Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, the lovely folk at BBC do

It had been a long while since the Doctor had traveled without a companion. Martha had been fun for a while but their time together was lacking something important, Rose. He knew he was being distant, and she felt it whenever she was around him. The short answers, the sudden shutdown of emotions whenever she asked him about his past. After a few short years together she bid her farewells and though it was like he was losing a part of himself, it was nothing compared to what it felt like when he lost Rose forever.

The whirl of the engine and the bright green glow of the control panel covered him as he stood, staring blankly ahead of him. As hard as he tried he couldn't get her out of his mind but as much as it hurt he didn't want it to stop. He was knocked out of his daze when he felt the TARDIS buckle and shake and try as he might he couldn't stop it from falling quickly to the ground. The landing felt oddly familiar, but then again, he'd lost control of the TARDIS on more than one occasion. He sighed and moved to grab his jacket, throwing it over his shoulders as he pushed his way through the bright blue doors and into the sunlight.

London, why was it always London that he landed in? He sighed and looked around, the car lined streets buzzed with motion while people walked the sidewalks quickly, trying to get to their next location without delay. Deep inside he felt there was something wrong with this place, something odd that he couldn't quite put his finger on. He sighed and started walking, not really knowing where he was going but sooner or later he knew trouble would find him.

He shoved his hands into his pockets as he moved down the street, girl ahead of him catching his eye. She had glasses and dark brown hair with bright green eyes, eyes that reminded him of Rose. He stopped in his tracks and pretended to be interested in whatever was in front of him, a cart with various fruits as she passed him. She held what looked like a large book from far away but the closer she got the clearer it became that it was a file. Maybe he hadn't noticed because he was so hypnotized with her eyes. They were so much like Rose's it was almost haunting. He turned around and began following her, making sure to keep his distance and soon enough she had lead him to an almost deserted alley way. She looked around quickly and turned, knocking on a door a couple times. He watched as an id scanner popped out and she pulled a small card from her pocket and slid it through pushing the door open after it cleared her access. Within seconds the Doctor was at the door, his sonic screwdriver out and ready. The door opened easily and he walked inside, immediately stopped by a pair of security guards.

"What do ya think your doin?" one of them asked.

"I was sent here as backup", the doctor replied as he pulled out his psychic paper. "See, my credentials are all in order, now if you don't mind…"

"My mistake, sir, my mistake. I'll make sure you have no more problems" the other guard said.

The Doctor smiled and took a step forward, stopping when he saw the girl standing at the end of the hallway facing him. She had a smile almost identical to Rose's, making his heart race faster every second that passed.

"You followed me", she said holding the file against her chest.

"Well, I can spot one of our kind out in a crowd you see, so it wasn't difficult. And I'd forgotten where this place was so it was lucky I spotted you", he said with a smile.

As soon as he'd spoken the words the happy, sarcastic look had drained off her face, being replaced with one of fear combined with what seemed to be intrigue. "Our kind?"

"Yeah, you know, people who work here. Our kind?" he explained.

She nodded and turned, her long dark hair sweeping as her hips swayed slightly. "Well, from what I saw you'll be working alongside me" turning around to face him as she spoke. "For the time being anyways".

He nodded and held out his hand. "The names Smith, John Smith", he said with a smile.

"John Smith, I'm Amara Tyler. Head of research and development here at Torchwood, but I dabble in the invention of things". She smiled and tilted her head slightly at the look that had taken over the Doctors face. "Something wrong?"

"Amara Tyler? I wouldn't suppose your mothers name is Rose is it?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, it is", she replied, a bored almost annoyed tone to her voice. "And if you're going to ask me for an autograph or something of hers you can forget it. I'm done with people asking me that when they hear my name".

"What? Why would I want an autograph?" he asked, utterly bewildered at why her attitude had gone from cheery to pissy in a moments notice.

"What don't you know?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "The famous Rose Tyler, defender of the universe. Whenever anyone hears my name they go into psycho fan mode and maul me for an autograph".

The Doctor smiled. He knew Rose would be useful in this universe but he never expected it to escalate to this magnitude. He was beaming, never feeling so proud in his entire life. His Rose was a hero, doing everything he knew she could accomplish. "No, I wasn't looking for an autograph. I knew her when she was younger… or a while ago. How old is she now?"

"She'll be 56 soon, but I'm not sure if she'll make it to her birthday", she said with a frown. She looked up and saw his expression; the sadness that was illuminating from his eyes was almost unbearable. "Well, lets not waste anymore time. We've got people and planets to save right?" And with that she turned and continued her way down the hall, hoping that her sudden change of subject would help her to carry on her day.