He stood inside the TARDIS, twisting buttons and pulling knobs, trying to pilot the TARDIS on his own again. He wished he could find a companion who would want to stay with him, instead of realizing they don't want to see what's really out there after a few bad experiences. He had had one such companion, but he lost her. Her face flashed in his mind, her yellow hair, and her voice... oh that voice... the words I love you haunted his mind as he landed the TARDIS. Opening the door he realized he was in London. He exited the TARDIS and began to walk up and down the streets of London. He wasn't paying attention when he ran into a woman, knocking her off her feet.
"Oh I am so sorry." he said reaching to pick her up.
"No, no, it's fine actually. 'ello." She looked up at him, smiling a bit.
She wasn't going to be rude just because he bumped into her, accidentally.
"Are you alright?" She patted her jacket, and arranged her long, blod hair. "Hold on there, mister... Haven't I seen you before?" She narrowed her eyes, thoughtful. "Yeah... I have... The new year's eve. That was you, all tripsy, wasn't it? You told me I'd have a fantastic year..." She smiled brightly, crossing her arms. "Well, mate. You got it wrong. It's all plain and dull until now.." She titled her head, giggling.
He honestly couldn't remember her. He tried to remember New Year's Eve, but he just couldn't seem to remember.
"I'm sorry, I don't remember." he said as he helped her gather her things off the ground. "What is your name?"
She twister her lips, making an expression that much signified yeah-mate-there-was-no-chance-you-would-remember.
"Of course not... I guess you were way too lost inside your thoughts and new year's boose, ay?" She giggled again, shaking her head in denial. He was almost passing out, of course he wouldn't remember her. It was quite silly for her to ask him. "I'm Rose. Rose Tyler." She offered him her free hand and a warm smile, taking her personal belongings from his with the other. "I never got to ask you your name, though. Who are you?"
He stumbled back. That name. HER name. "I'm sorry, what is your name?" he had to ask again. His Rose was lost, lost for eternity.
She lifted an eyebrow, keeping her smile in her lips. Was he drunk all the time? "Rose... Tyler. Me. This." She pointed at her self, now slowly and patient. "And who are you, mister mystery? I'm very curious now, since you always seem to be kinda lost it time everytime we meet." Rose walked down a white wooden bench, not even three footsteps away. She placed her things over it, crossing her arms and waiting for him. "Come now, we've met before... I know it's hard to remember with all that fuzziness but.. Give it a try, will you?" She chuckled.
He placed one hand over his mouth. What was happening? Was the world trying to play a horrible joke on him? Take his Rose away and send him another? He had left his Rose on Bad Wolf bay with the other doctor. "I'm sorry. I recognize your face, but you cannot be Rose Tyler." "I knew a Rose Tyler and I lost her forever." he was shaking now from nervousness.
She frowned as she stared at the confused man in front of her. "Another Rose Tyler? Sorry, mate, never heard about her. Maybe it's just a coincidence, or the universe, playing with you. Dunno." Her smile fadded as she watched him. What was wrong? He seemed shaken and... weird. "What do you mean you lost her forever? She loved someone else?" Her innocent expression was truly from the heart. She didn't seem to understand what was happening.
"No..." he couldn't think of a way to describe what had happened without looking completely daft. "She... she died." he looked down at his hands.
"Oh." Rose kept on frowning, feeling bad for making that man remember his Rose. "Look, mate... I'm very sorry, never meant to bring your sorrows to the surface. I'm sorry, so so sorry." She placed a hand over his shoulder, uncertain of his reaction. She only hoped he wouldn't push her away. "I'm a different, Rose, though. Okay?" He bit her lower lip, worried. "Who are you, really? I know this is kinda meddlesome of me, but... What is your name?" She was only attempting to make him forget his lost Rose.
He couldn't be angry at this girl. It wasn't her fault her name was Rose. He shook his head and looked up, his eyes meeting hers. "I am the Doctor."
"Doctor? Doctor what?" She faced him, still waiting for the rest of his name. "You don't look like a doctor, that's for sure. Nice hair, by the way." She chuckled, looking up at his hair and feeling like ruffling it. Which was insane. "Well, let me just offer you a cup of tea. For the inconvenience. My house is not that far, actually is right over there." She pointed at a small home, quite similiar to the one he was sure he already new. Rose's home. "So, Doctor Mystery, would you like some tea?"
"Its just the Doctor, and yes, I would love some tea." he knew where this conversation was heading. Same conversation he had every-time he met someone new.
"Look, I'm not the type of girl that calls every one to take a cup of tea, kay?" She lifted an eyebrow at him. "This is really an apology." Walking their way down the street, she tried to remember anything from their conversation in the new year's eve. "I don't know how can't you remember me. I mean, that was a very awkward conversation. " She laughed loudly, but quickly. "You were leaning against that exact gate..." She pointed out. "... and I was just walking down here, right where we are. You looked ill, though."
"I assure you that I do not remember." He was never ill, and he never forgot a face. So, why couldn't he remember this girl? "So, Rose, do you have any dreams? Ever want to go somewhere big in the world?"
She glanced at him, glad. That was an unsual question to make, and she was happy she could answer a new question, finally. "Oh, Doctor... I'll never leave this little place, you know? Mum needs me, we live alone, just me and her. But..." He smiled sassy at him. ".. if you promise to keep it as a secret, I always wanted to see the sun. I know, it's mad. But I just wanted to pass along, watching the sun in the distance, burning out among the darkness of the universe, while everything seemed so calm and asleep." She sighed. "It must be such a beauty... I think I would feel like the smallest thing in the space."
He felt his heart tug. She was becoming more and more like Rose every minute. Maybe the universe was trying to help him cope with losing her. Maybe the universe was paying me back for all that I had lost. "You know Rose, I might just be able to help you with that. If you have an open mind to new things."
She narrowed his eyes at his last words. Oh no, what kind of thing was that? What the hell would he ask her? "Look, mate. I have a pretty open mind to new and exciting things... but.. I'm not actually looking for anything right now... Like, love things. I... I'm not quite sure if I follow you." She lifted an eyebrow at him, confused. "And how could you possibly help me to see the sun? I mean, blimey, have you seen it in pictures? It's not like travelling towards Chiswick by car." She giggled.
"Its alright, I understand your hesitation, but I am just looking for a mate. No romance. I..." he thought of his Rose again. "I'm not ready for that sort of thing yet." he managed a half smile before shaking his memories away. "So, you still want to get that tea, or would you like to see the Sun?"
Rose stopped walking, standing in front of him. She eyed him with a playful look and placed her things - nothing more than a few papers, some pens and a half eaten apple, wrapped in plastic - on the ground. "Doctor. I would like to see the Sun." She smiled at him, not actually believing his words. But the man was offering a trip towards the sun, how could she say no to that? She was expecting that he would laugh and say he was only joking, and she was ready to pick her things up and go upstairs to make the tea. But somewhere inside of her was craving for the adventure, was praying for that man to take her away to see the stars. Somehow.
"Then come with me." he said holding his hand out to her.
She widened her eyes. "What?" An embarrassed smile showed up as Rose took the Doctor's hand, uncertain. "I mean.. Yeah. Sure.." She blinked twice and tried to wake herself up. That was obviously a dream. It had to be. "Where to?"
He took her hand. Pulling her back down an alleyway. "This way" he said. As they rounded the corner the TARDIS came into view.
She had almost to run behind him, since his legs were longer then hers. Rose smiled as she saw the phone booth. "Alright, we're calling a cab to take us to the Sun?" She mocked him, but she didn't actually new what would he do in a police phone box. Besides, she didn't quite remembered that blue box standing there. Or was it always there? She couldn't actually tell. "We should take the bikes, you know? Healthier."
"Oh no, bikes will never get us to where we are going, we need the TARDIS." He said opening the door. "Come on in."
Rose kept on holding his hand, not even noticing. As she stepped inside the big blue box, her eyes brightened and she smiled, exactly like a child in the christmas day. "W-... Ho.-" She let go of his hand, leaving the T.A.R.D.I.S. and walking around it, touching the wooden walls with her hands and giggling. "That is not possible!" She turned around it once more, and stopped in front of the doors again, looking at the inside and the outside at the same time. Rose joined hands and laughed loudly again. "Oh my... God!" She walked in and took his hand, squeezing it once and leting it go. "This is fantastic! It's so much bigger on the inside!"
He had mouthed the words along with her. They all said 'Its bigger on the inside', he smiled thinking he should have it painted on the outside. "Really I hadn't noticed."
"Oh, stop it you!" She slapped his arm, nicely. Rose started to walk around the T.A.R.D.I.S. console, absorbing everything that she could. Turning around to face him, she smiled to her own confusion. "Who are you... really?"
"I am the doctor."
She tilted her head. "Weeeell, I guess it's my turn to say 'Really, I didn't noticed?' " She approached him, standing right in front of him, hands of her waist. "What are you? I guess that is the proper question, then." The daring look in her eyes was something fun to see.
"I'm just a traveller."
"A traveller? Mate, you have quite a big ship." She put her hands inside her jacket pockets, and wandered around the main plataform, seeing everything there was out there to see. She frowned at the hallways leading insider in the phone box. "It gets bigger, then. Aaalright." Taking a deep breaht, she stared at him from the other side. "So, the Sun?"
He walked over to the TARDIS core and put his hands on the controls. "The Sun." he said twisting and turning the knobs on the panel. The TARDIS whirred to life as he punched in the coordinates to the Sun. "Destination Sol Sun in 5 minutes." he said smiling as he tried to sound professional.
She made a fancy face and sat down behind him, at an old yellowish armchair. "Off we go, then. Let's go see the sun, Captain." Rose saluted him and giggled, watching as he moved around the console.
Five minutes later he flipped the final switch. "We are here." he said pointing at the door. "Go on, take a look."
Rose looked at him, suspiciously, and yet, smiling. She stood up in a jump, almost running towards the wooden doors. She took a deep breath and looked behind once. This is insane, it couldn't be happening. But it was. It was. She took a step back as she opened the doors, widening her eyes with the sight. It was the sun. The bloody sun. Right in front of her, bright and mighty. The solar flares looked peeved, licking the universe with its fire tongues, emanating warmth. She was breathing, still. "Come over, Doctor... I guess this is a view that you never get tired to admire." She raised her hand to him and waited, a honest grin on her face.
He took her hand. He always loved this Sun, something about it just made him smile. "It true. It doesn't get old."
"Do you like history Rose?"
She kept on staring at the sun, dreaming about it while actually seen it in front of her. She glanced at the Doctor with the corner of her eyes. "History is what makes us. Who wouldn't like that?" She crossed her arms and leaned against the doors, watching both the Doctor and the Sun. "Why is that?"
He put his arm around her shoulders. "If you could go to any place and moment in history. What would it be?"
She narrowed her eyes and looked up, thinking. So many places to choose, so many things to do, and he wanted her to pick only one. "Everywhere and anywhere. All over the universe." She looked up to him, seeing his face. He was young at heart, she knew. But something in his eyes was as old as the oldest man could be. "But, if you'll really make me choose... I guess... How about... your home?" She smiled at him and leaned her head against his shoulder. "You've seen my planet, now let me see yours. Cause you're obviously not of this world, mister mystery."
He stumbled back. He hadn't expected that answer. So many places to choose, so many years and this is the place she chooses. "I cant take you there." he said. "Its gone. Destroyed hundreds of years ago in a war. If I take you there at any point, I risk destroying this galaxy... But I can show it to you." He walked over to Rose and placed his hands on her temples. "Close your eyes."
She looked inside his eyes. The uncertainty inside her was now gone. Rose closed her eyes, expecting to see something very much like the Earth, since he was, at least in semblance, a human. Taking a deep breath, the corner of her lips bended up, ever so slightly. "I'm ready."
He closed his eyes imagining his homeworld. The burnt orange skies, the silver trees and the Citadel. He imagined the mountains that framed the background behind the Citadel.
He showed his people and the academy and then as his mind began to wander to the war, he pulled his hands away.
The sight of a great unknown war took her breath away. Literally. Rose took a deep breath to regain her balance, taking a step back and leaning against the door again. "I.. I didn't know." She glanced at the sun, and found very disrespectful of it to be so bright and shinny, after what she had just seen. "We could go anywhere else, you've said." She faced him and took his hand. "Let's go to your favorite place in the whole universe." She smiled, sympathetically. "If it's your favorite place, then it must be amazing."
His favorite place in the world... If there is one place he considered to be his favorite, he couldn't go there. Could he? Maybe if they hid in the shadows he could at least see her, see them there together. He contemplated for a moment. "My favorite place, eh?" He went to the TARDIS core and began to twist and turn her knobs sending them to the one place he loved more than Gallifrey.
Rose walked behind the Doctor, after closing both wooden doors. She paced slowly towards him and leaned against the handrail, holding tight this time. "Will you not tell me where is it? It's a surprise?" She looked at him, trying to spot some sign of his recently discovered sorrow.
He couldn't hide his fear of taking her to his beloved spot. He pulled the final knob and walked to the door. "Your going to need this." he said handing her his jacket. As he opened the door, a cold breeze blew inside. "I need you to listen. We cannot be seen. We are risking messing up a fixed timeline, we must stay in the shadows."
Rose took the coat as he spoke, listening to the Doctor's every word. "It's your favorite place, in the whole universe. I wouldn't dare to ruin it. Believe me." She smiled sideways, a bit embarrassed. Walking down the doors, she tried to see outside. "I'll be right behind you. Lead the way, mate."
He peeked out the door to make sure they weren't seen, luckily they had landed in a field just outside of London. "Come on, we must be quick." he grasped her hand and pulled her along behind him. Pulling him through alleyways and London streets he stopped behind a wall a buildings length from his favorite spot. He knew it should happen any minute and his heart began to race as he anticipated what was to come. Suddenly, there she was, exiting the TARDIS in her 50's dress and sunglasses. He could see himself on the scooter as she walked out 'You going my way doll?' He had said. 'Straight from the fridge, man' He heard her say. Tears formed in his eyes. Oh God how he missed her.
Rose watched as the woman left the T.A.R.D.I.S., in a 50's outfit, and the Doctor waited for her. The Doctor. The same man beside her was actually there. She guessed that dealing with time should bring some confusing things like that. She'd heard them, the talking and the laughs, the love, the friendship. It was all there. She could see it, he didn't even had to explain her who that woman was. The name was not the most important of things, only that she noticed that the Doctor loved her. Rose glanced at the shaken Doctor with her and placed a hand on his back, while the other couple left the street, smiling together. "I shouldn't be here."
"It's alright." he said looking away from the street that was now empty. "It was the only way to explain why your name and hair took so much meaning to me." He hadn't noticed the tears had started to fall until he felt her hand wipe them away. She was smiling at him. Oh God, he realized, he was being completely rude bringing her here. He was trying to find a new companion and here he was bring her to see the one he had just lost. Was he completely insane? "I'm sorry. I offer you the stars and instead of taking you far off in time and space, I take you too see a woman I lost because of time and space."
She wiped out the last tear on his cheek, smiling at him. "Don't be. I just met a part of you that I'm sure I couldn't know by any other way. So, it was good, in the end." Rose stood on her tiptoes, kissing his forehead and taking his hand again. "Come now, it's dangerous to be here. We could mess up a fixed timeline." She eyed him, boldly and yet, playfully. "You've offered me the stars, mister mystery. I'd like to see a planet where there are no humans walking around, for some change." She stroke his back and giggled timidly. "Wherever she is, I'm sure she's fine, Doctor. She was your girl, after all, wasn't she? I bet she can handle herself." Her expression turned serious, but gentle.
She was right, completely. If he knew anything, it was that his Rose was a fighter. She wouldn't give up on life. Besides, she had his clone. Maybe that was enough for her happiness. "Your right, lets go, I know the perfect place to go." he said turning around to head back to his TARDIS
She ran behind him, glad to lift his spirit, just a bit. "So, off we go then, once again?" She lifted her eyebrows at the unintentional rhyme. Getting inside the T.A.R.D.I.S. once again, she watched an old or new London - she didn't know - for the last time, closing the wooden doors.
He turned around suddenly, mood lifted and sad memories pushed aside. "So, no humans correct?" he asked. "Believe it or not, thats a hard goal to accomplish. There are "humans" everywhere in the universe now. But I could take you back to before the existance of humans." he grinned coyly
Rose tilted her head, suddenly lightened by the thought of dinosaurs. "Before... humans? You mean, the Jurassic Period?" She laughed and ran towards him, touching his shoulders. "Oh.. my God! Could we do that? Could we visit the universe before the humanity? No need to be the Earth, but... anywhere. Just to know that I'm the single human being actually /being/ there, it will be bloody incredible!" She spun around, happy. "Your choice, Doctor. Take me away." He smiled at him, innocently.
"Dinosaurs or Aliens?" he asked
She looked away. "I've seen dinosaurs in pictures, but I've never seen a proper alien..." Rose twisted her lips. "That was a very hard choice there, Doctor. But.. Aliens. Extraterrestrial beings, with plenty of heads, mouths and hands, or even with no hands at all!" She approached him. "What is the most interesting kind that there was? Show it to me, mister mystery."
There were so many. So many dangerous, and so many kind. He knew where not to take her, but the choice of where to go was hard. He thought maybe New Earth, but he had taken his Rose there. He wanted something new, something fresh, somewhere he had never taken a companion before. Suddenly, he knew where to take her. He smiled brightly as he went to the TARDIS core. The buzzing and whirring began as he put her in flight. "Oh Rose, I know just the place."
"Well, I like how that sounds, especially because it followed the most bright smile I've ever seen." She patted his shoulder and grabbed the console's bar. "Let's take off, space man." She eyed him and smiled, as taking a look at the monitors and not understanding a sigle piece of that language. Weird spheres, all over the screen. She liked it. It was different and kinda pretty.
As the whirring and grinding came to a stop. The Doctor took Rose's hand and led her to the door. "Rose Tyler, welcome to Malcassairo" he said opening the TARDIS door. "home to Malmooth, FutureKind, and believe it or not, humans." he led her out the door and out onto the planet surface.
Rose stood out the T.A.R.D.I.S., coughing. "Oh, blimey! Doctor, you landed on a factory or what? What is this place?" She took a step back, not actually feeling like going out there, in the dark. "Don't you have a flashlight or even a candle? I guess we'll need some of that..." She looked back at the Doctor. "A hell of a place, ay?" She giggled, as much as she just wanted to go back inside and fly somewhere else. That was the place he chose, and he probably had a nice reason. Explore was the word of the moment.
"I have just taken you to the farthest time anyone has ever traveled in time and space. It doesnt look like much, but this planet is home to many many alien species. Well I say many, really just 2, plus the humans." he said knowing she was slightly dissapointed. "I know you wanted something beautiful, but most beautiful planets are not completely safe. I didnt want to get you killed on your first alien planet."
She couldn't help but smile. "Well... Thank you, then. Quite safe this place, eh? Nothing on it, anyway." She chuckled and shook her head. Walking away a few steps, she tried to see beyond a couple of dark piles of rock. "So, you've said that, besides the humans, there is another species living here. Where is it? I mean, how is that possible? I couldn't imagine kids running around and laughing in this planet. Everything looks so..." she turned around, facing him and giving a look around the T.A.R.D.I.S. "...dead."
"They live below" he said taking her hand. "Come on." he said leading her to the entrance of the world below. "The Malmooth live here. Chantho is the name of one of them." He led her to an entrance elevator. As the elevator descended he turned to look at her. She was beautiful, like Rose. Maybe he could learn to love her and keep her safe. He studied her. She had her hair and her spunk, but her eyes were different. Her eyes were blue, not brown like his Rose's. He turned back forward when she turned and met his glance.
"What?" She noticed he was watching her for quite sometime. She got worried she'd said something wrong or mean to the beings that lived there. She turned around to face him, crossing her arms and smiling sideways again. "Come ooon, what is it?"
"Nothing." he said. He couldn't tell her she made him think of Rose, He didn't want her to feel second best, because that just wasn't the case. He liked this girl, even though she had only been in his life a few hours he liked her. The universe had given him a Rose and he wanted to believe that he was going to learn to love her like he had loved his Rose. He smiled hoping she could forgive the feelings he was feeling towards her even if she didn't know what they were.
"Mister mystery is being all mysterious again... Well.. " Rose tilted her head, giggling. ".. mystery is nice. I like mystery. And adventures. And dark smoky planets, with things leaving underneath the surface." She took his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder for a few seconds. "You are very quiet for a traveller, Doctor. You're quite a thinker, I'd say." Rose started to walk around the small elevator, trying to spot some alien exciting thing. Not finding anything, she sighed and looked at him. Such a lonely man, that one was. That's why he was so quiet. She only hoped she could stay with him long enough to make him talk again.
He suddenly caught a wiff of scent he hadn't smelled in what felt like a century. He turned his head, following the scent... Her hair, that scent. He closed his eyes and he knew why he had recognized it. He realized he had rested his face in her hair after it was to late to hide it. Shifting he went back to watching the elevator descend.
Rose frowned and internally smiled, not very sure if she was allowed to giggle. That was very awkward, and yet, very good. She looked down and rubbed her hands, before having the courage to say anything. "You really love this shampoo, don't you?" She lifted her eyes at him. Something has happened and she was just trying to understand what. "I could give you one of it, as a gift." Rose kept on watching the Doctor's reaction.
"Its just..." Rose had only been gone a few weeks. "She is just so fresh in my mind. I only lost her a few weeks ago. She used the same shampoo." He felt terrible for being so dreary. "I'm sorry."
"Oh.. It's okay. Don't be. A lot of girls where I live use that shampoo, so... It's not just me." Rose tried to not look disappointed, giving her best to keep the neutral expression. Looking down, she sighed. A second, it was all. For just a second, maybe, he could have not remembered his Rose because of her. Well, it was done now. "It's not your fault, you know?" She glanced at him. "I'm her. I mean.." She shook her head, a bit confused. "I really look like her. It must be hard to.. forget." Rose frowned, apologizing herself with a hand gesture. "Not that I'm saying that you should forget her, it's just that... Life moves on. I guess you, of all the beings in the universe, knows this the best." She kept on staring at the ground.
"903 years and she is the only one I can't lay to rest." he said. "It will get better, I promise."
She didn't lift her eyes from the ground. "I know. If you say so, I believe you." Rose raised her head and smiled a saddened smile at the Doctor. "We all have things to go through, ay? As much as we try, we'll never be superheros." Her smile lightened a bit. "Even if you are 903 years old. Which I would never say you have. I guess it's the hair." Rose stroke the Doctor's hair, timidly. "Great young hair, mister."
She was so patient. He expected her to run and hide at each mention of his lost love, but she didn't. He started to feel better as she held his hand tightly. Suddenly, the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. What he had hoped to see was not what he saw. What he saw was sick and dying people lining the halls. His heart sank, knowing this was the worst thing he could show her at the start of her companionship. He checked each person, looking for any signs of life, but to no avail. They were all dead, natural causes it seems. Starvation maybe? "Rose, I am sorry, I have been here in later years and people were alive, I dont know what has happened. I am so sorry."
Rose's heart dropped and anyone could see it in her eyes. The only matter was that there was no one else there beyond her and the Doctor. She left the elevator, walking among the corpses slowly, terrified. Rose managed not to show her dread while walking down the hallway. "Doctor..." She lowered her body next to a little girl, hugging her mother. Both motionless, both dead. Rose noticed a small piece of paper in the girls's hand, and attempted to take it from her hands without harming the body. Reading the paper, Rose frowned. "Utopia, the best way of life. The only way of life." He handed it to the Doctor. "What is that?"
His chest burned with sorrow and he heard what Rose read. "Its a lie that cause the death of these people." he said. "Utopia, is a lie. I know cause I was there." He turned away from her hiding his face.
Rose saw the Doctor's reaction, causing her heart to sink even deeper. That couldn't possibly be his fault. She walked down at him, taking his hand and standing in front of him. "Mister, you listen to me, and you listen to me well. This is not your fault. Humans are mean and they are liars. They decieve each other for profit. If someone did this willingly, it was not you." Rose tightened the grip on his hand, stroking the palm with her thumb. Pulling him towards the elevator once again, Rose watched him. "I won't let you keep on seeing this. Come now, Doctor." She eyed him, concerned.
She was caring, that was for sure, the first alien race he show her is slaughtered and the first thing she is concerned with is his feelings. His Rose cared about him, he knew she loved him whole heartedly, but this Rose thought firstly of him and that was new. "Thank you." he said. "Maybe we should take a break for a day. Go back to London and eat some food. Sound good? I'm sure your family is worried about you anyway."
Rose walked inside the elevator, nodding. "Yeah, food sounds.. fine. I mean, I don't actually feel like eating now, do you?" She frowned. Her stomach was revolving inside her, having lunch was not her priority right at that moment. "We could go and have a nice walk in some beautiful alien field. How about that? Take a break from... darkness." Rose pressed the single button on the elevator, causing to close the doors and move the cabin. "Mum.. Well, you could always take me back before she even knew I left, eh?" Rose smiled at the Doctor, trying to see his eyes and notice some kind of regret and sorrow, again.
"You know." he said. "I have an idea. Its stupid and risky, but you deserve it after seeing this." They reached the TARDIS and the Doctor opened the door for her. He was about to do a very stupid and risky thing, but he felt like he should. He felt that she deserved to see the beauty of Gallifrey. He wanted to surprise her though.
"Stupid and risky. Sounds a bit like fun." Rose ran inside the T.A.R.D.I.S., enjoying the Doctor's lightness. She stopped next to the consoles, determined to see what he was going to do, what buttons he was going to push. "It was supposed to make that noise? It sounds like... it's complaining" Rose giggled at the thought. The T.A.R.D.I.S. coming to life and complaining with the Doctor. "Weeell... I think both of us deserve to see amazing and beautiful things right now." She glanced at him. "You are full of surprises, mister mystery."
"No, you will know when she is complaining. She hums a constant low hum when she is complaining or in pain." He knew she was going to ask about what I meant. He was going to have to explain to her that the TARDIS was a living thing that he was connected to, that he could feel its anguish and its happiness and is pain.
"That's incredible. I'm glad you understand her." Rose ran her hand over the console, taking care not to push any kind of buttons. "I'm glad you listen. She seems to be a very loyal girl. I mean... I think she's a lady. It feels like it." She faced the Doctor again, not vey sure why he was watching her. "Is she from your homeland too?"
"Yes." he was shocked at the amount she understood. She was so eager to learn and so quick to catch on to everything he said. He could tell she was a Time-Lord at heart. Had she been born on Gallifrey, she would have quickly finished the academy and became a Time-Lord. "She likes you, she doesn't always like my companions. She threw one out the door one time. He had attacked me and an earlier companion named Sarah Jane. She didn't like that."
Rose lifted her brows, smiling brightly. "She likes me? Oh.. my God! Well, thank you!" Rose bowed at the console, giggling. "Maybe she can feel people's hearts. She felt your enemy's intentions and threw him away from you. She felt something about Sarah Jane that she didn't like, and threw her out. Perhaps... She's only protecting you. Have considered that?" Rose watched as the Doctor moved around, busy. "Do you know her? I mean, actually know her? She can't be just a machine." Rose was trying to take a peek inside the main piece of the console, not seeing much.
The Doctor walked over to Rose, placed his hands on her temples and tried to open her mind to the TARDIS. He allowed her to feel the TARDIS and hoped that the TARDIS, in return, would feel her. He wanted desperately for others to understand how alive she really is. "Can you feel her?"
She closed her eyes, but that was not enough. Suddenly, there was no body, she was the universe. She was everything. She was a spirit, a being, not held by a body, but alive, more than alive. Rose saw the Vortex, flashing images of Gallifrey, the fantastic journey of her life, her existence. She opened her eyes before the Doctor interrupted the connection. "Hello, my Doctor." Rose's eyes were glowing yellowish, energy flowing through her mind and body. As she heard her own voice, she took a step back, breaking the link with a shock. Rose was breathing heavily.
"Are you alright?" he asked, grinning from ear to ear.
She noticed the huge grin in the Doctor's lips. "Weell... I guess I should take a break before having a nice chat to the T.A.R.D.I.S. again." Rose smiled, feeling renewed. Not different, but new. Light. "Yeah... You know... I am more than alright. But let me ask you something back, mister mystery." She walked towards the pilot's chair, sitting down to regain her breath. "Why are you smiling so much? Not that I'm complaining, I really enjoy seeing your great white teeth out there, mate." Her smile was nothing less than blissful.
"She bonded with you. She can speak through you now. She wouldn't do that if she didn't know you were someone to trust." he said excitedly. "Listen, what do you hear?"
Rose looked up, thinking and listening. "She is here. She's breathing." She started to look around, a whole new perspective, a large smile taking care of her lips. "Is this what you hear?" Rose approached the Doctor, taking his hand. "You have a entire world inside this box, and yet you seek the universe out there... No.." She narrowed her eyes at the understanding and smiled. "No.. It's not that... You both seek the universe together. She's travelling with you as well... She's not just a car. She's your soul mate." Rose faced the Doctor. "Why did you chose her? Cause I have the strange feeling it was the other way around."
"We chose each other, when I was chosen as a Time-Lord I was put in a room full of growing TARDIS'. Before a TARDIS reaches its full growth cycle a Time-Lord must be imprinted with a biological mark of a Time-Lord, binding them for life. When I entered the room that day I heard her crying, she had waited for a thousand years to be chosen and Time-Lord after Time-Lord passed her up. I heard her anguish and went to her aid. I fell in love with her and she with me. Isn't that right blue?" he said touching the TARDIS core.
"Most definitely blue. That was the right choice of words, Doctor." Rose followed him, giggling, standing beside the Doctor. "Your life is brilliant, you know that? You get to fly around with the love of your live, your true mate, across the universe, not knowing where to stop. Never staying, always travelling. Always meeting new people, new cultures. You are fantastic." Rose gazed inside the Doctor's eyes, not feeling the need to smile, because the smile was already in her own eyes. "I've asked you to show me the most interesting kind of beings in the universe. There you have it." She opened her arms in order to show him himself.
The doctor smiled a half-smile, "You are right, in all aspects, but... after 903 years of losing friends, friends who have died for me, or just died of old age... It gets harder to keep going." He sat down next to the TARDIS core and pulled on knee to his chest, extending the other leg out in front of him.
She watched as he slipped down the floor and sat. She followed him, crossing her legs and facing him. "I don't know about that, mate. I'm just a human, my life is so small and petty for you... But still... You have the opportunity to see the whole universe, so the universe demands something else from you, Doctor." Rose placed a hand over his knee, shaking it a little. "Hey, what is that gloomy face? You were taking me to a gorgeous place, weren't you? Let's keep our thoughts that way." She approached her face from his, trying to catch his eye. "Doctor, I understand this is like a malediction... but you can't let your ship sink like that. She needs you." Rose tapped he bottom of the console. "She was waiting for you. She's the Girl that Waited for her Time-Lord. That's why you keep going." She smiled at him, taking her hand off his knee.
He had never thought about staying strong for Blue. He loved his TARDIS, and he wanted her to be happy. He looked at Rose and smiled. She was changing him by the minute. He smiled. "Alright." he said jumping to his feet. "Lets do this." He tapped Blue's console and she whirred to life. "Blue. Take us home."
Rose stood up, lifting an eyebrow. "Wait.. Home?" She looked from the Doctor to the console, from the console to the Doctor. Her smile grew bigger, ear to ear. "Home, Doctor! Those hills and skies!" Rose laughed loudly, clapping his hands and shaking the Doctor by his shoulders, kindly. Taking a moment to breathe, Rose remembered the war, the killing, the havoc. She frowned and looked up to the Doctor. "But... How? Can you just return to a time before the war? It's that not... dangerous?" Rose approached him, concerned. "Can't you meet yourself and change everything, or so?"
"We wont be anywhere near civilization. I would love to show you the Citadel, but I can't risk it. However, we can disappear into a secluded woods or the mountains. Out of sight, out of mind." He sat down next to Rose, he didn't need to pilot Blue to Gallifrey. She knew how to get home and she could take them there without him piloting. Sitting next to Rose, he took her hand. He was nervous. He hadn't been home in centuries.
Rose tightened the grip on his hand, smiling slightly. "Your hand is cold. You have 903 years, and you're still frightened about coming back home." She stroke the back of his hand, leaning her head on his shoulder and giggling. "That's good. We need to keep our inner child alive. We're all afraid of coming back home, at some point." She stretched her legs, moving her feet together side to side. "I'm glad you chose to show me your homeland. I mean, both of you." Rose looked up and smiled, seeing the main console, working by itself. "I'd like to walk among the woods, somewhere without men. Somewhere quiet and peaceful. We both need that." She faced him, smiling timidly.
He knew it was going to take a while to get to Gallifrey. He was tired, probably from all the emotions playing through him today, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of Gallifrey and of both his Roses and even of Blue. He never realized the depth of his love for Blue, she was his soul-mate and he had pushed her aside as a friend for too long. She was his true love, in a non-romantic sense, and he now knew he needed to accommodate for her as well as him.
Rose couldn't help but smile when she saw him sleeping. She helped him to lay down, the Doctor already asleep. She placed his head over her lap, watching him as the time went on. He could easily pass on as a common human. So much emotions, so many feelings. He was a time-lord alright, and she knew nothing about him, but she knew one thing. He was in love for humanity. 'He tries so much to be like us, while we are all just running away from ourselves.', she thought. She stroke his hair once, too afraid to do it again, trying not to wake him up. The Doctor's eyes started to move around in his dreams, and she noticed. "What are you dreaming about, Doctor?", she whispered, not expecting any answers, just admiring him and his courage.
'He is dreaming about us' Blue said through the doctor. 'He is dreaming about happiness and peace. We are all there you, his first Rose and me. Together.'
Rose looked around, listening to the voice coming from the Doctor and trying to spot where would the T.A.R.D.I.S. be. It was useless. She was everywhere, she was everything. "Oh... You are such a beauty." Rose smiled to herself, not quite sure if the T.A.R.D.I.S. would see her smiling. "I don't know him, but you do. He deserves peace and happiness, doesn't he?" She frowned, her heart sinking slightly. So much sorrow on his eyes, so many years, so many losses. She stroke his hair again. How could someone have that opportunity and not ruffle it? She laughed silently at the thought.
'You are kind' Blue said. 'You have so much goodness in you. But one day soon, you must make a decision that will change your life permanently.'
Rose frowned once again, this time actually concerned and disturbed. "What do you mean? What decision?" She spoke to the Doctor in a low voice, hoping not to wake him up, but still speaking towards the T.A.R.D.I.S. "You won't tell me, will you?" Her smile was saddened; she already knew the answer. "It has to do with the Doctor, that is for sure." Rose ran her fingertip across his dark eyebrow. "You are indeed full of surprises, mister mystery.", she whispered at him.
'The decisions change all the time, every choice you make leads to the big decision in your future. Don't be afraid. Not right now, not on this path.' she said. 'Keep him safe. For us all. He needs you, you can give him what I cannot. But you must not wait for him to come to you, he cant, his fears over take what his hearts want. You will have to bring it out of him.'
"I will try. Believe me. I'll make him safe, with your guidance." Rose straightened his hair, smiling slightly. "I'll bring you out of your shell, Doctor. One day at a time. And you'll finally trust again." She looked up and her smile grew. "He'll love again, girl. Not only romantically, but he'll love life again." Rose placed her hand on the Doctor's arm, delicately. "I'll go and make the best decision. The best for us all."
The doctor stirred feeling Blue's presence within his mind. "Rose, whats going on?" he asked sitting up
She straightened her back, leaning back against the console. She didn't noticed how close to him she was, and she honestly didn't want him to see her as some kind of creeper. "Nothing, really. We're on the way, that is all. The girls were chatting, mate. You should go back to sleep, you seem to be needing some peaceful time." Rose smiled at him, jokingly. "You were having a nice dream though. You were all smiles and was moving your eyes a lot. I'm glad you got some rest." It would make no harm not to tell him the conversation she had with the T.A.R.D.I.S.. Besides, he could easily know what they have chatted, since the T.A.R.D.I.S. used his brain connections to speak throught.
"No need, were here." he said, standing up as Blue's core began to quieten. "You ready?"
"Welp." Rose stood up as well, stretching herself. "I'm always ready, mate. Show me your world, mister mystery." She smiled at his disposition, right after waking up. She patted her clothing and watched as he dealed with the console. "Off we go then!"