The Doctor sat alone in his TARDIS, the blue lighting reflecting his depressed mood. He was spinning Amy's glasses in his hands almost absently as he tried not to pull out the letter and read it for the billionth time. He should be used to this, loosing people. He'd done it enough times. His friends, his companions, he loses them. They leave or they get left behind or they die and he will always regret it. It's great for a while, when they're around, it's fantastic, brilliant and he loves it. Loves them. And he always will.
He stood up, opting instead to lean against the TARDIS console, pulling the letter out of his pocket as he went. Reading over the lines again he thought of Amy and Rory. Surely they would be fine, like Amy said in her letter, they had each other and that's all they needed. Just the two of them against the world, together or not at all. He wondered where the angels would have sent them back to. It seemed they lived up until they were originally born. At least they were considerate enough to stop time lines from crossing. He hoped that they were having fun where they were. He wished that he could visit them.
The Doctor folded up the letter once again and placed it back in his pocket. He was starting to think about them all again. All of them. His friends. They'd had such good times, and such bad times. He went over some of them in his mind, smiling faintly while wiping at his eyes almost angrily. He'd just lost Amy and Rory, his best friends, before that he'd had to erase Donna's memory, Martha had left him (and rightly so, he thought) and then there was Rose. His Rose. She'd promised to travel with him forever and he so wished that she had. That she was still there with him. He thought that maybe this regeneration would stall his feelings for her, but that wasn't the case. He could shut them out a little easier now, but it was still a struggle. He'd tried to tell her but he couldn't get the words out. Watching her stand alone on the beach at Bad Wolf Bay... It destroyed him.
Running his hands through his hair and over his face The Doctor stood up defiantly. No time for that now, what was done was done and he couldn't do anything about it. Rose was stuck in a parallel universe and he couldn't get to her now.
"So" he smiled at his TARDIS, at least she could never leave him. "Where to next?".
...
Rose woke up to her messy room as she always had. Sometimes she tried to keep it neat but it always ended up like this, she was human after all. Rose had tried to adjust to this new life. Her new life without The Doctor and sometimes she felt as if she was succeeding. She thought of him less now... most days anyway. Gazing up at the stars some nights she couldn't help but think that she'd been up there. Up there among them and on other worlds. She missed it, missed it terribly but there was nothing she could do now. If only she'd held on a little tighter... she dreaded to think about it.
Her life here wasn't bad. It was great it some days. She still had her mum, they still bickered like they always did but they always made up. She still had Mickey, they weren't together anymore but they were good friends, best mates. And she had Pete, even though he wasn't really her dad she'd come to love him as such anyway. And her mum had as well. It was nice, seeing them together. Like he'd never died and this was how it would have turned out. And that's what would have happened. If her dad hadn't have died and she hadn't met The Doctor this was what her life would have been anyway. Her, her mum, her dad and Mickey. There was comfort in that.
Strangely enough some of The Doctor's sciencey stuff must have rubbed off on her. Some of it must have actually sunk in because she understood science now... well, most of it. She'd gone back to school and tried to get a degree in bio-mechanics. She'd been helping out Torchwood (no more shop girl). There was a Torchwood here too which she was happy to discover. They were trying to build technology that they could use to jump through dimensions, similar to the dimension canons that had brought her here. Subconsciously she probably thought they could get her to The Doctor but she tried not to think about it that way. She tried to think of it as helping out Torchwood for the greater good. If they could build the technology then they could jump dimensions and connect with other Torchwood stations. It would be incredibly beneficial for them. Hey, maybe even Jack would come and visit. That's why they were all working so hard. It hadn't worked. Not yet. But if they could they could open the barrier between dimensions hopefully long enough for someone to pass through.
They'd almost got a break through. They'd almost cracked it and the possibility that it could really happen was doing wonders on everyone's morale. People were working double time because everyone could sense how close they were. It was like Christmas had come early.
...
The Doctor tried to travel, he really did, but at the end of the day he couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't see the excitement in the places he visited. He solved some problems, saved a few worlds from destruction but it just wasn't the same. Part of him knew that if he kept trying he would probably find someone but another part of him, a slightly bigger part at the moment, didn't want to find anyone else. He just wanted his friends back.
...
Torchwood headquarters was a roar of activity. They'd done it. They'd found away to open the portal between dimensions long enough for someone to pass through. There'd been a party, an incredibly large and lavish celebration that ended in everyone being so wasted that they couldn't even come in the next day. No one minded though, they'd earned it. This could change everything. They'd been able to pass a connection line through and had made contact with another Torchwood base. Rose had spoken to Jack and he hadn't changed at all, he still tried to flirt with her just like he always had and Rose had found a new sense of joy. Preparations were being made for the departure. The other Torchwood had been notified and were expecting two agents to make their way through. Everyone was excited; the atmosphere of the room was the most uplifting it had been in months.
They'd realised that the best place to pass through was on Bad Wolf Bay. Rose wasn't sure how she felt about that but she was stood with the two agents that were waiting to go through. There ware a handful of other Torchwood agents there as well, making sure that everything was going smoothly. Everyone else was back at headquarters and if they weren't doing anything essential they were gathered around a screen that was transmitting the view of Bad Wolf Bay. Someone had brought along a mass of popcorn that was being shared between agents.
Rose stood nervously on the sand and couldn't help but think of when she'd last been here. She'd lost The Doctor... her Doctor. And yet if this worked maybe there was a way he could come back to her. Someone called out that everything was ready and suddenly the atmosphere shifted to nervous excitement. This was really happening.
...
The TARDIS seemed to be reacting to something and she wasn't telling him what it was. He was spinning around the TARDIS console like the mad man that he identified as while shouting things to her. She was defiant though, wouldn't answer him.
"Where are you taking me!?" he called. "At least give me that, come on sexy, at least give me something".
He tried pulling a few levers, pressing a few buttons but all to no avail. The TARDIS shifted quickly and he was thrown to one side. Grabbing the railing for support as he tried to stay upright but they were flying so quickly through time and space it was almost impossible.
"This is crazy!" he yelled. "What have I done, if this is for that time I insulted your... You know I didn't mean that!".
The TARDIS beeped in response.
"Oh come on, don't be like that" he huffed.
...
"It's working" Rose muttered, almost to herself. It was working and here they were standing on the beach and watching as a portal opened and the agents were pulled through. Everyone's fingers were crossed, hoping they would make it to the other end. That the trip between dimensions wouldn't be too painful. Everything seemed to be going fine.
...
The TARDIS spun and twirled and jumped through space and it was all The Doctor could do to hold tight to the railing. He'd given up yelling and trying to get her to tell him where she was taking him. He merely just held on and tried to think for himself. They were defiantly going somewhere. He just had to figure out where. Where and why and those were always the two hardest questions to answer. Well... why was at least.
...
A cheer erupted on the beach and at Torchwood headquarters as the agents reached the other side and Jack assured through the line that had been set up that they were fine. A job well done. They'd done it. They'd been able to open a portal to another dimension. All the possibilities that had been imagined seemed to be one step closer now. This would go down in the history books. The crowd at the beach slowly dispersed as the agents made their way back to headquarters, taking the equipment with them. Rose remained behind. She thought she could see something. The portal didn't seem to be closed. Not completely. Something could still come through, or so she thought. She thought that maybe she should tell someone but everyone was on such a high from a successful mission and were slowly leaving so instead she decided to keep it to herself. She would wait here and see if anything happened.
After what seemed like a million years but was only about two hours everyone had left. All except for Rose who could sense that something was about to happen. Her mind automatically went to the worst case scenario. The daleks had discovered that there was a new portal that hadn't closed properly and were making their way through, or the cyber men or just anyone. Anything terrible.
There was a large crash and then a familiar sound was heard as an object that Rose thought she would never see again came into view and landed neatly on the beach. A big blue box. Rose froze in shock.
"Doctor" she whispered as she waited to see if someone would exit. She had to be dreaming. He couldn't come back but... the portal. Rose's head spun a little as she realised that this was real.
...
The TARDIS finally landed and The Doctor sighed in relief. That was probably the roughest ride he'd ever had. He patted the TARDIS console fondly and straightened his bow tie.
"Where have you taken me?" he asked quietly, making his way to the doors.
The Doctor opened the door and realised that he was on a beach. The names of a thousand beaches from different planets ran through his head as he looked around. Why had she taken him here? Then it occurred to him. He recognised this beach. He could never forget this beach. Because this was the beach where he last saw Rose. He was on Bad Wolf Bay.
The Doctor's eyes searched frantically for a reason. This was impossible. This was a different dimension that he could never enter again. This was safe for his Rose. Though he had lost her he'd managed to keep her safe. That was why he'd left her here. Then how could he have gotten through? How did the TARDIS know that he could come back?
His eyes roved around the beach, looking for anything that would give him a clue. Maybe there was danger here somehow. Then he saw something at the corner of his eye. There was someone else on this beach. His eyes caught a familiar blonde and suddenly the world seemed to shift.
"Rose" he whispered to himself.
...
Rose fought the urge to just run up to the box and go bounding in. Instead opting for waiting ever so patiently to see who would come out. The man who exited was unfamiliar to her. He was wearing braces, a tweed jacket, and... Was that a bow tie? But she knew instantly that this was the Doctor.
He's changed his face again, she realised.
She watched as he looked around in confusion, seeming to not really know where he was.
He's landed in the wrong time again, she thought, or maybe the TARDIS brought him here.
She saw as his eyes finally landed on her and she could tell that he recognised her immediately. Saw his lips form her name. He was back.
...
He thought about running to her. Urged to wrap his arms around her and spin her around as he used to. Though he knew she wouldn't recognise him. Not with this face, he was different. Not her doctor. But she would always be his Rose. She hadn't seemed to have changed at all. Time must have been slower in this dimension. When he saw her take a step towards he couldn't hold back anymore. He started to walk towards her almost absently until he was in front of her. She was smiling though there were tears in her eyes.
"You've changed your face again" she commented.
"Have to keep up with the times" he returned her smile.
She laughed and it almost ended with a sob and then she was moving towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her instantly, tentative not to hold her too tightly.
"I missed you" she muttered.
"I missed you too".
"How've you been" she straightened up, pulling away and wiping her eyes.
"Oh, you know, same old same old. The Doctor in the TARDIS".
"But you found someone didn't you" she tried to sound hopeful.
"I lost them".
"You look so much older. Your face is younger but your eyes... you're older".
"1200 years young" he smiled, fiddling with his bow tie.
"A bow tie?" Rose smiled; her tongue between her teeth.
"Bow ties are cool" he almost sounded offended.
Rose laughed. "How did you get here?" she turned serious.
"I have no idea. The TARDIS brought me here. I was sure that I couldn't come back".
"We opened a portal. I work with Torchwood now, there's a Torchwood here, and we opened a portal to send some agents through to see if they could get to another dimension" Rose explained.
"That's brilliant".
"Yeah" Rose shrugged.
"Did they make it?".
"Yeah they made it through. We were talking to Jack, we managed to get a line through and we could talk to him on the other side and he told us they made it through".
"Wow, you've been busy then". He was very proud of his Rose.
"The TARDIS must have known the portal was open and brought you through".
"She's clever like that" The Doctor smiled, glancing back at his ship. "So" he rocked back and forth on his heels "Rose Tyler, all of time and space, where do you want to start?".
"Oh no you don't" Rose scolded, "You have to come and see mum first" she grabbed his hand and started leading him back up the beach.
...
Seeing Jackie Tyler again was another thing The Doctor believed would never happen. It wasn't something that he really wanted to happen either. Sure, she could be great but most of the time... well... she didn't seem to like him all that much. Walking next to his Rose though, her hand in his made it worth it. He smiled down at her and she beamed back.
"Still in the estate?" he asked as they walked.
"Nope, we moved actually, we have a real house now. Torchwood actually pays pretty well and dad got this new job. They got married, remarried I guess, mum and dad. We're doing pretty well".
"No more shop girl and no more estate, brand new Rose Tyler" he laughed.
"Not really".
The Doctor smiled and looked at the rows of houses they were approaching. They were all similar in style and all looked quite quaint. That was one of the things The Doctor loved most about humans, they were happy just living their lives in their little houses with their families. It was brilliant really.
Rose pulled The Doctor through a small gateway into the front yard of a nice looking house. She let go of his hand long enough to fish a house key out of her pocket and thrust it into the lock.
"Mum!" she called. "It worked we got the agents through".
"Rose that's great" Jackie's voice called back.
"And guess what mum, you'll never guess who came to visit".
"Oh I don't know Rose who is..." Jackie Tyler stopped in the hallway. The shock on her face was evident as she looked at her daughter and the man she was with. He was unfamiliar to her in some ways but she knew who he was, that this was The Doctor. He'd only just changed his face again. "Oh my god" she whispered.
"Mum, he's back. He came through the portal. The TARDIS...".
"Hello Jackie Tyler" The Doctor cut in, beaming at her. "Nice place you've got here".
"Oh my god" she said again, walking towards him and grabbing his face in her hands "Look at you" she pulled on one of his braces, then his bowtie. "What are you wearing?".
"Bowties are cool" he smiled, though his tone was defensive.
"I thought I'd never see you again" she pulled back.
"So did I".
Jackie turned to Rose, mouth half open, as if looking for an explanation.
"The TARDIS sensed that the portal was opened and she brought him here, brought him back" Rose beamed.
...
It had been a few hours and The Doctor, Rose and Jackie were sitting watching telly and chatting. They talked about everything. Rose told him about her job at Torchwood and what she'd been up to since he'd left. He told her about Amy and Rory and about their adventures. She'd smiled sadly and snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder when he'd told her how he'd lost them. Jackie had grimaced as he dipped his fish fingers into custard and Rose had laughed loudly.
"Fish fingers and custard?" she asked incredulously.
He'd shrugged and smiled at her, offering her his bowl of custard.
"I think I'll just stick to my chips thanks".
Pete came home from work eventually; he was shocked at the sight in front of him, his wife and daughter watching telly with The Doctor. He'd honestly thought he'd never see it.
"Well isn't this a surprise" he'd raised an eyebrow.
"Dad!" Rose beamed "look who came back".
"Pete Tyler!" The Doctor jumped back, hugging the other man without hesitation. "It's great to see you again!".
"Same to you" he replied.
"I have to call Mickey!" Rose exclaimed suddenly. "I can't believe I didn't... I should have done that before".
"Ah yes, good old Mickey, how's he doing".
"He's doing great, he works for Torchwood as well" Rose smiled, pulling her phone out of her pocket and walking off towards the hallway.
...
It was barely twenty minutes after Rose had hung up when there was an insistent banging at the Tyler's front door. Rose rushed to open the door, beaming at Mickey's slightly flustered but completely excited expression. She indicated over her shoulder and watched as Mickey rushed through the house.
...
The Doctor stood up when he heard the banging on the door.
"Stay here, I'll get it" Rose smiled.
Not even a minute later he watched as Mickey ran into the room. The look of complete wonder on his face reminded him of when they'd both met.
"Doctor!" Mickey exclaimed, throwing his arms around the man.
"Mickey Smith!" The Doctor hugged him back. "It's great to see you again".
Mickey pulled away, absolutely beaming and laughed loudly. "A bow tie?".
"Bow ties are cool" The Doctor defended for what felt like the hundredth time that day, fixing it slightly as if to confirm this.
"You're still him. New face though".
"Yeah. New face, new TARDIS, new sonic screwdriver" The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket before flipping it and pointing it at nothing in particular. "See? It's green now".
"New TARDIS?" Mickey asked. "What no more coral things?".
"Nope, it's blue now. Lots of blue. Blue lighting... it kinda looks more... sophisticated?" he tried.
"Well it'll have to look more sophisticated to take away from the fact that you aren't" Rose smirked.
"Hey! I'm sophisticated, just you wait Rose Tyler, I'll prove it to you...".
"Ok, well how about we see this new TARDIS then".
...
The Doctor walking towards Bad Wolf Bay with Rose's hand in his and Mickey on his other side, smirking to himself, was something he could never foresee. He'd thanked his TARDIS a thousand times in the last few hours and he continued to do so. They were chatting happily, completely oblivious to anything around them. It was just like it used to be.
Once they reached the TARDIS, The Doctor let go of Rose's hand, spun on his heel and said "watch this" before clicking his fingers to open the door.
"That's new" Rose smirked.
"She trusts me" he stroked his TARDIS gently before ushering Rose and Mickey inside.
The wonder on both of their faces was just as if it was their first time in the TARDIS all over again. And The Doctor beamed at them both. He watched as Rose walked around the TARDIS console, sliding her hand along the edge as she went. He waited for one of them to say something.
Rose beamed at him, tongue between teeth. "I like it" she said finally.
"You do?".
"Yeah, it's... sophisticated" she smirked.
"What are all those?" Mickey asked.
The Doctor followed Mickey's line of sight and noticed that he was referring to the circular galifreyan written around the top of the TARDIS console. "Oh" he muttered. "Um... that's... circular galifreyran. The language of my people" he hesitated.
"What does it say?" Rose asked.
The Doctor hesitated for a moment again, fiddling with his bow tie for a moment before saying, "they're the... names of all of my... companions".
The Doctor didn't know what he expected to happen but he was sure that he didn't expect Rose to wrap her arms around him and ask "well where's my name then?".
He looked down at her, smiling faintly before pointing to her name. "You're there, Rose Tyler".
"So that's what my name looks like in your language".
"Yep".
"I look good".
He laughed, wrapping an arm around her gently. "Yeah, you always do".
Mickey coughed slightly causing them both to jump a little.
"So nothing's changed then?" he smirked at them.
"Not really" The Doctor shrugged, not picking up the double meaning of Mickey's words.
"Well, I better get back then. Back to the real world" Mickey smiled and waved before leaving the TARDIS quietly.
"So..." The Doctor started.
"No more words" Rose laughed, pulling him down by the lapels of his jacket so she could press their lips together.
...