Authors Note: Hello! I've been an avid reader of fanfiction for quite a while now, but this is the first fic i've ever written. It's a Human Nature/Family of Blood AU featuring Rose; something I know has been done many a time before, but this idea was stuck in my head and I desperately wanted to try writing it. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, and I hope you enjoy the first chapter!
"Miss Tyler? It's ready."
Rose looked up from the desk, flashing a polite smile at the rather intimidated looking young physicist leaning through the doorway; insisting that she'd be there momentarily. She swept her eyes across the tabletop, realising that she had pitifully few possessions. A mobile phone, a purse filled only bank notes and a few pieces of blank paper, some clothes and necessities stuffed in to a tattered rucksack, and the key hanging close to her heart. The Irony was undeniable; it was because of him that she had arrived here with nothing but the clothes on her back and the Raxacoricofallapatorian credits in her pockets, and it was because of him that she now had little more than that. But preparation for her journey came in the form of her few possessions, and they now promised hope rather than numbing grief. She wasn't stranded; she was leaving behind, and this time it was her choice.
With a sigh she slipped the harsh heels from her feet. The authority they provided was beneficial, but whenever she wore them she couldn't help but feel a bit helpless. Sure; they did make her bum look rather good, but her flight instinct had yet to fade and the idea of running on designer stilts wasn't a pleasant one. She put on her worn, but reliable pair of trainers. Familiarity washed over her in an instant. As she approached the door, she took a final look around the office that she had came to acquire four years ago, with only the rigorously polished shoes on the floor suggesting she'd ever set foot in the room. Good riddance. People may dream of power and riches, but in her opinion those desires were only replacing the urgent desperation for adventure that lies in everyone; the type of adventure that even the mad would deem impossible; the type of adventure that makes you wake from a dream, positive that you can feel the universe expanding around you, but leaving a gut-wrenching disappointment the moment your mind returns to terra firma; the type of adventure she so sorely missed. Every day was an escapade when you had dangers to face and a hand to hold.
The short walk through the halls of Canary Wharf was not one of sentiment. The walls encasing her would not be missed. She'd long been ready to part with them. She'd been ready for four years. Her knowledge was marvelled at here at Torchwood, and she had to admit it was a nice change to be viewed as such a professional, but it was a cold place. People admired her, complimented her; were awed at the species and planets she could discuss, but many of the staff treated her like a bad omen. For intellectuals they were bizarrely superstitious. One of the few friends she had made here, Kelly, had told her exerts of the office gossip surrounding the mysterious Rose Tyler.
She had appeared from nowhere; she must be an alien herself; maybe she was Pete Tyler's bit on side – married to get her claws in to his wealth (she shuddered at this, how people could possibly believe she would think of her Da- Pete, in that way she did not know).
She was most definitely abducted and probed at some point; experimented on and pushed to the brink of madness- there was no way any sane person would have all those mutterings of time travel and police boxes.
The extra-terrestrial didn't draw her in quite the same way as it used to. It wasn't just Zeppelins that were different in this Universe.
"Not even coming to say goodbye then?" A voice rang out from behind her. She turned around to see Mickey smiling, his grin contrasting the obvious glassiness of his eyes.
"I already have, haven't I? Twice this morning and another time just an hour ago," Rose responded, her short laugh ringing with sadness. "Well come here then!" She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, unable to bear the distance any longer, as if trying to communicate just how much she'd miss him; and his arms desperately clinging to her echoing a similar message. Mickey had been a constant in her life for the past four years; he was the one that picked her up and dusted her off after the battle, and it was his continuous nagging that made her finally begin to live her life again; and she couldn't be more grateful. And he'd grown under the influence of Torchwood. He became confident and more sure of himself; he had a completely fresh start. He wasn't Mickey the Idiot here; he was Mr Smith- a man who despite having knowledge and skills beyond this planet, was down to earth and friendly. Rose could only regret any doubts she'd had about him in the past; he was truly an amazing person and friend and he'd never wanted anything for her other than happiness, all it took was a little push for him to realise in himself everything that she saw.
"You be sure to pop round for a visit, right?" he murmured in to the top of her hair, his voice cracking. She chuckled, suppressing the rising sob as the first of the tears began to spill out the corner of her eyes, a part of her wishing that she could only do such a thing. She'd had her farewells with her mum and Pete the night before, leaving for work before they awoke the next day. There'd been enough crying and pleading the previous evening and she couldn't face her Mums desperate persuasion again.
"I'm not sure you'd have time for me, you've got this whole place to be runnin' now" Rose retorted, her voice airy as she forced the words out over the painful lump developing in her throat. "There's only going to be one alien extraordinaire left now."
They stayed enveloped for another few moments as each of them prepared for the imminent journey Rose was about to undertake. "Come on, I'll see you off" Mickey said as he wrapped his arm around Rose's shoulders, appreciating the final few moments with the girl that meant so much to him. They arrived at the lab and Rose took a final look out the window, appreciating the cityscape that had remained breathtaking, despite the litter of zeppelins polluting the skyline. The floating atrocities reminded her of her encounter with the blitz barrage balloon; she smiled- it seemed rather comical in hindsight, dangling from a balloon in wartime only to be rescued by a time travelling military man.
She turned her attention to the room in front of her. It was filled only with a few necessary personnel who had worked on the project; it was safer if fewer knew. She'd been avoiding looking at the towering presence ahead of her, she couldn't help it. Its very existence made her bones feel like brittle ice and made the hairs on her harms stand, and although she knew it was there, every time her eyes ventured near she had the sudden urge to flee and forget herself and everything she'd ever been. It had haunted so many of her nightmares. The fear of any enemy she had faced paled in its comparison. She forced herself to look. There it stood. The wall where she'd been ripped apart from the life she knew, where she'd been separated from things that made her smile and laugh; the things; the person, who made her who she is.
The man in the lab coat standing beside her broke her from her reverie, "Are you sure you want to go through with this, Miss Tyler? I mean we haven't even been able to test the device, if you would just let us have the key then we could just check-"
"No. The key stays with me. I'll take the risk." She could hear the sigh coming from Mickey at her side, he was worried about her safety, but this was something she had to do. "Just tell me how it works."
"Well, there's surprisingly not that much to it, really. The breach has been sealed but the breach itself is still there; like scar tissue so to say. You say the key is part of this... ship of yours in the other universe, so theoretically, and if our calculations are accurate, once put in to the device, the signal produced will pass through the breach and lock on to the ship, and draw you in to the other universe"
"Sort of like a cannon yeah? A dimension cannon?" Rose questioned hopefully, trying to get to grips with the portal she'd soon be risking her life to trial.
The older man tripped over his words. Rose couldn't comprehend why people were so intimidated by her; she didn't even have her bloody A-levels (well, she guessed her "EEB Grades" would be the correct term here) yet she was treated and feared like some type of all-knowing being. "Well not really- it doesn't so much propel as it does attract... Like... m-magnets! That's it: Dimension magnets!
"Right then. Simple" Rose affirmed with nervous laughter. A Dimension cannon it was then. She took another glance towards the offending object. What was she doing?
"I must warn you though Miss Tyler; this is a one way trip. The breach is healing and once through there will be no connection with us that could possibly bring you back. The device will be obsolete." The man, Dr Stemming, expressing his obvious concern as he adjusted the glasses sitting on his nose, "and there's no guarantee when or where you will come out. The device will only get you through to that universe and no further; we've tried our best to pinpoint the coordinates to your own time, but I'm afraid you could easily end up appearing millennia away from your preferred year and possibly on any planet in the solar system, perhaps even the galaxy. Please, before you go, just take note of just how dangerous this is; be sure whatever reason you have to go through with this is worth it."
"Completely worth it," she proclaimed, the smile reserved only for thoughts of her reason breaking through the fear and worry that had been etched on her face for the past few minutes. In the workplace she had kept him her secret, only sharing conversation of him with those who she could truly trust. "I suppose I best be on my way then, yeah?" Her fear of what was to come growing every second. She must be mad.
She took the cubic device in her hands, and slipped the metal chain from around her neck for the first time in years. Taking a shaky breath, she allowed a few tears to slip before placing the key in the designated slot, and readied her thumb over the awaiting switch.
"Rose"
She quickly turned to see Mickey, the sadness and tears visible on his face reflecting her own. "Yeah?"
"Best mates, right?"
"Yeah, best mates. Always." She responded, smiling, just glad that this time she got the chance to say goodbye properly to the boy she'd grown up with, before turning back to face the wall. She was completely, utterly, fantastically mad. Well, Rose reasoned... she had learnt from the best.
"Here I go then." She flicked the switch.