Chapter One
Rose Tyler stepped into the warm water of the shower. She had just finished one of the worst days of her life since Bad Wolf Bay. She had dreamed of him again last night, a preface to the painful reminders that the coming day would force on her, from the skinny man in the brown suit that had appeared at one of her father's sales meetings, to the red trainers that her younger brother Tony had eagerly picked out and displayed for the rest of the day. The work on the dimension canon had come to halt. The problem of stopping the walls of her universe from collapsing after transportation had continued to baffle her after weeks of work. She had been surprised at how naturally the construction of the canon had come to her. It may have been the result of her determination to return to the Doctor, though she suspected that it was a small portion of Bad Wolf still working inside her, using the human form to reunite with the TARDIS.
Rose usually only allowed herself short showers in an effort to conserve water. She had decided that Doctor or no, she would continue to attempt to save the Earth. She had donated a sizable portion of her father's wealth to charity, and was connected to quite a few non-profit organizations. Today, however, she let herself give in to the desire of a bit of pampering, even if it did stop her from achieving her goal of continuing the Doctor's legacy, albeit slowly. She spent what felt like ages basking in the warmth, thinking about her adventures with him. Images of their all to short time together flashed in her mind. The first time she laid eyes on him, the tug on her hand as he grabbed it, staring into the heart of the TARDIS just to rescue him, waking up with no memory of her time as Bad Wolf, the realization that he was dying, and the shock of the new Doctor. Rose remembered how unsure of him she had been at first, though her trust quickly grew. She saw all the times that she thought for certain she would lose him, and how they always managed to find each other again. Until that one day. Nothing in her life had prepared her for the crippling pain of knowing that they were worlds away from each other, and the bitterness of the unfinished good bye. Soon, salty tears joined the warm water spilling over her face.
Finally, with some effort, she dispelled the bitter thoughts, quickly washed her hair, and stepped out of the shower. Rose dried off, and had just changed into her softest shirt when her phone rang. "Hullo," she said, answering on the second ring.
"Miss Tyler?" asked an unfamiliar voice. "You're wanted at Torchwood as soon as possible. The problems with the dimension canon have been resolved, and it is ready for use."
She was lost for words. This is it, she thought. Her chance to find him again. Her thoughts almost immediately flashed to her family, Mickey, and Jake. There was no guaranty that the canon would work twice. There was still the serious risk that she wouldn't survive this trip. She might never see any of them ever again. On the other hand, she knew the she needed the Doctor, and she felt strongly that he needed her as well. "I'll be there in an hour," she said, and hung up.
Rose started running towards her parent's room as soon as she had changed into some presentable clothes. "Mum! Dad! It's working! The canon is working!" she shouted, her voices choked by even more tears.
Pete and Jackie Tyler sprang out of bed, their faces dark with understanding. Jackie clutched a groggy Tony to her hip, his young eyes happy, oblivious to the despair of his parents. Pete swallowed and pulled rose into a tight hug. Jackie wiped the tears from her eyes and kissed her daughter's wet cheeks. "I'll miss you two," Rose said shakily.
"A day won't go by without us thinking of you," Pete replied, and pressed his lips to the top of Rose's head. "Just remember that we love you very much."
Rose nodded, fighting back the next wave of sobs. "I love you too," she managed to choke out.
"You be careful out there," Jackie said, pulling her daughter into one last embrace.
"I will." Rose attempted a smile. "If there is any way for me to contact you again, I swear that I will." With one more set of goodbyes, promises of love, and kisses for Tony, Rose left her parent's house, unsure if she would ever see it again.
After the half-hour drive that felt like eternity, Rose finally arrived at the lab. It was a fairly small, nondescript building, the only branch of Torchwood that existed in this universe. She was greeted by Mickey and Jake, who quickly led her through familiar, brightly lit room to the canon. It was really only a small, circular enclosure, called a canon only because of how it had looked on the ground during construction. Theoretically, it would create a small hole in the two universes, and push her through. A team of scientists monitored it, and alerted Rose every time something changed. They seemed particularly excited tonight, though most of them cast nervous glances towards her. Once she had finished her farewells to Jake and Mickey, Dr. Vallas, the head scientist, who had been pulled out of her bed for this, directed Rose into the tube. "Good luck," she whispered.
"Thank you," Rose replied, swallowing hard against the lump in her throat. Finally the door was shut, and she lost sight of the grim faces of Mickey and Jake. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself as she heard the muffled sounds of switches being flipped. I'm coming, Doctor, she thought, and then everything dissolved into darkness.