"Wha-What? What?!" The tenth Doctor stood shocked behind his console aboard the TARDIS, he had just left Pompeii, post Volcano day and had had a smashing good time. He was in the middle of deciding where his next solo adventure would be when he looked up to find none other than Rose Tyler staring back at him. If the look on her face was any indication, she was just as shocked as he was. "Theres no way...it can't be" He stammered as he left the console and made his way towards the stairs. After a minute or two of sizing each other up, he closed the gap between them in two big strides down the small set of stairs.
"Why am I here? How did I get here?" Rose said looking around the room that she had spent so much time in. It felt like a lifetime ago that she had last set foot in the blue box, and in a way she guessed it was. But there before her was the Doctor, her doctor.
Ten ran his hand through his hair, he didn't understand it. There was no logical reason he could think of that would explain why she had suddenly appeared on the Tardis, even UNIT in Rose's world, the parallel world didn't have the technology that she would need to jump to whatever random place the Tardis was currently hurtling through. Finally deciding that just standing there wasn't going to accomplish anything, and actually to be honest he was kind of excited to see her regardless of the circumstances. He opened his arms and chuckled. "Well c'mere you. Soon enough you'll have to fill me in on what's happening in your world, but right now a good hug and cup of tea are in order."
Rose grinned as she half leapt into his arms, after how her last few days had been there was nothing she wanted more than to be right where she was at that moment. The two continued there hug for a few silent moments before Ten quickly released her, setting her back down and stretched. "Right then, tea?" He said before making a over exaggerated turn and heading towards the small TARDIS kitchen. Rose chuckled softly before following behind.
Rose sighed as she folded her legs up under her body and leaned back into the booth, the TARDIS had apparently decided that the kitchen needed to look like a fifties diner for Rose's return and had switched out the old farm table into a Formica topped and stainless steel table that had two red and white vinyl bench seats,one on either side. Ten sat opposite her, eating jelly out of a jar with two fingers.
"So. Things good at home?" Ten said after sucking the jelly off his fingers and looking at her. "Mum, Pete, my clone, everyone good?" He continued.
Rose let out a deep sigh which told Ten even before she answered, that something was indeed wrong. The blonde took a deep breath before she explained the events of the previous two days. How Clone-Ten had gone on a UNIT mission, and had taken a fatal shot to the heart, and since he was identical to Ten in every way, except for being a human instead of a time lord he had died instantly.
Ten's usually chipper façade was replaced with a much more morose one. "Im so sorry. So sorry." He said. He hadn't really thought about the fact that the clone was capable of dying, and now felt horrible. It had been five years since the day he left Rose and his other self at Bad Wolf Bay, and he has never of guessed that that was all the time Rose would get with the clone.
Rose nodded slowly. She couldn't bear to think about it much, the death of the clone, the man she had married, was still fresh in her mind, it had after all only happened less than forty eight hours earlier.
Ten took one more scoopful of jelly, taking his time to eat it off his fingers and he though. Suddenly he dropped the jar and clapped his hands together. "That might be what brought you here. The TARDIS keeps an eye on you, and absorbed some of it all those years ago, its possible that it sensed your pain and brought you here. The one place it felt would make you happy again." He said slowly and softly.
It made sense to Rose, well kind of. Not entirely. But enough that she was somewhat comforted by it. She nodded, before looking down at her tea. There was no reason for them to dwell on the loss when she was sure he had plenty of stories that would keep her mind occupied for at least a little while. She took a gulp of tea before raising her head and looking back at Ten. "So what have you been into since I left?"