Hello everyone! This is my first fanfic, and it would be great if I could get some reviews. Also, if someone could give me a little layover/help with the site, that would be fantastic! Thank you!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places, etc. in this story. (Even though I would like to.) BBC does.
"Every single decision we make creates a parallel existence, a different dimension…" –10th Doctor, Doomsday.
As the sun dipped below the horizon in the universe affectionately known as Pete's world, last farewells are being exchanged. The orange sky reflected, almost nostalgically, upon the ocean and shone upon a family, showing a young blonde woman at the center of attention, the other few people focused around her with their goodbyes. The people were tearful, with much hugging and fretting and promises being made. An older man embraces the woman, kissing her forehead and frowning.
"We don't know for sure if this will work. It's a gamble, and if anything goes wrong…" The man, the namesake of the universe, doesn't need to finish. They all know the consequences. But nevertheless, the blonde woman shakes her head.
"It's a gamble I'm willing to take." There are no more arguments; they had already tried and failed, and they know that it is too late change her mind. She has always been a stubborn child, and as she grew older it hadn't faded. If anything, her steady determination had grown stronger. Now, their feeble attempts to make her stay are just that: feeble attempts. "Plus, there's also a chance that it will work." She speaks with such authority and confidence that they almost believe her. Almost. The chances are still small, and her words cannot change that. She gives the man a last hug and a peck on the cheek, a small tear on his skin a reminder that she, too, is having an emotional time, even if she is the one causing it.
The young woman moves on to hugging an older woman, around the same age as the man. The elder is crying, her heavy makeup run through with streaks of tears. "But you can't come back! We'll never see you again!" Her arms desperately cling to her daughter, as if her elderly strength could keep her anchored in that location, in that time, and at the very least, that world. Right there, on that small beach in no special time in Pete's world. But she can't. The mother knows she can't. Her daughter is a grown woman, and there's nothing she can do to stop her. In response, she receives a tight clasp and her eldest child's head buries itself in the crook of her neck. It's a while before the daughter speaks. "I know Mum, that's why this has to work. You have to believe in me." The daughter gently detangles her parent's arms and stares into her eyes. She is also crying, her wet brown eyes and dripping mascara proof of the emotional turmoil going through her head. She pulls her mother in for another hug and squeezes her, lips quivering but still determined to go through with the Plan. "I have to do this." The blonde woman tucks a loose strand of her mother's hair behind her ear, the small movement of the gray hair more of a momentary distraction than anything.
She releases her embrace, slowly, not wanting to say any more farewells, but someone else is patiently waiting for her goodbye. She turns to him and throws her arm around him. He is young, younger than her parents, but the past few years have taken their toll. The soft beginnings of wrinkles show on his mocha-colored brow and at the corners of his eyes. They're small, but they're still there. He is a proud man, but it's all forgotten now as his childhood sweetheart says her last goodbye. Unlike the others, he says nothing. Out of all of them, he knows the young woman's reasons the best. It hurts him profoundly, to know that he'll never see her again, but as deep as his hurt is his love goes deeper. So when she quickly pecks him on the lips, he forces a smile and tries to keep in mind that it's for the best.
The woman turns to the last member of the group, a five-year-old boy, and squats down onto her heels so that she is eye level with him. His eyes are red and puffy, swollen from crying. He sniffles and wipes a dirty hand, grubby from playing in the mud, across his nose leaving a trail of grime. She reaches up with a gentle hand and rubs it away, not caring that it turned her hands a rather disgusting shade of brown. Her hands cover his small ones, and he looks bites his lip to stop himself from crying. The young woman is quick to envelop him in a protective embrace. His arms wiggle out from the tight hold and throw themselves around his only sibling's neck and he clings on with all of his childish strength.
"But Sissy!" He cries, using the name his young mind found easiest to pronounce. "I don't want you to go!" His hands have found a way to anchor around her neck, and when she stands up his little weight is brought up too. His legs wrap around her waist and in moments he is sitting on her hip, the position comforting to both of them. For him, it creates comfort and attachment to his biggest idol. For her, it creates a temporary reason to delay her inevitable leave. But she knows that she has delayed enough, and gently unwinds his desperate grip from its position. She moves to place him back on the sand, but changes her mind and grabs him under the arms, swinging him around in a circle like she did whenever they walked through the park. It works like magic—he can't help but giggle, so when she finally puts him down he's full of sunshine and smiles and the weight of making her brother cry is no longer on her mind. She leans down and whispers in his ear. "Now, Tony, you know what Mum's like when she's upset. Be sure that she drinks lots of tea, m'kay?" He nods seriously, giving her an amateur wink, which she returns. She kisses the top of his head before ruffling his dirty blonde hair, and turns back to look at everyone once more.
There is silence, the kind in which no one knows what to say yet isn't awkward in the slightest. All of them stand looking at each other, the woman trying to take all of them, in that moment, down into memory. They gaze back with warmth, love, and sadness in their eyes. Everyone knows the Plan; she's explained it to them time and time again. They still doubt it, but there's only one person in the entire multiverse that can change her mind.
There used to be two people with this ability. But years ago one of them, the one with her, died, and brought her heart with him. She was distraught for days, and her family could do nothing other than watching as her heart broke into a thousand pieces. She seemed as if her grief would kill her too, but on a gray morning days later, she had emerged from her room with a new goal: to find that one other man with the remarkable talent.
So now, months later, they stand on the shore of a Norwegian bay, waiting for her to initiate the most important stage of the Plan. But first, they have to leave. It's also part of the plan, them leaving. Her father, her mum, her childhood friend, and her brother. None of them can be there during the first stage of the plan. Partly because they might hold back the powers at work, but more importantly because the woman, in her parting act of love, feared for them to be sucked into her risky wager. So they have to leave.
The blonde woman watches as her family slowly climbs back into a large truck, each of them giving her a parting glance. The truck rolls away and she blows a final kiss before they're lost around the bend. She wipes her hand across her eyes and sniffs, allowing herself a moment to compose herself. Gradually, she turns back to the bay so that she is facing the water. In all truthfulness, the Plan didn't need to happen at the bay, but it's an isolated spot with little chance of a stranger stumbling into the powerful forces riskily being called upon. There were already many memories associated with that spot, so adding another simply placed the bay deeper in their hearts. After all, this is where they last saw the other man.
This "other man" is, truly, remarkable. He comes from across the Void, the stars, and possibly countless years, but this cannot stop her. For that remarkable man holds one thing she has never given to anyone else, not even to her loving family. Her heart. He won her trust after many long adventures and countless times saving each other's lives. The man wooed her with holding hands and extended hugs. He stole her heart with his dazzling smile and loving antics. He kept her heart in his blue box and had it to this day.
Simply thinking about him banishes any of the woman's fears. She glances around the bay one last time, checking to make sure that there is no one around, before steeling her mind and heart. With resolve strong enough to move mountains or topple empires, she plants her feet firmly in the sand and opens up her mind to the world to see. The swirling time vortex hidden just beneath the fabric of the universe recognizes her immediately, greeting her with a soft hum akin to the sound of the remarkable man's blue box. The energy swirling inside everything pulsed in the sand beneath her feet, and she felt her mind join with the world of great power. After a terrified instant, she realizes that the Plan isn't working. They aren't coming.
But she isn't going to give up that easy. With a mental howl of frustration, she releases her unique energy signature rippling across the energy field of the world. In moments, they've been alerted and are rushing to her at a speed impossible for most species. She closes her eyes, making sure that she can't see the. They reach out for her, feeling all of the potential energy locked beneath the surface of her skin. They can feel it. They want it. But they forget their power in their moments of greed, and the second their grabbing fingers brush the woman, she is gone, leaving only a triumphant shout in her wake.
Because she is happy. More than that. Rose Tyler is victorious.
Rose Tyler has begun her journey across the Void, through space, and back in time.
Rose Tyler is going to find the Doctor.
So… I kinda forgot that Mickey stayed in the other universe, but for the sake of the story could everyone pretend? Sorry. :)