Knowing Rose Tyler, sequel to Watching Rose Tyler.

Summary: Impossible takes its toll on the mind. Two men, one body, one love. Which of them really loves Rose Tyler, and, more importantly, which does she truly love in return?

Characters/Pairings: 11th Doctor, Rose Tyler, James Samuels, some old and new friends we'll meet along the way. 11Rose, JamesRose, heavily implied 9Rose and 10Rose.

Rating: T. Lots of angst later on, and will get darker, but it's mainly for safety.

Genre: Romance, Drama, Angst.

Spoilers: This story deviates from the series at the end of the Runaway Bride, so lots of spoilers for season 1 and 2, I will reference to things we learn from season 3 though. Minor for old series. I live in Australia, so I do not get the series until halfway through the year, so dont expect season 4 spoilers for a very long time. Also, I got this idea when I heard rumors about the episodes Human Nature and Family of Blood, before I watched them, so I'm sorry if its sickeningly close, and I may borrow a line or two from it, but trust me, the story will get very original soon.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor who, the BBC does, I am making no profit from this story, other than some reviews that make my day!


'Whoo hoooo!'

The TARDIS was rocking; actually, the term would probably have been quaking. In all the time Rose had travelled with the Doctor, even with, wait, make that especially with the Doctor's driving skills, a trip in the TARDIS had never been this rocky.

Then again, this was no ordinary trip.

'Keep those dials below red!' The Doctor yelled over the klaxons.

Rose ran to the panel and began flicking switches hurriedly.

'Okay, now here comes the fun bit!' The Doctor abandoned the controls just gripped the consol. There was no mistaking him now, this was the Doctor, and he was almost home.

Rose's fingers began to ache from holding on so tightly, but then, with one final almighty lurch, the shaking stopped.

'Are we there yet?' Rose asked. The Doctor clambered over to the screen.

'Yep! Safe and sound, we're back in the vortex.' He exclaimed.

'We're home.' Rose said softly, standing by his shoulder and staring at the picture of the vortex on screen.

'Yes.' The Doctor smiled.

The Doctor turned to her, not realizing, much less caring about how close they were standing to each other. He brushed a hand down her neck and closed his eyes.

He leant towards her.

And he just kept leaning.

He missed her lips entirely and went over her shoulder, a dead weight in her arms, unconscious.

Rose staggered under the surprisingly heavy weight before rolling her eyes.

'Dang Doctor…' She muttered aloud. 'Cant even spend two minutes back home without some sort of trouble.'

Same old life. Taking care of the last of the Time Lords.

Someone had to do it.


Rose bumped the door open with her hip, careful not to spill the tea and toast she was carrying. Inside, the Doctor, her Doctor was asleep.

Actually, he was unconscious. And whatever Rose did, he wouldn't wake up.

She had no idea what made him faint like that; he was fine one minute, then out cold, falling on top of her. It had taken a struggle and a half to get him into his bedroom, but she had managed.

Placing the tray on the bedside table, Rose sat on the covers and waited.

'James definitely has a handsome face.' Rose thought before she could correct herself. She scolded herself quietly. It wasn't James' face, James never existed.

The Doctor stirred, shifting slightly under the covers and Rose turned her attention back to him. He furrowed his brow before opening his eyes and blinking them into focus.

'There you are.' Rose smiled. 'I gotta admit, you really scared me just then. What did you think went wrong?'

The Doctor frowned. 'Rose? What are you doing here?' He looked around at the bed he was sleeping in, 'Why were you watching me sleep?'

Rose smiled and rolled her eyes like she was telling off a small child. 'Doctor, what else did you expect me to do once you fainted like that? Read a book?'

He raised a hand to his face and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. 'Rose, I might be smart, but I never did a PhD.'

'What?' Rose asked warily.

The answer chilled Rose to the bones.

'I'm not a doctor.'


Rose followed him at a jog into the control room, on the verge of tears.

'Where are we, Rose?' He asked suddenly, turning to face her.

Rose blinked back the tears, 'We're on the TARDIS.' She said simply.

'A Torchwood operation?' he prompted.

Rose could only shake her head. His manner suddenly changed as he realized something. He kicked into something resembling his protective mode, only, it wasn't the same.

'Are you in danger?' He asked gently.

'No!' Rose was almost sobbing now, 'I'm safe, I'm with you, we're home.'

He shook his head slightly. 'This isn't your home, Rose, and it's definitely not mine.'

Rose used her sleeve to wipe away some tears as her mind clicked into place.

'James?' She asked warily, her voice cracking slightly.

'Please don't, please...' she begged silently.

The Doctor did it.

He nodded.

Like it was the most obvious think in the world.

Crying, Rose took a step towards him, searching his green eyes for that spark that could only belong to the Doctor, but there was none. His eyes were like the sea after a storm, but she needed the Storm.

Rose began shaking, trembling all over, she glanced around her, to find someone that could help, but the only person that could was standing right in front of her.

'Rose-' James started, but suddenly, he convulsed, groaning in pain. He grabbed his head frantically.

'Rose! What's going on?' He screamed, but Rose just stood there helplessly. He screamed again and fell to his knees, writing in agony. Without warning, he stopped, still holding his head and breathing heavily. Trembling, he looked up.

'Rose? What just happened?' He asked.

The storm in his eyes had returned.

'Oh, my head!' He moaned, and stood shakily. 'Rose, tell me, what just happened.'

'D- Doctor?' She asked cautiously.

He met her eye before nodding slowly.

Rose breathed a sigh of relief and brought her hand up to her face.

'Tell me!' He ordered, a little too harshly.

'You, you collapsed, just after we landed in the vortex.' She said shakily. 'I dragged you to your bed, then you woke up, but you were different, you were James.'

The Doctors eyes widened slightly, but Rose continued.

'I don't know how it's possible, but I'm sure it was like him, just like the James you were before, you didn't recognize the control room, or anything. Then you…he doubled over again and you started talking.'

The Doctor was breathing heavily, eyes darting around the room, like there was some clue that would explain it there.

Without warning, he collapsed to his knees, hands on head again.

'Argh!' He groaned then he looked at Rose, pleading, desperate. 'He's resurfacing, I haven't got long.' He began panting, fighting for consciousness. 'You've got to tell him, Rose, explain it, then maybe he will go away and I'll have time to figure out what went wrong.'

Rose just stood there, dumbly.

'Rose, tell me you will.' He stood to his full height, almost intimidating her. 'Promise me!'

'Okay!' Rose yelled distraughtly.

The Doctor smiled with relief before closing his eyes and letting go.

'Ah, what a headache!' The man who Rose assumed had to be James stood straight, running a hand through his hair. 'What just happened?' He demanded.

Rose choked back a sob.

'You-' Rose started, she swallowed hard and tried again. 'You don't exist.'

James smiled in confusion. 'Rose, what are you talking about?'

'The… The Doctor invented you so he could get into Torchwood without me noticing.' Rose blurted out.

James frowned. 'What are you saying?'

'You don't exist, James, you never existed. The Doctor-'

'Those men on your wall.' James interrupted. 'Rose, I look nothing like them!'

'That's what I thought at first…' Rose said softly. James cocked his head. Rose took a deep breath and continued. 'The Doctor is a Time Lord and he can regenerate and change his entire body. I travelled with him in the TARDIS for about two years and-'

'Rose!' James interrupted. His eyes were wide and his mouth moved silently before he could find the words. 'I'm- I'm human, I'm as human as they come.'

Rose hung her head then looked up with a sniff. 'You're human?' She asked, taking a step closer to him. He nodded. Taking another step even closer, she raised her hands to his chest, pressing her palms flat against him on either side.

'Then how come I can feel two hearts?' Rose asked simply.

James stumbled back, pressing his own hands above his hearts. He stayed there for a moment, just feeling. He raised his eyes to meet Rose's, blinking back tear-stung eyes. 'I'm…I'm James Samuels. That's all I've ever known, all I've ever been. Why can't I stay as I am?'

'I need… we need the Doctor.'

'What am I then? A cover story? Is that all I am to you?' He was breathing heavily now, panting, on the verge of tears. 'When I kissed you, was that a lie?'

Rose squeezed her eyes shut and hung her head. It wasn't fair. She was healing and he was breaking her again, both of them.

She was weeping quietly now, hard-wrenching sobs and burning tears. Beside her, a single hot tear dripped off James's face. He lifted his head and met her eyes. When he finally spoke, his voice was even and calm.

'I trust you, Rose.' He said, sincerity burning in his eyes where the Storm should have been. 'You wouldn't lie to me and I wouldn't lie to you. We wouldn't do that to one another.'

Rose felt her heart ache.

'Rose.' He said earnestly. 'No lies, no secrets, no deception, I trust you. Tell me what I have to do and I'll do it.'

Rose could feel her mouth moving but she didn't know what words were falling out, all she could see was James's green eyes and the trust in them.

'Just let go.' She blabbed. 'Try not to control everything for a minute then maybe the Doctor will come back. Don't fight him, just let him come back.'

James nodded mutely. 'Okay, Rose.' He said, completely trusting. 'We'll figure this out, alright?' then he gave a forced laugh. 'All three of us.'

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

Then he jerked suddenly, like he had fallen asleep standing up.

'Doctor?' Rose asked tentatively.

He swayed unsteadily before nodding. 'Yes. But I'm so tired now.' He stumbled slightly, holding onto the consol for support. 'I think we'll have to limit swaps to one a day, my body can't stand too much.' He smiled dizzily then started moving around the consol, activating controls.

'What are you doing?' Rose asked, taking a step forward.

'Landing on Earth, present time, your present, that is.' He waved a hand and continued to use the controls. 'I don't know how long this will take to sort out. But, I promise, Rose, I'll figure it out.'

They landed with a soft jolt and the Doctor began stumbling back to his room, leaning heavily on Rose. On the way there, he gave her a list of instructions, things to look out for, things to make sure James doesn't do, don't let him outside, don't let him touch the controls. It made Rose's head spin hearing the Doctor give instructions about what not to let himself do, but they weren't the same, she had to remember that.

Once the Doctor was on his bed, he murmured a thank you to Rose before drifting off almost immediately. It was only then that Rose realised just how tired she was and stumbled back into her own room, finding it exactly as she left it, unmade bed and all. She crashed into the covers and let the sleep over take her, wondering what the next day would bring.


Ta da! First chapter up! Expect the updates to be spasmodic at best, I am in the middle of writing a story for the Young Australian Christian Writers Award, so my efforts will be focused there, but the story is in my head and it wont go away until its written!

Please, please, please review, I want to know if its worth continuing. What do you think? How did this happen? Whats going to happen? What's the big twist I have in store for later?

Also, I'd like an online BETA, if anyone wants to take the job, review and tell me! First in, best dressed!