck.

Rose smiled as the nostalgia filled her head. It had been the adventure that made her realize that her feelings for the Doctor was a little less platonic than planned. “The first time we almost died together,” she offered with a tongue-touching smirk and nudging him playfully.

“I would say it was the first time you were jeopardy friendly but that would be lying,” he said, smiling like a loon. She had been so beautiful that night, making his previous regeneration very jealous of anyone who looked even remotely in Rose’s direction.

“Oh, come on!” Donna huffed in exasperation, cutting short the moment between her two friends without realizing it. “It's not like we could drive across the country, and find Enid Blyton having tea with Noddy.” She had a moment of doubt. “Could we?” she asked, looking at Rose then the Doctor. “Noddy's not real. Is he? Tell me there's no Noddy,” she said with a touch of freight. The idea of him existing was terrifying.

“There's no Noddy,” the Doctor responded, with the most serious face possible. Making Rose snort at the idea that something like that could be legitimately possible in the grand scheme of things.

“Next thing you know, you'll be telling me it's like Murder On The Orient Express, and they all did it,” Donna said with a roll of her eyes at the absurdity they were in.

“Murder on the Orient Express?” Agatha asked as she reappeared in the hallway, visibly tired of waiting for them.

“Just an expression,” Rose said quickly while silencing Donna with her hand, who was clearly two seconds away from putting her foot in her mouth again.

Agatha nodded, pleased with the response. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

The Doctor clapped, moving the attention on himself again. “Anyway!” He said, giving a side look to Rose, who was apologizing discreetly to Donna. “Agatha and I will question the suspects. Rose go interrogate the personnel. And Donna you search the bedrooms. Look for clues.” He leaned in direction. “Any more residue.” He said with arched eyebrows.

As the Doctor was taking out what looked like a magnificent glass from his pocket, Rose was already moving. “I’ll be back in half an hour,” she called out before walking in direction of the kitchen.
---

“So…” Rose started, looking to the three people in front of her. “Have any of you ever met the professor before today?” She asked with the most friendly smile she could muster.

“He had been invited by Miss Eddison multiple times, Miss,” answered the maid with a pinched look. “I’m pretty sure he was a friend of the family.”

“I don't understand why someone would do any harm to that man,” Hart said with a regretful stare in direction of the door, like he could see the poor professor from here. “He was always nice to everyone, even to us. Not all people who come by are like that…”

“Did the professor do anything out of the ordinary today?” Rose asked while mentally taking notes at the same time. Everything said and every behavior observed, and discussed with the Doctor, Donna and Agatha later in private. “Like the fact he was in the library instead of drinking with everyone.”

Davenport nodded his head negatively. “No, he was always like that. Generally he was talking with miss Davenport, or any other guest for a moment, and then he would go to the library for at least an hour before coming back.”

Rose looked at him curiously. “Why the library? Was he was doing research on something specifically?”

Davenport scratched his chin, frowning as he was thinking hard. “I think he was doing research for his book. But I can’t think of what it was all about…”

“A dead man's folly nothing more,” said the maid somewhat grumpily. “Asking foolish questions and whatnot.”

Before Rose could ask anything else or respond to Chandrakala, she heard Donna scream in the distance. Without any second thought, she started to run.

--

She almost collided with the Doctor and Agatha Christie as she had reached the top of the stairs. They only exchanged a glance before running again.

“It’s a giant wasp!” Donna screamed as soon as they set foot on the corridor, making them all stop in their tracks.

“What do you mean, a giant wasp?” The Doctor looked puzzled as Agatha was catching her breath in the background.

Donna looked deeply annoyed. “I mean a wasp that is giant.” She turned to Rose when she saw that the Doctor was clearly still not understanding her. “Rose help me!”

Rose shrugged helplessly. “I don’t understand either. Are you allergic to wasps?” She really tried to understand what was happening but she was completely out of it for once.

Donna raised her arms in despair, frustrated at the lack of comprehension of her friends. “When I say giant, I don't mean big. I mean flipping enormous!” She pointed at the ‘gift’ left behind by the wasp. “Look at its sting.”

The Doctor and Rose exchanged a look, before they looked at the direction that Donna was turned to. “Let me see,” said the Doctor, taking out his specs.

That thing was effectively enormous. And clearly not from this earth, unless the wasp had undergone an extreme mutation without anyone ever realizing it. They had entered the room and as the Doctor was inspecting the bedroom, Rose started to poke the sting, waiting for something to happen. As she further examined it, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to see the creature attached to it…

“It’s gone. Buzzed off,” the Doctor declared as he turned around, disappointment written all over his face, making Rose smile at his definite envy to go head first in trouble.

Agatha crouched beside her, enthralled by the sting.” But that's fascinating,” she said, her hand moving in its direction.

The Doctor bolted in their direction. “Stop, don't touch it!” His tone was frantic, making Agatha jump backward and Rose almost tripping on herself, afraid that the sting was suddenly coming to life. “Let me,” he then said, taking out a pen and scooped some gunk from the stinger into a test tube. Not realizing the black look that Rose was sending his way.

“Giant wasp,” he said as Donna was looking curiously above his shoulder “Well, tons of amorphous insectivorous lifeforms, but none in this galactic vector,” he finished, looking directly to Rose who frowned at the implication.

“I think I understood some of those words. Enough to know that you're completely potty,” said Agatha who appeared annoyed at their visible folly.

“Lost its sting, though.” Donna didn’t hide her utter relief. “That makes it defenceless.”

But all hope she had about that was rapidly crushed by the Doctor. “Oh, a creature this size? Got to be able to grow a new one.”

“Great…” Donna muttered as Agatha was getting more and more irritated by the second. “Can we return to sanity? There are no such things as giant wasps,” she said with a cross of her arms.

“ Exactly. So, the question is: what's it doing here?” he asked as his expression grew more and more serious.

“Maybe he’s visiting?” Rose asked, more to make the Doctor and Donna smile than anything else. With great success as the Doctor snorted.

As Donna opened her mouth to ask something, they heard a scream outside followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. They all looked at each other briefly before going off running.

---

As they had ran outside, they saw the body of the poor maid, still pinned down by what they supposed to be a Gargoyle from the roof of the manor. Rose was the first one to reach her, soon followed by the Doctor, Donna and Agatha. She skidded to her, taking her hand in hers, searching for any means to help her.

“She’s still conscious!” Rose called out urgently while trying her best to comfort Chandrakala, who was in deep shock and dying by the second.

As the Doctor was taking out his sonic screwdriver, Chandrakala suddenly tightened her grip on Rose’s hand. “The poor little child,” she breathed out before suddenly going limp, her hand dropping to the ground.

“She’s dead…” said Rose, tearing up a little. She had talked to her less than fifteen minutes ago and now she was dead. Donna in a gesture of comfort had put her hand on Rose’s shoulder. But it was a sad moment all around. As Agatha was closing the eyes of the maid, they started to hear a strange buzzing sound in the distance.

“There!” yelled the Doctor who was pointing to the roof of the house, where a giant wasp was flying over. They could all see the stinger that was reflecting the light in the distance, showing it has grown back in the few minutes it had disappeared. “Come on!” called the Doctor, already running back to the mansion.

“You were not kidding when you said it was giant!” said Rose, trying her best to keep the pace as the Doctor was already inside.

“You don’t say!” Donna answered with as much sarcasm as possible, as they had reached the stairs. She then turned to Rose with a smile. “Hey, this makes a change. There's a monster, and we're chasing it this time.”

But Agatha was clearly not having it. “It can't be a monster. It's a trick. They Do It With Mirrors!” she insisted while trying her best to find any thread of normality. Reminding Rose from her time with Charles Dickens. Apparently historical figures and alien didn’t mix well.

As they reached the upstairs corridor, they were greeted by the sight of the Doctor having a standoff with the giant wasp. “By all that's holy,” said Agatha, horrified at what she was seeing.

“Oh, but you are wonderful. Now just stop. Stop there,” commanded the Doctor as the wasp was lunging at him, scraping the wall with his stinger, making it impossible for Rose and Donna to approach or help the Doctor.

“We need to help him!” hissed Rose as she tried for the third time to move forward, but without any possibilities as she didn’t have any possible weapon at the moment, not even a heel as she had chosen to wear flat shoes for the day. She was turning around widely, trying to find anything that could help.

“Oi, fly boy,” Donna suddenly yelled, making wild gestures in the direction of the wasp, who turned his attention to her. As Rose was internally contemplating her friend’s sanity, Donna took out the magnifying glass and pointed it in the direction of the insect, who retracted back into another corridor.

“Don't let it get away!” the Doctor yelled out frantically, who looked a little tousled after his little face to face with the flying creature. “Quick, before it reverts back to human form!” They tried to follow the creature, but it was nearly impossible as he took off with an almost impossible speed.

After a few seconds they turned to what seemed a dead-end “Where are you? Come on. There's nowhere to run. Show yourself!” the Doctor challenged with satisfaction. But before he could gloat further, all of the doors opened, letting out every guest from the party. The shoulders of the Doctor slumped at the realisation that he had been beaten by a giant insect. “Oh, that's just cheating….”

Donna and Rose could not help themselves and laughed.

Chapter Text

Chapter 20

The atmosphere of the room was definitely melancholic, and solemn as everyone swallowed the news that was delivered to them a few minutes ago. Miss Eddison more than any other, as she had almost collapsed when she realized that her long life friend was now gone.

“My faithful companion, this is terrible,” mourned Clemency with sadness written all over her face, a tissue crumpled in her trembling hands. She looked at her son with big sad eyes, trying to find the strength to stay upright and proper, but found it extremely difficult as she was sniffing into her handkerchief. Rose could only sympathize at her pain. She had known the housekeeper for only a few minutes, barely enough time to talk to her, but she had held her hand as she had slipped away. And she could not help but feel that things were now more personal.

She had lost a lot of people in her life. Had been witness to the last moments of more than one soldier. But poor Chandrakala had just been an innocent woman. A victim of something beyond her grasp. But as she realized that the sadness was taking her toll on her, Rose pressed her head further into the Doctor’s chest, in search of a comfort only he had been able to give in the past. Without a second thought, he tightened his hold on her.

“Excuse me, my lady,” Davenport offered as he approached Miss Eddison. “But she was on her way to tell you something.”

That made Clemency clearly more somber by the second. “She never found me. She had an appointment in death instead,” she finished in a dramatic exclamation. After a last wistful look in the direction of the garden, she took her glass of wine and drowned it in a matter of seconds. Before she could ask for a second, Donna grabbed it away and dropped it off smoothly on the coffee table. She exchanged a quick smirk with the Doctor before turning her attention to the discussion at hand.

“She said ‘the poor little child’,” interjected the Doctor, trying his best to come closer to the conversation without moving from Rose, who was practically molded again his side. “Does that mean anything to anyone?”

Curbishley shrugged, his eyes looking in the distance. “No children in this house for years. Highly unlikely there ever will be.”

Rose stiffened, suddenly remembering something, making the Doctor softly whine as she moved away from him. “When I asked her questions about him earlier, she said something about a book written by the professor. Could that be linked?”

They all looked at each other for a few seconds before the lady of the house turned to Agatha, eagerness written all over her face. “Mrs. Christie, you must have twigged something. You've written simply the best detective stories.”

“Yes, tell us. What would Poirot do?” continued Golightly with curiosity, as Agatha looked more and more like she wanted to be anywhere but here.

“Heaven's sake. Cards on the table, woman. You should be helping us!” Curbishley roared with temper when Agatha didn’t magically produce a solution. He was visibly frustrated but Rose was having none of that.

“Hey calm down!” Rose said with authority, as the Doctor was gripping her shoulder with force so she was not tempted to confront one of them directly. “Everyone needs to take a step down and relax ok?” But the damage was already done.

“I’m merely a writer” Said Agatha as she looked to the ground, shame creeping from her voice.

Robina put one of her hands on Agatha side, a soft smile on her face. “But surely you can crack it. These events, they're exactly like one of your plots.”

Donna nodded with vigor. “That's what I've been saying. Agatha, that's gotta mean something” The intentions were commendable, as they were trying their best to shore up her confidence. But the blonde woman was having none of that.

“But what?” Said Agatha with a haunted look. Looking back and forth between Donna and the Doctor. “I've no answers. None. I'm sorry, all of you. I'm truly sorry, but I've failed. If anyone can help us, then it's the Doctor, not me.” And then she stood up and disappeared out of the door, leaving the rest of the group in a stunned silence.

Lady Eddison turned to her husband. “What should we do?”

Before anyone had time to respond, Donna was already up and marching in the direction of the garden. “Let me talk to her.”

As they watched her retreating back, they all jumped when the Doctor suddenly clapped his hands. “Well!” he said with cheerfulness, as Rose was throwing him a black look. “I think it’s time everyone goes back to their chambers. Let the police do their pursuit like we said!”

“Do their job…” she whispered to him as everyone looked at him like he was starting to lose it. So not something really different for him.

He turned to her with a bewildered face. “What?”

She sighed. Sometimes she was forgetting how alien he was. “Nevermind…” She patted him on the forearm as he was still completely oblivious and turned to the rest of the group with the most friendly smile she could muster. “What my friend was trying to say is that we need to conduct some additional investigations, and we will call you when you will be further needed. After all this, a little rest would be good for the nerves. Right Doctor?” When he didn’t react, she poked him in the ribs, making him yelp.

“Right!” said the Doctor, massaging his side with a slight grimace. When he realized they were still unsure about what to do, he motioned at the butler. “Could you...?”

Greeves nodded and opened the door. “Right this way ladies and gentlemen.”

Curbishley looked at them dubiously, clearly not convicted but clearly too english to tell anything. “Well if you say so, Doctor…” he said while rolling out of the room, his son and wife on his heels. A few seconds later, the reverend and Robina followed pace and with a last nod Greeves closed the door behind him.

After a few seconds of silence the Doctor turned to Rose, outrage comically written all over his face, making her smile at the exaggeration. “What did I do this time?”

“Just you being you.” She said affectionately, bumping him with her shoulder, making him beam like a mad man. Sometimes she swore he was like a puppy on a sugar rush. “So what should we do now?” She finally asked we he made no movement to move from beside her. Not that she was complaining at the moment. After Chandrakala’s death, she was still a little shaken and having him as a support was really helpful for her.

“Well first I think we need to let Donna do her magic, and then I’d say find the Vespiform and then live happily ever after!” he winced. “Well, except for poor Professor and miss Chandrakala…” He looked at her with big sad eyes. “Sorry.”

As a response, she put down her head on his shoulder and sighed. It was in moments like this that she missed UNIT. At least half of the time, a report was a false alarm and everyone could go home. However, when it involves the Doctor; you had more of a chance for things to start as an innocent and peaceful celebration to the Sun, and finish in the middle of a revolution to overthrow a bloodthirsty tyrant bent on ruining the moment.

But, it’s not like she didn’t know all this when she decided to come back. But at least she was doing it with her best friend, and she wouldn’t trade it for the world. Even if it was not meant to last forever.

The Doctor tensed briefly as he felt Rose head on him. So sure that if he started to move even so slightly she will realize what she was doing and move away. Like she did so many times. He knew they were supposed to take their time. Learn to know each other all over again. But he was missing her so fiercely that sometimes he was longing to just touch her, and the fact she was approaching him not once but two times in a span of ten minutes made him think it really was his lucky day. That maybe the old Rose and the old Doctor were there somewhere just waiting to get back to where things were when they were separated. As his embrace tightened around Rose, Donna and Agatha entered with a clatter into the room.

“Look what we found!” Donna said with excitement as she put down a small case near the Doctor.

Rose was the first one to move, looking curiously at their findings. “Where did you find this?”

“Just outside by the wall. Right in the flowerbeds,” exclaimed Agatha, her demeanor reflecting the excitation she was feeling.

“That means someone was probably wanting to urgently get rid of it.” Rose turned to the Doctor with a grin. “You know what that means?”

He looked at her in surprise, his eyebrows almost disappearing into his hairline. He was clearly not following her. “Uh no?”

Her grin moved to a full smile as the twinkle in her eyes intensified. “Someone is hiding something. And you know who generally hides that kind of stuff?” As he looked around, seeing Donna laughing behind Agatha, he realized she was probably making fun of him somehow. But as he started to open his mouth he realized he had missed this.

He greatly missed the banter, along with the teasing, and of course that oh so special smile of hers. She could probably start to make fun of him openly, and he would still be desperately in need of her. Somewhere in his mind he could hear all his previous incarnations laugh at him, and he could not blame them for one second.

He sighed, more tired of his own reaction than anything else. “No?”

“The house staff!” Rose and Donna said in unison, beaming like they had the response to the universe’s biggest mysteries. They high fived each other as Agatha Christie was clearly bewildered by the attitude of her new friends. “I’m going to interrogate them, you...” She pointed to him with a wink. “Search for clues in that thing.”

The Doctor was positively glowing, his energy renewed as he asked, “Shiver and Shake?”

She smiled that special smile of hers, making him feeling like he was the most luckiest gallifreyan in the universe. “Hope and Glory.”

As Rose looked at her friends, momentarily forgetting that the world beside them existed, Donna felt her eyes rolls so hard she was afraid for a second they would get stuck in the wrong place. “Oh for God sake get a room you two!” she grumbled, a little uncomfortable to be in the middle of their love parade.

They jumped and Rose felt herself blush. As the Doctor was blubbering something, she realized that she had totally lost her focus for a minute. She had let herself be swept away by her memories of her past with the Doctor, and for a moment she had been the naive Rose Tyler of long ago. “I’m going to interrogate them. See you later,” Rose mumbled, fully embarrassed with herself.

And before they could say anything, she was out of the door. But not without hearing Donna talk one last time. “Sometimes I wonder if I should just lock you two in a cupboard, and throw away the key.”
Fortunately for her though, she closed the door before she could hear the Doctor response. She was mortified.

She almost collided with Greeves in her haste to leave the room, where she could faintly hear what she supposed was banter between Donna and the Doctor. He avoided her at the last second, nearly topping over the tray he had in hands. “Madam!” he said with alarm, checking in at the same time that he had not spilled anything on her.

“Oh sorry, Greeves.” She had been too preoccupied to see him. She debated for a second to ask him a question then and there, but she needed to be as far from the Doctor as possible at the moment. And the middle of a corridor was not the best of places. Especially with a tray full of glass. “Can you come to the kitchen when you have finished your task please?” Rose asked politely while taking a drink in a swift movement. “I need to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind.”

He bowed. “Certainly madam.”

She smiled briefly one last time and walked with a decided step in the direction of the kitchen, letting Greeves get on with his task. And especially as far as possible from the Doctor and her own shame.

----

“So Davenport, what can you tell me about those people?” She had been right. When she had entered the kitchen she had heard them discussing the guest, but unfortunately they all quieted down when she had made her presence known. She was now trying to convince them to open up again, but she was having no luck at the moment.

“Well…” He started before being interrupted by a frantic crash noise and scream in the distance. They all turned their heads as they realized that the noise was coming in their direction, getting louder and louder with each second. Like someone was intentionally hitting on every corner and furniture in their passage. Davenport frowned. “What the...?!” But before he could finish his sentence, the Doctor crashed through the door, staggered around the place like he was drunk, soon followed by a distraught Donna and Agatha.

“Ginger Beer!” the Doctor screamed out, almost colliding with Rose in his haste to reach the bottle that was on the table near her.

The cook looked at him, horrified by his erratic movement. “The gentleman's gone mad!”

“What’s happening?” Rose almost yelled at Donna as she intercepted the Doctor, trying her best to make him stop moving, as he was almost drenching himself with the beer.

“He is been poisoned by cyanide. Alas,” Agatha answered with a wince, “no cure I’m afraid.”

She turned to the Doctor with fright. “What? How?”

“Not for me.” He nearly spat out the ginger beer on her as he tried to smile reassuringly to her, but it only worried her more. “ I can stimulate the inhibited enzymes into reversal.” He turned to Donna. “Protein. I need protein.”

Donna grabbed a jar and handed him over. “Walnut?”

He snatched it almost violently from her while smiling maniacally. “Brillant!”

As he started to gorge himself with the nuts, Rose grabbed Donna by the shoulder, who was going back and forth between the pantry and the Doctor in her haste to find something - anything - that could work on her friend. She needed to ground the redhead enough so she could get her answers. “Donna, what happened?” she asked urgently. Her best friend was possibly dying, and if she didn’t want to lose it on everyone right there, she needed facts. Right now.

“I don’t know! He drank from his glass and then he started to scream about being poisoned before making a dash to the kitchen!” Donna for once didn’t know what to do and the panic was starting to eat away her composure. What if her best friend was really dying? What if she was losing him?

Rose saw the dread and confusion in Donna eyes, and let the soldier in her took over. It was no time for alarm. Not with the life of the Doctor at stake.

“Donna! I need you to focus!” she commanded, forcing her friend to look at her and focus. “We will find a solution ok? But not if you let hysteria take over. Understand?” Donna nodded, somewhat calmed by the self control that Rose was showing.

Rose nodded too, trying her best to not show she was also in complete shambles inside, merely seconds away from losing herself and doing something extremely regretful. Because for now she needed to save the Doctor. By any means possible. She would have time to collapse when everything was over and well. Alone in her room.

“Salt!” called the Doctor from behind them, making them turn around in one move. “I need salt!”

Rose was the first one to see the container with the salt and quickly held it out to him, trying her best to not drop anything with her shaking. “There!”

He grabbed it, but made a face when he realized what was inside. “No too salty.”

“He asks for salt, and then he complains that’s too salty.” Donna rolled her eyes at the dramatics of her friend. But Rose was too worried at the moment to see the humor of the situation. She was almost knocking over the shelf in search of something less salty but still enough for the Doctor.

“Anchovy?” Agatha offered in the background, as she was looking over a few containers.

“Yes!” the Doctor exclaimed, his face illuminated with an almost glee as Donna passed him the jar that Agatha had found. He downed it almost in one go, making Donna recoil in disgust. But when he looked over to Rose, she knew right at that instant that he didn’t work. The painful stare they exchanged was response enough.

He tried to say something, but his erratic behavior was making it difficult. “What is it? What else? It's a song? Mammy? I don't know. Camptown Races?” Donna desperately tried in a last effort to find a solution. Any solution at this point would be welcome.

He stopped his unpredictable and confusing gesture that he was trying to use as communication. “Camptown Races?” he asked, genuinely confused by the questions.

Donna shrugged. At least she had tried. “Well, all right then, Towering Inferno.”

But before they could continue their bantering, Rose seized the Doctor by the ribs and forced him to look at her eyes to eyes. “Doctor, what do you need?” She didn’t have time to let them fumble around for a solution. Time was critical and they already lost enough as it is. She was not ready to say goodbye to this Doctor. Not in this time, and definitely not in this condition.

As she asked him that question, she realized by looking into his eyes that he was trying everything he could to think of what he would propose as his last chance. If what he said right at that moment didn’t work, it was over. She saw the spark of fear in his eyes but she was not ready to let that win. Not if she had a say. “Tell me. What do you need… Please,” she asked again, trying her best to show faith in him with her eyes and smile.

“Shock. I need a shock,” he answered.

Donna nodded and started to walk towards the Doctor with purpose. “Right then. Big shock coming up.” But she was stopped by Rose who halted her with her arm, her eyes still locked to the Doctor.

Rose knew that her friend would have found something shocking enough to shake the Doctor out of any poison known to men. Most probably something hilarious and memorable knowing Donna. Like slapping the future regenerations clear out of him. Or something else just as outrageous. But she wanted to be the one to do it.

She wanted to prove to the Doctor that Rose Tyler was still to be trusted. That even in the midst of them trying to find their footing that was once the Doctor and Rose, the stuff of legend, they were still that man and that woman who had promised the universe to each other. She had traveled the world, the universe and even the multiverse for him. So she smiled at him and did what she had promised herself a long time ago not to do.

Because she decided then and there that he was worth the heartbreak.

“Doctor. I’m immortal.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 21

The Doctor took two steps back, looking at her with wide eyes as Donna gasped out loud in the background. He tried to move, but as he started to go in her direction, he suddenly fell back heavily into a chair, like all the energy in his body had been drained from him. His face was white as a sheet, like he was two seconds away from unconsciousness.

As Rose was starting to think she made a mistake, that she had traumatized him rather than shocked him; he opened his mouth and a thick black smoke erupted from his mouth then quickly dissipated into the air.

For a few seconds, nobody moved or took a breath, not sure about what to do next. Was he still dying? Or did he manage to finish the detox in time?

Donna poked him in the ribs, making sure he was still alive and not on the verge of dying or collapsing. When she saw he was finally regaining color and was looking better by the second, she turned to Rose with a shocked face and exclaimed, “You’re what?!” Suddenly realizing the impact of what Rose had said a few seconds earlier.

“You are all impossible,” added Agatha, her voice trembling under so many new emotions. She looked at them all with big eyes, clearly still unsure about what was happening.

“Were you serious?” the Doctor asked in a deep voice, trying his best to take control of the situation which had been long gone from him.

Rose could only nod, her gaze diverting to the floor. She was not really sure what to say now, or if there was anything that she really could add to the conversation. She had mostly played in the heat of the moment, her head only focused on saving the Doctor by any means possible. Even if it was by giving away her most guarded secret. But now that the ash has settled, she realized that she hadn’t planned on how to handle the aftermath of her admission.

“Like immortal for real? Until the end of time kind of thing?” Donna could not believe her ears. She knew that Rose was special and all, but the Doctor had always insisted that she was human, just like her. “Wait!” She turned to the Doctor. “You told me she was human!”

“She was!” he squealed, his determined face crumbling fast under the panic he was starting to feel. Rose had been desperately human when they traveled together, and he had examined her enough times to be sure of it. He had been scared after her brush with the Vortex, but everything had come back with the same result every time: she could not be anything but human.

The redhead looked at him suspiciously. “If travelling with you is making me like you I swear…”

Before the situation could degenerate more, Rose stepped in. “No, none of this is the Doctor's fault. Just my fault,” she said in direction of Donna before she had the idea to throttle him for false information. “Well…” She turned to the Doctor with a weak smile. “Mine and the TARDIS somehow.”

The Doctor’s face became ashen. “But that’s impossible! I took everything away. I made sure of it.”

She laughed humorlessly. “Apparently, you weren’t that thorough.”

“Can someone care to explain to the one in the back?” Donna asked irritably, completely fed up with the double entendre and all that. She wanted answers, not playful banter.

“I’m sorry, Donna, but we really don’t have the time right now. It’s a very long and complicated story, and we’re really not in the right place…” She eyed the multiple people who were looking at them like they were good for the asylum. And Agatha Christie was clearly not thinking of them a clear of mind at the moment.

The Doctor seized her arm, all humor gone from his eyes, replaced with steel and fire. “When this is finished, we are going to talk about this.” His voice had never been that cold towards her, and she had an involuntary chill at the implication. At that instant she knew that from now on, and until she could prove him otherwise, she was not Rose to him.

“I swear. I will tell you everything,” she promised while looking in the direction of the Doctor than Donna. Who looked satisfied at the perspective to finally have an answer from at least one of them.

But the Doctor was closing himself off with each second that passed. She knew it was mostly a defense mechanism when he was starting to feel overwhelmed by his feelings, especially ones that were not so good. But she could not help but feel hurt by the sudden distrust. She should had felt it coming. I mean for him Rose Tyler was as human as they come, not some sort of monstrosity of nature. But she was still herself, deep down. She had changed yes, but her fundamental nature was still the same. Well she hoped it was.

He looked at her one last time, his eyes exulting fire and ice like she had never seen before, a last warning if you will, before turning away to the household with a maniac smile on his face. As he started to babble away, distracting everyone from the events of the last ten minutes, she realized that seeing like that was somewhat attractive for a part of her, and not necessarily the one she wanted anyone to see. The Oncoming Storm seething in him, that part he was trying his damndest to never show to anyone, was making the Wolf in her stir and howl deep inside her, like she was calling to something. And she was not really sure on how to manage it.

As the Doctor was most likely explaining a plan to his captive audience, she retreated to the background, trying her best to calm the beast inside her. These sensations were new for her. She could feel Bad Wolf coming out, but she was not trying to take over or show any aggression. It didn’t feel like she needed to protect her from what she thought in her powerful mind as a menace. She was not fighting for control neither for domination. She was just waiting. But she didn’t know what for.

As she was trying to decipher the whisper of the other part of herself, she didn’t see Donna approach her until she just barely entered her peripheral vision, making her almost jump out of her skin in surprise.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to frighten you,” Donna said carefully as she sat down beside Rose. “I just wanted to tell you that…” She paused while tapping her hand on the nearest surface in emphasis. “For me: immortal, mortal or whatever you are... It doesn’t change anything for me. I still think you are pretty bonkers either way.”

Rose could not help herself, and burst into laughter at the words of her friend. Making the Doctor side eye her in the distance. She had prepared herself for every sort of response one would normally receive, from disgust to freight to curiosity even, but not in a million years would she have been prepared for Donna’s response.

“And a smile! That’s what I wanted to see,” Donna said happily. She had to admit that Rose’s revelation had been a shock, but her best friend was an alien from outer space who travelled in time. So nothing could really faze her anymore. “I’m sorry about my reaction, it was a spur of the moment.” Donna looked really contrite. “I really don’t have anything against you. It’s just…” She looked at the Doctor who was gesticulating all around the place. “He talked so much about you. And you seemed so human…”

“I’m still human!” Rose said in a rush to clarify that oh so vital piece of information. “Well mostly… I’m just different now… It’s really complicated to explain it like that…”

Donna put her hand on Rose’s leg. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I mean yeah, I do want to hear more about this, but your priority should be the Doctor.” She had a slight grimace. “Well, the killer wasp and then the Doctor.” Rose had a small laugh, making Donna smirk. “Feel better?”

And as they exchanged a smile, she realized that yes she was feeling better now and the Wolf was now calmed, back in slumber like nothing happened.

But that quiet moment was short lived as the Doctor headed towards them with a resolute path. “I have a plan,” he said, his face serious and grave, mostly focused on Donna than Rose. Who was trying to not take it personally.

---

The weather had gone sour in the time it took for the Doctor to explain what he was trying to achieve, and be sure that everything was ready for the big set up. Rose had expressed some scepticism, but it had been short lived as the Doctor had reaffirmed he knew what he was doing. And as Donna had said, it’s not like they really had a choice.
That’s how they all came together in the dining room, trying to eat like nothing happened. Thunder and lightning rumbling in the background.

“I swear if someone knocks at the door right at that moment I’m going to scream,” Rose whispered to Donna, who snorted into the soup bowl she had just been served. She tried to disguise it as a cough, but Rose giggling beside her was a dead give away.

“A terrible day for all of us,” began the Doctor with a clear voice, trying to distract the group from Donna, who was still giggling with Rose. “The Professor struck down. Miss Chandrakala taken cruelly from us. And yet we still take dinner.”

Miss Eddison threw him an annoyed look. “We are British, Doctor. What else must we do?” she said in her most pinched voice. He had definitely touched a sensible point.

“Be a little less stuck up maybe?” Donna mumbled to herself. But she had been overheard by Rose who swallowed wrongly as she laughed at the quip.

All the attention of the table was now on her as she coughed multiple times, trying her best to not choke herself with a bowl of soup. The Doctor was looking mildly annoyed as his theatrics had been interrupted. The only one who was still smiling was Donna, with good reason.

“Sorry,” Rose said, tears streaming in her face as she was finally getting a hold on herself. “It’s a little too spicy for me.”

“Oh I was thinking the same thing!” said miss Eddison’s husband with joy. “It has a certain kick that’s not unpleasant.”

The Doctor straightened up, realizing that his plan was back on track. “It’s because I had spiced it up with pepper.” He turned to Agatha. “Do you know why pepper?”

She rolled her eyes, knowing already the plan but she still humored him. “No, Doctor. But I’m sure you would gladly tell us.”

“The active ingredient of pepper is piperine, traditionally used as an insecticide.” He looked around, trying to find any sign of a start of a metamorphose. “So, anyone got the shivers?”

In a dramatic effect, the thunder exploded as soon as he finished his phrase. The window flew open dramatically and the candles extinguished, plunging everything in the dark.

“Perfect timing!” Rose said cheerfully, who was feeling more and more by the second in a gothic novel.

The Doctor shushed everyone before anyone had time to respond. “Listen!”

Everyone stopped talking and moving. Donna was almost certain than some of them had even stopped breathing just in case. After a few seconds, she realized that she could hear a faint buzzing sound.

She heard a gasp in front of her. “No it can be!” Clemency exclaimed with a voice mixing fright and wonder.

Before anyone could ponder about her sudden exclamation, the thunder illuminated the room multiple times. Each time more and more louder with each lightning strike. And every time it happened, the buzzing sound intensified, like he was feeding off it.

“Show yourself demon!” screamed Agatha as she got up.

The Doctor stood up in turn, his arms wide open, trying his best to calm the group. “No nobody move! Stay where you are!”

But it was too late. When the lightning struck once again, it illuminated the wasp who was now in the middle of them, poised and ready to hit.

Rose was the first out of her chair, prepared to go face to face with the creature. But as she placed herself between the wasp and the rest of the group, she realized that she had nothing to actually fight it with. Before she could face real harm, she felt herself tugged firmly backward, almost tripping on herself.

“Out, out, out, out, out!” screamed the Doctor behind her as he pushed her out of the room, closing the door behind him, releasing Rose in the same movement.

“Good idea, Rose,” Donna snarked from her spot beside Greeves, who looked worse for wear. “Go face to face with the ginormous monster armed with absolutely nothing! Absolutely nothing could go wrong.” The intensity of the glare she gave made Rose almost consider searching for cover. She was now understanding why the Doctor was a little wary of the redhead. You really didn’t want to be on her bad side.

“I didn’t think…” she admitted with a little bit of shame. “I realized too late that I was not armed.”

“Can I remind you that you are not…!” the Doctor started furiously, before realizing what he was about to say. He suddenly deflated and turned away from her, trying his best to look disinterested. “Nevermind…” He shifted his attention to Agatha who was trying to arm herself with a vase, missing the dejected look on Rose face at his attitude. “Not you, Agatha. You've got a long, long life to live yet.” He took one of the swords from the paneled wall and barged back into the room, Greeves hotly on his heel.

Donna bumped shoulders with Rose and smiled. “Well, we know the butler didn't do it.” She tried to cheer up her friend. But it was to no avail, as Rose was rather hurt by the Doctor’s stubbornness. Donna was thinking that if her friend was not seeing the light by the time Rose had fully explained herself, she would smack him into oblivion. They decided to follow the Doctor, just in case he fully intended to attack the wasp with a sword. But as they entered the place, she didn’t have more time to dwell on a plan as Clemency started to scream about missing jewelry.

However before anyone had time to react, Davenport gasped loudly. “Roger!” he moaned with visible distress.

They all turned in his direction, to see a now deceased Roger Eddison with a visible stab wound to his back.

“My son! My child!” screamed Clemency as she ran to the body of her child. She touched him, and when she realized that he was really dead, she collapsed. Her wailing of pure agony breaking everyone's heart.

Her husband was the first one beside her, trying his best to comfort his wife without breaking into pieces himself. In the background Greeves ushered Davenport outside, who was visibly on the verge of a collapse himself. Rose wanted to follow them but she didn’t know how to start. It was another time and she was afraid to worsen his pain by trying to be present. She turned to the Doctor, who was looking sadly in direction of the couple. Nobody else was moving, too afraid to disturb the grieving mother.

After a few moments, Donna took charge and pushed everyone outside, explaining that now was the time for the police to do their work. She asked them to go into one of the sitting rooms, exchanging a look with Greeves who was now back, and then returned to the group.

“What should we do?” she asked in a low voice to her companions, who looked as lost as her.

“Give them some privacy I think,” Rose suggested, who wanted to be anywhere but here. She had the impression she was imposing in a private moment, and she hated that.

The Doctor nodded. “Yes, let them mourn for the moment… There is nothing we can do for now.”

Agatha Christie was the one to close the door on them, muffling the sound of the loud crying.
“And now what?” she asked, not really sure about the path to follow. She was a writer. She could imagine death, but she had no real experience being face to face with it.

The Doctor sighed. “It’s really sad but we really need answers now. Before someone else is murdered.” He turned to Donna. “When Miss Eddison is a little more calm, I need you to ask questions about the jewelry she has. How much it’s worth. Where did she get it etc, etc. You know the drill.” She nodded at the instruction. “Rose, we need to have some arrangements done for poor Roger. And I don’t think the Eddisons are up to it at the moment, can you see to it?”

“I will ask Greeves, he will be better suited for that kind of thing, I think.” Without waiting for a response, she was gone, her head already on her mission.

“Let’s meet in the blue sitting room when you have finished okay?” He said as his companions were going their ways. He then turned to Agatha. “Let’s go shall we?” he proposed, opening the door from the sitting room in question.

As they entered the next room, the Doctor realized he had probably lost all control of the situation. He had only wanted to show a little bit of fun to his friends. Maybe impress Rose, but then everything had gone to hell and now… Well now all he wanted was to finish this adventure without losing another part of himself.

If Rose was really immortal… If that was even the real Rose. He didn’t want to think about the implication. He certainly didn’t want to think about how he had managed to screw over the life of one of his companions. Again...

He never felt more alone.

Chapter Text

Chapter 22

The atmosphere was definitely morose as Donna and Rose entered the room. Donna had been tasked with asking the questions, as Rose had been trying her best to find arrangements with Greeves for poor Roger. At the same time, she also tried her best to comfort Davenport, but he had refused to even see anyone, claiming that he was trying to mend his broken heart in private.

“Poor Davenport,” said Rose with sadness. “He was supposed to go on without anyone knowing about him and Roger. It’s terrible…”

Donna scoffed. “I don’t get it. It’s 1926, time to come into the modern age, not the dark ages.”

“Did you inquire after the necklace?” Agatha asked excitedly.

Donna nodded as they sat down in one of the sofas. “Lady Eddison bought it back from India. It's worth thousands.”

The Doctor was still pacing around trying to find the piece that completed the puzzle. He was so occupied in his thoughts, that he hadn’t noticed Rose and Donna’s return or the conversation that they were having with Agatha. “This thing can sting. It can fly. It could wipe us all out in seconds. Why is it playing this game?” he wondered aloud while sinking into the chair.

“Every murder is essentially the same.” Agatha shrugged as if it was a key piece of evidence. “They are committed because somebody wants something.”

“But what does a Vespiform want?” The Doctor was frustrated, and it was starting to show as he stood up and started to pace again.

“Money maybe?” Rose offered tentatively. For once she was stumped.

Agatha rolled her eyes. “You two stop it. The murderer is as human as you or I.”

The Doctor stopped short and turned around so fast, he almost collided with the furniture. “You're right!” he yelled, making Agatha jump in surprise. “Ah, I've been so caught up with giant wasps that I've forgotten.” His hair was now looking like he had gone through a hurricane with how much he had pulled it, making Rose smile at his adorableness. “You're the expert.”

She scoffed at the nonsense. ”I'm not. I told you. I'm just a purveyor of nonsense,” she said with an indulgent smile, like she was talking to a child.

But the Doctor was not deterred. “No. No. No. Because plenty of people write detective stories, but yours are the best.” He was now pacing with more vigor, but this time from excitation. “And why? Why are you so good, Agatha Christie? Because you understand. You've lived.You've fought. You've had your heart broken.” He had a brief look to Rose who felt her heart skip a beat involuntarily. “You have a way of understanding people at their core. Their passions. Their hope and despair. And most importantly: their anger. All of those tiny, yet huge things that can turn the most ordinary person into a killer. Just think, Agatha. If anyone can solve this, it's you. “

And just like that Agatha Christie had an idea.

---

As they were all gathered in the room, Rose could not help but feel like she was in one of those Hercule Poirot episodes that her mom would watch obsessively when she was a kid. He had been a fixed part of those lazy Sunday with her mom, when it had been too rainy or too cold to play outside. And now she was almost waiting for him to come in and announce the murderer. She smiled at the image, especially as she observed the present crowd. Saying it would be a surprise would be an understatement, she amused herself thinking. She wondered who would be the most surprised? The Doctor or Donna? But before she could dwell on that, the Doctor made his entrance, closing the door with a dramatic flourish. She heard Donna snorting behind her, visibly entertained by the dramatism of their friend.

“I've called you here on this Endless Night,” he started, moving from person to person, his hands crossed behind his back. Looking each of them suspiciously. “Because we have a murderer in our midst.” He held a second of silence, increasing the theatrics of his demeanor. He was really enjoying this, Rose mused. “And so, when it comes to detection of those murderers, there's none finer. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, Agatha Christie.” Like she was waiting for that moment, Agatha opened the door, appearing triumphant on the door frame, smiling like she knew all of their secrets.

Rose and Donna exchanged a look, not really sure what was happening. Agatha had just started to explain what she was thinking, when the Doctor had charged them to summon everyone. And they obviously had been busy while they were gone.

“This is a crooked house,” she started almost as theatrically than the Doctor. “A house of secrets.” She walked slowly, knowing all eyes were on her. “To understand the solution, we must examine them all.” She turned to the youngest in the room. “Starting with you, Miss Redmond.”

They all turned to her in one move. “But I'm innocent, surely?” Robina said, however with a touch of nervousness in her voice.

“You've never met these people, and these people have never met you,” continued Agatha with a confidence that Rose found fascinating. The author really was in her element. “I think the real Robina Redmond never left London. You're impersonating her.”

Robina scoffed. “How silly. What proof do you have?”

“You said you'd been to the toilet,” Agatha alleged with a twinkle of triumph in her eyes.

Rose straightened suddenly, but Donna was the fastest. “Oh, I know this. If she was really posh, she'd say loo.” She exclaimed, excitation written all over her face.

Agatha picked up the locksmith case and put it on the table in front of the whole assembly. “Earlier today, Miss Noble and I found this on the lawn, right beneath your bathroom window. You must have heard that Miss Noble was searching the bedrooms, so you panicked. You ran upstairs and disposed of the evidence.”

“I've never seen that thing before in my life,” Robina firmly denied the charge.

“What’s inside?” Rose asked, as she had been out of the room when they had examined the case.

Agatha smiled, pleased by the question.“The tools of your trade, Miss Redmond. Or should I say, the Unicorn. You came to this house with one sole intention: to steal the Firestone.”

Suddenly the demeanor of miss Redmond completely changed. “Oh, all right then.” She started, a cockney accent replacing the proper one she had been talking with since their first encounter. “It's a fair cop. Yes, I'm the bleeding Unicorn.” She turned to Rose who was still surprised by the sudden change. “Ever so nice to meet you, I don't think. I took my chance in the dark and nabbed it. Go on then, you knobs, arrest me. Sling me in jail.” She tossed the firestone to the Doctor, who grabbed without missing a beat.

“So is she the murderer?” asked Donna with genuine interest.

“Well I would say she is a thief, not really a killer,” Rose said to Donna who was visibly way too deeply invested. “I mean be the unicorn AND the killer? Bit much, no?”

Robina nodded firmly. “Blondie is right. It’s already hard enough to steal, killing is way above my paygrade.”

“And that mean we come to you, Colonel,” Agatha said, trying her best to regain the attention of the room.

But before she could finish, the colonel stood up, a defeated air on his face as everyone exchanged shocked looks. “Damn you woman, you rumbled me.”

“He can walk now?” Donna whispered in Rose’s direction, who was just as lost as her. As Lady Eddison and her husband were talking in the background.

“I suppose? I mean, I think I lost the plot somewhere between dinner and now, and I’m not really sure I understand what is happening,” she whispered back, making Donna crack up.

“Ladies, behave…” hissed the Doctor, who had been mostly silent since Agatha had took the floor.

They turned their attention to the scene at play, realizing that now the writer was showing the Firestone around. “Far more than the Unicorn's object of desire. The Firestone has quite a history. Lady Eddison.”

“I’ve done nothing!” Lady Eddison exclaimed with an affronted air.

“You brought it back from India, did you not?” Agatha continued as if Lady Eddison had not spoken out. But her expression was now softened, almost pitying. “Before you met the Colonel, you came home with malaria. And then confined yourself to this house for six months, in a room that has been kept locked ever since, which I rather think means…”

Rose gasped at the insinuation. “Oh my god, you were pregnant!” she cried out under the surprise. She crossed the choked gaze of the Doctor and the amused one of Donna and realized she said it aloud. “Sorry…” she said, slightly embarrassed.

Clemency suddenly broke down, her english persona melting down under old grief. “My poor baby. I had to give him away. The shame of it.”

“But you never said a word…” said her husband, as much as loss than the rest of them.

She swabbed her cheek with a tissue, gaining her composure once again. “I had no choice. Imagine the scandal. The family name. I'm British. I carry on.”

“And it was no ordinary pregnancy, right?” the Doctor said suddenly, taking part of the scene once again. “When you heard that buzzing sound in the dining room, you said ‘it can't be’. Why did you say that?”

“You’d never believe it.”

“Try us,” said Rose as gently as possible.

She straightened up, looking right through them. “It was forty years ago, late one night in the heat of Delhi. I was alone, and that's when I saw it. A dazzling light in the sky. The next day, he came to the house.” She sighed, deeply into her own memories. “Christopher. The most handsome man I'd ever seen. Our love blazed like a wildfire. I held nothing back. And in return, he showed me the incredible truth about himself. He'd made himself human, to learn about us. This was his true shape. I loved him so much, but it didn't matter. However, he was stolen from me. 1885, the year of the great monsoon. The river Jumna rose up and broke its banks. He was taken at the flood. Christopher left me a parting gift though. A jewel like no other. I wore it everywhere I went, keeping it always close. Part of me never forgot.”

They all looked at her, moved by her little speech. And Rose could not help but feel a kinship to that poor woman. When she had been separated from the Doctor, she had not been able to be separated from her TARDIS key, the only physical souvenir she had of him. But forty years without being able to talk… She didn’t know how she did it.

Before the silence could stretch much longer, Agatha said, “A poor little child. Forty years ago, Miss Chandrakala took that newborn babe to an orphanage. But Professor Peach worked it out. He found the birth certificate.”

“Oh, that's maiden. Maiden name!” blurted out Donna, feeling like everything was starting to make sense. When Agatha nodded, she continued, “So she killed him?”

“I did not!” Clemency denied with force. “I never did such a thing.”

“Lady Eddison is innocent,” Agatha declared with a smile before turning to the Doctor. “Because at this point, Doctor...”

The Doctor nodded and with a smile, walked to the centre of the room, secretly pleased to have all the attention on him. “Thank you. At this point, when we consider the lies and secrets, and the key to these events, then we have to consider it was you, Donna Noble.” He pointed to Donna, who looked around with surprise.

“Wait. You killed someone?” asked Rose, who was starting to feel like she had missed a huge part of the movie.

“No!” Donna exclaimed. Then turned to the Doctor with a shadow of doubt. “Did I?”

“No.” He sighed, feeling he was the only one in the room with an ounce of sanity at this point. “But you said it all along. The vital clue. This whole thing is being acted out like a murder mystery, which means it was you, Agatha Christie,” he finished with a maniac smile, making Rose and Donna inhale sharply.

“She killed them?” They asked at the same time.

“No. But she wrote. She wrote those brilliant clever books. And who's her greatest admirer? The Moving Finger points at you, Lady Eddison.”

That’s it. Rose had enough, she was all for theatrality but if the Doctor continued to play with her nerves, she swore she was going to choke him. “For the love of God, who is the killer?” she asked, exasperation written all over her face.

He rolled his eyes at her impatience. “I’m on it Rose, all in good time.” He turned again to Clemency. “Last Thursday night, what were you doing?”

“I was in the library. I was reading my favourite Agatha Christie, thinking about her plots, and how clever she must be. But how is that relevant?” She was doing her best to respond but was visibly as lost as the rest of them.

“Just think. What else happened on Thursday night?” He turned around suddenly, fixing Golightly with his piercing stare.

“What?” asked the priest uncomfortably.

The Doctor took out his spec, placing them in his pocket. “You said on the lawn this afternoon. Last Thursday night, those boys broke into your church.”

“That's correct. They did. I discovered the two of them. Thieves in the night. I was most perturbed. But I apprehended them.”

“Oh, my God,” gasped Clemency as the rest of the room was realizing what was happening. “My son?”

“Your child has come home.” The Doctor smiled gently, a hint of sadness in his voice. Rose knew that he was thinking of Gallifrey. About how the possibility of returning home was forever lost to him. And she fought against everything in her to get up and hug him right that instant.

“You found those thieves, Reverend,” continued the Doctor, not noticing Rose’s turmoil. “And you got angry. A proper deep anger for the first time in your life, and it broke the genetic lock. You changed. You realised your inheritance. After all these years, you finally knew who you were. Oh, and then it all kicks off, because this isn't just a jewel.” He tossed the Firestorm lightly in his hand. “It's a Vespiform telepathic recorder. It's part of you, your brain, your very essence. And when you activated, so did the Firestone. It beamed your full identity directly into your mind. And, at the same time, it absorbed the works of Agatha Christie directly from Lady Eddison. It all became part of you. The mechanics of those novels formed a template in your brain. You've killed, in this pattern, because that's what you think the world is. It turns out, we are in the middle of a legitimate murder mystery.” He turned to the writer with a smile. “One of yours, Agatha.”

“So he killed them, yes? Definitely?” Donna asked, who was probably the only one who had followed everything.

The Doctor nodded sadly. “Yes.”

Golightly stood up brutally, a forced smile on his face. “Well, this has certainly been a most entertaining evening. Really, you can't believe any of this surely, Lady Eddizzon.” The slight buzzing sound made everyone sit up more upright.

“Lady who?” asked the Doctor flippantly after a few seconds.

Rose stood up as the vicar started to look more and more angry by the second. “Lady Eddizzzzon,” he repeated as the buzzing sound became more and more prevalent.

As the Doctor continued to egg him on, trying to make him change, Rose turned to Donna who was clearly ready to jump in if needed. “Maybe it’s time to get everyone out?” she suggested with a smile. The redhead acquiesced and without another word was out of her chair and near the door.

“Damn it, you humanzz, worshipping your tribal sky godzz,” Golightly yelled as his body was vibrating on himself. He was moving closer and closer to the Doctor who looked completely impassive. “I am so much more. That night, the universe exploded in my mind. I wanted to take what wazz mine.” He faced Agatha, his face almost a blur. “And you, Agatha Christie, with your railway station bookstall romancezz. What'z to stop me killing you? What'zz to stop me killing you all?” He turned around, but only Rose and Donna were facing him. The rest of the group were now long gone.

Rose smiled. “Sorry, just us now. Disappointed?”

The alien screeched, his body rapidly changing from human to alien. It took him only a few seconds to become the wasp they had tried to chase after during the day. Rose was ready to face him, her body taking a stand in front of Donna. She really hoped the Doctor had a plan, because at the moment the only thing they had to face the alien was luck, and maybe a chair if she was fast enough. But before anyone had time to move, Agatha ran towards the Doctor and snatched the Firestone from his hands.

“No. No more murder,” she pled, sadness creeping from her voice. “If my imagination made you kill, then my imagination will find a way to stop you, foul creature.” And just like that, she ran out of the door.

“Agatha!” screamed the Doctor, before taking off after her. Donna and Rose were quick to follow.

As they ran down the different corridors, Donna could not help but smile, making Rose question her sanity.

“What?” She asked, a little out of breath.

“Well, now it's chasing us. Interesting change I believe,” Donna replied cheekily, making Rose roll her eyes.

Children, they were all children.

“There she is!” the Doctor yelled as Donna closed the front door. “Agatha stop! What are you doing?” he screamed as they saw the author entering a car.

“If I started this, Doctor, then I must stop it!” She blared the horn multiple times, just enough to have wasp burst out the door, narrowingly avoiding Donna. And before he could move, she drove off, spraying gravel everywhere.

As the wasp flew off after Agatha, Rose turned to the Doctor with a frown. “Now how are we going to keep up with them? I suppose you know how to drive one of those?”

“Well!” He took out the sonic and pointed it at one of the cars. “Only one way to find out!”

Donna would never admit it, but when the Doctor showed that the TARDIS wasn’t the only vehicle that he drove badly, she let out a tiny scream and held tight as the Doctor frantically drove to catch up.

---

As they stopped by the Silent Pool lake, the Doctor was the first one out of the door, visibly scared by the possibility of losing Agatha Christie today. “Stop!” he screamed as he saw the author near the lake, the alien only a few meters beside her.

“Here I am, the honey in the trap. Come to me, Vespiform,” Agatha called, ready to jump into the water.

They all moved little by little, trying their best to not spook anyone. “ She's controlling it,” Donna whispered to them. “Maybe we can work on that?”

The Doctor nodded, his eyes not moving from Agatha and the wasp. “Its mind is based on her thought processes. They're linked.”

Agatha looked briefly to him and smiled. “Quite so, Doctor. If I die, then this creature might die with me.”

“Maybe we can help him change!” Rose answered desperately, trying to find a different solution. “Nobody has to die!”

“Rose is right,” continued the Doctor, trying his best to reach the Vespiform. “You just had been programmed that way. It’s just the wrong template.”

But as they were pleading with Agatha and the Vespiform, Donna had moved away from them. Then without giving anyone the time to think, she took to Firestorm from Agatha’s hands and threw it into the lake. As the stone plunked into the water, they watched in horror as the wasp followed suit, disappearing into the clear water.

“Too much was at stake…” Donna said, looking at them with sadness. “Gone, just like his father,” she added, looking at the water bubbling in the distance.

The Doctor rubbed his eyes, tired beyond measure. “It couldn’t help himself.”

“So much death. And for what?” Rose added wistfully, as the water was losing color by the second. “Just the wrong thing at the wrong time.”

Donna stared at her, curiosity written all over her face. “What do you mean?”

“If Lady Eddison had been gardening or reading a romance novel, everything would have been different. Like I said, wrong things, wrong time.”

The Doctor started to open his mouth, when suddenly Agatha doubled over in extreme pain, kneeling on the soft ground.

“Oh, it's the Firestone,” the Doctor explained as Donna was trying her best to support Agatha, who was quickly losing conscience. “It's part of the Vespiform's mind. It's dying and it's connected to Agatha.” The Doctor looked agitated, realizing they could do nothing except watch. But before he could panic even more, a soft purple glow enveloped her for a few seconds before disappearing, making her go limp in Donna arms. “ He let her go,” he said while looking at the still water, melancholy creeping from his voice. “Right at the end, the Vespiform chose to save someone's life.”

“Is she going to be alright?” Rose asked, as she was trying to help Donna with the unconscious body of the writer.

He shrugged. “Of course. The amnesia. Wiped her mind of everything that happened. The wasp, the murders.”

Donna looked at the woman who had been a friend for a day, and she could not help but feel a little bit in mourning. “And us. She'll forget about us,” she added in a whisper.

“Yeah, but we've solved another riddle! The mystery of Agatha Christie. Tomorrow morning, her car was found by the side of a lake. A few days later, she turns up in a hotel at Harrogate with no idea on how she got there, or where she’s been.”

Rose looked at the peaceful face of Agatha. “And now what do we do?” She could not help but ask. Because they were actually in the middle of practically nowhere with a body and a car with probably not enough space to have them all without some issues. Especially with one of them completely unconscious.

He sighed, looking at the view with some thoughtfulness. “Well, first we need to drop Agatha at the hotel and then…”

“And then?” asked Rose as the silence continued to stretch.

He looked at her, his face becoming serious and somber. “We talk.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 23

The walk to the TARDIS had been silent for Rose. After they dropped off Agatha, she had let the Doctor and Donna take the lead. Listening to them discuss the life of the novelist following today’s event. They had been completely oblivious of the fact that she was noticeably lagging behind them. She was reluctant to enter the time machine, and was trying her best to postpone the discussion that would immediately take place.

She supposed that the TARDIS understood her turmoil, because she had landed pretty far from the hotel, making Donna complain all the way to the entrance. Carrying an unconscious body, even with three able bodied people, was not really a walk in the park. At the time Rose had loudly agreed with her friend, but now she was glad to have a few minutes to herself.

Because she knew that when she got inside those doors, everything would change. She would have to talk about the past. About events that changed her forever, and more importantly, it would open old wounds. She had been alone for decades now, separated from everyone she had loved and therefor learned to cope.

But talking about everything again? She was not sure how well it would go for her. But she had made a promise.

“Are you coming?” asked Donna, her head sticking out from the TARDIS door. “I’m preparing some tea.”

Rose forced a smile, trying her best to appear cheerful. “Coming. I was just looking around a bit.”

But Donna saw right through it. Realizing she was most probably not ready to face the other occupant of the time machine. “The Doctor went to the kitchen. Said he needed to find something. But I’m pretty sure that the something is a piece of the banana bread that seems to appear every few weeks. Don’t ask me how it gets there, because I’m pretty sure the Doctor would make the kitchen go up in flames if he tried to bake it himself.” She shook her head fondly at the image. “That man I swear.”

“Well if I remember correctly, he did set the kitchen on fire once. But in his defence, it was my fault.” Rose snorted. “Well technically it was Jack’s fault. I was still sleeping, and Jack had the cheeky idea to wake me up by throwing a bucket of cold water on me. I screamed like my arse was on fire.” She laughed. It had been a glorious year with Jack on board. She had missed him so damn long after his death. “But as Jack was laughing his ass off, the Doctor came barging into my room like a madman, sonic in hand and looking around for the intruder.” A big smile on her face as she remembered the scene. “Oh the shouting match that followed was glorious when he realized what had happened. Absolutely glorious.” She had a dreamy look in her eyes at the memory. He had been so gorgeous in his fury, his eyes blazing with fire and his presence so intense she had to remind herself not to throw herself at him.

“You’re drooling,” Donna said matter of factly as she opened the door wide.

Rose blushed as she walked into the TARDIS. “Well… And when he finally stopped shouting we all realized we could smell smoke. And by the time we all got back into the kitchen, the oven was on fire.”

“For my defense, Jack was a little wild at the time, so I was always prepared for the worst.” the Doctor said as he entered the console room, happily munching on a plate of banana bread. “And with our luck at the time, it would not have been out of the possibility for him to have smuggled something in TARDIS without us realizing it.”

Rose rolled her eyes as she sat down in the captain's chair. “It was only two times. And it was only Arandian chocolate, and a bottle of perfume from Allaq Kibor. Not a Tokamak reactor or a Keltek blaster.”

“Ah! Knowing Jack? It would have not been out of the realm of possibility…” He suddenly looked at her funny. “Wait how do you know about those kinds of things?”

She shrugged. “Well I was undercover for three month at the Bedford facility in Pete’s World. We were suspecting that a Usurian scout team had been sent here but it had been a false alarm. At least it had led to a few weeks of exchange about half-quantum vortices with one of their physicists. Very helpful for my thesis,” she added more as an afterthought.

“I think I understood maybe half a sentence in what you just said,” Donna said with a laugh as she put down the tray with a pot of tea. Making Rose realize she didn’t see the redhead leave out of the room a few minutes ago.

The Doctor suddenly smiled, so big and so maniacally that Donna was afraid he was having a stroke. “Are you okay?” she asked, a little concerned about his behavior.

“That is absolutely brilliant, Rose!” he said as his only response, his face still showed his happiness as he dropped against the console.

Rose looked around a little embarrassed. “Well thank you. But at first it was more of a backstory than anything else. I mean one of the wealthier men of Great Britain and right hand of the president had suddenly an adult daughter? Talk about madness.”

Donna sat down beside Rose, passing her a cup of tea. “Your dad is a flipping millionaire?” she asked, really impressed by that information.

She took the cup and smiled as a thanking. “My dad from that parallel universe was. My actual father died when I was a baby.” She looked pensively at the ceiling. “I suppose he would have probably followed a path similar to his parallel counterpart, but we will never be sure.”

“Oh I’m sorry,” Donna said awkwardly as she realized the misstep.

The Doctor shifted to the railing, moving closer to them. “So what was your cover story to have disappeared for two decades?” he asked while trying his best to shift the subject on something less explosive.

“Well they explained that by saying that I had been stolen in the hospital when I was born, never to be found again. And that’s why they never talked about me, because it was a subject much too painful for them.” She rolled her eyes at the theatrics. “I told them it was absolutely bollocks, but everyone seemed to have believed it...”

“With Jackie Tyler as your mother?” He snorted. “Like she would have let you be kidnapped and did nothing. She would have unleashed hell on earth knowing her.”

“I like your mother!” said Donna, already completely enthralled by the story. “And then?”

“When the cyberman attack happened, and that Jackie Tyler was killed, they were never able to find her body. Alas like a lot of the converted. So when my mom crossed over, they just told everyone she survived the attack, but the attack had been so traumatic she had been disfigured and amnesic, forgetting almost everything from that life. And what you believe, she had been found by a first year student from Lincoln university who was near London during the cyberman attack and who took her to the hospital, visiting every day during the months following the attack!” She rolled her eyes again. She had tried to tell the people in charge of creating a new life for them that it was just full of bullshit. Especially the part about her mom being disfigured but looking identical three years later. But she had been silenced and with the state she had been, she didn’t have the desire to fight. Too deep into her own sadness. Of course her mom had loved it, but that was Jackie Tyler for you.

“Oh that’s brilliant, completely brilliant!” Donna was delighted by the tale. “It’s like a soap opera,” she enthused to the Doctor who facepalmed himself.

“And people believed that?” asked the Doctor with amazement. Humans were clearly another species.

“People completely ate it up. Especially when we told them that I tried to find the family of that ‘poor woman’ and combined with the hospital's help, we were able to realize she was Jackie Tyler and contacted Pete. Pete of course came as soon as he could and realizing that she was his poor wife on that bed, so he hired the best plastic surgeon on that damn planet and reconstructed his wife like new. Of course the recovery took years, and during that time they became friends with that student. Until they realized that ‘Rose Jones’ was the baby that had been stolen that terrible day.” Rose crossed her arms at the reminded annoyance. “Don’t ask me how, that’s when I completely tuned out any explanation. Every time a journalist asked me my opinion on the subject I would turn misty eyed and said it was a difficult subject for me. Did the trick.”

“Wait, wait wait,” Donna interrupted them, she had been eating the biscuit on the platter like she had been in front of a very intense movie. “So they presented you to the world like that? Saying you were their child?”

“Yeah you could say that. They first presented my mom, to ease the tabloid on the story. Especially when they realized that my mom was pregnant. And then me three weeks after we knew for sure I will not be leaving.” She stared briefly at the Doctor, who looked dejected at the reminder.

“This is even better than EastEnders!” Smiled Donna.

“And that makes absolutely no sense at all,” the Doctor complained while raising his arms to the sky. “The capacity of humans to believe absolutely everything will never stop baffling me. How can someone can hear something like that and think it’s genuine.”

“Hey don’t look at me, Doctor!” Rose narrowed her eyes at him as she was completely insulted by the remark. “I told them it was bonkers.”

“So you choose to be a student?” Donna interjected to try and keep an argument from starting.

“Well for them, it was more believable for me to be an innocent student. So they fabricated a whole life for me. I have to say it came in handy when I had to be sent on missions for Torchwood. Much easier to explain why I was not in class that day that if I had a job. But going from no A levels to third year Physics student was pretty mind blowing let me tell you,” she said with a laugh. But at the time, she had been miserable. Every day had been a reminder that the Doctor was never coming back. That all the studying had been just a means to an end at first. Which was her getting back to her own universe. But now, now it was her life. And she had to make peace with it.

But as the girls were laughing, more Donna than Rose who was still reeling on the memory, the face of the Doctor became suddenly somber. “How long,” he interrupted them with this question. His voice cracked up on the words, his emotions visibly barely in check. “How long has it been for you?”

The smile on Rose face disappeared instantly. She had hoped to have more time, just enough to ease the discussion on and go on her own terms. But the emotions in the Doctor’s eyes were too raw. Too much anger and desperation spiraling in him to go peacefully. He had prepared for the worst and could not wait any longer. He needed a response now.

She opened her mouth, a lie on the tip of her tongue, something that became a reflex after so many years. But she had promised truth.

“43 years. Possibly more, maybe less,” she answered in a somewhat dejected tone. “I’ve lost count.” And she wasn’t saying that to manipulate emotions or drama. She honestly wasn’t really sure how long she had travelled between dimensions. All she remembered was the long nights working, and endless suffering when she crossed over. It could have been two months or two years. Time was moving differently there.

Donna gasped, moving instinctively to comfort Rose. But the Doctor tensed even more, his face blank and motionless. “When… When did you realize?” he asked in a flat voice. His stature rigid and inert. Donna could only see the alien in him at that instant, someone who was disconnected from humanity. A painful reminder of the day with the Racnoss. Her heart broke for both of them.

Rose disentangled herself from Donna, rising up from the chair and moving away from them. As she was facing one of the pillars she tried her best to not break down then and there. Like always the Doctor had touched a weak point, asking the most painful question of them all. She knew he was not aware of it, but that had been one of the most roughest periods of her life. It took years for her to close that wound. But now it was open all over again, raw and infected. Just like day one.

“I didn’t know for a long time,” she started, her voice wavering at the memories. “I think even my own body wasn’t aware of the change. Not in Pete world I mean. But I think that all of those jumps into the void to cross over through the dimensions awakened something in me.” She still couldn’t look at them, but she knew they were listening. “I believe that it really started to show in the midst of everything, but we were too busy trying to save the multiverse to even start to wonder about it. It was very slow at the beginning, just wound healing much more rapidly than some of the others. The doctors first attributed it to the fact that I was young, in very good health and was born in another dimension. But I think it was just my body already changing.” She turned around, still not looking at them, but at the console. “If not for me crossing into that last crack, it would have stayed that way. Just me being a little more healthy that normally. Even aging gracefully as my mom would say.”

“What do you mean by that?” Donna inquired before Rose could continue. “That was different?”

Rose looked at her for the first time since she started talking, her eyes suspiciously wet. “When we travelled between dimensions we were using holes that were already open, trying our best to not worsen the situation by poking new ones between the walls. But as time passed, it became worse and worse. Some holes became apparent to the naked eyes, eating whole parts of the universe. As the energy reading on those were all over the place we decided to not cross over with it. But on my last jump, I think one of them opened as I was crossing, and the result was that I landed on Earth and my hopper’s circuits were fried.” She uncovered her wrist, showing them the weird steampunk looking watch she was wearing. “I was only able to repair the dimensional watch, the rest were beyond repair. I can really only jump from one place to another.” She shrugged. “Came in handy.”

“Rose…” choked out the Doctor, his face still stony. But his eyes were betraying the difficulty to reign on his emotions.

Rose’s head and shoulders slumped. “I woke up in 1971 near Calgary. Without any means of communication or possibility to go back. I could only go forward.” She had been frightened beyond reason at the time. Lost in a country she didn’t know, in a time she had no part of. She had no name, no life here. Just herself. Rose Tyler was not even born yet. Her parents just children now. “It took me three years to go back to London.” Three years to create herself again and hope for the best. Alone and without family. She could not even have friends, too afraid to reveal something she shouldn’t.

She had been deep into depression at the time, seeing no end on the tunnel. Just a black void. So sure to die before seeing her family or the Doctor one last time. It had been the most frightening time for her. The only thing keeping her alive was the flicker of hope to see them all at least once before everything ends. “But one day I looked at myself in the mirror, and realized that I was the same as the day I came into that universe...” And realizing that even if she was able to find her family once again, it would be to lose them all over again. Cursed to see them all age and die. Until only memories would remain. Doomed to finish in a universe only with herself.

“Bad Wolf,” added the Doctor, making sound the word like a curse. He looked so sad and ancient, that Donna had to stop the urge to hug him.

“What’s Bad Wolf?” Donna asked. This was new to her.

“Me,” said Rose with a sad smile. “Well me and the TARDIS.” She lightly stroked the console, making the TARDIS hum joyfully. “When I was 19, the Doctor, Jack and myself had to fight a really powerful enemy, so powerful that we were almost sure to die. The Doctor sent me back to save my life, forcing the TARDIS to travel to my time. But I didn’t see it that way. All I could see was the fact that he was dying thousands and thousands of years into the future. Without me. So I broke open the heart of the TARDIS, and we became one. Making me one of the most powerful beings in the universe for a brief moment. I saved his life but apparently it had some consequence.”

The Doctor was suddenly in front of her, looking at her with sadness and rage. “I took everything. I’m sure of that. I made sure of it!”

She looked just as defiant. “I’m telling you, Doctor, it’s Bad Wolf.”

“How can you be so sure? How can I be sure you didn’t do that yourself?” That was the heart of the problem for them. The trust that had been so entrenched to their dynamic was now in shambles, a shadow of what it was once. And until it was repaired, they would tear each other apart until nothing remains.

She felt the fight in her ignite. Grinding her teeth she growled, “What? You think I used my time in Pete’s World to do that?”

“That would not be the first time you did something foolish.” He had this almost sarcastic smirk that briefly reminded her of her first Doctor’s smirk, and his eyes were hard and black.

She almost screamed about the Wolf in her, fighting the urge to let it go out to prove a point. But she knew that secret was to be kept at her own, that no one, not even the Doctor would know about it. She will speak freely about everything else, risking opening old wounds again and again. But she will never speak about the monster in her. Not until everything ended. That was the only secret she was ready to die for, because if the Doctor caught a single trace of it, he will do everything to get rid of it. And she knew she needed it, to have a chance to win in the future. She carried her mission for decades, made a promise to a lot of people. She will not fail so close to the goal. So she did what she had to. Fight back.

“I only became her to save you. Because I loved you so much that imagining a world without you was unbearable,” she answered so fiercely that her voice broke for a second. “So if you have an issue with that, then tell that to him, because I will not say sorry for what I did and what I became.” She smiled cruelly for a second, her rage overcoming her for a brief moment. “But the days where you were the most important man in my life are over, Doctor! I moved on.” As soon as those words flew out of her mouth, she regretted them. He had always been her rock, a part of her, even back then when she had only been a scared 19 years old. She had hurt him once like that before, and she felt as shitty as that time. His distressed face was enough for her to feel like the worst person in the universe. She made a few steps, an apology in her mouth when his whole attitude changed. Becoming defiant and hostile.

The Doctor blinked as if to hide any hurt felt by the declaration. His brain screamed at him to shut up as he spat back, “I saw that. You were on that Earth for decades, and you visibly decided that you prefered UNIT to any sort of life. Took too much pleasure playing the soldier I suppose?”

The slap was almost instantaneous. Reasoning in the console room like a cannon.

“How dare you?!” Rose yelled as she pointed a finger at him. “How dare you say that? I lost everything! My family! My entire life as I came to know it! I sacrificed everything to have a chance to save them! Do you have any idea what’s it’s like to live in a world where you have no place? Where saying the wrong word, being at the wrong place, at the wrong time could bring the end of the world? Every day I had to fight with myself to not find my mum, Mickey or even you. I accepted that a decision I would make could send people to their death, I stayed silence when I knew something would happen, I lived in the shadow for decades because that would mean maybe, just maybe having a small chance to save the multiverse.”

She was crying openly now, long held frustrations and feelings bursting from the dam that had been destroyed. “I stayed with UNIT because I had no other choice! I’m an abomination, what do you think will happen if people realize that I’m not aging? If I had to die, I would rather it be fighting what is coming. Not in a flipping cell seeing the universe fall apart around me!” She felt herself lose control of her herself little by little. The Doctor always had the ability to push all of her buttons at once. And a miniscule part of her was bemused to see it was not something that changed.

The Doctor, who was still holding his cheek in surprise following the slap, felt himself burn with anger at the implication in her last sentence. His eyes suddenly lit up with rage as his hand left his cheek and clenched at his side. “How could…”

Donna jumped in before he could finish and start a full fledged war with Rose. “Wouaaah everyone calm down now!” she said, conscious that if she didn’t intervene right now, any chance of reconciliation between the Doctor and Rose would go up in smoke. “I think everyone needs to take five minutes, okay?”

She looked at them both, but they were clearly more interested in throwing eye daggers at each other than listening. Great, now she was irritated. “Stop acting like children,” she demanded with annoyance, especially to the Doctor. She had flashbacks for weeks of him waiting to drown with the Racnoss he sentenced to death, too numb by the loss of Rose Tyler to go on. And now he was ready to play russian roulette with his second chance. She was more than ready to smack them both.

“You don’t realize how lucky you both are!” she continued while absolutely fuming at her friends. “Lots of people would give everything to be able to experience an opportunity like this. Don’t either of you dare to throw that away…” They both had the decency to look ashamed of themselves, realizing they had let their emotions talk before them. “So now, I’m going to make a fresh pot of tea, and while I’m doing that, the both of you are going to march your butts to the library to talk like adults. I am clear?” she ordered in a tight voice, showing she was now fed up with both of them.

They nodded in unisson, their eyes huge with fear. A Donna Noble that was on the warpath was not to be contradicted.

Donna smiled, but not with sympathy but satisfaction, and with one last sharp nod she walked in the direction of the kitchen. Letting them both fend for themself.

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other in an embarrassed silence.

“So what now?” the Doctor asked awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Rose sighed, ashamed to have let her emotions get the best of her like that. “Well I’ll say we do as Donna said…”

Without another word, they took the direction of the library, knowing perfectly that the discussion was not finished. Or if it had even started it in the first place.

Chapter Text

Chapter 24

They walked in silence, their steps resonating in the quietness of the hallway. The Doctor had tried to talk once, but before he even opened his mouth, he had speeded up the pace, adding on the heaviness of the air around them. When they passed the same series of doors for the fourth time, Rose knew that Donna was not the only one frustrated with them. And she really couldn’t blame them. She knew the Doctor was hurting, and she added on it by stirring the embers of all his insecurity. She had been far from the mature and poised Rose Tyler she had been proud to become. Even her mom would have been disappointed in her. She who had comforted her so many nights when she had cried over the loss of the Doctor, who had told her again and again that it was not over, not until the ending clap. Jackie Tyler would have screamed at her if she had heard her daughter talk like that.

Rose stopped brutally, making the Doctor almost miss his step under the surprise. “I’m sorry,” she blurted out, tired of the heavy silence between them. “I was out of line before…” She crossed his surprised gaze as he turned around to look at her. “I shouldn’t have said that and I’m sorry…”

He hesitated for a second to continue, looking around him before finally pressing his back against the wall, scrubbing his eyes as he took off his glasses. “You don’t have to apologize. I’m the one who was wildly inappropriate…It’s just…” He sighed, staring into the distance. “I’m sorry,” he finally said after a few seconds.

But she was not duped, she could still read between the lines, even after all those years. She still knew him. “You are still very important for me, Doctor,” she said gently, approaching him like you would a wounded animal. When she was sure he was looking at her, she smiled warmly. “You changed everything, how could it be otherwise?”

But his eyes were still troubled and sad. “Why did you stay with UNIT?”

“I told you. I had no choice,” she explained, not really sure where it was going. “What was I supposed to do? Try by myself?” She snorted. “I’m not you, I don’t have a Time Machine or anything…” Rose shrugged. “And they’re not so bad. Pretty good even.”

“You choose them…” The Doctor was not looking at her, but the heartbreak was deeply implied in his voice.

She suddenly realized what he had been trying to say, why he had been so emotionally harsh with her, a distance he was reluctant to close down. She advanced on him, until they were front to front, almost touching. “I couldn’t have gone to you,” she said, emotions dripping from her voice. “I wanted it so bad but… I didn’t even know where to start. And when I found UNIT, you didn’t even know me.” She took a step back, turning her back to him before sitting on the ground next to his feet, not waiting to see if he would join her there. She was tired. Tired of the tug of war between them. Tired of not getting a hold of her emotions in his presence. Everything. “I mean what I was supposed to do? Go to you and say I was from your future?” She looked up to him. “I could not risk changing our future because I was too broken to wait.”

He finally sat down, his eyes only looking straight ahead. “And after? You knew…” He scratched his throat. “You knew when we would be separated…” He was trying to look detached but he was failing miserably.

She had a laugh, almost a sob if you looked closely. “Believe me, I thought about it almost everyday for years. Every time you were in my time period in this regeneration, and even the previous ones, I knew exactly by the second where you were. But I couldn’t…” She rubbed her eyes, trying to make the tears disappear but to no avail. “I tried once… after we were separated. I came back to London to find you. I had a tip by a Selenian that a Roglyox heir had been stolen and hidden on Earth, and a traveller was in charge to find him. But when I saw you…” The smile on his face, the joy in his eyes, how he was tumbling around, rambling on and on to an annoyed Martha, everything was burned into her memory. “I couldn’t do it. I said to myself that my mission was too great, that maybe afterward the possibility would come. I fantasized we would have found each other, probably in the heat of the battle to come, we would fight back to back once again. And after go one like nothing had changed but…” But the truth was she had been a coward. She had let her chance fly away and now because of that they were two outsiders. So different they could not even discuss normally without the intervention from a Time Machine and a very annoyed redhead.

“You would have stayed away,” the Doctor finished for her.

She was so desperately sorry. She had been so afraid of herself, of what she could possibly become to save the multiverse, of what he would think of her. But more importantly she was afraid he had forgotten her. Going to him and seeing coldness where she had once saw fire. She could not have supported it, it would have ended her. But her fear only separated them a little more. Becoming what she was so deeply afraid of. “I thought you had forgotten me. That it was better that way,” she admitted in a little voice. Now it was in the open, and it couldn’t be taken back.

She had expected anger, shock or even dismissal. But to her surprise he started to laugh, a deep wracking laugh, one of those who wouldn’t stop. She was starting to feel a little offended at his hilarity, especially when he showed no sign of stopping. Until she saw the sadness in the exhilaration. “Doctor…” Rose said as much a question, that it was an affirmation.

“Forgotten you?” He was a little out of breath, an anguished smile still on his lips. “I chased stars for weeks in the faint hope to see you one last time. How could I forget you?” The pain in his words made her heart squeeze painfully in her chest for a quick second. But the foodgate had been opened now and couldn’t be stopped. He looked more angry by the second. “I fought every day to not go back and see you. Every day I had to remind myself that you were happy in that parallel universe, that you were having the greatest life.” He stood up, pacing back and forth in front of a startled Rose, his whole body vibrating under all the emotions he was trying to contain. “The only thing keeping me to do something really bad was the fact I knew you would do great in that other universe, that you would be happy without me and manage to be an every better version of yourself. And now you tell me you were here for decades? I mourned you Rose! I mourned like you were dead because I thought I would never see you again.” He was not screaming but it was all the same for Rose. Every word was like a stab directly in the heart. Seeing him in so much pain was destroying her.

“I’m sorry…” she mumbled in a weak voice, her eyes full of tears. She could not face him anymore.

He suddenly kneeled in front of her, raising her chin with two fingers, making sure she was looking at him. “He died out of love. I’m merely born on the ashes of that fire. Needing you is as part of me than breathing or walking,” he whispered, a painful smile on his face. “Even if I lived for another thousand years, you will always be a part of me...” A few tears rolled on her cheek at the mere evocation, the idea that he had no choice on the matter made her want to scream. She moved, trying her best to disentangle from him but he only rested his forehead gently against her, making her close her eyes at the sensation. She will always be weak against him. “You made me better. I choose to feel that way because I am whole again thanks to you. Rose Tyler, the light who illuminated the sky when nothing remained before.” They stayed in silence for a few seconds, enjoying the closeness even if they knew it was temporary. Too much was between them to stay peaceful for long. “Losing you felt like losing one of my hearts,” the Doctor finally admitted. “And knowing that you were just...here…” After a second he moved away, his feelings becoming too much again. She felt a chill as he took his distance, already lamenting the lack of touch between them. But he didn’t move far, sitting in front of her, their feet touching in the small hallway.

“I still love you,” Rose admitted after finding her voice again. If he could lay bare in front of her, she could at least do the same. She knew they still had a long way to go before they could be in a point where they could think about doing something about that. Feelings had never been an issue between them, acting on it in a healthy way on other hands...He had not been the only one to run away from them, she had been as guilty as him on that point. “I don’t think I ever stopped loving you. I tried moving on, having boyfriends, building a life...But…” She laughed dryly, tears pooling again. “You were always in the back of my mind. Especially when I discovered the parting gift of Bad Wolf. Suddenly I had hope again that maybe I could see you at least once before it was too late.” Rose looked at the ceiling, not really sure how to explain her life without him. She had been happy, no doubt to that, content even. But the void in her had never disappeared, not completely. “I met you once you know. You had a very long scarf and wild hair. I was only a lieutenant at the time, one among so many others. I don’t even think you paid attention to me at that time.. It took everything in me to not beg you to take me to you…”

He looked suddenly distressed at what she said. “I should have seen you,” the Doctor said in a low voice. “I should have realized you were not from this time.”

She snorted. “How? I think the only thing I did to you was salute you. We were in the middle of an Zygon invasion, you had other things in mind.”

Before he could respond, Donna appeared at the end of the hallway, looking visibly crossed with someone, or something. “Oh there you are! I searched all over this damn ship to find you! Where were you?”

The Doctor was the first to get up, offering a hand to Rose who took it gladly. “Well, we walked for a few minutes, but when we crossed the same door for the fourth time I thought it was better to stay put until the TARDIS decided to stop playing with us,” said Rose smoothly. “Glad to see you by the way.”

“That’s why I crossed my bedroom something like five times searching for you?” Donna didn’t look impressed by the revelation.

The Doctor looked at the ceiling with a thoughtful gaze, his hands scratching his neck by reflex. “Let’s say that she is not really happy at the moment.” He grimaced. “If we have cold water for a few days, we will know why.”

The redhead opened one of the doors, checking inside with curiosity. She smiled happily when she realized it was exactly where she wanted them to go. “You two, inside,” she commanded while opening the door wide. “The tea is probably already cold but that’s what happens when you roam around a Time Machine who likes to change the layout at a whim.”

Rose chuckled. “Be happy she didn’t try to throw us out somewhere. You would have searched for hours.”

“She wouldn’t dare!” The Doctor looked offended at the mere thought. But he didn’t look so sure when the light dimmed out dangerously, making Rose and Donna crack up.

“If she is as fed up as me, you bet your arse she will do that,” Donna said dangerously. “Now you two… sit down.”

They obeyed automatically, vaguely afraid of what the redhead could do with an irate TARDIS on her side. They both took a cup of tea that had been prepared for them, not daring to look at each other. The weight of their previous discussion still heavy on their mind. But when they were content to look at everything but each other for a few minutes, plunging the space with awkward silence, Donna had to take everything in her to not throw up her hands. Seriously those two were a lost cause.

‘When you need something done, no one is better than yourself,’ grumbled Donna to herself. “When you said you were immortal, did you mean ‘until the end of time’ kind of thing, or you were taking the piss to shock the Doctor?” she finally asked, sure to have the Doctor show some interest with that.

Rose looked around uncomfortably. “Well I’m not really aging like normal, that is pretty sure. Immortal may be a little forward but that’s mostly how I describe it.” She shrugged. “I do tests every few years to see if we can see some changes, but so far nothing really concluding. Well it did show some minor decay on cellular level, and some discrepancy on my ADN, but Earth is not advanced enough to draw a definitive conclusion…”

“I don’t think you’re immortal,” said the Doctor absently as he was trying to warm up his cup with his sonic. “What?” He asked after a few seconds, when he realized they were staring at him.

“How can you know that?” Rose asked, still disturbed by his offhand comment.

“Well for once you are not immortal in the strictest sense of the word. You can definitely die. If it was not the case, I would have sensed it... believe me. That kind of thing is really grating for my time sense.” He grimaced at the memory of Jack. He really loved that man, he even had trusted him with Rose’s life, but his wrongness still rubbed him badly. “It can still mean you are immortal but you can still die. I can scan you with the sonic to be sure if you want,” he added with a hopeful smile.

Rose didn’t look reassured at all. “Sure,” she said, knowing she had no logical reason to refuse, not without a good reason. She just hoped her secret could stay safe with her.

He scanned her in silence for a minute, making Rose more and more reckless by the second. The Wolf had never appeared in any test before, but the Doctor had instruments much more advanced than Earth could ever dream about.

He frowned. “That’s weird.” He shook his sonic with a bewildered look, inspecting it more closely, visibly trying to find a fault in it before scanning her again.

“What?” Rose asked while trying her best to not panic and bolt out of the TARDIS.

He looked up, surprise written all over his face. “It shows that nothing is wrong with you. Well mostly nothing.”

“What do you mean?” Rose asked cautiously. The Wolf had been asleep for a decade before they had manifested themself to her, but even before that fateful day she knew something was different within her, even before realizing she was not aging. So the Doctor’s affirmation was not really making any sense.

“I only see minor alterations to your DNA, but nothing that could affect your cellular degeneration on that level. Your Atron energy is a little high but nothing concerning. The fact that your body decided to dramatically slow your cellular decay, and by proxy your aging make no sense at all.” He took out his specs out of his pocket. “How old were you when you crossed over?”

She exchanged a look with Donna. “Hum, almost 28 I think.”

“Well the sonic shows that you are now 28 years, 7 month, 3 weeks and 4 days. You are still aging but very, very, very slowly.” He was smiling but no joy was showing.

“Ok so how is that possible? You said that her DNA was human right?”

“It is!” he exclaimed, outraged at the implication he didn’t know what he was doing. “Hold a second, I need to grab something.” the Doctor said suddenly before bolting out the door, leaving the two woman gobsmacked in his trail.

“I see that some things never change,” bemused Rose.

Donna chuckled, her best friend was completely barmy, that’s for sure. “How are you?” she finally asked after a few seconds. Rose was giving a good facade, but she could see the sadness and exhaustion behind it. The Doctor was a good man, but holding back was not something he was known for and Rose was visibly paying the price of all that resentment.

She slumped against the couch, feeling all her energy leaving her. Dealing with the Doctor and her emotions at the same time was exhausting. Even more with opening old wounds again and again. “It’s so hard you know...When you are alone for years like that...I had my life, don’t get me wrong. But when you cannot share anything of importance with anyone you learn to rely on yourself. And I made peace with the fact I will probably never see the Doctor or my family again and now…” She sighed. “It’s so hard. I want to be with him but at the same time everything in me is telling me to run away as far as possible. Because the fact is...I’m not his Rose Tyler anymore.”

And that was the heart of the problem. She could feel him trying to find pieces of the old Rose in her, but she was not even sure herself that person existed anymore. And she dreaded the day he realized that fact. He had somewhat confessed his love to her, but he was in love with a ghost, an echo of something long gone. And even if he told her that nothing could change that fact, she knew better. Martha had told her she had not been able to compete against the memory of Rose. And she was not sure she could do it herself.

“That’s false you know,” the Doctor said while suddenly appearing in the doorway, making them jump in surprise, his relaxed demeanor in total contradiction with the sadness on his face.The look they exchanged during those long seconds was telling enough for Donna. She hadn’t finished tending to his broken heart. She realized it was a discussion they needed to have to themselves so she took the tea tray and left the room, pretty sure they didn’t even realize that she was gone.

“How can you be so sure?” Rose finally asked, too jaded to care anymore. She was tired of all those back and forth moments, an anger that didn’t end and more especially to fight against a past long dead. She just wanted peace.

He smiled, a smile full of grief and melancholy. “The Doctor and Rose Tyler, the stuff of legend.” He said that like it was the response to everything. “In every universe, every reality, nothing could change that fact.”

“No one talks about a happily ever after you know, legends only finish in tragedy.” Rose wanted above all else to believe in happiness but the universe was not kind, it never was. And she knew that it would only end in tears, most probably her own.

To her surprise he turned his back to her, careful to be as close as he possibly could while still being out of reach. “If you don’t want to stay you just have to say you know.” He finally spat, his whole body screaming annoyance and resentfulness. “I’m not keeping you against your will, you still have a choice.”

Rose was not sure how to react to that. “What?” she finally asked, not really where he wanted to go with it.

He turned to face her suddenly, his eyes full of anger and grief. She could feel his fury from a few meters away. “You talk about love and acceptance, how we need to trust and talk to each other, but it’s just words isn’t it? You so desperately want to prove to yourself that you are so beyond me that you just keep throwing everything back at my face!” He hesitated for a second before sitting down, his body collapsing as he was looking more tired than furious. “Having the ability to simply understand each other is not part of our relationship anymore. If it was ever there in the first place…”

His words were like a punch in the face for her. She had wanted to be cautious but all she had accomplished was hurting him again and again. She knew he always had difficulty opening up to anyone. It took him almost three years to somewhat admit out loud he was in love with her when she was still travelling with him, and now that she was back she had rebuffed him at every step. Not because she didn’t believe him, but because she didn’t trust herself. She was clearly not his Rose anymore, not because she had changed too much, but because she was visibly a moron.

“I’m sorry…” she finally said, deeply ashamed of herself. “I didn’t realize…”

He looked at her, his eyes ancient and worm out. “Do you want me to take you back to UNIT?”

“No!” she exclaimed in sudden alarm. “Absolutely not. I made a promise to you Doctor. I know I’m not the best at expressing myself at the moment, but I assure you I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

“Why not? I mean you obviously don’t want to be here. The Rose Tyler I knew was not afraid to speak her mind, so go on and tell me, I can take it.”

“That’s the heart of the issue isn’t it?” Rose got up with an annoyed growl. “You keep making reference to things long gone, and just expect me to roll with it. I’m no angel, I’m perfectly aware of that fact, but you keep pitting me against an impossible version of me! You want the truth?” She was deeply furious again, and frankly she was getting tired of it. It was a rollercoaster of emotions with him, going from pouring your heart out to tearing each other apart in five seconds flat. It was getting old. “The Rose Tyler you kept imagining in your head is dead, Doctor. She had been buried long ago! This person will not come back, it’s only me! Deal with it!”

“How can I even do that? You keep pushing me again and again!” He advanced on her, making them go almost face to face, wrath enclosing them like a blanket. “I want us to have a chance but you are dwelling in the past!”

She had a humorless laugh. “I’m dwelling in the past? You are the one who is living with a ghost!”

Before he could respond, or before they could murder each other, depending on the point of view, a screeching voice resonated in the library, startling them enough to stop them on their track. “Are you two freaking serious? I can’t leave you alone for five minutes!” Saying that Donna was furious was putting it mildly.

“But…” started the Doctor but Donna was clearly not finished.

“Don’t even start Spaceman!” she growled. “You two are acting like flipping toddlers so I am going to treat you as such! You two sit down!” She pointed at one of the sofas. Rose glanced at the Doctor, who was unsure about what to do. When they had still not moved after a fews seconds, Donna seized them both by the arms and pushed them down. “Sit. Your. Arse. down.” The face Donna was making could probably scare away an Ice Warrior.

She crossed her arms, her foot tapping the ground with impatience. “So can I know what happened? Was I not clear before?”

The Doctor looked at Rose then at the ceiling, everything but Donna “Well to be fair…”

“It’s both our fault,” interrupted Rose. She placed a hand on his arms to show she was taking over for now. “Too much time has passed and well…” She sended an apologetic smile to the Doctor. “at the same time not enough., it’s hard to reconcile the two…”

“She’s right…” And it pained him to think that, but she had a point when she said he was living with a ghost. When she had disappeared, she had taken a part of him with her, forcing him to cope how he could with her absence. Going from place to place, thinking what Rose would have done or said there, making the absence less painful on his hearts. The ghost, or the echo, had been his constant companion when no one else could. Even Martha had lost interest in the end. And now that she was back, he was constantly searching for a trace of the Rose he had left behind, hoping she was still somehow the girl who had saved him from himself again and again. But so much time has passed for her. She had made her peace, while he had lingered in the past, stuck with a figment of his imagination. How sad it was? “Maybe it’s a sign.” A sign that love is sometimes not enough, even if you were with everything in your being.

Rose could only nod weakly, tears pooling in her eyes. She tried to open her mouth but nothing would come out of it.

“It’s a sign yeah,” Donna fumed, “a sign that you are both nitwits.” They both looked up, surprise all over their face. “Yes you both heard what I said. You are too busy being sorry for yourselves that you don’t see what’s in front of you!” She turned to Rose, who shuffled at the attention. “You! You travelled across dimensions, defied laws of nature and even climbed all the way up the military to come back to him. You waited decades so you could be sure to be reunited for crying out loud! You became a flipping deity for a second just to save his sorry arse! And now are running the other way? Are you freaking kidding me?” She saw in the corner of her eyes the Doctor throw a triumphant look to Rose and saw red. “And don’t you try and look all high and mighty, Mister!” He moved back in surprise and smacked his head on the wall on his hast to dodge her fury, making Rose smile ever so lightly.

“Do I have to remind you how broken you were?” Donna zeroed in on the Doctor next. “How without me you were ready to plunge into the freaking Thames? Martha had to leave that damned Time Machine because all you could see was Rose! And now she is here you are trying your damnedest to make her leave! Just because she is not the same as before? You shouldn't even care if she was a flipping alien or the pope, you have a second chance! Half the universe would sell their soul to have that chance. You have it for free, so be happy for the love of god!” When she finally stopped talking, she was met with a deafening silence. Rose and the Doctor were not even moving, their eyes intensely focused on their own hands. After a few seconds she realized that even the TARDIS had stopped making sound. It was like the time machine herself was holding her breath.

After a minute of Donna despairing for a reaction, any kind, it was the Doctor who finally moved. “She’s right…” he conceded, weariness written all over his face. “I was so busy searching for things that didn’t exist anymore, I didn’t see what was just in front of me...”

Rose looked up tentatively, crossing his gaze shyly. “And what is that?”

He took her hand in his and smiled. “A miracle.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 25

As the Doctor was smiling happily, his face finally opening up, Donna felt the tension in her shoulders melt away bit by bit. Sure they were just at the beginning, and they were still a long way from where she wanted them to be, but at least they were actually finally getting somewhere that wasn’t delving head first into tragedy.

“I was so sure I would never see you again,” continued the Doctor, not realizing the anxiety surrounding Donna a few centimeters away, as he was too focused on Rose Tyler. “That crossing over various dimensions would be impossible without breaking the web of time himself, especially with the Time Lords gone and forgotten.” He chuckled, his voice a little hoarse with the pain he was feeling inside. “But then you proved me wrong, once again.” His hand was squeezing hers almost painfully. “Only you could find a way to cross the void without killing yourself or destroying the other universes. Stubborn enough to think that the law of the universe did not apply to you. And I just… Completely forgot something when I saw you…” The last few words were no more than barely a whisper, almost like he was ashamed of them.

“Forget what?” Rose finally asked when the silence started to stretch uncomfortably thin.

“How miraculous it is.” The smile he sported could light up a room by itself. “I was certain to never see you again. That I would have to just stay with my memories and regret and now you are here. Really here. And Donna is right, I shouldn't care about the rest.”

“Finally,” Donna exclaimed with a sort of glee, relieved to see not everything had been lost. “But if you start waxing poetry, I’m leaving,” she added with strength. She loved them both, and was ready to forgive a lot of things for them, but even she had her limit. He stuck out his tongue at her, making Donna snicker but shake her head at the almost childish nature of the action.

“If it’s really a second chance like Donna said, we need to do it the right way.” Rose was reluctant to be the downer of the group, but she suffered enough as it is, and was not really keen on doing it again. “Because if we screw up, the universe will not be kind enough to give us a third chance.” She knew she was pretty gloomy at the moment, but decades of delusion had made her that way. She had finally been able to see the Doctor again, but she had lost everything else in the meantime. Fate was cruel that way.

The Doctor nodded with force. “Yes, you are right. Completely right even! More than right I would say. So right it’s almost wrong!” He suddenly stopped, frowning at what he just said. “Wait no, that’s not what I wanted to say…”

Donna patted his shoulder with an air of intense and familiar suffering on her face. “Sometimes I wonder if you listen to yourself…”

“Fat chance.” Smirked Rose as his false distressed face.

“Hahaha yes, mock the Time Lord” he sarcastically added, “you know the one with the Time Machine?”

Donna opened her mouth, a remark already on her lips when she realized what he was trying to do. “And I see an avoidance when I see one.” His guilty face was the only response she needed.

“Sorry…” The Doctor mumbled while squirming in his chair. He was visibly trying his best to divert the attention, but Donna was having none of it by the face she was making. “I got carried away.”

It took everything in Donna to not whack him across the head. “If I have to strap both of you to that couch to make you talk, I will not hesitate for one second. Just so you know,” she warned menacingly. “And I’m sure the TARDIS will help too.” The flashing lights above were response enough.

“The main issue here is not our lack of communication you know,” Rose finally said when she realised they were just going in circles, only rehashing the same argument again and again because they were just too stubborn to accept the truth. “We could talk for hours even! No, it’s just… we are in a completely different place right now. For me it’s been decades, I had time to heal and put the past behind me. I had a life. A career in UNIT. I’m not saying I’ve been happy but I’ve been content. For me this.” She pointed between the Doctor and herself. “Was just something I would remember with fondness and a hint of longing. Because I didn’t have the luxury to do otherwise. And now you are asking me to open everything again and make a leap of faith. But what if it doesn't work out? What if we are too damaged for everything? We are barely even friends at the moment.” The Doctor looked so hurt but she ignored it, trying to make them understand her point of view. “The people we once were, Doctor, the friends that dare I say may have loved each other are gone. They died at Canary Wharf, and I think you know that too. You cannot ask us to continue like none of that happened, because that would only be a recipe for disaster.”

He straightened on his chair, trying his best to not show how her words impacted him. “What are you asking of me?”

“Just see me, Doctor.” She could feel the tears pool in her eyes, but she knew it was too late to stop them now. “See the me that is standing in front of you. The one who was in UNIT for 32 years, and only had herself to rely on for decades. The Rose that bled and killed in battle because sometimes it’s the only way. I’ve matured and become less harsh and idealistic, but I’m still me at my core, just like you said when you changed your face. Do you remember that? You asked me to believe that the important parts of you were still there, even though you changed.” When the Doctor only looked down without saying anything, Rose continued, “I don’t ask you to like me right away, but I just ask for a chance to start over. I’ve missed my best friend, and I thought I would never see him again. And yes, I was okay with that, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t break my heart. I know I still need to give you time to heal. But if you don’t want to do that with me. That me, not the echo you still have in your head, you need to tell me.” She felt her voice broke a little bit at the last part but she could not help it. Now she had laid everything out, now it was in his hands.

He stayed silent for a moment, his eyes firmly looking at the ground. She knew she had to let him have the time to process, but she could not help her heart rate rising at his lack of response. “You are right…” he finally said, his face grave and serious. “I wanted to get back to something that didn’t exist anymore, just pick up from where we left off, and it was not fair of me to push those expectations on you. It’s just for me it’s been what? Three maybe four years?” He scoffed at the ridiculousness of the situation. “A drop of water for a Time Lord. So yeah it’s not easy, but I can’t continue to put you through that. It’s not healthy.” His face was smiling but his eyes were still full of sadness. “For you, Rose, I’ll try my best. But I cannot promise anything, not until I mean it completely. But…” He sighed, his hand passing through his hair untiringly. “You deserve at least that.”

“So...friends?” Rose knew perfectly she was in love with him. She had been since she was 19, but those feelings had been tamed, slightly softened by time and the distance. And that new love, more mature and somewhat more resilient, came with a clarity she had lacked when she was younger. She wanted them to have a chance, she would love nothing more, but they needed to do it the right way. And for that they had to start at the beginning. Again.

He hesitated for a second before taking her hand in his. “Well, Allons-y. What could go wrong?”

“Knowing us? Everything,” Rose enthused while giving a wide bright smile.

“See?” Donna interrupted, having done her best to not say anything until then. “This is what happens when everyone is speaking calmly and is willing to listen to the other. I should have put the fear of god in you since the beginning,” she mused realizing it would have made them gain a lot of time that way.

“Rassilion help us all,” the Doctor said with a straight face, making Rose snort beside him. As a response he waggled his eyebrows at her making her break out in a full out giggle.

After a moment of them looking stupidly at each other, friends my arse thought Donna; she cleared her throat, trying to remind them they were not the only ones in the room.

Rose had the decency of blushing a little bit. “Sorry…”

“By the way where did you run earlier?” Donna asked, relieved they had been able to really talk, and was still a little afraid of a surprise blow up.

“Oh that’s right!” He jumped upright, making the women jump back at his exuberance. “I completely forgot.” He rummaged for a few seconds in his pocket, mumbling things under his breath, before pulling something out triumphantly. It looked like a baseball ball, at the exception that it was emitting a blue light with a slight buzzing sound.

“What is that?” Rose finally asked when no explanation came after a moment.

“It’s from Tretnor, the most medically advanced planet in the universe. Well besides Gallifrey of course but…”

Donna poked at the ball with curiosity, making it buzz a bit more intensively each time she poked at it. “And it’s supposed to do what, exactly?”

The Doctor twitched back with a frown, pulling it out of her reach, making Donna scowl at him. “Well, this is one of those rather odd times where the sonic can’t tell me what I need to know. So, I have this to get the job done.”

“And how long is it gonna take?” Rose asked apprehensive at the thought he could be oh so closer to discovering the beast in her.

“Only a few minutes don’t worry. Don’t move a muscle.” And before she could even react, he started to shift the ball around her with an intense look of concentration on his face.

“How did you meet the Doctor by the way?” Rose finally asked Donna after a long moment of full silence from everyone, trying to not show how uncomfortable she was.

“Oh, he kidnapped me on my wedding day,” Donna answered in a flippant manner as she was serving herself a new cup of tea. “Real change of scenery, let me tell you.”

Rose jerked back in surprise, almost hitting the ball the Doctor was waving around a few centimeters away from her. The Doctor protested instantaneously when the ball glowed a flashing white in reaction. She had a contrite smile as a response, making him grumble to himself about the irregular result.

“I’m sorry what?” she addressed Donna still not sure she really heard her correctly. Did she really just say the Doctor kidnapped her on her wedding day? She knew he sometimes lacked in the social graces department at times, but that was a little extreme.

“I didn’t kidnap her, she basically appeared in the TARDIS. I had nothing to do with the location.” the Doctor said distractedly while looking bewildered as more and more data appeared on the ball, thus making Rose even more nervous as it kept doing it’s thing.

Donna rolled her eyes, that man was a little dense sometimes. “Same thing! I was getting married, and then I was in your TARDIS. Enough to give ideas to a woman.”

“So you’re married?” Rose was curious, and was also wondering if the husband was aware of his wife running around all time and space like that. She glanced rapidly to Donna’s hand but could not see any rings.

“No, he tried to sacrifice me to a giant spider bent on world domination or something, and in the process he got eaten - a bit of karmic justice.” Donna looked unbothered, but there was a hint of sadness that couldn’t be missed if you looked hard enough. She had loved Lance enough to want to get married to him. Even after all those years, knowing her feelings had never been reciprocated and she had been played...It was still a sore subject.

Rose blinked multiple times while processing that tidbit of information. “Uh… ok.” That was a first for her, she thought. A life with the Doctor was never boring it seemed, even in a horrific kind of way. “I’m...uh...Sorry for your loss?”

Donna shrugged, starting to drink her cup of tea before making a face when she realized it was cold. “It’s been a long time, don’t worry.”

“Ok, I have the results!” interrupted the Doctor with a sort of puzzled smile, making Rose freeze with tension.

“And?” Rose asked nervously, wondering if she would have enough time to reach the TARDIS door while grabbing a few things in her room.

He rubbed his neck, a straining smile on his face. “Well, no really good way to say this so...You’re linked to the TARDIS… In some kinda odd way.”

“What do you mean linked to the TARDIS?” Rose exclaimed while Donna stood and snatched the weird ball from the Doctor’s hand, ignoring his shout of protest.

“How is that possible?” Donna asked while looking at all the different data scrolling on the screen of the alien object. “I thought she was a machine? Yes, I know - she’s sentient, but still a machine!” She glanced suspiciously at the Doctor. “If that has any chance to happen to me…”

The Doctor suddenly looked alarmed, afraid she would smack him hard if he didn’t answer right now. “No, no! Zero chance! Well I mean zero, except if you plan to open the heart of the TARDIS, in that condition I would say more than a little bit of a chance. But you would have to cross over; then again and it would become kind of messy. So I don’t recommend…”

Rose shot up from her seat and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Doctor!” She interrupted him before she could lose him completely in his own words. “What is happening to me?!”

He was not meeting her eyes, a thing that worried her. “Nothing is happening with your DNA. You’re still human. Completely human I can assure you but…” He sighed, his whole body screaming reluctance. “When you opened the heart of the TARDIS, it opened a faint link between you and the TARDIS. Nothing major I assure you!” His smile was trying to be reassuring, but it was starting to have the opposite effect on Rose, who felt her panic rise by the second. “But I suppose it was so faint that when I took everything in you, it stayed behind somehow. And you could have lived your whole life without it doing anything else, if you didn’t cross over the void without proper protection.”

“What does that mean?” Rose was beyond confused now. Was she sharing her body with a form of the TARDIS? Was she starting to be one with her?

“That means when you started your jumps across the universe, the void opened the link with the TARDIS. It happened bit by bit in the beginning, and you wouldn’t have ever known. And I think if you hadn’t taken that final jump, it would have stayed that way and you would have lived a normal life, only much more healthy.” He took out his specs and put it on his nose, more as a gesture of comfort than need. “Maybe a little bit longer…But you said your last jump was not like the other?”

“Yes,” Rose’s answer was filled with confusion. “Those were more like cracks in the universe itself, and like I said the readings were all over the place. The original ones that we were seeing were invisible to the naked eye, but then new ones came in and those could be seen by anyone. And when we were crossing over it was more like an intense but brief rollercoaster, 5 to 10 seconds at best. A little bit of nausea and then you were fine. But on the last one, it felt like hitting a wall at full speed and I lost consciousness instantanely.”

He nodded, like he had been waiting for her to say that. “That’s what I thought. That last jump probably opened the link wide open, making the TARDIS take over. That’s why you are not aging, because your body is taking cues from the TARDIS, not your own genetics.”

“Does that mean she is part TARDIS now?” Donna asked who was looking at Rose with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.

He snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous. That’s not possible. Rose is human. The TARDIS is well...The TARDIS. The mix would kill Rose in a few days at best.”

“Hey!” Donna was outraged at his remark. “You’re the one that’s rambling on and on about the TARDIS being in Rose’s head!”

“No, what I mean is the TARDIS and Rose are somewhat linked. Rose is still human, but on an energetic level, the TARDIS is taking the lead. Ergo the DNA not decaying like it should.”

“Am I immortal or not?” Rose could feel herself relax, if the Doctor had detected even a hint of the Bad Wolf, he would have let her know by now.

He winced. “No, not really. With your energy linked like that to the TARDIS, you would probably live as long as her. When she dies, your link with her will dissolve instantly and your body will probably… well, it would give up soon after.” He had the decency to have an apologetic smile. “Sorry, no better way to say it.”

Rose took the alien artifact from Donna's hand and looked curiously at the reading, which was still making no sense to her. “And if I go back to the other universe for example?”

“Well… It’s just a theory, but I think with the TARDIS gone and the void between you, the link will snap and you will not support it.” He took back the ball from her hand. “Let me show you.” He clicked on something, and suddenly multiple lights were shown all around the room, making Donna gasp in amazement. “So do you see all the yellow light all around?”

Rose could only look around, stunned by the ballet of multicolored light around them. “Yes, yes I see.”

“It’s the TARDIS, it’s normal to see them around us, because we are basically inside her. The other colors are other different kinds of spectre, but I am not going to go there now.”

He pushed a few buttons and then turned it in Donna's direction, who took a step back, not really sure about what he was trying to do. She started to slowly glow in a few colors, mostly red and blue, with tiny bits of yellow in some places.

“See?” he continued, still in full teacher mode. “Almost no yellow. And that’s completely normal for a human.” He turned it again, this time on his own body. And to his friends' amazement, he started to glow with a lot more color, much more vibrant than Donna. A stream of intense yellow was circling inside him, taking a good part of the center of his body and some of the head. “I’m a Time Lord, so it’s completely normal for me to be that way. It’s what makes us well, us. The Time stream in one of the purest forms.”

“And me?” Rose asked not really sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

Without a word he clicked again on the alien artifact and within a few seconds, she could see a glow appear all around her. Donna gasped openly at her, making her nervous about what was appearing. “Wow, that's a lot of yellow,” she said in astonishment. “How can she have more than you?”

Rose looked around herself, but the different lights reflecting off her were blinding her and she could only decipher a few of them. “What do you mean?”

He took out his specs and scratched his chin, a thoughtful look on his face. “You have yellow light all around you, mostly on your upper body. I would say 30% more than me approximately.” He moved the ball around and made an interesting noise. “See those strains of faint light around her?” he asked Donna who squinted before nodding. “That’s the TARDIS. A basic manifestation of the link between them. The fact we can see it shows it’s pretty strong.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Donna said suddenly as if she were suddenly remembering something. “You told me once the TARDIS is made with Atron energy right?”

He smiled. “That’s a little basic but yeah, that’s the spirit.”

“So, if she has that much yellow inside her, why is her Atron energy level that low?” She turned to Rose with an apologetic smile. “No offence Rose but you look like a streetlight.”

Rose laughed at the comparaison, she was still a little shaken at the revelation but she was starting to come around. “No offense taken.”

“Yeah, that’s the only thing still a mystery,” the Doctor said while scratching his neck. “With that kind of reading, Rose should ooze Atron energy, especially if the TARDIS is changing her energy”

Rose had a good idea of why her energy level was so off. She was pretty sure it was linked to the part that was hiding inside her, but she didn’t want the Doctor to start snooping around. “Well how many times have you seen someone sharing a link with a TARDIS like this?” she asked, trying her best to nudge the Doctor’s thought path in another direction.

“Except for Time Lords? No one.” His eyes glanced upwards with a pensive glance. “Well not even them. We are psychically bound to our TARDIS because of our link with the Time Schism, so we do not need to go beyond that. Especially because it can be really dangerous. The Time Vortex in its purest form, like it is in the heart of the TARDIS, is really unpredictable at the best of times…” He turned to Rose, crossing his arms with annoyance. “It’s a wonder you were able to stay alive by the way. I don’t know if I ever told you that but what you did back then was incredibly dangerous. You could have died or worse never have existed.”

“I know,” Rose answered quietly. She had been ready to sacrifice her life if that would have meant a chance to save him. And she had never regretted her choice, not even once. She only regretted not being able to say goodbye. That’s the only thing she would have changed, having enough time to tell him how much he had changed her life and how much she had loved him. “But you were worth the risk. I couldn’t let you die, not without knowing I could do something… and i’ll do it again in a heartbeat.”

His face softened as he smiled. “I know…You tend to be stubborn.”

“Sorry to rain on everyone's parade,” Donna abruptly interrupted them, “but what is the risk of all that? I mean if she shares a link with the TARDIS, do we have to wait for side effects or something?” She shot an apologetic smile to Rose. “If you turn blue one morning I want to be prepared.”

Rose looked horrified at the idea and turned to the Doctor with alarm. “No, don’t worry,” he said with a calming voice. “If you were to suffer any side effects, they will not really be seen by the naked eye. More like on DNA or cellular level, and for the moment it doesn’t seem to be the case.” He seemed to ponder on something for a few seconds. “Oh wait yes… Do you plan on having children?” His smile was big but clearly fake, only adding anxiety for her.

“Not really no,” she answered tentatively, not really sure where to look. “I mean maybe once upon a time, but a lot has changed. Well except for Tony, but it has not been really my choice. And he is already an adult…” She shrugged. “Wait why?”

The Doctor winced, his hand scrubbing the back of his head almost obsessively. “Well, as we've discovered, you and the Tardis share a link. So, we need to consider the probability of further impact on your body."

"what do you mean?" Rose got a little apprehensive at the way he was wording it. What exactly was he getting at?

"The atron energy around you going forward, plus your cellular levels are practically stagnant, unless they happen to mutate as this link grows stronger at some point in the future." The Doctor paused to consider how to drop the bomb on her. He sighed and figured that he might as well just say it. "Rose, there is a chance that you may never have a child in the natural way, should you want one someday."

“Oh…” That was the only word she could get out as she fell heavily onto the sofa.

“Are you okay?” Donna asked as she sat down next to her. That was a lot for someone to take in, and while Donna wasn’t entirely sure Rose’s feelings on the matter, she was ready to be the shoulder to cry on if needed.

Rose gave a humorless laugh. “I’m suddenly really happy my mom is in another dimension.” She turned to the Doctor as he sat down near her. “She would have killed you, you know?” The smile was little but genuine. Her gaze finally wandered to the ceiling, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

He snorted at the image. “Knowing Jackie? No doubt.” After a second, he took her hand in his, tugging her until she was looking at him. “I’m sorry Rose, if I could change it I would but…”

She pressed her free hand to his lips, making him stop almost instantly. “Not everything that is happening is your fault. I opened the heart of the TARDIS, knowing full well it was dangerous. And even if I knew back then, I would have still opened it and did what I did. If I really want children in the future, besides Tony I mean, I will adopt okay?”

He nodded, but before he could do anything else Donna yawned loudly, making them both turn their heads.

“Sorry, I’m knackered,” she said visibly tired. “I think I’m going to take a shower, and go to bed.” As she stood up, she turned around, looking at them with suspicion. “I swear on everything that if as soon as I’m gone you start to bicker again, I will put you both in a cupboard and lose the key.” And before they had time to react, she turned around and left the room, closing the door behind her.

After a few seconds of shock, Rose turned to the Doctor with wide eyes. “Sometimes she’s really scary,” she said with a laugh.

“I heard that!” Donna yelled from the hallway, making Rose and the Doctor laugh.

“That’s Donna for you,” he said with fondness. “I have no idea what I would do without her.”

She placed her head on his shoulder and sighed in contentment. “I’m happy you found each other.”

He placed his arm around her shoulder, making sure she was comfortable. “Me too.”

They stayed that way for a long moment, just happy to be in each other’s company, the silence stretching out as the light dimmed around them. As Rose felt herself melt more and more into the Doctor, her eyes slowly closing, she realized if she stayed that way she would simply fall asleep on him and probably not move for the rest of the night. She reluctantly moved away from him, extracting a protesting sound from the Doctor who was just happy being where he was.

“Sorry,” she said with a grimace, stretching her back at the same time, making it pop. “I need to move before I fall asleep.” She took a few steps and turned around, beaming at him with joy. “So, see you in the morning?”

“Bright and early!” he responded with happiness, almost bouncing on himself.

She laughed and took a few steps, almost crossing the doorstep. She seemed to hesitate for a second before turning around. “Doctor?” Her voice was small but strong. “I’m really happy we are friends again.” Then with one last smile, she closed the door. As the click resonated in the empty room, the Doctor realized he was now alone. After a few seconds, he took out his sonic and pointed it to the ceiling, making the light switch off completely, plunging the room in a complete darkness.

“‘Hear my soul speak,’” He murmured to no one in particular, “‘of the very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly at your service.’” He sighed as he looked to the ceiling. “Shakespeare had always spoken the truth. Right old girl?” He sat up, dusted himself and gathered the tea set that was scattered around the coffee table. “Friends…” he continued, still speaking to himself, a hint of sadness creeping out of his voice. “Yes, friends…”

Chapter Text

Chapter 26

When Donna entered the kitchen the next morning, the Doctor was already up, sitting cross legged on the counter, and deeply entrenched into the dismantling of the toaster. Probably for the fifth time this month she noted, not phased by the Time lord perched on the furniture. At least he wasn’t on top of the fridge for once.

He raised his head as he heard her and smiled. “Good morning Donna! Did you sleep well?” he asked, already back to what he was doing.

She yawned. She had never really been a morning person, and living in the TARDIS was not really helping overcome it. “Yes, like a log… And you, did you get a decent amount of sleep at least?” It was the same question she asked every few days, knowing already the answer.

He grunted as a spark flew directly into his nose. “Nah! I slept a few hours, two...” He looked in the distance for a second, his eyebrows frowning. “No wait… Three weeks ago. I’m good for at least another few days.”

She snorted as she took one of the cups from the dishwasher. “That’s what you said two months ago, and who had to drag you on to a bench because you were fast asleep under the grating of the TARDIS?” The look she sent him as she took out the crumpet from the cupboard was less than friendly. “Oh yeah, that was me.”

He looked offended for a second, before throwing what she supposed to be a screw, missing her by a good margin. “I’m taking you all over the universe, all of time and space at your disposal, and that’s how you thank me?” he whinged dramatically while waving the sonic around, making one of the lamp bulbs fizzle by mistake.

She sat down, smiling into her cup of tea. “First of all, she is the one who is showing us around,” she said while pointing at one of the walls. “And secondly, I’m the one putting up with you. I mean who’s the one who’s taking apart all of our appliances when he’s bored?”

He shrugged, a mischievous smile on his face. “I’m improving them. There’s a big difference.”

Donna raised an eyebrow. “The last time I tried to use the microwave, it froze my soup solid instead of heating it up.”

“And you are welcome, by the way!” he called out while brandishing the half disassembled toaster like Simba in the Lion King, making Donna once again question his sanity. A normal morning for them in short. “Now you can have hot and cold food in one sitting!”

“I will give you hot and cold. You’ll see…” she grumbled. Fortunately, the TARDIS had taken care of everything, and her crumpets were still toasted to perfection. “By the way,” she finally asked after a few minutes of relative silence. “Rose is not up yet?”

“Rose up yet?” He started to laugh, visibly very amused at her question. “It’s what? Not even ten? If you think you’re not a morning person, wait until you see Rose.” He continued to chuckle while amusing himself with the image.

“That much?” Donna asked, not sure if she was supposed to be impressed or not at the idea.

“Well, once she hurled a solid Krilik vase at Jack’s head because he dared to wake her up too many times in a row before 6am.” The smile on his face was full of pride. “It was very impressive, let me tell you.” When he realized she was still not understanding he added. “That thing easily weighed 20 pounds.”

“Oh.” She said, effectively impressed. “Well understandable.”

“Also I’m pretty sure if she didn’t drink her tea and have at least 15 minutes of headspace after that, the whole Roman army could do a conga line in the kitchen, and she wouldn’t even realize it. One time I dyed myself purple by accident, long story...” he added before she could open her mouth. “And she didn’t even see it until her second cup of tea.”

Donna almost spilled the tea she was drinking, coughing as she laughed at the image. The Doctor himself was giggling, remembering the face Rose had made when she realized.

“What’s so funny?” asked Rose as she entered the kitchen with a smile, before stopping suddenly as she noticed where the Doctor was perched. “And why on earth are you on the counter?” she demanded with incredulity.

“He’s improving the toaster,” Donna replied in a way that was part matter of fact and part sarcasm, still smiling from the anecdote of the Doctor.

Rose rolled her eyes as she opened one of the cupboards. “Why am I asking...” she mumbled before frowning as it revealed to be the concealed dishwasher. She turned around, leaning on the sink. “Any idea where the coffee maker is?”

“Try the one above the trash can.” Donna pointed to the cupboard in question. “Things will generally end up in there, no idea why though.”

Rose made a happy sound as she finally found what she was searching for, as well as some coffee beans. “The TARDIS likes to be cheeky.” She smiled. “Slept well?”

“Like a log, you?” Donna replied.

Rose turned her head back to the coffee preparation with her hands full. “Like a baby! I really missed the sound the TARDIS makes during the night. It’s very soothing.” As she opened the fridge to take out the orange juice, she noticed that the Doctor had still not moved, looking at her with wide eyes and a shocked face. “Are you okay?” she finally asked, a little unnerved by his behavior, or rather lack of it.

“Don’t mind him. I think you broke his brain by being awake at this hour…” Donna added while rolling her eyes. That man was sometimes more dramatic than a Victorian woman.

Rose frowned for a second before her eyebrows shot up to her hairline, suddenly remembering something. “Oh right! I was not a morning person when I was travelling with you eh?” She was vaguely embarrassed about her past self incapacity of being really up before eleven.

The Doctor nodded still a little taken aback. “That’s a way of saying it.” He seemed to ponder on something for a second before jumping off of the kitchen worktop, letting the half disassembled toaster to fall awkwardly on the counter. “I mean, I still vividly remember you threatening me with murder if I continued to talk to you before you finished your breakfast.”

Rose flushed a deep crimson, trying her best to disappear from behind her mug, while Donna laughed so hard she almost fell from her chair. “Sorry…” she mumbled with an embarrassed smile.

He sat down beside her, curiosity all over his face. “What changed?”

“I think it started when I was still on the other side.” She shrugged. “I mean helping with the baby, then my degree and after that the issue with the disappearing stars. It was not really helping me sleep. It started to get better here, especially when I realized I could do nothing but wait for the years to pass.”

“And then?” Asked Donna, with great interest.

“Well, I enlisted in UNIT under the order of brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart!” She chuckled at the memories. It had not been the easiest time, but the face of her training officer when she had ‘forgotten’ to wake up the first morning had been memorable. The hundred sit ups that followed in punishment were too, but for not the same reason. “Let me tell you, you learn to be a morning person right away.” She brandished her mug of coffee with amusement. “That’s mostly why I learned to like coffee. It was either that or be like death warmed over for half a day. Everyday.” She had a warm smile as she sipped her drink, her head full of memories.

“What did you do in UNIT by the way?” inquired Donna with curiosity. The UNIT she saw during their adventure had not been the most joyous bunch in the world, far from it, and she could not help but ponder about how Rose had fit into all of that.

Rose was still smiling as she finished the last of her coffee. “Well I stayed for a few years in UNIT HQ in Denham, mostly dealing with alien incidents and analyzing data or technology. Not very glamorous but really interesting. Then I was sent to the Lake Windermere base to lead my first team.” Her smile grew as she remembered her years there. It had to possibly be the most fun she ever had at UNIT. For the first time she had been surrounded by science geeks all around who didn’t care she was a woman, just someone who appreciated science like they did, it had been really peaceful. “We were mostly doing research on alien technology to find if it could benefit the medical field. With a few missions in between. I stayed there until…” She frowned for a second, trying to remember how many years it has been. “1986 I think? No wait ‘87. A month after I was born.”

The Doctor made a face as Donna smirked. “Ah time travel, never a dull day with you,” she said with humor.

“You could say that,” added Rose while laughing. “So, when the people higher up the command chain finally realized that I wasn’t really aging, and combined with the fact I was now ‘officially born’ so to speak, I put in place the Black Operation with other ‘special’ operatives. We basically travelled all over the world to resolve alien incidents and put a stop to any random invasions that took place.”

“Cool!” exclaimed Donna with genuine delight. “So that’s what you were at there with the Sataria?”

“Sontaran…” said the Doctor in a tone of voice, showing it was really not the first time that he had to correct that particular mistake.

“Bless you,” Donna responded automatically while still focused on Rose. The face that the Doctor made behind Donna was so comical, that Rose almost choked on her spit.

She rolled her eyes, remembering where she had been before all her plan got thrown out of the window. “No believe it or not, I was on down time.”

The Doctor seemed skeptical. “In the middle of an invasion?”

“No, no I was on the Valliant. I was supposed to be there for two weeks in fact, taking part of the science team. But then we heard about the ATMOS incident and decided to join the fun. The rest is history.”

Donna nodded, deep in through. “So you tell me you basically travelled all over the world to stop alien invasions, to the point you are also doing it in your spare time?” She turned to the Doctor with a wicked smile. “Do you realise she is you in human form? She even has the absurd longevity down pat.”

He spluttered, almost knocking over the canister in his haste to defend himself and his species. He immediately launched into a monologue about the universe and the childishness of the human race, making Rose and Donna roll their eyes with a synchronicity only born from long known suffering. The Doctor could be so predictable at times, it was almost too easy.

“You said you moved around when you were finally born, but how did you stop the temptation to bump into someone you knew during all those years?” Donna asked while the Doctor was still rambling in the background, not realizing that nobody was really listening. Rose was like a more open version of the Doctor and Donna was extremely curious to learn more and suss out the differences between them.

Rose shrugged, she had asked herself the same question hundreds of times. “Preservation. I saw what happens if you mess with the established law of the universe, and it’s not pretty. I won’t say it wasn’t easy. There were times I would have given everything to see my mom one last time, but seeing her would only remind me what’s lost. Like I said yesterday, it would only open old wounds. And if I did go see her again, what stops me from doing it again and again?” She felt the crack in her voice and her smile faltered.

“I’m sorry…” Donna replied while regretting asking the question in the first place. Rose was maybe more open than her best friend, but the sadness was still simering under her skin and poking at it had only opened something that was better left behind. After a few seconds of silence, the Doctor took Rose's hand, his eyes sad and deep. The understanding of a world and life lost to them. A sadness and sorrow that would never totally leave, only subdue with time and care.

He opened his mouth, ready to say something, but he suddenly frowned and jumped out of his chair, making Donna curse and drop her mug in surprise. After a few seconds rummaging deep into his pocket, he took out his psychic paper and opened it with eagerness. “I have a message!” he exclaimed with joy. “I never have a message!” He said to no one in particular, visibly delighted by the news.

“By whom?” Rose asked as Donna, who was still grumbling, started to mop up the tea that had splashed everywhere.

“I have no idea!” He continued, smiling like a madman, pacing all around the kitchen with visible glee.

“Why do we bother? I wonder…” Donna whispered, making Rose chuckle. “And what is written?” she asked at more normal volume while trying to contain the overly excitable Doctor.

He put down the paper with force and pointed to it with a smile. “The Library. Come as soon as you can. X,” he said out loud.

“That kiss was necessary?” asked Donna as Rose peaked at the paper with curiosity.

“Maybe that’s an initial?” He wondered aloud, putting it back into his breast pocket, trying to not comment on the face that Donna was making.

“I have two questions,” interrupted Rose. “First, where is this library? It’s really vague… And second, when are we supposed to go there? That person just asked to come as soon as you can, but that can be anywhen from today until like 5 billions years in the future.”

“Can you ask them?” Donna perked up.

The Doctor straightened up, his face becoming suddenly serious. “No, the probability needed to calculate the input would be too great, and the time vortex would make it too unstable to find a secure channel without interference…”

“You don’t know how because you don’t know the return number,” Rose countered with a grin.

He deflated and scratched his neck with an embarrassed smile. “Pretty much, but... The good news is that I do know where the library is! It’s not a library, it’s THE library. It's a world. Literally, an entire world. The whole core of the planet is the index computer. Biggest hard drive ever. You both will love it!” His enthusiasm was so intense, they could not help but be excited a little bit at the idea.

“Ok let’s go,” Donna said with a false bravado, as the Doctor jumped around in excitation, babbling about books and adventures. She had hoped for a quiet day, and maybe a bath in the afternoon, but it was clearly too much to ask while living in the TARDIS. As the Doctor ran out of the kitchen, something about preparing the coordinates, she turned to Rose. “What could go wrong?” she asked with a smile.

Rose snorted as she tried to push the half disassembled toaster in one of the drawers. “Famous last words…” she said, half joking half serious, making Donna giggle at the face she was making.

The redhead was already at the door when she turned around and grinned wickedly. “Last one at the wardrobe has to make dinner!” And before Rose could utter another word, she closed the door on her, making the young woman scream in protest. It was going to be a good day though. It has to.

-------

A few hours later, with a beligerous Rose protesting about Donna cheating and a very confused Doctor, they finally stepped out of the TARDIS, directly into what seemed to be a very empty room with only a few rows of books.

Rose looked around curiously, her previous outburst already forgotten. “Are you sure we’re at The Library? Looks more like the British museum entrance on a monday morning,” she asked with a little bit of disappointment creeping in. With what the Doctor had said about the planet, she had hoped for something a little more… magical.

“I have to say it’s very posh, but not that outlandish. Is it closed?” Donna was looking at the ceiling with a frown. The light was very low and everything was pretty bare, a far cry from the tale the Doctor had said about it.

The Doctor’s shoulder slumped a little bit at their initial reaction to the place, but he perked right up a few moments after, his smile never leaving his face. “It’s just the reading area, the books are this way.” He walked at a brisk path, opening a double door which gave way to an outlandish marble staircase.

“That’s more like it!” Donna exclaimed as they continued on their way. “But it’s still too dark. Not exactly practical for reading.”

“When are we by the way?” asked Rose as she examined one of the paintings on the wall.

“Fifty first century,” he answered with joy as they passed a few rows of books. “I let the TARDIS choose the date,” he continued before they could say anything, making them smile smugly.

After a few minutes of walking in different corridors, with the Doctor lecturing them on the different literature around the place and the human habit of this century, they finally stopped on a balcony who overlooked an infinity of books below.

“Wow.” Rose amazed and perhaps awed by the view. She had wanted to ask why so many books were lingering around when they walked those corridors, as if someone had left in a hurry, but she realized it was more likely the aesthetic of the place. An immensitude of possibilities scattered in a world just for it.

The Doctor smiled brightly. “I know right?” He suddenly put his finger in his mouth then in the air, making an appalled Rose almost lose her footing as she tried to step away from him. “We're near the equator,” He shouted out unintentionally at Donna, who jumped at his antics. “So this must be biographies. I love biographies!” They exchanged a look behind him, realizing that whatever will happen today they will most probably have to pry the Doctor away from this place. By force if needed.

“Yeah, very you. Always a death at the end.” Deadpanned Donna as he picked up a book from one of the piles. Rose had wandered away, poking at one of the information screens, which stubbornly refused to turn on.

“You need a good death,” he said distracted as he turned a few pages. “Without death, there'd only be comedies. Dying gives us size.” He closed the book energetically when he realized that Donna was reading above his shoulder. “Wouah, spoiler!” he pointedly warned, scandalised at her apparent curiosity.

Rose turned slightly, looking at them with bemusement. “What?”

“I think he’s gone crazy,” Donna complained while he pushed her away from the books, making sure she was not touching anything with words in it.

“These books are from your future,” he explained passionately. “You don't want to read ahead. Spoil all the surprises. Like peeking at the end.”

Donna rolled her eyes at his argument, making Rose look at the ceiling so she would not laugh in response. “You realize that travelling with you is by definition a spoiler right?” the red head shot back with a roll of her eyes. The face he made was picture perfect for innocence, making her sigh in despair. “Rose, tell him...”

Rose smirked as she continued to probe around the pillar that served as a touch screen. “I almost died five billions years in the future, because you wanted me to see the Earth explode as a first date. Your whole life is a spoiler, Doctor.”

“Well, I try to keep you away from major plot developments,” he answered with as much certainty as he could muster. Which was obviously not much with the face that Donna was making. “But, to be honest, I seem to be very bad at it…” he finally acknowledged when Rose sent him a sceptical look. But before anyone had time to respond, he suddenly frowned and took out his sonic screwdriver, pointing it in multiple directions.

“What’s happening?” Donna asked with a suspicious glance around. Better be ready with that man she thought.

“We are in the biggest library in the universe, and do you hear it?”

Rose closed her eyes and tried to focus on the ambient noise, trying to decipher what the Doctor was hearing. But even with her full concentration, she failed to hear anything except for her own breathing and Donna moving around. “No, it’s silent for me,” she would admit to the group. He always had much better hearing than her, and isolating strange noise had never been her forte.

He nodded, like he was awaiting that response. “Exactly, it’s silent. Complete and total silence all around.”

“So?” Donna asked as he started to use his sonic on the touchscreen near Rose, bringing it online in a few seconds, making Rose grumble under her breath about the screens. “It’s a library. It’s supposed to be silent, no?”

He touched a few things, bringing multiple information up onto the screen before sighing. “Yeah, but we should still hear people walking around. Turning pages while they read. Basically living their lives. I mean, do you see anyone?” he asked, more as a rhetoric than anything else.

Rose shrugged. “Not really. But we are actually pretty high up here, so that doesn’t mean anything… Do you think we are in trouble?”

“Knowing us?” answered Donna with a short laugh. “Most probably!”

“Not sure yet but…” He brutally stopped and straightened up with a surprised face. “Oh now that's interesting.”

“What?” Said Rose and Donna at the same time.

“I'm scanning for lifeforms.” He shuffled aside, giving enough space to them to see what he was doing and what was appearing on the screen. “If I do a scan looking for your basic humanoids. You know, your book readers, few limbs and a face, apart from us, I get nothing. Zippo, nada. See? Nobody home.” Effectively the screen was showing that except for them, nobody seemed to be there. Even if the scan was configured on the whole planet. “But if I widen the parameters to any kind of life.” He typed a few more things and after a few seconds an error message appeared.

“Did he really say millions?” Rose asked in doubt while looking around dubiously, like she was waiting to see something come out of the wall. Would not be the first time.

He nodded, a grave expression on his face. “A million, million… Gives up after that.”

Donna tapped on the screen, like if she did it enough time it would change the result. “But there's nothing here. There's no one.” She exchanged a look with the Doctor, who had not moved an inch. “Right?”

“Well, you hear it. Not a sound. A million, million life forms, and silence in the library.”

“Should we go back to the TARDIS?” Rose asked while glancing around again, feeling really creeped out by the situation. She loved a good book, but she was drawing the line at a haunted library.

“Do you think it’s the book?” Donna continued with a hint of fear in her voice. “I mean, books can't be alive, agree?”

The Doctor scratched his neck, clearly not knowing how to respond to either of them. But before he could find a response, a voice welcomed them, resonating in the empty hall, making them all jump out of their skin.

They looked at each other with frightened eyes before they realized it came from where the TARDIS appeared. After a few seconds of silence, they fell into a fit of nervous giggles, breaking the tension that had started to build.

“That came from over here,” Donna said, already walking in the direction of the sound, closely followed by the Doctor, who was almost bouncing with excitation.

Rose paused for a minute, hoping they would stop a moment to reflect on what they were supposed to do, but they were already well on their way to cross the whole corridor, forcing her to follow them at a brisk path. “Here we go again…” She sighed with resignation. A creepy library, invisible life form and an ominous message? What could go wrong as Donna said?

Chapter Text

Chapter 27

As they returned to the mostly empty room, one of the sculptures near a curved desk started to turn around, slowly revealing a vaguely humanoid face on its peak. The Doctor perked up at the sign, like he had waited for something like that to appear and increased his steps with an obvious bounce to it. Donna was not far behind, smiling brightly as she was looking around with bright eyes. Rose for her part, choose to stay close to the TARDIS. Since the revelation that they were all alone on that planet, she couldn’t help but have the feeling that the Doctor was hiding something, and she prefered to be ready when everything started to go down.

As soon as the two of them were close enough, the face started to smile, a very convincing expression of joy illuminating her features, making Donna slow down a bit. She looked over to Rose, who’s nervousness was visible from her spot, and decided that her friend had probably had the best idea after all. She took a few steps back, letting the Doctor, who seemed not bothered one bit by this weird phenomena take the lead. When he was finally close enough to it, the mouth on the carved face opened, letting out a slightly robotic female voice.

“I am Courtesy Node seven one zero slash aqua,” the face said in a monotone. “Please enjoy the Library, and respect the personal access codes of all your fellow readers, regardless of species or hygiene taboo.”

Donna, somewhat fascinated by the technology displayed here, stepped closer to it, her hand moving like she wanted to touch it but stopped at the last moment. “That face, it looks real,” she said to no one in particular, her voice wavered nervously on the last word.

“Creepily real…” Rose agreed, still remaining a few meters behind. She shivered at the silent stare from the statue and looked around apprehensively. With their luck, that library was REALLY haunted.

The Doctor, not really realizing how much his friends were starting to freak out, put a hand on Donna's shoulder with a forced smile, trying to pull her away from the desk. “Yeah, don't worry about it”

But she was not letting it go, shoving his hand with a swift movement. “A statue with a real face, though?” She turned to Rose, who was still doing her best to keep her distance. “Do you think it’s an hologram?”

“I prefer not to think about it at all,” she responded, with a forced laugh. “Can we get going now?” she asked the Doctor.

But before he could respond, the Node spoke again, making Rose jump once again. She was definitely not a fan of that thing, way too lifelike. “Additional. There follows a brief message from the Head Librarian for your urgent attention.” It took a brief pause, her almost lifelike eyes locked in the Doctor direction, not bothered by Rose’s response. “It has been edited for tone and content by a Felman Lux Automated Decency Filter. Message follows: Run. For God's sake, run. No way is safe. The library has sealed itself, we can't... Oh, they're here. Argh. Slarg. Snick. Message ends. Please switch off your mobile comm units for the comfort of other readers.”

An eerie silence hovered around them as they looked nervously at each other. “So that's why we're here,” said the Doctor in the women’s direction before turning again to the statue. “Any other messages, same date stamp?” he asked hopefully, hoping to gain any hint on what happened here and why they were asked to come.

Courtesy Node blinked. “One additional message. This message carries a Felman Lux coherency warning of five zero eleven…”

He made an impatient gesture, not really in the mood to listen to all the disclaimer.“ Yeah, yeah, fine, fine, fine. Just play it.”

The face somewhat nodded, like he had understood what the Doctor had said. “Message follows: Count the shadows. For God's sake, remember, if you want to live, count the shadows. Message ends.”

Rose had already been ready to bolt to the TARDIS before, but now she was ready to run at the first inkling from the Doctor. “What does that mean?” she asked instantly, as Donna moved closer to her. She was obviously not the only anxious one.

His face was grave and serious, his sonic screwdriver firmly planted in his hand. “That means stay out of the shadows.”

Donna looked around with a worried look. “Why, what's in the shadows?”

But he didn’t respond and turned around, wordlessly walking back to where they came from, his face furrowed and pensive. Donna, and Rose, who didn’t want to stay alone with the Node, followed him, not really sure how to respond to his sudden moodiness. They stayed silent a moment, with only the sound of their steps echoing around the empty hall to break the quietness. But as they got down one of the impressive stairs, Rose could not stay silent any longer.

“Okay, what is happening?” she finally asked, not really keen to lengthen the oppressive atmosphere any longer. She had been all for the trip, a planet made of books? Count her in. But now it was starting to morph more and more into a horror movie, and she was not ready to take out the role of the blonde who died stupidly at the beginning, thank you very much.

He sighed, his eyes looking tired and worn out. “I’m not really sure, but I’m sure it’s nothing good.”

“That does sound very ominous!” Donna joked while trying her best to lighten the mood that a definitely took a turn for the worse in the last ten minutes.

They had stopped at the floor dedicated to the great explorer, and Rose would have been delighted if not for the fact they were completely alone, and that the Doctor was clearly keeping things from them. “And still no idea who it came from I suppose?”

“Nope,” he replied while looking around with a visible air of curiosity, his hands firmly in his pocket with a relaxed posture. The very image of tranquility. However Rose was not fooled, and she was confident that Donna, who stared at him with a dubious look on her face, was not buying it either. He continued to walk for a few seconds before realizing that his two friends had stopped, their arms crossed and a mullish expression on their faces. “What?” he finally asked when he realized they were not budging. But as he said the word, the lights behind them flickered and turned off one by one, submerging the path they came from into full darkness.

Without a second thought he lunged at them and grabbed their hands, realizing that by the time they noticed what was happening, it would be way too late for everyone. They had a look of surprise on their face, but they had no time to express any interrogation as he pulled them with force, driving them to move. “Run!” he screamed before taking off in the opposite direction, making sure that they were right behind him.

“What’s happening?” Rose shouted as she did her best to keep the rhythm of the Doctor and Donna. Once again, she made a mental note to increase her cardio in the near future. She really had grown complacent in the last few years…

He took a brisk turn to the right, as the left was plunged in full darkness. “Not the time to explain!” he yelled back, pushing Donna in front of him, who almost tripped as a result. But fortunately, as the darkness was gaining on them, there was a door only a few meters away from them. He was the first one to reach it, but as he tried to open it, the door refused to budge.

Donna was not far behind, soon followed by Rose. “What?! It’s locked?” she asked while trying to catch her breath when she saw the Doctor fight with the door.

“Jammed,” he grunted. “The wood's warped.” He even tried to push against it, but the door wouldn’t move a centimeter. He rammed his shoulder in it for good measure but still nothing, they were stuck.

“Doctor, use your sonic!” Rose urged as she looked nervously to the blackness rapidly approaching.

His tense smile was enough of a response for her. “It's wood...” He had at least the decency to blush a little bit.

“You mean in three years you didn’t think about upgrading the sonic?” To say Rose was outraged was putting it mildly. She had told him million of times to add the feature, and now they will probably suffer a horrible death just because he’s too stubborn to listen to a word she said. And she wouldn’t even have the pleasure to know what she died from. “I swear if I die today, I’m coming back just to haunt you!” her response full of infuriation.

He turned around, the door completely forgotten. “Excuse you? How can you…!” He started with outrage all over his face, but before he could continue, he was brutally shoved aside by Donna.

“For the love of God… You two stay back!” Donna called out before swiftly kicking the door open wide in one movement. The Doctor didn’t wait one second more, pushing them inside as the darkness closed on them, making Rose nearly collide with a column as she stumbled inside. Donna held it closed as the Doctor took a book and squeezed it against the door handle, making sure the door would stay close.

“Oh. Hello,” he said as he turned around and noted the security camera that was hovering around. “Sorry to burst in on you like this. Okay if we stop here for a bit?” But the globe only switched itself off as a response, falling to the ground.

“What that thing?” Donna asked while helping Rose dust herself off, as she looked around the richly decorated room.

“More importantly, where did you learn to burst doors like that?” Rose had been so pissed off at the Doctor, she had literally forgotten all of her training. But she was very impressed with Donna's skills. If one day she wanted to stop travelling with the Doctor, Rose would definitely urge UNIT to recruit her.

“Yeah well, you know, boyfriends,” Donna replied with an embarrassed smile. “Sometimes you need the element of surprise.”

“Remind me to take classes with you.” Rose laughed as she sat down in one of the chairs, trying her best to regain her breath and composure.

“Wherever you want!” Donna joked before turning to the Doctor. “What was after us? I mean, did we really just run away from a power outage?” she asked bewildered that it was even a possibility in her life now. Killed by an angry lightbulb.

“Possibly…” the Doctor replied distractedly, his attention fully on the security camera.

Rose stood up, sliding just behind the Doctor trying to understand what he was doing. “Find anything?” she asked when he didn’t move an inch, his brow deeply furrowed.

“Gotcha!” He said, startling her as he suddenly stood straight on his feet, missing her by only a few centimeters. “I found the neuro center!” He took the camera and showed them a little panel on its side with different sentences scrolling down. But as they were reading what was on the screen, the Doctor's shoulder slumped.
“Ooo, I'm sorry. I really am,” he said with a sad voice to the camera. Touching it gently, as Donna and Rose looked at each other with surprise. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…” He turned to them with a sad smile when he realized they didn’t understand. “It's alive.”

“You said it was a security camera,” Donna asked, understanding less and less by the minute.

“Well…” the Doctor started, but was cut out by Rose who took the camera from his hands with a frown. “What does it mean by ‘The library is breached. Others are coming.’?” she asked.

Donna was starting to feel really disgruntled at everything with the lack of response from basically anything since they came to this place. And right now? She would give anything to get back to the TARDIS. Maybe at least then she would understand something. “Others? What's it mean, others?” But neither the Doctor or Rose replied. She turned to one of the Nodes she saw while entering. “Excuse me. What does it mean, others?” She asked the machine, hoping it would give her something, even if the face made her want to turn away. But the head was motionless.

The Doctor shrugged, putting the camera back on the ground now that it was of no interest. “That's barely more than a speak your weight machine, it can't help you.”

“So why's it got a face?” she asked out loud, wondering why every interface looked straight out of a horror movie in this century.

“This flesh aspect was donated by Mark Chambers on the occasion of his death,” the Node responded instantly with a bright and happy smile towards Donna, who jumped back in pure shock.

She turned around, facing the Doctor and Rose, who had turned white as a sheet at the revelation. “This is a real face?” Horror would not even begin to cover what she was feeling right now. The Doctor only shrugged, obviously finding it completely normal. The fact that he didn’t even seem bothered at all was completely mind blowing to her. But she didn’t have time to ponder more on the question as Mark’s face spoke again.

“It has been actualised individually for you from the many facial aspects saved to our extensive flesh banks,” he continued, the robotized voice still converting joy and delight. “Please enjoy.”

“I think I’m going to be sick…” Rose whispered as the remaining color in her face drained. In the next second, the Doctor was near her, anxiety bleeding out of him like a beacon. His hands hovering around her shoulder, wavering like he didn’t want to startle or spook her.

“Hey it’s okay. In this century it’s like donating a park bench.” He smiled, hopeful and bright. Trying his best to cheer her up. But she only looked more consterned, suddenly alarmed to cross donated body parts all around the place.

Donna raised her arms to the ceiling, rolling her eyes at his stupidity. No wonder he was getting nowhere with her. This man is an idiot. An idiot in love, but an idiot still the same. “Oh my god, Doctor! It’s donating a face, not your discarded couch!”

He raised his head, clearly annoyed by her interruption but his eyes suddenly went wide. “Donna, stay back!”

She jumped instantly, turning around, almost waiting to see the Node coming to life or something. “What? What’s happening?” she demanded when she couldn’t see anything. Well, not anything that was not here two minutes before.

He pointed to where she was approximately a few seconds before. “Count the shadows.”

She squinted, only seeing the triangular shadow and nothing else. “One. There, counted it. One shadow,” she said, giving up on what the Doctor was trying to show her.

Rose frowned as she realized what was happening. “Wait, what’s casting it? There isn’t light coming from above.”

He smacked himself in the head, making Rose look at him with surprise. “Oh, I'm thick!” He started pacing back and forth in front of them, moving away from now an amused Rose. But the more he was turning around, the more it was making her dizzy. “Look at me, I'm old and thick. Head's too full of stuff.” He ran his hands through his hair, appearing like someone had thrown a firecracker into it. “I need a bigger head.”

Donna snickered at the image. “Bigger and you wouldn’t make it through the door,” she joked, making him stick out his tongue in response. But the fun was short lived as the light suddenly dimmed around them. The adjoining corridor was now even completely black.

Rose gestured to them to come closer, not liking one bit, what was happening around them. “I don’t like this.” She turned to the Doctor who was now back at her side. “I think we should go back to the TARDIS and see what is happening.”

“The power must be going,” Donna said hopefully. But the look on the Doctor’s face was anything but reassuring.

“Donna, this place runs on fission cells. They'll outburn the sun,” he said patiently, already pushing her in the direction of the only corridor which was still lit up, at least for the moment. Rose was looking around, trying to find anything that could look like a switch but to no avail. However, she was making sure to not approach any dark area, keeping the Doctor’s warning by heart.

“So why is it dark?” Donna asked while still trying to find the logic in everything happening.

Rose turned, one hand still on the desk in front of her. “What the Doctor is trying to say, it is not a natural phenomena.” She smirked when she heard him grumbling about how they had no respect for him. They were still very anxious, but it was nice to see they had not lost their playfulness.

“Reminder. The library has been breached,” the Node suddenly blurted out, making them all jump out of their skin. “Others are coming. Reminder. The library has been breached. Others are coming. Reminder.” As it was repeating himself, Rose retreated to Donna, putting her behind her as they were examining the Node. She exchanged a look with the Doctor, who looked as serious as her. It was coming. “The library has been breached…”

As soon as it finished his sentence, the door opposite to them was suddenly blown open in a flash of bright light, making them shield their eyes at the sudden brightness. As their vision slowly adjusted, six spacesuited figures slowly appeared, crossing the doorway carefully one by one making Rose go on full alert. They all stopped as they saw them, at the exception of the one in the front, who continued to walk until she was face to face with Rose, who braced herself for a fight as she put her hand on her weapon, just in case. She felt the Doctor right behind her, his sonic brushing her thighs and she knew Donna was not far from her and probably as ready as them. So when the leader stopped in front of her, adjusting their polarising filter so they could see their face, she didn’t move a muscle. They were ready.

But to their surprise, the feminine face that appeared in front of them was smiling brightly. Extremely pleased to see them. “Hello sweetie!” Her voice was full of joy and childlike delight, the familiarity so obvious that Rose could not help but wonder about it. But the blinding smile on the stranger's face dimmed consequently as the Doctor pushed Rose aside, his face pale and grave. She even took a step back, her demeanor subduing, a stark contrast with before.

“Get out,” he said in a hard voice, showing that he was not joking in the slightest. “All of you.” he continued in the direction of the rest of the group. “Turn around, get back in your rocket and fly away. Tell your grandchildren you came to the library and lived. They won't believe you.”

But the enigmatic woman, who was visibly the leader of the group, only turned around trying her best to ignore him completely while she was taking off her helmet. “Pop your helmets, everyone,” she said somewhat harshly, like she was bothered by something. “We've got breathers.”

“How do you know they're not androids?” asked one of the women as she looked nervously to their group.

“Because I've dated androids. They're rubbish,” she said with what Rose supposed to be humor. The woman was regal and uniquely beautiful, but no matter how much she stared at her, the woman looked like a stranger to her, and with how much Donna and the Doctor were frowning she was visibly not the only one to not recognize her at all. She could not help but feel bad for that, as she was sure she was missing a critical point at the moment.

“Who is this?” One of the other explorers shouted in annoyance as he approached them. The more he looked at them disgruntled, the more Rose had to hold onto Donna, who was rapidly losing patience. “You said we were the only expedition. I paid for exclusives,” he accused the woman, not even looking at them.

The leader shrugged, a forced smile on her face. “I lied. I'm always lying. Bound to be others.”

But before the grumpy one could open his mouth again, Rose lost it, her restraint going up in smoke as the more time was passing the less she was understanding anything. “Ok stop! Everyone stop!” she shouted, making everyone pause as her interjection. “Ok now.” She pointed to what she supposed to be the leader. “Who are you exactly? And why are you here?”

The woman’s face closed up completely as Rose's harsh tone. “Professor Song. River Song,” she answered flatley, her eyes firmly planted on her, like she was trying with everything in her to not look at the Doctor.

“River Song, lovely name.” The Doctor stepped forward, oblivious to the tension growing around River, only focused on how to save everyone. “As you're leaving, and you're leaving now, you need to set up a quarantine beacon. Code wall the planet, the whole planet. Nobody comes here, not ever again. Not one living thing, not here, not ever.”

“You said professor?” Donna asked with interest, sensing that something was not right and that was somewhat linked to River Song.

River smiled at Donna, but she was clearly wary of her. “I’m an archaeologist,” she said, her voice short but still friendly.

“Oh god really?” grunted the Doctor with dramatism. “Tell me you are joking.”

River didn’t look pleased at his exclamation and her closed face became even more somber. “You have a problem with that?” she said with a brittle tone.

His smile was almost sarcastic. “I’m a time traveller! I…” But before he could finish, Rose put her hand on his mouth, stopping him mid tirade. “Not the time Doctor, we don’t want to anger the only possible ally on this planet, ok?” she hissed in his ear. If River didn’t want to kill him soon enough, that would be a miracle.

“I don’t care about all that, I’m mister Lux.” Lux butted in pompously as he snapped his fingers. “Miss Evangelista, I want to see the contracts.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes so hard, he could almost see his own brain. He nudged Rose away, signaling her he would try to play nice for the moment and sighed. “Oh for the love of…” He stopped as he saw one of them move in the direction of a dark hallway. “You stop right there! What's your name?”

The woman sent a nervous look in the direction of River who stayed impassible. “Anita?” she replied a little bit nervous at his sudden burst out.

“Anita, stay out of the shadows. Not a foot, not a finger in the shadows till you're safely back in your ship. Goes for all of you. Stay in the light. Find a nice, bright spot and just stand. If you understand me, look very, very scared. No, bit more scared than that. Okay, do for now.” He turned around and pointed to the one closer to the door. “You. Who are you?”

“Er, Dave,” he said, rather surprised that someone was talking to him.

“Okay, Dave…”

“Oh, well...” Dave interrupted him with a timid smile on his face. “Other Dave, because that's Proper Dave the pilot, he was the first Dave, so when we…”

The Doctor made an impatient gesture, clearly not in the mood for any digression. “Other Dave, the way you came, does it look the same as before?”

Other Dave peeked down the hallway for a second.“It’s a bit darker I would say.”

“How much darker?” the Doctor asked strongly, his eyes hard, all traces of smile completely missing from his face.

Other Dave squinted as he looked at the hallway, trying to find the difference from before. “Oh, like I could see where we came through just like a moment ago. I can't now.”

“Seal up this door,” the Doctor commanded seriously. “We'll find another way out.”

Rose bumped Donna discreetly, who was still looking curiously at River Song, making her turn slightly “I need to talk to the Doctor for a second, don’t move,” she whispered as Donna nodded. She seized the Doctor's arm, using the fact that everyone was still distracted by the Doctor’s quip about the hallway to drag him to the side, making him yelp in surprise.

But before she could unleash on him, Lux called on them loudly, “Where do you both think you’re going?” He turned to the woman they supposed was called Evangelista as it was the only one who had still not spoken. “Miss Evangelista? Give them the contract before they have the foolish idea to walk around the library!”

“I'm Mister Lux's personal everything,” the timid woman stammered as she smiled slightly. “You need to sign these contracts agreeing that your individual experiences inside the library are the intellectual property of the Felman Lux Corporation.” She took out three stacks of paper from a side pouch, and handed them over proudly. But before Donna or the Doctor could take them, Rose snatched them in one swift move.

“We don’t have time for this.” She passed them to Donna without breaking eye contact with Lux. “Destroy them please,” she said to the redhead, who looked delighted at the idea, while Lux sputtered in rage. She turned briefly to River, who was doing her best to not smile at the scene as Rose pushed the Doctor to the nearest desk. “Can you calm down mister high and mighty please? I only have for a few minutes.” River nodded, the sparkle in her eyes back again.

As she could hear River placade an infuriated Lux in the background, Rose forcely sat the Doctor down, who could not help but smile a little bit at her passion. “Now. Talk.”

“Rose, we don’t have time to…” he started to say, but Rose was fed up with his nonsense and it was most definitely starting to show as he closed his mouth with an audible clack when she crossed her arms.

“If you don’t start talking right at that instant, I swear on the TARDIS, I will hide everything you love!” The gleam in his eyes and his smirk was reponse enough for her, and before he had time to put his foot in his mouth once again, she continued, “just one more thing… Make a quip on me again, and I will make sure you’ll share Donna’s bathroom from now on. And kiss your banana bread goodbye.”

The horror on his face could have been hilarious if not for the fact he was hiding crucial facts from her. “Assemble everyone. I’ll need to explain to them too…” he finally conceded after a few seconds of silence.

At least they were getting somewhere.

Chapter Text

Chapter 28

As everyone gathered around the Doctor with curiosity, light murmurs could be heard from various members of the group. Even Lux, who had only needed River to loom menacingly behind him to go on without much trouble seemed intrigued. But the Doctor was imperturbed. He solemnly perched on one of the discarded desks, completely immobile as the statues around them. His glasses were perched on his nose and his face completely devoid of any emotion. He was waiting. When the last of the murmurs finally died down, he cleared his throat and smiled lightly.

“So here’s the thing,” he began, his position becoming less rigid and stiff. “We all need to leave right this instant because if not, we are all going to die.” His words were simple and crisp and left no room for argument from the others.

As the group gasped at the seriousness of his words, Rose could not help but facepalm, sensing Donna doing the same beside her. She had asked him to give an explanation, a very simple explanation. Something to help them and the newcomer understand the gravity of the situation, and not start a blind panic. But as he continued to stay silent, his smile becoming more maniac by the second, she could feel the terror growing in the air around them. She exchanged a look with Donna, trying to decipher what to say so to stop the hysteria before it became too much to handle. But before they could decide, River took a step forward.

“Do you have any proof of danger at least? Or are you just trying to scare us?” she asked bravely, her eyes clear and shiny. She was clearly not afraid, not of him or his words.

The smile on his face was anything but friendly. “Proof? You have a whole word around you, completely dead.” He shrugged dramatically, sometimes Rose wanted to strangle him at his lack of sensitivity. “That's not enough for you?”

But River was nothing but stubborn. “That was a hundred years ago. The Library's been silent for a hundred years. Whatever came here is long dead.”

“Bet your life?” his reply had a tone of defiance, not taking kindly to have his authority challenged, and not particularly today.

River looked furtively at Rose, deflating a bit when only curiosity shined back at her. She had visibly waited for something else. “If I have to yes,” she finally said, her voice more flat but just as assured as before.

“Should I go seal the door?” interrupted other Dave, not really sure what to do with all this new information, especially with how things were going between the Doctor and River. He was not a fan of heated discussion and he didn’t really fancy dying, especially when he could do something.

“Yes. But do it as fast as possible. And if you see the light dim around you at any moment, retreat. Don’t even try to even poke a finger at the dark. Go it?”

Other Dave looked bewildered for a second, but nodded before retreating to the door. Before anyone could say another word, the Doctor clapped again to grab everyone’s attention.

“Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark,” he continued like nobody had interrupted him before, “but they're wrong because it's not irrational. It's Vashta Nerada.”

“What’s Vashta Nerada?” asked Donna, when she realized she wasn’t the only one who didn’t understand a word he was saying.

“It's what's in the dark. It's what's always in the dark,” he stated dramatically, well too dramatically for Rose who wasn’t amused at all with his antics.

She kicked his shin, making him jump with a yelp. “Doctor…” she grumbled, her arms crossed.

He got the point straight and fair, giving her an awkward smile. “ Okay, okay...To be simple, that's not darkness down those tunnels.” Lux started to open his mouth but was instantly stopped by River before he could say a word. “This is not a shadow,” continued the Doctor, not noticing River’s actions. “It's a swarm. A man eating swarm to be precise. Literally it means the shadows that melt the flesh. Most planets have them, but usually in small clusters… They usually don’t gather in a swarm.”

“Are you freaking kidding me?” Donna was trying her best not to whack her best friend behind the head at his words. “Did you know the whole time?” If he responded yes, she would murder him. Right here and there, no cares if there were witnesses.

He had the decency to look embarrassed, at least a little bit. “Not right away, but I had some suspicions.”

“So, you knew at some point, and not even once you said to yourself ‘oh maybe it would be a good idea to get back to the TARDIS.’ You know… Maybe so we wouldn’t be eaten alive?” Rose almost growled, her voice too calm to not be furious.

But before the Doctor could reply with something that would probably cause a regeneration forced upon him by his companions, River put herself between them and turned to Rose with a slightly forced smile.

“Before anyone says or does something he regrets, let’s think about it rationally, ok?” She turned to the Doctor, who had jumped down from his perch. “You said they’re active in the dark right?” As he nodded she turned to the others, who had still not moved since the Doctor’s revelations. “Anita, unpack the lights. Other Dave, when you’re sure the door is secure, then go help Anita. Mister Lux, put your helmet back on, block the visor. Proper Dave, I need you to find an active terminal, and access the library database. See what you can find about what happened here a hundred years ago.” She turned back to them. “You three, follow me please. I think we need to talk.”

“You're listening to this man?” Lux loudly protested while he put his helmet back on. “Wait, why am I the only one wearing my helmet?”

“Because you’re bothering me.” She said scatingly. “And yes I am, and clearly you should do the same.”

As they walked in one of the alcoves still illuminated, they were stopped by a timid Evangelista.

“Excuse me, what should I do?” She asked, completely lost in all the agitation.

River softened at the young woman, who was looking around helplessly. “Could you keep an eye on Mister Lux? Keep him company? I don’t want him to wander off.”

Evangelista's face illuminated at the suggestion. “I can do that, yes! Thank you!” She turned around and skipped to Lux, who was visibly sulking into a corner.

They all watched her sit down, almost toppling over all the unpacked light. “Can she not do something else?” Donna finally asked after a few seconds of silence.

River sighed. “Poor girl means well but…she doesn't really understand a lot of things.” She shook her head and continued to walk, the other three on her tail. When she was sure that nobody could hear them, she sat down in one of the makeshift chairs.

“I’m sorry…” River said as a starter, making them all three look at her with surprise.

“Sorry for what?” Rose asked, feeling like she had missed a wagon somewhere.

River opened her backpack and drew out a battered book out of it. It was blue, kinda like the color of the TARDIS, and clearly well utilized. “I suppose none of you know about this book, am I correct?” she asked as a response. It had been formulated as a question, but the way she had said it, she clearly knew what they were going to say.

The Doctor frowned, looking at Rose and Donna, who seemed as confused as him. “Not really no. Should we?”

Her shoulders crumbled, her face becoming so sad, he was suddenly afraid she would burst into tears right there. “You are so young. Of course you don’t know anything about any of this.”

The Doctor looked suddenly so outraged and scandalized that Donna had to turn around to not cackle right into his face. “I beg your pardon?” he asked with such a high pitch, dogs were probably the only one to hear him correctly. “I’m not ‘too young,’ thank you very much!”

“That’s not what I meant…” River rolled her eyes, clearly used to so much dramatics. “I mean you are a little too young for you to know me.” She looked cautiously in the direction of Donna as she said those words, making Rose realising she was probably meaning a regeneration. And Donna was still not aware of that part of her best friend. And if River knew that, she was clearly a big part of the Doctor life. “I’ve never met you. Well, I’ve seen pictures of you, but never that you in person….”

“Oh…” the Doctor said, his mind finally registering what she wanted to say. “So you know me...in the future?” he asked, curious to meet someone out of order. His life was not really ordinary, and it was something that happened a few times, but generally people were trying their best to not show it.

“Do you know us too?” Donna asked, pointing to her and Rose. She was really curious about this new development. “I mean I suppose you know Rose with how you greeted her.” She turned to Rose. “I mean that makes sense, she was really friendly from the start with you.”

River smiled, but a little subdued. “Yes, I know you. But, that’s all I’m going to say. Spoilers and all that.” She shrugged, but the way she did it, showed it was a sore subject for her.
Before anyone had any time to respond, a very strident noise rang all around them.

“Sorry! That was me,” other Dave said bashfully when they all ran out to where he was working. “Trying to get through into the security protocols. I seem to have set something off.” When the noise intensified, he winced, trying to cover his ears. “What is that? Is that an alarm?” he asked while glancing around.

“That sounds like a phone,” said Donna.

The Doctor nodded though not seemingly bothered by the sound. “It is.”

Rose looked at him like he was crazy. Or maybe she was the one becoming crazy, with this one nothing could be really sure. “What do you mean it’s a phone? This planet has been dead for a century and someone decided to call now?”

The Doctor had the audacity to smile like it was the funniest thing she ever said. She wanted to punch him. Between this, the aliens that want to eat them all, and a time traveller that knows them from the future, she needed at least five minutes without anything happening.
But before the Doctor could respond, other Dave spoke up. “I'm trying to call up the data core, but it's not responding. Just giving me that noise.”

The Doctor took out his sonic, and pointed it at something on the wall. “Let me try something.” But he was only able to change the screen, making him blink at the ‘access denied’ in bold red letters.

“Well, that worked well,” Rose mused with humor, only gaining a dark look from her Time Lord of a friend.

“Let me try something else…” the Doctor mumbled, changing something on his sonic before pointing it again. The screen flickered for a second before showing a video of a child drawing in a library.

“That’s new!” Donna said, making Rose chuckle at the absurdity of the situation. They were stuck on a planet full of murderous aliens and the Doctor was watching a children’s show. Typical.

He turned around slightly, visibly annoyed at the lack of faith from his friends. “Well, I don’t see you trying anything.”

“Hey Sunshine, you’re the one with the fancy tech and the spaceship. I’m the plucky sidekick who looks awesome!” Donna clapped back Donna, rendering the Doctor gobsmacked and Rose doubled down while laughing.

“How are you in my television?” the little girl on the tv asked, stopping the budding argument between the Doctor and Donna before it had time to go full speed.

“She can see us?” Rose whispered to the Doctor who looked mildly surprised at the interruption.

“Well no. I'm... We're sort of in space.” He looked briefly at Rose and Donna before turning back to the kid. “Er, I was trying to call up the data core of a triple grid security processor.”

She looked at him curiously. “Would you like to speak to my Dad?” she finally asked with a smile.

Rose pushed him aside, smiling reassuringly as she looked at the little girl. She was pretty sure that kid had no idea what was happening, or what the Doctor just said. She was probably on a planet somewhere wondering why her tv had turned on and started talking. “Yes sweetie, would that be ok with you?”

The girl straightened up as she looked around them. “Hey you’re in my library! How did you do that?” She was frowning, seemingly not happy with that fact. And before anyone could respond, she took the remote control and changed the channel, showing the ‘access denied’ image back again.

“What happened? Who was that?” River said, asking the question that everyone had on their mind.

But the Doctor ignored her and turned to other Dave. “I need another terminal. Keep working on those lights. We need those lights!”

River sighed as he turned around and walked back to the alcove, soon followed by Rose. “You heard him, we need light” she said with a tired voice before following them.

When River entered the alcove, Rose was busy trying to stop the Doctor from picking up the diary.

“It’s not yours Doctor. You can’t take people’s things like that, and you know that.”

“And it’s against the rules,” continued River while snatching the book from his hand. “Thank you.”

The Doctor looked surprised at her boldness. She clearly knew who she was against. “What rules?” he asked, a little ruffled by the mystery.

She shrugged, putting the diary back into her backpack. “Well you always said yours, but it was technically Rose’s.”

Rose really wanted to say something, anything in this moment. Because the mystery was driving her a little crazy. Does that mean they were able to save the universe? Did she stay with the Doctor after all? And where does River fit in all that? Was she friends, foe, or family? Too many questions were swirling into her head, but nothing was able to come out. Then before she could even form one sentence, books started to fly all around them, making them all drop to the ground.

“What's that? I didn't do that. Did you do that?” the Doctor yelled in the direction of the others as he got back on his feet.

“Not me!” other Dave shot back as they walked back into the lighted area. As soon as they put foot in the room, the screen changed to “Cal access denied.”

“What’s Cal?” the Doctor wondered aloud while looking around.

“Maybe the name of the AI?” Rose suggested as she picked up a few of the books that had flown around a few seconds ago. She searched for Donna to ask her opinion, but she was across the room deeply engrossed in her discussion with Evangelista.

“Mmmh not sure,” the Doctor continued, poking the screen in different places, like he was hoping something would change. River rolled her eyes as he changed a few settings in his sonic screwdriver and tried again.

“I don’t think you will be able to go anywhere without the proper code, Doctor…” River said with the tone of someone who had suffered the Doctor long enough to know she was likely talking into the void right now.

As predicted, he only hummed absently in response, too enthralled by the screen to even listen. River sighed and looked at Rose while rolling her eyes, making her stifle a laugh. She knew exactly what she was thinking at that instant. But more books once again started to shoot off their shelves, making them once again drop to the ground to avoid being hit in the face.

“What's causing that? Is it the little girl?” River asked with genuine curiosity as the flying ceased once again.

“But who is the little girl?” the Doctor asked as he jumped on his feet and helped Rose to get up with one hand. “What's she got to do with this place? How does the data core work? What's the principle? What's Cal?”

River shrugged. “You’ll have to ask Mister Lux Doctor...”

He turned around, pulling Rose with him who protested vehemently at being manhandled like that, and planted himself in front of Lux. “Cal, what is it?”

Lux looked at him from bottom to top with a somewhat smug look, who gave Rose the sudden urge to smack him. “Sorry, you didn't sign your personal experience contracts.”

Donna bumped shoulders with her to signal she was back, Evengelina just behind. “Yeah that's totally the time right now. We’re totally not in the middle of freaking dying or anything, you’re right.” Donna replied with as much sarcasm as humanly possible.

“Mister Lux,” the Doctor said. “Right now, you're in more danger than you've ever been in your whole life. And you're protecting a patent?”

The man was not taking kindly to the attack on his person and he raised to his full height. “I'm protecting my family's pride,” he sneered, getting almost face to face with the Doctor who looked unconcerned.

“Well funny thing, Mister Lux. I don't want to see everyone in this room dead because some idiot thinks his pride is more important.”

As the group discussion was now starting to get heated, Rose almost jumped in, ready to make her voice heard. When she saw Evangelista wander off from the corner of her eye, recalling what River had mentioned about the young woman, she followed her worried she would hurt herself by accident. As she slipped off, without anyone else noticing as they were too engrossed into their argument, she realized a panel had opened where it had been a wall a few minutes ago.

“Did you touch anything?” Rose asked, making the other woman jump in fright.

“No, I was going to call you all actually,” Evangelista replied while looking around nervously, not too sure about herself. “Should we go in?”

Rose down the well lit hall that was visibly leading to another room and turned around, ready to flag the other to go with her. But they were still arguing with each other to even look her way, so with a sigh she signaled the young woman to follow her.

“Get behind me and don’t touch anything. And stay in the light,” Rose gently commanded and the young assistant nodded, visibly overjoyed to be trusted to do something.

They explored the open panel, walkin carefully down a short passage to what Rose supposed to be a reading room or lecture hall. It looked weirdly like the library of her university when she was in the other universe. When they entered the room, she realized that every flat surface had books piled on it, as if someone had fled the room in a hurry. For her, the mystery of this dead planet was deepening by the second. As she took one of the books that had toppled on the ground, she didn’t see the shadow in one of the corners of the room.

---

The Doctor was trying his best to keep his calm and not scream or hit Mister Lux, but the man was really getting on his nerves big time. He exchanged an exasperated look with Donna, and by proxy River as she was right next to the redhead. At least he was not alone in his irritation.

He rolled his eyes at the man, who was trying his best to keep him from the truth with his big words and shady responses. “You didn’t find any bodies because…” he prompted in an annoyed tone before being cut off by a loud scream. As they all turned around in the direction of the voice, a second voice echoed, making the Doctor freeze in horror.

“Doctor!!” Rose screamed, her voice full of terror and panic, echoing from the distant room.

“Rose!” he shouted back, his body running before he could even register anything. As her voice died down, his dread intensified. Maybe he was already too late.

Chapter Text

Chapter 29

“Rose are you okay?” the Doctor screamed as he barged into the room, almost launching a chair into the wall as he looked around frantically, suddenly afraid he was too late for her. The only thing he could see was a skeleton dressed in rags in the corner, looking like it has been here a long time. “Rose?” he screamed again, his voice strangling as the word came out.

“I’m here. I’m ok…” Rose called as she crawled out from under the desk, her face white the snow. She was shaking badly, tears in her eyes. The fear in her was real and it broke the Doctor’s hearts.

Without wasting another second, he engulfed her in a desperate hug, trying his best to mold her into his body as she clung to him. “You’re ok. You’re ok…” he whispered in her hair, making her sob instantaneously.

“Oh my god, Rose what happened?” Donna asked as she entered the room, followed by the rest of the group. She exchanged a worried look with River as the only response from Rose was more tears.

The Doctor looked at them over Rose's shoulder. “Everybody stay in the light please.” His voice was subdued but strong.

“I heard Miss Evengelista scream too,” said Dave while looking around. “Where is she?”

“Over there…” Rose sniffled as she loosened her grip on the Doctor, facing the group with red eyes while pointing to the skeleton. “I looked at the books only for a second, and when I turned back she was swarmed with black all around and she...she…” The Doctor tried to take her into his embrace once again but she refused, wanting to get it out as quickly as possible. “Evengelista dissolved right in front of my eyes. She was there and then...she was not.”

Nobody dared to speak as they watched with horror what was left of the poor Miss Evengelista. River, after a few seconds, squatted. Taking out the communicator on the poor woman suit. She smiled sadly when Donna looked at her with surprise.

“There's a neural relay in the communicator. Sometimes it can hold an impression of a living consciousness for a short time after death. It’s not much but if she has a family, I think they will want to hold on to it,” she explained while putting it safely away in her suit. “I suggest we get back to the lighted area, we don’t know when they will be back…”

Everyone nodded in a somber and subdued manner, leaving the room one by one. As Rose and the Doctor left, Rose looked still very shaken up by the event that took place. Donna was pretty sure the Doctor would refuse to leave her side for now one. She sighed, she was really missing the TARDIS right now…

----

“So what do we do now?” Donna asked as she sat down right next to Rose and River. “I mean we know it’s a killer swarm, but how can we defeat it?”

“You can’t,” the Doctor replied as he was busy scanning hallways with his sonic. For Daleks: aim for the eyestalk. Sontarans: hit the back of the neck. Vashta Nerada? Run. Just run. Nothing can be done…”

”Reassuring…” muttered Rose with a gulp. She had seen them in action, and it was not an experience she wished to revisit. At least the Doctor had the courtesy to look at least a little bit ashamed for his boldness.

Donna looked a bit freaked out, and sideyed the few shadows she could see around. “Does Earth have them?” she finally asked aloud, her voice a bit unsure, like she didn’t really want to know the response.

He hummed in response. “Earth, and a billion other worlds. Where there's meat, there's Vashta Nerada. You can see them sometimes, if you look. The dust in sunbeams…Now hush I’m trying to work now.”

Donna gave him a hard eye roll. “Yeah sure whatever, it’s not like it’s a murderous species that eats people alive in 5 seconds flat.”

As Rose paled a bit, the image of the poor Miss Evangelista literally disappearing in front of her eyes still printed in her mind, she felt someone elbowing her. She turned around to see River looking at her with a big smile.

“I see he never really changed. At least that is something reassuring.”

Rose’s eyebrow shot up. “You mean… He is still like that? Even after?” she paused for a second and sighed. “Who am I kidding, he was already like that before. Pretty sure half of his DNA is just ‘Oblivious and rude’ written in bold letters.” She chuckled. “Let’s say that makes him endearing.”

“Was always your words, not mine,” River responded kindly. “At least it’s never boring.”

“So you know him don’t you?” interrupted Donna. She was really curious about the situation and what that could mean exactly.

“Yes, I’ve known him for a long time,” River continued with a smile.

“And do you know me?” Donna finally asked after a few moments of silence. She knew that River had history with Rose. How she talked to her and the way she looked at her, it was as clear as crystal. But she seemed a bit more subdued while dealing with her and she didn’t know what that could mean.

River scoffed as if Donna had just told a great joke. “You’re Donna Noble,” she answered with an air of finality, like it explained everything.

“Ah dammit!” the Doctor exclaimed suddenly, abruptly ending everyone’s conversations and making them all turn at once. “This one is not a shadow. It's a swarm. We cannot go that way.” He turned around, still focused intensely on whatever scheme he was concocting in his mind. “Lux, where is the exit teleport?”

The old man raised his arms with alarm. “Don't ask me, I haven't memorised the schematics. I’m just the heir.”

“Doctor, the little shop,” Donna exclaimed suddenly. “They always make you go through the little shop on the way out so they can sell you stuff!”

The Doctor perked up instantly “You're right. Brilliant! That's why I like the little shop. Let’s go!”

“Him and his obsession with the shop. Sometimes I wonder about his age,” Rose joked to River who cracked a smile at the image.

As they all began to move, the Doctor suddenly jumped in front of her and basically body-blocked her. “Nobody moves,” he said, all humor gone from his voice. They all froze in place as he slowly moved to Dave. “I’m so so sorry, Dave. But you've got two shadows.”

Dave looked around and could effectively see both shadows around him. “What should I do?” he asked, too frightened to move even a finger.

“ It's how they hunt. They latch on to a food source and keep it fresh,” the Doctor mumbled, not really helping the situation for Rose, but she was too afraid to say something that could risk making poor Dave move. “You stay absolutely still, like there's a wasp in the room. Like there's a million wasps.”

River forced a smile. “We are not leaving you. Right, Doctor?”

The Doctor had the audacity to roll his eyes. “Course we're not leaving him. Where's your helmet?” When Dave automatically went to point he quickly said, “don't point. Just tell me.”

“On the floor by my bag,” Dave answered while trying to remain calm.

“I’ll get it,” Rose quickly volunteered. She did her best to retrieve it quickly as possible without crossing any shadow, and while trying her best to not think about Miss Evengelista. She really hoped they could save him. She passed the helmet to the Doctor without saying a word. He smiled briefly and took out his sonic, scanning the helmet before nodding.

“Now, the rest of you, helmets back on and sealed up,” he said while putting the helmet that he held in his hand onto Dave’s head. “We'll need everything we've got.”

“And us?” Donna asked as there has been no plan discussed for them so far.

“We are safe,” he replied with a firm voice, clearly trying to convey something he was not feeling.

“How can we be safe without a helmet?” Rose asked dubiously.

The Doctor looked at her for a few seconds, opening and shutting his mouth a few times before sighing. “We’re not. I just wanted you to believe that in order to protect you.”

Rose bristled at the implication. The Doctor was a very kind man, and she loved him with all her heart, but he tended to forget they were confident and capable women. “Doctor…”

“I know I know, you’re not children,” he turned his head, already moving on from the discussion. “Professor, anything I can do with the suit?” he asked River, who was looking at them with a slight smile.

“We can increase the mesh density. Dial it up to four hundred percent. Make it a tougher meal,” she suggested while searching for something in her suit.

The Doctor nodded and used his screwdriver on Dave’s suit. After a few seconds he nodded again in satisfaction. “Eight hundred percent. Pass it on,” he said while extending the sonic to her.

River pulled an object from one of her numerous pockets with a triumphant shout. Hers looked more sleek and shiny, but seemed really similar to the one the Doctor had in his hand. “I haven’t lost it.” She turned to Rose. “Pretty sure everyone would have killed me otherwise,” she said with a snort. “Thanks, Doctor, but I got it covered.”

The Doctor’s eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline in surprise. Even Rose and Donna were a bit taken aback by the fact that the woman had one of her own. “That’s a sonic,” he said with a flat voice.

River looked surprised for a second and then a bit guilty. “I tend to forget we don’t know each other technically, so… Spoiler I guess?” Not saying anything else, she turned around and started sonicing all the other spacesuits. It was rather clear where she learned the art of evasion from...

The Doctor looked at her for a second before grabbing Donna and Rose. “With me. Come on.”

But Rose resisted and untangled herself from his strong grip. “I will not leave Dave alone.”

His visage became somber before becoming flat again. “He is not alone, come on.”

“Doctor, she will join us when she is ready. Right Rose?” Donna said with kindness. She had realized that Rose was taking it badly that the Doctor was over protective. She totally understood where the Doctor was coming from, but he had the manner of a neandertal at the moment, and she needed to separate them before an explosion could take place.

Rose smiled. “Yes, I just need a few minutes. I want just to make sure everything is ok here.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes and turned around, extremely unhappy with her decision. “Fine. Let’s go Donna.” And then he took off, almost dragging poor Donna behind him as he started to power walk his way to another room. Rose couldn’t help but chuckle at his childishness.

“How are you doing, Dave?” she asked while River was busy helping the others with their spacesuits.

“I have the sudden urge to go running, but except for that… just peachy,” Dave answered, his voice betraying his fear.

Rose wanted to pat him on the shoulder but she was afraid to cross something she shouldn’t. “Look it’s only for a few minutes, ok? I’m sure the Doctor has an idea on how to help you. Do you have a family?”

“A son and wife yeah. We’ve been married 16 years in three months. My son is 14 now, almost a man.” You could hear pride in his voice and sadness, and that broke Rose's heart. She really hoped they could save his life, and she desperately wanted to tell him anything - even if it were to merely give him faith. But she said too many empty words in her life, and she was not ready to say another one.

“I’m finished,” River said as she walked beside her. “How are you hanging there, Dave?”

“Would be better with a beer,” he responded with humor.

River smiled brightly. “The next one is on me, promise. And you Rose?”

But her attention was on the sonic in River hand. The Doctor’s sonic, or at least something remarkably alike. “How did you have a sonic? Does the Doctor give it to you?”

“Well…” River began before her eyes widened as she happened to glance at Dave. “Doctor!” she screamed. “Look, the shadow is gone!” she said in a somewhat normal voice, walking around Dave to be sure.

The Doctor came running, but he was alone and Rose could not see Donna anywhere. She had a sudden suspicion on what the Doctor had done. What he probably wanted to do to her too. She felt her anger start to boil at the realisation.

“What?” he exclaimed as Dave turned around to see for himself, relieved to move again. “Where did it go?” he asked looking around with incredulity.

“It's just gone. I looked round. One shadow… See?” Dave said, his voice brimming with happiness.

“Does that mean we can go?” started River. “Because…”

“Where is Donna, Doctor?” Rose cut in with a sharp voice. Her whole demeanor was now stiff and cold.

The Doctor was silent for a few seconds, no one dared to move as the air grew colder around them. “In the TARDIS…” he finally said grudgingly.

Rose took a step forward, the coldness moving to anger and indignation. “Did you trick her? Like you tried so many times before? Did you even ask her first, or did you close the door on her like you did to me?” She took another step, making the Doctor, and everyone around him moved back a bit. “Were you hoping we would go together? So we could what… Braid each other's hair while you save the day? That’s what you wanted to do?” her voice was ice cold and full of fury.

“Hey! Who turned out the lights?” Dave suddenly exclaimed, making them all turn at once, breaking the tension that was building fast. He was looking at the wall, who had a bright light right in front of him.

“No one?” said the Doctor finally while exchanging a look with River.

“No seriously, turn them back on. I can't see a ruddy thing,” he continued, still having his back to them.

The Doctor already had his sonic in hand, moving around Dave with a puzzled expression. “That’s weird… They never give up normally,” he muttered, more for himself than anyone else.

The declaration made Rose freeze in place - dreading the sudden implication.“Can you turn around Dave?” she asked, still terrified of the possibilities. She was really hoping that she was wrong, but as Dave turned around and finally faced them, his visor was completely dark. “Oh my god!” she yelled, leaping back right into Mister Lux who almost tripped in surprise.

“What's going on? Why can't I see? Is the power gone? Are we safe here?” said Dave as he continued to stand completely still.

“Dave, I want you to keep doing what you’re doing and remain completely still,” the Doctor said as he moved in front of Rose, taking her hands without looking at her, his attention completely focused on Dave. “Absolutely still, ok?”

But instead Dave started to jerk like a puppet without string. Silently they all took a step back, including the Doctor.

“Talk to me, Dave,” the Doctor continued while forcing the others to move back cautiously a step at a time. “Dave, can you hear me?”

Dave jerked once again, making a violent move to the right, crashing into a pile of books. “I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm fine. I can't. Why can't I? I, I can't. Why can't I? I, I can't. Why can't I?” he said in an endless panic. The comm unit on his combinaison started to blink as he said it again and again.

“Too late, he’s ghosting…” River said sadly.

“Oh....” Rose said, her eyes getting wet at the idea they had lost him so fast, as Dave moved more and more erratically.

“I know it’s hard, but at least we tried.” explained River as everyone nodded gloomily around them.”I promise you, his family will know he didn’t go in vain.”

“Thank you, River...” Rose said before grabbing the Doctor by the collar as he was almost touching Dave's helmet. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked coldly, forcing him to move back.

The Doctor looked vaguely sheepish. “I wanted to see if he could still hear me.”

She rolled her eyes at his lack of self control. “You can do that at a distance, thank you.” She turned to the rest of them, and pointed to the illuminated area further from Dave's corpse. “Everyone, move back!” she said in her best commanding officer voice, making the rest of the group move as one. “We needs a plan ASAP! We cannot lose another person. Am I clear?” She turned to her friend who was suspiciously quiet. “Doctor?”

His eyes were still in Dave's direction, squinting behind his glasses. “I think Dave is moving toward us.”

As they all turned to Dave, he effectively took a step, his path a bit more assured than before.

“What do we do? Where do we go?” Lux screamed in sheer panic, grabbing Rose and Proper Dave by the sleeve.

“I have an idea!” River exclaimed as she took out a gun from one of her many pockets. “May I?” she asked both the Doctor and Rose, eagerness written all over her face, making her look like a kid on christmas.

They looked at each other, amusement in the Doctor eyes and weariness in Rose’s. As she frowned, his smile became more and more prominent. After a few seconds of silence pleading and pouting, Rose sighed and relented begrudgingly. “Fine, do it.” The Doctor and River celebrated by high fiving each other, and Rose had the sudden and weird urge to see what the Doctor would be like as a dad. She entertained the idea of River as his daughter for a few seconds, but soon squashed it as she remembered the time he told her he was not compatible with a human. Before she could pounder more on it, River had blown up a wall, making a perfect square hole in it.

“Squareness gun!” the Doctor squealed in a child-like glee.

“Yeah yeah you can talk about it later when we don’t have a zombie on our back!” Rose muttered sarcastically. “Can we move now?”

“Go, go, go!” River said to the rest of the group, who started to run like they were on fire. Soon followed by Rose and the Doctor, who had finally stopped being stubborn.

“Hey, who turned out the lights?” They could hear echoing around them as they ran, changing direction everytime they were stopped by shadow. After a time, when they could only hear silence they finally stopped. While a few of them were trying to catch their breath, the Doctor was sonicing the light around, trying to make them more bright. “I‘m trying to boost the power. Light doesn't stop them, but it slows them down,” he explained to River, who was looking intensely at what he was doing.

She nodded and her face illuminated suddenly like a christmas tree. “What setting did you use? If we are both using our sonics, we can go faster!” she suggested while taking out her own sonic.

“Your screwdriver looks exactly like mine,” he commented, his demeanor totally unreadable.

“I would say hers look like a better version of yours. No offense, Doctor,” Rose chimed in with a smirk.

River shrugged. “Well, you gave it to me so…”

“I don't give my screwdriver to anyone,” he cut her off with a harsh and gruff tone.

Rose could see that River had subdued instantaneously as his words, making her wonder once again what was her link with them in the future. How could a few words from them have that much of an impact on her? She seemed so assured and so strong all around. “Doctor,” interrupted Rose. “Maybe right now is not the time? We have a swarm hell bent on eating us alive, so maybe we could talk about that later?”

He deflated. “You’re right sorry… Settings 126” he said in River’s direction as he turned around to continue his work.

“And what is the plan in its entirety?” she asked while setting her own sonic to the same setting he was using.

He mumbled a fews words and turned his back to them, giving the impression he was fully engrossed in his task. The two women exchanged a look before Rose rolled her eyes. Seriously that man was worse than Tony when he was a toddler. “Doctor, what is the plan?” she asked while crossing her arms, showing him she was waiting for a response and would not move until she had it.

“If we don't get back in under five hours, emergency program one will activate and the TARDIS and Donna will be sent back to Earth,” he answered, his back still turned to them.

“What?!” Rose yelled louder than she probably intended. “Oh my god, Doctor... Having one companion looking at the heart of the TARDIS was not enough for you? You had to try a second time for the laugh?” She was furious, absolutely furious but also terrified at the same time. Because she knew Donna, she was a strong headed girl who would not let the Doctor, or anyone else risk their life while she was looking from the sidelines and neither would the TARDIS. That was a disaster in the making and the Doctor knew it. He knew it and still sent her away. What a bloody moron.

“I just wanted her safe, ok?” the Doctor yelled back just as loud.

Rose threw her hands up, and was trying her best to not strangle him right there and then. “She’s gonna murder you, you know know that right? Just as soon as we get back to the TARDIS. You’re a dead Time Lord! And this time, I’m gonna laugh while you regenerate. I might even help Donna if we all manage to get out of here alive.”

“I know!” he shot back, the fight leaving him little by little as it was replaced by worry when he suddenly said, “I should have received a signal. The console signals me if there's a teleport breach. Hell, I should have received a message from Donna screaming into my ear right now.”

“You risked teleporting her into the TARDIS using old outdated technology?!” Rose shouted as she glared at him. “God, you really are an idiot sometimes.”

“I see a Node in that corner, maybe we can ask the Library? The equipment is pretty old, so maybe they slipped through,” River suggested diplomatically while placing herself between them, showing without doubt she had experience when it came to calming these two down.

“Yeah, you’re right. I mean this planet was under quarantine with no one around for a hundred years, some things have probably stopped working…” He exhaled a long deep breath. He knew he had fucked up big time. But imagining both of them dying on a planet so far away with a death so horrible… It terrified him. Especially after he was finally starting to move forward with Rose. Sure things were moving at a snail’s pace, but it was still something. But he had let his hearts make the decisions, and he knew that even if he had to go back in time (oh the irony), he would do the exact same thing. Even convince Rose to come with them first. “Donna Noble. There's a Donna Noble somewhere in this library. Do you have the software to locate her position?” he asked the Node. He would have prefered a screen but beggars can't be choosers like the saying went.

The Node turned its face slowly, facing them with a wide smile, making them all gasp with shock and horror. She had Donna’s face. “Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved,” the Node responded pleasantly in a voice similar to Donna’s.

“Doctor, how can that be Donna?” Rose asked in a raised tone, her eyes wide and terrified.

“Is that even possible?” River added in just as much a horrified voice as Rose. The Node was repeating her phrase in the background again and again.

“I don’t know! She is supposed to be in the TARDIS!” the Doctor yelled, his hands on his hair, pacing back and forth. Donna was supposed to be safe, she was supposed to be far from everything. He was supposed to keep her safe.

As the Node continued to repeat herself, they heard another noise in the distance, a shuffling noise.

“What is that?” Anita asked, terrified beyond belief.

“Hey, who turned out the lights?” the dead voice of Dave called out suddenly, the sound coming closer and closer.

“Run!” River yelled. Rose didn’t have to be told twice and she took off at full speed. Trying to put enough distance between them and the swarm, with the others following instantly. But they didn’t get far, only three corridors down and all parts were surrounded by shadow. Rose and the Doctor exchanged a look, agreeing with a nod that they had to go back and find another way. But when they turned around, the path they came down was engulfed in the dark. They were surrounded by shadows.

“What do we do?” Rose asked desperately while trying to find somewhere that was still even vaguely illuminated. But she could only see darkness. And as they looked at each other helplessly, the sound of the swarm could be heard in the distance.

“Hey, who turned out the lights?”

Chapter Text

Chapter 30

“Ok so how are we getting out of this one this time?” Rose asked, half joking - half terrified to death. She was prepared to die. Had been for probably the last thirty years at this point, but she wanted to do it in a way that made sense. In a way that would leave her in peace and with hope for the future, not devoured like a piece of cake in a formal party. And especially not in her very own horror movie.

Without giving the Doctor time to respond, River took out her gun and fired at the wall behind them. “I propose getting out right now.” she said with a certain humor as she pushed proper Dave and Anita through the hole, making them crash into what they supposed to be another bookcase.

“Great idea!” Rose grinned while literally jumping into the other room. As they could hear the body of Other Dave shuffling behind them, his suit emerged from the shadow, River closed off the wall.

She holstered the gun again, visibly pleased with herself, making Rose smirk. “Ok, I think we've got a clear spot. Right in the centre, we have light here,” River declared while looking suspiciously at the shadows in the different corners. “I’d say don't let your shadows cross. Just in case.” She turned to the Doctor who was scanning around with his screwdriver, intense concentration on his face. “Did you find another one?”

“Maybe. It's getting harder to tell,” he mumbled, his eyebrows all scrunched.

River sent an exasperated look to Rose, who had to cough to mask her giggle and turned to the others asking, “Does anyone have a piece of chicken or a sandwich by any chance?”

The Doctor turned back with surprise. “You’re hungry? Right now?” he asked as proper Dave gave her a chicken leg from what Rose hoped was his lunch.

“Thank you Dave.” River took the chicken and threw it down one of the shadows without warning, transforming the meat into only a bone before it could hit the ground. “Found one,” she deadpanned.

Normally Rose would have laughed, but Miss Evangelista’s death was a bit too fresh for that. So she averted her eyes because she was afraid that, if she stared too long she would cry.

“Oh Rose…” said the Doctor softly, his eyes soft and shaded when he noticed her pain. Without another word he took her into his embrace, exchanging a desperately needed hug. She was squeezing him hard enough to probably stop him from breathing but he didn’t move, not even a bit. And for a few seconds, they were at peace.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I don’t think we have much time before the rest of the swarm finds us…” River called reluctantly as she looked away, trying her best to give them a bit of privacy for a moment.

Rose felt very embarrassed to have been caught like that and tried to disappear behind the Doctor, who had gone back to scan the shadow around like the last minute had not happened. River seemed to be endlessly amused by their antics and she wondered once again what was their link in the future.

“Im sorry but who are you exactly?” proper Dave interrupted - visibly fired up and afraid. “Because you expect us to trust them, like we didn’t find them in the middle of a quarantined and abandoned planet after 100 years of silence. Who are they?” he asked River.

She crossed her arms, her face neutral. “The Doctor, Rose Tyler and Donna Noble.” Her voice was pleasant and matter of fact, but had an edge on it that made Rose straighten out a bit. The Doctor had wandered off with his sonic, not interested one bit by the conversation. Well that was he wanted them to believe, but Rose knew he was listening intensely.

“Ok, and who are they?” continued Dave grumpily.

“I trust them. That’s all you need to know.” River was beginning to lose her cool a bit, but Dave seemed extremely insistent for an answer. And Rose too, to be honest even if it was a glimpse into their future.

River rolled her eyes and puffed. “Listen, all you need to know is that I’ve been to Hell with those people. Almost literally I have to say…”

The Doctor, sensing that tensions in the room could heat up at any time with the temperament he could feel in River, decided that perhaps he should say something as a distraction. And nevermind the fact that River’s behavior oddly reminded him a bit of Rose when someone was trying to bullshit her. Most of the time it was him. He then decided to interrupt them with a cough. “There is a signal coming from somewhere that is disrupting my sonic.”

“Is someone using the hairdryer again?” Rose asked cheekily, only to have him stick out his tongue as a response.

“Use the red settings,” River said with her eyes still on Dave.

The Doctor looked at his sonic, then at River with puzzled looks. “It doesn't have a red setting.”

“The damper then,” she replied dismissively with a wave as Dave turned around, mumbling into his beard.

The Doctor frowned unhappily. “It doesn't have a damper either.”

“Seriously, you’re worse than…” River started while turning around with a bit of temper before she realized who she was talking to. Or more importantly, which one. “I’m sorry, I forgot for a second that you’re... well… the wrong regeneration.” She was even blushing a bit under the embarrassment. “So too late to say spoilers about the damper?” She tried to joke while holding out her own screwdriver, but it obviously fell flat on the Doctor as he looked at her in a calculating manner, snatching it up with a swift move.
“So, in the future I give you my screwdriver. Just like that.” His tone was polite and friendly, but Rose could hear the underlying steel in his voice. And she couldn’t really blame him, he never parted with his sonic, well not willingly. She had the feeling that River was good, but she wasn’t always right. So she decided to take a step back and wait on this one, just to be sure.

River sent a quick look to Rose, whose face remained neutral. “Yes?” She finally responded, not really sure where to fit that one in.

“Why would I do that?” the Doctor continued, making a show to sonic all around them, like the response was of no importance to him.

River crossed her arms, a mullish expression on her face. “If you want to know that much it was a gift.”

He stopped for a second, clearly not convinced. “A gift?”

“No, I plucked it from your cold dead hands and danced on your ashs.” The sarcasm was so thick, you could plunge a knife in it Rose thought. “Yes, a gift. It was from you and… Well it was from you, that’s all you need to know,” She finished lamely, not so without looking at Rose rather furtively.

His goal was now all but completely forgotten. “And how can I know it’s the truth, that you’re not lying through your teeth?”

Rose had wanted answers, and was happy to let the Doctor take the reins on that one, but she had the feeling he was starting to go too far. Plus they had more pressing matters than seeing if River was lying or not. “Doctor, maybe now is not the time,” she finally said, putting her hand on his biceps, interrupting his focus.

“I know you’ve lost Donna, and right now you're angry and trying to take it out on me,” River said patiently, her voice full of compassion and sadness. “I understand, believe me I do. But you need to focus and be less emotional right now.”

The Doctor could not look more affronted even if he tried. “Emotional. Me? I’m not emotional!”

“Doctor…” Rose tried. She knew he felt guilty, and thought what happened to Donna was his fault. And there was nothing she could say to change that. The weight of the universe on his shoulders… It had hurt back then when she was still young and naive, and it hurts even more now. Because she understood just what he felt.

“Look,” said River with as much patience she could muster. “There are six people in this room still alive. Focus on that please.” She turned to Rose with an exasperated look. “Rose, please tell him.”

But before Rose could even think about something, the Doctor started again, River’s interjection making him visibly more irritated. “Don’t pull Rose into this!”

Rose pushed him a bit, making him look at her with surprise. “I can do whatever I want, thank you very much.” Her tone of voice was clearly annoyed. But she could not help but feel a bit amused at the face he was making. How the tables have turned...

“Oh, for heaven's sake!” interrupted Lux, having had more than enough of the argument. “Look at the three of you. We're all going to die right here, and you're bickering worse than my children!”

“Look, Doctor, I know you don’t trust me right at this instant and I completely understand why. It pains me to say that I’m virtually a stranger to you. But right now I need you to be on my side, and not question my every step, because lives are at stake. And I’m really, really sorry in advance. I can’t believe Cap was right…” the last phrase had been said under her breath, and Rose was sure she was the only one who heard it. But before she could ask her what she meant by that, River had walked to the Doctor and whispered something in his ear, making him lose all color. He looked briefly at Rose then River before his face closed off.

“So, are we good now Doctor?” River said in a pained voice. She had done what she had done only because she had no other choice, but clearly she was not happy with it. It was written all over her face.

He nodded once, his eyes firmly locked into River’s. “Yeah, we’re good.” Then without another word, he walked away.

“What did you say to him?” Rose asked River, who could only shrug in response. She wanted to press the subject, but she knew she was going to the wrong person. River was bound by the future, the wrong word at the wrong time and everything would fall down. She knew too well the consequences. She still had nightmares, even after all those years. So she nodded to River, and without further notice walked to the Doctor, who was scanning a bookshelf on the other side of the room.

She put her hand on his shoulder, making him turn briefly before averting his eyes again. “What did she say to you?” Only silence responded. “Doctor…” she said kindly, trying her best to comfort him with only one touch. “Remember, no more secrets.”

He sighed, still not looking at her, but she could feel him relax a bit under her hand. “She… She said a part of my name,” he finally said with an infinite sadness she could not understand in his voice.

“Ok?” She was officially lost. “And that’s bad?”

“You don’t understand.” After a minute the Doctor looked at her, raw pain radiating from all around him. “It was my real name.”

Rose felt as if ice water had been thrown on her. “Oh,” was the only thing she could say, her brain now completely void of any thought. He had once said to her in the dark of the night a long time ago, that his name, his real one was hidden in the void of time. It was too dangerous to know by anyone and so he concealed it in Time itself. After a minute, she asked, “how?” It was the only question she could muster at that instant.

The Doctor turned away, not able to face her with what he was about to say. “I can think of one instance when someone is able to learn my name.” He had racked his brain for any other explanation. Just one that didn’t involve what he was fearing to be fact, but nothing else would do. And he was now the only person alive in the whole universe to know it. “During a Gallifreyan wedding.”

She jerked back, her eyes wide with surprise. “You mean...With you?”

He made a movement, as if he wanted to touch her but let it fall down at the last second, putting in his own pocket instead. “That’s the only explanation I have…” The revelation was still breaking his hearts. And the fact it was not Rose… How could any future him not love her with everything in him? How could he do that to her? He had never really thought about marrying seriously again one day. But he always thought if he had to do it again, and for love this time, it would be with Rose. And now, imagining doing that with someone else, with Rose still in his life, because River clearly knew Rose really well. He just wanted to throw up. Or punch the future him in the face.

“But… She knows me,” her voice was tiny and hurt. Rose was trying to understand, really she was, but she couldn’t. Does that mean in the future she would leave him and go back to UNIT? Crossing him only during an invasion gone wrong? She knew she had said in the beginning she would do that once the universe was safe but things have changed since. For her at least. When she told him she wanted them to be friends and go slow, she was implying that somewhere along the way they could be more. But maybe it was different for him? Maybe the feelings they had once upon a time didn’t resist the change she had gone through. She had the sudden urge to cry at the realisation. She felt like losing him all over again, but this time it was in slow motion.

The Doctor wanted to take her into his arms, console her and promise that everything would be alright. But he couldn’t. Not when he didn’t know himself. “I’m sorry…” was all that he could say.

“Doctor, we need help here!” River suddenly yelled from the other side of the room, making them both turn around.

“We’ll talk about it later,” he promised before running to the rest of the group, his sonic in hand.

As Rose followed him she could only think about one thing: They never talked. Like everything else, it will simmer until it becomes forgotten. And she was afraid that this time wouldn’t be different. But maybe it was for the best. Maybe if she knew right away, she could prepare herself and leave before she could lose herself completely? Hah! Who was she kidding… She had been in love with that man since she was 19. She would put a brave face when the time came, but her heart was already broken at the thought.

“Anita has two shadows.” River started as soon as they were near them. “And with the moon rising we are starting to lose light. We really need to think of something.”

Poor Anita looked terrified in her helmet. “Hang on,” the Doctor said while pushing a few buttons before sonicing her visor, making the inside completely dark. “That should help.”

River gasped. “Have they already gotten inside?”

“No, I’m just trying to trick them. So they think that some of them are already in.” He turned to River. “I have two questions for you. One, how can we have a moon in the library?”

Lux pushed forward, pleased to finally contribute to something. “The moon is artificial, so is the sun. It’s a Doctor Moon, a virus checker. It supports and maintains the main computer at the core of the planet.”

The Doctor frowned while holding the sonic up in the air. “Well it’s still active. It's signalling. Look.” He demonstrated his point as the sonic buzzed rapidly. “Someone somewhere in this library is alive and communicating with the moon. I'm blocking it, but it's trying to break through.” As he moved just a bit, an image of Donna appeared briefly before disappearing again.

Rose jumped on the image but it was too late, she was already gone. “Oh my god, Doctor, it was Donna! She is alive!” She never felt so relieved in her life.

“That was her,” River excitedly agreed while gripping Rose's shoulder without realising it. “That was Donna! Can you get her back?” She seemed so eager to help, and so genuine in her feelings that Rose could not help but like her anyway, despite everything the Doctor told her. She had not felt any sense of romanticism at all between them, or anyone else for that matter but she could not really fight destiny. Or the future in their case. The only good thing she could take from it, was the fact they would visibly save the universe one day. So she smiled to River, and buried the sadness deep inside her. Now was not the moment to mourn the “what if”.

She would do so later when she would be alone in her room.

“Hold on, hold on, hold on.” He moved around, waving his arms around like a maniac. “I'm trying to find the wavelength.” But the buzzing soon died down, even with him jumping in the air. “Argh, I'm being blocked.”

“You said two questions, Doctor,” River said suddenly, remembering what he said earlier. “You only asked me one.”

The Doctor nodded and motioned for them to come closer. River and Rose exchanged a look before approaching, making sure they were the only one to hear him.

“Second question. You said earlier that there are six people still alive in this room.” They both nodded, not really sure where he wanted to go with this. “So, why are there seven?”

And as if it had waited for his cue, one of the suits jumped back and started to jerk around. “Hey, who turned out the lights?”

“Run!” screamed the Doctor before taking off in one of the illuminated corridors, the rest of the crew hot on his heels.

---

They had been running for a few minutes, their sides aching with the burning of the race when suddenly the Doctor stopped dead on his tracks, forcing the rest of them to do the same. As they were all trying to catch their breath, he turned around, his face grave and serious.

“Professor, Rose, I want you to go ahead. Find a safe spot until I get back.”

“It's a carnivorous swarm in a suit,” River argued, realizing what he wanted to do. “You can't reason with it.”

“Are you out of your freaking mind?” continued Rose, also picking up on his intention. “The wrong move and would be a pile of bones in a corner. Can you even regenerate from that?”

“You’ve done dumb things in my time, but I have to say this one is in the top ten,” River said while crossing her arms. “No wait, top 15.” She turned to Rose with a smirk. “I forgot that time when he wanted you to try Hakarl when we visited Iceland with…” She closed her mouth as suddenly as she opened it. “Forget it, not important.” She turned to the Doctor again, trying her best to not look at a disbelieved Rose. “Still, it’s a dumb idea.”

“Five minutes,” came the Doctor’s response as the sound of the swarm was growing stronger and stronger in the distance.

“Fine. Dave, stay with him. Pull him out before he doesn’t something extremely stupid.”

But before Dave could do anything, Rose moved forward, planting herself right in front of the Doctor. “No. If you think I’ll let you go without me then think again.”

“Rose…” the Doctor tried to plead with Rose. “I need you to go with them.”

Rose stared defiantly at him, “Unless you find a way to lock me up in a cupboard somewhere, I will follow you. You said it yourself, we are Rose and the Doctor, the stuff of legend. If I’m not here to save your sorry arse, who will do it for you?”

“Well, she has a point you know,” River said with a faint smile on her face. “And I know what I’m talking about…”

“Fine, the rest of you, go. Right now!” As they disappeared around the corner, his attention stretched to Rose once again. “You can die you know! You may be linked to the TARDIS, but that doesn't mean you cannot die!” His words were harsh but the desperation was clear on his face. He could not lose her again, not this soon, and certainly not like this.

“And you can regenerate, but that doesn't mean it’s always possible!” she responded just as violently. “I’ve seen Miss Evengelista die, Doctor. It took only a few seconds! And then she was nothing! Do you really think you can come back from that?” She would lose him one day. It was visibly written in the stars but until then, she would fight for him, even if that meant against him and the whole bloody universe.

Before he could say anything, the body that was once Dave barged through the doors.
“Hey, who turned out the lights?”

The Doctor pushed Rose behind him, more as an unconscious gesture than anything else, and took a step up. “You hear that? Those words? That is the very last thought of the man who wore that suit before you climbed inside and stripped his flesh. That's a man's soul trapped inside a neural relay, going round and round forever. Now, if you don't have the decency to let him go, how about this? Use him. Talk to me. It's easy. Neural relay. Just point and think. Use him, talk to me.”

“Hey, who turned out the lights?” the slightly robotic voice that was once Dave repeated.

“The Vashta Nerada live on all the worlds in this system, but you hunt in forests. What are you doing in a library?”

The Doctor was too focused on Dave to see the shadow moving on them, but Rose was doing her best to divert the attention to herself while jumping around, trying her best not to cross them. “Doctor! Hurry, they are moving fast!”

He glanced quickly at her. “I just need a minute.” Then he turned back to the suit. “You came to the library to hunt. Why? Just tell me why?”

“We did not,” replied The Vashta Nerada in Dave’s voice.

The Doctor smiled broadly. “Oh, hello! Did not what?”

As the Doctor and the Vashta were starting to converse, Rose had the sudden deja vu of her gymnastic competitions. She had to keep jumping and lunging around so to not cross any of the shadows that kept on moving around her. “Doctor, I think we’re running out of time!” she screamed at him, she would give 30s more before she would grab him and run for their lives. Because for the moment they were focused on her, but with the Doctor so distracted - he was a really easy prey.

“You're not in a forest, you're in a library,” the Doctor continued to try and reason with the Vashta as if he didn’t hear her, or see her do somersault in the background. “There are no trees in a...library… Oh. Books!” He turned around, smiling to Rose like crazy. “They came in the books. Microspores in a million, million books!”

“Yeah… Great,” Rose said, now perched on a chair like it was a normal occurrence, shadows swarming their only escape. “Now if you please, because I really don’t want to be finished like a sunday roast.” Her voice was so thick with sarcasm, you could drown in it.

He smiled at her, a bit embarrassed by the fact he had been carried away by his own thoughts. “Sorry, I talk too much. Always babbling on. This gob doesn't stop for anything. But you know one thing that keeps me alive, Rose? Always stay near the door.” And without warning, he grabbed Rose in one hand and with the other opened a trapdoor with his sonic screwdriver. A blinding smile was all the warning he gave to her before dropping them through it. The last thing the Vashta Nerada heard before complete silence was the scream of a very pissed off Rose Tyler.

---

When they get back in the TARDIS, she’s gonna murder him - like really really slowly. Or force him to only have a cold shower and bland tea for the next hundred years. She had still not decided, but whatever she decided she would make him pay. That’s all she could think about as they were hanging on a strut support, and moving as slow as a snail after a fall that almost gave her a heart attack.

“Can you go faster? I’m not getting younger over here, and I’m starting to get tired!” Rose called out as she tried her best to not look down. She was not afraid of heights, but that didn’t mean she was glad to strutter around a certain death.

As the Doctor had his sonic clenched in his mouth still, he could only grumble in response.

“You saved us?” she said with astonishment. ‘Are you kidding? If the almighty didn’t decide to discuss with a killer swarm we wouldn’t be hanging around like freaking bats!” Yeah she would kill him, and once she told Donna what happened, she was sure the redhead would help.

He grumbled again, this time with what she supposed to be a placating look.

“Well of course I had a better idea! Go through the door first. And what’s with you and jumping into holes as a means to escape? New New York didn’t suffice? You had to do it again for old time sake?” It has been more than forty years but she never forgot the feeling of that moment. And weirdly enough she was not really overjoyed to relieve it again.

He grunted something that made her roll her eyes so hard they almost got stuck. “No, it was not fun and thrilling. You know you are an adrenaline junkie right?” Rose couldn't help but say the last few words with more affection that she wanted. Because she was one to talk, even before the other universe she was the first to jump into a dangerous situation. If he was an adrenaline junkie, when he has the possibility to regenerate, what does that make of her?

Her thoughts were derailed by his triumphant shout. They had finally reached one of the big windows, and he had been able to open one of them with the sonic. After a few more grunts, tumbling and some contortion, they were finally back to solid ground.

“Oh my god, never do that to me again!” Rose shouted while hitting his shoulder repeatedly, making him yelp more in surprise than pain, before hugging him with all she had. After a second of surprise on his end he returned it, embracing her with force, showing she was not the only one to have been frightened to lose the other. She swallowed a sob and buried her head on his neck at all the sensations she could feel with him against her. She loved him so much, it was almost frightening, but he was not hers to keep. Maybe for now, but not for long. And that was breaking her heart so bad, she was not sure she could ever recover.

“I’m sorry Rose,” he whispered in her hair. “I was so focused on getting us out of here, I didn’t think of anything else. And then it was too late.”

She took a step back, a weak and brave smile on her face. She was already in too deep, but that doesn't mean she couldn’t try. “That’s ok. At least we are alive to tell the tale. Now we need to find the others. Any ideas?”

He wanted to say so many things to her. How much he loved her. How his hearts were broken to see the pain in her eyes, and how sad he was to know she was hiding things from him since River’s revelation. How nothing in the known or unknown universe would stop him from loving her until his very last breath, and that she was part of his soul like the Time schism was part of his very essence. River saying a part of his name would not change the fact that his hearts, and everything in him was yearning for Rose Tyler. He had not lied when he said he was born loving her, and would die loving her as fiercely as the day he took his first breath, because she was absolutely everything to him. But he could not say any of that. Not now. Not ever. Because he was apparently too late. Their story was already written in the stars, and he would have no part in it. Not at the beginning, but soon… One day soon, she will leave and take his hearts with her.

But instead of saying all of that, he smiled and shrugged. “We can still search for human life in the repertory.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 31

“Can you just admit that we’re lost already?” Rose sighed after they passed the same Node for the fifth time in a row.

“We’re not lost,” the Doctor replied grumpily, his sonic high in the air. He was trying to track the signal he had downloaded from one of the terminals, but the Moon’ signal was interfering with the reading, and he could only partially track it, making it harder to follow. But he was sure they were close. “It’s just hard to follow, so it’s taking more time.”

“That is literally the definition of the word lost, Doctor,” she said with a smile. When he turned around, ready to argue once again, his expression softened when he realized she was playing with him. He smiled at her, his manner radiating the joy he was feeling at the fact she was teasing him, like nothing had happened. He knew he would soon be gone, with everything happening around them, but he could not help but cherish these moments. Before Rose could ask him what’s gotten into him, as her puzzled expression was saying, his sonic bipped a few times. Telling him it had found the place they wanted to go. And when he extended the ear, he could effectively hear sound in the distance.

“Found them!” He said, triumphantly. “Told you we weren’t lost.”

“Yeah yeah...” She made a vague gesture, showing she was only a bit impressed. “I’ll remember that the next time we have to run for our lives because you’ve mistaken right from your left. Again.”

“That wasn’t me. That was Jack. And the second time was because SOMEONE…” He looked at her insistently. “Was looking at the map upside down.”

“I can’t read Geltap. How could I know,” she replied in a deadpan type of tone. They had a few seconds of silence before they fell into a fit of giggles, almost falling into each other at the memory that had been long discussed when they were still travelling together the first time around.

“That’s weird you know,” They could hear the River’s voice becoming clearer and clearer as they moved in their direction. “They came when I called, like they always do. Rose is well… Rose, but looking at him and seeing a virtual stranger instead of my Doctor is pretty unnerving. I mean I knew he was different before, I’ve seen pictures...You wouldn’t believe what he wore before. Thank god Rose didn’t meet him then, she would have run for the hills...They are still the Doctor and Rose in the TARDIS. Next stop, everywhere. But it feels...strange.”

“Finally found you!” Rose called out, trying not to show she had been listening. And before he could open his mouth and ruin everything, she nudged him in the ribs, making him cough with surprise.

“So how was it?” asked River, curious to know what they learned.

Rose shrugged. “Well we almost died and they’re hell bent on killing us all, I think. So same old, same old..”

“If they want to kill us so bad, why haven't they gotten me yet?” Anita asked in an anguished voice. Rose didn’t have the heart to tell her she still had two shadows, and by the look on the Doctor and River's face she wasn’t the only one.

“ I don't know,” the Doctor responded with a gentle voice, trying his best to reassure her. “Maybe tinting your visor's making a difference.”

Anita scoffed, crossing her arms in a gesture of clear anger, and no one could really blame her. “It's making a difference all right. No one's ever going to see my face again.”

Rose wanted to touch her to comfort her, show she was not alone, but she could not risk accidentally crossing the wrong shadow. So she only smiled. “Anything I can do to help?” she asked kindly.

“Well dying old in my bed. Anything you can do?” Anita said harshly, without even turning her face.

“On it!” replied the Doctor, the sonic in his hand.

“Doctor,” she continued, her whole body turning to face him. “When we first met you, you didn't trust Professor Song. And then she whispered a word in your ear, and then you did. I could do with a word like that. What did she say?” When the Doctor seemed hesitant to respond, exchanging a look with Rose, she pressed on. “Give a dead girl a break. Your secrets are safe with me.”

The Doctor perked up at the words. “Wait. Safe.”

“What?” Rose, River and Anita all said at once.

“Safe. You don't say saved.” He turned around, his eyes wild and crazy.” Don’t you understand? Nobody says saved! You say safe.” He pointed at Lux. “The data fragment! What did it say?”

“Four thousand and twenty two people saved. No survivors,” he said, not really sure where the Doctor was going with this.

The Doctor jumped up and down, going crazier by the second. “Don’t you see? Nobody says saved. Nutters say saved. You say safe. You see, it didn't mean safe. It meant, it literally meant, saved!”

“Wait does that mean…” Rose started, not really wanting to get her hopes up.

“Yes! Donna and all those people are alive!” he exclaimed. Then with a shout, Rose jumped in his arms, laughing with joy and relief. They had hope that they could still save them all.

“So what do we need to do?” River asked, her face once again serious. She was clearly ready to be back into the action.

“Easy, we need to access the archives. Something happened 100 years ago, and it’s the only source of information that would tell us what it was.” He turned to Dave. “We’ll need to open one of the panels, so I need you to make sure I stay connected while we search.”

Dave nodded, relieved to finally have something to concentrate on instead of thinking about their impending death.

Rose nudged the Doctor before he could go on full research and forget about the rest of them. “And us?”

“Rose, keep watch, I will be completely focused on the terminal, and we need to be prepared to run at the first suspicious sound or shadow.” He looked briefly at the others before ducking his head so only Rose could hear him. “You are the only one I trust completely, what River said be damned. Our life is in your hands.” Before she could react, he turned around with a bright smile on his face again. “Anita, can you stay with Lux? I want everyone to huddle together as much as possible. River, with me, I will need a second pair of eyes while Dave holds the panels.” He threw one last look at Rose before pointing his sonic to one of the screens who were around them.

Rose blinked, still under the shock of what he said, feeling like she had been hit by lightning. She knew she was supposed to focus on the ambient sounds or the growing shadows that were popping up around them with the loss of light. But her mind could only replay his words in a loop again and again. He had never been one too keen on talking about his feelings, he was more of a ‘blink and miss it' kind of alien. But when he decided to make a stand, knowing what the future held, those words were like a knife to the heart.

She looked at him and River, all serious and focused on the task at hand and wondered once again what she was for them in the future. She tried to imagine them together but failed. She knew he was not her Doctor, she told it as much, but was she not supposed to love them all if she was married to him in the future? Yet, she was looking at him more with curiosity than anything else. She could read a certain affection if she was concentrating hard enough, even a certain familiarity but nothing more. And if she was honest with herself, that bothered her even more than knowing he was not her to keep. She had loved her first Doctor with everything she had, still loved him, but she loved this one just as much. Because he was still the Doctor, the same one that took her hand and said run. So how River could not?

The Doctor, oblivious of Rose's restlessness, made a noise of appreciation when the screen lit up with all the information he wanted. “See?” He pointed to River after a few seconds of skimming the files he had found. “There it is, right there. A hundred years ago, a massive power surge. All the teleports going at once. Soon as the Vashta Nerada hit their hatching cycle, they attacked. Someone hits the alarm. The computer tries to teleport everyone out.”

“It tried to teleport four thousand twenty two people?” Her voice was a bit skeptical, like she could not fathom how it was possible.

He nodded with a manic smile.” It succeeded. Pulled them all out, but then what? Nowhere to send them. Nowhere is safe in the whole library.” He tapped a few times on the screen, pages scrolling at an alarming speed. “Vashta Nerada growing in every shadow. Four thousand and twenty two people all beamed up and had nowhere to go. They're stuck in the system, waiting to be sent, like emails.” He turned to the rest of the group, aware they were all now listening. “So what's a computer to do? What does a computer always do?”

River looked briefly at Rose “Saved them?” She suggested with an uncertain tone.

He jumped around, clapping her shoulder with a grin. “Exactly!” He looked around for a few seconds and motioned them to follow him. “The library,” he continued, stopping in front of one of the tables, clearing everything that was on it. He took out a sharpie from one of his pockets and started to draw on the now clear table. “A whole world of books, and right at the core, the biggest hard drive in history.” He was in full professor mode, and everyone was hanging to his every word, which Rose could not help but smile at. That’s when he was at his best. “The index to everything ever written. Backup copies of every single book. The computer saved four thousand and twenty two people the only way a computer can. It saved them to the hard drive.”

“You mean, the core of the planet?” asked Rose, trying to make sense of what he was saying.

But before he could respond, an alarm suddenly screamed all around them, loud and menacing, drowning every possible other sound.

“What is it? What's wrong?” Lux called out with agitation as he looked all around him. “Did you touch something you were not supposed to?” he accused while turning to the Doctor. His tone was accusatory and suspicious.

“Uh Doctor?” Dave interrupted, who had not moved from where he was. “You need to see this.”

But they didn't need to. It was flashing on every screen around them “Autodestruct enabled in twenty minutes.”

Rose blanched. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

The Doctor nodded, already hurrying to the nearest monitor, his sonic in hand. “In twenty minutes, this planet's going to crack like an egg if we don’t do something.”

“No. No, it's all right.” Lux smiled, his demeanor relaxing as he sat down on the table the Doctor had been busy drawing on. “The Doctor Moon will stop it. It's programmed to protect Cal.”

Rose wanted to ask him what Cal was, but the Doctor screamed before she could. When she turned around with panic, he was banging on a monitor with a frustrated frown on his face.

“All library systems are permanently offline. Sorry for any inconvenience,” a metallic voice said, repeating the phrase again and again, making the Doctor visibly more annoyed the more the voice repeated itself.

Lux lost all color beside her. “We need to stop this. We've got to save Cal.”

The Doctor stopped completely and turned around, his attention completely on Lux. Rose had the sudden impression she missed something important. And the look on River's face showed she was not the only one. “What is Cal?” he asked.

Lux looked down, an agitated look on his face before his shoulder dropped. “We need to get to the main computer. I'll show you. Just… Promise to be cautious,” his voice was small and resigned, and Rose felt a pang of sadness for him. He was visibly trying to keep something, and was forced to show his hands without having been given a choice. She felt for him.

The Doctor, sensing that more was a stake, merely nodded. “It's at the core of the planet. We need to find a map.” He turned to Dave. “Do you think you could turn one of the computers back?”

“No need, River said, her sonic pointed at the library logo in the middle of the compass rose on the floor. To everyone’s surprise and amazement the logo opened, making room for a platform. “Gravity platform,” she said with a grin.

“How did you know it was there?” asked Rose with astonishment. River was really full of surprises. It was almost not fair how awesome and badass that woman was.

She shrugged. “I memorized the blueprint of the planet.”

Rose could not help but laugh. This woman was clearly one to travel with the Doctor, no doubt about that.

Without another word, the six of them stepped on the platform and waited for it to go down.

---

The globe that was the core of the planet was slowly rotating, swirling with energy. The words 'autodestruct in fifteen minutes.” flashing in an angry red all around it.

“The data core. Over four thousand living minds are trapped inside it,” the Doctor uttered reverently as they all looked up with silence.

“Yeah well, they won't be living much longer,” River reminded them as she walked in what they supposed to be the interface. “We're running out of time.”

The Doctor was the first one to it, and without another word, pushed his sonic into what Rose supposed to be the power button. As the screen turned on, the voice of a young kid erupted around them, startling Dave who jumped in fright. “Help me. Please, help me.” The voice produced a slight echo in the empty room but she disappeared as fast as it appeared.

“What’s that?” Anita’s voice was unsettled as she stood behind Rose, who completely shared that sentiment.

“Was that a child?” asked River at the same time.

But the Doctor looked like he didn’t have heard anything, continuing to tap on the keyboard with determination. “The computer's in sleep mode. I can't wake it up. I'm trying,” he mumbled more to himself than to them. Rose walked behind him, wanting to help as much as possible, but squinted at the different lines of code appearing on the screen. Something was not right. “Is it me, or are those readings really weird?” She turned her head towards River, who visibly had the same idea.

But it was the Doctor who responded, his shoulder rigid and tense. “It’s not you. You'd think it was dreaming.”

“It is dreaming,” Lux answered with a small voice, “of a normal life, and a lovely Dad, and of every book ever written…”

“Computers can’t dream,” Dave commented with a sense of finality. Because if he was sure of something in this whole scenario, it was that.

But Lux didn’t reply, his attention already on something else. Without saying a word, he walked past the Doctor, who glanced at him with a puzzled look, and only stopped near an alcove that was partially blocked by one of the interfaces. “No, but little girls do,” he retorted with a voice that was flat and forceful. Without further notice he pulled a breaker that had been concealed by a notch on the wall. After a few seconds of silence, a door opened slowly near him. After he went through the door without a word, they all scrambled to run after him, uncertain if the door would stay open. And none of them wanted to be left behind, not with what was waiting for them in the shadows.

As they entered the room, they all stopped dead in their tracks, shocked by what was inside. A Node, who sported the face of one of a very young child, was looking at them with anguish and fear. As soon as she saw the Doctor, she started to scream, her voice pleading for them to help her. Repeating the words again and again.

“Oh my god,” River whispered with dismay.

Rose turned to the Doctor with an horrified look on her face. “That’s the little girl I talked to. The girl is in the computer.”

“She's not in the computer,” replied Lux, his hand hovering on the poor child's face, who was still screaming. “In a way, she is the computer. The main command node.” He finally turned, facing them with a grave face. “This is Cal.”

“Cal is a child?” yelled the Doctor, outrage radiating from his whole body. And how could Rose say anything when she wanted to leap and slap Lux. But River had grabbed her before she could even move a muscle, probably having foreseen her actions in advance. “A child hooked up to a mainframe? Why didn't you tell me this? I needed to know this!”

“Because she's family!” Lux yelled out, his body language showing he was ready to go to war on it. “Cal. Charlotte Abigail Lux. My grandfather's youngest daughter. She was dying, so he built her a library and put her living mind inside, with a moon to watch over her, and all of human history to pass the time. Any era to live in, any book to read. She loved books more than anything, and he gave her them all. He asked only that she be left in peace. A secret, not a freak show.” He deflated as soon he said the last word, tears running on his face.

“So you weren't protecting a patent, you were protecting her,” said the Doctor, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline at the realisation of what he was going against. Just a child, probably afraid and confused that had the consciousness of thousands of people running around her head.

Lux smiled sadly. “This is only half a life, of course. But it's forever.”

“And then the shadows came.”

“The shadows. I have to.” The frightened voice of poor Charlotte resonated once again. “I have to save. Have to save.”

Rose was crying as River put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “She just wanted them to live,” her voice broke on the last word. That poor child, gifted a planet full of people, stories and books. She had been condemned to a slow madness because she had just wanted to save them all. How was that fair?

The Doctor took her hand, his eyes soft, trying his best to show comfort. “She saved everyone in the library. Folded them into her dreams and kept them safe.” He knew it was probably empty words, but that’s all he had at the moment.

“Then why didn't she tell us?” Anita asked.

“Because she's forgotten,” continued the Doctor, his gaze still on Rose, intense and inmoving. Like he was trying to save her face to memory, like he was seeing her for the last time. “She's got over four thousand living minds chatting away inside her head. It must be like being, well, me.”

“So what do we do?” River asked while looking at the countdown still running in the background. They now only had ten minutes. They needed to do something. And it needed to be done right now.

The Doctor stayed silent for a second, his eyes becoming unbelievably sad as he smiled at Rose before turning around, fiddling with his sonic with his free hand. “We beam all the people out of the data core. The computer will reset and stop the countdown. Difficult. Charlotte doesn't have enough memory space left to make the transfer.” His attention was now completely focused on River, but his grip was becoming more intense on hers. Rose couldn’t help but feel dread at the action. She knew the Doctor, mainly how he was thought and what kind of man he was. He was preparing for something. And when he pronounced his next words, her blood ran cold.
“I'll hook myself up to the computer,” he finally said, his tone full of bravado and certainty. “She can borrow my memory space.”

“Are you insane?” River replied instantly, saying aloud what Rose had been thinking. “It'll kill you stone dead.”

“Yeah, it's easy to criticise.” The dismissiveness in his voice shook Rose out of her numbness. If he really thought she would let him go to his death, he was more delusional than she believed in the first place. She had gone to hell and back to find him again, and she would not lose him in their own version of a horror show. Nope, over her dead body. And probably River’s as well with the murderous look she was sending his way.

She snatched out her hand with force, making him turn around with surprise. “Are you trying to die?” She asked furiously. “That’s what you want? Because if you plug yourself in that computer you will burn out from the inside! And you are not coming back from that!”

“Rose…” he began, but she was having none of that.

“No! I will not let you do that! You will not die and hope for the best, just because you feel responsible for the universe. You want to do it? Fine, but we do it together! It's either that or I’m the one to do it.” She was sharing her lifeforce, sort of, with the TARDIS and she had the Wolf inside her. Of the two of them, she was the one that had more chance to survive that order. And if not, well then she was replaceable. He was not. When it was a choice between her and him it would always be him. No question asked.

But when she had waited for an argument, even a screaming match, he only laughed. A full out belly laugh, making her close her mouth almost violently in surprise. “I knew you would say that,” he said with a fond smile. “Rose Tyler, always trying to save me, even when you know it’s doomed.” His eyes were kind and tender. And when he kissed her forehead in a rare gesture of public affection, she could feel the start of a sob inside her. His smile grew bigger and softer as she smiled at him in an automatic response, how could she not? When she loved him so much.

He stroked her arm softly before taking her right hand into his, his pulse pounding wildly as he was clearly resisting taking her into his arms. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, just loud enough so only she could hear him. And before she could ask him what for, she heard the distinctive sound of the sonic near her arm and felt her transporter light up. “No!” she screamed, trying to jump away from him, praying she still had time. But it was too late and his contrite face was the last thing she saw before a white light engulfed her and she vanished.

The Doctor turned around, his visage hard and focused. All traces of the softness he had shown to Rose completely disappeared. “So, where were we?”

River was clearly unimpressed by what he had done.“You know she will hate you for this,” she warned while crossing her arms, showing her clear displeasure at his actions.

“Yeah, but she’ll still be alive to hate me for it.” His tone was final. He had no regret for his actions, not when he knew what the alternative was. He would always put her first, even if she would end up hating him for it. It was a small price to pay to keep her alive, but it was a price he was willing to suffer. He had already done it once before.

“Yes but this is a different situation,” was all that River would reply. And to be honest, she had a feeling that he heard the words ‘I told you so’ quite a few times after this. And she really hoped she would be there for that one. But as the Doctor turned, his whole demeanor completely stiff, she realized that she knew what she had to do. Like the Doctor said, sometimes, it’s worth the price.

Chapter Text

Chapter 32

Rose reappeared in the TARDIS in a ball of light, her body slamming violently against the grating as she had come in too fast for her to prepare herself. After a few seconds of her vision swimming, she tried to retrieve her bearings and took a deep breath, making her groan in pain. Her ribs and back felt like she had taken a baseball bat full force, and it took her a few seconds to regain her breath, her vision still unfocused as everything was a bit too bright and wobbly around her. Teleportation while knowing in advance was already hard enough on her body, but a forced one like that was absolutely hell. She could at least feel relieved she was not puking her guts out at the moment. Her very first trip had not not been that lucky to Mickey’s dismay. When she was finally able to stand up without quivering after sitting down, she began to feel the rage build up inside her at what the Doctor had done.

“Next time I see him I’ll slap him so hard, his next regeneration will feel it!” she screamed at the empty space, her fingers going white as she clamped on the console, trying her best to not let her fury overcome her completely. She looked briefly at her teleport, but she knew it was worthless at the moment. Without his exact coordinates, it would take an eternity to find his position, if she didn’t teleport herself into a wall or the void of the universe before that. But she was vaguely tempted to try anyway, maybe she would have teleported directly onto his head. The prick.

“Damnit!” she growled, more to herself than anything else. She had trusted the Doctor, so sure he was finally able to see her eye to eye with her. She had believed him when he had sworn they were a team and would make decisions together. She had been naive enough to think he was finally treating her like the competent woman she was, completely overlooking the multiple red flags he had thrown all over the place, and now she was paying the price. But once again he had overridden what she wanted, and took the decision out of her hands. And now she had been relegated to the TARDIS, while that insane idiot was actively trying to get himself killed somewhere on the planet.

She swore under breath as she started to pace around the TARDIS, who was curiously silent, because she knew if she didn’t find a solution rapidly, she would never have the occasion again. Because there was no way he would be able to regenerate from that, not even if he took all the precautions possible. And knowing him, the possibility was laughable.
Right now his plan was counting on her staying in the TARDIS and him hoping for the best, and that would not do. Not without a fight. She would not stay in the TARDIS, and cross her fingers. That was not who she was. Not today, not ever.

She looked once again at her teleport, and as she pushed a few buttons she realized that what she needed was to access one of the Nodes to track his position. That's what he had tried to do when they first came in, so why not do it again? She smiled again, happy to have found a plan that was still giving her a fighting chance against time. She walked to the doors with a firm step, her mind already in the action. But as she pulled, the doors stubbornly stayed shut. She frowned, trying once again with a bit more force, even pushing just to be sure, but they didn’t budge. The TARDIS was determined for her to stay inside, following loyally the whim of her captain. As she felt the panic starting to build, the Wolf stretched deep inside her, calming and grounding her, reminding her she had won before and she would win again. Right now was not the time to panic, but to take action. She knew what the TARDIS was doing. She had done it a long time ago, forcing her to take drastic action but she was more rational this time around.

She took a deep breath and turned to the time rotor, a determined look on her face. “I know you think you’re doing what he wants but if you don’t let me out, he will die. And it’s going to be permanent. No regeneration. No second chance.” She felt the air in the TARDIS shift and she smirked internally. She was getting through finally with that warning. “Do you remember that day? We looked into each other's hearts, and we saw how much we loved that impossibly insane Time Lord. Enough to defy time itself and we became one. His life is not supposed to end today. Don’t let him be foolish, not when we can stop him. You, me and the Wolf.” The following silence was almost overwhelming for Rose, enough to think she failed, but as her heart was tanking, she heard the door open with a click behind her. She felt she was missing something, but she had no time to dwell on it.

“Thank you,” she whispered emotionally before vowing, “I will not come back without him, I swear.” She would get him back to the TARDIS, whatever the cost may be.

As she ran to the Node they found when they landed, her mind only focused on one thing before realizing he was only displaying the warning message of auto destruction. She tried to tap on it multiple times, even hitting him with her fist and feet but it stayed stubbornly silent. When she asked him to display a map the only response she got was the auto destruction message in bold letters. Again and again.

“What now?” She thought as she sat down on the floor. She only had a few minutes left and a whole world to explore. How could she find him in time? How could she save him? She felt helpless as she looked at the ceiling. She had waited dozens of years. And to lose him like this, it was not fair...Especially when she knew what she had to do. She only needed one tiny bit of information and it was just out of her grasp. She let her head drop on the cold marble of the Node, who was still repeating the warning message in a loop, making her hate a bit more every time.

But, as despair started to creep up in her heart, to the point that she was considering reaching out to the Wolf and letting it loose as a last resort, she felt a slight tug in her body. She waited a few seconds, thinking that maybe she had finally lost her mind, but felt it once again. Curiously she turned her head slowly, trying to pinpoint the origin and felt the urge grow stronger as she looked at the TARDIS. She almost slapped herself at the realisation. Of course! How could she forget the best machine of them all? If one thing in the universe could help her find the Doctor, it was her. How could she have missed it? They already did it once like she had said earlier, why not try again? She scrambled to her feet and ran, almost crashing inside as she opened the door with haste.

“I need your help!” she shouted to the column, who suddenly became brighter at her words, like she had been waiting for those words. Before she could even ask, a part of the console flashed, indicating to Rose where to start. This made Rose smile brilliantly. Even after years of separation, they were still a team, united with the same goal. Without another second wasted, she tapped on one of the terminals, while simultaneously pushing a few buttons. She still has a few memories of the time the Doctor had tried to teach her how to fly the TARDIS. As a result, a few of the screens turned on, flashing gallifreyan symbols she could not decipher.

She frowned, she didn’t have time to search for a translation. “Give me the map of the planet with all the humanoids on it please,” she asked politely. Only a second later, the map of the whole planet appeared, multiple red points moving around. She felt herself perk up, that narrowed it down. Unfortunately, a few of them were pretty scattered, and she had no idea if it was the Doctor or the rest of the crew trying to run from him. But they were going somewhere. “Ok, focus on the one with two hearts please.” All the blinking disappeared except one, indicating that the Doctor was right there for her to find. She could save him, she still had time, he was still alive. She took notes of the coordinate that was written near the edge of the screen and put them in her teleport. “Wish me luck,” she said to the TARDIS, who hummed louder in return, showing her faith in her. So with one last smile, she punched the button with force. A flash engulfed her once again, and she was gone.

---

She reappeared more graciously this time, not crashing anywhere and on her own two feet. That's what happens when you’ve prepared beforehand. But to her great surprise, where she had expected to see the Doctor actively trying to kill himself with his scheme, and her more than ready to scream bloody murder to him. He was visibly unconscious, slumped on the side of a machine and handcuffed to one of the railings.

“I told him you wouldn’t go without a fight,” River’s voice suddenly rang out, making her jump in surprise.

When she turned around, the woman was busy tapping on the computer, her head not even looking up from what she was doing.

“What did you do to him?” She asked, a bit impressed by the result.

“He refused to listen, and I knew if I didn’t do anything, he would have fried himself beyond recognition. So I knocked him out.” River’s voice was even, not even a trace of emotion in it. She was too focused on her task.

That woman was clearly something else. “You knocked him out. Why?”

River finally looked up, sadness written all over her face. “Because it’s not his time to die. Not today.”

“It’s not yours either!” Rose shot back instantly. “No one has to die today.”

The sadness on River’s face intensified as she automatically presumed what Rose was about to say. “If you try, even with your... capacities, you will die. It’s too powerful! No one is strong enough to power it without dying.”

“Just let me do it!” Rose insisted, because if River was his future, she would not let the woman die pointlessly. She had visibly known her in the future, but time could be rewritten and she would do it. For him.

River looked startled at the idea, even completely astonished by her words. “Why would you do that?” she finally asked after a few moments of silence. “I'm sorry Rose, but that makes no sense at all.”

Rose walked a few feet and crossed her arms, she was dead serious. “Yes, you know me from the future, I understand as much but…” She wavered at the thought, but she had to be strong. “Time is not fixed, you can still live. If not for you, do it for the Doctor.”

River was looking at her like she had spouted two heads. “What do you think I’m trying to do? I’m trying to save both your lives! Why would you want to die when it’s clearly not your time? You have no idea how much insanity you would unleash if you died today!”

“Because he loves you!” Rose almost shouted. As River almost fell over in surprise, she corrected herself. “Not him but future him. He loves you, and you cannot leave him like this. That’s not fair, not to you and not to him. Let me at least do that. Please.” She knew that she was sounding desperate with her pleading, but she had to try to save her. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if River died because she refused to take a stand, it would eat her alive.

But River was visibly more dumbfounded than relieved at her words. “Wait… Are you trying to sacrifice yourself because...You think that the Doctor and I are together?” she was saying it as if it were the most ludicrous idea she had ever heard.

Rose frowned. “Yes. He told me that you knew his name, and how someone would be able to learn his name. It’s not rocket science to take two and two equal to four, River. I mean it’s clearly in the future if you never saw this face before. And you seemed to know Donna, but not that well so…” She paused before continuing,” don’t worry though. I...I understand.” A lot of things could happen with regeneration. Maybe the next Doctor didn’t love her afterward, or maybe they decided they were better friends now with River in their lives...She could not really judge, but if the Doctor loved River enough to marry her, she would respect his choice and do everything in her power to send her back to him. She loved him enough for that.

“Oh my god! No!” River seemed completely horrified at the idea. “He is my godfather!” She paled as soon as she pronounced those words, realizing she said something she shouldn’t. “Oh mom is going to kill me if I make it back alive,” she muttered, almost facepalming herself.

Rose felt the sudden urge to sit down. Like the axe of the planet had suddenly shifted on themselves. “Your godfather? But you said his name! His true name!” She was almost shouting she knew that, but nothing was making sense now. How could she know his name in that case?

“I only know the beginning of it, and it’s because you made me learn it when I started university!” River shot back, still in shock herself. “You two watched me grow up. I literally took my first steps in the TARDIS! That would be horrifically wrong to see him like that!” Then she realised she already said too much so why not continue.

“Oh…” Was the only response Rose could muster. She was the one to teach her his name, that would mean she would be the one to marry him. She suddenly felt like she had been hit with a lorry.

“Now you understand why I’m the one that should die?” continued River, taking out her sonic to fiddle with some wire near the platform.

“No. If what you said is true, I will not let you die for him. He will not accept that. And neither will I.” How can she let his goddaughter die? Apparently someone they saw grow up, enough to be considered family. That would be wrong on so many levels.

River had a humourless laugh, full of mixed joy and sadness. “You know what is funny, Rose? All my life people tried to limit me. Saying I shouldn’t do that, shouldn’t go there… My parents and the Doctor always had something to say. I think because they always knew the end. But you, you were the only one who let me be.” She smiled gratefully at Rose. “Whatever the choice I wanted to make, you were always beside me. And when someone commented on it, you always replied that it was important to learn to make a choice and stick to it. You treated me like someone that mattered, when everyone tried to shelter me. Yeah the Doctor was the fun uncle I would see everytime I wanted to have an adventure that would finish by us running for our lives. But you, you were the one I looked up to. The role model I aspired to be because I was always taken seriously. So please Rose, let me make my choice.”

Rose felt her throat close up at River words. She could totally understand what she was going through and what she was trying to say. She herself had been fighting since she was 19 to have that freedom of choice. To be listened to. But, that would mean watching this absolutely brilliant woman die in front of her. And it was too much. “I don’t want you to die. Can we find another way?”

River knew what the other woman would say, even before her smile took a pained turn. “You know perfectly well that we have no other choice.” She fell silent for a few seconds before smiling happily again. “You know when you told me I needed to learn that part of his name, I really thought you had finally lost it. I mean that long with him how could you not? But you said it would be important one day. So I did. How could I not? You were always here for me, never judging, always ready to lend me a shoulder to cry on or even break me out of jail.” When Rose looked at her with surprise, she smirked. “Oh... Spoiler on that one. I don’t even think my parents or the Doctor know about it. I love them very much, but I don’t think they would have let me live it down if that was the case. Even with how much mom tries to make me believe she’s been a rebel in her youth.” She chuckled again before a sob raised in her voice.

Rose's heart broke for her, as well as a family she could not say goodbye to. Even if they had known and tried to, it would never be the same. “One day I will tell them. I will say goodbye for you.”

River head snapped up in surprise and a tiny bit of hope. “Does this mean that you’ll let me do this?”

“Who am I to force you? Overriding you when I’m blaming the Doctor for the same thing, which would be very hypocritical of me.” Even if she knew she was just accepting the other woman's choice, she could not help but feel the tears in her eyes at the mess of a life lost too soon. “It’s just...I would have wanted to have more time to get to know you.”

“But you will,” River was quick to offer assurance, her eyes also suspiciously wet. “It’s just the beginning for you.”

The moment was cut short by the robotic voice coming from the computer. “Autodestruction in two minutes.”

The Doctor suddenly came to at that moment, jerking up at the sound. When he turned his head and caught sight of River ready to splint the two principal wires together, he started to panic. “Oh, no, no, no, no!” he screamed, making the two women turn in his direction, making him realize that Rose was back. “Rose! What are you doing here?” Surprise and fear written all over him. “Get back! It's not safe! Both of you!”

“Nice to see over protectiveness is not a trait shared only by your other regeneration,” River quipped. “Apparently it’s built up from the beginning.”

“You should have seen the one before him,” Rose snickered. “Over protectiveness and possessiveness rolled up into one.”

“This isn’t really the moment to joke!” He tried to stand up but was stopped by the handcuffs. “Wait, why am I handcuffed? Why do you even have handcuffs?” he asked, visibly baffled by the possibility of someone running around with that kind of thing.

To Rose's amusement, River blushed. “Eh, you don’t want to know.”

“This is not a joke. Stop this now. This is going to kill you! I'd have a chance, you don't have any.” He turned to Rose. “Stop her!”

But a death stare was his only response as she crossed her arms. “So now that I am useful to you, you want me in the action? Right?”

“You wouldn't have a chance, and neither does Rose or me,” River continued. “I'm timing it for the end of the countdown. There'll be a blip in the command flow. That way it should improve our chances of a clean download. That’s our only chance. And by doing that, you know what that means.”

“River, please. No,” he pleaded, emotions pouring from those few words. Of course he knew what that would mean but out of the three of them, he was the only one with a slight chance to get out of it alive. River would completely fry until nothing would remain, and he could not stand it, not when he could save her life.

“It’s funny how everything makes sense now. This means you've always known how I was going to die. Both of you. All this time, while you had me gallivanting all around time, you knew I was coming here. Funny thing is, last time I came to visit and told you where I was going, my m...Well you and someone else tried to stop me.” She turned to Rose, who was trying her best to keep her distance to not interfere with her, and smiled. “You and...well someone else were the ones to stop them overreacting and let me live my life. Your words not mine. But when it was time to say goodbye, you cried. The others always cried when I left. But you and the Doctor, you never cried, it should have been a sign.”

“ Autodestruct in one minute,” said the computer, completely unperturbed by all the emotions flying around.

“You wouldn't tell me why,” continued River, her smile wobbling with the magnitude of her feelings. “But you all knew it was time. My time. Time to come to the library. That’s why you and the Doctor fought so hard that day. You even fought with…well that doesn’t matter who but you refused to tell me why. I was in a hurry to go, so I promised to myself that I was going to ask you next time I’ll see you. I suppose it’s no bother now.” She shrugged in a false sense of bravado, but Rose could see through it. Poor woman was terrified to die, but she was willing to because it was the right thing to do. The goddaughter of the Doctor of course. Rose felt a surge of proudness like never before. She could not wait to meet that extraordinary woman in another time and another place.

The Doctor looked crushed in his corner, looking longingly at the two sonic screwdrivers who were just a bit out of reach. River followed his gaze and sighed. “There’s nothing you can do, Doctor. I’m sorry. And you know it was a birthday present, my last from you so that would be very rude of yourself to steal it back from me,” she finished in a very cheerful voice, trying her best to alleviate the mood but without success.

But the Doctor was not deterred and turned to Rose. “How can you let you do this?” he asked in a tone that was harsh and desperate. “How can you let her die when there are other ways? We are supposed to save people, not let them die!” But Rose's face only became more somber, her whole body rigid and stiff.

“Because it’s her choice, Doctor. She chose to do this. Who am I to decide who lives and who dies? Are we God now?” He flinched at her words, but she was still not finished. “I will not take away her autonomy, she is a grown woman. And she is doing it because she knows she has to do it.” She turned to River. “Am I right? Is it a closed time loop?” River only nodded, not able to do much more. Rose always was her champion and even now, when she didn’t know her at all, she was still her protector. She just regretted not having more time with her, she still had so much to learn from her.

“Do you remember my dad, Doctor? Because I remember like it was yesterday,” Rose suddenly asked, and he turned his face, shame written all over his face. “Even if you or I take her place, we are only going to unleash the reapers on the world and lose everything either way.” She walked to River, who was ready to join the two power cables together and hugged her. Without any warning she felt the Wolf engulf her, taking over her head. She knew that her eyes were glowing as River gasped when she looked at her.

“You are brave and strong,” she whispered, her voice taking that strange double tone that was prevalent when the Wolf was in charge “People will remember you for years to come. You will not die in vain, Melody River Williams-Pond.” River was visibly on the verge of bursting into tears as she released her, the autodestruct starting his countdown in the background. When she took a step back, she felt the Wolf leaving her once again, putting her back in full control of herself. The lack of fear or complete surprise on River's face about the Wolf was the most surprising for Rose, but she didn’t have enough time to dwell on it. Not with only ten seconds to spare. “I am so so proud of you, River.” She finished, knowing she could not say much more. But it was enough for River who knew it had come from a special place.

The Doctor smiled sadly in the background, completely oblivious of what happened in the last few seconds. “I am so sorry, River. If I could have done things differently I would have.”

But River was nothing but determined. She turned to the Doctor, and with one last smirk warned, “Don’t you dare.”

As the Computer reached one, she joined the two cables together, making a blinding light which pushed Rose into the Doctor under the force of the flare up. It took them half a minute to bear their sense again, and when they looked up, the place where River was now empty.

“I’m sorry, Doctor, but we had no other choice,” Rose lamented as she took one of the sonics to release him. “When it became clear it was a closed time loop, I realized it was the only way and River knew it too. Way before us.”

The Doctor stood up, massaging his wrist, his face sad and somber. “It’s just...She knew my name…And I never had time to ask how it happened.”

“She would have never told you. She seemed pretty big on not spilling secrets to you and…” She was interrupted by Lux who ran into the room visibly overjoyed. “Look at that. Oh, look at that. You did it. Four thousand and twenty two people, saved!”

“We’ll talk about this later,” she said to the Doctor before turning again to Lux while the Doctor pocketed both sonic and River diary. “What do you mean?”

Lux’s smile was borderline manic. “They're all here! All of them!”

Rose and the Doctor exchanged a look. “All of them?” the Doctor asked tentatively, not trying to push his hope up.

Lux smiled happily, knowing exactly what the Doctor was asking. “Donna appeared in the grand hall. She is actually screaming to poor Dave about seeing a manifest of the people who had appeared with her.”

Without another thought, the Doctor and Rose sprinted out of the room, not even bothering with the slow gravity platform, and ran to the stairs. Taking three by three, they bursted into the room with great fracas, making everyone turn around. The Doctor was the first to spot Donna, who was literally pushing people out of her way to get to them.

“Donna!” he screamed, running to her with a wide smile. He lifted her and spun her around in his joy of seeing her alive, making her scream with fright. She was happy to see him, especially after the nightmare of the fake world, but she had forgotten how much he could be sometimes.

“Oh my god Doctor, put me down! Rose, do something!” Donna yelled, but as soon as the Doctor did let go of her, Rose launched herself at the redhead, hugging her with all she had.

“Group hug!” the Doctor shouted, using his long arms to take the two women in his embrace, making them both yell as he almost crushed them in his haste to show his happiness. At least something good had come out of this, he thought. That’s all that mattered right now.

One day he will lose everything but not right now. Right now was good.

Chapter Text

Chapter 33

“We were so worried about you,” started the Doctor while doing a quick once over at the same time. “As soon as we realized you were not in the TARDIS, we thought the worst…”

“Yeah about that…” Donna crossed her arms. “I want to know why you thought sending me to the TARDIS was a brilliant idea. What do you think I would have done? Wait for you and Rose with a cup of tea?”

“I just wanted you safe…” he tried to plead, but Donna was having none of this and Rose was clearly not one to help him in that case.

She glared at him with great intensity. “By sending me to a computer that made me hallucinate a whole new life? Great idea!” She was saying it with sarcasm, but the underlying vulnerability was hard to miss. And Rose could not help but wonder what happened to her while she was missing.

“What do you mean?” Rose asked gently, before the Doctor could do it himself, with way less tact.

Donna turned her head, trying her very best to swallow back the tears she felt creeping in her eyes. “It’s pretty hard to explain but it was like a dream...I was married and had two children. A whole life…” Her voice broke on the last few words. She knew none of them existed. That Lee and kids were a figment of her imagination, but it appeared to be so real at that moment, and she could not help but miss them. She felt like a piece of her was missing, and it was tearing her apart because she was mourning a dream. She knew it was not the Doctor's fault, but her heart was not feeling the same. Maybe with time. As she looked around, trying not to cross the Doctor's gaze, she realised that someone was missing. “Where is River?”

It was the Doctor's turn to look away as Rose had a sad smile. “She died saving you all. It was the only way to save everyone without having the planet blown apart…”

“Oh, I’m sorry…” Donna said awkwardly. She had liked River, she was spunky and full of life. She would have loved to know more about her, and felt sadness at her brutal ending. “So what happened after I was teleported? Because it was pretty crazy on my end, so I can’t imagine what the two of you did.” She tried to joke, but instead of the lightened atmosphere she had hoped to create, the tension suddenly became very glacial. She looked at the Doctor but he was too busy examining the ground. “It’s something I said?” she asked tentatively.

“No.” Said Rose harshly, more in the Doctor's direction than her. “The Doctor will explain everything to you, I need some air.” And without another word, she turned heels and marched down into the crowd, disappearing in a few seconds.

When the Doctor's only response to her interrogating look was to look away guiltily, Donna felt the sudden urge to facepalm herself. Or him for that matter. “Ok what did you do?” she asked with a sigh. Half a day without her and everything had gone to hell apparently.

He looked down, knowing Donna will probably murder him right here when he opened his mouth. “I sent her back to the TARDIS by using her own hopper against her…” he mumbled abashedly.

She slapped him hard on the shoulder, making him yelp under the surprise and the pain. “Oh my god, how can you be so stupid?! The fact you tried to send me back is bad enough, but her? Do you have a death wish? No, don't answer that, I don’t want to know!” She just wanted to strangle him. All her work for them to talk went right to the toilet because that utter moron was too stupidly in love to realise how insane he was.

“It was too dangerous!” he replied as if the fact completely justified his actions. “I couldn’t let her go and sacrifice herself!”

“Let me guess…You tried to do it yourself.” His nod was all she needed. She felt her eyes roll so hard they almost got stuck. “You’re lucky you’re still alive. So, what happened?”

His shoulder slumped over, all fight leaving him. “When River realised what I wanted to do, she knocked me out and took my place. When I woke up, it was already too late. I tried to tell Rose that I could do it but she refused to let me go. She died saving you all.”

Donna opened her mouth before closing it and sighing. “I’m so sorry, Doctor,” she finally said after a few seconds. That’s all the words she had at the moment and she hoped it was enough.

—

Rose was too angry to talk to anyone right this instant. His betrayal was still too raw, and her emotions were still all over the place. He had been a right moron, and even if he had done it to protect her, she still felt like he had failed her. And now River was dead. She knew it was the only way, but they could have found another solution, or make it less painful for her. If the Doctor had understood she was grown up enough to be part of the solution, they would not be here right now. Mourning and angry at each other. At that instant, she was not even sure she wanted to continue to travel together. He had told her they would work on it, be a team and friends again. But at the first sign of hardship he literally threw everything out the window without any way for her to plead her case. She wanted to believe him, that it was just a fluke, but she knew better.

She sighed as she looked around her. At least those people were saved, River’s death was not in vain and like Bad Wolf had told her, she will be remembered for years to come. That was the only consolation for her at the moment. With a swallowed sob, she let herself slump down where she was, her back against a bookshelf that had been hazardly discarded in the panic.
.
She didn’t know how long she remained there without moving. Her estimate was probably close to an hour. While looking at the ceiling blankly, she felt someone sat down right beside her with a heavy sigh. She turned slightly, crossing the gaze of a man who looked lost and disoriented.

“Do you need help?” she asked kindly, realizing that having a meltdown for a crisis of faith was nothing compared to reappearing after more than a century in a computer.
“I-I-I’m so-sorry I d-don’t want to bo-bother you,” he stammered, looking embarrassed at the attention. Not really realizing that someone had been there. “I c-can go if y-you want.”

“No, don’t worry!” she assured him with a smile. “I know it can be hard to be suddenly with all those people and noise. What can I do for you?”

He looked to his right for a few seconds before his shoulder slumped. “I d-d-don’t k-know w-where to g-go. I t-tried to a-ask a n-n-node b-but…”

“But they were no help,” she finished kindly for him. He nodded rapidly before frustration appeared on his face and she could only feel compassion for him. He only wanted to go back home and nobody was really helping him, too busy trying to run all around.

She put a hand on his shoulder and smiled, showing she was here to help. “No worries, we are near the little shop, and I know for a fact that one of the teleporters is not far from it.” She presented her hands in a show of friendship. ““I’m Rose Tyler, and you?””

“L...Leed...Leedian M...Melc...cvoy,” he stuttered, with a bit more assurance than before, shaking her hands with force.

“Nice to meet you, Leedian,” she responded with a brilliant smile. “Come with me.” She got up, with a bit of help from the bookshelf, and turned to the man with a raised eyebrow. When he realized what she wanted to do, he scrambled to get up himself and almost tumbled into a pile of books. Making Rose laugh with mirth. She made a head gesture and after making sure he was following her the right way, stopped at one of the teleporters which was coincidentally empty. “Go to this one, that will take you to a designated spot where you will be able to say to an officer where you want to go.” He looked relieved at her words, as the computer repeated the message in the background.

“T-T-Thank you, R...Rose.” He smiled back before walking to the teleporter. They waved to each other as the teleporter lightened up and in a second, he was gone.

She waited a few seconds, making sure he would not suddenly reappear, and started to walk back to the only little piece of peace she had been able to find since they landed on the planet. As she crossed the lecture hall, when most of the people were amassed, she was intercepted by a frantic Doctor.

“I’ve been searching for you all over.” His tension poured out of him like water. “You need to be careful, the Vashta Nerada are not gone!”

She snatched her arm back, with a bit more violence than intended and before he could say another word, she slapped him. Hard enough to make the sound echo all around them, making a few people turn around.

He took a step back in surprise before averting his eyes, remorse written all over features. “Ok, I deserve this one. But I’m sorry...I know it’s not enough, not after what I’ve done. I have a lot to atone but…” He sighed. “Donna wanted to go back to the TARDIS, do you want to come or do you need more time?”

She almost told him off, ready to scream and shout, draping herself in her wrath and outrage but she was just tired. Too tired to fight, to claw at every shadow and at his ignorance. So she only nodded and followed him in silence. She knew he was feeling dejected and miserable. He knew he had fucked up, way beyond everything possible, but she was exhausted to try and make sense of his mistakes. On top of that, she wasn’t even going to try and make an attempt to accept his attempts at amends for said screw ups right now.

She continued straight until she could see Donna in the distance. The poor woman was also looking worse for wear. The little of what she told them when she was still here had been clearly deeply traumatizing for her, and Rose wanted nothing more than to comfort her. But she didn’t know what to say when she was herself so out of it. So she only smiled at her friend, trying to show all the empathy she could not muster to voice right at that instant. Her nod was all the response she needed.

---

They walked back to the TARDIS in complete silence. None of them were brave enough to break down the stillness that had taken place in their little group. The Doctor wanted nothing more than to talk, but he was not sure what kind of words he should use. He knew he was completely in the wrong, but when he had realized what should be done, he had been suddenly terrified of losing her completely and he had acted irrationally. But now Rose was deeply hurt and Donna grieving a life that never existed. He never felt so powerless

As they walked past the balcony rail they first stopped at, he took out River’s diary out of his coat. He had only wanted to slow down a bit, but they all stopped in one go, looking at him with tired but curious eyes.

“Your friend Professor Song. She knew you in the future,” started Donna with a thoughtful voice. “But she seemed more distant with me…” She looked briefly at Rose. “How much in the future do you think she came from?”

Rose shrugged. “Unsure. She was not really forthcoming with her information. I’ll say maybe 30 years? A bit more? Who knows.”

The Doctor could only look sadly at the book, realising that it was now useless for its owner. “This is her diary. My, well, our future.” He didn’t dare look at Rose, not really certain to want to see what was in her eyes right now. “I could look you up. What do you think? Shall we peek at the end?” he finished somewhat cheeky.

Rose gazed at the book with sorrow. Everything that was River was now only empty words between pages. “Spoilers, I think,” she whispered with a broken voice, making Donna and the Doctor wince under the depth of emotions.

After a brief silence, he took out her screwdriver from one of his pockets and put it on the diary. As he turned around, ready to walk back to the TARDIS with the two other women, he suddenly froze, his eyes wide and startled.

“What?” asked Rose, a bit afraid he had finally snapped.

He turned to them, elation written all over his face. “Why? Why would I give her my screwdriver? Why would I do that?” He took out his own sonic and after a second of scanning the other one, his smile became maniacal. He snatched back the other one and turned to Rose with joy, making her almost trip with how close he was getting. “Thing is, future me had years to think about it, all those years to think of a way to save her, and what he did was give her a screwdriver. Why would I do that?” Before they had time to respond he bolted to the big staircase that was nearby.

Donna and Rose looked at each other with surprise, and tried to follow but they soon lost him as he was way faster than them when he wanted. Rose was the first one to give up, her lung ready to burst as she was clearly not as fast as her younger self. Donna tried a bit more but when she could not see him anywhere, she turned around and rejoined Rose who was still catching her breath.

“No idea where he went,” Donna said slightly out of breath. “Do you know what happened?”

“Absolutely no idea,” rasped Rose. “But oh my god I forgot how fast he could be sometimes. I feel completely ridiculous suddenly.” She laughed, realizing how her younger self could lap around her right now if she felt like it.

“Don’t be. It’s not like he gave us a head start. He screamed and then he was gone.” She stopped for a few seconds, frowning. “Do you think he finally cracked?”

“With him? Nothing would surprise me anymore.” She was feeling a bit better now that she had completely stopped, but she was still feeling uneasy, especially all alone right here. “We should go back, I don’t feel really comfortable to be in the middle of the library with the Vashta Nerada still around.”

Donna darted around with a slight look of horror on her face. She was not really keen on going face to face with them. “Mmh yeah, he can meet us on the way, good idea.”

They were at the height of the staircase when the Doctor reappeared again, smiling broadly and slightly sweeting. Showing he had run all the way until now.

“Where did you go?” Donna asked, noting that River sonic was now nowhere in sight.

“I saved River.” he replied while still smiling like a loon. “I realized that if I knew she would die in advance, why would I give her a sonic if I knew it would be no use? And then it hit me: a neural relay! I knew she would be hit by that much current, making her almost one with the computer for a very brief second! So if I integrated a neural relay, the sonic would use that moment to intercept what is basically her essence, and then I would be able to transfer her in the computer. Just like how Cal did it!” He was almost bouncing with how much he was pleased with himself, making Rose almost smile at his cuteness.

“So she is with Cal right now? Living a life?” Donna's voice was a bit emotional, knowing exactly what was happening to River now.

As they were seeing the TARDIS he slowed down a bit. “Yes, she is dreaming right now of a better life, with no pain and no suffering.”

“That’s good, she deserves to have a good life. Even if it’s a virtual one.” Rose nodded, more to herself than anything.

As they crossed the TARDIS doors, the lights flashed a few times, showing them the machine was pleased to see them back. But the mood was not really joyful at the moment, and as soon as Rose walked in, her whole body froze. The map of the whole planet, still calibrated on the anatomy of the Doctor, was still flashing on the monitors, reminding her what she had to go through to get back to him.

When he realised what he was looking at, and how Rose had been able to track him down again, he tried to touch her. Trying his very best to convey how sorry he was. But before his hand could make contact with her, she gave him a frosty glare that made him freeze under her gaze.

Without a word, she turned around while throwing an apologetic smile to Donna to show it was absolutely not against her, and walked straight in the bowels of the TARDIS. After a few seconds the Doctor gave the impression he would follow her, but only walked to the guardrail and sat down heavily in the padded chair, taking his head into his hands.

“I screwed up, didn't I?” he asked quietly whilst completely deflating into himself. He had made a grave mistake and now...Now he was losing Rose. When he had heard River say his name, he had wondered how a future regeneration of him could have lost Rose so badly, when she was right here. But now he realized that future him had nothing to do with it. It was all him. When River had told him he would regret it, he had assured her he would bear the consequence of his action if that meant she was alive. But now he was not certain. How could he go on if she left him once again?

Donna sat down beside him, compassion radiating from all around her. “What happened? I understand trying to protect me. Not that I fully forgive you right now. But I understand. I’m not really equipped with dealing with that kind of thing. Whacking an alien around the head, no problem. But a man eating swarms? Above my paygrade,” she joked. “But Rose? She is a warrior. She literally travelled dimensions, fought in war, lost everything five times over. But she is still here, ready to fight, if that means saving one person. What do you think would happen when you sent her back, without even asking her thoughts on it?”

He lifted his head, misery on his face. “That’s the issue. I didn’t think. When I sent you back, I knew she would not go down without a fight, that’s why I let it go when she refused to follow us. But that was ok, we were together and even if you would have cursed a storm when we would be back, it would be a story to tell at night and that’s it. But then River said my name, and all I could think was that I already lost Rose...And I lost my mind…” He sighed again. That was the issue, he didn’t think clearly at all when the moment the possibility of losing Rose - now or later - became real.

Donna looked at him curiously. “I said your name everyday and you never lost it on me you know.”

He had a pained smile at the image, but he was far too gone to see the complete humour in her words. “No, River said the beginning of my real name. The one given to me on Gallifrey. The only way to uncover it, except to ask those on Gallifrey but it’s impossible nowaday, is my gallifreyan wedding.”

She jerked up at the revelation. “Wait, does that mean you will be married to River? Like proper married and all?” He could only nod. Saying it loud was a bit too much for him, too real. She looked pensive for a few seconds. “Uh weird, I didn’t have that feeling at all. Are you sure? I mean, there is no other way? Because, no offense Doctor but for once I’m already surprised enough that Rose is in love with you, so River...And second, she seemed more enthralled with Rose than you. And I didn’t feel any romantic feelings at all from anywhere. Unless I missed something when I was on the computer.”

“I’m certain. she said that part of my name. And like I said, the only way for her to know it is to learn it during our wedding.” He knew he was a bit forceful with her, but it was already hard enough to know that part of his future, repeating it was not helping his mood in the slightest.

“Wait. You just said she told you a part of your name right? Not the totality?” He nodded again, her excitation intriguing him, but he was still not seeing where she was heading with this. “Can she learn it from someone else? Like for example if someone just makes her repeat a few sounds that look like the beginning of your name?”

“That’s...a possibility. But it’s really far-fetched Donna…” He knew she was saying this because he was really down and on the verge of probably crying on her shoulder, but even for him it was a bit much.

But Donna was not really listening to him, the idea she suddenly had taking form in her head and made her almost bounce on the seat. Funnily making her look a bit like the Doctor. “No, no you said it yourself! You had years, even decades to think about that moment! When she said your name, I suppose it was really important? She didn’t seem to be the kind of woman to throw that kind of information around just for the hell of it.”

He straightened up, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “We were running from the Vashta Nerada and I was accusing her of stealing the sonic from me. I was not trusting her at all, and I would have never had her lead us to the center of the planet if that was the case. I would have insisted on a different way!”

“And she would not have been able to save us in time,” Donna added while she was on a roll. “And future you knew that. Hell, I suppose Rose did too. Because she knew Rose, Doctor. Not in a furtive kind of way like myself. She probably saw me once or twice, heard about me. But she was obviously friends with Rose. They probably talked often, and if Rose was there when she told your name…” She didn’t have to finish where her thoughts were going, as he already jumped up and was now pacing back and forth in front of the console as he came to the same conclusion.

He passed his hands in his hair, making it stick all around. “She was there but that’s not the point. I told her what happened and what it was implying. The only things those implications could mean. And I was thinking about how that made no sense, because how can River know Rose and I, and still be married to me. Because…” He stopped suddenly and looked at Donna with shocked eyes.

“Because you love her,” Donna finished his thought. She knew her best friend's feelings, but she also knew how skittish he was around the topic. Even more now that it was a possibility. “Doctor, if what I think is right, what you did to Rose is even worse than you think...”

“Because I broke her trust.” He started to pace again. “I thought I was already losing her. River was the manifestation of that. It was already written by the universe, so breaking her trust was the price I was ready to pay if that meant she would live. She would hate me, but she would be alive. And maybe it would hurt less when she decided she was ready to turn the page on me and live her life.” He suddenly faced Donna, his eyes wild and panicked. “But if what you think is right…” He didn’t dare say it aloud. He couldn’t. Not when too much was at stake.

Her shoulders dropped when she realised his thought process and why he did it. He had tried to self sabotage himself, to make Rose the one to leave him when the time was right. He could be the most brave person in the universe, but when it came to Rose he was a coward through and through. And she was afraid of that for once, he would lay in the bed of his own making. “Doctor… You’ve heard about self-fulfilling prophecies, right?” she asked with a sad voice.

“I need to talk to her,” he said suddenly, already turning around and ready to barrel through the hallway of the TARDIS before freezing up. “Wait, Donna I…”

“Go. We’ll talk later.” She smiled sadly. She knew he also felt guilty with what she went through, but the life she had lived was just a dream and yes she would love to talk about it. Because if she didn’t, it would eat at her, but she was afraid that if he stayed with her, it would be too late for Rose. What they had was still very fragile, and he had trampled it carelessly. She could wait an hour or two, nothing a good cup of tea couldn’t cure in the meantime. And maybe having a bit of time for herself would also help clear her mind.

“I’ll be back and we will talk ok? And, Donna, I’m sorry I did that to you. I just wanted to protect you. I know it’s not really a justification but I’m sorry.” Then before she could respond, he had run off in search of Rose.

---

Rose was exhausted. The adventure had completely drained her emotionally and physically. And it had taken way more time to find her bedroom than normally. She just wanted to lay down and sleep for the next day then take a shower. And as she looked with morosity at her bags discarded near her wardrobe, she realized she had to make a choice. She knew she could not avoid him forever. They had a mission, and she was determined to see it through, but she was starting to think that maybe doing it separately for the moment could be a good start.

River had implied what her future could enthral, but not everything was written in stone, and right at that instant, she was not sure it was something she wanted to consider. Because even with how much they wanted it to work, the issue was the Doctor didn’t trust her enough in the field. She had been ok with it when she was younger, but now she had seen too much to be relegated to the second plan. Especially with what was coming, she could not risk having everything crumble down because the Doctor felt too righteous to accept her expertise, and decide in the middle of the battle to shelter her. People would die and she would never forgive herself.

As she was planning her way to tell the Doctor she was leaving, her mind already trying to find what to say to Donna, she heard someone knock timidly on her door. When she turned around, the Doctor was looking at her, waiting for her to invite him into her space.

She hesitated for a few seconds, and even debated with herself to just close the door in his face, before deciding that maybe it was the right moment to tell him what she was thinking. So she shrugged and indicated he could enter her room. It took him only a moment before coming inside, closing the door behind him and sitting down in one of her chairs. He made sure they still had space between them, uncertain of what he could or could not do right at that instant.

“Look Doctor…” Rose began, but before she could continue he brutally sat up, his gaze fierce and pleading.

“I’m sorry, Rose. I know what I did was wrong, it's just…I’m sorry.”

She scrubbed her brow, closing her eyes as she sighed. “I know, Doctor, and that’s the issue…”

“What do you mean?” he asked cautiously, not really following what she meant.

“You’re always sorry. But then something happens, and you keep me in the background so you can be the big savior that knows more. You talk about being friends, but you know what, Doctor? You never saw me as an equal. You will always think of yourself as the superior one.”

He shot up from his chair, his back straight. “I’m the one who can regenerate! If you die, you’re dead, that's it! Being linked to the TARDIS doesn’t mean coming back from the dead!”

She stood up in turn, her emotions heightened by the insane day. “And what do you think would have happened when you'd connected yourself to that computer? What do you think I would have felt if I got there too late and you were already dead? Or what Donna would have felt? That's the problem, Doctor, you don’t think about others, only yourself!” She knew she was now screaming, but the dam had broken and now everything was pouring through.

His eyes were ablaze under the anger her words incited, standing practically nose to nose with her. “I am the last of the Time Lords, it’s my duty to protect the universe! So yes I’m the superior being, but it’s because when it’s a choice between others and myself, I need to be able to do the right thing! But I knew you would try to interfere with the plan and plug yourself to that damn computer! And then what?”

“Then you’d still be alive!” she shouted back. “Plus it’s my job too! I took an oath to protect, to serve and to lay my life if needed. I am as competent as you! And you were so sure it was the only decision we could make, you took upon yourself to exclude me! Did you stop for one second to think that maybe if you included me, we would have found a different possibility? Or one where River didn’t have to die like that?” His facial expression was response enough. “Of course not! The only thing in your mind was how you are the one with the big brain, the mighty Time Lord, always so right, so sure!”

“I can’t let you die! Because I knew that’s what you would do! And I was already losing you, I couldn’t let you die on top of that!”

She rolled her eyes at his dramatism. “You weren’t losing me. We would have found another way. Even then between you and me, like you said, you are the protector of the universe. You are the one that has to keep on living, we are all replaceable in the scheme of things.” She was pragmatic, she was there to stop the multiverse from dying, but the Doctor will be the one that will stop the threat in the end. If she died tomorrow, that would not change the outcome now that he was aware of it. She wanted to be there to fight, but between her and the Doctor, she would always choose the Doctor.

The pain on his face became suddenly almost unbearable. “Don’t say that...Please. I lost you once, I can’t lose you again. Don’t ask me to choose between you and the universe..”

The fight left her at all once at his words. “What do you mean?”

He took a step back, a hand already in his hair. “I thought I already lost you with River, with what she said it became inevitable. And the idea of losing you even before that...I couldn’t do it. That’s why I sent you back.”

She walked to him, taking one of his hands into hers and waited until he was able to look at her. “Doctor, I love you, I really do. But I can’t stay if you treat me like that. You can’t send me back to the sidelines everytime you fear for my safety. I know you mean well, but if you want me in the TARDIS, then you’ll have to treat me as an equal. Because if you do something like that again, I will leave. And I will not come back.” She wanted to tell him she almost did it right now, and was still considering it a bit, but she didn’t want to crush him further. “I don’t know what you want…”

He stayed silent for a few seconds before his posture loosened up, like it had waited all day for that. “I want...I want to be with you,” he finally admitted. He was already on the verge of losing her forever, so it was now or never. He knew that moment would define their future, and if he screwed up, any future chances would be a miracle. He already lost her once. Almost twice with what he thought happened with River, so he could not do it a third time. Not without wrecking himself completely. He could not help himself and stroked her cheek, placing his forehead on hers. “I can’t promise I won’t try to protect you in the future, because I am serious when I say I can regenerate and not you. But I will promise to ask for your input, and I will try my best to not diminish your ideas. I know I can be a bit arrogant, but without you I’m just the Doctor. Together we are the stuff of legend.” He made sure he looked her in the eyes as he smiled. “What is Shiver without Shake?”

She smiled back, still a bit shaken by his sweet gesture. “Absolutely nothing.” She became serious once again when she realized what he had said earlier. “About what River said…”

“Yeah about that…” He looked a bit embarrassed as he grimaced, looking anywhere but her. “We discussed it with Donna and we think that maybe...Eventually...It is in the range of possibilities that...Well…”

“You did not marry her in the future? And she knows your name because someone else told her? Well made her learn it.”

He looked at her with an astonished face, his mouth wide open. “Yes, how do you know?”

She shrugged. “She told me. Well she let it escape without meaning it, but same thing.”

He was so stunned he literally fell into one of her bags. Fortunately, one of the sturdiest one. “So you know…”

“That marrying you is apparently in the realm of possibilities? Yes. That doesn’t mean it will happen. Because I was serious, Doctor, you do that to me again and I’m gone. I will never let anyone, not even you, treat me like a second thought. So yes, maybe one day it will happen. But today? No, you need to prove to me you meant what you said.”

He nodded, a bit subdued. “And does that scare you?” he finally asked after a few seconds. The idea of marrying anyone had been terrifying for him once upon a time. But now faced with the possibility of losing Rose forever? He was not sure. Not that he was ready, but knowing it could be a possible future, it scared him less than he thought.

Scared her? She had been ready to drop her whole life for him when she was 19. She had been so desperately in love with him, she would have probably said yes on the spot if he had asked. Now she was more mature and time had passed. Starting a relationship with him, once they were on the same page was a nice thought to have but marrying him? That was a bit too much at that instant. “I don’t want to think about it right now, because I want us to have a future. But I want it to be equal and right now? I’m still hurt and angry with you. So can we focus on being friends?” She loved him with everything she had, but she could not let herself open up again for her to be left broken. She would not survive it. So she hoped friends would be enough for now.

His brilliant smile was all she needed. “Friends will always be enough with you. But you’re right, I need to prove myself to you before anything else.” He knew it would be hard. It’s difficult to change some habits, especially when he tended to react irrationally when it came to Rose. But she deserves it, especially because it meant keeping her in his life.

As he smiled at her with adoration, she felt the sudden urge to hug him. Before she had time to rethink her plan, she launched herself to him, making him take a step back under the surprise. After a second, he tightened his embrace, making her feel warm and protected. She didn’t know how long they stayed that way, just them but after a time, he relentuctly broke it, looking at her with sad eyes.

“I need to see Donna,” he said with hesitation. “I think she needs to talk after what she went through.” He looked at the door then at their hands still entwined. “Do you want to come?”

She smiled and pulled him to the door. She knew him too well. Talking about his feelings was not something he liked to do, and it had probably been hard enough as it is for him. So it will be enough for now. Her heart has already waited decades, she could wait a bit more.

---

The walk to the kitchen, when they supposed Donna was, had been quiet. They walked side by side, their hands firmly interlaced. It was like they had passed a level in their intimacy, their fight and subsequent discussion had been the push needed to make them realize what had been wrong in their relationship. The lack of communication was an issue they needed to overcome but they were on the correct path. When they crossed the kitchen door, they were welcomed by Donna surrounded by cake of all sorts.

“They were already there when I came in,” she said as a justification when she saw their surprised faces.

Rose only shrugged, and served herself a slice of chocolate cake as she sat down near the other woman. “How are you feeling?” she finally asked after a few seconds, while the Doctor had decided that a slice of carrot cake was the thing to do.

“To be honest? I’ve been better. I know they never existed, it was only the computer’s doing, but they seemed so real at the time. It’s like I’m mourning them, and that’s ridiculous, I know,” she scoffed, trying not to cry into her apple pie.

Rose put her arms around Donna’s shoulder, trying to convey her compassion. “It’s not. For you it was real. You really thought they were there with you. It's normal to cry about it, don’t worry. And maybe they were, did you search their name in the database? Everyone had to register before leaving.” She looked at the Doctor who was shaking his head sadly.

“Nobody was named Lee in the library that day. And I suppose the kids didn’t exist either…” Donna scoffed again. “How could they exist? He was basically the perfect man, and they were so completely...us… Now I need to accept reality and move on.”

“Donna,” started the Doctor, unsure of what to say. “If I could help, I would.”

She put a piece of her pie in her mouth, trying her best to not cry. “I know…”

“The computer created a whole life for you?” asked Rose tentatively, trying her best to understand. She had only been here at the beginning, so she was unsure of what happened to her friend.

“Yes, made me meet Lee. We married and then had two kids, and a boring job. It was basically a normal life in London. Nothing out of the ordinary. I was even dieting… For the good it did. Should have known it was a dream when it basically launched the perfect man at me. Tall, gorgeous, blue eyes you could get lost in, and could barely speak a word. His stutter was so bad, I was practically speaking to myself at the beginning. Can you imagine?" She laughed, but it was still hollow. She just needed a few days, maybe weeks. And treat it like a dream, maybe it will disappear one day.

Rose, who had a piece of cake in her mouth, swallowed it the wrong way at Donna's words, making her cough like she was strangling herself. The Doctor jumped at her side, knocking the wind out of her by hitting her back repetitively.

“Are you ok?” he asked, visibly worried.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Rose asked between two coughs.

Donna and the Doctor looked at each other before she turned back to Rose. “He was gorgeous, tall and practically mute?”

“And you said his name was Lee?”

“Yes Lee McAvoy. But I checked that too… No match.”

“Oh my god!” Rose screamed, making them jump under the surprise. “I met him! At the library, I talked to him!”

“What?” screamed back Donna, toppling the poor Doctor as she jumped from her chair.

Rose stood excitedly, her cake completely forgotten. “His name is Leedan Melcoy, I helped him find a teleporter. Does he have brown hair?”

“Yes!” Donna tried to remain somewhat calm as she turned to the Doctor who still looked stunned. “We need to find him.”

He crossed their hopeful gaze and sighed. “Ok, let’s go.” Here we go again, he thought. At least they were smiling again. That’s all that mattered for him.

Chapter Text

Chapter 34

When Donna entered the library, she smiled as she saw Rose already in there, comfortably installed in one of the many sofas, a cup of hot chocolate in one hand and a book about an obscure author she had tried multiple times to make her read in the other. She knew it was a series about futuristic cops and her many adventures, but she had never been one for that kind of genre. She looked briefly around, but to her surprise, the Doctor was nowhere to be found. Since the adventure in the library, they were never really far from each other, even during adventures. She thought it was kind of cute, but would never say it out loud.

"So how was your first official meeting with Leedan?" Rose asked without lifting her head from the book she was reading.

Donna collapsed on the couch beside Rose, taking one of her magazines in the same movement, mentally thanking the TARDIS for her thoughtfulness. "Great! And weird at the same hand. Technically we already had our first date, but it never existed so…"

Rose marked her page and finally looked at Donna, curiosity written all over her face. "It’s what? Second time you saw each other now?"

Donna snorted at the reminder. "If literally crashing into his backyard counts as the first time, then yeah."

"I mean... It's kind of your fault. You were screaming at the Doctor to find him," snickered Rose. The Doctor's frazzled face engraved in her mind for years to come. He had been visibly ready to throw himself out of the TARDIS with how much Donna had been yelling at him. “And well...That's what he did," she mused to herself. He had been so stressed out, he had literally launched the TARDIS like a pinball into the poor man's garden.

"Well, I didn’t ask him to form a crater in the man’s begonias… And what did you do in my absence?" She was curious to know what kind of adventure they had without her to play as the oblivious middle ground.

"We went to go see Tony, a few weeks after our last visit for him,” Rose answered with a smile of happiness at the time with her son. “He called a few minutes after you left, and wanted our advice, so we made a quick stop."

"Oh that’s nice! How is he?" Donna had quite loved Tony, and was a bit disappointed that he had elected to stay behind. It would have been gloriously amusing to see Rose and the Doctor trying to fight for his attention. She would have paid big money to see that.

Rose sighed wishfully. "Good. He is doing great. They are starting to settle, and it seems they are planning to choose him as a leader. I couldn’t be more proud. I wanted to ask him to travel with us a bit, but he seemed so focused on his people, and I didn’t have the heart to take him from them. With how the Doctor is, he would have been sent back like six month later. I mean, I know the Doctor tried to convince him at one point, but he seemed pretty determined to stay where he was. Even if he said he would see us in the near future... " They stayed in silence as Rose was deep in thought and Donna served herself a cup of tea.

“So, are you going to see Lee again?" Rose finally asked, wanting to change the subject. It wasn’t like she didn’t like talking about Tony, but seeing him settled and realizing she won’t have a big part in his life even if she wanted to. It stung a little. And seeing some trace of the Wolf in him made her worry even if she felt it was harmless. Also she was quite intrigued by the dynamic of Donna and Leedan. When she had told them she knew about Lee, and they were finally able to track them down, she had been preparing herself to either see the young man move into the TARDIS or Donna leaving with him in his century. But to her surprise, after an almost literal explosive first meeting, and lots of tears of joy, things seem to have slowed down. She had heard Donna on the phone a few times, but she looked way more cautious than she had expected. And seemed more patient as well.

Donna looked to the ceiling of the TARDIS, trying to find the correct words for what she wanted to say. “I think so, yes. Not that I’m unhappy with him, but he just got out from a century in a computer, so he needs a lot of time to adjust again. And even if we shared a life technically, it was not real. So if we want to have a chance, we need to do it the right way.”

Rose nodded, realizing that effectively it was the right thing to do. Running head first would be a disaster, too many memories overlapping and information that could stop their relationship before it even started. “Any idea of what you are going to do then?”

Donna shrugged while turning the page at the same time. “Yeah, he was talking about moving to the 21th century to make it easier for us. Because he is not sure if he even still has a life where he is now. But I told him he needed to take his time. Because what if he changed his mind in six month? So we’ll see! Also there is the fact I’m travelling with the Doctor. I don’t want it to change, I love it too much. For now.”

Before they could continue the conversation, the Doctor entered the library with great fracas, making them both turn their heads in surprise. " Ok ladies!” he said with a bit too much enthusiasm, because he was definitely starting to get bored. “We need to go shopping! "

When he had expected great enthusiasm and even some exclamation, he was only rewarded with silence. “Why do I have the feeling that my definition of shopping and his definition of shopping are not the same?” Donna finally said to Rose, who had resumed her reading when she was over his surprise entrance.

“Because you’re an intelligent woman,” deadpanned Rose, turning a page at the same time. After a few seconds they looked at each other, and started to crack up and laugh madly.

“Ahaha, yeah mock the Time Lord…” said the Doctor, seeing his two friends still laughing at him. “For real, I need some pieces for the TARDIS and per my scanner, it can be found on Gurun III. The moon, not the planet. Would really not suggest going there with the poisonous atmosphere, and the planet Gurun is moving around is too gaseous to do anything with it...But I digress. So fancy a trip?” He wiggled his hands in Rose's direction, who made a show of thinking it over before grabbing them. He helped her up, and after exchanging a smile he turned to Donna and helped her in turn.

“Last one to the console pays for lunch!” Donna yelled as she ran to the door, a protesting Rose soon on her heels. The Doctor smirked at the ceiling, and with one last look around the room, he walked out with hands in his pocket. He didn’t mind paying, especially if that put a smile on his friend's face. Today would be a good day, he could feel it.

---

After an eventless ride and a pretty painless landing, they left the TARDIS in a very good mood. They were walking along some rather empty path, the Doctor and Rose hand in hand, and Donna not far from them when they came into view of a city.

“Why are we here again?” Donna asked as she stared curiously at all the colored buildings they could see.

“I need some carburator for the TARDIS. I thought I still had one in storage, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere and this planet is supposed to sell some, so why not let you girls have fun around while I try to find one.”

“And what’s the catch?” Rose asked. She knew the Doctor way too much to take anything at face value.

He scratched his face with his free hands, looking deep in through. “I don’t think there is one. I have to say, I don’t really remember anything worthwhile from this planet…”

Donna smiled at one of the locals who was looking at her oddly. With what she could see, red hair seemed to not be very popular around here, as everyone around them either had dark blue hair, or had weird looking full body jumpsuits that let out what she supposed to be fur. “Have you ever been here before at least?” She asked the Doctor. Mainly to know if she had to prepare herself to run for her life because of that. Would not be the first time she offended locals because of her hair, or because the Doctor was already persona non grata.

The Doctor stopped for a second, looking at the sky like it had the responses to his questions. “I don’t think so? It seems kind of familiar, but I’ve been to so many planets, it kind of blurs after a time. But I’m sure it’s really peaceful around here!” he finally added with as much cheerfulness as he could muster.

“And you had to jinx it,” Rose groaned while eying a shop that seemed to sell some kind of medicinal herbs. “Now we will probably have to stop the end of the world or something…” She exchanged an amused look with Donna as the Doctor started to sputter.

“Hey! It’s not always like this! Sometimes it’s pretty peaceful!” he argued back with a loud voice, making a few of the locals turn around to find the source of the shouting.

“I have two words for you Doctor,” Rose said simply. “Elysian goat.”

He blanched at the souvenir. “Well in my defense, I really thought we were in the right place. I couldn’t predict that turn of events. And let me remind you, Miss ‘I can do no wrong,’ I’m not the one that was turned to stone while gallivanting in ancient Rome.”

She smiled her special smile. “Funny enough, I remember that story completely differently.”

Donna rolled her eyes in the background as they started to smile stupidly at each other. With how they were going, it would take hours for them to stop doing googly eyes. “Personally I only have one word. Pompeii.”

The Doctor broke eye contact with Rose and grimaced. “Yeah ok, I’ll accept that one.”

They continued to walk a few minutes in silence, looking around them with curiosity. From time to time the Doctor would break from their group to look at something before going back and taking Rose's hand again.“Anything you can say in that place? Except for the fact they seem to be two races on this planet?” asked Rose, intrigued by the two completely different races she could see on the planet. She also felt she was missing something from around her. But she chalked it up to the fact that the Doctor was completely silent… He who generally could never shut up when they walked to a new planet.

“You know that’s exactly the question I was asking myself,” he replied with a thoughtful air on his face. “I can’t seem to remember anything about this place, except for the fact it’s people are really peaceful and Gurunian are the native one. The one with blue hair, not the jumpsuit,” he added to help them follow. ”And that they have a great market for special ship pieces.” He turned to Rose. “Did we come here before? I feel like we came here before.”

She shook her head, not remembering seeing this place in any of her travels. With him or when she was in the other dimension. “No, but I think you are confusing this place with Elox.” When he looked at her blankly, Rose continued, “also blue people but with three arms? I think you found a piece for the TARDIS there too. Something about kinetics? Don’t remember the details.”

He smacked himself in the head, making Donna take a step back to not be collateral damage. “Right! The Anti flyer! Also the little shop who sold that wonderful chocolate! Even better than the one we tested in Switzerland.” He turned to Donna. “We should definitely go there. You’ll love it.” As he turned around once again, his eyes lit up when he finally spotted one of the electronic shops he had come for. Before Donna and Rose had time to take two steps, he had already disappeared inside, making an amused Rose and a less enthusiastic Donna follow not far behind. They tried to search for him, but the shop was too big and Rose was soon distracted by a shelf full of what Donna could only describe as metal junk.

“Oh, I think I saw one like that when I was still in the other dimension! But it was silver and not black like that.” She tried to show it to Donna but the woman had already wandered outside. “Donna?”

The redhead head popped from the doorway. “Yeah sorry, one of the shop we passed earlier seemed to be selling holo-vids, and I wanted to see if they had some editions I missed.” She smiled apologetically when she realised she almost disappeared on her friend. “Space junk is not really my thing, but you two have fun! That is, if you’re able to find the Doctor again in the middle of his definition of paradise.” She snickered at the mental image of a Doctor running around like a kid at disneyland.

“The first one to finish calls the other, ok? With the Doctor around that generally means disaster around the corner, so be reachable.” She knew she said it more as a joke, but she could not shake the weird feeling in the pit of her stomach, like she had forgotten something since they had entered the city. They still exchanged an amused smile, before Donna waved one last time and vanished in the crowd.

Rose turned around, and was soon distracted again by a tub full of interesting technology and ship parts. She even took a few pictures, making a mental note to send them to Malcolm to see his head explode the next time they came to Earth.

---

She was examining a small tube that looked straight out of Star Trek when the Doctor popped up beside her.

“I think it’s a sonic shaver from Coronis,” he said while peering above her shoulder. “See.” He pointed at two big ridges on the side. “You put that part near an energy source and in ten minutes you are good to go for three months.” He smiled brilliantly, happy to have shared his science knowledge.

“Really?” she said while turning it in all directions, her eyebrow frowning. “Because I’m pretty sure we have one like that in the black archives, except it is missing the two bumps in question.”

He shrugged. “Yeah without it I don’t think you can charge it. It would be completely useless.”

She took a picture of it, snickering all along. “They put it in the ‘dormant weapon’ section of the archives. Just beside a plasma colt from Kerbin. I can’t wait to see the faces of the guys when I tell them that.” As she was putting away her phone, she realized the Doctor was bare handed. “So no luck?”

“No, but apparently the market has two other similar shops so all is not in vain.” He looked around, visibly searching for someone. “Where is Donna?” he asked as they walked outside.

“She’s gone to the holo-vids seller we passed when we entered the market. Space technology is not really her thing, so I can’t really blame her boredom.” She looked around, trying to see if she could notice any red hair anywhere. “Do you want to search for her, or start with another shop?”

“I would prefer to search for her first,” he finally answered with a grimace as he looked around. “I’ve had a weird feeling since we landed here. I suggest we go to the next shop to see if they have the carburetor and then we leave the planet…”

She took his hand as they exited the shop. “I had the same feeling, it’s like I’m missing a piece...” She planned to say something more but was distracted by the sudden silence around them. She could still see people walking around, but they all seemed to look straight ahead and make sure they were not touching each other in any way. An aura of fearfulness and sadness was engulfing the crowd. A striking change with the buzzing market they had walked into forty five minute earlier.

“I think we missed something pretty big,” the Doctor said as he looked around while frowning. “I suggest we retrieve Donna and then investigate,” he continued, already pulling her in the direction of the seller. And the more they were walking, the more she felt uncomfortable. She could see less and less people, and the few they were passing looked in a hurry to be anywhere but here. “I don’t like this…” she whispered, making him frown even harder. As they approached the store they were surprised to see it in the process of being closed down for the day.

“Excuse me,” Rose called out to the supposed owner, who startled slightly as they reached them, taking a step back as they approached a bit more. “My friend was here probably twenty minutes ago. Any idea where she’s gone?” She took out her phone, searching for a picture. She knew Donna was probably the only human with red hair they saw recently, but she could not take any chances. “Here, her name is Donna.” As she showed him the picture, he moved back a bit more, anxiety shedding from him like a beacon.

“I don’t want any problem,” he said with a high pitched voice, his eyes looking wildly around, the little fur she could see bristling. “They told me to close my shop, that’s it, I’m not doing anything. I even told them I didn’t know those people, never seen them before.”

The Doctor pushed Rose aside, his face serious with one hand already on the sonic. “Who are ‘they’?”

The shopkeeper looked around once again, making sure nobody was too near, but the area was completely deserted. “You know…The snatchers.”

They looked at each other with growing worry, knowing Donna, she had put herself in the wrong situation and it was not boding well. “That doesn’t sound good.” Rose said as she unlocked her phone, already springing into action. “I’ll try to call her, you try to learn more about those snatchers.” She squeezed his hand before walking away, her phone already on her ear.

“So tell me more about them,” the Doctor’s voice was soft but his eyes were steel. “And where did they take Donna.”

“Not here, it’s not safe, come inside,” said the alien. When the Doctor turned around, his expression probably betraying what he was thinking, there was a brief yet kind smile. “Your companion can join us, I’ll leave the door unlocked.” They both walked inside, and when the alien made sure that no one saw them he visibly relaxed. “You are not from around here are you?”

“No, we are travelers. Donna too. I’m sure if she did something, it was by pure ignorance. We try not to interfere generally…” He paused for a second before wincing. “Well not much. Well, carry on.”

“She was browsing inside the shop, asking me about my stock, when two mixed came in. I tried to stop them, I really did. But before I had time to even finish my sentence, a group of snatchers were on them. Your friend tried to intervene, and they arrested her too. I wanted to say something in her defense. I mean she’s clearly not from here you know? But another tourist spoke as they passed in front of them, and before you know it, they took him too. So when they told me to close everything and go home, I was too afraid to say anything…”

The Doctor uttered a curse word, his hands already in his hair. Not good, that was not good at all. “We need to find her. Why did those snatchers take those ‘mixed’? And where did they take them?”

“You need to understand. Since the Konun Asto came into power, it’s forbidden for us to mix, even amicably. Our race, the Ceti, came two generations ago to this moon, and unfortunately we discovered that our fur evolved under that new sky to be toxic to the Gurunian in the long term. So until we find a planet suitable for our species, and everyone accepts to leave, we are forbidden to touch. The snatchers are here to make sure the law is respected. And those we call ‘mixed’ are the ones that defy orders. They believe we were lied to, and try to ‘prove’ it by mingling with each other.”

“Who is Konun Asto?” asked Rose as she pushed the door close. “And why does he think that prohibiting contact was the right thing to do? Also no response from Donna, it goes to voicemail. I tried three times,” she added when the Doctor looked at her expectantly.

The Ceti looked at them with big eyes. “Wow you must be from pretty far to not know that. Everyone in the system knows them. He is the supreme ruler of this moon. His father, Konun Cacjan, died from fur poisoning after taking one of ours as a lover following the death of his wife. At first we didn’t think that was possible, but unfortunately the tests were formal… As were the dozens of other dead Gurunian in the last few years before that. We don’t know if that also affects others. And that’s why most of us stay in the far back of the city, or on the other side of the moon. Hardly a few of us are allowed at certain times of the year, and only if we wear that protective suit.”

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other, similar thoughts and suspicions already passing between them. “And he is the one who proclaimed those laws, right? Enforcing them with the snatchers?”

The Ceti nodded. “Yes, and they take the ones who break the law to the Celleum, where they are judged for endangerment of the population. Most of them are sent to prison on the other side of the planet… However, that’s probably where they took your friends. I’m really sorry, I tried but I have a family. I cannot disappear like that. Even talking to you is dangerous. Gaining the right to come to the city is one of the highest honors, I don’t want them to think I'm endangering them… So please don’t say anything.”

“We promise,” said the Doctor. “So where did you say that Celleum is?”

---

“I knew the second you said it would be peaceful, things would go to hell,” Rose groaned as they walked towards one of the alleys that were supposed to lead them to what passed for a prison here. “I mean clearly that suddenly poisonous fur is suspicious enough, and the story that goes with it even more. So now because we are clearly insane people, we will have to break Donna out of jail, prove what the Konun said was a load of crap and overcome the government...”

“A normal tuesday for us in short!” the Doctor finished with a brilliant smile. Her black look was response enough. “Ok in my defense, I don’t remember a single thing about this planet, so it’s probably a really minor issue that will resolve in five minutes flat,” he added - trying to be useful.

She glowered so hard, he was suddenly afraid Jackie Tyler would appear out of tin air to slap him. “Say another word, and I will ask the TARDIS to strand you in Hull for the next month.”

He raised his hands in sign of peace, then made a zipping motion to show he would not open his mouth again until asked otherwise. They walked in silence for a moment, with only a few grumbling sounds coming from Rose from time to time. She had wanted to do some shopping in peace for once, but apparently it was too much to ask from the universe. After almost ten minutes in the maze of streets, they finally found what they were searching for.

“Ok, Doctor, what’s your plan?” Rose asked and when he looked at her pleadingly, making her roll her eyes with fondness, she said, “yes you can talk.”

“I was thinking of just going inside, and asking to see Donna.”

“That’s it?” She said with surprise. She had expected a bit more flourish. “No explosions or anything like that?”

He looked affronted for a split second before remembering who he was talking to. “Well no. Not this time. Because I don’t have anything on me, and for once maybe we’ll luck out and they’ll realise it’s a misunderstanding because we’re only tourists.”

She was not convinced in the slightest. “Whatever makes you sleep at night.” She sighed as she watched while people came and went from the building. Too many people. Okay, so it was the nice way then. “But I don’t have another idea right now. So, I suggest we hide your sonic, my phone and the psychic paper. Just in case they don’t trust us, and we have to break from the inside.”

He smiled madly. “Great idea! Much easier that way, you are right!” He rummaged around for a few seconds before taking out both items and placing them inside his shirt. “Also bigger on the inside!” he said as an explanation when she looked at him weirdly. Her only response was to pass him her phone.

“I’m not asking anymore. I learned that sometimes, I don’t want the answer,” she deadpanned. His snickering was response enough as she dragged him in the direction of the building. At least one of them was having fun. But the fun was short-lived, as the more they were walking to the building, the more they realized what mess they were getting into. No Ceti in sign, only heavily armed Gurunian that were visibly patrolling with closed off expressions. She had the feeling that getting Donna out would be more tricky than planned. But the Doctor seemed completely oblivious of the tension that was rising around them as he opened the door to the building and walked straight to one of the desks, a big smile on his face.

“Hi! I’m the Doctor and this is Rose,” the Doctor announced as Rose waved awkwardly to the two Gurunian who looked at them impassibly. “We are searching for a friend of mine. A bit taller than my friend here with red hair and white skin.” The two aliens looked at each, their faces hardened as they faced the Doctor again, one of them discreetly moving his hand under the desk, alarming Rose. She thought about making the first move, but as she looked rapidly around her; she realized there were too many Gurunian around to be really efficient, especially with the Doctor babbling over. So she just moved slightly to the right, protecting the Doctor while still having enough space to jump if needed.

“You see we’re travelers, well more like tourists I’d say,” the Doctor explained, either completely unaware or just unaffected. “So whatever our friend did, I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding! So if you could just give her back to us, we’ll be out of your hair in a jiffy!” His smile was now so big, it was almost splitting his face in two, making him a bit ridiculous.

“You said you are friends with this ‘Donna’?” asked the taller of the two with a ruff voice, his face stony and stern.

Rose nudged the Doctor slightly, showing him that she was now taking the lead. Without a word he shuffled a bit, moving in her shadow, indicating he had understood what she was trying to do.

“Yes, you see we are from a planet pretty far from here, and it’s our first time here!” she started, blinking her eyes in a sign of innocence. As she put her hand in her hair, she saw that at least one of them was starting to loosen up. “And then we got separated, and you see my friend is a bit...intense, you know.” her voice lowered as if she were letting them in on a secret. “She always tries to do the best thing, but sometimes she doesn't understand…” She battled her eyes with a sweet smile. “I’m really sorry if she offended you in any way. I’m sure it was not her intention at all.” Just as the most impassive one returned her smile, making her hope to have gained enough ground to get out of there without too much fuss, the Doctor put both his hands on the desk with trepidation, making what she supposed to be a decoration of some sort wobble under the force.

“So anyway, I’m sure we can arrange that. Where should we retrieve her?” he asked, a bit too maniacally to be honest, making one Gurunian that was walking past stop and stare. And not in a good way, Rose thought. She felt the sudden urge to throttle the Doctor. She even thought for a second to abandon him there, and get out to regroup and find another plan, because this one clearly was two seconds from exploding in their face, but she was not sure he would not have himself killed as soon as she turned head.

The one named Kallos, if what was on the desk was his, was clearly the more experienced of the two, lost all sense of friendliness at the Doctor's words and straightened up completely. “She broke the law. We announced our role clearly, and she still tried to intervene. It took three of my men to stop her. And three others for the other travelers.”

They looked at each other with a certain anxiety. It was becoming likely that they either needed to fight or find another way, and rapidly with how Kallos was becoming more and more cold by the second.

“Eh this one is not with us I’m afraid,” said the Doctor while sending an apologetic glance to Rose. He had wanted to help her and only muddled everything up. “We are only here for our friend.”

The guard crossed his arms, nodding to someone behind them and a few seconds later they were surrounded by Gurunian. Enough that even with her training and the Doctor at his best, they would rapidly be stopped. They will have to do it differently, probably make something blow up. Just like old times.

“She will be judged in the morning of the third rising sun like all the others. You can plead for her at that moment if you really want to.” His smile was sharp and cruel, making all Rose's hair stand up in alarm. It was not good, not good at all. She looked with dread to the Doctor whose face had completely closed off, showing he had also understood the underlying message.

Donna would not live to see that third rising sun.

“Wait!” he said suddenly as one of the Gurunian tried to grab him to show them the exit. “Send us with her.” He glanced at Rose who nodded firmly. They could not let her stay here alone. If they were to break her out of prison, it would be from the inside.

Kallos, clearly the one in charge, looked at them with surprise, and the shuffling she could see around here showed her it was something that took them aback. She crossed her arms, and raised her chin in a sign of defiance. If she was going down, it would be fighting. “You clearly have no pity or compassion if justice means killing people.” The subtle gaze she could see them exchange showed her she had knocked right in the middle. “So yeah, send us with our friend. We will not abandon her, especially for something she had no control over!” The Doctor crossed his arms beside her, showing them they were a team through and through. Nobody left behind.

“Kallos?” the one that was the closest to her asked with a point of uncertainty. It was apparently a precedent.

Kallos frowned with severity as the Gurunian who was sitting down looked around him bewildered. “Well if it’s their choice… Take their jackets off, search their pants and shoes and send them to the cage. Just so you know, there is no coming back so...Good luck.” His smile was borderline giddy, as he turned his back and walked away while the Doctor and Rose were stripped from their belongings. Thank god for bigger on the inside pockets, as they never found what the Doctor had put aside beforehand.

They were escorted to a door that was concealed on the side of the room. Four men were flanking them, each making sure they could not make any sudden movement as Rose could feel the crackle of electricity right behind her. Probably some sort of cattle prod. They walked for a few minutes in silence, even the Doctor, who was probably busy memorising every nook and cranny from this maze. Finally they came in front of another door which was heavily armored and plated. One of them opened it with some sort of magnetic pass and before they had time to think, they were roughly pushed inside, the door instantanly closed back behind them. They heard one of them say good luck before the rest of them started to laugh.

“Well it could have gone better,” Rose said, more to relieve the tension than anything else as they turned around. They were a bit surprised to see so many people inside, at least fifty at first glance. Gurunian, Ceti and even some otherworldly as she saw an Aridian slumped against one of the walls.

“At least we’re still alive to see another day,” continued the Doctor as he scanned around him with a slightly anxious look. “We need to find Donna. I feel that something bad is about to happen and I don’t like that idea.”

She turned to him with concern. “What do you mean bad? How bad?”

“I have no idea but…” Before he could finish his sentence, a tornado of red hair collided with him.

“You’re here!” screamed Donna as she hugged the Doctor with all she had. “I was afraid you wouldn’t find me in time!” She turned to Rose and hugged her too, a hug Rose returned gladly. “I wanted to call but they didn’t let me, and I couldn’t give a message to the poor merchant. I was really hoping your proportion to find trouble would put you on the right path! I was right!” She was all smiles and not really worse for the wear to Rose’s relief.

“Like we would leave you behind.” Rose smirked as the Doctor was rummaging in his shirt pocket to find his sonic again. “But why on earth did you decide to make a scandal without telling us? You know the rules, you’ve been here long enough!” She knew she was scolding her, but she had been so afraid they would not find her, or not in time.

Donna grimaced, knowing she was in the wrong but when she saw those poor kids, she could not stop herself. “Yeah I’m sorry. I really tried to stay out of the way. I was on the verge of calling you, and then one of them struck the one poor kid just because he was holding hands with one of those aliens in fur…”

“They are called Ceti apparently,” said the Doctor distractly as he took out his sonic with a triumphant flourish.

“And then that guy tried to stop them too… And one thing led to another…”

“Oh yeah we heard about that!” Smiled the Doctor. “Apparently it took 6 men to restrain the both of you?” Donna shrugged, showing it was not a big deal. Rose was still impressed. And a bit proud too.

“Yeah about that!” Donna said, looking around trying to find him. “I really want to introduce you, because he said some freaky things. Pretty sure he is either insane or a swindler. Or both - who knows.” She smiled and waved right behind them. “Oy! Right here! And be nice,” she added more in the direction of the Doctor than Rose.

Rose tried to turn around to see that mysterious man, but was stopped by the Doctor who tried to do the same, inadvertently blocking her view with his back. The curse of being the short one. As she tried to push him, his body became completely rigid.

“Oh no…” he said with a mix of appalled and alarmed voice. “What are you doing here??”

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me…” said a voice she would have recognized in her sleep. A voice she thought she would never hear again. One she had mourned and cried over long after his disparition. As she pushed the Doctor aside, she was met by the vision of a dead man. The one she had loved so fiercely she had broken the laws of time for him.

“Doctor?” she said in a strangled voice.

“Rose?” exclaimed the Doctor, his face betraying his shock and stupefaction. He was the one who disappeared in the fire of regeneration. Her first Doctor.

Chapter Text

Chapter 35

“Wait, you know each other?” asked a bewildered Donna as she glanced alternatively between a shell shocked Rose, who looked more pale by the second, and her Doctor who was looking at the other man with a murderous glint in his eyes. “And your name is also really the Doctor?” When she thought nothing could surprise her anymore. “Is he your brother or something?” she asked the Doctor that she was familiar with.

He looked visibly affronted. “What? No!”

Before anyone had time to talk more, Rose swayed brutally, almost colliding with the ground if not for Donna who grabbed her at the last second, and was soon followed by both Doctors who screamed her name almost at the same time.

“I’m ok. I’m ok,” she finally said after a few seconds, her voice still weak as she battled away the waves of stars she could see all around her. “I just need a second,” she added while feeling her world still spinning on its axle. She knew she was hyperventilating and probably looking five seconds from kneeling over once again, but she could not look away from him.

Her first Doctor.

She had asked at the beginning, when he was still fresh from the regeneration, if they could go back, at least so she could say goodbye. But he had looked at her, sadness deep in his eyes and she knew she would never see her previous Doctor ever again. For a time afterwards she continued to imagine what could happen if she bumped into him, or if she convinced her Doctor to take her back just for five minutes. It had faded in time, and even if his loss was still, and probably would be painful for a very long time, she stopped dreaming about those possibilities. But she never thought this particular scenario would become real. Not in a million years.

Her eyes never left her first Doctor, who was busy looking her over for any possible injury. “It’s really you?” she finally asked in a wavering voice, her quivering hand brushing slightly his jumper, the lack of leather jacket making him a bit leaner than in her memories. She was afraid that if she touched him completely, he would vanish in a blast of smoke and fire, like so many times before in her nightmares. She had cried for him long after his disappearance, the lack of closure had been one of her many regrets.

His tumultuous face softened at her brief touch. “Yes, Rose, it’s me.” Like he was reading her indecision, he took her hand in his, caressing the base of her wrist, making her pulse flutter like mad. Proving to her that he was real, and right here with her. They looked at each other, a few seconds for the rest of the world, an eternity for them. She realized that seeing him right now…It had opened something in her that she had thought long healed.

With a sob she leaped into his arms, almost toppling him over under the surprise. “I’m sorry! I'm so sorry!” she repeated again and again like a mantra, weeping years of guilt and culpability into his red jumper. That man, that wonderful man, would one day die because of her and she could do nothing about it, not without reaping the fabric of time and the universes with it. She had never really forgiven herself for it, and seeing him was making all these feelings bubble to the surface.
He only tightened his embrace as she started to weep louder, exchanging a charged look with his counterpart. The heartbreak in the eyes of older him only reinforced his hold, whispering reassurances into her hair as she sobbed into his shoulder. The fact she was now traveling with another version of him was all he needed to know about what happened to him. And with how Rose looked to be in her mid twenty at best, it was probably pretty recent, a few years at most. And regeneration could be pretty traumatic at the best of times.

“What’s happening?” Donna finally asked who was more lost by the second. Rose’s reaction and what she considered her Doctor was the most baffling of all for her. The fact that her friend was crying in the arms of who she considered a virtual stranger, and the lack of visible reaction of her own Doctor, was the weirdest thing she experienced in a long time. “Who is this guy?” she finally asked, completely lost. When she had met the guy, she had thought he was completely barmy, especially when he called himself the Doctor. But now she was not so sure.

The one who looked like he could kill her if he wanted, only smiled before turning to the other Doctor with an eyebrow raised, making him sigh with resignation. “If she slaps me, it’s on you,” he said with a grimace before glancing at her with a sheepish look on his face. “He is me.”

She turned to the Doctor that she deemed to be a real buzzkill. He was helping Rose stand up as she was still looking a bit emotional then to her Doctor who smiled stupidly. She did it three more times before finally opening her mouth. “He’s what?” She could definitely be surprised again. Big time.

He scratched his neck with embarrassment. “You see, when something happens to a Time Lord that causes them to become mortally wounded, we don’t die. Well, we can still die,” he started to ramble, losing the poor Donna in the meantime. “That doesn’t make us immortal, and it’s not an indefinite thing either. We have our limit you see! And…”

“What pretty boy is trying to say,” interrupted the younger Doctor, making the other yelp in outrage. “When we are mortally injured, our body fights it by basically changing every cell in our body. We call it regeneration. I suppose you are the one after me?” he asked in the direction of the Tenth Doctor, who nodded in affirmative. “So yeah, I suppose I died at one point and was replaced by beachy boy over there.” A wet laugh from Rose was response enough for him as his replacement yelled in indignation.

Donna frowned, looking at Rose for affirmation, who shrugged with sadness, and turned to her Doctor. “So that means that Rose traveled with Steamboat over here.” The Ninth Doctor looked a mix of deeply amused and shocked at the nickname. “Before he transformed into you? And how many times did you regenate?”

“Regenerate,” the Tenth Doctor absently corrected her. “Yes, that's right.” He nodded pleased that Donna was following so well. “And I’m at my Tenth body, he is the Ninth.” He pointed at the other Doctor who waved goofily at Donna in response. He smiled at her, waiting for her response but she only stared at him, completely motionless, making him a bit afraid he had broken her somehow. It would not be the first time. Even Rose had badly reacted, and she had been probably one of the most level headed reactions he had concerning regeneration. “Donna?” he asked, a bit worried. Even his younger self and Rose seemed anxious at the lack of reaction from the redhead. But before he could ponder more on the subject, she promptly slapped him so hard, his head narrowly made a full turn.The sound echoed as almost all the cell turned around to see what happened.

“Are you flipping kidding me?” she screamed at the top of her lungs, as the Tenth Doctor was trying to regain his balance after such a shot. Rose and Nine were sagely keeping their distance, not really wanting to feel her wrath. “You can change your body, and you didn’t think to tell me? Were you waiting to flippin’ die on me, and then say ‘oh by the way, I’ll have another face in five seconds, okay bye.’ Or even worse, come back and I’ll have a flipping stranger in front of me?”

“That’s basically what happened for me,” interjected Rose, amused by the spectacle. Her first Doctor looked at her with surprise. “Oh yeah, spoiler sorry…” she mumbled as Donna continued to read the riot act to her Doctor.

He shrugged. “Don’t worry, I’m crossing my own time stream, that means I will not remember anything when I’ll be back in my own time.”

“Nothing?” she said with surprise. “You mean your memories will erase themselves?”

“Not really erased, more like locked up until the time is right. That means at one point, the one over there will have his memory of this adventure and mine. And until I reach that point, I won’t remember a thing.”

Donna heard him as she raised her arms to the sky in a sign of despair. “Ok! Everyone sit down and explain to me from the beginning now!”

“Blimey…” said the Tenth Doctor as he rubbed his cheek with a confused expression. “I suddenly miss Jackie.”

Rose could not help but laugh.

---

“So remember when I told you that I traveled with the Doctor when I was Nineteen?” Rose asked and Donna nodded in response. “That was him.” Rose smiled at her first Doctor, who responded instantanely at the visible displeasure of the other Doctor. “I traveled with him and…” She stopped for a few seconds, still uncertain of what she could really say and realized something. “Wait. Where am I, the younger me?” she asked him. “Because you clearly know me.” She knew her tone was a bit accusatory, but she didn’t remember that planet at all, not even the name. She really hoped he would not appear suddenly because it has the potential to become really awkward, especially if she was asking questions. Or worse, if they had Jack on board already. And she was also not really keen on him erasing her memory or something, because she was pretty sure she could not do the locked up thing he had explained to her. Especially without the Wolf.

He looked away sheepishly. “Jack needed to make a pit stop in the 52 century to retrieve a few things, and asked to be collected two days from now. Then you asked to be left with your mother yourself. I told you I would just drop you off, and go back to Jack so it would only be a few minutes for me before getting back to you. But I needed to grab a few things for the TARDIS…”

“Oh yeah! I vaguely remember it. I think,” she said, having a hazy recollection of staying with her mom for three days at one point. Everytime she had asked to go see her mom he had left somewhere either in the TARDIS, or in the vortex under the pretense of needing to do repair. Except for that time when he had to save her from a malvoyant video game. So it had not really been very impactful for her. “Was that the one when I had to go to my great aunt Janice's wedding?” she asked more of herself than anything.

“No, that was with me,” said her second Doctor with a forced smile. “But I had to lock myself up in the water heater room for four hours to escape your cousin Alana. So yeah, you were basically attending alone, an easy mistake.” She could still feel a bit of bitterness in his tone of voice and on his face. He had never really forgiven her for not finding him before they had finished the cake. And it had taken months for him to accept to see her mom afterward. She remembers having to bribe him with at least three banana bread and two promises of letting him choose the planet when asked.

Donna snorted at the image. “Four hours?? Was she trying to eat you or something?”

“I’ve seen Daleks less focused than her!” he said in protest, making Donna laugh even louder.

The Ninth Doctor didn’t look amused at his successor's lack of focus, and Rose's guilty aura everytime she looked at him didn’t help either. Something fishy was going on, and he was determined to get answers. But he knew right now was not the time, especially in the middle of an invasion, but as soon as they could be out of here... “Can we get back on the subject at hand please? Meaning, trying to get out of here.”

“Oh yeah sorry,” said the other Doctor, a bit ashamed. “We need to find a way to take out all those people without alerting the Gurunian, and with the security we saw all around, it’s not going to be easy.”

“Well with what we heard, the two that were taken with you were deliberately trying to provoke the authorities,” Rose offered as she looked around with a determined face, trying to find those who were standing out in the sacred crowd. At first sight she could see at least three people that were fitting the profile she was seeing in her mind. The one that was not afraid, bold enough to be there by choice, the fighters. If they wanted to get everyone out alive, they were the one to approach and put in their side, and for that they needed a plan. Gone was the sadness and sorrow she had expressed a few minutes earlier, only resolution and stubbornness left in place.She knew she was still fragile, especially with him so close to her. But she could not afford to break down now. Maybe later in the TARDIS, but not today. So she will have to fight fire with fire, even if it kills her slowly.

A bit behind her the Ninth Doctor was looking at Rose. She was so serious and focused, a far cry from the innocent girl he had saved that night in Henrik’s. She had visibly matured, enough to command a room without even trying. She had always been charismatic, the one people approached during their adventures. But it had been born of the visible empathy and accessibility she was given off in spade. And now he felt he was vaguely grieving the young Rose Tyler he knew so well. He knew it was absurd as his own Rose was very secure at Jackie Tyler’s apartment.

But this Rose… This one was definitely older, not by much for what he could see. She was in her mid twenties at most, the end of them if he was really pushing far. But her eyes were more hard and wary than the one he had looked at everyday for the past year. She had definitely seen way too much and that worried him to no end. Did that happen with him? The other him? He glanced briefly at his successor with a hard look, but he was too concentrated on Rose to see it. He would go to the bottom of this, even if he had to confront the older version of himself for that.

“That means a plan,” continued Rose, completely unaware of her first Doctor’s inner turmoil. “And I’m ready to bet my Transporter that they are part of this moon resistance! And who says resistance says a place to hide, maybe even some sort of headquarters…” She turned to Donna. “They saw you trying to defend them, and were taken because you wanted to protect them. If they accept our request to talk, I'm sure it will be to you directly because you’re the one they’re most likely to trust. Explain to them we want to take out all those people, but for that we need a place to send them.”

Donna nodded. “For what I heard before you came in, they are not the first ones to pull that kind of stunt. A few Ceti were whispering about that just before you made your entrance.”

“Great!” Smiled Rose, happy to see a plan forming already. “The more people on our side, the easier it will be for us to get everyone alive. Time to work your magic!”

“Don’t worry, Sunshine! I'll have everyone on our side, and ready to throw down the government in no time!” She smirked one last time to the two other Doctors and turned around, already walking with determination to the couple she had been trying to defend in the first place.

The Ninth Doctor looked at her go, a bit impressed by her braziness. “She seems kind of scary,” he said to no one in particular, making Rose snort in response.

“You have NO idea…” sighed the other Doctor, an air of suffering on his face. “Donna is wonderful, but the day you end up on her bad side…” He shuddered at some of his memories. “Let’s say that Jackie Tyler looks like a Menoptera next to her.”

Ninth visibly gulped, his eyes widening at the image. “Noted.”

“Doctors…” said Rose, trying to move them back on the subject at hand. As they focused back on her, she concentrated on the brown eyes of his second Doctor, trying her best to not succumb to her emotions that were still threatening to swallow her whole. She knew he would not understand, but like she said earlier, fire with fire. “We need to put those people in a group of 4 or 5 maximum. We cannot let them out all at once, it would be too noticeable.”

He frowned, like he had already guessed her train of thought. “Why am I the one to shepherd those people? Why not him? I’m the one with the sonic screwdriver!” His tone was accusatory, clearly not happy with the fact that Rose had been all over his predecessor since he had appeared.

“Because you would be spotted from miles away with that attitude,” snickered the Ninth Doctor, as he looked the other Doctor up and down. He had been a bit…dramatic in his precedent regeneration, well for what he could remember of it, but this one looked like he had put a fork in a socket and gone away with the energy.

“You’re one to talk. Have you seen yourself in a mirror lately? Tenth responded, crossing his arms. “It’s a wonder you can go through a door with an ego like that.” He knew part of his response was just pure jealousy, and it was completely insane when you put into account it was basically himself, but he couldn’t stop it.

Ninth chuckled, but his eyes were devoid of humor and he looked at the other Doctor with a dry smile on his face. “Funny you say that when I could see yours from over there. Afraid to be overshadowed eh?”

“By you? I’ve been you. Literally. Nothing to boast about, believe me,” the Tenth Doctor snorted, visibly furious, as he took a step up to his counterpart. He was practically exhaling fire with how worked up he was.

Ninth crossed his arms, a sarcastic smile on his face. “Yeah? That’s not what your actions are telling me right now. You’re literally screaming how threatened by me you are.” He knew he was playing with fire, but seeing the loss of the pure wonderment in Rose's eyes was making him a bit frenzied. “Afraid I would steal Rose is it?” he had said that more to riffle Tenth than anything else, but the reaction was almost immediate.

He walked to Ninth, grabbing him by the jumper and jerked him closer, making the other Doctor go almost nose to nose with himself. “You don’t know what I’ve been through for her,” tenth practically growled between gritted teeth, his eyes ablaze with the full rage of his Time Lord self. “What you will do! You have no idea, absolutely no idea of what happened, you have no right to use her as a ploy! Don’t even say anything like that ever again.” The energy around them was ready to explode into something that could easily engulf the whole room. So much pent-up anger and resentment between the two, it could go bad at the drop of a hat.

Everyone that was close to them had, even unconsciously as a few of them were not even looking at them, took a step back. Just when the situation was to cross a line, Rose brutally pushed them apart, making them stumble a bit, putting herself between them. And she was not happy. “What do you think you are doing?” she snapped, as they still looked at each other fiercely over her head. “We have people to save, and you think it’s the moment to fight over me like I’m some sort of prize?”

They had the decency to at least look ashamed of what they’ve done. “I am my own person, not a playthrough or anything else. I know it’s just you having some weird self issue with yourself, but don’t put me in the middle. “She turned to Tenth first, who still looked the more heated of the two. “I need you to trust me on this ok? I know what I’m doing. Remember, you promised…” he mollified at her words, his visage finally relaxing, and when he looked at her he was smiling.

“Shiver and Shake,” he answered with finality, compelling her to smile in turn. “Ok, ok, I’ll do it. But keep me updated please.” She took her phone out of her pocket, showing she was already prepared for it. For a second, he looked at her intensely, making her heart skip a beat, but before she could ask about it, he shook his head and took her into arms.

Unfortunately the hug was over before she had time to respond to it. With one last sour look in the direction of his counterpart, he walked away. Not before tossing his sonic to him, without even looking back. “You’ll need that to open the door. And I want it back in one piece,” he called out, his voice hard and flat.

Nine and Rose looked at each other, a bit bewildered by the Tenth Doctor's attitude, before he shrugged and holded out his hand in her direction, wriggling his fingers, a big smile on his face.

“Shall we?”

Chapter Text

Chapter 36:

Opening the door had been the easiest part. Clearly the Gurunian didn’t really expect any kind of resistance, and the sonic screwdriver only needed a minute to work his magic. While the Doctor that she knew now was busy rallying the crowd in something more manageable, she and her first Doctor had slipped out of the room without a sound, not really surprised about the lack of guard or presence around the corridor. While they were being moved to the cell, Rose had only heard the Gurunian around her and never felt another presence until she had been pushed inside, showing their arrogance and hubris in the face of all this violence.

As they walked slowly in the hallway, making sure to check at each point for any guards, the Doctor finally broke the silence. “How long has it been for you?” he asked nonchalantly, making her stumble under the surprise.

She catches herself up with the wall at the last second. “What?” she could only ask as her heart beat wildly in her chest.

He smiled, his eyes soft and gentle, like he knew he had hit a weak point on his first try. “I see how you look at me, and your reaction was pretty telling. So how long?” He shrugged, looking around like the response was not that important to him. But she knew him, she knew him by heart even after all those years. He really wanted to know.

She almost told him how much his regeneration had hurt her, how she still had nightmares from time to time. Her love for him still burns deep, almost as much as her current Doctor because they were the same person. She wanted to say it took her weeks to stop sleeping with his leather jacket, to stop searching for blue eyes when she turned around. How her younger self was desperately in love with him, and even decades later seeing him was still making her want to hug him and never let go. Yes, she loved her Doctor with everything in her and that included him, probably until her dying day. But when she looked at him all those words disappeared and she could only muster a weak smile.

“Not long enough,” she finally said, all her words disappearing on her.

He snorted but the points of his ears turned red, showing he had understood the underlying of her words. “How can you miss that old daft face? Especially with a pretty boy around.” The trace of disgust was not lost on her and wondered once again if he could be jealous of himself.

“When you regenerated, I would have given everything to have you back,” she said honestly. He turned around, surprise written on his face, but now that the floodgates were open she could not stop the words. She had waited an eternity to say them. “I even asked him to turn back, because imagining my life without you felt unbearable. I cried for you and I mourned you. Yes I accepted him right away but how could I not? When he was you. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t miss you. I kept your leather jacket in my room for months, until I could only smell myself. So yes, I missed that old daft face.” she felt moisture in her eyes but she refused to hide them, he deserved as much.

He suddenly stopped, and without further notice he opened one of the doors that was near them and pushed them inside. Fortunately the little room was empty except for a few supplies and discarded chairs. “Oh Rose…” he said, his voice breaking on the last syllable. And before she could move another step, he scooped her in his arms, hugging her like he was afraid she would disappear at any moment. “You never got to say goodbye, did you?” he whispered in her ear. Too perceptive for his own good.

Rose felt herself once again silently crying, smashing her face against his shoulder, the scent of him engulfing her. She knew their time was only fleeting, but she would enjoy every second, they deserved as much. She owed it to her younger self, and the numerous times she had wished for just five more minutes. “I never had the time. It happened so fast,” she admitted, quietly sobbing at the memory. “I wasn’t ready.” As the words left her mouth, she felt a weight fall off her shoulders, a guilt she never realized having melted with her tears. “I wasn’t ready and I’m sorry.”

He tightened his embrace and she felt his smile in her hair. “Was it a good death at least?” When he sensed her hesitation he added, “I wont remember a thing. No chance of changing the timelines.”

She couldn’t tell him about Bad Wolf, and the consequences of her trying to save his life. She absolutely refused to burden him with it, even if it was temporary. She could never do that to him. “You saved my life,” was her answer because in the end, she still spoke the truth. He took on the Time Vortex to save her life, killing himself in the process.

“So it was worth it,” he said while taking a step back, satisfaction bleeding from his voice. She could feel him soften slightly, peace irradiating from all around him. “Would not have wished a better death really.”

She snorted, her heart in her throat. “I would have prefered no death at all, if I had a say. But… at least your successor isn’t half bad.” She smiled, clearly joking. “And he has great hair!”

He smoothed over his own cropped hair, looking a bit self conscious. “Yeah he’s not half pretty, I give you that. Would give Jack a run for his money.” He stayed silent for a second, pondering something. “I could not help but see he is not with you. Please don’t tell me he tried to sell the TARDIS or something.” His pleading face would have been hilarious if not for the fact that Jack Harkness was still a sore subject.

“No he…” she choked up at his memories. Jack had been her best friend. The brother she never had, and knowing he had died at the hand of the Dalek, that she had been too late to save him, it was still very hard for her. “He died. I tried to save you both, but I think I was too late for him.” She could still not remember her first time as Bad Wolf, but she knew deep down what happened. She had been too late for him.

He frowned, trying to decipher what she was trying to say exactly. But even for him it was cryptic. “What do you mean you don’t remember? What happened?”

She turned around and walked to one of the chairs that had been discarded in a corner of the room. “When I tried to save you…” There was a pause as Rose considered how to tell him about it, but still keep her secret. “I had to take some drastic actions, and I almost died doing it. I think that’s why I still don’t remember, it was so traumatic for me in a way that I blocked everything.” It was not the complete truth, but how could she explain being pretty sure the TARDIS took away the memories when she gave her back her heart without making him explode with rage? “You basically exchanged your life for mine, dragging me back to the TARDIS while I was unconscious. So when I woke up, you were regenerating and then we fell down on Earth…it was pretty hectic for a time. And when I finally asked where Jack was…That’s when I knew that he died a hero. He was still a con man, and someone that you could ever fully trust. But for me he was a friend, and more than that he was family.”

He walked to her, putting his hand on her shoulder, trying his best to show his support. “I’m sorry. Do you want me to hug you?” he asked awkwardly. Feelings were not his forte, but at least he was trying and that was enough for Rose. She nodded and turned around, melting into his arms quite willingly.

After a minute he finally released her, and with one last smile and a nod, he turned around and walked out of the room, leaving a slightly stunned Rose behind. She had expected a bit more discussion, or even questions about Jack or the events surrounding his regeneration. She had been prepared for anything, from a barrage of accusations to maybe a bit of flirty banter. But she had forgotten how moody and unpredictable he could be. With everything going through her head, it took her almost a minute to realize what happened and finally follow him.

She ran after him. Once she caught up to him, and almost collided with his back at the bend of a corridor, there was a moment of surprise at his motionless body. He turned to face her when he felt her against his back and put his finger on his lips, motionning with his other hand to listen. After a second she realized she could hear people talking. Two, maybe three at most, and they weren’t that far away from where the Doctor stood, maybe just ten meter from their position, right behind the corner of the room.

He started to rummage through his pockets, adjusting the settings of the screwdriver with his other hand to something she was sure would give away their positions. Then when he grinned from ear to ear, Rose knew she had to act fast. The Doctor was not really known for being subtle, this one even less. So before he could make a move, she pushed him aside with a cheeky smile, a small pocket mirror already in hand. Understanding what she wanted to do he only nodded and took a step back, ready to jump into action if needed but mostly making sure they would not be interrupted.

She crouched, trying her best to be as inconspicuous as possible while slowly moving to the right position, placing the mirror discreetly on the ground. And to the biggest surprise of the Doctor, as she had finally a visual on the other side of the wall, she described with a few manual gestures that was not out of place on a battlefield, that two unarmed Gurunian were near a simple door that only had one point of entry, something that will definitely complicate the possibilities of retrieving his belongings as soon as possible. As he pondered the mystery that had become Rose Tyler, he noticed the intricate watch on her wrist, something she was apparently tinkering with right now as her attention was fully on it, and not on the mirror on the ground. She brutally smiled, apparently satisfied with something and before he could make a sound, she had already retreated with mirror in hand. She gestured to him to follow her and the Doctor, still under the surprise and shock of what happened, compiled without a sound.

They walked back to the room they had made a brief stop in, and as soon as they walked through the door, the Doctor exploded.

“Since when do you know about military hand signals?” he asked, stunned and a bit outraged at the same time. The Rose Tyler he had in front of him was so radically different from his Rose, he wasn’t sure how to react. His Rose didn’t even know military hand signals existed, even more how to use them. What happened in the few years to transform her to that point?

She looked at him surprised before her whole demeanor changed, and he could feel her closing off in front of him. “I don’t know what you mean…”

He rolled his eyes, already exasperated by all those dramatics. Something happened and he wanted to know what it was, and he wanted to know right now. “You are what? Four maybe five years older than when we traveled together, and in that time you suddenly learned military hand signals. You’re clearly walking around with a teleporter.” She turned her head, guilt written all around her face, and she tried, in vain, to hide her wrist. “Sandshoes seem desperate to not upset you. What. Happened?" he asked once again, his voice taking a hard tone he never had to use on the Rose that he knew. He knew it was unfair, and he was probably blinded by the desire to protect his Rose, because seeing her jaded and hardened made him want to scream into the void. But before he could drill himself up once again, she started to talk.

“We got separated,” she admitted a bit defensively, her face suddenly unreadable, making him close his mouth with a click. “After you regenerated, something big happened. Big enough to open a hole between the dimensions. We were able to close it, but the price was pretty high.” She felt her throat close up at the memories, how much that blank wall had hurt. She had recurring nightmares for a few years after that, all centered around that particular wall. “I was stuck on one side with no way of getting back.”

He frowned. “Since the fall of Gallifrey, it should be impossible to cross over. The energy alone to open a hole would be massive! How did you come back?”

That was one of the things she loved about this Doctor, how no nonsense he was. He knew it would be impossible to cross over, but the fact she was in front of him, was enough for him to revise his view. And now he wanted to know what changed the possibilities of the event. It was somewhat refreshing for her, even if the skepticism of her current Doctor had saved their life more than once. So she told him everything, well almost everything; because she was afraid if he heard the whole truth, he would find a way to pin it on her Doctor and try to kill him. His temper was the best and the worst of him sometimes.

But she spoke to him about her life in the other universe. How she tried to find her way in a world that was moving forward without her, how after the other him said goodbye she thought she would never see him again. Then how she rebuilt herself with the help of her family, reborn in the ashes of her suffering, knowing that everything she once knew was out of reach. But then the stars started disappearing. Then came the cracks and the panic it created. And finally, how with the help of a full team of the best scientists that Torchwood could afford, she created the hopper while desperately trying to find the trigger that was destroying her new universe, before crash landing here without any way of going back.

During her whole speech The Doctor felt silent, just listening to her tales. But with each second, he felt like his hearts were squeezed inside his chest more and more. When he had taken her hand, all he ever wanted was to show her the universe, make her realize how extraordinary she was. To see her smile and keep the loneliness at bay. He knew it would not be forever, because she was only human. And now, the more she spoke, the more he was feeling like someone had turned on the light. Rose, his wonderful Rose, the woman who could not know a coil spring from a rubber bushing to save her life had now basically rewritten the law of the universes, just because she decided it was time to save it. He had hoped that one day in their travels she would see herself as he saw her: strong, fierce, magnificent. But she had exceeded everything he could have ever envisioned for her.

He knew he was looking at her with a mix of dumbfoundedness and adoration, trying to wrap his head around how his young and somewhat uncertain Rose had morphed into the untamed wolf he saw in front of him. And to his shame, he felt himself feel even more deeply in love with her.

“How on Gallifrey it could have gone THAT pear shaped after my regeneration? And since when do you know how to solder metal?” he asked instead, trying to cover his sudden urge to kiss her senseless and make a perfect fool of himself.

To his relief she laughed, completely oblivious of his intense turmoil. “Well, technically it’s Mickey that did all the soldering. I was just the one with the theoretical knowledge,” she explained with a fond smile on her face, as if she hadn’t turned the Doctor’s world completely upside down in the last ten minutes.

His jaw slacked at the image of her reciting quantum physics and spacetime theory to a room full of captive scientists, cracking what humans were only supposed to discover thousands of years from now. “You are incredible!” he blurted out, dazed by her radiance. As soon as the words left his mouth, he instantly felt the urge to facepalm or better yet, just throw himself headfirst into the vortex. He was sure that by now, his next body was suddenly overcome with a strong urge to bang his head against a wall. He probably should make a mental note to apologize for that before they part ways. “I mean for a human whose species still thinks that string theory is real.”

“Haha, really funny,” she deadpanned, still frowning at his Dr Jekyll and Hyde outburst of feelings. She really loved him, but she had forgotten with the years how he could make her head spin with his constant change of mood and cryptic turn of words. With him it was like trying to navigate a labyrinth blind. At least her current Doctor was a bit more direct for that. “Thank you for the vote of confidence. So now are you letting me go retrieve our things, or are you planning on insulting my methods too?”

His snort made her almost want to punch him, hard, in the shoulder. Half for old time sake, and half because she wanted to remind him she was not the nineteen year old he was traveling with.
“What? You want to take the two gurunians by yourself now? And then what? Are you expecting me to wait behind if they manage to stir up more people?” His voice was grating and somewhat mocking, and she wondered once again how her younger self had been able to travel with him without the intermittent urge to smother him in his sleep. Love was really completely blind sometimes. Even if she knew it was his defense mechanism to mock and scorn when he felt he had been too vulnerable, especially around her.

She took out her hopper with an exasperated sigh. “I'm going to teleport inside, get our stuff and then teleport back. What do you think I was writing down before? The best way to chat them up while they pass us? I was calculating the spatial coordinates of the room to be sure I wouldn’t end up in a wall or worse, directly in the path of one of them.”

To her exasperation, he snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous, Rose. Last time you tried to make it technical, we got stuck with Jack. I’ll do it.” She was more and more grumpy by the second and his somewhat superior smirk made her want to turn around and scream. She knew this Doctor was as bad as her own concerning sharing the lead, even if he had mellowed a little bit with Jack around. However, she suspected it was more because Jack was as insane as him, rather than pure generosity. Also the fact that more than half of Jack's plan was him running around naked while the Doctor made fun of him was the bonus part. But right now, even if she loved him with everything in her, she was not really fond of him.

She knew exactly what would happen if she let him take the lead once again. He would try to convince her he knew better, or even worse, take out his sonic before running head first into the Gurunians to prove something; while she would be stuck to be the lookout and save his arse when his plan ultimately backfired. So, before he could have time to argue, she smiled sardonically at him, then winked and punched the button on her teleporter, disappearing in a flash of light. He was left there alone, and shocked by her braziness, in what was basically a glorified janitor closet.

—

He had been pacing back and forth, completely out of his mind with worry, when she reappeared in a flash a few minutes later. She stumbled on one of the chairs that was a bit too close from her point of return, and her hands were full with their stuff and her face sporting a clearly satisfied smile. He only spared her a look, stopping for half a second on her surprisingly familiar leather jacket, making him start muttering to himself in addition to his marching. When they get back to the cell, he’s going to corner his next counterpart to have the whole story, because her new streak of pure wildness and defiance was making him want to barricade her in a cupboard for her own safety. He was pretty sure he had lost at least ten years of his life in the last two minutes.

When after a few seconds of looking at him doing round and round, grumbling like a lion in a cage, she cleared her throat making him brutally stop and turn around, a murderous glint in his eyes.

She sighed internally. She knew that face and that look. Saw him use it way too many times on either Jack, as his special touch of friendliness had not been well received in the beginning, especially when it was turned to her. Or to the alien that decided to piss him off that week. And the few times she had been the recipient of it, it had not been a good time. For either of them. She put down the pile of clothes that was emcubering her and crossed her arms, ready for the lecture she knew would follow. “Ok out with it,” she said, knowing perfectly that trying to talk him down would only extend the inevitable.

His posture became suddenly rigid and if his eyes could have spit fire, the room would have been ablaze. “What you did was completely irresponsible!” he suddenly exploded, not really caring about the volume of his voice. Thank god the doors were closed, and the two guards had probably gone back to their post because they would have been spotted in a heartbeat. “You could have been hurt, incapacited or worse dead! And then what… Just to prove a point? That you are not a child anymore? You should have let me handle it or at least let me help!”

And here laid the issue on point, she had acted without his guidance, and the control freak in him was now throwing a fit. When she was Nineteen she found his brand of protectiveness quite cute at times, but now as she was older, she felt her blood pressure spike at his words. She had completely forgotten the patronizing part of him that was already infuriating when she was young. Now, it felt inacceptable. “Why? Because you are the high and mighty Time Lord? Because I’m just a poor ape who doesn't know better?” She saw the start of a rebuttal on his lips, and didn’t want to give him the possibilities of refuting it. “Newsflash, Doctor, I am perfectly capable of thinking of a plan and executing it without your input.”

“That was not a plan!” he screamed back. “You literally decided to do it to spite me! Don’t try to say you have thought of something. You didn’t have a plan, or even a backup! You could have put everyone in danger with your recklessness!”

Rose breathed deeply, counting to ten in her head, trying to remember that he didn’t have the whole story nor the facts the other Doctor took so long to understand. For him, she was still the young and inexperienced companion that kept on putting herself in the most insane situation and needed to be regularly helped. This Doctor had been insanely protective of her, to the point of madness sometimes, and she knew now that between the Time War and his conflicting feelings it was his way of coping. But it was still pretty tiresome, even more so now.

“Do you really think so little of me?” she finally asked after a few seconds. “I knew exactly what I was doing. The security was pretty flimsy, and I knew no one would be inside. At worst if things went wrong, I could tap on the recall button in a quarter of second. It’s not my first rodeo. And you are one to talk by the way," she added after a second, reminding of a few specific adventures together. “You are even worse, Doctor. Most of the time your plan consists of ‘let’s blow stuff up and see what happens’ or ‘Hey let’s get captured, I’m sure it will be fun!’. So don’t start. You are just miffed because I took the lead without consulting you. You are the worst control freak I know.” His grim figure was response enough for her and she handed him his leather jacket before he had time to jump back again in the argument. “Let’s go, we still have to find the exit route.”

—

They had been walking for a few minutes in total silence. Not from Rose's lack of trying, but this Doctor was basically made of pure stubbornness and sheer inflexibility, when she decided that enough is enough. She only had a limited time with him before losing him forever once again. She refused to waste another second just because he had decided to be in one of his moods. So she stopped right in front of him, forcing him to stop too if he didn’t want to ram right into her.

“Ok enough, Doctor," she said, her voice strong and inflexible. “I know I worried you by disappearing in hostile ground like that, and I should have maybe explained my plan a bit better, but I need you to stop trying to punish me.” His eyes became soft, and she saw the remorse in them. It was exactly what he was doing and he knew she knew it. “We only have a limited time together; I refuse to pass it mad to each other. If you have something to say, say it now. And I will not apologize for what I did ok?”

It was like her words made him deflate on himself, and all the fight burning in him suddenly left him. “I was worried,” he finally admitted after half a minute of silence, making Rose's heart melt on itself under all the subtext of these three simple words. “And mad because you literally disappeared on me.” He was not looking at her, but she still felt her presence right through her, just like old times.

She switched the weight to liberate her right arm, taking his hand in hers. “I am not sorry for what I did. Because it was the safer way to retrieve our things while doing recon, but I am sorry that I let my feelings cloud my judgment and left you without a word. I was annoyed at how dismissive you were, and did exactly the same thing in return.” Their eyes crossed as she smiled shyly. “I am sorry, Doctor.”

He smiled in turn, gripping her hand with force, showing without a word that he already forgiven her. Like she said, they only had a limited time together and he didn’t want to pass it by being angry. With his next him maybe but never her.

“So, what do you say?” His smile now almost splitting his face in two. “We find the perfect path to get out of here, go find the others, overthrow the government and then we go drink a cup of tea while everyone lives happily ever after? Except of course the bad guys.”

She knew she was looking stupidly at him right now, and if any Gurunian was patroling those corridors they would be dead meat, but she could not stop smiling. They were the Doctor and Rose, yesterday, today and tomorrow. They were forever. “What are we waiting for?”

Chapter Text

Chapter 37

When they got back to the cell, they were surprised to see that almost an hour had passed, as it was the first thing that came out from Donna's mouth as they passed the door.

“Thank god you’re back,” she sighed, looking clearly annoyed. “This one over there was ready to climb the wall.” She pointed at the Doctor, who was trying his best to be as nonchalant as possible. “And don’t try to say it's not true, I saw you testing the door when you thought I wasn’t looking.”

“That’s not true!” he protested loudly as he hugged Rose, making a delighted sound at the view of his coat. “Well partially true. I was just checking if it wasn't stuck.”

“More like you were trying to escape while I was not looking.” added Donna, as she put on her own jacket. “So what did you find?” she continued, turning to Rose and the other Doctor.

Rose exchanged a look with her first Doctor before turning back to Donna. “For one thing, the security in this building is astonishingly abysmal. We literally didn't cross a single guard the whole time we roamed around. I mean I’ve not been in that many prisons in the grand scheme of things, but I think it’s the worst guarded I've ever been.”

“Really? You think Arashan was worse than here?” asked the other Doctor, curiosity written on his face. “Because they literally gave us a spa day and the only reason we ‘escaped’ is because I was getting mortally bored. If I had listened to you we would still probably be there.”

“Oh, I completely forgot about that planet!” Rose exclaimed, finally recalling that adventure again. They had been accused of apparently parking illegally, and ‘thrown’ in prison for the outrage. Most relaxing four days of her life. Before the Doctor had enough of the idleness and decided to make them leave in the middle of the night. If she remembered correctly, she had been pretty chuffed with him after that. She turned to Donna. “We definitely need to be back there. Their saunas were out of this world.”

“Anyway," continued Nine, while looking at Rose suspiciously, and trying his best to tune out the argument that had started between his counterpart and his other companion. Who was taking it as a mortal offense the fact he never proposed to go there. “We also found a pretty direct route that leads directly from this cell to the outside. Literally five minutes in a mostly straight line from here to the backdoor. And from what we gathered, it seems to be a round of 3 guards every fifteen minutes.” He stayed silent for a few seconds. “But that situation makes no sense,” he continued on, clearly frustrated by the murky situation.

“Why is a race so determined to destroy another, also so ruthless and disorganized at the same time?” the older Doctor pondered while finishing his counterpart’s sentence. As Rose and the younger Doctor nodded, he smiled broadly. “We asked the same thing to the people here.” An elbow to the gut made him cough. “I mean Donna asked the leader of the group here,” he groaned as he massaged his side with a grimace.

“I found it quite weird to see so many people amassed in one place,” Donna said like she had been the one talking in the first place. “So I asked Abran…the Gurunian that dressed in red,” she added as she saw their blank faces. “What was the deal? He explained that before their king proclaimed the Ceti were responsible for his father's death and countless others, the two races were completely pacifist and neutral towards each other. The last war was apparently five generations ago for Gurunian. And the Ceti don’t even have the record of one in their history.” She looked sadly at the group of Ceti that was bundled against one of the walls. “So they are a really easy target for melomaniac rulers…”

After a second of silence, the Doctor jumped in again, trying to keep the discussion going. “This building we are in right now was initially a warehouse that was swiftly converted into a prison. Before that they never really needed one that could contain more than 10 people in total. Donna said that Abran explained to her before this, the maximum they had in one place was five. And it was mostly for theft or embezzlement.” He turned again to Donna, with the manic energy of a spaniel as Rose thought to herself. “How long ago was the precedent murder again?”

“Nine years ago. Apparently it was a big thing and all. So you can imagine how it went. Especially when they say that every ‘suspicious’ death since they arrived was caused by them.”

“And that means most of the Gurunian were only trained for warfare in the last few years.” continued the younger Doctor, a deep frown on his face. He had clearly been stuck on Donna’s words. “Except for a few that have a real appetite for violence…”

“Like the one that made us end up here?” Rose asked her current Doctor.

He nodded. “Exactly. The rest are mostly followers, clearly afraid for their life and family. And the Ceti are too noble and selfless to challenge the words of the people that took them in when they had nothing else. They feel responsible and their guilt stops them from asking questions. Donna asked, nobody tried to evade from there before. Not even once.”

“So they don’t feel the need to patrol that often. Why use force when shame does the work for you?” the other Doctor finished, making Rose's head spin with their ease to speak for one another.

“Abran said the resistance headquarters is only ten minutes from here. In approximately two hours, food will be delivered and put there” She pointed to one of the walls that was near the door. “It’s the only moment before the morning that guards will be present.”

“That means we wait for them to leave, and then we prepare our escape. So around six hours to send the whole group out from under their noses and escape flawlessly.”

“Enough time for us to move everyone to a predetermined point, and for us to engineer a plan to overthrow the government!” the Doctor said with a manic smile.

“That would work,” Rose said as she pondered on what they just said. “Ok let’s do this!”

—

It took only fifteen minutes for both of the Doctors to get bored enough to start to bicker, and five more for them to take out their own sonic and compare their uses. To the great amusement of Donna and Rose.

“I wonder what would happen if all ten of the Doctors met each other,” Donna pondered Donna as she looked with interest at her Doctor putting his sonic directly on his counterpart’s face.

“Probably madness? I mean, did you see those two?” Rose made a vague gesture in their direction. “I once asked the Doctor if we could meet one of those past him one day, even by pure chance.” She smiled at the memory, even today his face was still making her laugh. “He looked so offended, you should have seen his face! Then he lectured me for ten minutes straight about the danger of timewrap or something. The details are kinda fuzzy…But his face!” She laughed again at the image that popped into her mind. “So it is safe to say that nothing good would come of them all being reunited. Especially for the universe.”

Donna made a noise of appreciation as she looked at them. “I have to say now that I know beanstalk didn’t always look like he was one second away from being cast away by a breeze, but I am really curious what the others look like,” she said with a sort of appreciation that made Rose look at her funny.

“What do you mean?” Rose asked, a bit afraid of the possible response.

Donna shrugged. “I mean when I see this him, I completely understand why you decided to follow him without a second thought.” She wiggled her eyebrows with comical effect. “His backside alone is worth following anywhere.”

Rose almost choked on her own spit. “Donna!” she exclaimed, a bit scandalized and a little bit jealous she had to admit. “I mean you’re not wrong,” she admitted after a few seconds. “But please!”

Donna shrugged with a wicked smile on her face. “Be honest, it’s not his outstanding communication skills that grabbed you in…That guy is so bad with words, I thought he was proposing to me when he asked me to travel with him. I almost decked him.”

Rose took her face in her hands, trying to stifle the giggle that was threatening to escape. Thank God the two Doctors were too busy trying to man up each other to look their way. “Why that does not surprise me.” She finally looked at Donna in the eyes again, realizing the redhead was more having fun at her expense. “But yeah, and how can you blame me? Did you see him? He is gorgeous, and I was only Nineteen with nothing in my life. Suddenly he blazed in, saving my life and telling me to forget him. Of course I fell in love straight away,” she pondered for a second. “Well more like fell in lust. Love came later.”

“That’s the spirit!” said Donna with great joy. “Not that I am condemning or anything, I would have probably fell head over arse if that one came into my life when I was Nineteen. Then we would have killed each other.” She stopped for an instant before smiling back again. “Would have been probably more healthy than half of my relationships at that age.” She turned to the two Doctors who were now speaking in hush. “I mean ours is as skinny as a pole with the energy of a golden retriever. Combined all that with the fact that at that time, just saying your name was enough to send him into a spiral. Plus the fact I was still hung up on the fact my fiance tried to have me eaten by a giant spider person, the chance of falling in love with him was in the negative. Even more when I started to live with him later on. He is so chirpy in the morning, it should be criminal…” she mumbled something for a second before continuing. “But the other him? Tall, dark, handsome and brooding? I would have been all over that!” She had a dreamy smile and her eyes lost focus. “Twenty years old me would have probably thrown herself at him. Thank god I am not twenty anymore and it was not him that found me. I would have made a fool of myself.”

Rose tried to not look perturbed at Donna's words. She loved her friend, but imagining her throwing herself at the Doctor, or anyone for that matter was a bit disturbing. Especially because she felt the woman was so much a force of nature, it would work the other way around. And weirdly enough, having her and her first Doctor work together would probably work very well. Or have the planet explode at some point. No in between.

“You know, knowing my first Doctor, I’m sure you would be really great friends. Like really scary together most probably but…”

Donna snorted. “If you think I’ll try to flirt with mister ‘Rose please love me’ don’t worry for one second. I said what I said mostly to make you laugh. And rile you up a little bit. Because you keep looking at him like he would suddenly disappear, and when he moves out of your eyesight, you stop breathing for a second.”

Rose sighed, turning her face to face the wall. Donna was not completely wrong. “You’re not that far from the truth. The day he regenerated…He was talking to me, smiling like a loon, talking about visiting some planet and then suddenly he…” She tried to swallow the sob that was threatening to get out. Even all those years later, it was still quite traumatic. “He literally exploded in a ball of light. One second he was there, and then the next after light everywhere and before I had time to do anything he was changed. I was twenty, no idea that regeneration existed at all…So yeah seeing like that right in front of me, a small part of me is afraid it would happen again.”

Donna's face softened at the words, she had not realized she had put both feet directly in one of Rose's most traumatic experiences.

“I’m sorry, Rose. I cannot imagine how upsetting it would have been for you. Hell even now, knowing it could happen, I am freaking out. So you…” She took the other woman in a brief hug, making sure she would not push her friend too much. “Let’s make a deal. You keep them in check, and make sure to enjoy every second with this one and in exchange, if beanpole and Steamboat try on those stunts today, I’ll make them so afraid for their life they will spontaneously revert back to what they were. Deal?”

“Deal!” Rose giggled loudly at the image Donna’s words summoned. She could see their faces as clearly as it had already happened. After a few seconds of nothing but just a wide smile, her mood clearly aleavited by her friend, she nodded and hugged Donna in turn, who only looked mildly surprised at the move. “Thank you. You are clearly the best friend anyone could ask for,” she whispered, making Donna hug her tighter for a second before taking a step back.

Donna shrugged. “Meh, it’s clearly selfish. With you out of comission, pretty sure both Doctors would be unsufferable and would push me to murder. So for my own mental health, I need you at your best,” Donna said with a wicked smile, before pushing Rose lightly on her shoulder. “But you are welcome, blondie.”

Before her feelings threatened to swallow her whole, Abran appeared on Donna's side, making Rose jump a little at his sudden appearition.

“So, what are we going to do? A few of my people are starting to be nervous, and I don’t want them to do something stupid,” he asked, his face completely serious.

Rose, who had recovered from her burst of emotions, turned to the Guranian with all the assurance of a long time soldier, making Donna really impressed on how fast she could jump from emotional to calm and collected. She put a note to herself to ask her how she mastered that trick. Before following Rose and Abran to one of the quieter corners.

—

As the two women and the Gurunian rogue leader were busy trying to form a plan that would not backfire in their face within five minutes, the Doctors have moved on to other subjects.

“So what happened to Rose?” asked the younger Doctor as he put away his sonic, looking suspiciously at the older him. “She told me you were separated, but I feel it’s not the whole story…” The way his counterpart fidgeted felt like he had been suddenly spot on, and it was not really reassuring him.

“It’s complicated…” sighed the Doctor as he looked at Rose with a far away look on his face. “She…She got through a lot.”

“She calculated space coordonate based on data from a vortex jumper, a vortex jumper she told me she basically designed from scratch. And don’t get me started on the whole wild streak she is displaying now! Rose had always been jeopardy friendly, but it’s taking it to another level!” He felt his anger spike once again at the reminder of her jumping out without even a care in the world for her own safety. And the guilty face the other him was displaying wasn’t really helping him to calm him down. “She told me about your separation, how she came back and how she worked with UNIT for a stint before finding you, but I know it’s still not the whole story. She’s changed too much. The Rose Tyler I know is a far cry from yours. So I say it one more time… What. Happened?” His voice now full of the anger that was mounting in him, ready to let the timelord victorious out. He knew he should take a step back and talk it out, but the idea that Rose had been let down so hard by the one following him to the point of having to reinvent herself, it made his blood boil.

“I didn’t know!” the other Doctor screamed back, his eyes now showing how ancient and tired he was feeling. He felt Rose's eyes on him, and made a conscious choice to show a more relaxed body language. The last thing he needed was her trying to intervene. “I didn’t know. Ok?” he insisted, his voice more controlled this time. “We got separated. She got stuck in another universe and without the Timelords…I couldn’t get to her. I didn’t…I didn’t have enough time.” His voice broke at the memory of her falling to her doom, him incapable of saving her. He was a Timelord, the last one, and he had been beaten by Time itself. “I tried for months…” He looked down, refusing to have the other him judging him for his failure. “I didn’t even know the universe was in danger until she literally appeared in front of me.” He finally accepted to meet his eyes, but he would not betray Rose’s trust, not after everything they had been through. He had remembered the discussion this him and Rose had while they were away. He also remembered the frustration that he had felt at that moment. But if she wanted him to know she would have told him already. Or maybe she will tell him later, they will know soon enough, but he will never breathe a word to anyone, not without her blessing. “I know you know it’s not the full story, and that you are pushing yourself to not kill me here and now for it, but I will not tell you more. It is not my story to tell, and even if you will not remember it, I will and Rose is my utmost priority. If she decides to tell you, it’s her choice. But you will not hear another word from me.”

They looked at each other, Timelord against Timelord, Fire against Ice, and as the tension was threatening to be unbearable, the younger Doctor smiled. “You love her.”

“With every fiber of my being.” he replied instantly without hesitation, straightening himself to his whole height. “And don’t try to judge me for it. I’ve been you. You’re the one that started everything,” he spit out, refusing to be judged for something he had made peace for so long ago. He was born loving Rose Tyler, yes, but when he had been faced with the choice of letting the feeling diminish when the fire of the regeneration had died down, he had fought for it. And he would never let anyone judge him for it, not even the pigheaded one that was his predecessor. Even more from the fact he had been the first one to fall for Rose Tyler.

Nine looked at him in silence, his eyes unreadable. “Does she know?” he finally asked, his voice dropping to a whisper, like he was afraid of his response.

“She…is sort of aware,” replied the Doctor, looking at a group of Ceti that was huddled in a corner. “But she prefers for us to be friends.” His voice has lost all his steam on the last word, making him deflate himself. This memory of Rose was still painful for him but he understood where she was coming from. He could not ask her to still love him like no time had passed. For her it was almost a lifetime ago, she had time to move on. But for him…one heart would always belong to her.

“We never stood a chance,” said Nine as he looked at Rose, who was busy talking animatedly to Abran and a group of Gurunian, who looked positively enthralled with her. “How could we? She is…”

“Everything,” breathed out Ten as he glanced in her direction. She was their north star, and he could at least comfort himself by thinking he was not the only fool in love. Like she had felt their gaze, she turned to them and with a smile she waved to them, making them automatically wave in return.

“Ok you two,” said Donna's voice behind them, making them both jump in surprise. “Stop moping, you’re almost making me sorry for you.” They turned as one, facing her with a dumbfounded look on their face. “And before you two start weeping and waxing poetry to her truly…” She pointed to Nine. “You with me! Let’s go!”

“What?” he said, clearly astounded. But before he could ask his counterpart or do anything else, she gripped him by his leather coat and tugged, making him almost stumble on the other Doctor. “And we don’t have all day!” she continued with an authoritarian voice, showing she was not joking. “And you.” She turned to Ten, who took a tentative step back, crossing the terrified stare of younger him that was still gripped with a fist of steel by Donna. “Go to Rose, she asked for your expertise.” And without further notice, she marched down in the opposite direction, Nine trailing behind her. Not like he really had a choice with how bad she was clutching his jacket.

As he was recovering from the force of nature that was Donna, he could not help but hear her talking to younger him. “Oh stop moping! Rose will not fly away! Now, I need your most intimidating face, we need to put people in place!” He didn’t hear his other response, but it was no need, as the memory of the scene floated in his mind, the indignation that scene had caused him still fresh. The joy of time travel and regeneration. Sometimes he wished he could remember everything in one place, not as things were turning down. Would make everything easier…Especially with how unpredictable he remembered his precedent regeneration was.

He walked to Rose, who he realized was talking strategy to the group around her. “Donna said you needed my input?” he asked her, still fascinated by this side of her.

She smiled back at him, showing she had been waiting for him. “Yes, I need your input on something. Only Abran here and Felgri,” The Ceti that was just behind Abran nodded. “know how to get to the headquarters.”

The Doctor saw straight away where the issue was. “And with how many people we need to move, unless they keep going back and forth, it’s going to be problematic to send them all there,” he finished, already calculating all the possibilities. “What is your plan B if the headquarters is discovered?” he asked Abran, who looked at them very intensely.

“We have another point in Trakrex, one of the Ceti encampments, we thought that nobody will think of looking there if we have to flee. Everyone is too afraid of that.”

Rose frowned, her mind already moving to the next step. “Does every Ceti know about this encampment?”

Felgri pushed Abran slightly aside and nodded to him, showing him it was now her turn to talk. “Yeah, even if most of them live in Perilas, everyone knows the name of the five encampments and how to get there.” Her voice was soft and clear but the wariness of the whole situation was clearly taking a toll on her and Rose felt for her. Not being able to love whoever they wanted just because of a mad king. It was clearly unfair.

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other, already having a plan forming. “Felgri, you are going with the first group,” Rose started.

The Doctor had put his specs on, showing he was not really serious. “Explain to the headquarters that people are coming up and to be on guard.”

“Then continue to Trakrex, we will send all the Cetis over there. The less people involved for what will follow the better.” Rose could already see the plan forming together, she had been afraid for the life of all those innocent bystanders. And except for a very few of them, most were just tired and afraid, and she refused to implicate them in a fight that could kill them without a second thought. Having them all moved to a secure location was the best they could do.

“While you make sure that everyone sends your way is properly secured. The last group composed of the rebel members, Abran and us will then go to the headquarters and will make sure nothing else like that today will happen ever again,” finished the Doctor, the lines of his lips grim and stern.

“And how are we making sure that none of the Cetis will betray us between here and Trakrex?” Abran asked, clearly anxious about the success of the plan. He knew perfectly well that today was his only chance of overthrowing the corrupt system that was now rampant in his world.

Rose for the first time since the start of the conversation smiled. “That’s where Donna and the other Doctor came in. I asked her to explain to them that not following orders would be detrimental for their future. And believe me, nothing better for that than Donna in full form and the Doctor as his grumpiest.”

“Oh boy…” The Doctor facepalmed, vaguely remembering the chaos that was himself and Donna together. In a case like that he was glad he never met the redhead while he was in that form, the universe would have never survived.

“And what a success it was!” Donna said as she approached the group, the Doctor in her heels. “We literally put the fear of god into them, right Doctor?” She was widely smiling and to the surprise of everyone high fived him as he passed her.

“I have to say, you are really effective when you want something.” He turned to older him. “If I was not so afraid of the Reapers, I would ask her to come with me just so she could put Jack in his place.”

The Doctor looked horrified at the idea. “I am not sure anyone would survive that.”

“Please…” Snorted Rose. “Like Jack wouldn’t fall in love the second Donna turns him around.”

“For that I need first to meet this Jack,” Donna said nonchalantly as she sat down against the wall, soon followed by Rose while Abran and Felgri disappeared in the subdued crowd.

They stayed in silence for a few seconds as both Doctors sat down in turn, one on each side of Rose. Donna snorted, making all three of them turn to her.
“If you start fighting over her, I swear on the TARDIS I’ll spray you both!” she threatened, as the Ninth Doctor gave her a shoulder bump, making her almost fall over. “Hey! Not fair! Contrary to scrawny over there.” The Doctor made an outraged noise at the nickname. “I am not afraid to fight you, so don’t start.” They had a few seconds for tense exchange before he flicked her on the nose, making her yell in outrage. As they started to holler at each other, Ten and Rose exchanged a look, Rose clearly having the most fun of the two. “Like a house on fire!” She said, smiling widely.

He sighed, at least they were not killing each other. Yet. “And now what?” he asked, trying his best to tune them out.

She shrugged. “Now we wait.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 38

Rose had been surprised at how successful the whole operation had been. She had been so accustomed to plans exploding in her face, or going sideways at the first opportunity, that she had been on guard the whole time. And with the face that the Doctors were making, she was obviously not the only one to be shocked at the ease of the whole affair.

It only took them three hours to move everyone in their respective directions, and they already heard about the encampment and how everyone was now safe and recovering, making one less thing to worry about.

The headquarters had been more impressive than she would have thought in the first place. She had expected it to be at someone's house or in a basement somewhere, not a reinforced warehouse on the side of the city. The only downside was the fact they only had maybe twenty people, forty if you counted those in the different encampments. Clearly not enough to topple the government by themselves. She hoped the Doctors had a good plan, because at this point, she wasn’t even sure that they would be enough either.

“So, now that we're out of this lovely place, any thoughts on what’s next?” her current Doctor asked, basically reading her mind. “Because I am all for overthrowing the mad king,” he continued, smiling ear to ear, making Donna sigh in the background. “Like it’s one of my favorite activities! But do you have any proof of madness we can use?” As the look of confusion was his only response, he opened his mouth again, but was beaten to it by the other Doctor.

“You said he had basically manipulated the death of people, and his father, to force the isolation of the Ceti and ban them from the city and annihilate their rights,” continued the younger Doctor, feeling that his counterpart was probably two seconds away from launching into a monologue and they clearly didn’t have the time, and him the patience. “Do you have anything that could corroborate it? Or anyone that could prove it?”

One of the Gurunian shot up with visible excitement. “The lab result from Talion!” He turned to their leader, vibrating with excitement. “He is the one who started everything! If we find a way to release them to everyone, we could change everything!”

But Abran looked more somber at the news than anything else. “Talion has been long dead and his results with him…Don’t you think we would not have released it already if it was that easy?” He said, his voice severe and short, making the other Gurunian shrink on himself.

“Who is that Talion and why are his results that important?” Donna asked as she sat down next to Rose.

“Talion was our first leader. The one that created the rebellion with Wylon, the younger brother of the king. They were working in one of the royal laboratories and discovered by mistake that the death result had been manipulated. When Talion tried to go further and discovered it had started with the King's father, he was sent to prison. Officially he had been sent to one of the work camps on the other side of the moon, but everyone knows they killed him to stop him from talking. Wylon disappeared soon after, probably killed too. But he was not really known by the people, Wylon had always refused to be in the spotlight…So when he vanished, nobody made a fuss about it.” Abran looked so sad for a second before brushing himself off. “Talion was my best friend and…Well we tried to infiltrate the lab to try to retrieve all his research but their security is way too high. The only thing we were able to gain was the blueprint of the place. But unless we could literally teleport inside the server, it’s useless.”

Before anyone had time to respond, the younger Doctor stood up and turned to his counterpart. “Absolutely not!”

The Doctor looked outraged. “I said nothing! And it wouldn’t even be my idea!”

“Ah! Proof you thought about it!”

Ten looked annoyed and had the audacity to roll his eyes. “Of course I thought about it! I’m literally you, remember? But unlike you, I’m not a pompous asshat.”

“What are they talking about?” asked Donna as the Gurunian, and the two Ceti that had insisted on coming with them, looked with fascination at the two Doctors screaming at each other.

“About whether or not I should be the one to teleport inside the lab,” Rose replied nonchalantly, as she was calibrating her teleporter. As soon as Abran talked about the laboratory, she knew what it would come to. And apparently so did the two Doctors, to the dismay of the younger one.

Donna was looking bewildered at him, who looked two seconds away to a coronary, as he was still arguing with her own Doctor. “Do they know it’s your teleporter in the first place and you should be the one to decide?”

“That’s what I am trying to say to him!” the older one intervened. “Look, I know it’s dangerous and we need to prepare first, but who would you send over there? Donna?”

“Hey!” shouted the redhead. “Don’t put me in the middle! I know I am good, but I am not that good. Ask me to learn the Dewey Decimal Classification System, no problem, but anything related to science and I am tapping out.”

“I should go then,” the Ninth Doctor said defiantly as he crossed his arms. “Or him, he is the older of us. And we are best at anything related to science.”

Ten snorted. “Don’t be absurd. Five minutes there and we would alert the whole world. You are even less stealthy than me, and I am the worst. Also it’s Rose’s teleport, she should be the one to choose.”

Rose had been pleasantly surprised at her Doctor's defense of her, and how hard he was trying to show he was trusting her. She knew it was killing him, especially when they basically knew nothing about the place. But between the teleporter, her military and science experience, and furtiveness when needed, she was the best candidate. They could use a Gurunian but they didn’t have the time to train them with the teleport in so little time. And even Abran with the fact he was the head of the place, was clearly lacking in practical experience.

“Thank you Doctor,” she finally intervened. “I was looking at the blueprint, and with just a bit of time, the sonic and my experience, I think I am the best for this job. Especially if the security inside is as lacking as the prison.” She turned to the resistance, as her first Doctor was flustering in the background. “What information do you have? Because if you need me to go inside, I need to be prepared. I can’t go in blind.”

Abran and the one they were calling Kelbri smiled broadly, feeling their luck suddenly tipping in the right direction. As Kelbri disappeared in one of the rooms, Abran started talking.

“We were able to steal a master code before Talion was discovered, and we knew all the more sensitive information was moved to the central server room. Kelbri discovered the king wanted to keep everything in the hope to engineer something that would only target the Ceti. Fortunately for us, we are not advanced enough science wise for anything even remotely possible for that. But unfortunately, he was moved to a lesser lab half a year ago, and we lost all our advance to infiltrate the heart of the complex.” Kelbri reappeared at that moment with multiple large files and a small box.

“That’s everything we have on the subject. The names of the files, what they are supposed to contain, the master code and all external security.” He distributed the papers between them all. “Unfortunately we have nothing on the inside. Only some of the labs I worked at before being moved. And as you can see, it’s impenetrable from the outside. Between the guards, the electronics prints and four levels of reinforced doors… Inside you are badging at each door, and each level of security has their own separate system. If we try anything, it’s days of work on each part. And we only have one shot at this because the day they realize we know this information, will be the day they will destroy everything and we will be left with nothing.” He put the small box on one of the tables on the side. “We have prepared a transfer card that is already calibrated to the format used in that specific laboratory. All we need is to be inside to use it.”

Donna looked at her files and those of the Doctors and smiled. “Ok while Rose prepares herself, we are going to compile a concise list of everything she needs. Let’s go.” And without further notice, she stood up and took off in the direction of one the quiet corner of the room, her Doctor on her tail. The other one had taken a step in, but in Rose's direction.

“Are you sure?” he finally asked after a few seconds of silence. “I still can…”

“Hey Steamboat!” shouted Donna, interrupting him. “When I said move, it meant you too!”

“Go. Before Donna decides she needs to move you herself,” she said with a smile as he turned around with a sigh. As he walked back, more like a kid that had been admonished than the powerful TimeLord he was, she could not help herself but snort. Donna was the real force of nature in this friendship. And she would not have it any other way.

Abran tapped her on her shoulder, and when she turned around she was Colonel Tyler once again. “Ok let’s do it,” she said, her face serious and solemn.

—

Two hours later, they finally had a plan solid enough and enough information for Rose to know where to go and what to do straight away. As they still have an hour and half before the guards would come and give the alarm on their escape, she felt confident enough to go and come back in that time window without being spotted. She already pre programmed the recall coordinate on her teleporter just in case, and as she wanted this operation to go without bloodshed if she could avoid it. She knew that the Doctor, the younger one, tried to intervene at least three times and had to be either interrupted by his counterpart or diverted by Donna, making it more humorous than anything else for her. Thankfully for her, Kelbri had been monopolizing him with science talk for the last five minutes.

“Ok. You have everything?” asked her Doctor once again, who was trying his best to be supportive but could not completely mask his nerves.

“I have the coordinates, the file with the master code and all the record names I need to download, the transfer card, the sonic and I am wearing the full medical suit to try to at least blend a little bit…” she said for the third time in a few minutes. She was patient but even she had her limit.

“I know, I am annoying but at least we are sure. I don’t want you to go over there and realize you are missing one piece.”

She smiled fondly at his agitation. “No, that would be you.”

As he started with another inane question, Donna suddenly appeared, likely sensing the Doctor going slightly nuts. “Ok Spaceman, time to shut it off,” she said, bumping him in the ribs, making his wince in response. “Ready Rose?”

“Yeah I think so,” Rose answered, trying to review in her head everything they talked about with Abran and Kelbri. “No better moment than now I’d say.”

“Great!” She smiled, looking at Ten with a twinkle in her eyes. “Well I know you are almost immortal and all, but remember, you can still be hurt and die. And Beanpole over there would literally lose it if something happened.”

“She’s what?!” roared the other Doctor, literally swirling in place at Donna's words.

Donna knew she had fucked up big time as all color drained from Rose and her Doctor’s face. “He didn’t know?” she asked in a frightened voice, but the agonizing look on Rose's face was response enough for her and she tried to move, desperate to stop it before it could escalate. But as she crossed the gaze of the younger Doctor, her body stopped responding.
She had joked enough times with him, and even Rose, about how alien he was, how he could be so foreign to anything remotely normal sometimes. The Timelord that was gallivanting in space because he was bored. But as she looked in those ancient eyes, so full of fire, ice and time. She realized suddenly how small she was.

Her Doctor, knowing perfectly what was going through his other self’s head, tried to intercept him, preventing him from approaching Rose. But the only thing he achieved was aggravating him even more.

“I know what you are thinking,” he said with a soothing voice, remembering what was flashing in his mind right at that instant. He was doing his best to send calming vibes and found memories to him but his Ninth self had completely blocked his mind. “But you need to calm down.” He knew he was distressed, and confused, but most importantly he knew he was afraid for Rose. Like he had been himself not so long ago. But before he had time to react, he was abruptly grabbed by the lapel and tackled to the nearest wall.

“What did you do?” snarled the Doctor, his face barely a few centimeters to his. “How could you do that to her?” he repeated more abruptly, as his Tenth self started to choke.

“I didn’t do anything!” he screamed back, his voice strangled by the weight against it. “I didn’t touch her!” He tried to fight back, but between his younger self enragement and his own fear of hurting him, it was mostly ineffective. He also felt for him, as he knew all the emotions that were going through him right at that second, and he could not really fault him for his reaction. The fear for Rose and fury he felt at the idea of someone toying with her life like that, all he could do was take it, and hoping to not regenerate in the process. He was quite fond of this body so far.

His blue eyes, now the color of the night sky, became almost steel under his anger. “Swear it!” he growled those words, raising him even higher as his forearm put on more pressure against his windpipe.

“I swear on Gallifrey! It’s not my fault, I didn’t do anything!” The words were a bit gargled, and the Doctor was now beginning to really fear for his life. He was realizing now how much he had forgotten how unstable he could be in that regeneration.

“Let him go! Doctor, let him go!” Rose was screaming desperately as she tried to pry him out from the iron grip of her first Doctor, and she could see Donna tried the same from the other side, with absolutely no avail. The Doctor was unmovable. She had tried to look around for Abran, but the poor guy had been looking petrified from the other side of the room and after a few seconds, had literally disappeared. She never felt so helpless.

The Doctor, completely unbothered by his companions screaming around him, stilled for a second, tilting his head slightly, his eyes narrowing. As if the words were finally getting through him. “Swear on something that matters.”

The response was instantaneous, and despite the fact he could barely talk, his words were clear and precise. Like he had waited his whole life to use them. “I swear on Rose Tyler,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper as the pressure was getting to him. The sudden insharp of breath next to him made him realize that Rose had heard it too, but all he could focus on right now was his counterpart's eyes as they were becoming lighter and lighter. In that instant, there was an understanding between them.

The words used by the Tenth Doctor were effective, and as soon as his younger self heard it he let him go, making him fall on Donna with a grunt.

He turned around, trying to put some distance between him and himself. “You knew from the start?” his voice agonized with hurt. “You knew and you still let it happen?” The implication was clear, why was he not made aware so he could have changed in the past? How could he let someone play with Rose's life like that? How dare he let her be cursed like him?

“Yes I knew,” continued the Doctor, massaging his throat as Donna was helping him stand up. “But that doesn’t mean I had to tell you! It’s Rose's story, not mine.” He was now clearly challenging him, showing him that even with the possibility he would not change a thing, suffering or not. And Nine was not happy as his eyes turned almost black once again, his stillness even more frightening than his rage. Rose felt if she didn’t intervene right now, her first Doctor would probably try to kill him, again. And she refused that, even if it was in her name.

“It’s not his fault,” she said with a calm voice. “He has nothing to do with this, and I told him not to tell you because I knew how you would react.”

“Rose…” pleaded her current Doctor, trying to intervene but she stopped him with a look, she would not jeopardize his life for her own comfort.

“No, Doctor, I want him to know I would not change a thing. Even if I had the choice today.”

But something in her words, or his tone of voice, tickled something in him. And as she crossed his gaze, she could feel the whole weight of him on her, how under this whole Timelord fury, he was still broken and alone.

“It happened because of me, didn't it?” his voice was small and broken, as he realized the magnitude of what Rose went through. “I am the one that did it. That’s why you didn’t want me to know, because you knew I would be the one to do it.”

Rose was now calm and collected, her mask firmly put on because she knew the next words out of her mouth would literally make or break him. “Yes and no.” She tried to smile but all she could remember was that moment when she had been all alone in front of that TARDIS, knowing it was the end for him and she didn’t even say goodbye. “Yes it happened while you were you, but no you didn’t do it.”

He looked at her quizzically for a few seconds, a look of pure astonishment crossed his face. “You told me it happened so fast, you didn’t have time to register, but that I saved your life. It happened during my regeneration, right?”

Now her smile was genuine, her smart, wonderful, fantastic Doctor. So perceptive, so tuned to her, he could practically read her mind. She missed him terribly. “Yes, you saved my life. But I saved yours first. You were dying, thousand and thousand years into the future, and I was there, stuck with your TARDIS. Agonizing on the fact you were fighting all alone without me. So I opened her.”

“You opened the TARDIS?” He turned to the other Doctor, who was still being fussed over by Donna, a complete look of stupefaction on his face. “She opened the heart of the TARDIS?”

“I know, I made the same face when she told me,” he simply responded, still a bit grumpy to have been overthrown so easily. Even if he didn’t really fight back that much against himself.

“You also had a full meltdown. The TARDIS and I had to literally force you in a room to have you two talk,” Donna added with a point of humor in her voice. She was more relieved that nobody had been killed or maimed in the last five minutes. She needed to put a note to herself to be prepared next time they meet another regeneration of the Doctor. Apparently he was one to completely throw sanity out of the window when it was touching Rose.

“But why?” he asked, still astounded.

“I also asked that,” continued Ten, clearly mocking himself, but also still unhappy with what happened. Even if he should have foreseen it, this incarnation was prone to fits of anger. Especially about anything Rose related. It was a miracle that Mickey had survived any of their confrontations.

“Because I could not let you die.” She knew it was a bit dramatic to tell him that in front of an audience, but she could not lie on that. “Not without trying anything. And I saved you, and you saved me in return. But because I did a few back and forth in the void, now me and the TARDIS are linked. So I am sort of immortal. Basically unless something happens to me, the TARDIS and I share a lifeline.” She shrugged, at least the TARDIS was sturdy, it would have probably been more awkward had she shared her lifeforce with the Doctor.

The Doctor looked dumbfounded for a second, before literally crumbling into a chair that was fortunately near him. He looked around for a few beats before putting his face into his hands.

“Hey at least you didn’t try to accuse Rose of being a clone or something like that,” Donna offered cheerfully. “You only tried to kill the one after you to protect her honor. It’s a huge step forward compared to the other you!”

He straightened up. “You tried to do what?” he asked himself, with disbelief and a hint of steel in his voice.

“Look, it’s not like I am trying to avoid that conversation or anything,” added Rose as she grabbed the file and the box she had let fall when the Doctor had his outburst. “but we are on a time limit unfortunately…” She turned to her current Doctor, who even if he looked worried for his other him, seemed more put together at the moment. “Will you..?”

He nodded solemnly, his jaw set and back straight. “I’ll talk to him. Go.”

She opened her mouth, trying to think of something, but she was afraid to escalate the situation once again by mistake. So with a sigh and one last look in her first Doctor direction, she pressed her teleport and disappeared in a flash of light.

“She really opened the heart of the TARDIS?” the Doctor asked once again, who was still trying to digest the information.

“Yes and she killed a whole fleet of Daleks with it,” added his other self, as he sat down in turn. The Gurunians that had disappeared soon after the altercation had still not reappeared since.

“She did what?” the Doctor and Donna said in unison.

“Yeah, when she absorbed the heart of the TARDIS she became a goddess of Time and killed a fleet of Daleks that survived the Time War…She is the one that finished the Time War in the end.” His voice cracked on the last few words, his memory of those moments. She had been so beautiful and for a tiny second he had yearned for that understanding, someone that would finally see Time like he did. But then she had been dying and he had known. Like himself at that instant, as they exchanged a look.

“That’s why I died. To save her,” he said, a ghost of a smile on his face, at peace. A good death, to save the woman he loved.

“Yes, you knew. It was her or you. Nobody can sustain the heart of the TARDIS, or Time itself. So you took it to save her life and here I am,” he tried to joke, but by the look Donna was throwing, it had been a bit flat.

His Ninth self made a face, showing what he was thinking of the situation. “And now she is immortal. Well…as long as the TARDIS is alive.”

The older Timelord smiled, his features softening as he was clearly thinking about Rose. “We were so afraid of losing her, the universe decided to be kind for once.”

“She can still die…” his younger self warned gloomily. “Or leave us…It’s not like the universe is lacking in pretty boys.” He eyes up and down his other him before rolling his eyes. “Well considering you are one of them.”

“You are the one who decided to regenerate with this idea in mind, not me!” his counterpart protested. “And Rose doesnt even want me, so what’s your point?” He heard Donna snorting behind him and as he turned around, she raised her hands at once.

“Don’t even think about including me. The only thing I’ll say on the subject is that you are both idiots.” She turned around, putting her back to them. “I am going to find our resistance fighters, and hope they are not traumatized for life. The only thing I am going to say on the subject is that: Rose is a big girl, who decided what she wanted a very long time ago. Now, you two get on with the programme, before you are both left behind.” Without even a second look in their direction, she took off to the rest of the warehouse.

They stayed silent for a minute, looking at the door Donna disappeared through, before the blue eyes Timelord spoke once again.

“Is she safe?” He looked at himself, his visage serious. “Is the link safe?”

Thankfully the Tenth Doctor was an expert on reading between the lines, reminding himself what was going through his mind at that instant. “As safe as the TARDIS can be. I am making sure of it.” The look they exchanged was a promise, to one Timelord to another. Rose Tyler would always be safe, as long as the Doctor would be alive.

“Protect her. Please.”

“She is protecting herself,” smiled the Doctor, a slightly feral look in his eyes. “I am just making sure the universe remembers it.” She would always be remembered as the Goddess of Time and he would always be their champion.

Chapter Text

Chapter 39

Rose reappeared in a flash of light, slightly dizzy and nauseous from the jump. It took her a few seconds to get her bearings back, and as she shaked the side effect, she could only smile as she remembered the first time when she had overcome the side effect with pride. But the fact she had only jumped sporadically in the last fifteen years had her body completely forgetting everything, including the slight nausea. But as she looked around, she was surprised to only see Donna waiting for her.

“Where are the others?” She had not been expecting a huge welcome back party, but she had supposed that at least one Doctor, or even a Gurunian would have been there. She briefly envisioned a possible drastic turn of events but Donna was too relaxed for it. And she had not been gone that long, at least not enough for everything to go to hell. Well at least she hoped, but with the Doctor you never know.

Donna smiled at her visible confusion as they hugged briefly. “In the back, looking with befuddlement at the Doctors trying to one up each other.” It got a small snort from Rose. “I decided it was safer for my mental health to wait for you here. And also to see how long it would take for them to realize I’ve been gone. How did it go by the way?”

Rose decided it was better for her own as well to not ask questions and just move on the next subject. “It went surprisingly well. I was expecting some sort of failsafe or guarding, but with the instruction I was given, it was basically child play. Really weird.” She had a pause for a second. “Please tell me someone at least decided to do some sort of follow up plan while I was gone. Because I’m pretty sure the guards are now aware that we are gone.” She looked at her watch. “Well soon enough at least.”

The redhead laughed as they walked back through one of the doors that led to the back room, remembering the Doctors arguing on each step of the plan while the rest of the resistance was stuck looking at them. Awkwardly at that. Thank god Abran had put a stop to it before they could take out the sonics and decide to blow stuff up. She had wisely decided to stay off it, realizing two minutes in, that the disagreement was clearly more about who would be on Rose's team than anything else.

“Took them twenty minutes to create a plan while looking at the blueprint of the palace, and then forty for them to decide which would do what. They were still at it when I left.”

Rose rolled her eyes, and had a sudden flash of what would happen if more than two Doctors decided to meet. Not certain the universe would survive in one piece. “At least I was able to download all files in record time. Now we just need to release it to the public.”

As Donna opened her mouth, they got cut by a really irate Doctor, the younger one judging by the accent. His voice was so loud, she was surprised they could not hear it from the other room.

“How on Earth and Gallifrey did I become so idiotic after regenerating? Did you lose all your braincells in the process?” he continued screaming, only a few centimeters away from his counterpart, who looked ready to jump him at any second. The Gurunian were all huddled in a corner, looking at the two Doctors with a mix of fascination and horror. None of them realized they were there.

“Can I know what is happening here?” Rose called out in her best “Colonel Wolfe” voice, making them all jump at least a foot in the air. If she had turned around right at that instant, Donna's face would have made her laugh out loud. She looked like it was the best five minutes of her life. Especially with the guilty expressions on both Doctors' faces. “I’m gone for what…two hours? And you are ready to go at each other's throats?”

“He started it!” they both said at the same time. Giving her the sudden urge to facepalm. Followed by them trying to one up each other on who would be the first one to hug Rose, fortunately for them, she had experience with idiotic Time Lords and hugged them both at the same time before taking a step back and crossing her arms. It didn’t stop them from looking back to each other with fury three seconds later.

“You’re the one who suggested we literally walk in the front door while the whole city is on red alert!” shouted the younger Doctor, as the other one looked at him appalled.

“I said one of the teams should fake going to the front door while the other goes by the backdoor! Team one does a diversion while team two led by Rose snuck in…Why are you so difficult?” His voice was going too high, it was almost whiny. Rose felt she heard the exact same voice from Mickey once upon a time.

“You’ll get people killed! Rose first! Has the gigantic amount of product you use in your hair melted your brain?” Her first Doctor was visibly on a roll and angry to a very high level.

Rose didn’t know who was the most offended. The Doctor, or Donna who did not think about it herself.

“Ok stop!” Rose yelled, stopping the argument before it could resume again with no end in sight. She turned to Donna, who was beat red with how much she was trying not to laugh. “How long has it been going on?”

“Long enough,” was her only response.

Rose turned to Abran. “Ok what happened.” As both Doctors opened their mouths, she sent them a look so severe, you could hear the click as they closed it.

The young Gurunian looked a bit unsure for a second before taking a step. “We decided…” He looked at both Doctors, who were still busy exchanging murderous looks. “Well the Doctors decided while looking at the blueprint that we will go through the old sewer. It’s a very old entrance that should have been abandoned since before the King's birth, and it gives access directly to the workers' rooms. They should have a minimal amount of guards there. But to go to the King’s isle, you have to make it through the guards watch and that’s when it becomes tricky. That's when we decided to prepare a diversion and uh…It caused some disagreement.”

The older Doctor started to talk before his counterpart would resurrect the argument once again. He had forgotten how one track minded he could be. Especially when Rose was involved. “How do you know it’s the workers rooms by the way? It was not on the blueprint?”

Abran smiled awkwardly. “Talion was one of the royal scientists when we met. He was living there before he asked to be moved to one of the labs. Anyway, the uh…Doctor?” They were clearly not really accustomed to the fact that two seemingly different people could have the same name and actually be the same person. “Suggested to have another team do the diversion and either Rose or Donna leading it, making the guards believe they will go through the front door and then…Well pandemonium.”

‘Yes because it’s an insane idea!” the younger Doctor said, almost starting the whole argument up again.

Rose felt a headache pecking through. “Ok here is what we are going to do,” she said, taking over before anyone had time to get ideas. “What we need is three teams, not two. Between the palace, the prison and the city, we need to stretch them as far as possible so that by the time they realize what our real plan is, everything is over. The first team is going to make themselves visible in the outskirts of the town.” She turned to the resistance. “Do you know any place where you could disappear?”

“Yes, we had a network of caves that we used before creating our other camps. Pretty sure they are not in use anymore. Nobody will think of looking there first,” said one of them, if she remembered correctly this one was named Qrell.

She smiled broadly. “Great! So your team is going to make themself visible, and then go directly to those caves. It will divert most of the guards, especially if they think it’s the full group that escaped. This is why we need to have at least more than half of this present group in it. Then when we’re sure they are far enough, the second group will go to the front of the Palace, baiting the remaining guards to go after them. For that I will need your fastest people and someone that knows that city inside out. We will need to lose them fast.”

“What do you mean ‘we’?” her current Doctor asked suspiciously.

Rose shrugged, knowing perfectly well that at least one of them will not take it well. “I am going to lead this group. None of you have any experience either in guerrilla warfare or diverting tactics, even less the Gurunian. I don’t want them to get killed.”

“Absolutely not!” her first Doctor bellowed. He turned to his counterpart, but he was only looking at her pensively. To the younger Doctor’s horror, his regeneration seemed to be relieved.

“I thought you were going to ask us to lead that team.” He was now smiling ear to ear. “It makes way more sense to be you.” He caught the scandalized look of his younger self. “What? Between UNIT and her experience in the alternate universe she is more than qualified to do it! Would you prefer to be us? Or worst Donna?”

“Hey, keep me out of it, thank you very much!” said Donna.

“Anyway!” Rose continued, her voice growing louder, moving on before her first Doctor had an aneurysm. “Then the third group will go into the sewer. That means both of you and Donna infiltrating the palace and finding the King. As soon as we lose the guards we will join you. If the King follows an emergency response like I saw in one of the files, he should be in the throne room. That means both you and Donna will be the one to distract whoever is in that room. Me and part of my group will come as reinforcement as soon as we can, the rest will reveal the documents I downloaded to the public. Abran you are in charge of that. You know this palace better than all of us, as you had the advantage to have been in it. In the meantime, it would be even better if we can have the King confess, and have the nation hear it but I will not hold my breath for it.” Everyone seemed to be in agreement and she was prepared to launch into necessary preparations but her first Doctor had other ideas.

“Are you going to let her do that? One of us should lead that group!” he argued as he turned incredulously to the other Doctor.

Ten scoffed. “Like I can let her ‘do’ stuff. Don’t try to make us believe you had any influence on your Rose once she had an idea either. I was literally you and Rose was there…Anyway if any of us, or Donna, tried to lead that group, I’d give us ten minutes, fifteen at best before we get arrested. Do you want me to remind you of the Dominion attack?” He closed his mouth. “That’s what I thought.” He turned again to Rose. “Ok, so how do we do it?”

Rose grabbed the blueprint that was still on the table, motioning them to come closer. “Ok, so here is how we are going to pull that out…”

——

It took almost an hour for Donna and the two Doctors to reach the end of the old sewer, up to the door that was supposed to lead to the inside of the palace. And Donna was just ready for this to end. Not only did she have to walk across a very suspicious puddle and smell things she would rather forget forever, but also had to endure the Doctors loudly bickering about Rose Tyler. She was fed up to the hundred degree and even if her own Doctor had tried to make sense to the other one, they were still at it.

“I should have gone with her! Or you!” he sputtered once again, clearly getting more mad by the second. “ What if something happens? You know how jeopardy friendly she can be! We fought in the Time War, we were literally born for this at one point!” If his eyes could spit fire, the other Doctor would already be regenerating.

“First, yes we fought in the War, but anything requiring stealth and furtiveness are clearly not our motto. We literally had to ask Leela to help us in the Obsidian Nebula! Because our only plan was to board the Dalek fleet and make them explode with us in it!” He knew he had been in love with Rose already by that time, and felt a bit protective but even by his standards he was pushing it. And second,” he continued, determined to remind him that Rose was not the twenty years old human he was traveling with at the moment. “She was a colonel in UNIT under Leathbridge-Stewart, she can clearly take care of herself! And if you or I would have been with her, we would have been more of a hindrance for her than anything else,” the other Doctor snapped back, irritation showing on his face. “And don’t try to tell me you would not have tried to take the lead and separate the group under the cover of ‘protecting Rose’s life’.” The guilty look on Nine’s face was response enough. “Yeah that’s what I thought…Like I was not you before.” He turned to Donna, more annoyed by the second. “If that’s how Rose felt before, I am amazed she didn’t try to simply smother me.”

“I am surprised every day that I didn’t try that sooner,” she mumbled as she tested the door in front of her, but it seemed completely locked. “And don’t try to play the almighty Time Lord. Do you want me to remind you that you teleported her to the TARDIS against her will literally last month?” The look sent by the Ninth Doctor was so triumphant, that Donna had the urge to simply turn around and let them manage by themself. But the idea to walk back alone in that creepy place was not her cup of tea. “You, open the door with your sonic instead of smiling like a lunatic. You are really lucky Rose was not here to hear you because believe me, if she knew how little you were trusting her, you would be very sorry.”

He had the audacity to look affronted. “I trust her! I would not be traveling with her if I didn’t trust her! But she is the most jeopardy friendly companion I ever had! Do you know how many times she was arrested? Or almost killed? I almost lost her to an evil video game last week!” Donna wondered for a split second if she wanted to know but decided it was not worth the headache. “And I thought Ace could never be beaten…”

“Ace was making explosives for fun in her spare time, nobody can beat her,” said distractedly Ten as he took out his own sonic screwdriver, fiddling with it until an audible pop was finally heard, making him yelp with joy. "Those doors are definitely too easy to open, they need to do better.”

She pushed him back, more than ready to get the hell out of that space. But as she walked through the door, she was surprised to see a dark and narrow hallway. With how much grim and dust she could see around, it was clear it has been years since anyone walked this path. It took her a few minutes of patting around with great reluctance, and the help of her phone flashlight, to find the mechanism to open the concealed doors. Fortunately for her, and for them as Donna's patience was running thin, both Doctors had been ready to push back on the small opening that appeared following her discovery. To their surprise, it gave way to a very dusty and dark room.

“Very James Bond, no?” Donna mused as she entered the room, realizing that the opening had been concealed by a fake wardrobe.

“More like someone needed to be able to get out of this place as discreetly as possible,” the younger Doctor added as he examined the wardrobe, which was empty except for a few crumbled pants.

As they looked around, they realized quite quickly that the room was empty of any inhabitant and lifeless, like no one had lived there for a long time. Probably years.

“Didn’t Abran say it was supposed to be one of the workers' rooms?” Donna asked as she opened an empty drawer. “I know Talion moved out at some point, so why is it empty?”

But the Doctors didn’t have an answer. “Looks a bit fancy, even for a royal scientist,” the younger Doctor observed as he took one of the bobbles that was still on one of the tables. “This one is definitely worth more than anything else I’ve seen on this planet so far…Seems a bit fishy I’d say…”

Donna completely understood the Doctor's obsession to understand the whole story and all, but they were on a very tight time constraint, and if her watch was to be believed, they only had 20 minutes until Rose's group would barge in. “I suggest we overthrow the mad King first ok? Unless you want Rose to face him alone.” Both Doctors were already at the door before she could finish her phrase. Very Pavlovian of them, she thought amusingly. She wondered for a second if trying that in other mundane circumstances would also work, but the idea of those two fighting once again over her friend made her want to open the TARDIS door and throw herself out so she shelved the idea straight away. The less she thought about those two? Three? Together, the better.

To their surprise, the whole corridor was empty and as lifeless as the room they were in. Like this side of the palace had been abandoned years ago.

“Is it me or is this day getting weirder and weirder?” asked out loud Donna, directly followed by both Doctors agreeing in unisson.

“I feel like I am missing something,” the older Doctor said, looking around suspiciously, as the other Doctor was opening and closing doors. “It’s like we are missing a part of the puzzle. Did they decide to move out all the workers when they realized one of them was in the resistance?”

“Even if it was the case, they would have replaced them. No, I think it’s something bigger. Like look here.” He moved a step back so Donna and his counterpart could see more easily. “It’s too posh to be only a workers' room. Didn’t Abran say the King had a younger brother that disappeared around the same time Talion was killed?”

“Do you think Talion was also the younger brother?” And Donna thought this King could not be more bad. She was revisioning her vision right now.

“That’s my theory. That also explains why Abran was able to get access to so much classified information from a mere scientist. Royal or not. One more thing to ping on this mad King.”

The other Doctor opened another door and smiled. “I think I found the way. This one seems to be more recent.” As they crossed the doors, they were greeted by a more livery space, with lights and visible signs of life. Thankfully, it was still early enough for it to be empty. They were really hoping it was easy enough for them to just sneak up to the throne room without too much issue. But if they followed the blueprint given by the resistance, they should go through everything without too many issues, especially if Rose's plan had worked like it should.

Almost all guards should be on her tails or the other group by now. With only the core guards still in the palace. He knew he had told himself earlier that he trusted Rose to take care of herself. But he could not help but feel anxiety at the idea of her outside without him, not because she wasn’t capable, but because a part of him would always remember that day at Canary Wharf.

“Ok let’s go, we have a planet to save and a King to overthrow,” he finally said, pushing Donna gently through the open door, trying his best to shield his mind to his counterpart. Having him even so slightly get a whiff of his insecurity would throw him into a frenzy and it was not the time or the place.

—
Rose was quite confident they had lost this continent of soldiers, the other one had been lost around the market, but this one had been more trouble than expected. It had taken them five more minutes than expected and she didn’t like being late on the program, especially when the security of the two men she loved and her friend was on the balance. Thankfully, at least the other resistance group had been able to attain the cave network without anyone gaining on them. And as per the radio Abran had on him, the guards were walking in circles trying to find them. Now they just needed to go back to the palace before they decided to turn back and send reinforcement.

“I think we’re in the clear,” said Abran as he looked back, making sure to take a shortcut that would put even more distance between them and the guards. “Metlos, the moment we get inside, I want you and Kirel to go to the communication system room we saw in the blueprint and put everything we have through the news channel and print. I will come briefly with you to grab some broadcasting equipment. I want the whole city to hear him confess what he did to our beloved Konun Cacjan and to Talion.” His expression darkened as he said Talion’s name and it broke Rose's heart. Even if Abran had said Talion had only been his best friend, it had clearly been love on his side. Something she could definitely relate to. “I will make him talk even if it’s the last thing I do.” He turned back to Rose. “Thank you for helping our cause. And just so you know, if we die today it was an honor and privilege, something our comrades will never forget.”

She had a nervous laugh at the idea of her, or anyone else for what it matters, dying in that courtroom. The Doctors would probably raze everything through the ground, if her Wolf didn’t decide to do it beforehand. And she would take it very badly to have survived that much, to die at the hand of this mad Asto. Talk about cliché.

“I propose that nobody dies today. We overthrow your lovely Konun, and then everybody will live happily ever after. Better?”

He had a small smile as the door of the palace was finally in sight. “I like your idea better.” He looked around, making sure they were alone, and then sprinted to the doors, his friends hot on his heels. Rose followed soon after. When she entered the palace, the three Gurunian were already disappearing through a corridor and she knew she only had a few minutes to join the Doctors and Donna until Abran would be back to start the next part.

She had to admit that she still didn't really have a clear idea how they would make this insane ruler confess everything, but Abran had confirmed the resistance had it covered. They just needed to get the equipment first. He had assured that Talion had a failsafe in case of his disappearance and he just needed to get it. Her part of the plan was to run in with the rest of the resistance into the room, join the Doctors and Donna and incapacitate the guards that were still part of the fight. Should be easy enough.

But of course, as they burst through the double doors that were leading into the courtroom, she was unsurprised to see her current Doctor face to face with a visibly enraged knife wielding King while Donna and her first Doctor were literally brawling with a contingent of soldiers. Always expect the unexpected with them.

However, they all turned at once when the doors clacked against the wall.

“Took you long enough!” called her first Doctor with false joy as he avoided a punch. “As you can see a little extra help would be great!” He saw her look at the weapon at his feet and grunted. “Pretty boy boosted my sonic signal, and disabled everything even slightly electrical in the room. Everything is useless.”

“I didn’t see you complain when they were pointing them in our face!” screamed back Ten, as the King turned to a very interesting nuance of red. He was trying to access the panel that was behind the throne, but Asto was not helping matters. He was sure he could disable the whole force if he had just five minutes with it.

“Less talking, more helping!” Donna hollered while trying to evade one of the guards. She was good in a pinch, but fighting had never been her strong suit. Thankfully, the two Gurunian that appeared with Rose had jumped in the battle and literally socked the guard in the back of the head, making him drop like a potato. Rose just shrugged and leaped over one of the guards that tried to body slam her, making him go head first into the wall. A few seconds later, she was now side by side with her first Doctor, who smiled like a lunatic at her as she took a fighting stance.

“I see that your gymnastic prowess are still well developed,” he said with a grin, his eyes dancing with amusement as she counterpunched one of the guards that tried to go for her midsection. Her only response was a breathy laugh, as Donna screamed at them to stop flirting.

“You will pay for this!” Asto screeched as the Doctor ran back to the middle of the room, making them all surrounded by the six leftover guards still upright. “I will have you all killed!” Nobody threatens me! Nobody! Not even some scrum like you!”

“The only scrum here is you, Asto,” a powerful voice came from the entrance. They all turned at once and were surprised to see Abran. “Konun Cacjan would be ashamed to call you his son if he could see you,” he continued, walking slowly in the room. The audible gasp emitted by Asto made everyone take a step back to stare at the newcomer. Gone was the determined but meek resistance leader of the Gurunian and Ceti. In front of them now was an impressive Abran that was now exuding fury and grandness. He had changed from his jumpsuit to what Rose supposed was one of the palace outfits. She exchanged a look with Donna, who looked as dumbfounded as her.

The monarch snarled, his eyes squinting with rage. “You…” He growled. “You have nerves to show your face here.”

Abran only smirked in response. “Hello brother.”

Chapter Text

The room was completely silent for a moment, and not even the guards dared to make a move. And then Abran smirked and everything broke loose. Asto, that had been motionless until then, became suddenly so enraged he was almost purple. “How could you show your face here after all those years?” he spat as he sprinted towards Abran and slammed him against the wall, making everything rattling around them. Rose and the younger Doctor were the first one to react, but Abran stopped them with one gesture, showing he didn’t feel threatened, while he looked into Asto eyes without even a hint of fear. “You betrayed me. You turned your back on me, and stuck a knife in my back when I was the most vulnerable!”

The calm and curiously vaguely aloof Abran suddenly disappeared, letting the fury and wrath boiling under the surface take its place. He pushed back against Asto, making him stumble back directly into one of the guard arms.

“You dare claim that I betrayed you? You betrayed all of us! You killed our Konun, our own Pater! And if it was not enough, you killed Talion! You took them both from me, and left me with nothing!”

Everyone gasped at Abran’s words. It was a shock to everyone, guards included, that Abran was really Wylon. But Asto was too enraged to realize that everything was unraveling around him. “Because they killed Mater! Him and the Ceti. She is dead because of them!” he screamed the last words, as tears of rage were flowing down his cheeks. “And while I was grieving her, you turned your back on me and chose to lay with that traitor! You disrespected Mater!”

“Mater was sick!” Wylon screamed back, nose to nose with Asto. “She was already dying! Pater could do absolutely nothing! He tried to save her for months, but her body was wrecked by the sickness and you knew that! Was he right to be with Antra while Mater was dying not even two rooms from them? No. Was it your right to be mad and full of anger over the situation? Yes. But that doesn’t justify killing them! And Talion only tried to do the right thing. He only wanted peace, and you slaughtered him like he meant nothing! And even worse, you waited for me to be in the laboratory to kill him! Making him a traitor to our people without having the decency to let me say goodbye.”

Asto eyes were looking crazy, like he had finally lost the last remnant of sanity. “Because he meant nothing! He was nothing! Just a servant boy! How could he compare against Mater?”

“He meant the Moon to me! You killed the love of my life over some deranged lies!” Wylon was now openly crying, gripping Asto with the strength of a madman. “And now dozens of our people are dead, Pater is dead. Antra is dead. And for what? What did it accomplish? Mater is still gone. No matter how many of them you kill, she will never come back. Do you understand? She will never be back!”

And it was as if Asto’s strings were suddenly cut out as he collapsed, wailing as he lay where he once stood. Wylon kneeled slowly, his eyes way too gentle for someone that was so deeply in grief. And as he put his hand on the King's shoulder, Asto's lament only intensified.

“She is dead…Mater is dead…’ He repeated again and again as he sprawled more and more on himself.

“So Abran was Wylon in the end and not Talion,” Donna murmured as she witnessed the sad scene. All that death and destruction over something that was out of anyone's control in the first place. It was really tragic.

“I suppose Wylon was the royal scientist in the first place, and Talion was just the face of the movement. That explains how he could access this amount of information in the first place,” Continued the older Doctor as the guards were now trying to lift up the motionless Asto, who was still crying softly.

“That’s exactly what happened,” answered Wylon as he walked next to them, his eyes still on Asto, who was now being escorted out, most probably to the prison that had imprisoned one too many before him. “He said it was too risky for me, that I needed to protect myself, because I was the future of our people. I kept laughing at him of course, but I let him do it because he was so passionate about it.” He had a sad smile for a second before his face became motionless once again. “Asto was right. He was just a nobody, the son of one of our cooks destined to be one in turn. But he was my best friend and I loved him.”

“I am sure he knew, and felt the same way about you” Rose said gently as she slowly approached him. “That’s why he wanted to protect you.”

“The day he was taken and died, I was in the lab trying to gather the information that I had started to uncover. I knew our people would never believe me. Pretty sure most of them didn’t even remember me in the first place, and I knew I only had one chance. We were supposed to meet at the resistance headquarters later on to decide on what to do next. I only needed a few more things and we would have been good. That’s why it was so easy to retrieve everything. Because I was on the verge of doing the exact same thing.” He sighed, looking in the distance as the doors closed behind the guards and Asto. “But then when I arrived at the headquarters, it was already too late. And by the time I was able to track him down,” he choked up, “Talion was already dead. So Wylon died that day too, and I became Abran.”

Rose could feel her heart breaking for the poor Wylon. And as she was looking at the faces of everyone around her, she could see she was not the only one feeling the same. He went through hell and back, losing everything in the process, because someone with too much power could not process their grief in the first place.

“Talion memories will live on,” her first Doctor said suddenly, breaking the massive silence that had been pushing heavily on them. “You fought in his name. Everyone on this moon heard that Talion is the one that started this revolution in the first place.” He pointed at the small mic that was concealed on Wylon’s belt. “You made sure to have him remembered forever. I know it will not make the loss less heavy, believe me. But..” He looked briefly at Rose before looking back to Wylon. “Your love will never be forgotten. And when you take your brother's mantle, every decision you will make, everything you will do to repair what was broken, will have Talion all over it. In a thousand years, he will still be in everyone’s mind. You made him immortal.”

Tears appeared on Wylon's face, and he could only respond with a wobbly smile before turning around and opening the door, showing he was going to follow his brother and his jailer. Soon after, the rest of the resistance followed suit, wanting to make sure they were showing support to their leader, leaving the Doctors, Rose and Donna alone in an empty room.

Donna was the first one to break the silence that had fallen down on them. “I so want to be angry at him for what he did, but seeing him break down like that was…very unnerving,” she said with a tinge of sadness in her voice.

The older Doctor only smiled mournfully in response, his eyes focused on something that nobody could see except himself. “Grief is a strange beast unfortunately. Can break the strongest of men and shatter the indestructible…”

“You drown in your own darkness, make you think that nothing is worth it… “continued the younger Doctor, sharing a look full of sorrow with himself, his face troubled and bleary. “And unless you find something that makes it worth crawling back out, you die a slow death and with it, everything around you.”

They were both clearly thinking of Gallifrey and everything that they lost. And it broke Donna's heart, because she knew that under her best friend’s goofy and maddening facade, was living a tragedy so enormous and boundless that it was always at risk to swallow him whole. How could you drag yourself back from something like that? Being the very last one in a universe so vast? It would drive anyone mad.

But then, as the atmosphere became so somber that it was suffocating, Rose took a step in, making sure she was between both Doctors and took their hands in hers. Clearly trying her best to ground them and bringing them back to themselves.

“That’s why you have us,” she said with so much compassion that even Donna felt the urge to cry. “Me, Donna, Martha, even Sarah-Jane. We are here to remind you that life is still worth living. We will never replace Gallifrey, that’s not what we are here for, but we will take your hand and push you back in. Right, Donna?” She was looking at her, and for a second she didn’t see Rose but something else, something ancient and powerful, reflecting in her eyes. And for an absurd brief moment, she felt the urge to run away but then Rose smiled and the effect disappeared.

“Damn right,” she responded with fierceness. “If you plan to mope around me, well think again, Sunshine.”

“That's the spirit!” Rose cheered as both Doctors were looking at them with a maelstrom of so many emotions she could not decipher any of them. But as Rose started to walk away, satisfied that the oppressive atmosphere that had fallen around them was now shattered, Donna could only smile internally as the two aliens turned their attention to the pink and yellow human. If she didn’t know they were in love with Rose, that moment would have made sure of it. They were staring at her, love radiating from every part of them. It was like looking at the sun. And the fact that Rose was not even aware of it was the stupidest thing in the universe. She vowed to sit her friend down and make her see the light, even if it’s the last thing she’ll do, as soon as the younger Doctor had left.

“Close your mouth, both of you, and let’s get out of here,” Donna said a little grumpily. Not that she minded that the Doctors were in love with Rose, because she was not. At least when they were busy pinning after her, they were not falling down the rabbit hole of their grief. But they made her miss Shaun something fierce.

—-

They had been able to walk back to the shopping district without any issues, happy to have left the growing crowd and excitement behind. Fortunately for them, Wylon had not been offended when they told him they had to leave. He even had seemed envious as more and more people were amassing in front of the palace, shouting his name and of Asto in turn, his name clearly more popular than the deposed ruler.

As they had said their goodbye, he had thanked them profusely and had invited them to come back at any time. Assuring them that the whole moon will know of the crucial importance in their liberation and that nobody here will ever forget them, the Doctor, Donna and Rose will always be synonyms of freedom for both nations.

“So…Not what we expected when we arrived here right?” Donna mused jokingly as they walked in front of the shop that started everything.

“Never a dull moment?” proposed her Doctor as Rose stiffed a giggle.

“That’s for sure…” continued the younger one as Rose and his counterpart were trying to push each other in the background. “Not that it was not enjoyable or anything, but my TARDIS is this way.” He pointed in the opposite direction of where the other TARDIS was. “So I suppose we are saying our goodbyes here?” His smile was a bit too maniacal to be true but he was holding it well.

The playful atmosphere brutally died down, and Donna could see the light in Rose's eyes suddenly shut down as she brought what Donna was calling her UNIT mask on. She realized that her friend had to say goodbye to her Doctor for the second time, and was trying to put on a brave face. So before anyone had time to even think, she straightened herself up.
“You can bring your TARDIS to his, so we can say goodbye without looking really awkward in the middle of a square.” She knew what she was going to say next will probably not fly well with Rose, but she was a woman on a mission now. “I’ll walk with you. I don’t trust my Doctor not to try to kill you if Rose goes instead.” She smirked at Rose as she said that, making her friends blush to the tips of her hair. Good, she needed to be pushed because if she waited for the Doctor, they would still pine for each other in a thousand years.

As both Doctors spluttered, Donna grabbed his leather jacket and pushed. “Let’s go, before they realize that we are part of the liberation and stop us from leaving.” She turned to her Doctor and Rose, who were still looking astonished. “See you at the TARDIS!”

The moment they were out of sight, the Doctor stopped dead on, making her almost collide with him. “Ok, what’s your game?” he asked, crossing his arms. He looked quite intimidating, she thought to herself as he furrowed his eyebrows, but she would never tell him. Not in a million years, she had her pride. So she crossed her arms herself.

“Why do you think I have a game?” she clapped back, curious to see how this Doctor handled direct conflict.

But he surprised her as his expression suddenly changed to a goofy one, his body visibly relaxing. “No wonder I travel with you! You’re good!” He started to walk again, leaving a stunned Donna behind. “No, but seriously, what’s you plan?”

“You mean why didn't I let Rose walk with you, and let you suffer the other you sulking the whole way back to the point that I will entertain the idea of smothering him with his own tie?” Donna said as she jogged to him, swearing in her head as keeping up with him was even harder than the other one. His legs were clearly never ending. No wonder Rose said she had the stamina of a horse while traveling with him! She had to basically develop the endurance of a long distance runner to stay on his level.

He laughed so hard, he had to stop for almost a minute. “Precisely,” he finally said after calming down. “You’re clearly sharp and I feel that nothing can get past you, especially something as big as Rose taking my appearance with shock.” When he looked at her, it was with great perspicacity. “Rose is evidently a dear friend of yours, and you have a lot of compassion and empathy. Enough that in normal time you would have encouraged her to go with me because in your head she needs to have more time with me. And you would have forcefully dragged out the other me before he had time to protest in return. So you clearly have something in mind. So out with it.”

Saying Donna was impressed was an understatement. She was so used to the Doctor behaving like a frightened deer every time she approached the Rose subject, she had forgotten how normal people acted. “Are you sure you are the Doctor?” she asked just in case. Because the poor man was deeply in love, but so paralyzed by rejection that she had started to entertain the idea of dosing one of them with a truth serum, and locking them up in a cupboard.

He smiled sadly, his eyes taking the deep blue shade of a stormy day. “Unfortunately, yes. And I know you mean well, Donna Noble, but you are betting on a losing horse,” he said, shocking her once again. His eyes moved to the skyline, as if he was lost in thought. “It would have been better for everyone if I had said goodbye earlier on. I am sure I will soon be forgotten. Especially with beach boy doing the follow up.”

But before he could do three steps, Donna was in front of him, stopping him with her hands on his chest. “Are you trying to say to my face that you tried to run away because in your brain, Rose had moved on and preferred the new you? That you would joyfully give a quick goodbye, and let my Doctor deal with the rest? That’s what you are telling me?” The total calmness of her delivery, and the fact that her face was absolutely void of any emotions put him a bit on edge.

“Yes?” he answered a bit weary. He had the sudden impression to be back in Gallifrey, trying to explain to his professor that it was not him that stole the book on the non intervention protocol.

“You absolute muppet!” She exploded, making him take two steps back. But it didn’t stop her and she followed him, hitting him again and again in the shoulder, making him yelp. She was surprisingly strong for someone of her stature. “You’re breaking her heart, that’s what you’re doing! She was devastated by your death, you complete pillow!” she continued to hit him, feeling Rose deserved to get her part, even if it was through her. “If you plan to leave without even letting her say a proper goodbye, I don’t care what the universe will say, I will track you down and make you regenerate myself! I knew it. I knew you would be a total imbecile and try something like that.” Saying that she was fuming was an understatement.

“Ok, ok! Stop hitting me!” he yelled back. “I will not, I promise!”

Feeling she did get her point through, she stopped and continued to walk in the direction of the TARDIS. “Clearly the stupidity is hereditary for you. I am not asking you to take Rose and fly away together. Pretty sure if you do that someone, and by someone I mean you, will try to kill you. But at least let her say her goodbye properly. Have that decency please.”

Fortunately his ship was now in view. He was unsure if he would have survived a longer trek with Donna. His other self was right, she is terrifying. “Rose is strong. I don’t want to burden her with daft old me.”

Dona threw her hands up in despair. “Oh my god, it’s not about you!” He was even worse than her Doctor, and she was taking back everything she said nice about him. “I walked with you for almost an hour through a sewer when you bitched the whole damn time about how you should be with Rose instead. So don’t even START on the lone wolf routine. It won’t work, not even for a second. I am not asking you to fly away with her, but let her say her goodbye. She deserves as much, you dimwit.”

“Are you going to continue to insult me until we are in the TARDIS?” he asked more out of curiosity than anything else. Seeing someone being as defensive of Rose as Donna was warmed his hearts, but he started to be afraid of the integrity of his body.

“Yes. And even inside if you continue to be obtuse like that,” she said fiercely.

He stayed silent for a few seconds, just enough time to arrive in front of the TARDIS, and debated with himself if he should say his piece or not. He was absolutely allergic to domestic, but he had the feeling that Donna would not take that for an excuse. So after a heavy sigh he turned to her. “I promise I will not push you out of the TARDIS and fly away and that I will say goodbye properly to Rose. Better?”

She looked at him, squinting for a moment and then nodded, visibly satisfied with what she saw. “Great. I knew we would come to an understanding.”

As he opened the door and motioned her to go first, he asked her the question that had been on his mind since the moment he realized what her plan was. “If you wanted me to speak to Rose so badly, why not push her to go with me instead?”

When they were safely inside, she turned to him. “Because I also needed to tell you something, but I got sidetracked by your ridiculousness.” She sat down on the driver seat, like she was bracing herself. “As you said, Rose is strong, probably the strongest out of all of us. But she is also the most…” She seemed to hesitate for a second, like she was betraying a big secret. “Fragile. She had been through so much, that sometimes I feel it’s a miracle that she is still standing. I know you have also been through some horrifying stuff and I will not dwell on it, I promise. But please don’t push her away. Let her say her piece and don’t deflect. That’s all I am asking. For you it will be just a temporary goodbye as you will fly to your own Rose and forget but for her. She will lose you for the second time and this time she knows she is losing you.”

As he was pushing the buttons that would bring them closer to the other TARDIS, he turned to her with a brilliant smile. “Oh Donna Noble, I hope you know that traveling with you would have been an honour.”

She snickered as the TARDIS touched down with a bang. No wonder nineteen year old Rose felt hook, line and sinker to this Doctor, with a smile and words like that? She had been doomed from the very beginning. “I am still unsure if we would have made the universe explode or not.”

As they walked together through the doors, he snickered in turn. “Not knowing is half the fun!” He was not surprised that he was greeted by both himself and Rose. His TARDIS probably made sure to time it that way. “I think this is your stop, Donna.”

She turned to him with a smile. “Well it was fun! It was very nice to meet one of you that will not be thrown away by a strong breeze.” Her Doctor started to protest instantly, making Rose disguise a laugh in a cough. “If I don’t see you again, it was a pleasure. Especially while you threatened everyone with your presence, I was doing the talking!”

“Pleasure was all mine! And I am certain you didn’t need me for that, believe me you are one frightening person. And I am speaking from the hearts,” he said with a laugh.

She snorted. “Flatterer.” She hugged him briefly and walked back to her own Doctor.

“Yeah, yeah don’t try to steal my companion,” intervened her Doctor, half joking. “Well, it was really nice to see you! Oh and while you are here, do you have a second carburator by any chance? We came here for that, but we were a little distracted I’d say.”

‘Yeah hold on, I have one under my console. Let me grab it real quick.” He turned to Rose as he said his next words, “I am coming back.”

Rose felt her heart speed up as his words and when he disappeared inside his own TARDIS, she almost ran after him. She knew it was stupid, he would not go without at least saying goodbye, she knew it. And by the face that Donna was making, she was sure she would have him materialize back by pure sheer will if he tried it. She needed to hug Donna after that, she had been a true friend during the last days, especially when she had been on the verge of having a breakdown on multiple occasions. Fortunately for everyone, the Doctor was back, his carburator in hands.

Her Doctor grabbed it, making a cooing sound that would look absurd on a lesser man. “Oh here it is! I knew I had it at some point.” He turned to his companions that were used to his antics. “That’s why I could not remember where I put it! Technically I gave it to myself.” The look on his face was pure joy, and it greatly amused his companions. "Oh I love closed time loops!”

But it didn’t seem to amuse his counterpart, who rolled his eyes to high heaven. “Yeah, yeah. It was nice meeting you.” The fact they were technically the same man, just different fonts, made the situation even more absurd to Rose's point of view. A therapist would have a field day with those two and don’t get her started on their self esteem. “I propose we never do that again,” he added while offering his hand, his gruff mask firmly back in place.

But other him was not fooled, and he shook his hand with a big smile.“I agree! But hey could have been worse! Our first regeneration could have been here. Or worse, our sixth.” It had the merit to make the younger Doctor snort. “But well, I have to say, your grumpiness is something that I am more than happy to have shredded when I became me.”

But before the other Doctor had time to respond, and start a banter that would have probably lasted for hours knowing them, Donna grabbed him by the waist and forcefully moved him back in the direction of their TARDIS. “Let’s get inside before you start a diplomatic incident, ok?”

“But Rose…!” he protested, almost turning full back again. But Donna was not deterred, and blocked his passage.

She moved again, making sure to have him incapable of going back without having to go through her. “Let Rose say her farewell, it’s not like she is going to fly away with him.” She saw the dubious look on his face, and sighed. “Trust her!”

“No need to use violence!” he continued to protest, as Rose felt more and more mortified by the second.

She had the immediate urge to facepalm herself… or him… she was still uncertain of that. She loved her best friend but he could be obtuse. “Get inside!” she screamed as she pushed him violently, closing the door on their faces.

A beat of silence accompanied this display before the Doctor and Rose looked at each other and started to crack up, making them laugh for almost a full minute before they could calm down. “She is…something,” said the Doctor, fondness clear on his face.

“Oh she is!” Rose smiled. But then as she looked at him, so carefree and nonchalant, she realized this was it, it would be the very last time she would see him. And as she braced herself to say her goodbye, urging herself to not cry, the door of the TARDIS opened again. Curiously, she was not surprised to see her Doctor, or more like half of him, through the gap of the door.

“Don’t try to convince her to go with you, or anything funny like that, because I will be watching and…” But his sentence was cut mid word as he disappeared inside again with a strangled squeal. And a second later it’s Donna that appeared in the gap.

“Don’t listen to him,” she called out with an upbeat tone, making the situation even more surreal. “But I suggest you two go inside his TARDIS, because I don’t trust that one to not simply spy on you with the exterior sensor of the TARDIS. Ok bye!” And as she closed the door, they could see her smile disappear and a thunderous look replace the jovial one on her face, making them wince in sympathy as the Doctor was undoubtedly about to be read the riot act.

Rose turned to her first Doctor and motioned for him to go first. As they walked through the door of his TARDIS, Rose felt a sense of nostalgia hit her straight in the chest. How many times did she look at him while he was busy flying around the console? Making fun of him and his silliness with Jack? The grief that suddenly appeared threatened to swallow her whole for a moment.

“I am sorry for him, he tends to be a bit protective sometimes,” she said with a strangled voice as she was trying to make the superimposing images disappear from her mind. Jack lounging in the chair as she was sitting on the floor, chatting with the Doctor while he was under the flooring. The Doctor patiently explaining to her what each part of the console was used for. Her reading while he was busy humming as he repaired something. Them dancing around the console.

She realized she didn’t do a good job of concealing her grief as his demeanor completely softened. He didn’t dare to approach, but the smile he offered to her was tender. He propped himself against one of the coral supports, crossing his arms and legs, like he did a thousand times before. “I don’t really blame him. He knows if you asked to go one last time with me, I would not say no.”

She felt once again her heart speed up, she had forgotten how he could unravel her with just his words. She shook herself internally and gave herself ten heartbeats to go back under control. She knew him, if she gave him even a once of domesticity and feelings, he would run for the hills and never look back. So she will say her piece, ask for one last hug and leave with her whole dignity intact. He deserved as much, this brilliant man. She inhaled, squared her shoulders and gave him the most positive smile she could muster.

“Doctor, I was not able to say goodbye the last time, and it’s one of the biggest regrets of my life. I want to say that you changed my life. Without you I would probably be somewhere in the Estate living an absolute miserable existence with no future. Every day was an adventure with you, and I don’t regret a single one of them, not even that time I almost got pulverized by an evil video game.” She grinned at the memory. “I will miss you.” She shook for a moment, the memory of him going up in flames appearing briefly in her mind. “I will always miss you, but it was absolutely fantastic.” As she moved to him, ready to hug him and run, he pushed himself off the pillar with a calculating look on his face.

“What are you doing?” his voice was neutral, but she could not miss the hint of steel below.

It stopped her dead in her tracks. “What?” she asked, not following his thought pattern.

“I repeat; what are you doing?” When she still didn’t seem to understand, he advanced until he was right in front of her, forcing to crane her neck up to look him in the eyes. “Are you trying to conclude a business meeting? Are you that desperate to leave this TARDIS?” His tone was so cold it was almost chilling.

When she tried to take a step back, he grabbed her arm, forcing her to stay put. “No, I…I…I.” She wanted to explain herself, but no words were coming, and she was so busy trying to fight the tears that it was almost impossible for her to speak.

“You what? Rose, you what?” he repeated once again, when she continued to stammer. “Please enlighten me.” The words were harsh but his eyes…His eyes were warm and pleading, like he was waiting for something.

She tried one last time to disengage herself, his presence too close and his words too hard for her to continue to keep it together, but he only brought her closer, so close that she was almost chest to chest with him. And this time, when she opened her mouth, only sobs escaped. As the dam broke, she crumbled on herself, her body shaking with the force of her grief.

He took her into his arms instantly, like he had waited for this. “That’s it, Rose, let it go.” He whispered in her hair. “I know. I know…”

“You left me!” she screamed against him, weeping into his jumper. While he tightened his grip on her. “You died and you left me,” she repeated, as the memory of seeing him engulfed played again and again, and how she was not able to do a single thing. “You burned and I could only watch. I was not ready…I was not ready.” Her loud sobs became whimpers as the words got out, words she had kept to herself for so long that it had become part of her. She was gripping his jumper with so much force, she was surprised it didn’t tear. “You died because of my stupid self.”

He nudged her gently, just with enough force to put a bit of space between them so he could look at her properly. “Hey, never say that ok? I died for you. I could not ask for a better way to go.” His eyes were shining, the feelings so intense she had to look away. “But I am sorry that I didn’t prepare you beforehand, and that you had to see me like that. I am sorry I caused you grief and you had to keep it with you for so long.”

She knew she was lay bare in front of him now, all pretext of decorum completely destroyed, so she decided to say all those words that she had wanted to say the first time. Well almost all of them. So this time when she opened her mouth it was not with a fake smile and bravado, it was with the anguish of her younger self and the determination of a final goodbye.
“Being with you Doctor, it brought me back to life. I was drowning in a life that was dull and soul eating and then you appeared, bringing all the colours back with you. So when you asked me to take a leap, I jumped in with my two feet and eyes closed, and not once did I regret my choice. Because yes I suffered, cried, pleaded and screamed, but I did it alive.” And this time when she was looking at him, it was not coldness that reflected back but fondness. “I have a fantastic life. An amazing, maddening, stunning life. And I cherish every second, that’s because of you. So thank you, Doctor. Thank you for showing me the universe. Thank you for pushing me and showing me I could be better. Thank you for being you. You were my absolute best friend in the whole universe, and the best thing that happened to me. Thank you for saving me.” And this time, when she hugged him it was with all the pouring of positive emotions she felt for him. It was not grief but joy. It was not with regret, but with treasured memories. He had been her universe, and he deserved to know. That beautiful and insane man.

The Doctor didn’t know how to handle this outpouring of emotions. He knew Rose had held back, and he didn’t regret for one moment pushing her to reveal like that but knowing how much she felt was humbling. He had hated himself when he met her, and she brought him back whole, small bit by small bit and he didn’t see he had done the same in return.

“Oh Rose…” His voice choked with emotions. “My precious girl. You saved me too, you know?” He hugged harder and she felt a fresh wave of tears appeared. “I was a dark, broken mess when I met you. And then this pink and yellow human decided it was not it and you brought me back, one piece at a time. Oh, I am still a broken mess.” He chuckled. “But the night is not so dark anymore when I am with you.”

She knew she needed to leave right now, before she did something she’d regret like confessing her love to him or something, so she regretfully disentangled herself from him and shuffled to the console then the door, saying goodbye to this TARDIS at the same time in a way. “Be fantastic ok? Go back to myself and live your best life.” She smiled fondly at him, her hand at the door. “Goodbye, Doctor, I will miss you.”

He returned her smile. “I will miss you, even if I don’t know it, I will. And I would say have a fantastic life too in return but I know you will.” He shrugged as he leaned back against one of the walls, trying to appear detached as he was looking at her, leaving him forever in a sense. “And don’t let the other me treat you like anything else than the perfect being that you are. You deserve the whole universe, never forget that.” She heard the pause and saw the unshed tears on the last word and she felt her own heart break, like the very first time she realized she would never see him again.

She knew that a small part of her heart will always be with him, like she knew she was taking a small part of him with her. He had been her first real and all encompassing love, and an amber of it will burn inside her forever. But unlike the last time, she was able to say goodbye. She owed it to her younger self who saw him disappear in a flash of light and flames. But the more she was looking at him, so beautiful and tragic, the more the amber was transforming into a roaring fire and the less she was able to convince herself that the love she was seeing in his eyes was just a reflection of hers. And then he smiled, this soft, small smile he had done a thousand times when he thought she was not looking, and something broke inside her.

Later on she could not recollect who did the first step. If it was her that just ran into his arms, or if it was him that just said ‘to hell with the universe’. But one moment she was ready to open the door and disappear from his life forever. And the other she was slamming against his chest, her mouth crashing against his with a passion so engulfing she felt on fire. The kiss was desperate, full of longing and unsaid feelings, their body moving against each other as if they were starved. And she didn’t know how long they kissed like that, dancing around and in each other’s, until he deepened the kiss, making her feel both lightheaded and ablaze with love. Her back collided against the closest wall, one of his hands cradling her head and the other was grabbing her ass with so much force, she was surprised she was still able to touch the grating. She said his name desperately as his lips moved to her throat with fervency and she clawed at him like a demented woman, trying to touch him everywhere at once, wanting him so badly that she sobbed.

His lips made a path of fire on her throat, as he moved both his hands to grab her hips with a vice-like grip. They were so lost in each other, she could not think straight. And when she felt his breath on her ear, his voice singing her name again and again like a prayer, she cried out. And it’s like an electric current had gone through the Doctor as he jumped back, forcing Rose to scramble back with a shout. They looked at each other, shock visible on both their face as the fog cleared from their mind, realizing what almost happened.

“Oh my god Rose, I am so s…” started the Doctor, as he was looking around wildly before going completely still, his body going so rigid she was afraid she had completely broken him. “No. No, I am not sorry,” he finally said, looking straight at her, emotions plain on his face.

She took a step in, unsure of what to do, afraid of spooking him so much he would run the other way. “You’re not?” she finally asked, uncertainty written all over her body.

He nodded briskly, clenching his first as if he was trying to stop his body to betray him once again. “No.” He breathed in deeply. “Look Rose I…”

“I love you,” she blurted out, making him choke on his own saliva. Starting a coughing fit that forced him to take support on the TARDIS.

“You what?” he asked, bewildered as he looked at her like she was the response to every question in the universe.

Rose was not deterred, now that the words were out, there was no turning back. She squared her shoulders back and made sure she was looking him straight in the eyes when she said it again. “I love you Doctor. I loved you for years, hell I was already in love with you at that point in your timeline and I will love you long after you are gone.”

“I love you too!” he blurted out in turn, surprising even himself with the words. But it’s like a barricade have exploded with that sentence and he continued on, gaining confidence with each new word out of his mouth. “I loved you probably since the moment I took your hand and said run. I loved you on that day on platform 5, and on that day in Cardiff and every day after that. I loved you when you smiled at me. I loved you when you bought me back to life. I loved you when you made me see that life was still worth living. And I probably loved you until I disappeared into the void of regeneration.” He advanced to her until he could take her head into his hands, and she didn’t realize she was crying until he was wiping the tears from her eyes. “I would suffer the agony of regeneration a thousand times just for one more day together. You brought me back from death. My world was just shade of black without you and now…” He smiled with so much gentleness and fondness she only cried harder. “Now I can breath. My precious girl, my Rose.”

She kissed him again, pouring everything that she felt about him into it, making sure to show him how much she loved him, and how much she had missed him. This time it felt less like desperation and more like a goodbye. They kissed for a minute, a month, an eternity, until she ran out of breath and could not do it no more. But this time, when they separated, she felt at peace and she could see in his eyes he felt the same. His smile was radiant and joyful, like the one he shared with her on Weeping Woman when she told him for the first time that loved to travel with him, so many years ago. Her tears had disappeared and when she hugged him this time she knew it was over, now it was time to go.

“Thank you Doctor.” She murmured in his chest. “Thank you for everything.” And when she disentangled herself and walked to the door, he didn’t try to stop her. It’s only when she opened it that it said something, but something she could not understand as it’s sounded more like melodic sound that real word. “What that?” she asked curiously, turning one last time to look at him.

He was back at the console, and his eyes were sparkling, as he knew something she didn’t. “Don’t worry, I am sure you will know soon. Go now, I am sure I am waiting for you.”

They exchanged one last smile and she was gone, the door closing without a sound behind her. His grin dropped to just a wishful smile as he made the TARDIS leave the planet and the last thing he thoughts before his memories became blurred and hidden was how much he would have loved to have more time with her now that he knew how she felt.

—-

When Rose entered her own TARDIS she had expected a lot of things. The Doctor going back and forth on the grating, Donna reading a magazine while the Doctor was in the process of installing his new toy. Donna and the Doctor in the middle of one their discussions, she even expected to be welcomed by an empty console. What she didn’t expect was a panicking Donna as the Doctor was sprawled on the floor, pale as a ghost.

“Doctor! Do you hear me? Doctor?” Donna was screaming and shaking him with force as he was staring at nothing, seemingly shell shocked.

She ran to them, falling on her knees as Donna was getting more frantic by the second. “What happened?” she asked in her best calming voice, trying to decipher what could be wrong at first glance with the Doctor.

“I don’t know!” screamed back Donna, who was soon going into hysterics. “We were talking, he was in the middle of an explanation about the thing other him gave him when suddenly he lost all colours and literally fell down on his arse! He tried to get up and then he made a sound like he was dying and stopped completely responding!”

Rose cursed under her breath. Maybe the other Doctor leaving started something, and she had no way of contacting him. “Doctor, can you follow my finger?” She tried as she moved her hand back and forth in front of his face. Something she said probably woke something up in him as he jerked back violently, and he was on his feet less than a second after, making them drop down under the surprise.

As they stood up, they noticed at the same time that he was looking at Rose like he had seen a ghost, opening and closing in mouth, making strange sounds in turn.

“Doctor?” asked Rose, unsure if she could approach him or not.

And then all hell broke loose. “You kissed him??” He screamed at her, visibly torn between anger and shock.

Chapter Text

For almost a minute nobody moved, even the air was still. Until Donna turned her head in Rose direction.
“You kissed who?” She asked, trying to keep up with the conversation, until she realized that Rose was blushing. “Hold on…You kissed the other him?” To Rose’s amazement, she seemed delighted. “Good for you! I didn’t think he had it in him!”

However, the Doctor clearly didn’t share her excitement. In fact, his face looked more and more like a storm brewing. Rose felt the need to intervene as it was not her best friend’s fault if the Doctor was a jealous bastard. Still him, even after all this time; He couldn’t have her, but nobody else could either, starting with himself.

She crossed her arms, putting herself between Donna and the Doctor before he had time to say something he would regret. “Donna, could you excuse us for a moment please? I think the Doctor and I need to talk.” Her voice brokered no argument, and before Donna had time to open her mouth, he arched an eyebrow in her direction. The redhead glanced between her two friends and finally realised the minefield she started with her observation. Especially with how silent her alien of a best friend was. Never a good sign.

“I’ll be in my room, if you need anything.” She said, one last meaningful look in direction of the Doctor, who was too busy intensely staring at Rose to realise.

The moment Donna disappeared in the bowel of the TARDIS, he jumped at the console and started the dematerialisation sequence, visibly trying his best to ignore Rose. But she knew him better than he would ever know, so she just waited, making sure she was barring him from the hallway that would allow him to escape. Now that they were in the time vortex, he had no choice but to talk, and she only had to suffer him trying to walk around three times before he broke down in a fit of clear anger.

“Why did you do that?” He finally asked her, seething with fury and irritation, and walking around the room like he had no idea what to do with himself.

She stayed silent for a few seconds, a bit surprised by the outburst. She knew he had been bothered by her action, but she felt a bit out of her element with the direction the conversation was going. She had expected the jealousy, he had always been a jealous person, but she had not anticipated the underline of hurt in his voice, like she had betrayed him.

“Do what? Kiss him?” She responded, with some uncertainty. Did he not get the memory in full? Did he think she assaulted him? “Do…Do you not remember?” Her voice betrayed her fear, if he thought she had kissed him without his consent, she would probably die of mortification right there.

He continued to pace like a possessed man, his hands firmly in his hair like he was trying everything to not just tear it out.
“Of course, I remember! I remember everything!” And he seemed deeply unhappy with that. “I know you love him.” He spat out those words like a curse, breaking Rose’s heart in a single statement. Maybe that’s where the problem lay, he didn’t love her anymore, and was angry to see she was still hung up on him. Even though she had promised him that they would always be friends. The Doctor continued on, not aware of Rose’s turmoil and heartbroken eyes. “So that’s it? That’s what you want?” His face looked both furious and heartbroken and Rose felt she had skipped a chapter.

“What?” She asked when he decided to stop talking, only to bore his furious gaze to her without moving. He was visibly restraining himself and she had no idea on what. “Are you asking me to leave?” She said, hating herself for how childish her voice sounded.

It seemed to break him out of his spiral of hatred and he seemed to be more surprised than her for a second before his face become blank once again. “No, I would never ask you that, I am asking you if…” he looked like he was struggling to get it out before he straightened himself out, his face closed and proud. He looked every inch of the alien he was and it worried Rose because she felt her time in the TARDIS was suddenly coming to an end. She felt stupid, she should have known it was too good to be true. It was too late. She loved him, but he had moved on, his illusions shattered by the broken version she had become.
“I am asking you if you want me to get you back to him.” His tone was flat and even, a mask firmly in place. Like he didn’t care about her response.

She had the distinct sensation of a blow to her sternum. She had expected a lot of things but this, this was not even a top twenty. She had to sit down to contemplate his words with more than baffled amazement. “What?” She finally said, unsure of what to say in that situation. Was he trying to get rid of her? Was it a test? Was he trying to tell her she was not welcome anymore, but he didn’t want her to be alone?

He now looked furious. “Do you want me to find him again?” He asked once again, his voice now cold as the ice they had found on Elebor.

She looked around, almost hoping for some kind of prank. “No?” She had said her goodbye, finally poured her heart out and closed that door That heavy feeling had finally lifted and her grief and shame with it. If he asked her to open it again, she would n ot survive the misery, it would be torture to have to say goodbye over and over.

She was suddenly angry herself. “Is this a game for you, Doctor? Are you trying to destroy me?” Her voice was full of venom and hurt, making him take a step back. “Knowing that a human loves you, you feel the need to destroy her until only grief remains? Is that what you want Doctor? I always knew you could be cruel but this goes above and beyond!” She now was shouting, didn’t care if Donna could hear her, hell if anyone in the Time Vortex could either. She was too hurt to care.

It was his turn to look like a fish out of the water. “What? Rose, what?”

She turned around, trying to disappear to her room, wanting to lick her wounds in private, to mourn the what-if and could-have-been without him being there to witness her breakdown, but he was too fast and barred the doorway with determination. “Rose, I am trying to give you an out with him! What are you talking about?” His irritation was bleeding from his mask of indifference.

She stopped suddenly, finally understanding what he was trying to say and the only things she could feel was cold. “Hold on. Are you trying to tell me you want me to go with the previous you? So, I could what…travel with him?” She could not believe his words; did he hate her that much that he was ready to face to reaper to get rid of her?

“Yes. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” His face was back to emotionless but she saw a flash of raw anger for a second before it disappeared like it had never been there.

She was speechless and took a step back until she was sitting down on the driver chair. “What are you talking about! Is this because I kissed him?” His face became grim, giving her the response even without words. “Oh my god Doctor, are you jealous of yourself?”

But to her surprise, he only started to walk around the console, walking in circles again and again without saying a word. When she felt the silence had stretched too long and she was ready to break it, he finally stopped.

“Why I am not enough?” He suddenly shouted back. “I am trying Rose, I really am! I am even trying to give you an out! You obviously love him, so if I had to find a way for you to get to him, I’ll do it. But…” and as suddenly as it appeared, the fight left him, making slump on himself. “Why I am not enough?”

She finally realised what all of this was about. He was not jealous of himself, he didn’t feel anger because he refused to share, he didn’t feel disgust for her very human feelings and want her to leave the premises as fast as possible. It was not all of that, no, he thought she was the one that had left her feelings behind; that she had loved the one before him, and left him to rot. For someone who kept insisting he was the same man…

“Oh Doctor…” she said, trying her best to convey the love she felt for him. “Of course I love him.” He flinched at her words and try to move his face but she was too fast, taking him in her hands. “I will always love him. Like I love you. And like I will love the next you. You are the same stupid alien that I fell in love at nineteen. Nothing can change that. I have been in love for decades. Why do you think it would change?” Hia smile was soft and gentle and the light was resurfacing but by bit in his eyes, like he could not believe her words.

“You kissed him, you told him you loved him.” The bitterness in his tone was still present as the dullness on his face. “I have been waiting for you but you…” he sighed. “I am not enough.”

She frowned, not understanding what he was trying to say. “What do you mean, you have been waiting?”

“When you told me you wanted to be friends…” he seemed embarrassed and his cheeks coloured slightly as he turned his face to look at a point next to the console. “I thought that maybe one day you’d see…” he gulped. “It was never just a friendship for me. You…you are more than that.”

She gasped, realising how stupid they had been for so long, how much they broke their own hearts for so long. “Doctor, when I told you I wanted to be friends…I didn’t mean only that. I just wanted us to get back to a solid and healthy ground before we moved forward.” She took his hands in hers. “I was too broken to give myself to you without breaking, and you were too busy hiding and putting a ghost on a pedestal to accept anything without running. We just needed time to heal and get better for ourselves first before anything could happen. That’s what I meant.”

He looked miserable, huddled against the wall like he didn’t have the force to stay upright. “I was waiting for you.”

She smiled brightly. “And I was waiting for you.”

And just like that they were laughing, tears straining their faces, unsure if it was from joy or the grief of once again their inability to communicate until it was almost too late. But they finally talked, they were good. So, they laughed, and laughed until they couldn’t. The silence finally taking place, quiet and gentle but not oppressive.

“I still can’t believe you kissed him.” He finally said after a few minutes, his head making a small thud as he let it go against the wall, his eyes looking at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. “And when I say kissing…You almost had sex with him!” He looked both outraged and maybe slightly aroused.

She sat down brutally, her crouching position not enough to convey how embarrassed she felt. “Oh god, I know.” She put her face in her hands as the Doctor laughed. “I just wanted to say goodbye!”

“Oh, that you did!” He snickered. “That was one hell of a goodbye!”

She suddenly remembered what her first Doctor had said when she had left the TARDIS, those melodic words and his tender expression. And now…she felt she was ready to know. “When I left, you said something. I think in your language, what did it meant?”

His expression felt brutally, replaced by a serious one that almost scared her until she saw the gentleness in his eyes.
“He said…” he shook himself, taking a few seconds before starting once again. “I said…Well we don’t really have an equivalent in your language but I will try.” She heard him repeat the words in Gallifreyan once again, still as beautiful as the first time, bringing tears to her eyes. “The closest equivalent would be ‘You had my hearts, have them today and will have them tomorrow, they are yours to take and do as you please.’” The look on his face was full of longing and love. “‘So be gentle, as they will always be yours.’”

She felt her heart melting completely and her eyes welling up with tears. “Oh Doctor, you have my heart too.”

He put his hand on her face, letting her nuzzle him with all the love she had for him. She thought she had lost her chance with him, but now…now she realised they were just getting on the same path together.
“Can I kiss you?” He finally asked in a hushed and reverent voice, his hand already on her face. He had not moved, but she could see how much he wanted to, just waiting for her to give her approval. She nodded, suddenly shy and bashful, as he slowly smiled, his eyes shining with mirth.
With one last hesitation, he leaned into her, pressing his lips gently against hers, like he was almost afraid to spook her. For her, it felt like coming home. And when she felt his arms wrapping around her waist, a small sigh of contentment escaping him, she could only deepen the kiss. She needed to show him how much she loved him. The kiss lasted a few seconds, a lifetime, hours.

He stepped back just slightly enough for him to rest his forehead against hers. “I was ready to wait for you forever.” He whispered, his eyes closed, like he was afraid the illusion would shatter if he opened them. “You are worth every star.”

She smiled brightly, even if he could not see it. “Doctor, it was always you, you know.”

He frowned as he finally looked her in the eyes. “You pushed me away. I thought…” the insecurity seemed the back. “You opened up to him straight away.”

“Because it was going to be my only chance. Everything that I told him is something that I kept with me for decades. I knew if I didn’t say anything, it would be too late. Yes, I could have said it to you, but he deserved to hear it from me.” She looked straighter, more assured now. “All those words are the ones nineteen-year-old me wanted to say. Now, you are going to hear what this old woman had held inside, too.” She took his hands in hers, making sure his full attention was on her. “The moment I was sure you were the Doctor, I was yours. And I stayed yours from that day. When I landed in Pete World, you kept half of my heart with you.” She brushed one tear aside. “And when I came back, I thought you had moved on, forgotten about me.” She shushed him before he could open his mouth. “So, I even if I was heartbroken, I needed to put myself together and move on. But my heart was still with you. So, when I found you, I knew I could not say it. Because I lived so long with this part of me, I had no idea how to function whole anymore. I needed that time to put myself back together. You…WE deserved as much.”

He pushed her hand aside, visibly troubled. “Why didn’t you tell me. I told you, I was born loving you. It was not just words in the air.”

She sighed, sometimes she wished for a good mind link. “Yes, but you also pushed me aside again and again before I fell at Canary Wharf. You were so afraid of losing me that you refused to get too close. You needed to see me; that me, the one that did go through hell and back and became stronger. Until you were ready to really let me in and be vulnerable, I could not be the only one that put herself out there. So yes, I was waiting for you!”

He opened his mouth then closed it again with a click. “Oh…”

“Yes, oh.” She responded sarcastically. “And to be clear, yes, I love you, yes, I loved the one before you and I will not apologise. You are both the Doctor, and the same person, so stop being a jealous sod and kiss me again.”

He was clearly ready to protest at her words, but the expression of righteous indignation was clearly replaced by one of wicked glee. “Your wish is my command.”

Before she knew it, she was on her back, the Doctor hovering above her, his eyebrows wiggling in comical ways, which made her snort at his absurdity. They smiled stupidly to each other for a moment before he finally kissed her, the eagerness he had been trying to keep on the back burner for so long, finally running free. Before long, they were almost devouring each other, panting needily as hands were roaming everywhere.

“I wanted to do that for so long.” He groaned against her throat as she arched her back, wanting to feel him everywhere. Too many clothes, she thought, way too many.

She tried to swallow the moan that wanted to escape since the moment he had gently kissed her, but the sensation of his teeth lightly scraping against her was too much. “I probably wanted to do that since ‘run’” she groaned. “And then when you smiled at me, when you appeared for Christmas dinner…” One of his hands finally breached all the layers she had been wearing, and her own were now buried in his hair, grabbing tightly. “That’s when I knew I wanted again…Oh god – yes, like that!” She arched again, one of her legs locking around his slim hips, his excitement rubbing against her in a best way, making him growl with neediness as he licked the ticklish place behind her ear. She could not stop herself even if she tried as one of arm slid down and grabbed his rear with a possessive shove, the other letting go his hair and trying to open the multiple shirts he was wearing.

“Off!” She whimpered, as she was losing patience. He had too many shirts and she could not concentrate enough to take them off, even less so as one of his hands was brushing the side of her breast, light enough to just make her mad with passion.

He made a low whining sound as she unsuccessfully tried to push him off, his palms instinctively squeezing her breast and her thigh in a rare show of coordination. In response, her own fisted his shirts and tugged, letting her finally have access to his skin without barriers. She let go a small puff of triumph as she stroked the soft part of his lower belly, pulling lightly on the hairs she could feel.

He head jerked back as his hips collided violently with her pelvis, making them both gasp in tune. “Do that again, and I will not be responsible for any of my actions.” His words, and face, were tight and clipped, trying desperately to rein himself in. For a very split second she could almost feel him in her mind, raw and terrified of her rejecting him once again, and it was enough to mildly clear her mind of the lust she was feeling for him. She wanted it, more than anything, but not like this, on the floor of the TARDIS, just after a very emotionally charged discussion that ;eft them both a bit unbalanced. She wanted passion, yes, but she wanted that moment to be for the both of them and all the times in the world. Also, even if she could not stop herself grinding on him once again, making him sob with wants, she nodded.

“I love you Doctor, and I really want you.” Her voice was strained but clear. “But I want our first time in a better place than on the grating of the console, while Donna could walk on us at any time.” He looked terrified at the idea for a moment and she could feel him deflate slightly above her as his muscles lost some of the tautness at the idea, dropping on her like dead weight. Unfortunately for her, that meant she could feel him more intensely and the pulse of desire she had tried to calm down exploded once again, making her hiss with pleasure. He jumped instantly on his feet, like he had been burned, and she was left bereft and wanting.

He made a move to her help stand up and spluttered in shock, rooted in place with a guilty look on his face. “I am so sorry!” He said as suddenly started to walk back and forth in the console, his crumpled look making him look even more sexier in Rose eyes. She slapped herself internally at her randiness and tried to get up without help. Her shirt rode up slightly as she used one of the columns. When she turned around, he had this vacant look on his face, making her blush violently. Remembering what she done against this exact column an hour ago. “I think we need…some time.” He talked and walked even faster, making her head spin. “Yes, I’ll go in the library! No wait Donna, I need to see Donna or…”

Before he had time to go into a tailspin like she knew he was likely to, and pushed their progress back by at least three steps, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and tugged. Hard. “Oh no we are not doing that.” She growled, as she could feel the panic all around him. She snogged him once again, pouring everything into it, making him stumble into a wall near the hallway that lead to the depths of the TARDIS. “I am never letting you go, now.” Her voice was barely above a whisper as she peppered his scratchy cheeks with kisses.

“Rose…” he moaned, his hands gripping her hips with a death grip. “I don’t think I can stop a second time.” She could feel how much he wanted her against her stomach and it drove her wild with want, but she needed to stop, take a step back. She had told him not here, and meant it, but she just wanted him so much.

As if he could hear her mind, and she would not get that past him, he grabbed her ass and pulled, lifting her like she weighed nothing. As he looked deeply into her eyes, his eyes black as the night under the sheer desire he felt for her, making her burn with need. His hands made sure her leg was securely around his hips, stroking her with an intent that left no place for questions.
“Oh, Rose Tyler.” His voice was dark and sensual, the small smile promising so much and she felt like jelly in his arms. “I told you. Now, I cannot ever let you go.”

She rubbed herself against the rough fabric of his trousers, making sure he could feel how much she wanted him, and beamed, her right hand scraping his sensitive scalp, waiting for him to whimper with needs before she spoke. “Who said I wanted to let you go?”

He kissed her again, desperate and hungry, as he walked into the hallway, not caring about anything except her in his arms. She ground on him more and more urgently, small sounds of pleasure escaping her as his trouser became almost impossibly tight. Thankfully, before he could say to hell with waiting and take her directly against the wall, the door to his room appeared next to him. With one last thanks in the direction of the TARDIS, he stumbled inside.

He was hers and she was his. And he would never let her go. He was ready for their forever.
“And now, where were we Rose Tyler?”

A peal of laughter and a squeal of joy, and neediness, was the last thing that could be heard before the door closed with a bang.

Chapter Text

It was a quiet day in the TARDIS. Now that Rose and the Doctor finally resolved their issues, talked like adults, and probably did other things during the last two weeks that Donna refused to think about, the tension was nonexistent.
She loved them both, but if she had to imagine her best friend in anything other than three layers of clothes, she would need to pluck her eyes out. She liked her eyes, thank you very much. Now, the ambiance during off days was way more peaceful. Notably on days like this when Rose was doing her monthly check-in with UNIT. Before, Rose would work either in her room, or in one of the numerous offices found all over the TARDIS, as the Doctor would pout and ruminate in the console room. But today, for once, The Doctor was busy under the grating, doing things. She tuned out the second he had started talking, while Donna was sitting on the jump seat, reading a magazine. Rose however was fully in work mode.

“Hold on, you sent me the report about the crash in Newtown, but I don’t see the one about Ashford.” She typed something on one of the screens near the console. “No, I was really clear, I need both of them, I don’t care that Price said it’s irrelevant, send it to me.” She rolled her eyes at what the other person said and Donna heard the Doctor snort from where he was. “Ok, what about the memo from the fifteen? Did Malcolm find a use?” She frowned and started to walk, clearly focused on her mission. Donna found it fascinating. The distinction between Rose Tyler and Colonel Marion Wolfe was something she always found wild to wrap her heard around. And as she looked down at the Doctor, who was now not even trying to mask the fact he was just listening to her, she didn’t appear to be the only one.

“No, no need to send the black team to Melbourne, I’ll check with Lieutenant Colonel Hardy, we worked together. Just ask Malcolm to send me the report, and I will have a look at it.” She continued to pace, now writing on a small notepad. “Ok, I see. Get in contact with Major Chan, he will oversee the transfer.” She nodded absently and clicked on a button her earpiece. “Yes, but refer back to the Helmsdale incident, it sounds similar from the email that was sent by Maguire four days ago.”

“She is really in her element with this.” Said the Doctor as he sat down next to his best friend, wistful smile and soft eyes, as he was looking at Rose with so much love radiating from him that Donna wanted nothing more than to be with Lee at that instant.

At least he had completely stopped the pretense of tinkering with the TARDIS. “Yes, she clearly loves her job,” she turned fully, tapping on his shoulder, making sure the Doctor would look at her. “You know she will never go back, right? She is not going to leave.” Her voice was serious but still a bit worried. She knew the Doctor and she didn’t want him to self-destruct because he felt he knew better.

Instead, he only sighed with contentment. “Oh, I know. We already spoke about it, she wants to continue to do some consulting from time to time and go down to help for the biggest cases, but she is going to stay with us permanently.” He was the definition of lovestruck and she found it adorable, especially after everything they’d gone through.

She snorted and pushed him on the shoulder, making him protest a bit too loud as Rose sent them a stern look. “Aww, look at you all adult and all! Maybe you will finally stop moping in your cereal in the morning. It was really getting on my nerves. I was ready to ask you to send me to Lee so I could avoid your face.”

He looked so affronted; she had to physically stop herself laughing out loud. She loved Rose and considered her one of her best friends but when she was in Colonel Wolfe mode, she scared her a little bit. Not that she would tell her. Or him. “I’ve not done that for weeks! I have been perfectly behaved - I even did your tea!” He continued on, completely oblivious of Donna’s internal thinking.

“Geez, I wonder why!” She said sarcastically. “Maybe it’s the fact you stopped doing sad doe eyes to Rose and finally grown a pair? Something I have been telling you for the last…what? Four, five months?”

He crossed his arms and mumbled something, refusing to look in her direction.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear that.” She said in a falsely contrite tone.

He sighed, knowing that Donna would never let it go. “I said yes, you were right and I should have said something sooner.” He raised his hand before she could gloat. “But we needed that time, looking back, we were not ready. Rose was right when she said we needed to be friends again first. So even if you were right, I am glad we waited.”

The look on Donna face was one we could qualify as ‘proud mother hen’. “Look at you being all adult and responsible.”

As he was ready to clap back something that would have probably shattered the moment and have it degenerate into one of their squabbling ones, they were interrupted by strong noises in Rose direction.

“Quinlan? Hello, Quinlan?” They turned both in time to see her click multiple times on her earpiece while tipping on one of the computers. “Doctor, something is wrong. I am trying to call back UNIT HQ but I have a dead signal. And I can’t seem to be able to send an email.”

Donna whipped out her mobile and called the number she knew would always respond, whatever the day and hour. Unfortunately, her grandad’s phone also got a dead signal.
“I can’t get a signal either.” Rose and her exchanged a worried look. It was starting to sound like trouble, and not the good kind.

The Doctor sighed and stood up, getting to the console in three steps. “Ok, we’ll make a quick stop to Earth, resolve the issue and Bob’s your uncle.” He frowned and turned his head to the ceiling. “No, we are never using that again.”

But his two companions were too anxious to respond and he would have probably tried to lighten the atmosphere if the TARDIS was not sending very worrying message.

“What do you mean you can’t land?” He asked to the time rotor. “Rose, can you look at the external sensors and tell me what you see please? The TARDIS is telling me we are there but she had no visibility to land.”

Donna was tapping anxiously at the edge of seat, feeling useless for once as she had no idea how to help. She looked helplessly at Rose who was pushing some part of the screen in quick succession and the woman smiled at her, telling her without a word to get next to her. She would always feel gratitude that her friend was human with human feelings.
“Can you keep that lever in the middle please? I am trying to calibrate the external sensors and the Doctor doesn’t want to stop her until we are sure it’s safe.” Said Rose as she looked at the screen, which only showed some weird lines and kept turning to black.

After a few minutes of tense silence, Rose was finally able to get something, and, to Donna dismay, the screen was only showing a whole lot of nothing. But the numbers on the screen was apparently enough to make Rose tense next to her. “Doctor! You need to stop the TARDIS now.”

“But we are in flight. If we stop, we are just going to be in the external atmosphere of the Earth and I don’t think it will help with our problem.”

“Stop the TARDIS. Now.” Her voice was clipped and brokered no argument. Fortunately, the Doctor realised the urgency and pushed the dematerialising sequence, until the time machine was completely still. But before he could take a step in either direction, Rose ran to the door and opened it with force.

“Rose!” Said Donna and the Doctor with the same worry, as they hurried to her. But as Donna looked outside, she suddenly realised her urgency.

“It’s gone.” Blanched Donna, as she looked at what was supposed to be Earth. “How could it be gone.” She felt herself go faint, tears falling without her even realising, as the Doctor grabbed her firmly to stop her to falling on the grating. “Grandad, my mom…”

Rose turned from the spectacle, like she could not bear to see the emptiness. “I am too late. I came here to make sure I could save…” her voice wavered and they could see both the way her whole body was trembling. “I failed and…” she turned brutally and the Doctor felt both his hearts break on the despair he could see in Rose eyes. “I should have stayed. I should have been on Earth. I should…”

The Doctor realised that if he didn’t take control of the situation both his companions will be virtually useless very soon. He pushed Donna gently until she was able to sit down on the jump seat and turned to make sure he was visible to both of them.
“Ok! Everyone, stop!” He shouted, feeling the situation slipping from his grasp with each second. “Rose, first, you didn’t fail and second, had you been on Earth, what could you have done? It disappeared in literally a few seconds, fifteen at most. You were on the phone with UNIT HQ, had anything been visible, you would have been the first to know.” He turned back to Donna. “We are going to find the Earth and you will see Wilf again. And unfortunately, Silvia.” At least it made Donna snort.

“Ok what are our next step then.” Asked Rose, who seemed slightly calmer.

In two strides he was in front of the rotor, and with one swift movement, he pushed one specific button. “We are going to highest authority. The Shadow Proclamation.”

“What’s the Shadow Proclamation?” Asked Donna, flipping between confusion and sorrow at the idea of never seeing the Earth and her family ever again.

“The keepers of the peace, technically,” responded Rose, before the Doctor had time to do it. “I’ve meet with a few Judoon in my time, but I never really engaged. Being a technical anomaly, I didn’t want to put too much focus on myself.”

“Judoon are thick, but that’s not the division I want to have a chat with.” He looked preoccupied, but fortunately the jump was both very short and uneventful. When they touched down, it was the smoothest it has been in months.

The Doctor was the first out, Donna following closely behind. Unknowingly to both of them, Rose had trailed behind, being kept upright only by one of the pillars. She felt the Wolf stir violently for a second when they landed, giving her a blinding headache for a brief moment, and it was worrying her. It was not good, not good at all.

Donna face appearing next the door interrupted her spiraling. “Are you coming, Rose? The Judoon are gone!”

She nodded and walked out, refusing to trouble them with this small event. She knew from the moment of her first jump that the stars disappearing would be something big, so she should not be surprised that this part of her would show itself, even just to warn her. So, she got out of the time machine with a smile on her face and grabbed the Doctors hand firmly, who looked up briefly to show her a look of gratitude. He already had too much on his plate with this for her to add to it.

“You know, now that you are with me, the Judoon will not even look twice at you. Too busy trying to make sure I am not here to explode something.” He said with a hint of humor as he smiled warmly.

But Donna was not in the mood for fun and game. “Yeah, yeah, let’s go- flirt later.”

They walked until they were face to face with a white-headed woman, dressed head to toe in black. And she looked as stressed as them.
The look on her face was both of wonder and annoyance when she looked at the Doctor. Fortunately for Rose, she didn’t seem that interested in her. “Time Lords are the stuff of legend. They belong in the myths and whispers of the Higher Species. You cannot possibly exist.”

“Yeah, more to the point, we’ve got a missing planet.” He said with irritation; he didn’t have time for game.

The woman snorted, but with clear disdain more than humor. “Then you're not as wise as the stories would say. The picture is far bigger than you imagine. The whole universe is in outrage, Doctor. Twenty-four worlds have been taken from the sky.”

So it was the same than the other universe then. Planets disappearing one by one and no one knowing how and where they went, she should have known it would be anything but easy. Eager to not put the attention to herself, she let go of the Doctor’s hand and walked furtively to one of the window that showed the stars outside. She could hear the Doctor, and now Donna, talking in the background, but all she could think was, would it be enough? Would she be able to help, even just a little bit, so all those sacrifices would be worth it? She loved the Doctor but it had been a very long road. She was lost in thought when she heard her name being called by him.

“So, we have something?” As she walked back to them, seeing the schema of around twenty planets in a perfect line.

“Yes, we think it’s an engine, something to help move the Earth.” The Doctor had his specs on, showing he was dead serious. She found it adorable.

“Ok how do we find it?” She asked as she looked from the corner of her eyes to Donna who had walked to stairs and sat down, visibly dejected.

“And who are you? Another human? Really Doctor, you should concern yourself with higher beings for once!” The sneer on the Architect face would have been funny if not for the problem at hand.

“I am no one.” Responded Rose before the Doctor could open his mouth. She turned to him, completely blanking out the other alien, she had other things to concern herself with. “Find a way to track it, I’ll go check on Donna.”
He looked at her long and hard before he nodded with a smile and a kiss on the forehead. It took everything in her to keep the tears at bay. She had a bad feeling, but she could not pinpoint for what.

When she approached Donna, she looked small, and lost. It broke Rose heart to see her strong best friend in that state.
She sat down next to her and put her arm around her friend shoulder. “We are going to find it. If not with the Shadow Proclamation, then with something else. You know that, we are never going to stop trying.”

Donna sighed, letting her head fall on her friend. She was tired, and she wanted her grandad. And speak to Lee. But if she called him right now, she knew what would happen; she would not be able to stop herself asking questions and anything she will learn will now be part of the cemented future. And she refused to do that, because what if he said that Earth was never found?
As they stayed in silence, another white skinned woman, probably the same alien race as the Architect, came down to them, a tray in hand.

“You both need sustenance. Take the water, it purifies.” She said with kindness.

“Thank you.” They both said in unison as they took the glasses proffered.

“I am really sorry for your hardship.” Continued the woman, looking straight at Rose, making her skip a beat.

“Yeah, our whole planet is gone.” Said Donna mournfully, oblivious, as she looked at the floor with big sad eyes.

“I mean what’s yet to come. I am so sorry, but it’s for the greater good.” The woman smiled gently before turning up and getting up the stairs, passing the Doctor who was walking toward them.

Donna looked horrified. “What? What did she mean by that?”

“Mean what?” Asked the Doctor, his hands in his pocket, the air of someone that was trying to be nonchalant but was the opposite.

“Nothing.” Responded Rose, before Donna could say anything. “Absolutely nothing.” She stood up, giving her hand to Donna so she could follow. “So, what did you find?” Internally she was reeling, her mind going a thousand miles a minute. It had clearly been directed to her and with the Wolf that had awakened for a fleeting moment, she was afraid both were linked. But how could she talk to the Doctor without him panicking? What if it was all for nothing? She promised herself she would tell him everything after this, but now was not the time.

“The Earth was not taken at random, so that means some signal or some sort of warning. Both of you think, was anything happening back in your day, like electrical storms, freak weather, patterns in the sky?” He turned to Rose. “I know you said whole part of the sky became empty one day but did anything happen before happened? Maybe a flash, or a mysterious sound that was intercepted?”

She shrugged; her face morose. “No, nothing of the sort. It was really very sudden. Like one moment the stars were there, the next they never existed in the first place. And the account from refugees that were in the different quadrants all said the same things. A blink, and nothing was there anymore.”

“I can’t think of anything.” Continued Donna. “Outside maybe the bees disappearing.” She clearly said the last thing to try to humor a little bit the situation but the Doctor suddenly lit up like the sun.

“The bees disappearing. The bees disappearing.” He started to almost jump up and down with joy, making Rose smile. “The bees disappearing!” He shouted loud enough to get the attention of everyone in the room.

“How is that significant?” Asked the Architect as she glided next to them.

All eyes turned to Donna, who felt self-conscious under so much scrutiny. “On Earth we had these insects. Some people said it was pollution or mobile phone signals.” She said after a few seconds.

The Doctor nodded, as if she had responded to all their questions, but Rose was still lost. And apparently Donna too with how she was looking at the Doctor.

“They were going home!” He was now pacing back and forth, his hands in his hair.

“What do you mean, they were going home?” Asked Rose, even more lost. Since when were bees aliens?

“Bees are alien?” Inquired Donna, visibly on the same wavelength as Rose.

He waved at them as if they both said something stupid. “Yeah, to the planet Melissa Marjoria, but don’t be daft, of course not all of them are aliens. But if the migrant bees felt something coming, some sort of danger, and escaped?” He waited for a few seconds, like he had expected them to say something. But all three of them were looking at him, lost. “Tandocca.” He finally said, full confident.

But only the Architect seemed to follow. “The Tandocca scale.” She said as confidently.

When none of them made a move to explain, Rose lost her cool and smacked her alien boyfriend, hard, on the shoulder. The yelp he let out was almost satisfying. “Explain. Now.”

He rubbed the area with a pout before straightening up when he realised that Rose was losing patience, as was Donna with the face she was making. “Tandocca Scale is the series of wavelengths used as a carrier signals by migrant bees. Infinitely small. No wonder we didn't see it. It's like looking for a speck of cinnamon in the Sahara, but look, there it is.” He pointed at something on the map. “The Tandocca trail. The transmat that moved the planets was using the same wavelength, we can follow the path.”

Donna perked up. “So, we can find the Earth? Why are you still talking, let’s go!” And she pushed him in direction of the TARDIS, making him protest for the whole walk that he was not a mule, thank you very much.

“So what is your name, young one?” Asked the Architect as Rose and her were trailing a bit behind. “Our scanner did register you as human at first, but I keep receiving alerts that you are not matching any known signature in our database.” Rose could hear the steel under the kindness, and she was not stupid enough to think they were alone and that a whole platoon of Judoon were not ready to deploy at the Architect signal.

“Rose. Rose Tyler.” She finally responded after waiting for Donna and the Doctor to have disappeared inside the TARDIS.

The woman took three steps back, visibly horrified, or scared, she was uncertain. “You are the…”

Rose eyes flashed gold, making the alien look even more frightened. “Don’t be afraid lady As’keth.” The Architect lost the very little colour she had left. “You can keep your Judoon back, I will not cause you any harm. I am coming in peace” And as sudden as it appeared, the Wolf had gone back dormant, making Rose stumble until she was flat against the TARDIS side. “I am so sorry.” She said with a small voice. “I promise I don’t want any trouble. I am just trying to save the universes…all of them.”

The woman bowed deeply, surprising Rose. “I am really sorry, Nuniye Alkranha” the TARDIS didn’t translate, but she unfortunately had a rough idea of what the woman was saying. “As per article 874, subsection R.2, Clause 128, the Shadow Proclamation will now withdraw themselves from the situation and will wait until it safe to do so.”

“What?”

But the Doctor, and Donna, ran back from the TARDIS before she could ask any questions.
“I've got a blip. It's just a blip, But it's definitely a blip!” He said all happy, giving just enough time to Rose to straighten up and look almost nonchalant.

The Architect clapped her hands and smiled serenely. “Good fortune and good luck, Doctor. We will wait for your signal.”

Rose didn’t know who was more surprised. The Doctor, Donna or herself. She had said nothing of the Bad Wolf or what it could be mean. Combined with the other woman parting words, she was starting to get worried.

“Uh ok.” Said the Doctor, looking right and left, like he was expecting a troops of Judoon, or a hidden camera, to appear. “So, we are going to…go?”

The woman bowed briefly, did an abrupt turn and disappeared back into the other room, without saying another word,leaving the three travelers stunned.

“That was surprisingly easy.” Remarked Donna as they entered the TARDIS once again.

The Doctor seemed deep in thought. “Did you say something to her, Rose?”

She shrugged, trying to project an image of detachment and indifference. “Not really. Didn’t seem to be the type to chat.”

“Anyway!” He waltzed around the console with a grace that she always envied. “Time to go, places to see!”

Fortunately, it took only a very few tense minutes for the Time Rotor to stop wheezing.

“Are we there? Did we find it?” Rose asked anxiously, as she didn’t know if she should run to open the door or wait for the Doctor’s signal.

But Donna’s face was not a good one as she was looking at the external camera. “I only see colours, no planets, nothing. Where are we, Doctor?”

He sighed with defeat and Rose didn’t like that at all. “The Medusa Cascade. I came here when I was just a kid, ninety years old. It was the centre of a rift in time and space.”

“So, what does that mean? Where are the planets?”

He sat down on the jump seat with a visible air of defeat, and Rose felt her heart go to him as she stepped next to him, his arm going to her waist automatically. “Nowhere. The Tandocca Trail stops dead. End of the line…”

Donna was in front of him in a flash, her eyes brimming with tears. “So, what do we do? Doctor, what do we do?” She looked pleadingly at Rose who could only look at her with the same despair. “Now don't do this to me. To us. No, don't. Don't do this to me. Not now. Tell me, what are we going do? You never give up. Please!” She turned again to Rose. “Can you do something? Anything?”

Rose knew what Donna was asking but, and it’s something she could not tell, as she tried to awaken the Wolf, pleaded with the beast to help and do something but only silence responded and now…now she felt like crying too. “I am sorry…I failed.” She knew the Doctor was thinking she talked about her mission but she knew Donna understood. Bad Wolf.

The Doctor tightened his grip against Rose as she felt his head gently push against her ribs and she stroked his hair with as much gentleness as she could. The silence was heavy and oppressive as Donna plopped down next to the Doctor with as much force as she could muster.

“I am trying, believe me I am trying.” He finally said, his voice heavy with sadness. “I’ve been thinking of nothing else. And…” He sniffed. “I don’t know what to do.”

Rose smiled sadly. “Oh, Doctor…”

But the very heavy moment was broken by a ringing phone, making all three of them jump with surprise.
“Phone?” He said looking around like he believed he finally cracked.

“Phone!” Shouted Donna in reply as she jumped to her feet and ran to the headset. When she took it out, they could only hear static.

“Do you think it’s a signal?” Asked Rose as she looked at the unknown number but the Doctor smiled when he looked at it.

“It’s Martha! She is sending us coordinates!”

The redhead perked up at the news. “Can you follow it?”

For some reason he took out a stethoscope from one of his pocket and Rose wondered if she should ask questions but decided it could wait. “Watch me!” He clicked a complicated series of button, too fast for his companions to follow who could only watch with anxiety. “Go it! Locking in!” And when he pressed a lever, flames and sparkles surged around them, making the TARDIS vibrate like she could explode at any moment and Rose wondered if she should grab something or grab an extinguisher. But the Doctor didn’t seem to be bothered and was smiling like a loon, Donna was looking a bit green around the edges.
“We're travelling through time. One second in the future. The phone call's pulling us through.” He said enthusiastically. “Ok! Three, two, one!” And, as like a miracle, all twenty-seven planets appeared on the screen, making all the three passengers scream in delight.

“Twenty-seven planets!” Counted out loud Donna. “And there’s the Earth!” She continued excitedly. But why couldn’t we see them?”

“I suppose if we had to move a second through time that it was put out of sync compared to the rest of the area.” Said Rose as the Doctor looked at her appreciatively.

“Yes, good guess Rose! The entire Medusa Cascade has been put a second out of sync with the rest of the universe.” He was distracted momentarily by a blipping light on one of the screen. “Oh what's that? Hold on, hold on. Some sort of Subwave Network.” And when he clicked on it, multiple faces appeared on the monitor.

“Where the hell have you been?” Screamed a voice that Rose would have recognised in her sleep. Without even realizing, she pushed the Doctor quite brutally, who almost tripped on himself under the surprise.

“Jack?” Shouted Rose, who had become pale a sheet.

Chapter Text

Jack, who for Rose looked not a day older than that day on Satellite 500, seemed to be as surprised as she was. “Rose??” he exclaimed with both joy and shock. “I thought you were stuck in a parallel universe!”

“And I thought you were dead!” She felt herself hyperventilating as she was looking at the friend she had mourned intensely. And when she turned to the Doctor to share her grief, she was taken aback by the lack of astonishment in his demeanour. On the contrary, he seemed more guilty than anything else as he was acutely looking at the screen. And in a flash she realized he had known, probably from the very beginning. Leaving the person she has considered the closest to a brother behind, forcing her to accept a loss than had been for nothing.

“I am really sorry to interrupt, but unfortunately we have more pressing matters,” Sarah-Jane cut in with great reluctance. “It’s the Daleks. They’re taking people to their spaceships.”

“They’re with Dalek Caan,” added Martha.

Rose was not hearing any of this as she felt herself spiralling with both rage and joy. Rage at the Doctor for having lied to her bracingly for weeks, but also ecstatic to see Jack alive and well. She had not lost him to the Daleks fleet after all.

The Doctor, either oblivious or refusing to face her turmoil, continued to talk with the others with an urgent voice, making plans and suggestions. However Donna, bless her heart, was seeing her.

“Rose, please breathe. You need to breathe.” She put her arms around her shoulders, forcing her to look her in the eyes. “I’m sure the Doctor had a good reason for it, but we need to save the universe first.”

“You’re right. I…You’re right.” She nodded as Donna smiled gently. “I was not expecting it. I am sorry.”

“It’s ok, I understand especially with what you told me.” As Rose stood up with her help, Donna smiled wickedly. “So…That’s Jack?”

“Don’t encourage him, Donna,” said the Doctor, proving he was listening. And when he looked at them, Rose could see the distress in his brown eyes.

“I think we lost the signal, Doctor.” Rose pointed towards the screen which was now blank.

He turned with surprise. “No, no, no, no, no,” he grunted as he hit the screen multiple times. “Oh no wait! There's another signal coming through. There's someone else out there. Hello? Can you hear me?” She felt terrible to hear the hope in his voice. She knew he was probably expecting a companion from long past, even if she didn’t know which one.

But to Rose and Donna’s horror, it was not another companion, but someone that was out of a horror movie.

“Your voice is different, and yet its arrogance is unchanged,” said the face of the nightmare. To the point even the Doctor took a step back.

They heard Sarah-Jane gasp on screen. “No! But he is dead!”

“Welcome to my new empire!” he cackled, as the Dalek appeared behind him. “Doctor. It is only fitting that you should bear witness to the resurrection and the triumph of Davros, lord and creator of the Dalek race.”

Rose could feel the Doctor stiffen next to her. And both Rose and Donna, in a gesture of compassion and understanding, pressed themselves to him.

“But you were destroyed. In the very first year of the Time War, at the Gates of Elysium,” his voice was rough and full of hurt. The Time War was supposed to be done, Rose had put an end to it. “Saw your command ship fly into the jaws of the Nightmare Child. I tried to save you.”

“But it took one stronger than you, Dalek Caan himself!” He presented a deformed Dalek behind him, one that reminded her so much of the Dalek from so long ago in that bunker. One that had been broken by his inability to kill in cold blood, that he had wanted to die, and she felt that sting of pity once again.

She watched the mass of tentacles flick tentatively in Davros’s direction, as he was laughing maniacally, and suddenly everything clicked in place. The disappearing planets, going faster and faster, until whole parts of the universe had gone empty. The different universes plunged into darkness and chaos, Davros’s madness and the Doctor's reflection about engines. Everything made sense. They needed to get out of here. Now.

“Doctor, we need to go,” she commanded in her most firm voice. Pushing his hands forcefully on the dematerialisation lever. “Right now!” she screamed, as Donna startled next to her. Almost as reflex, the Doctor shoved that lever, sending them in the Time Vortex instantly.

He looked panicked “What? What’s happening?” He looked at the screen but the signal had been lost now that they were out of Time.

“I know what they are going to do! They are going to destroy the whole universe!” Rose was pacing the room with great distress. “I finally understood when Caan spoke. You said it was an engine, that they needed all those planets! The stars didn’t disappear in Pete’s universe, they were destroyed!” She yelled the last part, feeling the panic increasing again. Was she too late? Was Pete's universe destroyed? Was her family dead?

The Doctor tried to take her into his arms, but she pushed him back, refusing to look him in the eyes. Both the panic of the impending doom and the pain of realizing she had believed the Doctor about Jack's fate for decades was swirling inside her, making her want to run away.

“Please don’t!” she screamed with a broken voice. “I need…I need space.” She tried to walk to the corridor, ready to disappear in her room, but the Doctor blocked the path while still respecting her request for space. And it made her even more angry. “I trusted you!” she yelled to the point of hearing her own voice break. “You made me believe Jack was dead!” she spat out the last word like it was a curse.

The look on his face was heartbreaking. “I told you he was rebuilding the Earth.” his voice was gentle but it only added fuel to the fire for Rose.

She laughed, but it was with anything but joy. “For weeks I asked you…I begged you to go in search of Jack! And you were looking at me with those sad eyes, finding any excuse in the book to get out of it.” She turned, refusing to look at him. She knew it was getting dangerous but she could not stop, not when the emotions in her body were threatening to swallow her whole. “That’s when I knew he was dead. And now I realize it was all for nothing.” She saw in the corner of her eyes that Donna had tried to walk to her but was stopped by the Doctor. “He saved our life Doctor!” She was openly crying at that point, and she was surprised the Wolf had not made an appearance with how much her emotions were storming inside her. "Maybe you don’t remember, but I do! That day he was ready to die for us, he faced the Dalek almost alone. Not for the Earth but for us! Why did you leave him behind?”

“Because of you!” the Doctor finally screamed back. “It was because of you…” The last word cracked as his shoulders slumped.

Rose could not have been more surprised if he slapped her. “What?” she finally asked with a blank voice.

When he sighed, it was not from joy or pain. No, it was from a man that had tried again and again, and knew it was for nothing. “I never wanted to tell you, and frankly I had hoped Jack would have stayed where he was because…” He looked at the ceiling like he had hoped the TARDIS would respond in his stead. “What do you remember of that day? When you became Bad Wolf to save me.”

She was taken aback by the question. “I remember opening her, hearing her song and then power. So much power.” That moment had been so intense, it took decades for her to remember most of it, and she had needed the help of the Doctor for some part. “Destroying the Daleks fleet and then…Being in the TARDIS.” She theorized that when the power had become too much for her human body, her brains had not retained most of the memories. “I started to get some brief flashes at some point, like you kissing me or feeling suddenly so cold. But…Why that question?”

They were only a few feet apart, as Donna had retreated on the other side of the console, but it felt as if they had a whole ocean between them, the white wall felt less painful than this moment.

“You brought Jack back to life,” he reluctantly admitted after a few moments.

“What?”

“When you were Bad Wolf, you brought him back to life. He was dead. But you didn’t know how to restrain your power and he came back… Permanently.”

Rose understood he was speaking, but the words made no sense. “Permanently?”

“Yes.” He nodded, his face pained. “That’s why I could not get back to him. He’s now a permanent point in time. If he dies, he will come back to life. Every single time. And with me just regenerating and then being so new…It was excruciating in my Time sense.”

She looked at him, absolutely horrified by the implications. “You mean…He’ss immortal?”

His smile was a sad parody of his exuberant one. “Yes in a sort of way. He is a fixed point in Time.” Rose felt herself lose her footing, but he was here to catch up.

“I didn’t want you to feel responsible. You had no control over it. You loved him so much you couldn’t bear to see him gone, and I didn’t want to distress you,” he whispered into her hair, as she clung to him desperately.

She sniffed against his coat, trying to find some comfort in him. “So you lied to me.”

She felt his arms tighten around her as he kissed her temple with gentleness. “Yes, I did, and I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve to beat yourself up for it, so I kept that burden for you.”

She raised her head and grabbed his lapel, making sure he was looking at her. “I am sorry, Doctor. I am so sorry, I shouldn’t have screamed at you and…Oh my god I can’t believe I did that to Jack.” The horror she felt was nothing short of overwhelming. She had condemned him to a life of slow torture and heartbreak.

“I propose we find Jack and ask him,” Donna suggested, speaking for the first time since the argument exploded.

The Doctor nodded as helped Rose on her feet, refusing to separate from her more than a few centimetres. “Good idea, Donna.” As they approached the console he turned a soft gaze to the blonde in his arms. “When you were in the other universe, Jack found me and…He knows it was you and he doesn’t blame you.” The smile was small but genuine. “How could he? When the last act of the Time War was love?”

She kissed him gently, trying to pour all her emotions into it, feeling him melt against her. “I know we need to kick some Dalek ass first, but promise me we will not leave until we speak to Jack.” She wanted nothing more than to beg forgiveness from her friend, but Sarah-Jane had been right. She needed to push it down for later, the universe needed to be saved.

Thankfully he nodded eagerly.

Rose was the first one out when they touched down on Earth, refusing to let the Doctor blazingly run out with nothing more than flair and his screwdriver in hand. And with Donna being as hotheaded as her best friend, she was taking no chances. She could still hear those two mumbling and bickering behind her when she collided with something solid. For a fraction of second she was afraid that the Dalek had found them first, until she realized it was a very alive and well built human body. And when she looked up, she saw it belonged to no other than Jack Harkness in the flesh.

They looked at each other with shock, not really sure how to react, until Rose literally jumped into Jack's arms, who returned the hug with force.

“Oh my god Jack!” she exclaimed with joy and sorrow. “It’s you, it’s really you!”

“Rose as I leave and breathe!” He swirled her around, making her laugh with mirth. “So I was not hallucinating earlier, you are really back! The Doctor told me you were lost in a parallel universe!” He still could not believe he had his friend back in his arms. She had been nothing short of family and learning about Canary Dwarf had destroyed him. Even knowing she had been safe but to never see again, had been especially hard.

“Yeah, yeah, can you please let go of my Rose before I get the wrong idea?” the Doctor said nonchalantly as he leaned against the TARDIS.

Jack dropped Rose elegantly and looked at her smiling face and the Doctor’s simultaneously, a grin slowly taking place on his own face. “Your Rose? Please tell me he finally made an honest woman out of you!”

Donna snorted. “Oh yes he did. In two separate faces, with great enduring from my part.”

He turned his charm full force while looking at the pretty redhead. He was a taken man but he was not dead. “Oooh do tell! Captain Jack Harkness, and you are?”

“Donna Noble,” Donna responded flattered.

“Oh don’t start,” grumbled the Doctor as he opened the door of the TARDIS, he knew Daleks would be on them in a few and it was causing him anxiety.

As they all entered the time machine, Rose pushed him inside, frowning at the tone of her Doctor toward Jack. “Don’t speak to him that way. It's just Jack being Jack, you know that. He did way worse to me every morning when he was travelling with us.”

“I missed you so much Rosie!” Jack was delighted, notably with how the Doctor was looking chastised.

But she looked ready to cry as she turned to him. “Oh Jack I am so sorry for what I did to you. I would totally understand if you hate me forever.”

Jack thought about doing a kip, joking about how she loved this handsome face so much that she wanted to keep it forever. But as he looked into her eyes he realised the guilt was eating her up. So he smiled gently, taking her face into his hands with so much care.
“Rose, if not for you I would have been dead a long time ago. You cared enough to bring me back. Twice. Never say sorry for loving me enough.”

Without a word she hugged him again, pressing her whole body against him with so much force he staggered, almost toppling them on the floor.

After almost a minute, and deciding he liked to stay alive with how the Doctor was looking at him, the probability of this was decreasing with each moment, he pushed her back gently, still smiling like a supernova. “I thought you were stuck in an alternate universe! That’s what the Doctor told me! How did you find your way back?” He was delighted to have her back, even more than that, but he remembered the Doctor's face when he confessed that Rose would forever be lost to him. It had been true heartbreaks.

The Doctor snickered as Donna mumbled something unintelligible in the background.
“So…I used a time hopper to get through dimensions when that side of the universe started dying. I wanted to find the Doctor so the multiverse could be saved and…” To his amazement she blushed. “My hopper burned and I got stuck.”

“So you found the Doctor?” he asked with some curiosity, so far everything seemed quite standard for them.

But Donna was done with the game and interrupted loudly. “Ask her what year she ended up stranded.”

Jack turned to Rose, one eyebrow up and she sighed. “The sixties…”

It took a few seconds for him to click but then his eyes widened. “No way! You are immortal too?”

But the Doctor bursted his bubble instantly. “No, she is not, Jack. I would have felt it.” He understood the underlying, she was not stuck in Time like him, and was not grating on the Doctor like he had told him so nicely years ago. “She tied herself to the TARDIS.”

“And almost gave him a heart attack when he realised she could live longer than him,” snickered Donna, as she remembered his face in that kitchen. Shocked was an understatement.

The ex Time agent frowned. “You can do that? Isn’t that dangerous?” He loved the TARDIS, flirting with her had always been fun and she always reciprocated in some ways. Even if it was by some weird ways like giving him a bigger shower or making sure every room he would enter would smell lovely. It had driven the Doctor spare. But he knew she was also a machine and something far too dangerous to cross. So tidying yourself to something that had so many different dimensions? Bound to end in disaster.

Rose sent a guilty look to the Doctor who looked a bit exasperated at the question. “Of course it’s dangerous. And nobody was ever able to do that, until you.” He turned to Rose but his gaze softened. “Decided to open her heart and become a goddess of Time for a few minutes.”

She smiled fully, clearly in full flirt mode. “I didn’t hear you complaining at the time.”

“If you guys turn this into a shag wagon, I swear to God that I will ask to go home until it’s out of your systems. That’s a promise," interrupted Donna before they started to forget she and Jack were here. Well mostly herself, Jack seemed to be treating that moment like it was the best day of his life.

“Sorry Donna,” Rose and the Doctor both replied sheepishly . “Ok, we need to find where…” continued the Doctor but he was interrupted by the TARDIS completely losing power, directly followed by the console room tilting with a jerk. “They've got us. Power's gone. Some kind of chronon loop,” he said sombrely, as all four of the occupants had to brace themselves on the different coral columns.

“There's a massive Dalek ship at the centre of the planets,” Jack said as they felt the Time Machine being manually moved. “They're calling it the Crucible. Guess that's our destination.”

“So if what Rose said is right and they are going to destroy everything. Why bring us on board?” As always Donna was asking the right questions and the Doctor could not be more proud of his best friend.

“Excellent question Donna! Davros probably wants us to witness the death of everything before killing us all,” he said with one of his biggest smiles and Rose felt the urge to facepalm once again. Tact and the Doctor never meshed well.

With the face that the redhead was making, she was not the only one thinking that. “Thank you Spaceman, you really know how to reassure a lady.” The sarcasm was so strong, even Jack had to turn his head to not laugh.

Unfortunately the moment was broken by the sound of them hitting solid ground.

After a beat of silence the Doctor sighed, already defeated. “We need to get out before they force us to.”

“Can you use the extrapolator shielding like that time we rescued Rose?” Jack asked as he looked at his teleport. But it had been deactivated at the same time as the TARDIS.

“No. Last time we fought the Daleks, they were scavengers and hybrids, and… mad. But this is a fully-fledged Dalek Empire at the height of its power. Experts at fighting TARDISES. They can do anything. Right now, that wooden door is just wood.” He looked in turn at Donna, Rose and Jack. And he knew deep down that it was it. It was the end, nothing he could do. His hearts squeezed inside him with painful force.

“So we go out together?” asked Rose with more assurance that she felt. And anger. She had fought and battled for decades, hoping it was not for nothing and she could help save the universe. The Wolf had been part of her all this time, screaming side by side with her, showing her power even in Time when it had torn her apart. And for what? Nothing. Even with all her pleading, focusing with all her might and pushing her feelings conscientiously to the limit…Not even a stir. She was all alone.

As the Daleks were screaming their threat outside, all four of them only had eyes for each other.

The Doctor tried to smile but it was clearly forced, the unshed tears making his eyes shine. “It’s been good, though, hasn't it? All of us. All of it. Everything we did.” He turned to Donna, crushing her brutally into a hug that the redhead reciprocated instantly. “You were brilliant.” His gaze found Jack above his best friend's head. “And you were brilliant.” He released Donna and in two steps he was in front of Rose. They both reached out to each other at the same time, kissing like they knew it would be the last time, feeling their tears on their face. “My hearts beat for you.” he whispered against her mouth, saying it once again in Gallifreyan as she nodded fervently. No other words were needed. They knew.

Jack waited for the couple to separate and he hugged Rose in turn, trying to convert everything he felt for the blonde that had been as close as family. She tried to move back but was stopped by the redhead, who took her hands with a wobbly smile. They had become fast friends, and neither was regretting this incredible friendship, they just wanted more time.

“Ok team. We go together,” Jack said, his body tense and rigid. “I will not let a Dalek have the last word.”

Donna nodded, already moving to the door. “The last one out pays for lunch.”

The Doctor was already almost out, his face now a blank mask of fury. He was ready.

And when they got out, it was as one team. Team TARDIS.

Chapter Text

When they got out of the TARDIS, they were faced by an army of Daleks and even the Doctor took a step back under the surprise.

“Daleks reign supreme. All hail the Daleks!” they chanted loudly in unison. The litany repeated in turn by each Daleks that were flying all around them. How many were there? Thousands? Millions?

“What are we gonna do?” whispered Donna as she looked around with a frightened look. She heard of the Daleks but seeing them was a different story.

But no one had an answer for once. And that terrified Donna even more when she looked at her best friend who was clutching Rose's hand with the desperation of a dying man.

“Behold, Doctor. Behold the might of the true Dalek race,” screeched the Supreme Dalek as they were pushed to move forward by the others that were surrounding them. As they walked, Jack stuck close to the others, making sure they were the only one hearing him.

“Alright listen, in ten seconds I am going to fake making a run for it, and they will kill me. If I remember how they work they will try to dispose of me and I will be free to find something in the back-end.”

Both Donna and Rose looked horrified. “It‘s not going to hurt you?” Rose asked quietly. She knew he was immortal, but it was bound to be painful.

He chuckled but it was without humour. “Oh yes, it hurts a lot. Ok, wish me luck!” And without another word he bolted, but as soon as he broke out of the group, three daleks shot at him, making him scream in pain before he slammed against the floor.

“Jack!” Rose screamed in reflex, but she was pushed back by the Doctor before she had time to move. She knew he was probably alive again but it was still horrible to see.

“Dispose of him,” the Supreme Dalek commanded, his metallic voice having no inflection. “And escort the others to the Vault.”

As they continued walking they heard the thud of Jack's body being sent somewhere, and Donna's heart broke a little bit. She knew him for only a few minutes, but she felt nothing but pride for him. Maybe they had a small chance, but at what price for Jack?

Unfortunately when they entered the vault, they came face to face with Davros, who looked even more disgusting from up close. And with the sound that Rose just made, she was not the only one thinking it.

“Doctor and his companions,” he greeted them with a guttural voice that revulsed Donna even more. “Activate the holding cells.” They suddenly felt like an electric current went through them as a shimmering light engulfed them. The Doctor tried to move but the barrier stopped him head on. “Excellent. Even when powerless, a Time Lord is best contained.” Davros gloated, as he spanned around them.

“Still afraid of me I see,” snarled the Doctor, barely containing his rage as Rose saw his hand spasm from the repressed emotions.

But Davros didn’t react to the taunting, merely going from one side to the other, like he was waiting for something. “Oh no, but it is time we spoke, Doctor. It's been so long.”

“Not long enough,” the Doctor spat, looking around with angry eyes. “But I am curious about something. The Supreme Dalek said Vault, yeah? As in dungeon, cellar, prison.” He feigned indifference, like he was pondering on something. But Rose knew better. “You're not in charge of the Daleks, are you? They've got you locked away down here in the basement like what… A servant? Slave? Court jester?”

The face Davros made told the Doctor that he had touched a sensible point. “We have an arrangement…But enough of that.” He turned to Donna and the Rose. “So the one that travelled between parallel universes, and the one that found him twice. Interesting.”

“How do you even know that?” Donna asked angrily. She was terrified deep down, but she refused to show it to this disgusting excuse of a humanoid.

A part of the room suddenly lit up, showing the Dalek full of wires they saw on the screen back in the TARDIS. Rose would have felt pity for it if she was not busy being outraged. “It was foretold,” continued Davros, clearly not caring about their reaction while seeing Caan. “Even the Supreme Dalek would not dare to contradict the prophecies of Dalek Caan.”

“Fire and death!” said the mad voice of Dalek outside of his protective structure. “The endless flames, it’s coming.”

Rose looked briefly at the Doctor, who was busy incinerating Davros with a stare. “He looks like the Dalek we saw at Van Staten.”

“It’s not him,” the Doctor replied with a clipped tone, still refusing to look at anything but Davros. “He is the last of the Cult of Skaro, one that was part of the Genesis Ark in Canary Wharf. But it flew into the Time War unprotected.”

“Caan did more than that,” interrupted a gleeful Davros. “He saw time. Its infinite complexity and majesty, raging through his mind. And he saw you, all of you.”

“This I have foreseen, in the wild and the wind,” shrieked the grating voice of the mad Dalek. “The Doctor will be here at the end of it all. Witnessing its return and weeping in fear!” It started to rock back and forth, lost in its vision. “The Doctor's soul will open and scream!”

“What does that even mean?” asked Rose as the Doctor blanched.

Davros turned to smile at her and she wished he didn’t. “We will discover it together. Our final journey. Because the ending approaches. First a test and then…I have something planned for you, Doctor.” The maniacal look in his eyes was full of insanity, and it spurred the Doctor to try to fight once again, but it was unfortunately short lived as the containment field didn’t budge. He really hoped Jack was able to find something because it was getting bleaker by the second.

Two of the screens turned on, one showing a holding area full of humans and the other all the planets aligned. “And now, behold! The apotheosis of my genius,” as he pronounced the last word, both the holding area and the planets started to glow.

The Doctor paled and suddenly jumped, punching the holding cells with force. “That's Z-neutrino energy. Flattened by the alignment of the planets into a single string. No, Davros. Davros, you can't! You can't! No!” he screamed in vain. And to their horror, all the humans vanished at the same time.

“What happened?” screamed Donna. “Doctor, what happened?”

But the Doctor had no words to say. Unfortunately for them Davros did. “Electrical energy, Miss Noble. Every atom in existence is bound by an electrical field. The Reality bomb cancels it out. Structure falls apart. That test was focused on the prisoners alone. Full transmission will dissolve every form of matter.”

“So I was right, you are destroying the multiverse,” Rose said with sadness. And the Doctor was right too, they were here to witness, before being destroyed in turn.

The voice of the Supreme Dalek interrupted them. “External transmission coming through.” And as he said those words, the face of Martha Jones appeared on screen.

“Doctor!” Her face looked relieved to see him. “I am so sorry, I have the Osterhagen Key.” She turned her gaze to Davros, frowning with determination. “So leave this planet and those people alone!”

“Martha I missed you!” Rose called out at the same time as Donna screamed, “I am so happy to see you!” Making it a cacophony of words for Martha, who looked thankful to see them.

The Doctor however seemed to be a mix of fearful and anxious. He opened his mouth to ask about what Martha meant with that, but for a second time the supreme Dalek interrupted,
“Second transmission. Internal.”

And to everyone’s surprise, Jack's beaming face appeared too. “Captain Jack Harness! Don't send in your goons, or I'll set this thing off.” He was showing off a small stone that was wired to all parts with cables. And to Rose's shock, someone else was behind him.

“Mom? Mom!” she screamed, hitting the field with everything she had. “Oh my god Mickey!”

The Doctor looked at her with pleading eyes, knowing whatever happens, either from Martha or Jack, they will not get out alive. And it was excruciating for him that Rose had waited decades for this moment and it was for nothing. “I am sorry, Rose.” He turned his attention back to Jack. “Where did you get that?”

“From me,” said the voice of Sarah-Jane as she appeared on screen. “We had no choice. We saw what happened to the prisoners.”

Davros seemed even more pleased to see this face from the past. “Oh but that’s even better. I have one last present for the Doctor before presenting my final victory, and what’s better than having his companions to witness it!” Before they could react, they were all transmatted into the room, making them sprawl on the floor under the shock.

“Don’t move!” the Doctor yelled. “All of you, stay as still as possible!” As soon as he finished speaking, they were all engulfed in the same forcefield as Donna, Rose and the Doctor.

“Mom!” Rose's voice was agony. She had not seen her mom for so long. “What are you doing here?”

“You disappeared.” Jackie was crying as she looked at her daughter. “After your last jump six months ago we could not find you. I had to!”

Donna wanted nothing more than to take her friend into a hug and she never felt so useless. She could not even say goodbye to Lee or her grandad. Or even her mom. She will die here and will witness the end of the universe. She prayed but she knew it was for nothing. And as she looked at the faces of everyone around her, she knew they all had that same thought. It was over, the Dalek had won.

“Perfect!” gloated Davros as he stared at everyone in turn. “The Doctor and all his companions, all gathered as witnesses for my final gift before witnessing the end of everything.” Behind him a screen turned on, showing the TARDIS in all its glory. “See your soul Doctor and prepare to weep, as the prophecy foretold.”

The Doctor gasped with horror as a trap below the TARDIS opened, letting the Time Machine drop into an unknown precipice. Every human in the room felt their heart break at the same time as another screen turned on, showing the TARDIS fall into a pool of what looked like lava.

“What…What have you done?” he uttered, his face had lost all his colours.

“It’s Z-neutrino energy in its purest form. Watch as your precious Time Machine is destroyed!” The laugh that came out of Davros was horrifyingly gleeful.

As they all started to scream at the same time, all hurling insults, promise and threat, making it a cacophony of words and sounds, no one paid attention to Rose. All, except one person.

“Oh my god! Rose! Doctor, what’s happening with Rose!” Jackie screamed, louder than the rest, making all the companions turn at the same time. And to the Doctor's absolute terror, she was slumped against the protective barrier, her head in her hands.

“She is linked to the TARDIS!” Donna suddenly remembered with panic. “Doctor! She is linked to the TARDIS!”

But the Doctor was not listening as he was throwing punches and kicks against the barrier, throwing everything, including the sonic at it. Repeating Rose's name again and again. He could not lose her, not both of them at the same time.

Rose didn’t hear any of them as the TARDIS screamed inside her mind, thrashing and destroying every block and hurdle in its way. She knew she could not contain it, the TARDIS disappearing in the molten core had left her completely open and the Wolf was now baring its teeth. She had expected her, welcomed her even when she realised it was the end, but she had always been able to keep it back a bit when it got out. This time nothing was blocking it, it was completely free. She hoped she would not kill any of them.
It was the last conscious thought Rose had before being submerged by oblivion.

“It has awakened!” Caan screamed in glee as both Martha and the Doctor gasped. The only two who had witnessed Rose in that state and realised what it meant.

“Rose! Let it go! Please let it go!” yelled the Doctor, his distress radiating all around him. “Please Rose!”

“Why would I let it go, now that I am finally free?” said the ethereal voice of the Bad Wolf as she walked through the barrier like it was made of nothing. “I've been waiting for this day since the very beginning.” She smiled gently as light bled around her, making the Doctor shield himself, tears already falling as he knew he was stuck there. He could not go to her, this time he could not save her.

One of the Daleks fired behind her, and she stopped it with just a wave. She didn’t even turn around as it turned to dust while screaming.

“She knew this day was coming, you know,” she continued like nothing happened. “She prepared for it. Every time I was left free, even for just a few seconds, she knew it meant the next could be the last for her.”

With a blur she was in front of Davros, who tried to back away but was stuck in place with just a hand move of Bad Wolf. “Rose Tyler would lay down her life for this planet if it means you are destroyed. And unfortunately for you…I am Rose Tyler.”

Davros was silent. Paralysed in fear, as she gazed at him, the tendrils of Time swirling around her. Every time he opened his mouth, only a gargle was able to come out. The room was eerily silent if not for the voices of her companions pleading her name in the background, begging her to come back. But it meant nothing for her, the Doctor needed to be safe. She was here for a mission.

Her eyes burned with power as the tendril intensified while the TARDIS reappeared next to her. Brought back by the eternal link that was joining them. The one that transformed Rose into the person she was now in that instant. She didn’t even have to look at them, those who the mortal part of her considered her family. She knew each of them, their destiny, life and death. And they needed her to make sure those possibilities would come to pass.
Empowered by her choice, her calling, she had one last feral smile to the Dalek petrified around her and with only a turn of her head, they all disappeared. Gusts in the wind as their voices died with them.

The Doctor was still screaming her name, his voice breaking under the strain but Rose, or Bad Wolf, was not done. And when she reappeared in front of Dalek Caan he looked at her with something akin to awe and relief.

“Your voice, the prophecy!” He said in a hushed voice that looked almost comical on him. “You came, I saw your return! End it! End this cursed knowledge and the race of the Dalek! I saw everything!” To everyone's horror they could hear the tears in the voice of the insane Dalek, who asked again and again to be destroyed.

The smile on Rose became gentle, as her eyes lost some of her light. “I will grant you your wish, Dalek Caan. You were not made for this knowledge, and know this race of the Daleks will die and you with it.” She made a flourish of movement and all the screen around them turned on, showing every fleet die one by one as they dissipated with great pain. “Now you can go.” When he turned to dust it was without a sound, his unique eyes closing with solace, a silent thank you on his marred face.

That was it. The universe, and all the others, have been saved. The Bad Wolf had ended the Daleks once again, putting the timelines back on track and now as she looked back to the Doctor, she felt the tinge of her human vessel.

“Rose please,” cried the Doctor, as the words were repeated by both Jackie Tyler and Jack Harkness. The others were too devastated to say words, looking at their friend, family, being overtaken by a power more infinite and destructive than anything they could even think of. Seeing the people that have loved her the longest plead for her life, as she looked at them hauntingly beautiful.

“Oh, Doctor, I’ll do everything to keep you safe.” Rose smiled as tears were falling on her face. “Time will always follow his Champion.” She turned to Jack who looked at her with begging eyes and she knew what the child of the Universe was asking. “You have a path to follow, Man of Boe. The universe will need you, and I am sorry to have burdened it with you. But Rose…” she stopped for a second. “I could not let your light extinguish.” She tried to say something else but stumbled, her legs suddenly too heavy for her. They all yelled at the same time, making it hard for her to understand as the pounding in her head became almost unbearable. As she screamed, the light poured out of her, disappearing back into the TARDIS with a woosh, making all the electricity in the room fizzle out and all the containment chambers turned off at the same time.

The Doctor was the first one to scramble next to Rose's body who was out cold.
“I need to bring her to the infirmary!” he said urgently as he took her into his arms. Jackie and Mickey were hovering around him but were thankfully moved by Sarah-Jane that herded them near the TARDIS. Jack had already opened the door, letting the Doctor run inside without interference.

“It’s like that day in Messaline,” Martha said as Donna moved next to her. “You remember when she lost in Cobb? When I almost had to jump on her back to calm her down?”

Donna nodded. Rose had been quite terrifying that day.

“That’s what happened,” continued Martha. “She became Bad Wolf.” Her friend looked surprised. “Yeah I promised I would not tell anyone. She said she was here for something. And I think that something was today.” They stayed in silence for half a minute. “Do you think I should have told the Doctor?” she finally asked, terrified she had condemned her friend to death by staying silent.

“No. If not for her we would all be dead. The Doctor will forgive you, and Rose will get better. I don’t think the Doctor would accept anything else.” She took the younger doctor's elbow and pushed. “Let’s get inside, before everyone decides to lose their cool and do something they regret.”

As they walked to the TARDIS, Martha asked the question that had been burning her since she saw how the Doctor had been looking at Rose in that cell. “So how did you finally got them together?”

Donna laughed, hard. “So many discussions, at least one slap, another version of the Doctor and lots of patience.”

She faltered a step. “You are kidding.” But Donna's smile was smug. “What do you mean another version of the Doctor?”

But before she could respond, and explain how bizarre their Time Lord friend was, the Doctor ran back out, Jack on his heels. “I need to reverse the pull of the different planets before they lose their atmosphere completely. Please scream if Rose wakes up! I should not be more than five minutes!” He turned slightly and frowned. “Jack hurry up!”

Fortunately for them, the infirmary was right next to the console, and was looking bigger than the last time they had to stop there. As with both of them now inside, it made six people in the room, not including the two that had run out.

“You’re Rose’s mom right?” Donna asked the woman who looked like an older version of Rose.

But the woman had eyes only for the silent form on the gurney. “Is my daughter going to be okay?”

“She is Rose, of course she is going to be ok,” the man next to her said fiercely, that Martha supposed was called Mickey. “She travelled between dimensions loads more times than any of us. And she found the Doctor, all by herself!”

“I found her first technically.” Smiled Martha, trying to lighten the atmosphere. “Also, I am a doctor, a real one. And the reading I am seeing on the screen shows she is sleeping.”

A collective sigh could be heard as the room relaxed as the news. She was alive.

“What happened back there?” Sarah-Jane asked as she was looking at Rose with something akin to fear. “The amount of power…”

Donna shrugged, trying to make it less important than it was. “She opened the heart of the TARDIS. So now she is sharing her essence with the TARDIS.”

“She what?” Sarah-Jane, Jackie and Mickey all said at the same time. “Hold on, can we open the heart of the TARDIS?” continued Sarah-Jane as she tried to remember what her Doctor had said about it. She had vague memories of him insisting it was the most dangerous part of the time machine and to never approach it. So opening it?

“Not something I recommend. The Doctor told me the only reason she didn’t die was because both her and our Time Machine had a common goal. Plus a closed time loop. I have to say I stopped listening at that point,” added Donna, realising she was probably the only one here with enough information.

The Doctor chose that moment to enter. “She basically became a Time goddess and almost died burning out while using the power. That’s why I regenerated.”

Jackie straightened out, ready to either scream at the Doctor or hug him, but she was interrupted by Rose suddenly straightening up, her eyes terrified and breath ragged.

“Did I hurt anyone?” She grabbed the closest arm she could find, which belonged to Mickey. “Please did I hurt anyone?” she pleaded as she was rapidly going into a panic attack.

The Doctor slid next to her before anyone could see him move, grabbing her face to make sure she was looking at him. “Calm down, you didn’t touch anyone that was in the room. You saved the universe. Rose, you saved it,” he said with as much force as he could. “The Daleks are dead and you saved everyone else. Now I need to check you over, ok? I need to make sure you are not hurting yourself.”

She swatted him away, annoyed by all the machines around. “I am ok, Doctor. She didn’t hurt me and…” she suddenly realised who was next to the Doctor. “Mom!” She jumped out, hugging her mom with all her might. “I missed you so much mom!”

“I missed you too!” sobbed Jackie as she crushed her daughter with everything she had. “I thought you were dead! Six months. No contact, nothing!”

“Look, we need to move the Earth back to its original place, the computer burned out before we could send her back. So it will need to be manual. And I need all of you.” He turned to Jack who was smiling like a loon. “Put everyone around the console, we need to make sure we do it right.” As he nodded he turned to the rest of the group. “It will take us a few hours to return them all back so we will definitely have time to talk.” He looked at Rose pointingly. She had some explaining to do to both the Doctor and Jackie.

As they walked into the console room, she sighed. It was going to be a very few long hours for her. But at least everyone was safe.

Chapter Text

The moment she entered the room, everyone fell silent, and Rose could not decide if they were looking at her with fear or curiosity. However, their silence was telling; they were clearly afraid of approaching her, keeping their distance from her. But she refused to be intimidated. She saved them all. Bad Wolf had waited for this for so long, and she would never renounce her longest companion. Not for anyone in the room. So she clenched her jaw and walked with her head held high. She could do this.

She was ready to fight. Her body tense and taunt as she expected the attack from them, because she was now an anomaly, someone not to be trusted as Bad Wolf had probably killed once again. But before she could do a step, she was suddenly swarmed by Jack, Martha and Mickey, who jumped on her with a scream of joy that resonated around the console room.

“Oh my god, I thought I was looking at you dying in front of my eyes!” screamed Jack, as he squeezed the breath out of her, startling her at the same time.

“Never do that again babe, don’t scare me like that!” continued Mickey with tears in his eyes, his face disappearing in her shoulder as Martha tried to push him off, hoping to gain access to her friend as Jack was taking most of her space.

“You almost made me regret not saying anything.” Smiled Martha, but it was wobbly, as if eaten by guilt. “I would never have forgiven myself if you hadn’t come back.” She hugged from the side, and she could hear her sniffing in her ears. Rose had no idea how to react, her who had expected violence.

She had to push Jack back, forcing air back into her lungs as she struggled to breathe with all of them on her. Her coughing intensified as Mickey seized the opportunity to shift slightly, crushing her with his entire weight and pushing her back to the floor. Fortunately, the Doctor intervened, gently pushing them aside until he could help Rose in standing up again. As she looked up at him, slightly dizzy, she was surprised by the pain she saw in his eyes. More than ever, she wondered what had happened to Bad Wolf, if it was worse than she had expected.

“What have I done?” she finally asked, taking in her surroundings. To her astonishment, the fear in the eyes of those around her began to transform into pride and sadness. Even her mother openly shed tears as she approached her, eventually reaching her and enveloping her in a warm hug, as if she were a little girl once again. She hugged her back, the ache of not seeing her mother for so long overwhelming her.

“You saved everyone, Rose. The Daleks are gone,” the Doctor said, his voice tense and his eyes moist, as if he were trying to hold back tears. “I thought you were going to die. If Bad Wolf hadn’t left, I…” The way he looked at her, his voice breaking, broke her heart. With her free arm, she grabbed him and pulled him into a three-way hug.

“Come here you big lump,” Jackie said as she shifted until they could all hug comfortably. “Thank you for taking care of my daughter,” she added, her voice soft, making sure they would be the only ones hearing it.

“Too bad Tony is not here,” Donna said to Martha, sniffing as she looked at the happy family together. She knew how much Rose had missed her mom and even if the Doctor hadn't said a word, she knew he did as well. He had been a mess when she had found him the first time. And now, seeing them finally reunited. It was incredible, she was so happy for her best friend. The alien that had been too lonely for too long.

“Who is Tony?” asked Sarah-Jane with curiosity. She had stayed silent until now, not wanting to interrupt what was clearly a long awaited reunion between Rose, her friends and family. She really liked Rose, but she knew they were not close friends, even if she had thousands of questions. And so many were around the fact she had been the equivalent of a God, capable of destroying Daleks with just a hand movement. It was both scary and terrifying in her eyes. But she saved them all, she could never be more grateful.

“Her son,” Martha said absently, not realising the impact of her words, too busy smiling at the happy moment. Knowing that Rose and the Doctor were finally together made her feel all warm inside. It had been a very long time coming.

“Her what?” three voices screamed in unison, causing Martha to blink in surprise. She realised what she had just said. Turning to Donna with frightened eyes, she saw that the redhead had already taken a step back, her hands high in the air, as if telling her she was on her own.

“What did you do?” Jackie screamed, pushing the Doctor until he stumbled against the console. “How could you do that to my baby!” As she started to hit him in the shoulder, Rose noticed the room had descended into chaos. Jack and Mickey were shouting over each other, Sarah-Jane stared at him in shock, and her mother had stopped pummelling the Doctor and was now screeching. Without hesitation, Rose whistled loudly, causing everyone to freeze in their tracks.

“Everyone, calm down!” she yelled in her best ‘UNIT colonel’ voice. “Mom, stop hitting him. He’s not even the dad.” Before Mickey and Jack could respond with what she knew they would say, she turned to them and said, “No, it’s not anyone else either.” They both fell silent, their mouths clamped shut. She knew them too well. “He’s technically my son, but he’s essentially someone who was born fully grown from my DNA.”

Sarah-Jane was the one that looked the most surprised. “And I thought getting a son grown from an alien was a unique experience.” Donna sent a surprised look. “Long story…” She grimaced, not really sure how she could explain Luke without a two hour explanation. Fortunately Donna just shrugged. The joy of traveling with the Doctor, nothing surprises you anymore.

“Where is he? Where is my grandson?” Jackie demanded, looking around her, like she expected Tony to jump from a corner. “Wait, you called him Tony?” she said, noticing his name, blinking with astonishment.

“Well technically he called himself Tony,” said the Doctor trying to be helpful. But it only seemed to confuse everyone as they all looked at him like he was barmy.

“So many things I want to say,” Jack joked as he was elbowed by Martha, making him grunt under the pain.

“Do we have time to grab him?” asked Rose, she knew seeing her mom and Mickey would only be temporary, they lived now in the other universe. And she didn’t want them to never see Tony before leaving, they deserved to know him. At least once. “I know we have to send back the Earth but…” The look she sent him was heartbreaking, like she knew already she was on borrowed time with her family.

At first, the Doctor didn’t want to say yes. Earth only had oxygen for another day or two, and they couldn’t leave it like that, especially with the wall closing down. But as he looked into Rose’s eyes, he realised she knew this. She just wanted some last memories with them, and his hearts broke into a thousand pieces for her. Cursed to lose everyone, just like him. So pushing back on what rationality was telling him to do, he smiled. Hoping it would be enough. “If we just take a few minutes, we can do it. But he will need to come with us. We can’t stay here for long. The…” he didn’t know how to say it, but he didn’t need to.

“I know,” she finished for him. “The walls are closing, and we only have a few hours at most. If the weapon was never fired, the walls were never open in the first place.” She smiled sadly, and he understood she had expected to never see her family again when she had launched herself into that mission. His fearless Rose. He wanted to hug her, but he knew if he started now he would never be able to let go. 

Instead he turned to the others, his face blank and resolute. “I want everyone around the console.” He turned to Jackie. “Please grab that lever.” He pointed to a blue one. “And you,” he said to Mickey. “The green button.” He placed himself in front of one of the panels while everyone else confusingly put themselves around him. “When I say go, you all push or press what’s in front of you and Jackie and Mickey, don’t let go of it. You are the materialisation sequence.” He waited a second, making sure they had all listened to him. “Go!” As one they all followed his lead, making sure to press when he said and push when he asked. For once, the jump was so smooth they barely felt it. Something that Jack pointed at quite enthusiastically. Remembering quite a few bumpy travels with the Doctor.

“It’s because a TARDIS is made for a full crew,” said the Doctor, his voice neutral and bland. Not letting the pain of another part of his culture lost to the War reflect on the others. “That’s why it tends to be quite intense.” Before he could add another word, they gently touched down, the room only very so slightly trembling. “You both,” he said in Jackie and Mickey's direction. “You can let it go, we’re here.”

“So it really did something?” Mickey asked to no one in particular as everyone walked to the door with some trepidation. “That’s a first.”

“Shut up, Mickey!” Rose sing-songed as she opened the door, causing her oldest friend to protest loudly. However, every word she wanted to say died down in her throat as she was greeted by the smiling face of her son, who had been waiting for them outside the TARDIS. Like he had been expecting them.

Before he could say a word, she grabbed him, hugging him desperately. She had been certain she would never see him again when she was in that ship, Daleks all around them. It had been one of her rare regrets, the fact she had not been able to say goodbye to him. But he was here, still as beautiful as the day they left him here and very much alive. “Hey mom.” he whispered against her hair. “I’m so happy to see you,” he continued as she tried her best to crush him with her love.

“Tony!” the Doctor exclaimed happily. He could hear Jackie protest loudly from inside the TARDIS as he had forcefully pushed everyone inside and closed the door on their faces. But as he hugged both Rose and Tony simultaneously, he felt certain that he had made the right decision. He understood that everyone wanted to meet him, but he believed that Rose needed that moment just for them before he was swept away with the rest of them. He also needed a moment for himself. He may not have been his dad but that didn’t lesser his love for him. And as the hug was reciprocated with enthusiasm, he felt his hearts squeeze inside his chest. 

“Doctor! So happy to see you too.” Smiled Tony above Rose's head. “I know we don’t have a lot of time but thank you,” he added as his eyes softened, visibly happy to have his mom in his arms. “I really missed this.”

Rose finally took a step back, discreetly wiping the tears that had fallen when she had felt her son in her arms. “Yeah sorry, I want you to meet some people but we are a bit pressed by time.”

He shrugged, as the Doctor also broke the hug and nodded in the direction of his feet, where three bags were waiting for him. “I know, I’m ready. I told you it wasn’t the last time, but this time it is.” His smile could light up the sun. “I’ve already informed the group that I’ll be away for a while, and they’ve set up a council until I return.” He pushed the Doctor lightly, who looked bewildered. “Given what Mom told me, your driving isn’t the most reliable, so I wanted to be sure.”

“How did you know? We only decided a few minutes ago,” the Doctor exclaimed, incredulous as he looked at Rose. “And why aren’t you surprised?” he added in her direction, feeling like he had missed something huge.

“Bad Wolf,” she explained, her voice trembling with sadness and resignation. “When they took my DNA, they also took a part of her with it. I knew the moment he said things he shouldn’t have known. I understand it’s just a trace, just enough to give him some…instinct when required.” She paused for a moment, unsure of how to articulate it. “So, you’re coming with us?” She knew her voice betrayed her hope, but she couldn’t help it. Perhaps finally, the universe would go in her favour for once.

He nodded, smiling brightly. “Yes. I don’t know for how long but…” For the first time since they appeared he seemed unsure of himself. “If you let me, I want to be with you. Please.”

“Of course!” cried out the Doctor, interrupting Rose without realising it with his enthusiasm. “Unfortunately, we have to go now, quite some urgent affair we have to get back to.” He grimaced, taking the Earth back would not be an easy fix. “And uh, some people are waiting for you inside, so be prepared.” He looked contrite, but Rose knew he was quite excited too to have Tony introduced to their family, especially her mom.

When the Doctor opened the door, he was greeted by the faces of the six other occupants of the TARDIS. The Time Machine chimed loudly in his mind simultaneously with everyone else asking questions. This cacophony of sounds nearly made him recoil and collide with Rose who appeared equally uncomfortable. Before he could ask everyone to be quiet, Tony entered the TARDIS, instantly silencing the room.

They all stared at him with a mixture of wonder and curiosity, his physical resemblance with Rose very obvious. As he prepared to introduce himself, smiling warmly, Jackie pushed everyone aside, her voice trembling with emotion as she lunged into a tight hug, nearly knocking him over.

“Oh, look at you! You are so handsome!” she cried out, taking his face in her hands. “He looks so much like you and my little Tony,” she added in the direction of Rose who was smiling softly. “I’m Jackie, your gran.”

As always, Tony was happy to meet more of his family, something that he had missed on Messaline. “Rose told me so much about you,” he said warmly, hugging her back. “I’m so glad we could meet.”

“Well, the Tyler family certainly has very good genes, that’s for sure,” Jack said to Mickey, who snorted in response, a bit too loudly as three pairs of eyes looked at the pair darkly. Only Tony laughed. Donna elbowed Jack, who puffed at the unexpected pain.

“One more word out of you, Jack, and I’m launching you out of the airlock,” Rose threatened as they all walked towards the console room, taking their places as they did before. “Do you want to see what happens when an immortal meets the void of space?”

Martha laughed loudly, as the Torchwood agent raised both his arms, taking a big step back, showing he was mostly joking there. Sarah-Jane, who had stayed silent until then, just sighed loudly, feeling like she was getting too old for this. Especially as the Doctor was looking at her with despair, like he was expecting her to do something.

She clapped loudly, waiting for everyone to look at her. “I propose we all go back to take the Earth where it was supposed to be and then we can all talk with Tony.” The look of gratitude that both Rose and the Doctor send her would have been laughable, if not for the fact that one of them was a multi hundreds years old alien and the other a semi goddess. Her life was so weird.

It took a few minutes, especially with Jackie refusing to let Tony go, but they finally were able to all coordinate around the console room. The Doctor never had looked happier, especially as Rose was busy laughing with Martha, as Donna was busy trying to distract Jackie from her grandson so they would fly without crashing anywhere. As always Jack and Mickey were tight as thieves, trying to push each other as they clung to their respective lever.

“You have one of the biggest families on Earth, you know,” said Sarah-Jane as she watched around with him. “I think sometimes you forget.”

“You’re right,” he agreed with some sort of melancholy, his hearts squeezing while looking at the console room that had never been this full. “Sometimes it’s just hard to look back, especially when I am so used to loss.”

She gently pushed his shoulder with hers, her eyes soft and gentle. “Something is telling me that losing is going to be something of the past.” She looked at Rose and Tony, who were now next to each other, as she explained to him which part of the console was doing what. The booming laugh of Donna cutting in the middle as Jack was now trying to hit, badly, on her.

“I hope so…” he said softly. In the next second, he was his cheerful self again. “Okay, we are now anchored back to the Earth and ready to go! We just need some more energy to give this old girl some well deserved kick back!” He turned to Jack. “Do me the honour and call Torchwood Hub.” He waited a second. “If you still know how to do it, of course.”

The ex Time agent scoffed, like the Doctor had insulted him. “For whom do you take me?” He pushed the screen on the side, clicking on a few buttons and typed something on the screen. “Torchwood Hub? Please tell me you are all still here?”

A woman appeared on screen, looking worse to wear but still in one piece. “Jack? Is that you?”

“Gwen Cooper!” he exclaimed loudly, smiling brightly. “As I live and breathe. Sorry to disappoint you but you can’t get rid of me.”

Rose walked next to the Doctor looking at the screen strangely. “Is it me or…?” she started, unsure how to ask if someone was the doppelgänger of a dead woman from their past.

He nodded, seeing what Rose wanted to ask. “Before we start, are you from an old Cardiff family by any chance?”

It was Gwen's turn to look at him weirdly. “Yeah, all the way back to the eighteen hundreds.”

The Doctor turned to Rose with a smile, a smile she gladly returned. “Spacial genetic multiplicity.” She laughed as he looked very proud of himself. He turned back to the screen, his expression more serious. “Anyway. I need you to open up the Rift and send me all the energy my way.” He clicked on something. “Just send you the manipulator sequence. Should only last a few minutes, not enough to destabilise the rift and cause issues.”

“On it now sir,” said another man in the background. Jack waved at him with a grin. Making the young man blush a bit. Rose was certain a story was there but didn’t want to push.

The Doctor, completely oblivious, was already looking at Sarah-Jane. “What is your son's name again?”

She looked at him brightly, wanting nothing more than to talk about him. “Luke. He's called Luke. And the computer's called Mister Smith.”

Donna, knowing there was a story there, turned to the older woman. “Smith?” 

She just shrugged. “Very, very long story. If you are up for a cup of tea afterward, I would gladly tell the whole one.”

“Taking you up to it,” she said with finality. She loved some stories.

“Is mum there?” the young man asked the moment he appeared on screen. He didn’t look much older than fourteen.

Sarah-Jane put herself in front of the screen, a wobbly smile on her face. “I’m here Luke, I’m fine.” The young man looked relieved.

But the Doctor didn’t have time, each minute that passed was one more chance for the Earth to fail. “Sorry to interrupt but Mister Smith, I want you to harness the Rift power and loop it around the Tardis. You got that?”

“I regret that I will need remote access to Tardis base code numerals,” said the metallic voice of the computer.

“Oh! K9, send the code to Mister Smith please!” exclaimed Sarah-Jane with some trepidation, happy to be of help.

It took only a few seconds for everything to be transferred, opening the energy line toward the TARDIS.

This time, the Doctor looked very serious, and everyone straightened up, even Jackie, who had finally let Tony go. “Now then, you lot,” he began, pointing to them one by one. “Sarah, hold that down. Mickey, you hold that. Rose?” He turned to his partner, who was already pushing the lever he needed to start the sequence. “Martha, keep that level.” The young doctor nodded enthusiastically, having always wanted to help fly the Time Machine. “Jack, there you go. Steady that. Jackie and Tony, I want you to push those two buttons the moment I start the sequence. Donna, please make sure everyone doesn’t let go of their place.” The redhead nodded. “We’ve got the Torchwood Rift looped around the Tardis by Mister Smith, and we’re going to fly Planet Earth back home. Right then. Off we go.” The moment he said those words, everyone pressed, pushed, and pulled their respective part. 

The TARDIS illuminated brightly, its flashing lights radiating joy as they all felt the Earth being pulled out of the Medusa Cascade. Initially, the journey was bumpy, causing them to wobble in place, but it eventually stabilised. Donna carefully monitored their movements, ensuring they didn’t release too early. Making the Doctor smile in the background, trying to keep this image to memory.

It took a minute, but they finally hit the automatic path flight, something that for once was set off without an itch. And as he told the group that, they all cheered at once, hugging each other and embracing with joy. 

As they all broke into small groups, earnestly chatting with each other, and for some with those people on the screens, Rose walked to the Doctor, who had retreated near the entrance.

“Are you okay?” she asked softly as he looked melancholically toward Tony who was busy explaining something to Jackie, Mickey and Martha, who seemed captivated by him.

“I wish I could keep them all,” he finally said after a moment of silence. “I know it’s only temporary but…” He shocked up on the last word, looking away guiltily. 

But Rose would have none of that, hugging him until she felt him relax against her. “We still have most of them. Jack is going to be in Cardiff, Sarah-Jane and Martha in London, Donna and Tony are staying with us…” She didn’t say it, but she knew her mom and Mickey would have to go back to where they were and she was not coping well with that. Refusing to say it out loud.

It was his turn to hug her. “I’m sorry Rose.” He said instead. “I wish there was another solution…” He knew they had their life on the other side, something they couldn’t share. The TARDIS would never survive over there, and Rose would probably wither and die if she decided to follow. Something he could not let her do in good conscience.

“I know…” she said quietly against his shoulder. “And Doctor…”

He sighed, knowing exactly what she wanted to say. “I understand, you don’t want me to test you. But I almost lost you there if Bad Wolf hadn’t let herself out…” He would have looked at her burning in front of him, totally powerless to stop her. She would have died, and he would have been left with an empty corpse. He felt his own throat tighten. He couldn’t lose her, not now, not ever.

As she heard his thoughts she tightened the hug. “When everyone is gone and it’s just us, I let you do some tests, how does that work for you?”

He nodded, knowing perfectly well she could not see him, just feel him. “Okay. I can do that.”

After almost a minute, she pushed him back gently. “I’m sorry,” she said, her eyes already looking somewhere else. “If I only have a short time…” 

He understood what she wanted to say, and smiled sadly. “Go on, I imagine you missed her very much.”

Without another word, she walked to her mom, who was still busy gushing over Tony, who was looking slightly bewildered at the attention. “Mom?” she said, her voice trembling under the emotions.

“Oh, Rose,” Jackie exclaimed instantly, noticing the tears in her daughter’s eyes. “Come here, sweetheart.” Rose threw herself into her mother’s arms, crying with desperation. She knew that after losing her for decades, she was on the brink of losing her again. And she wasn’t ready. She had just gotten her back; she couldn’t lose her again so soon.

“Mom, I’m so sorry,” she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. She could sense the Doctor’s presence behind them, radiating sadness that only intensified her own grief. Before she could move and look for him, Mickey enveloped her in a warm embrace, enveloping her and Jackie, sensing the immense pain she was going through. 

“How long has it been for you?” He asked faintly, seeing more than she let on, understanding that it was probably more than six months for her. And she was grateful for him, to see her pain and anguish. 

“A very long time,” she finally responded, not ready to break her mother's heart. “I tried to contact back but nothing was working.”

Donna was looking at the family hugging, missing her own something fierce. She was wondering if she could ask the Doctor to at least drop by just so she could talk to them briefly, when Martha joined her, her gaze firmly on the three figures together.

“She truly went through a lot,” she said with a hint of sadness, realising the immense sacrifices she had made to save them all. A wave of shame washed over her as she recalled the anger she had harboured towards her in the beginning, and the lack of understanding she had shown for the Doctor's pain and loss. Now she understood how much this simple human had become extraordinary both for him and for humanity. If she had known.

“Yeah,” responded Donna, looking at Sarah-Jane and Tony huddling around the Doctor. “I don’t know how she did it without breaking.”

“I hope the Doctor knows how lucky he is, because she went through hell for him,” Jack added as he walked behind them, making them all jump. “You should have seen them together when he was northern and grumpy.” His eyes became dreamy. “Unfortunately nothing happened at that time.” He sighed. “And I think this one is even less keen to share than the old him. Didn’t think it was possible,” he added more as an after thought than anything, looking at how the Doctor was protective of Rose, even from a distance.

Donna snorted. “Nothing happened? Yeah, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. And he was sure as hell more possessive too. You should've seen him…Every time Rose slipped outta his sight, he looked like he might explode. Everyone is lucky I didn’t strangle him.”

Jack looked positively delighted at this. “You’ve met him? Do tell! Please tell me something happened between Rose and him, I’ve been waiting for this for literally hundreds of years.”

It was a testament of how much weirdness they had around the Doctor that nobody reacted at his words and Donna only shrugged, looking every inch of the cat that ate the canary. 
“Let’s just say that Rose was eager to bid him goodbye in a spectacular manner,” she chuckled, recalling the Doctor’s face as he was hit by that memory. “The Doctor didn’t take it well at the moment.”

Jack looked like it was the best day of his life, but before Martha or him could ask questions, the Doctor called them all over, causing everyone to gaze at him with curiosity. 

“We’re almost there, just need to press a lever and the Earth will be back where it belongs. Who wants to be the first to go back home?” he asked with a big smile, as Rose and Jackie dried their tears and still side-hugged each other.

Sarah-Jane, who had been sitting next to Tony, eagerly jumped in, clearly eager to return home. “Please! My son is alone, I need to make sure he is okay.”

“London it is!” he exclaimed with a flourish. He looked at her with a small smile, leaned in conspiratorially, and whispered, “Promise, this time it’s not Aberdeen.”

Sarah-Jane laughed loudly as he pushed on a few buttons and levers, running around the console with a huge smile on his face. On the screen, they could see the Earth returning to its original position officially saved. Each of them cheered loudly, hugging each other tightly once again. They were overjoyed to have won and to be alive. They have done it, they have saved the dimensions.

When they touched down, the older woman hugged them all one after another, giving words of advice and encouragement, making sure that even if she would leave them today, they would still keep in touch. She even gave her number to Rose again, but this time for a promise of a future visit, tea will be ready for them. She waved to all of them as she opened the door and smiled one last time, as the Doctor walked outside with her. It took him less than a minute to get back in, his smile still firmly in place. 

“Okay, who’s next?” he asked with some amusement, finally seeing this as what it was. Not an ending but a beginning.

To everyone's surprise, it was Mickey that walked forward. “Me, boss.”

Jackie looked at him dumbfounded. “But you have a life!” Already moving for the hug.

Something he returned willingly. “Yeah, that’s the thing. With my grandmother passing away and Jake still looking at me like I’m supposed to be Ricky, I think I need to start over. I had a great time in that parallel world, but now I need to do it for myself.” When he looked over to Rose, he could see the understanding in her eyes. Her understanding was more profound than anyone else’s. She knew what he was trying to say. Being in the shadow would never be enough, now he needed to be his own man. 

The Doctor however looked conflicted. “You are on the list of the dead Mickey, you will need to completely start over. New identity, new life, new everything.” He was not saying that to stop him, he was certain Rose would be delighted to have one more friend on this side of the universe. But he didn’t want the young man to get through that and regret it.

He shrugged. “I’ll find something. I’m rather resourceful.”

Jack walked to him, grabbing his shoulder with a side hug. “If you are okay working with me and my merry band of crazy, we can work out something.”

Mickey smiled broadly. “Well, you heard that Doctor? I am now working for Captain cheesecake!”

As Jackie scolded them both for their loud bickering, the Doctor initiated the new coordinate. He glanced over at Tony, who had an intriguing glint in his eyes, as if he had realised that his only family wasn’t just Rose and the Doctor. He had so many people. There and then, the Doctor made a vow: he would stop running, stop trying to erase his past. From now on, he would do his best to see those people not as reminders of his past, but as his family, who deserved to have him present. Not only for himself, but also for Rose and Tony. In a way also Donna, but he knew that one day, she will be eager to settle down, leaving them behind for her own life. And he needed to make an effort now, to not let his best friend down the day it will happen.

When Mickey and Jack battled to open the door, they all followed out, knowing they needed to say goodbye. First the Doctor looked at Martha, who had also decided to leave with Jack and Mickey here.

“Martha, get rid of that Osterhagen thing, eh?” he said with some humour, even if he was dead serious, something the young woman knew well. “Save the world one more time.”

She nodded. “Consider it done, Doctor.”

“I will miss you,” Jackie said as she hugged Mickey tightly. She looked briefly at Jack. “And take care of him okay? Don’t care if I am in another universe, I will not hesitate to slap you if I learn you are neglecting him, you hear me?” Jack looked terrified, making the Doctor and Rose snort. “You are a good one, you hear me Mickey Smith?” She grabbed his cheeks. “You are a hero and don’t let anyone say otherwise!”

“Thank you Jackie, thank you for everything,” he said with some emotions. “You took me in when nobody else wanted me. You were a better mother than my own and I will never forget that.”

“Oh shush you,” she said with tears in her eyes. “You were an easy kid to love, believe me. Now go, be a good man.”

It was Rose's turn to approach him. “I missed you, Mickey. So much,” she said as she hugged him. “If you need anything, call me. Any time, I’ll be here. Even if I have to fly the TARDIS myself.” Mickey laughed at this. “And you.” She turned to Jack, grabbing him to hug him too. “I am so glad you are alive. Take care of yourself and Mickey okay?”

“Like my own kid,” he said with humour, making Mickey protest loudly. “And I am so happy to have seen you too,” he added, emotions colouring his voice. He had missed her so damn much. “Don’t be a stranger.” He added as he looked toward the Doctor with some uncertainty. But to his surprise, and the other, the Doctor smiled brightly.

“We’ll come soon. I’m sure Rose would love to have a quiet moment without the world ending around us.” 

Before he could recover from his surprise, Tony enveloped him in a hug, grabbing him and Mickey simultaneously. He used his height to his advantage, squeezing them all into a tight group hug. “I am so happy to have met you,” he said with joy. “And I can’t wait to see you all again.” His smile turned enigmatic. “I’m sure it will be sooner than later.”

The Doctor and Rose hugged Martha in the background, telling her goodbye as well, promising it would not be the last time and they would definitely meet each other again. And as they made their way back towards the TARDIS, Jackie, with some reluctance, knew it would be her last time seeing Mickey and wasn’t ready for it, trying to commit the face of the kid she had seen grow up to memory, hoping in everything in her that he would be happy here. They waved to each other until the door closed. Leaving only one last trip.

This time, it was not with joy but sadness that he put on the last coordinate in the TARDIS, knowing it would have to say goodbye to a part of his family, and it would be even harder for Rose. Donna knew it as well, as she walked to Rose until she could take her hand.
“Are you okay?” she asked, hoping to provide some comfort however she could.

Rose smiled sadly as she looked at her mom chatting with the Doctor at the console. “No but I will be.”

This time when they touched down and walked toward the door, it was without joy and fanfare, just a general air of sadness and grief.

The Doctor was the first one out. “Dårlig Ulv Stranden. Or better known as Bad Wolf Bay.”

Jackie looked less than impressed by their destination. “Oh, fat lot of good this is,” she tutted while looking around. “Back of beyond. Bloody Norway? I'm going to have to phone your father. He's on the nursery run. Come on and grab Tony, I want him to meet them both.”

But neither Rose or Tony followed. “Mom, I can’t come with you,” she said with a tortured voice, trying her best to not break down there and there.

Jackie's step faltered, her mask of nonchalance breaking for a second. “What do you mean you can’t come? But…”

“If I stay here, I will die,” she finally said, realising she had to tell her everything now. “When I became Bad Wolf, it changed me and when I jumped universe, it changed me even more. If I stay here, I will not be able to survive. I’m sorry.”

Jackie turned to the Doctor, who had stayed quiet. “Did you know?”

“Not until recently,” he admitted reluctantly. “Rose is now…Different.” 

“I’m going to live for thousands of years,” she finally said. “Even if I stay here and live, I will outlive all of you. I’ll be alone in the end.”

Without another word Jackie embraced her, realising she was bidding farewell to her first child. The one she had watched grow up, and had been searching for the past six months. The child she had longed to bring home every day. “Oh, my baby,” she cried out, unable to bear the thought of saying goodbye. As she turned to Tony, she understood that she would not be the only one she would lose. “I only knew you for a short time, Tony,” she said, her voice trembling. “But you’re a Tyler. Never forget that. You are one of us. And I will tell everyone about you.”

Tony, who had remained joyful and impassive until then, began to shed tears. He embraced his mother and grandmother tightly, refusing to let them go. “I wish we had more time,” he said between tears.

‘I wish too," said Jackie as she looked at her grandson, who looked so much like Rose and little Tony. It was breaking her heart to know she will not see him grow old, have his own family. 

“Mom, I'm so sorry. I wish I could do more,” sobbed Rose, tightening her hold on her mom.

“Don’t say that Rose, never say that. I saw you save the universe, I’ve met my grandson. I see you being happy. That’s everything that I wanted for you. Everything.” She turned to the Doctor. “Promise me she’ll be happy with you. That my grandson will have a family and love.”

He nodded solemnly “I promise on all my lives Jackie.”

“And I will make sure Spaceman keeps it,” added Donna, her eyes surprisingly misty.

Jackie relaxed against her family, reassured that they were going to be okay. She tried to move but they refused to let her go. Rose pressed her face against her mom’s hair, while Tony grabbed them both tightly. “You will always be my little girl, and I will miss you everyday until the end of my life.” She turned to the Doctor, hoping against all hope that something could be done. “Can you come back? Even for a few minutes? Or send a message?”

He looked even more sad at those words. “No, the walls are closing. With just me left, it will be impossible to come back again, not without destroying at least an universe.”

She nodded, knowing it would have been the case. She had known that Rose was destined for bigger and better things. A spitfire since she was born. She had hoped for a quiet and happy life for her, but she was clearly for the stars, and she needed to make peace with it. So she pushed at her until she could grab her face. “Be happy, you hear me? Never forget us, but don’t stay still in grief. I made that mistake after your dad, don’t do that. You’re a not only a Tyler, you’re a Prentiss, we are made of strong stuff.” She smiled with both love and grief. “So travel the stars and make us proud. I’ll tell your brother all about how his sister is traveling the universe and saving it, don’t make me lie to him.”

‘’Mom, I don’t want to leave you,” cried Rose, she was not ready to say goodbye forever.

“I know sweetheart, but we have to,” Jackie responded, knowing a part of her heart would follow her daughter forever. “So now go, and remember that I love you. I will always love you. And Pete too. We all love you.”

“I love you too mom. So much.” She hugged her once again, knowing it was the last time. Thankfully the Doctor was there, and gently took her, making sure she would not be alone. She grabbed him instantly, crying on his shoulder.

Tony was next, his eyes teary and shining with unshed tears. And when she looked at him, she could see so much of Pete in him, it was almost painful. “You, be good,” she said as she hugged him too. “Make sure they take care of you. And never forget that your gran love you. I’m sure your grandad would too if he could see you. I’ll tell him all about you okay?”

He nodded, his words leaving him. He had known her for less than an hour, but he loved her already with so much of his heart.

“Stay with Rose and the Doctor, don’t go into too much trouble and have a great life.”

“I will gran, I promise,” he promised with emotions, the way he said those words made Jackie weep with joy, at least she had been able to be called that at least once. She will have that memory.

“Good. Now go with your mom. I’ll stay here.” She turned to the Doctor, who was looking sombrely towards them as Rose was gripping him. “Thank you Doctor. Thank you for everything. For giving me Pete back but mainly making my little girl happy. But help me god, if you leave her again I don’t care about walls and universes, I will track you down and slap you until you change face again. Understood?”

He nodded eagerly, his eyes wide and fearful, and clutched Rose with more force. “Loud and clear, Jackie.”

Satisfied, she smiled this time with more joy. “Good, now go. It’s time.”

Suddenly, Rose pushed him back, her face illuminating as she thought of something as she grabbed something from her pocket. “Wait! Take my phone. It’s my back up, It has all the pictures from my travels and some from my time with the Doctor. To have something to remember us.”

Donna grabbed that phone first. “Let me take a picture of all of you. One last memory.”

"Great idea Donna, let’s go!” said the Doctor as he grabbed Tony and Jackie, making sure they would all be gathered together. 

They took a moment to capture as many pictures as possible, leaving Jackie Tyler with cherished memories of each other. Rose took the time to explain how the phone worked to Jackie, ensuring she would never lose this connection to them. Meanwhile, the Doctor ensured that the phone was sturdy and easy to power up. But then it was finally time to leave. They knew they could still stay, but the longer they stayed, the more difficult it would become, making it almost impossible for them to be separated without further breaking their hearts. The Doctor hugged Jackie, saying his goodbye and with one last smile, took a step back, the first one of all of them.

“Ok, go now,” said Jackie, realising she needed to be the strongest for once. “It’s okay, we will be okay here.”

Reluctantly, they walked back to the Time Machine, not even once Rose and Tony looked away from Jackie who refused to budge, staying firmly on the beach, making sure they would leave without feeling guilty. Donna was the first in, waving to the Tyler matriarch with a smile. Next was the Doctor, who with misty eyes and a sad smile said his goodbye before disappearing inside. Tony hovered toward the entrance, visibly torn.

“I will never forget you, Gran. Thank you.” They exchanged a smile, refusing to shed tears for this moment. Before long, Tony was gone, leaving Rose outside alone. Rose however was crying openly.

“I love you, Mom,” she said with so much emotion. “You were the best mom anyone could ever ask for. I will never forget you, I promise. Please tell Pete how grateful I am for everything he’s done, and tell Tony that I love him from the stars and back. Okay?”

“I will sweetheart, and never forget your mom loves you. Either in ten years, a thousand or forever. You will always have the biggest part of my heart.” She could not help it, as tears ran down her cheek. “I will make sure Tony knows everything about you, absolutely everything. And never let the Doctor treat you less than you deserve. You are Rose Tyler, you saved the universes.” She forced herself to smile brightly. “I love you, go have fun! And remember…”

“Look both ways, don’t do anything stupid, and if the light comes up, it’s time to come home,” Rose finished at the same time as Jackie. The words that her mom had said every day when she was a kid made them both grin with the memories they evoked. “I promise to be good, and I’ll be back before you know it. Love you, Mom. See you later,” she said, repeating the words that little Rose had said every single time in response, knowing it was time to let go. Without another word, she turned around and entered the TARDIS. As the door closed behind her, sealing her fate, she collapsed on herself with grief. Fortunately, the Doctor was there to catch her up.

“Hey I’m here, I’m here. It’s okay, you are not alone,” he tried to soothe her with a hushed voice, as she sobbed knowing it was over, she would never see her mom ever again. “Take as much time as you need.”

“No, we need to go, please,” she said with a tortured voice. “We can’t stay here.”

He nodded and helped standing up, walking to the console as Donna and Tony kept their distance, trying to respect her grief. The moment they dematerialised, Rose sat down heavily on the jump seat, unsure on what to do now. 

“I’m sorry,” Donna said awkwardly. “Anything we can do to help?”

She shook her head, smiling sadly. “No, I just need time. I’ll be okay, I never expected to see my mom ever again, and now knowing I lost her again it’s hard. But at least this time, I was able to say goodbye.”

“She was great,” said Tony with some of the childish wonder he still has. “Looks just like you.”

“Yeah, and just as terrifying,” the Doctor said with amusement behind them. “Still haven’t found something as frightening as the Tyler slap. Great woman! Would scare the pants off a Slitheen.”

Rose couldn’t help but snort, and she noticed that the Doctor’s smile grew wider in response.

“What do we do next now?” asked Tony, unsure of the protocol, as it was his first time in the TARDIS.

“If that’s okay with everyone, I want to go see granddad, make sure all is fine for him,” said Donna, looking unsure. “I called him and he said he is good, but want to see it with my own eyes.”

“Sure.” Shrugged the Doctor. “Love to see Wilf, great man, lovely conversationalist.”

“And then we can have Tony choose?” Rose suggested as she stood and walked until she could snuggle against the Doctor, needing this form of reassurance. “First time in the TARDIS, it’s a rite of passage at that point.”

The Doctor's face illuminated as he looked at Tony who smiled in response. “True! So where do you want to go?”

He seemed to think about it for a minute before nodding to himself. “The future. Anywhere that is the future.”

The Doctor danced around the console, pushing levers and buttons before grabbing Rose and forcing her to follow, making her laugh for the first time. “So first Wilf and then the future!” He said with joy. “Anyone opposed?”

“Fine by me,” said Donna, already amused by Tony's antics as he was trying to follow the Doctor and Rose. “Just no exploding volcano or no weird monster from outer-space.”

“I’ll try my best!” he responded sarcastically. He turned to Rose with soft eyes. “So Wilf and then onward?”

She smiled back, kissing him gently as she put her hand on the same lever his hand was on. “Onward.”

They pushed that lever together.