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After the third time, they realized what was going on.
The first had been a vague, random thing one morning. It was mentioned in passing, but no one thought much of it.
The second time was a bit odder. They worried it was a side effect of that situation with the Hykalshia at the mansion, but a clean bill of health was given by both the doctor and the Doctor.
Then it was the third time.
Rose had been just a tiny little thing, at a classmate’s birthday party. Alison Montgomery. The girl’s parents had just come into quite a bit of money and it was a last hurrah, a chance to gloat before they moved out of the estate area.
They had been good friends, but by the time of Alison’s party, things were tense. Everyone was siding with the other girl to stay on her good side (and claim some of the fringe benefits for themselves). Because of that, they were all avoiding Rose like the plague. When it came time for the “couples skate”, Rose immediately knew to just slink off to the sidelines as her classmates paired up and giggled with one another.
No one saw where the man came from, but suddenly there he was. Rose’s eyes lit up as the cheerful man with the wild hair grasped her by the hand and whispered “run”. They twirled around the rink imitating figure skaters, raced one another on the long straight stretches, and generally giggled and danced past her classmates.
I watched from the sidelines and waited for the couple skate to end, for the man to leave the rink. He looked about to slink off into the shadows when I caught up with him. I grabbed his pinstriped sleeve and he whirled around, looking at me in shock.
“That was…” I trailed off, at a loss for words for once. “Thank you. That was my little girl and her father… well, it’s just me an’ her, so…”
“It was my pleasure,” the man replied in a low voice. His eyes were dark and sad. I suddenly understood.
“‘m sorry for your loss,” I said quietly, patting his arm.
I don’t remember anything else with him that day, but to be fair, I didn’t remember that happening at all until a few minutes ago.
This time, though, this time Rose texted me almost immediately.
“Mum, do you remember a man skating with me when I was at that bitchy little girl’s birthday party?”
I grabbed my phone and called the Doctor.
“I think I know what’s goin’ on,” I said as soon as he answered. He always answers my calls with a bit of a groan like I’m about to do somethin’ completely awful.
“What - what are you talking about, Jackie?” he asked, distracted. “I just got the weirdest text from Rose… I don’t really have - “
“I think you’re muckin’ about in our past,” I interrupted, pleased to have a jump on Mister I’m-a-complicated-event-in-time-and-space-and-no-I-don’t-want-to-discuss-grandchildren.
“What?” he squeaked out. “I can’t - I mean, I’ve never done that! Wellll, there was that one incident with the red bicycle at Christmas one year - “
“That was you?!”
“But other than that I’ve never willingly crossed into Rose’s or your pasts. Welll, there was the whole Pete’s death incident, but that’s not - “
“Will you shut up?!” I exclaimed. Lord, that man was a lot of work. I musta raised a saint. “I don’t mean you you, I mean the other you. I think he’s visitin’ Rose an’, I dunno, it’s like we’re rememberin’ ‘cause he just did it?”
Silence.
“Sorry, that’s stupid. We woulda remembered before, yeah? Maybe I better come in for another -”
“No.” His voice was so quiet that I almost didn’t hear him. “No, you’re… wow, Jackie, you’re actually right.”
“Don’t sound so surprised!”
“Right, sorry, it’s just…”
“It’s not a bad thing,” I added hastily, realizing that what Rose called The Martyr Complex might be rearing its ugly head. “Honestly, he just popped up and cheered Rose up a bit when she was tiny ‘s all.”
“Good… I gotta… I gotta go, Jackie, sorry.” A soft click.
I sent Rose a text tellin’ her to check on her husband, leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, sending a silent prayer up to whoever might be listening to take care of that ridiculous alien in the other universe.