Author's Note: Ok, I have officially become obsessed. I've fallen in love with Doctor Who. The new series is brilliant. I'm afraid that I haven't written fanfiction in a good long while. I have to get back into the groove. This is my first Doctor Who fic. Pardon me while I stumble about in this world. I love it, but I'm still learning.

Also, I own nothing of Doctor Who. I only have my meager imagination. Hope that it is entertaining to y'all.

Author: Ardith S.
Spoilers for Doomsday. Reunion Fic. 10xRose, of course. Rose is left to contemplate her life alone. She dreams of the burning power of the time vortex.

Rating: M (Well, not in the first chapter. Second chapter and on, though.)

Sometimes Rose dreamt of fire. She could see everything. The past. The future. She controlled it all. She could feel the time vortex flowing through her, changing her as she opened her eyes. Then she remembered. Then…she woke up. She was alone in a universe without him. Of course, she still had her mum and father. Mickey tried to distract her. Sometimes she would let him, but even Mickey couldn't make her forget.

At nineteen, her universe was rocked by a strange man in a strange box. Rose was captivated. Head over heels. Over the moon. The connection between them was just that perfect. A teenagers and time traveling... What a volatile mix, she thought.

She had been impulsive, feeling the power of a magnetic man who could have the universe if he wanted to. Instead, he spent his time exploring the amazing, mad universe with her, getting into trouble and having so much fun doing it. He opened her eyes and changed the way she viewed everything around her. When the doors between worlds were closed, Rose thought she might break. The loss of the Doctor hurt so much.

But she didn't--and she never would. She was a better person for meeting the Doctor and she would not give him up. She never wanted to forget him.

Fate, she thought idly, was bollocks. And it was time to get up. A long day at Torchwood awaited her. And a bowl of cereal

Her Doctor was gone. A cosmic accident. They saved the world, but it cost both of them so much.

"Get up, Rose. It's time to get through another day. It's going to be a great day. Maybe you'll discover something...fantastic."

"Morning, my mister Jamie!" Rose gave her baby brother a smacking kiss and rubbed the dark rose lipstick mark away as he giggled and showed his mostly gummy grin, his big blue eyes sparkled with laughter.

"You're chipper this morning, Rose." Her mother smiled, feeding the babbling bundle of flailing arms and legs. Her tow-headed little brother was always a bundle of energy--morning, noon, or night. Jackie relished every minute.

Rose knew that for her mother, at least, this universe was perfect. She was reunited with her husband and her children were healthy and near. Wealth was a nice bonus after so many years of hard work and sacrifice, but the fact she had Pete and her children amazed her mother. Nearly a year after Jamie's birth, she was discussing having another baby. Jackie Tyler practically glowed with happiness. Rose knew that Jackie Tyler did not take a bit of this fortune for granted. And although those terrifying hours in Torchwood haunted her sometimes, Jackie knew she owed a lot to the Doctor. Though they were dead in their world, this one welcomed them with open arms.

And though she would never say it, she was sorry that her Rose could not be with him. Oh, not the living in danger bits. Jackie was elated that her Rose was home, as safe as she could be. But Jackie could tell how much Rose wanted to be with him. Jackie Tyler loved the Doctor for everything he did to save her family, but she knew there was something wrong for Rose. It was as if a bit of her was gone. Strange, but today seemed a bit different. She watched her daughter rush about the kitchen with a new intensity. Maybe this world's Torchwood was doing Rose a bit of good.

"I'm just thinking about the new project. We've found some amazing technology at the crash site near Dartmoor a few days ago. Things to do. You know, busy, busy, busy." Rose grabbed a bowl of muesli and yogurt, eating with enthusiasm. "I've been working with a puzzle box. At least it seems like a puzzle box. It's a strange little thing. I know there's a key to it. Maybe it's a recorder or something."

"Ah, fascinating," Jackie mumbled, catching Jamie's bowl of cereal before it could hit the floor. She planted a smacking kiss on his chubby cheek. "Young man, you are a bundle of trouble. A real wild child. Just like your sister, you are."

"Ah, mum, you and dad really breed wild ones," Rose laughed, kissing her mother on the cheek. "Bye. I'm off to work now. Don't cause any trouble, James. Tell dad I'll see him at the office."

If one did not have the option of jumping on a TARDIS and hopping about time, then working at Torchwood was the next best thing. Working out alien technology and protecting Earth was a comparable alternative to exploring the universe. Unless, of course, you had the option.

Rose would do almost anything to be able to be out there. Different ground under her feet, different sky above her head. With him.

Instead she forced herself to focus on the smooth onyx box before her. There was a key to it. She could feel it. Scavenged out of crash site wreckage, the box seemed hollow, but none of the scanners could penetrate it. Strange. She concentrated, her gloved fingers sliding over the surface.

Nothing.

"Maybe it needs a physical connection," she mumbled to herself. Physical touch had changed that Dalek in Utah. She pulled off her latex gloves, rubbing the powder off absently. She paused to turn on the infrared scanning camera then reached out to touch the smooth surface.

A burning sensation raced through her body. She could barely scream before the world turned black then hot with fire. In the white-hot fire, Rose Tyler thought she could hear his voice. Then, there was nothing.

The first sound she heard was her father's voice. He was barking orders and directing the room to be sealed. And a body bag. His voice sounded harsh.

"What the bloody hell was she doing?" Mickey asked. "There's almost nothing left of her. Jesus. Rose, you idiot."

"The equipment near her station was destroyed as well. We'll never know. Dammit, Rose! Dammit. What am I going to tell your mum? It will break her heart," her father gulped back a sob. "You were supposed to stay safe."

"I just touched it," Rose whispered. Her voice sounded rusty to her own ears. "Then there was an immense heat."

"Rose." Her father knelt down next to her. He touched her carefully, his hands shaking. She felt a bit grubby. Blinking up at him, she rubbed her face and felt ash fall away. "Rose, you were dead."

"Obviously not, Dad."

"R-Rose. You were definitely dead. For the past 20 minutes. B-burned. It's impossible." His eyes looked a bit wild as he examined his daughter.

"Oh. Hm. Seriously? That's a development." She winced as he ran his hands down her arms, clearing away the ash to reveal pink skin. "Hm, either that black puzzle box has changed me... or..."

"Or?" Mickey asked hoarsely.

"Or it was something else. Before everything went black-"

"You mean before you DIED?!?" Mickey interrupted.

"I heard the Doctor then. Then nothing. And..."

"The Doctor made you immortal?" Peter Taylor's face was grew paler.

"I don't think he can do that, dad. But I've been having the strangest dreams. Over and over, fire and heat. Burning. Just like-- Well, I did, um, absorbed... Um, the timevortexthatonetimeanditalmostkilledme."

"When we opened the TARDIS." Mickey stated flatly. "You went back for the Doctor and he had to regenerate. You almost died? You never said anything about almost dying."

"The Doctor, he... he kissed me and took the vortex into himself. I-I never talked about it, because he regenerated after that. His cells were destroyed."

"You had time and space within you, Rose. I may not be a genius, but I think that may change your insides a bit."

"More than a bit," her father put in. "Well. Development, indeed. I don't think we should share this info. I don't fancy Torchwood trying to play let's-make-Rose-Tyler-stop-ticking, even in the name of progress."

"Your dad and me were the ones who found you. We'll say it was a mistake." Mickey stood up and dusted his hands off. Tilting his head, he studied her carefully.

"She's covered with ash and was dead, Mickey. That's a bit hard to disguise. Also we were carrying on as if she were dead."

"That would be because she was dead, Pete. Crispy critter."

Rose frowned. "I was just knocked out and the glow was too intense for you guys to get to me."

"And the ash?" Mickey asked.

"Um. Something had to burn. My clothes then. I mean, I am sitting here in nothing BUT ash. Just noticed that. Perhaps you could help me with that problem?"

"Agh!" Her father scrambled back, running for the door. "She's fine! She was just knocked out. Clothing burnt. No injuries. Please, she needs some clothing. Now."