A/N: I can hear you now all pointing toward the unfinished and saying: "Another one? Really? When you've got all that happening?"

Well yes. After taking a somewhat forced sabbatical from writing, and quite frankly struggling to get back into what has already been started (which I will get back to, of course), I thought I'd finally get to the tale that has been rattling around in my head for more than three years now.

Seriously. I've got emails to a fellow writer outlining this idea and wondering if I should forge ahead with it dating back that amount of time!

Thinking that this idea has probably been used multiple times previously, I fought against this idea quite vehemently. It does seem, however, that it is a rather unique shot at the can here, so I figured I'd finally answer to the insistence of that pesky muse of mine and get this tale out once and for all.

As you may have guessed, I do love the timey-wimey stuff … and this will be another one of those timey-wimey style pieces. The Beauty of no known history means that we can play with it endlessly! This story has been thought out to death, and should flow quite happily as I wade through it. I personally love this tale, and I truly hope you all will as well.

Enjoy.

~~oooOOOooo~~

It was a quiet alleyway street where a thin line, a break in reality, fractured the air in front of an old and rusted fire stairwell. The thin line stretched, expanded, and then split into a large and messy black and gold ellipse edged in a deep blue. White streaks of static electrical charges flashed across the black hole as two figures emerged from its depths. Hand in hand, the pair strode into their new reality with smiles on their faces and shared looks of amusement and affection. Their distraction was such that they completely ignored the sucking sound of the fracture closing behind them.

"Well," purred John Smith as he gave his wife a wink and squeezed at her hand. "That didn't go quite as we expected it to, did it?"

Rose Smith, his wife of six years, lifted her free hand to chuckle against the back of it. Her chuckle turned into a yawn, which strangled her voice somewhat as she tried to respond. "It never quite does go to plan, does it?"

He shrugged as he shut off the travel device attached to his wrist, but didn't comment. He knew she had more to say, because she always did. With a smile teasing at only one side of his mouth, he waited.

"I think it would be much more unusual if it actually did go the way you were expecting it to."

That comment drew a smile from him. This was their typical post-adventure banter. It was a conversation they'd had so many times now that it was spoken without falter. It was a very well-rehearsed scene.

"Well," he drawled with a roll in his eye as he lifted his free hand to rub sheepishly at the back of his neck. "It's this whole Parallel Earth dilemma, Rose." He thrust one hand into the hip pocket of his faded blue jeans and squeezed a little tighter at the hand he held within his. "Things happen differently – and are different…"

"Not that different," she interrupted with a smile across her cheeks. "I mean, yeah, alright, some things differ, what with how the whole planet works an' all. I'll give you that."

"And there you go," he interrupted triumphantly. "As I was saying: Different parallel means different worlds and scenarios…"

"But," she continued with a rise of her finger to indicate she wanted him to let her finish before he butted in with a lecture. "But when it comes to the people and the species that surround us all over the universe, well. Not all that much different…"

He scoffed and shook his head. Despite his apparent annoyance, he actually took delight in Rose trying to make sense of it all, at her attempts to trip him up, and really was eager to hear her explanation of the hour … of course, he would then try to counter it with brilliant explanations of his own.

He stopped their walk at the entrance of the alleyway and turned her to face him. He wore a smile of pride, of impending lecture, and opened his mouth to speak.

She got in first and completely derailed the line of conversation he fully believed they were about to have.

"No, John. Not this time." Her voice was playful even though her eyes narrowed in warning. "We've encountered that lot before – in this parallel – so you can't go about tellin' me that the reason we got into mischief this time 'round was because they were different to the last time you encountered them in your, like, fifth body or something."

"You sound like you might get mad if I don't say the right thing here," he muttered dryly under his breath. His eyes lifted to hers and his face contorted into a look of contrition. "Are we about to have a marital bicker?"

"I wasn't exactly headin' in that direction." Her expression softened. "Why? Do you want one?"

He shook his head. "Not particularly." A single chuckle shook at his shoulder. "Although I will admit that the making up part is quite exhilarating…" He clicked his tongue and gave her a wink. The cheekiness quickly fell and he let out a long breath. "But please remember that I'm still catching up on things this side of the dimensional wall," he admitted. "A millennia of experience back in Prime with these sorts of characters, who – I will add – do differ from one encounter to another even over there, and I am finding myself tripping on the line between Prime and this universe's bad guy of the hour…"

Rose's eyes lit up with surprise. "Are you actually admitting that you're not quite as clever –" she peeped when she felt the length of his index finger press up against her lips.

"Shhh," he hushed sharply as he looked around to see if anyone around them might be listening. Thankfully the alleyway was clear of anyone who could eavesdrop. "I won't ever admit any such thing," he growled out. "It's a preposterous notion. Really. Me, the former Doctor, not being all that clever?" He huffed. "Or the implication that I am somehow not as clever as him. That's even more laughable. Ask me who's the smart one, Rose? Go ahead. I'll tell you: The one who stands as your husband, who didn't run away, but chose to run with that one adventure he was too scared to ever embark on ever … err…."

Rose chuckled against his finger, but didn't say anything in reply. She blinked twice to tell him to continue, and wasn't surprised when he peeled off and paced away from her a few steps before he spun on his heel with his finger lifted to make his point.

"Anyway. To clarify," he continued with a somewhat strangled voice that suggested that he had held himself short of clarifying something else. "Even if I am somewhat … erm … stumbling over the differences between Prime and here, it still doesn't make me any less clever than I ever have been." He swallowed and lifted his chin proudly. "Which, if I'm being honest, is very clever."

Rose had to inwardly admit to being somewhat entertained by John's rant and let herself smile a little as she watching him through amused eyes. "Oh do go on," she urged him with a chuckle.

He stilled a moment, let his eyes narrow at her cheek, but gave a firm nod. "And I will – "

"No doubt on that."

"None at all," he confirmed firmly.

"Fine."

"Of course it is."

Silence fell between the two: Rose expecting him to continue, and John expecting her to comment further. After a moment of staring at each other with wide and expectant eyes, both of them simultaneously broke out in laughter at the other.

John wasted no time in stepping forward to take his laughing wife into his arms. His own laughter bubbled down into short chuckles as he dropped his chin to kiss against her hair.

"I'm so sorry I got us into that mess, Rose." He sighed. "I probably should have asked them just which Zyronia they were from; Shanzy, or Frenky."

"Shanzy or Frenky?"

"Oh, they're both the same species," he answered with a shrug. "Just from a different planet. A civil war event back, oh, 300 years or so ago forced one group of Zyronians to move their clan to a sister planet on the other side of a shared moon. Out of spite they chose to practice a set of beliefs that were the complete opposite to the ruling clan on the original home planet." He sniffed. "As you can tell, one can get into a wee spot of bother if they mistake one for the other…" He sighed apologetically. "I'm very sorry about that."

She shook her head and lifted her arms to circle them around his neck. There was a tender smile in her eyes as she looked into his face. "Oh, it wouldn't be an adventure if it all went to plan now, would it?" She rolled up onto her toes and dropped a light kiss on the tip of his nose, preening at the happy giggle that sounded from the back of his throat. "And let's admit it: running for our lives is what you and me live for, yeah?"

"Very yeah," he breathed out as he chased her lips to capture a kiss.

Rose evaded his attempt by stepping backward to hold him at arm's length. "I've got a question for you, though."

She pursed her lips and waited for him to tilt his head with curiosity. "I've never asked this before – dunno why – probably because we get all caught up with other stuff before I ask and all…"

"What's on your mind?" he pressed gently in hope that she would actually get to her point so that he could snag that kiss.

She turned and dropped her hand to capture his and led them into a slow walk out toward the street. "Why do you call it Prime?"

"What?" he questioned with a shrug. "The original parallel?"

She paused and turned to face him, halting his progress with a light tug on his hand. He turned toward her with a tilt in his head.

"Why'd you think the other one is the original? Because that's where we're from?"

"No," he sang with a shake of his head. His lip then turned up enough to crinkle his eye. "Although I can see why you'd think that."

"Well, go on."

He took his hand from hers and slid both hands into his jeans pockets. He thrust them deep and lifted his shoulders. "I call the other one Prime, because it is. The Prime Universe, that is."

Rose pursed her lips and thought on that for a moment. She then tilted her head and looked at him with the wide eyes of an enraptured student. "But how'd you know that this, or any other parallel isn't the original?"

"Now that's an easy question," he came back quickly. His eyes widened. "But brilliant. Still brilliant, Rose. Always the one to ask the best questions is my Rose Tyler."

"Smith," she corrected with a sigh. "I changed my name to yours, remember?"

"Yes," he answered slowly. "But I do like the way Rose Tyler rolls off my, as you say, rather talented tongue." He waggled his brows at her.

Rose shook her head and let out a moan. When he danced a little in front of her as though he was a bird performing a mating dance, she had to laugh and shake her head. "Don't change the subject, John."

He slumped and rolled his eyes. "Well then don't go about saying that I have a lack of interest and that I'm not trying," he quipped.

"Noone would ever say you aren't trying," She fired back with a smirk. "In fact, they repeatedly tell me that you're very trying."

His face fell. "That's not the same thing," he deadpanned.

"And you shouldn't change the subject," she warned with a smirk. "So go on. Answer my very brilliant, but also very easy question."

He slouched and rolled his eyes. "As you wish." He cleared his eyes and expression and thrust a hand into his pocket. "Put quite simply: The other universe has the Time Lords in it. None of the others do."

Rose frowned, suddenly perplexed by that answer. "So you're sayin' that the Time Lords only exist in one parallel?"

He nodded his head. "That's precisely what I'm saying."

"But how? I mean all parallels are created from the decisions that we make, yeah? Isn't that what you told me?" She pursed her lips and looked up curiously into his face. "So that'd mean that my decision to travel with you or not should mean that any parallels created from my meeting you would include you."

He purred deeply with pride. "Don't ever let anyone tell you you're not completely brilliant, Rose."

"I don't, usually."

He cleared his throat and looked skyward toward a zeppelin thundering noisily overhead. "Think of the parallel universes all branching out like it's a tree. Each separate universe comes from its own branch, spreading out more and more. Each universe is a leaf on that tree…"

She frowned to consider it, but nodded for him to continue.

"Well, each of those branches have to come from one single little seed." He smiled and inhaled a deep breath of eureka. "Oh! That's a perfect metaphor. A tree grown from a single seed. One small little tiny and almost insignificant dot that births an absolute majestic, monstrous, ever expanding and ever growing maserpiece of –"

"So, you're saying that the home of the Time Lords…"

"Gallifrey," he supplied with a smile.

"Gallifrey," Rose repeated with a smile. "Gallifrey is this nexus point you're talking about that. From your home planet all of reality extends out across the universe."

"The entire constellation of Kasterborous, actually," he corrected with a smile of pride. "Located at the galactic centre of the universe."

"So say your people," she deadpanned

He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Yeah, so say the Time Lords."

"Who have no real proof of that."

He looked around them. "I think the lack of Time Lords inside of this parallel is testament to that, don't you? Notta one around here that can see."

"Isn't any left in Prime, either," she challenged. "Makes sense they wouldn't be here neither. Right?"

A rather perplexed and off-put expression crossed his features. "Right," he drawled. "Never factored that particular little fact into my equation…"

"And speaking of Time Lords."

John lifted his brows and hummed curiously in a request for her to continue. "Hmmmm? What about them?"

"You really never talk about them much…" she asked quickly on a rush – not wanting to waste the opportunity now that he'd mentioned them. "…You know, the Time Lords and Gallifrey."

"Not much to talk about really," he evaded shortly.

"I beg to differ." She licked at the corner of her mouth waiting to see his response to that.

He did as she expected; he pouted a little and shrugged. "Well, we appear to have experienced a rather abrupt change in topic here."

"Yeah, well I think it's an important one," she shot back with a smile. "And long overdue."

He sniffed to disagree. "I think answering your question about parallel worlds and the existence of a single prime universe is far more exciting a topic, don't you?" He looked at her expectantly and hummed questioningly. "Hmmm?"

She shook her head. "No. Actually I don't." She took hold of his wrists and tried to coax his hands from his pockets. She wasn't particularly swayed when he refused to submit to her urging. For too long he'd locked up and shut down whenever the topic of Gallifrey came up. It was about time he did more than just give her the name of his planet…

…She wanted to know more. She hungered to know more.

"Please tell me about your home, John."

He stepped out of her reach and tugged on his ear. His eyes shifted from hers to study the brickwork that made up the sidewalk at their feet. "Home," he hummed. "You want me to tell you about my home. Well. I don't know that you'd know any less than I do about my home, Rose. After all, you've lived here longer than I have."

She folded her arms across her chest and slouched to one side to allow her foot to tap with impatience. "If that's what you're gonna go with, John, then I'm going to call you out for your stupidity. There's no way in this or any universe that you can truly believe that's what I meant."

His eyes flashed with annoyance. "Yeah. Well. Like it or not this is my home. You are my home. That … that other place…" He coughed into his fist. "Gallifrey. It doesn't exist anymore. And even when it did exist…" He laughed a rueful sound. "It wasn't my home. It became the exact opposite of home.""

"I see," she drawled with annoyance. "So that's the answer I'm going to get then?" she growled in reply. "All I'm ever going to hear about it."

He stuck out his lower lip and gave her a firm nod. "Yep."

"So I'm going to get nothing from you at all."

"You are such a clever girl."

"You condescending arse." Rose's eyes flashed with the same level of annoyance that was currently dancing inside of his. "So. Let me get this straight. You know everything there is to know about me, about who I am, who my family are. You stepped back in time, even, to make sure that you were a part of my childhood too – giving me that red bike for Christmas and all. My God, you even held me as a baby, saw my mum and dad get married … all that and more."

He scoffed. "I did that because you wanted me to, Rose. Your wish, remember? You asked me to take you back to see your dad, so I took you to see him."

"You still got to see it," she countered petulantly.

"Not my choice," he growled in reply, the attitude of his Ninth self firmly taking over. "Didn't do domestic at all to that point. Never met a family member, never wanted to. Family Schmamily, cause nothing but problems they do." He laughed deep and dark from the back of his throat. "And to prove my point, meeting your dad caused an absolute paradox, didn't it?" He flicked his hand at her. "Nearly destroyed all of reality."

"That," she croaked out. "That was my fault. Not his."

"Because of him," he reiterated sharply. "None of it would have happened if you didn't decide to save your father. Like I said, the cause of all problems are family."

A hurt expression quickly flashed across her face. "How can you truly say that, John? After everything since then? How can you stand there and tell me that my family are nothing but problems?" she drew in a shaking breath that rattled her bottom lip against her teeth. "What are you…? Are … are you sayin' that you don't want to be a part of my family?"

His frustration fell immediately when he heard that hurt waver in her voice. Immediately he felt remorse and shame at his reactive words. That wasn't what he meant to say … Well, not how he meant it to be taken at any rate.

…Her family and his … they were completely different.

"No, Rose." he replied quickly, rushing to cup his hands on her elbows. "No, that's not what I'm saying. Not at all." His expression calmed and he took on an almost desperate tone. "Rose. I vow to you that getting to know your family – being part of that family – it's the greatest joy I've ever known."

She inhaled shakily, her voice soft. "You sure about that?"

"Very sure," he vowed fiercely. "I've never been surer of anything in all of my lives."

Rose sniffed. "Then why're you denying me knowing about you and your family, John?" Her eyes chased his as he tried to look away. "An' don't you run from me. I'm tired of you doin' that – clamming up and goin' quiet anytime you don't like a subject."

He forcibly pulled away from her, turning away to speak over his shoulder at her. "You don't understand," he growled.

"How can I,?" she hissed in reply, "when you won't open up and help me to understand?" She reached up to touch his shoulder and pulled back sharply when he jerked away from her touch.

His voice was barely above a hoarse whisper. "My home. My family. My planet." He huffed and lifted his head to look at the sky. The croak in his voice told Rose there were tears in his eyes when he spoke. "All of it was taken from me," he admitted sadly. "It's all gone."

"It doesn't have to be gone," she ventured carefully. "As long as it lives in your memory, John. It's never truly gone." She tried to reach him again, and this time when her fingertips touched at his stiffened shoulders, he didn't pull away. "Tell me about it, about them. Help me understand. Let me know who you are."

"I am what you see," he said flatly. "There's nothing more."

"That's rubbish," she slid back as she moved her hands to circle around his hips to clasp her hands at his belly and spoke into his shoulder. "You are so much more than nothing. You always have been."

"I'm not who I once was," he acquiesced softly. "When I grew out of a severed hand, I stopped being that man. That me is gone." He exhaled a long breath. "Please let him be gone, Rose. Let him stay where he is in his TARDIS living the miserable and lonely life of an exiled renegade."

"Exiled for what?" she asked against his shoulder blade.

"Oh, Many things, Rose. Many, many things."

"Is that why you left Gallifrey; because you were exiled?"

He let out a frustrated snort through his nose. While usually Rose would drop any uncomfortable subjects by this stage, it didn't look like she would do so as readily this time. He turned inside her arms and set his hands either side of her face as he looked down into her eyes. "I left Gallifrey of my own accord," he revealed softly. "My repeated exiles came later. As did Presidency, if you can believe it," he added with a light chuckle. The chuckle quickly fell. "But my reasons for stealing a TARDIS and escaping through the transduction barrier to travel the universe, they were my own. No one else's."

"Tell me about it, John. Please open up to me."

He growled out angrily and harshly released her face with a rough flick of his hands. "I said no," he seethed through his teeth. "That is a part of my life that I would much rather leave in the past, thank you. If I wanted to talk about it; if I wanted you to know about it; then I would have already told you." He took a step backward, spun on the ball of his foot, and marched a wide circle to face her again. "Take the hint, Rose. Let sleeping dogs and arrogant Time Lords lie."

She wasn't swayed under the glare of his furious gaze. Rose Smith faced down monsters of all sorts on any day. Facing down this pissed off half-Time Lord was a piece of cake.

"And you can certainly be the most arrogant of them all, can't you?" she shot back with her own snarl.

He flicked his hand over his shoulder in a dismissive fashion. "Never claimed that I wasn't," he called back with a definite sniff of conceit. "I'm Prydonian. We're the worst of all of them."

"Pry-what?"

He laughed in an almost evil manner, and turned to face her. "Prydonian, Rose. Part of the Prydon chapter. The most cunning, devious, and dangerous members of my race." He moved in close and stooped to be eye level with her. His voice took on a quieter volume. It fell into the trademark teasing tone that he used when taunting the alien bad guy of the hour. "Be careful, Rose. We're a terribly untrustworthy lot. Can't take your eyes off us for a second"

Rose scowled and used both hands to push him backward. She held off flinching with apology to see him trip and stagger backward to maintain his stand and instead opted to call him a name instead: "Wanker."

He chuckled as he watched her stalk to the front of the alleyway. "Oh now, Rose. Don't talk like that. I know you don't mean it."

The sudden joviality in his voice gave her pause and she spun on her heel. "Are you? Are you makin' fun of this?"

"Yes," he answered with blunt honestly. "Yes I am."

"What the Hell-"

"Oh come on, Rose," he pleaded inside a long suffering moan. "Gallifrey and the Time Lords are not going to be a reason for you and I having a bicker." He opened his arms to invite a cuddle. "So let's just – "

"A bicker?" she interrupted angrily as she fell into a petulant slouch. She folded her arms across her chest and regarded him with wide eyes of disbelief. "You think this is a bicker?"

"Well, it's getting pretty close to it."

She dropped her head and gave It a slow shake. "Oh, John." She lifted her eyes and let fury settle into her gaze. "You really are clueless, aren't you?"

His brow lifted. "Hmmm?"

She strode up to him and petted him on the cheeks in a very condescending manner. "Darling. This isn't a bicker. This isn't even an argument. This is an all-out row that is going to end with you sleepin' on the couch until such time that you a) realise that I'm not kiddin' about and willin' to play games with you, or B) for the next year – whichever comes first." She spun again to speak over her shoulder at him as she walked toward the street. "And I reckon that we'll hit the latter before you finally get it in your head that marriage is a two-way street. As in we share … everything."

"I see," he breathed out. "Bit like you telling me all about what happened that night you finally left Jimmy Stone for good, am I right?" He snorted. "Oh. I forgot. You don't talk about that, do you?"

She froze in place. Her voice was barely a whisper. "That's different."

"I disagree," he replied just as softly. "My upbringing, and my life on Gallifrey are just as painful to me as your life with Jimmy Stone was to you."

She spun on her toes, hands clenched into fists at her side, and glared at him through tear-filled eyes. "There is no comparison between what that monster did to me, and what struggles you had as a kid!"

"How do you know that?" He shot back in a yell. "You have no idea what I had to endure as a young Lord, and what sacrifices I had to make for the good of the house." His voice lowered. "Just what I had to give up."

"Because you never talk about it," she yelled back in frustration. "I'm not like you, John. I can't go into someone's head and get the information I'm lookin' for when I'm not getting the answers I want. I need you to give me the answers or else how can I know how to help?."

His face lengthened in shock. "What are you accusing me of?"

She shook her head and settled her voice back down. "You know what? Never mind. Forget I asked."

He watched her turn and walk away from him. "I have never done that to you, Rose. I would never do that to you … to anyone." He inhaled deeply. "Never without consent.!"

She shook her head and walked toward the road. "You know what. Forget about it, John."

"No!" he growled out defensively as he stalked toward her. "You just accused me of assault, Rose. How could you ever think I'd do something so … so …"

A multi-syllable word flew from between his lips that Rose assumed was a Gallifreyan curse of some form. She turned to face him, and continued to walk backward onto the road. "Now now," she chided with faux playfulness. "Langua-"

She didn't get the final syllable out. She didn't even yell. But there was a sickening thud as a small, red, Japanese-made car roared down the roadway and slammed into her thigh. John watched in horror as his wife was propelled into the air, her limbs flailing like a rag doll.

He screamed out her name and launched into a run; praying to every deitiy watching that he'd be able to make it to the roadside and catch her fall. There seemed to be a pull against him, time slowed, and he realised with horror that he wouldn't get to her in time. He screamed out to her again as he watched her hit the roof of the vehicle and then cartwheel in the air to the hard bitumen road. Her head and shoulder struck ground first with a shattering crack of bone, followed by the thud of her hip and legs … and then there was silence.

The small red sedan skidded to a stop, but quickly revved up and took off down the street. John only caught sight of it within his peripheral vision as he exploded out of the alleyway and dropped to his knees beside his wife.

"Rassilon, Rose," he called out with a mix of panic, horror, and utter devastation strangling his voice. "Sweetheart, you hold on, okay? You'll be okay."

Oh, but he knew she wouldn't be. Rose, his beloved partner and wife, lay on her back. She was limp and unmoving from the next down. Her eyes were blown wide with confusion and only her head and neck moved as she coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

He took her hand and his and shielded his devastation at the lack of response in her hand to his grip. "Rose," he called softly as his mind quickly worked through the options of calling Triple-9 or simply zapping them back to Torchwood with the vortex manipulator curled around his wrist.

There was no way the paramedics would get to her in time. Travel by manipulator risked further damage due to the pressures of travel.

Rose let out another blood-filled cough. Her eyes stared up at him filled with fright … but terrifyingly no pain at all.

His decision was made. He could see that there was no way she was going to survive this – not with Earth-based medicine at any rate. There was no way in the Universe that he would allow her to die on a blood-soaked, filthy roadway. The best he could offer her was to at least die with the comfort of a mattress underneath her back and her father at her side…

…She was there for him when a car took his life, it was only right that he be there for her when a car took her life from her.

"Just hold on," he pleaded with her as he typed in the coordinates to Torchwood into the manipulator. "I know you can."

He took her blood filled cough as her answering him in the affirmative.

"That's my Rose Tyler," he said with a tender smile as he dropped onto his hip beside her and wrapped his arms around her chest. "Sorry, Rose Smith," he corrected. "You've faced off with some of the worst villains in the Universe. You destroyed Daleks, Cybermen, the Dalek Emperor and even the Devil himself." He pressed a button on his wrist to activate the travel vortex. "There's no way that the Bad Wolf is being taken down by a Honda."

Although she did nothing but cough in response as the vortex sucked them inside and propelled them through a shimmering, brilliantly blinding tunnel of blue and white, he swore that he felt her chuckle.

"That's it," he purred. "You promised me forever, remember? This is nowhere near close to forever."

Her coughing had waned, but so too was her gasping efforts at breathing. Her body was still limp and unresponsive and he did his absolute best to hide his desperation.

That effort ceased, however, when the tunnel around them dissipated and he found himself in the main medical wing of the Torchwood building. He quickly lifted his head and let his tears flow.

"Help me!" he cried out loudly. "Someone help me!"

Heavy, herding footfalls quickly thundered down along the hallway. It was only a second before the doors flew open and three personnel in light blue scrubs burst into the room.

"It's Rose," John called out urgently. "Help her, she needs help. Please!"

A middle-aged nurse quickly dropped into a crouch at his side. There was an analysis device in her hand and a worried expression on her face as she scanned the length of Rose's body.

"Jesus, John," she breathed out. "What the hell happened to her?"

"Hit by a car," he choked out. "Small. Red. Honda, I think." He inhaled a shaking breath to stave off a devastating sob. "And they just took off. Didn't even check."

"I'm sorry, dear," the nurse said with apology for obviously more than just the hit and run. She looked up to another nurse. "Go and get Pete. Tell him to call Jackie and make it quick." She looked back to John. "I'm so sorry."

"No," he breathed out with a shake in his head. "No, please. Please."

She stood up and motioned to a pair or orderlies. "We should get her up off the floor. We have to at least make her comfortable." She looked back to John, who still held Rose tightly against him. "Come on, dear. There isn't much we can do now…"

"She's the beat of my heart," he seethed through his teeth, refusing to let her go. "You can't tell me that there's nothing you can do. IF my heart's beating, then there's still hope."

The nurse's face fell into an expression of sympathy. "Oh, my precious. In a perfect universe, she could live on your heart alone and survive an eternity."

"Then make it happen."

She put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "John, dear. I'm so sorry, but she's already gone."

He shook his head. "No. Don't say that. My heart beats for her… I can't lose her. Not now."

"Let the lads lift her onto the gurney," she cooed as tenderly as she could. "And say your goodbyes to her. Pete should be along shortly. He'll want to do the same."

His anger quickly fell to sorrow. John curled himself around Rose's stilled and bloody form and began to sob. He rocked them both backward and forwards, his nose buried In her temple and wept. He begged for her to open her eyes, chided her for not keeping her promise of forever, and vowed to love her for all eternity. He apologised for their argument and vowed to her that if she would just wake up ad come back to him that he'd tell her everything that she wanted to know…

…Hell, he'd write a book and produce a movie or TV series outlining every single part of his life on Gallifrey.

…If only she'd just wake up.

"Anything you want to know," he chanted. "All of it. No more secrets or mystery."

The heavy footfalls of Pete Tyler thundered into the room. There was a pause at the doorway, and then a horrified gasp. The Torchwood leader, and father in law to the metacrisis Time Lord let out a distraught haunting howl of his daughter's name.

John lifted his head as he heard Pete drop down beside him. "Pete. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Pete nodded with a wince across his face. "What happened?"

John opened his mouth to offer a tearful retelling of the events, but only managed a single word before Rose gasped and convulsed in his arms.

Both men quickly looked down to see colour in Rose's cheeks, and an intermittent rise and falling of her chest.

Pete immediately called for help, whilst John began to plead with Rose to make it through. He leaned down to kiss against her forehead, but found himself instead choking on the acrid stench of Lindos energy that he could see was swirling underneath her skin.

"For the love of Rassilon," John chanted out worriedly. "No. No, no, no no."

"What's wrong," Pete queried urgently as John clutched at the middle of Rose's blouse and roughly tore it open. He gasped to see yellow-amber light swirling under her skin. He looked up to his son-in-law with worry. "What's happening, John?"

"It can't be," John answered with only a whisper. "It's impossible. Absolutely impossible." He tilted his head, hope rising in his chest. "Well. Rose has been known to eat impossible for lunch."

"What are you talking about?"

John's eyes opened wide as Rose's eyes flared open and golden light poured out and over her nose and cheeks. Her hands shimmered brighter, and John was quick to launch forward to push Pete backward.

"Get clear," he ordered firmly. He looked up at the gathered medical staff and waved his hand at them in a gesture for them to leave. "All of you need to back off. As far as you can get. Leave the room is you have to, but for the sake of the stars, don't touch her."

He looked down to speak words of encouragement to the woman glowing on the floor at his knees, but found himself staring into the furiously confused face of Pete Tyler. "John," he warned darkly. "What's happening to my daughter? Tell me what's happening."

John knew he was out of time for explanations.

"Regenerating," was all he could get out before Rose's entire body began to split with golden light. The Fluorescent light tubes above all their heads buzzed and then popped. Vital monitors hissed and then exploded, and the room itself rattled and shook.

John tried desperately to stay close to her, but the shock force of the Lindos energies swelling to peak shoved him backward with enough force to roll him into the leg of a nearby gurney. He held his forearm over his eyes to shield away the intensity of the light, and called desperately to his wife.

Inside two beats of his heart, the lightshow stopped and everything went quiet. John dropped his forearm and moved forward toward the woman panting and gasping on her back the floor.

"Ro-" His call of her name caught when he felt a telltale pinpricking sensation rush from head to toe. Ne second of reality played out in over five, and John knew that he was now fast approaching a critical moment in time. A fixed point. The most dangerous moment in time for wrong decisions or altering outcomes.

Time quickly returned to normal, and John coughed as he let the final shudder tickle at the tip of his toes. Whatever the universe was trying to warn him about, it could wait. Right now, he needed to get to his wife.

He crawled on his hands and knees and prepared himself for the worst. Regenerating was an horrific experience to endure, she had to be absolutely terrified. He grasped her hand before he got close enough to take a good look at her, and thrilled in the way she squeezed in return. Her name was on the tip of her tongue and in the back of his throat when he finally looked over her. That name caught at the sight of familiar long, brown hair, crystalline sapphire eyes, a spray of freckles along her cheeks and the most adorable button nose.

The horrific emotions of devastation and loss shuddered inside his chest as time seemed to tap him on the shoulder and whisper: "Fixed point," into his ear.

Another name fell from his tongue along nothing more than a whisper as scared blue eyes locked onto his.

"Mia."

~~oooOOOooo~~

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or any of the recognized characters within the show. I'm merely borrowing some characters and having a little fun and games within my own little universe here.