This story takes place between the classic Doctor Who episodes of "Fury from the Deep" and "The Wheel in Space" in Season 5.

The Second Doctor

Rose landed with a thump, and staggered a bit before regaining her balance, but there was no nausea or fatigue this time. Maybe having the TARDIS directing the jumps will make all of the difference, she thought hopefully. She patted the console gratefully and turned around to look at her surroundings. She realized that this console room looked almost identical to the one that she had just left. In fact, she would have thought it was the exact same one in the same place and time - if it wasn't for the young man wearing a kilt standing off to the side and gazing at her with disbelief. {Hello} She sent out with a little cheerful mental wave. There was no response, and no recognition, so apparently this was not the Doctor. Time for the direct approach then, she thought.

She gave the man a big smile and spoke reassuringly, "Hello, sorry to just drop in like this but I am looking for the Doctor. Is he here?" Before the man could answer, though, another voice spoke up.

"Did you say something, Jamie? I thought I heard a woman." The owner of this voice came around the corner out of a corridor, took one look at his visitor, blinked a couple of times as the memories unlocked, and then cheerfully shouted, "Oh my word, it's Rose!"

The dark mop-headed man with the long black coat, checked trousers, and polka dot bow tie crossed over to Rose and swept her up in a big hug before setting her gently back down on her feet. She patted his cheek affectionately and giggled while she adjusted his bowtie. "Hello, Doctor," she said. "Long time, no see!" He grinned down at her and nodded.

"Yes, it has been," he replied. "Longer for me, than for you, though, I think." He smiled again as he heard her reply in his mind, {Well, I did just leave a certain white haired gentleman standing at the TARDIS console.} She winked at him as he took her hand and led her to his bewildered companion for introductions.

After convincing Jamie that Rose was indeed a friend from both his past and his future, and not some horrible shape-shifting monster that had broken into the TARDIS, the Doctor explained to her that they had just landed on the planet, Isthle, to investigate a distress signal. He also mentioned that he was especially happy to see her at that moment because his other companion, Victoria, had just chosen to leave and now both of them {Especially Jamie, poor fellow} felt a bit bereft at the lack of female company. He reassured her that he remembered her mission and promised to check the stars for her as soon as he could in order to determine if he was the Doctor who would help her or if she would need to jump again to the next one. As he set the TARDIS's sensors to check for spatial anomalies in the star patterns, he picked up her hand, squeezed it again, and sent her a message. {I sincerely hope that this me can be the one to help you. Maybe you will be able to stick around for a while then!} She giggled again and reached up to brush his floppy hair off of his brow. She was enjoying this new lighthearted personality of his. He smiled at her again and asked her to join them in their search on the planet since it was still early morning. At any rate, he felt certain that they had enough time to answer the distress signal and make it back to the TARDIS before the star scan would be completed – after all, there was a lot of universe to look through.

As the Doctor and Jamie (with Rose between them) set off from the TARDIS towards the source of the distress signal, she was struck by a memory of once being in the same exact position and experienced a moment of nostalgia and longing for her leather clad Doctor and Jack. Her breath hitched when she realized something that she had not allowed herself to think about before. She might possibly be able to see them again if these earlier Doctors couldn't help her. She didn't know whether to wish for that, though. To be sure that it would be better for the universe if this could all be resolved as quickly as possible, but wouldn't it be better for her soul if she could give her first future doctor a proper goodbye? She blushed a little at the thought of that and her current Doctor looked over at her a bit strangely when he felt the wave of longing as well as another… unusual… emotion leak through her shields. {Are you…alright, my dear?} He asked uncertainly, sounding more like the kindly white haired Doctor that she had just left. {Oh yes, indeed! I was just a bit surprised by a future memory.} She replied quickly (and a little embarrassed) as he nodded simply in understanding.

She then took the hands of both her companions and asked about their recent adventures as they walked. They talked about the Daleks and Cybermen, and Rose cried when the Doctor told her that his "renewal" had come after his last Cybermen encounter. He held her hand tightly, sorry to have caused her this pain, while Jamie awkwardly patted her on the back until she felt calm again. Without letting go of the Doctor's hand, she then proceeded to tell Jamie about her encounters with the metal monstrosities – even about that painful time when she and the future Doctor had to face both sets of them at once! Jamie was shocked to discover that not only had Rose faced both of these enemies multiple times and survived, but that she had also been stranded in a parallel universe for years because of them! The Doctor was less surprised because he had seen her memories of these encounters, but it did serve to reinforce his belief about just how special Rose was. He didn't say this out loud, however, just assured Jamie that her stories were true. Then they all compared notes about the best ways to defeat these common enemies - with Jamie respectfully hanging on to her every word now that he knew she was a lot more than just a pretty face.

When they reached the nearby town, the Doctor dug a little scanner from his pocket and searched for the location of the distress signal. He asked his companions to wait for him while he checked out a nearby spot. While he was gone, Rose thought about Jamie's heritage and his trustworthiness, and made a decision. She swore him to secrecy, and then told him the highlights of their Scotland trip when she and the Doctor saved Queen Victoria from the werewolf. He was still laughing at the thought of the Doctor's banishment when the man himself appeared at their side and panted, "When I say run, RUN!"

They didn't make it, of course, and were captured and dragged into the jail on some trumped up charges of conspiracy to commit Grand Theft Spaceship or something similar – especially since the distress signal that they were looking for wasn't actually a distress signal after all, but more of an intergalactic car alarm. It didn't help, either, when they put Rose into a different cell than the two men. She was down the hall and they couldn't even see her. The Doctor began to worry when she didn't immediately answer the mental inquiry he sent to her. Both of them did hear her swear loudly, though, and that was followed by a shout, and a loud "crunch!" {Rose, Rose, are you alright, my dear?} The Doctor called again frantically to her mind.

"Of course, I am. Somebody has to save you two!" she exclaimed cheerfully as she rushed to unlock their door with the keys that she had taken off of the now unconscious guard. Jamie was obviously impressed and the Doctor beamed at her with delight. Then she told him that she had decided to introduce the guard to some of her Torchwood martial arts training when he had gotten a bit too handsy with her.

"Did he hurt you?" the Doctor exclaimed angrily, his face suddenly infused with fury. Rose could see his fists clenched together beneath their restraints. She hurriedly opened the cell and walked over to him to reassure him that she was okay. She patted his cheek and then both he and Jamie watched with astonishment as she stepped up to him, reached inside his jacket, and started digging through his pockets. "Rose, what do you think you are doing?" he asked, his good humor returning along with her reassurance.

"Just looking for something to release your hands, Doctor," she replied. "Those restraints do not unlock with a normal key." She continued to dig around his huge transdimensional pockets until something stopped her suddenly and she started grinning. "Why Doctor!" she exclaimed, "Is that a recorder in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

"Oh my giddy aunt! That's enough cheek out of you, Rose Tyler!" he commanded in a serious tone that was belied by the faint blush on his cheeks and the twinkle in his eye while Jamie just guffawed loudly on the other side of the cell. She smiled broadly and continued searching for another moment before pulling out something that resembled a Swiss Army Knife - except that it had attachments that were so alien looking that she couldn't even guess at their function. However, she was able to find one that looked like a cross between an ice pick and a screwdriver. She used this one to pop open a joint on the Doctor's restraints giving him back his freedom of movement. Rose rubbed his wrists for him for a moment to help restore his circulation and he was secretly thrilled at her touch. After they released Jamie, she grabbed a hand from each of them. The three of them then sneaked out of the building where they were being held, and ran laughing all the way back to the TARDIS.

As soon as they arrived, Rose insisted on going to make tea while the Doctor sent them into the vortex. She returned bearing a tray that, the Doctor noticed with amusement, contained the same pink mug that she had used last on her last visit, but that he had not seen since. After tea, the Doctor checked the star scans again with Rose by his side, and his face fell at once. "No," he whispered to Rose. "The stars are all here. I can't help you." She gave him a gentle little hug and sent him a reassuring thought. {You are helping me right now!} This restored his smile, and he brightened up as he said, "I insist that you sleep here again, though, before jumping. There's no telling what crazy situation that you will find yourself in with the next me. You need your rest!" She agreed, happy to have some more time with him, and they made their way to the galley to prepare dinner.

After dinner, they all retired to the library. Rose had showered and changed into some modest pajamas first –just in case she fell asleep in the library again like she did with the previous Doctor. The current Doctor gave her a quick look of surprise but didn't say anything when he realized that it was quite a sensible thing to her to do. Then, to Rose's amusement and Jamie's consternation, the Doctor insisted on serenading them with recorder music from his armchair. However, when asked, Jamie did consent to accompany the Doctor and sang several Scottish folk songs in his clear, strong brogue. Rose even surprised herself by singing along when the Doctor played a couple of songs that she recognized. The men thought her voice was lovely and felt even more admiration for her than before. All in all, it was a nice evening. However, Rose's body felt the stress and exhaustion of the fighting and running more than she realized and she soon fell asleep on the couch again. This time it happened with her head on Jamie's shoulder. Jamie offered to carry her to a room, but the Doctor felt an irrational flash of jealousy at the suggestion, and he immediately insisted on doing it himself. Jamie just shrugged, a bit disappointed since he wouldn't have minded sneaking in a kiss, but stopped suddenly with the shocking thought that maybe the Doctor had the same idea. Did the Doctor even do anything like that? Jamie snickered at that thought and went on to his own room.

The Doctor, to his great surprise, soon realized that he did have the same idea, but managed to restrain himself admirably. He had carried Rose to the room where she had showered and changed earlier and tucked her in gently. He contented himself with stroking the hair off of her forehead and contemplated how much this precious girl was already beginning to mean to him in just the short time that he had known her. He then realized with surprise that one day he will have known her for his entire life – at least through his 10thincarnation, but possibly longer. He couldn't imagine how strong his feelings would be after all of that time if he was already contemplating kissing her now. He then recalled the memory that she had shared with him of his ninth self sacrificing a regeneration in order to save her life… and nodded in understanding. He could guess how it was going to be. He blushed a little as he remembered that flash of what could only be called want that he had felt from her earlier in the day when she had confessed to being surprised by a future memory. The future was going to be very interesting with her around, indeed! He thought about it for a moment and then smiled as he walked out of her room, closing the door quietly so he would not wake her. Behind him, Rose smiled in her sleep as she caught a flash of his thoughts in her dream.

The next morning, they all met at the console to say goodbye. Jamie braved the Doctor's disapproval by swinging Rose into a hug and received a kiss on the cheek in return. He then reluctantly left the room to let the two have a private goodbye. The Doctor gazed sadly at Rose without speaking and wondered how many times he was going to have to say goodbye to her over their long life together. Rose's thoughts were in a similar place as she reached up to press her lips against first one cheek, then the other, and then on the tip of his nose. She grinned at his look of pleased surprise, told the TARDIS that she was ready, and initiated the jump sequence once again before he could recover enough to say anything.