The first time Rose Marion Tyler met her soulmate, they were both eight.
Rose sat cross legged in reddish grasses almost as tall as she was. A large yellow sun and its smaller red companion slid slowly across the orange sky. In the distance, a gargantuan city stretched toward the suns. It occurred to Rose what those suns might mean, and that maybe she ought to be afraid, but the place brought with the gentle breeze and softly whispering grass a sense of profound peace.
She couldn't bring herself to be afraid. The grasses abruptly rustled, and spat out a boy about her age. He was dark-haired, with narrow features and a mischievous sparkle in his dark eyes. He and Rose surveyed each other with open curiosity for a long moment. "You're in my dream." The boy said at last. "You're my soulmate, aren't you?"
Rose nodded slowly. "I think so. You're awfully talkative for someone I dreamed up."
The boy sat down next to her, and smiled at her. "I suppose I am. I'm Theta Sigma. Who're you?"
Rose stuck out her hand to shake, and Theta took it gently, looking puzzled. "I'm Rose Tyler." She glanced up at the orange sky. "Where are we?"
Theta Sigma went very still. "We're on Gallifrey, the Jewel of the Kasterborous constellation."
Rose leaned back, gazing up at the sky thoughtfully. Then she glanced at him, and was worried by what she saw. "What's life like here? You don't seem to find it so fantastic."
Theta Sigma's lip curled up in contempt. "All these Time Lords. They think they have to control every aspect of how you think, of how you act. Everything is either boring, or painful, or a combination of the two."
Rose squeezed his hand gently. "Why not run away? I mean, you're not happy here, Theta."
Abruptly he grinned at her. The fierce gleam in his eyes made her heart twinge with an unknown yearning for adventure. "That's exactly what I plan to do, Rose Tyler. Just as soon as I graduate, I'll take a TT capsule, and fly into the stars. Then we can travel the universe together." Abruptly he looked uncertain. "If you want to…"
Rose grinned at him. "Are ya kidding? Of course I want to!" Theta Sigma looked like he wanted to hug her. Abruptly something that he said registered. "What's a TT capsule?"
Theta grinned, leaping to his feet. "Time travel capsules. They're bigger on the inside. Come on, I'll show you." Beaming, Rose followed him.
This time, when Rose dreamed, the scenery was different, as it hadn't been for more than nine years. Glossy white metal, dotted with roundels, coated most of the surfaces of a sitting room. Theta paced in one corner, seemingly not noticing her. Abruptly he stopped, looking up. Theta smiled wearily at Rose, but his eyes still blazed with their customary spark. "How old are you now?" Rose said quietly, broaching the silence with their customary greeting.
Her eyes roved over Theta Sigma curiously. He appeared about fifty now, and wore Victorian clothes instead of traditional Gallifreyan robes. Oh no, she thought, realising what that combined with her surroundings might mean. Without missing a beat, Theta said, "I'm three hundred and thirty six."
Eight years older than the last time she'd seen him. But that was chump change to a Time Lord. Rose got up, and hugged him. "What happened, Thete?"
He pulled her closer, as if trying to gain comfort. "Don't call me that. Please. My name is the Doctor, now. I'm officially a renegade."
Rose wasn't sure what to say to that, so she just hugged him tightly. After a moment she glanced up. "Doctor, what about Susan? Will she be fine on Gallifrey?"
The Doctor smiled wryly. "I let her tag along. She was so desperate not to be left behind, and I just couldn't…" He trailed off, visibly composing himself.
Rose smiled softly at him. "Where will you go next?"
The Doctor smiled at her, and there was such love in the expression that Rose's heart stuttered in her chest. "London, of course."
Rose laughed joyously, and disentangled herself from their embrace, grabbing the Doctor's hand as she did so. "Come on, might as well explore!" The Doctor shook his head, but he was smiling.
The Doctor stared at the white squares strewn in front of him, and wondered just what he would be forced to sacrifice in order to get these people home. His life? One of his regenerations? The Doctor didn't even want to think about what would happen to Zoe and Jamie.
With shaking hands, the Doctor sat cross legged, closed his eyes, and focused. When the message was complete, he opened his eyes, and picked up the smallish white cube. Considering for a second, the Doctor pocketed it. There was still a chance, and he would take it.
The Doctor was slipping rapidly into unconsciousness, still changing. His last conscious thought was that he hoped Rose liked his new face. When the Doctor finally dreamed, Rose was not there.
Sitting at the little kitchen table in her flat, Rose let a stray sunbeam warm her face. Humming along with a fluffy pop song on the radio, Rose grinned happily as she riffled through college applications. A strange itching sensation started up in the back of her mind, one she'd only felt once before.
Suddenly subdued, Rose got up and turned off the radio. If it was true, and the Doctor was regenerating, then she didn't really feel like music. She wondered if he was okay. Even as she thought that, the itching sensation eased. A cool wind blew through the flat, ruffling the drapes. It was accompanied by an asthmatic wheezing groan.
Rose recognised the sound from the Doctor's descriptions, and knew it to be the sound of a materialising TARDIS. Surely the Doctor would've told her last night if he was planning on dropping by. But if it wasn't the Doctor… There were plenty of Time Lords out there who viewed humans as little more than short lived playthings. Well, she might not be a match for a Time Lord or Lady, but she would do her darnedest to beat them into their next life if they tried anything.
Rose padded into the kitchen, picking up a small cast-iron frying pan, and swinging it experimentally. Then she moved into the living room, following the sound. There, in a corner of the messy living room, was the ghostly outline of a blue police box.
A sudden surge of relief punched through Rose. Rose sagged. She only knew of one TARDIS with a broken chameleon circuit. With a final pulse, the police box faded into reality. Carefully, Rose placed the frying pan on the bookshelf, and waited. She didn't have to wait long.
The door banged open, and the Doctor stumbled out. Rose had a moment to register that he was now tall, with a young-old face, before he tripped over his own feet and crashed to the floor. Rose winced, already moving to help him. She knelt by his side. The Doctor looked up at her, gaze surprisingly clear. "Rose… but what am I doing here?"