Rose managed to stop running before hitting the brick wall. Jake had got to fix the kinetic energy stabilizer on the dimension canon. It wouldn't do to break her nose in a parallel universe. She braced herself against the wall and took several deep breaths, until her head had stopped spinning and her heart had slowed down.

"Eew, what's that smell?"

There was a rubbish bin beside her, leaking on the snow and turning it into a malodorous, brown slush.

Okay, step one: assess your surroundings. Daylight, a narrow alley between two brick buildings, humans on the street ahead, late 20th or early 21st century. No obvious threats.

She held her breath and walked the length of the alley to emerge onto what looked like a commercial street. The shop windows around her were decorated with a myriad of wreaths, baubles, ribbons and lights in shades red, green and gold. That made Rose smile, she loved Christmas.

Judging by the French signs, she wasn't in London— the cars were on the wrong side of the street, anyway— but there was way too much snow for France.

But she knew she was in the right universe, she could feel it. Brain waves synchronicity, Adeola had called it.

"Excuse me, where am I and what year is it?" Rose asked the first person she met.

Somewhere along the way she'd stopped worrying about people thinking she was barmy. It really was the simplest way to know if she was in the right place. The stranger's reaction was far from what she expected, his thin lips stretched in a wide smile.

"Oooh, a fellow British citizen. Hello! Not many of us here."

Gangly arms reached out to shake her hand enthusiastically.

"And where would 'here' be?" Rose asked.

"Ste-Catherine Street."

That didn't help much.

"And what year?"

"Not 2008."

Rose's jaw dropped, according to her team's calculations, 2008 was the current year in her original universe, the year she was aiming for.

"Why— why did you say that?" she stammered.

He shrugged, and a teasing glint appeared in his eyes. She relaxed, he was only joking, but he definitely had her attention now.

"Why did you ask that?" he said.

"Oh, you know, just... chatting."

The wind picked up and blew right through the blue leather of her coat. Rose turned up the collar and rubbed her arms up and down.

"You're cold," the man said, "We can't have that, I know the best— and only— place in town for real English food. With scones. And clotted cream! And tea, warm, hot tea. What do you say?"

He patted his stomach, waiting for her answer.

The vortex manipulator had to recharge before she could use it again, there was no point in staying here and freeze by herself. And she had to admit that there was something charming about his enthusiasm and openness that made her want to follow him.

"Tea, it is," she said with a smile.

"I'm Will by the way."

"Nice to meet you."

She'd learned that it was best not to reveal her name. The wrong word in the wrong place could break an entire causal nexus.

"Brilliant, I just have to drop by Blockbuster first," he said, holding up a VHS copy of The Muppet Movie.

The 1990's then. Good decade.

They walked a few blocks and Rose inspected the world around her. There were posters of Mariah Carrey in a sexy Santa outfit in every music store window and people wore plaid shirts tied around their waists, under their winter coats. She couldn't help but laugh at a few haircuts that reminded her of a young Jackie. Her mother had had more hairstyles than boyfriends, that was saying something.

Will was babbling about winter, his flatmates, Rory and Amy, and NASA's Galileo probe entering Jupiter's atmosphere. She was more than happy to let him do all the talking as it saved her the trouble of making up answers to personal questions. Moreover, there was something oddly comforting, familiar even, about his constant flow of speech. Yes, following him had been a good idea.

Will dropped the video tape in the chute. He took a few steps ahead of her and slipped on a patch of ice, legs flailing like in a cartoon. She tried to catch him but ended up being knocked down by his wild movements. Luckily, a pile of snow broke her fall. He sprung back on his feet and slipped once again. Rose was laughing so hard at his clumsiness, she couldn't even stand up. It didn't help that she couldn't push herself up because her hands kept burrowing in the soft snow. At first, Will was miffed by her reaction, but ended up laughing just as hard.

"Hold on," he said, using a lamp post for balance.

He managed to stand up, in a way that reminded her of a scene in Bambi, and offered his hand to pull her to her feet. His fingers were warm whereas hers were ice cold now, and the contact sent a jolt through her arm.

"Now I'm properly freezing," Rose said, shaking snow off her coat.

"Better leg it, then."

Still holding her hand, Will took off and she followed. She felt a pinch in her heart at the memories this simple act brought forth in her mind.

A lovely warmth laced with the fragrance of cinnamon and mint chocolate, welcomed her when she stepped inside the small but crowded restaurant. Will guided her to his favourite spot: a green velvet-upholstered couch by the window. He removed his coat and winter gear, then sat down next to her. Taking a menu, he proceeded to comment on every item listed while rubbing a hand under his t-shirt.

She picked up a menu as well, "Le meilleur salon the thé à Montréal," it said. Montreal? Canada? At moments like these she wished she'd paid more attention in geography class.

In her quest to find the Doctor, she'd ended up in various parallel universes and eras but never in another country. Even though her team at Torchwood had built the dimension canon themselves, the way it worked was still a mystery because its main component was the psychic paper, Time Lord technology. One thing she did know about it, was that it always sent her someplace that had to do with the Doctor, however tenuous the connection.

"So, what will it be?" Will asked, looking up from the menu.

"Erm, same as you."

"Good choice, very smart, I'll order."

While he stood at the counter at the other end of the room, she took a good look at him. She hadn't noticed his thick brown hair earlier because of the beanie he wore outside, nor his skinny frame because of his coat. In another life, she might have fancied him (she had a type, as Shareen used to say). As it was, flirting and pretty boys had been the last thing on her mind lately. Still, she could be in worse company, and there was no harm in looking.

He came back to the table, carrying tea and a large plate of pastries. Rose immediately seized a cup, holding it with two hands to warm her fingers.

He smiled shyly, looking at her through his floppy fringe.

"What?" Rose asked.

"I don't— I don't usually do this, you know, pick up girls on the street but… nevermind."

He looked away and stuffed a biscuit in his mouth.

"But what?" she asked softly.

He finished chewing and swallowed with a sip of tea.

"There's something about you… have we met before? In England, perhaps? When I was younger, it's like you're from my past."

His green eyes appraised her, and she felt shy under his scrutiny. She toyed with her hoop earring before her brain caught up. She really was out of flirting practice.

"Erm, well, maybe we did, where are you from?"

"Leadworth. I lived on George Street with my parents in a well-maintained detached dormer bungalow located in a popular residential area close to Sutton Park."

Rose frowned at the description that sounded like a real estate listing.

"Sorry, never been to Leadworth."

Will didn't ask any more questions but looked like he was still pondering the mystery of where he knew her from. In fact, the frown between his light eyebrows was almost shaped like a question mark. The silence was filled by the chatter of other clients, the clinking of cutlery and some boy band Christmas song on the radio. Rose did her own pondering, she had to decide on a course of action: stay here with Will or explore Montreal or get back to Pete's World. She looked out the window at the snow carried by the wind and people passing by with their faces hidden behind scarves and hats. She could stay in a while longer.

"So, Will, what do you?"

"Me? I'm a mad man with a pen."

Between two mouthfuls of cheese scone, he explained that he was a comic book artist, although, technically, it's delivering pizzas that paid the rent.

"Wanna see?" he asked, already pulling a folder out of his messenger bag.

She nodded and he beamed with excitement.

He laid out on the table three comic books. They looked hand-crafted but Will said that he sold a hundred copies each month at Librairie Millénium. She noticed that his full name was written on the cover: Wilfred Mott Jr. (It's only months later that she would recognize the name.)

She perused the copies under Will's expectant stare. He nervously rubbed a hand over his stomach, under his t-shirt. There was an obvious similarity between Will and his main character, he'd even accentuated the chin.

"So, you're the hero of your own comic book? Bit pretentious, innit?"

"Weeeell, it's more like an alter ego. Clark Kent and Superman, Peter Parker and Spiderman, Bruce Wayne and Batman."

"Oh, so you're really a billionaire playboy?" she teased him with a tongue-touched smile.

He seemed fixated on that hint of tongue, looking at her mouth long enough to make her uncomfortable.

"Are you sure we haven't met? How long have you been in Montreal?"

She averted the question by looking back at the comic book she was holding.

"So your superhero costume is a bow tie, suspenders and a fez?" she asked, snickering.

"Bow ties are cool," he replied, clearly piqued.

She took a closer look at the drawing.

"Yeah, I suppose they are. Mind you, it's better than pants over tights, I'll give you that. It's different, I like it."

They grinned at each other.

As she continued turning the pages, something caught her eyes in a panel: a creature, green and tall with large, beady, black eyes.

"The Slitheens I call them," Will said.

Rose's stomach dropped.

"Slitheens?"

"Yeah, they can slip into human's skin and—"

"Have you ever seen them before? For real?"

He looked at her like she was crazy.

"Like on the telly, you mean?"

Rose nodded.

"I don't know, just sort of comes to me. I think I dreamt about them actually. Creativity, funny process that."

He pulled up his Nirvana t-shirt and rubbed his stomach once again, then stared down at his belly button. That was odd. Rose cleared her throat to get his attention. His head jerked up.

"Omphaloskepsis!"

"Come again?"

"Omphaloskepsis: Contemplation of one's navel as part of a mystical exercise."

"You're a nutter."

"Why? What's wrong with Nirvana?"

She chuckled and continued scanning the pages for other aliens she might know.

What if he'd travelled with the Doctor, a past companion, before she came along? After all, the Doctor could be tight-lipped about those who'd travelled with him before. She considered asking Will directly, however, she'd learned the hard way that pronouncing the Doctor's name could have dire consequences. She decided to thread carefully and stick with him for a while longer, she could gain his trust and ask more questions.

"It worked, omphaloskepsis, I'm inspired, I'll draw you: Venus eating a flapjack."

Rose laughed and took a silly pose, holding the pastry between her teeth. His hand moved rapidly across the page of his notebook, sketching her silhouette then adding details.

"There you go."

A chill travelled down her spine at the sight of her portrait.

"Why did you draw a wolf at my feet?"

He shrugged.

"Told ya, funny process, mystical exercise and all that, I don't know where it comes from."

Okay, now this was just spooky. She had to ask:

"Will, have you ever met a man called the Doctor?"

She held her breath.

It seemed he was too distracted by a group of elves passing by to hear her question. She kept her eyes on him, heart hammering in her chest, until she noticed that the elves were still in her peripheral vision. She turned her head, and there they were, twelve of Santa's little helpers, staring at her through the window. Not one of them was smiling. Rose gasped when their eyes glowed purple, and she realized those were not prosthetic pointy ears and noses. A familiar rush of adrenaline swept through her veins.

"Tinlus from the planet Lope Rond, in the Cantartique galaxy," Will declared.

"What did you say?"

The window shook dangerously when the elves hit it with their fists. Will grabbed her hand.

"I said: Run!"

In their hurry, they knocked down a few chairs and a waitress but managed to reach the backdoor and escape through it. She followed him around narrow streets, slushy snow hitting the back of her legs as they zigzagged between rubbish bins and delivery trucks.

"My flat, we'll be safe there."

They emerged onto a residential street of brown brick houses and kept running.

Suddenly, Rose felt a burning sensation against her sternum. She stopped dead in her tracks, like a dog picking up a sound. The heat, it came from the Tardis key she kept around her neck. Will tugged on her hand to make her move, but she didn't budge. She scanned the houses and streets around. She had to be here somewhere, the key had never reacted like that before. She crossed the street and the heat intensified. She was calling her. And there she was, at the end of a dark back alley, the Tardis.

"C'mon, we're almost there," Will urged her.

She pointed at the police box.

"Do you know what this is?"

"What is what?"

He squinted, his eyes focusing, with some difficulty, on where she was pointing.

"Hmm, never noticed that before, and I walk by every day. Now, hurry up!"

"But you knew the Slitheens and the Tinlus. You have to know what that is. Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Wilfred Mott Jr., 29 years old, only son of Wilfred and Anita Mott, National Insurance number: FT 52 63 87 D..."

"I don't want your fact sheet! I— Do you miss your parents?"

"What? Of course."

"Then, when was the last time you called them?"

"Erm, I— some time ago, surely we talk regularly," he mumbled, scratching his head.

"Did you call because you needed to talk, because you missed home or had a bad day? Or a good news you wanted to share?"

Will grew impatient.

"Why all these questions?"

"Because I don't think Will is real."

"We're running for our lives, Rose!"

"How do you know my name?"

"You told me! Rose, Rose Tyler, defender of the Earth."

He gasped and clamped a hand over his mouth, looking as startled as her to have said that. Her eyes welled up, and she looked at him through her tears, trying to find something familiar in his face. She found it, barely there, but unmistakably his: that look as old as time, eyes that had seen too much. Her legs wobbled underneath her and Will caught her just in time. His fingers dug in her flesh when their eyes met. He didn't recognize her, she realized.

"Doctor?"

She reached for his chest, to feel his heartbeats, but a loud screeching sound stopped her. She whipped around and saw the elves running towards them, holding up candy canes like weapons. They were fast for such short-legged creatures.

"This way!" Will said, pulling her by the arm.

They ran up a spiral staircase and entered a small apartment.

"We need protection," he declared, opening and closing kitchen cabinets, then the drawer under the stove, "Teflon! Tinlus hate Teflon."

He paused with a frying pan in his hand and looked at her like a lost child.

"Why do I know that?"

Rose sat on her haunches next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Who am I?" he asked. "Who are you? Why do I…"

He reached for her cheek, brushing his fingertips over her flushed skin. Rose's throat constricted as more tears spilled from her eyes.

"What happened to you, Doctor?"

A red-headed girl in a denim skirt, burst into the kitchen, out of breath.

"They found us!" she cried.

Her eyes widened when she saw Rose.

"How can you be here? This is bad, this is really bad. Rooory!"

A young man in a flannel shirt entered the room.

"Is she..? Is that really her?"

He looked at Rose like at a science experiment.

"But she's supposed to be lost."

Rose stood up, hands on her hips.

"What did you do to the Doctor?" she asked, ready to defend him against these… whatever they were.

"Open the watch," Amy ordered her boyfriend.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes I am sure, it's what he told us to do if the Tinlus find us before they're supposed to."

A tendril of light escaped from the old fob watch Rory held in his palm. It whispered to Rose, words in another language she didn't know, yet understood. She became hypnotized by this golden vapour travelling towards the Doctor. It washed over him, bathing him in a surreal glow. He seemed disoriented at first and wobbled on his legs, but he quickly bounced back.

"Amy! Rory!" he said, embracing them. "Now, Tinlus! They're in town, they found us. But how? There must've been a disturbance in the space-time continuum. What caused it? Did you do something with the Tardis?"

"Erm, Doctor."

Amy pointed at the blond girl behind him.

He looked at Rose sideways, like he could barely stand to see her.

"You have to go," he declared flatly. "In fact, it's probably your presence that attracted them."

"Being rude again."

"Listen to me." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "You have to go, you're not supposed to be here."

"Well, tough."

If he thought he could get rid of her so easily, he was sorely mistaken. She put on a brave face and stared directly in his eyes, defying him to look away.

"Oh, Rose Tyler."

His large hands cradled her face, thumbs stroking her cheekbones.

"My precious girl, I wish we had more time but you have to keep looking for me."

"But I just found you."

He rested his forehead on hers, squeezing his eyes shut, breathing heavily. She didn't know this face, yet she welcomed the intimacy if it meant that he felt the same way about her even after regenerating. She placed her fingertips on his jaw, her heart swelling in her chest. Somehow, their lips found their way to each other, meeting in a tender kiss that echoed through her whole being, warming her stomach and tickling her toes.

She was loved.

Their arms wrapped tightly around each other, the kiss deepening, extra-terrestrial dangers long-forgotten. When they separated, they still shared the same breath.

"I'm sorry Rose, I'm so sorry, but you didn't find me. I'm not the one you're looking for. Now, don't tell me I told you this but you do find me. All that dimension hopping, it pays off."

His words were a punch to her stomach. She should be hopeful but instead she was filled with dread.

"If I find you, then where am I? Why am I not with you anymore?" she asked the Doctor in a thin voice.

She'd seen many a horrible thing during her dimension-hopping adventures. She'd seen monstrous creatures with four rows of teeth and whole parallel worlds where the human race was enslaved. But out of all the things she'd seen, out of all the times Death's bony fingers had brushed her cheek, this was what frightened her the most.

He stepped away from her. He didn't answer but looked intensely at her. There was grief in his eyes: that was the scariest thing she'd ever seen.

"Doctor, sorry to interrupt this lovely moment, but the Tinlus are in the street, they're shooting at people. We need to do something. What do we do?" Amy said.

"We leave," the Doctor answered, his tone too level.

"What?" the three humans said in unison.

"They'll chase after us and leave Earth. If we stay here, they'll wreak havoc. To the Tardis!"

The Doctor spun on himself and ran towards the front door, not leaving Rose any time to protest.

"Oh, no, you're not getting rid of me so easily."

She ran after him, Amy and Rory on her heels, almost breaking their necks as they descended the stairs. The Tinlus caught sight of them, which was the Doctor's intention, Rose reckoned. They chased after them, fortunately their candy cane lasers were too short to reach them yet.

When she entered the Tardis, the Doctor had already started the dematerialization sequence. Amy and Rory came in after her, closing the door behind them just in time.

"No, no, no! Rose you have to go," the Doctor said without looking at her once again.

"How can you say that?"

"Do you think I don't want to keep you?" he shouted, so angrily it shocked Rose, "Do you think that I don't want to be selfish and take you with me? But I can't. I can't! The laws of the universe are not mine to break."

He was standing close to her once more, fists and jaw clenched. There was a moment of tense silence as they glowered at each other. And then she was swallowed in a tight hug.

"He'll have you when I have to keep on living with nothing but the memory of you," he said in her hair. "It hurts. Seeing you here hurts. Sending you away hurts. But that's my life."

She felt his hand in her coat pocket, and she realized he'd found the vortex manipulator. He stepped away from her and placed the object in her hands, he wouldn't do it for her this time.

"I still feel," her voice broke, "I still love you."

He sniffed and swallowed thickly, he knew he wasn't the one who had to say it back, no matter how much he wanted to.

"Okay, I'm going now."

With shaky fingers, she entered the coordinates in the vortex manipulator.

"I'll see you, Rose Tyler."

"Not if I see you first."

She managed a weak smile and he smiled back. Shaking his head, he marvelled at how she could make him joyful even in his darkest moments.

Before disappearing, she bunched his t-shirt in her fists and pulled him to her. He felt a tickle against his lips as she was swept away to another universe.

He stared at the spot where she had been a mere second ago.

"I'll see you, Rose Tyler," he repeated.

That was the only thing he had any faith in.