Her days had become routine. Wake up, eat breakfast, get ready, go to work, come home, continue work at home, eat, shower, go to sleep. In that order. It was monotonous, but Rose Tyler knew it was necessary. How could she be happy when he was still out there? If she hadn't let go of that lever... Every waking moment revolved around the dimension cannon, finding a way to punch a hole through the very fabric of the universe. Rose had to get back. To get out of 'Pete's World' and to find the Doctor, her Doctor.
Blueprints and pages of equations were strewn across her desk, each paper thumbed and worn from the endless hours being poured over them. Rose had gotten her own flat, closer to Torchwood than the manor Pete owned, so her nights were spent alone. One wall of the flat was made almost entirely of windows, so when the day was done and the moon came out, she could see the stars and shadows of the galaxy from wherever she was. This night, like every other night, she sat with her hands wrapped around a cup of tea, her eyes growing more and more tired as she poured over a large book of constellations. Rose tucked a stray piece of blonde hair back behind her ear, the rest was piled in a bun atop her head. She bit her thumb anxiously as she studied the sketches of the night sky. Something was wrong here. Perhaps...
She stood, bringing her tea with her as she stood in front of the windows. The same London skyline as the one she grew up with, but it was still different. Not hers. She crossed one arm across her chest, hugging her side as she brought the mug up to her lips. There was something about the stars.
"If the Doctor was here, he'd know." The words came out without a thought. Rose blinked twice, biting her lip. She was about to turn away, silently cursing herself, when a flash burned against the darkness. She whipped back round, pressing her nose against the glass to see as the light faded into the distance. It was nothing, she told herself. A shooting star, perhaps. Extraterrestrial activity had been almost nonexistent as of late, there was no reason why that would change now. She crossed to the kitchen, setting her mug in the sink to clean another time. Her face fell into her hands as she rested her elbows on the counter. A sort of tension spread across her body, something that always happened when she let herself let go of her composure. She could feel her nails digging into her face, leaving angry marks on the pale skin.
And at once, Rose let it go. She stood straight, hands swinging loosely at her sides. She was stronger than this, the Doctor had made her stronger than she had ever thought she could be. And she couldn't let herself lose what little she had left of him, even the parts of him that were a part of her. This was enough for one night. Rose strode out of the kitchen and through the living room into her bedroom, switching off the lights on the way. After a quick brush of the teeth and change into pajamas, she slid into her bed. It took a long time to actually fall asleep, as always. Her mind was just always so alive. She had taken to replaying memories in her head, like her favourite scenes from a movie. Tonight, she remembered the first time they met. The ordinary day that became extraordinary. And soon enough, she was asleep, with an easy smile spread across her face.
RIIINNGGG RIIINNGGG
"Bloody hell..." Rose turned over, opening her bleary eyes to face her alarm clock.
07:53 am.
"Damn!" she tore out of bed, opening her still ringing phone and lifting it to her ear as she grabbed a pair of jeans from her dresser.
"Mornin' sunshine. Have a good sleep then?" said the voice on the other end.
"Mickey, oh Mickey, I'm so sorry, I know I'm late. I'm on my way in...give me ten minutes." Rose grimaced as she pulled on one leg of her jeans, followed by the other.
"Hey, hey, it's all good. I've gotcha covered. But we got a new arrival last night. Thought it'd be something you'd want to see." Mickey sounded amused.
"A new arrival? Alien?" She switched the phone from one ear to the other as she put on a pair of socks.
"Seems like it. I mean, he looks human and everything, but he literally fell out of the sky. As in, there was no sign of a ship. Just him."
"Has he said anything? Can he speak English?" Rose rushed as she finished getting ready.
"Nothing yet. Haven't found a way to get him to talk. Anyway, I'll fill you in on the rest when you get here."
"Sounds good. See you soon." She hung up, grabbing a muffin from the pantry and jacket from the closet as she slid on her shoes before heading out the door.
The ride to Torchwood Institute seemed longer than normal. An alien, a humanoid, probably intelligent alien was here. It was always exciting. News from other planets, possible trades, aliens always had something to give. As long as they were Weevils, she thought, it was almost definitely going to be interesting.
Rose had no idea how right she was.
When she finally arrived, the Institute was already bustling with activity. The day always started early with these people. She found Mickey walking down the hall and placed a hand on his strong shoulder. He smiled and pointed down, towards the basement of the building.
"They're keeping him in a cell downstairs. Wanna see?"
Rose threw a glance down the hall at her office. They were getting close to a breakthrough with the dimension cannon, she could feel it. But the temptation of a new alien was always enough for her. She nodded toward Mickey, and they headed down the elevator to the basement.
Stepping out into the hall she could feel the change in temperature from upstairs. The entire floor seemed deserted, save a UNIT guard standing in front of one of the rooms. She glanced at Mickey questioningly. He gave her a reassuring nod and gestured for her to walk toward the guard.
"Hello there," she said nervously as she stepping in front of the handsome man in a red cap. He looked familiar, she must've seen him before.
" 'ello Ms. Tyler. Visting?" He smiled easily. That did it, they must've met before.
"Indeed I am, Roger," Rose smiled as well. She remembered him now, he had become friends with Jake Simmonds when he joined with Torchwood as well.
Roger turned and opened the door with a specialized key card. A light blinked and the door swung open, revealing a room that was split in two. A plane of glass showed the farther side of the room that held a bed, toilet and sink. Seated on the bed on the other side was a man. The closer side held only a chair.
Rose was intrigued by the man. She stepped slowly into the room, sitting on the chair and regarding him silently. Mickey stayed in the doorway, striking up a conversation with Roger while continuously glancing back at Rose.
The man on the bed lifted his head slowly. He was dressed, there was no other word for it, regally. All black and green, with a gold band loose around his neck, he appeared to be wearing a sort of armored robe. His hair, black as the night sky, was slicked back and striking against his pale skin. And his eyes, they were impossible. A sort of mixture of the blue of a clear summer day and the gray of a storm cloud that had just started brewing. And they were staring at her.
Rose was suddenly very conscious of herself. Aware of the fact that the only thing she had done with her hair was brush it with her fingers while she drove over. But it was more than that. She felt he could see into her. He could see that she belonged here about as much as he did.
"M-my name is Rose. Rose Tyler." She had to say something. The silence had been long and unbearable. She said it slowly, unsure of whether he would understand. She didn't expect him to respond.
The man's head tilted slightly as he regarded what she had said. Rose still couldn't tell if he knew the language. He was such a brilliant mystery. And then he stood. It was a fast, graceful motion. One second he was sitting and the next he towered over Rose, who was still seated in her chair. One of his hands came up to rest on the glass while the other was hidden behind his back. His head was still on an angle as he stared down at her.
"Good morning, Rose. I am Loki, of Asgard.