Warning- I'm never good at beginnings of stories. It gets better, I promise
It starts for me like any normal day, the same boring routine. Wake up, walk to the shop I work at, then walk back home. As I take the final step from my flat, I push my earbuds into my ears and press play. Before I can even move to go to work, someone bumps into me, almost knocking me off-balance. I turn to yell at them, when I'm faced with a man I know far too well. I stare wide eyed at the man.
"Y-you're the Doctor!" I manage to stutter out.
"Yes, that's me. Hello," he replies cheerfully. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some things to do. Normal, human stuff." He starts to walk down the sidewalk.
"You've got to spare a minute to talk. You should have all the time in the world, being a Time Lord." He stops dead in his tracks and turns around. He slowly takes step after step to reach me again.
"How did you know that?" He asks quietly, his sad lonely eyes searching mine.
"Oh, right. Mum said that's not how it worked. Speaking of my mum, she brought me up on the stories of your adventures with her." He looks in my eyes still, puzzled.
"Who's your mum? I've never met you before in my life, and that's saying something." I take a deep breath before exhaling.
"Ever heard of a girl called Rose Tyler?"
He stands for a moment, eyes wide.
"How... how did you switch to this universe without ripping a whole in the fabric of space?" I smile at him knowingly.
"You'll find out. Weren't you doing stuff?" He snaps back to attention.
"Right. Now follow me, if you're up to it." He starts to walk away again. I rush after him, taking two steps for every one of his, making up for our height difference. He leads me to his blue box, the TARDIS mum had called it. It looked so small on the outside, but when I passed through the door, the inside was huge.
"It's bigger on the inside!" I exclaim.
"I love it when people say that. So, anywhere in the universe at anytime. Where do you want to start?"
"Just wherever you are needed most." He presses some buttons and pulls some levers, setting a course. I sit down and relax, feeling the energy of the Time Vortex soothing me.
"How are you doing that?" He asks as I snap open my eyes. "You were seeping regeneration energy, how were you-?"
"I've always been able to do that. My mum said it was from something called a Time Vortex." His eyes widen. "She also said something about a kiss and a bad wolf. Whatever did you do on your travels?" He doesn't respond, but pulls out a stethoscope.
"What are you?" He asks himself, putting the end to my chest. He holds it on both sides, surprised when he goes over to my right. He waits a few moments before retracting the device and sitting down next to me. "Whatever you are, you're part Time Lord. You have two hearts, only Time Lords have two hearts. How did you get here from the other dimension?"
"Through a doorway my mum set up. She told me to get a job and find you. I've only been here for five days, I didn't know you would show up so fast."
"Where's the doorway?" He asks, running over to the console.
"Torchwood," I respond, earning a laugh from the Doctor.
"Bloody brilliant your mum is! The last door was closed there, and she must have figured how to open it again without tearing everything apart." He pulls multiple levers and presses many buttons before he stops, having landed us at our destination. We step out of the TARDIS and into the ruins that was the building they called Torchwood. A few feet from where we landed, a large white wall with a single opening sits.
"Mum?" I call through the opening. "I've found him." A few seconds pass before she appears, her blonde hair wild.
"It's about damn time," she tells me, smiling as I roll my eyes. "Where was he?"
"Bumped into him on the street." She starts laughing.
"Oh, Doctor. You're loosing your finesse," she jokes.
"I am not!" He yells defensively, smiling.
"Well, are you coming over or not?" She asks. I look over to the Doctor before stepping through, hugging my mum in the process.
"Oh, I've missed you," I tell her, letting go.
"I've missed you too. Anything fun besides finding him?"
"It's been five days, mum. Nothing really exciting can happen in five days."
"Lots of things can happen in five days," the Doctor explains, finally stepping through. "I've seen worlds built, war break, and civilizations fall, in a day. Five days is a lifetime."
"Rose! There's an unknown life source in that room!" A voice calls from the hall. My dad runs through, gasping for breath. "Rose-"
"Dad!" I exclaim, running for him. He opens his arms and smiles, wrapping me in a big hug.
"Hey, kid." He finally looks up. "Doctor."
"Doctor," he says in return, nodding. "How's the human life treating you?"
"Good, I'm a dad. Remember when we were a dad?"
"Yes, I remember."
"Okay, so this is depressing. Who wants tea?" I ask, heading for the door. "Don't talk bad about me while I'm gone!"
"No promises!" Dad calls back, laughing. I quickly run and make the tea, grabbing a couple of biscuits from the counter.
When I run back, carefully, both mum's and the Doctor's backs are to the door, so they don't see me enter. I'm about to call out so they know I'm here, but the Doctor speaks first.
"I don't know what she is, is she human? Time Lord? It's annoying not knowing things, I know how you feel now."
"Nice confidence booster there, Doctor," Mum says, laughing.
"You know what I meant." He joins her in laughter until they both fall into silence.
"I like to think she's human. We've done all the tests, looked at the anatomy, but it doesn't add up," Mum states. "She's human, but has two hearts and possibly the ability to regenerate."
"She's a walking enigma," The Doctor finally decides.
"She's not even ours by birth, we found her on the doorstep with a note that said 'From one Sexy to another, hold onto her for me.' It didn't have a name, but I think your TARDIS is finally warming up to me. And I feel like she's supposed to go with you, Doctor. See the stars, find out who she is."
"Rose, I can't. Not with the way I lost you."
"She's a big girl, Doctor. She could handle you for a while, at least."
"No, Rose, what I'm saying is that it's too much to take in. Finding out you're a part of an ancient race, with only one other member of the species. If I could change anything, I would. But she's too precious to you, if I caused something to happen to her..."
"I trust you, Doctor. I think she'll be alright."
"She'll be traveling with me, there's no guarantee she will be safe."
"That's part of the adventure, isn't it?" He hesitates, sighing a few moments later.
"I'll think about it, but I don't even know her name. What is it?"
"Mackenzie Dona Tyler, at least on her birth record," Mum tells him.
"You didn't," he smiles.
"We did," she smiles with him. "Bad Wolf, in honor of us of course. Our first adventures."
"I'm so honored. What language is that, I'm a little fuzzy."
"It's Irish." They both smile at each other again. "When can I expect her home?"
"Rose, I didn't say she could come. I said I'd think about it, so for right now, it's still a no."
"Didn't you want to ask me first?" I ask, making them whip to look at me.
"Mackenzie! How long have you been standing there?" Mum asks me, slightly worried.
"Long enough, mum," I tell her. "Doctor, if you don't want to take me, go ahead and say so."
"I want you to go! I just don't want you to get hurt."
"I am almost an adult, I'm even a Time Lord for Christ's sake! Let me make my own decisions."
"You're not a Time Lord!" The Doctor exclaims, losing his temper. "I'm a Time Lord, and I know what it's like to be next to your own kind. You feel the bond, the connection, the loss. I feel nothing with you, so you're nothing compared to me!" He stands, seething, his eyes flashing with anger.
"Doctor," mum scolds him, but he just turns to her.
"Stay out of this Rose, you're just as human as she is." He turns to me again, but his gaze falters a bit. I wipe a teary eye and collect myself.
"The Doctor knows what's best. I guess I can't do anything right." I turn around to leave, but dad walks in at that moment.
"Did I miss something?" He asks cheerfully, but stays quiet as I walk away from him. I walk over to the portal and turn to look back at them.
"Be back later, mum, dad. See you around, Doctor." I take the last step through the doorway, setting the tray down next to it. Once the tray touches the floor, I sprint over to the TARDIS, closing the door firmly behind me. I know running away won't solve my problems, but I'll be with the Doctor either way.
The TARDIS seems to hum with life, and I smile. I look around the console, admiring how many buttons and levers there are. My head whips up as I hear someone putting the key in the door. I run into the nearest door, shutting it just as the other door opens.
"Hello old girl," I hear the Doctor whisper happily, and I back slowly down the darkened hall. Figuring I'm far enough away from the Doctor, I turn and run, only stopping when a door blocks my path. Its swirling gold pattern seems to move as I reach for the handle, but there isn't one.
"How do I get through?" I ask myself, trying to pry it open with my bare hands. A sort of rolling sound comes from the hall behind me, so I turn and try to see what it was in the growing darkness. It stops a few inches from my foot, and I reach down to pick it up. It's a pen like object with a button close to the center. I press it, surprising myself as the tip lights up and a low whirring sound comes from it. I aim it at the door, and it opens almost immediately.
The light is blinding, making me shield my eyes. Eventually it dims, so I finally have the chance to see what's inside. It looks like a bedroom, with a bookshelf along one wall and a single bed in the corner. I cautiously walk in, checking to make sure I'm alone. The door slams behind me, making a slight clicking noise. Great, I'm locked in. I sit down on the edge of the bed, ready to settle in if I have to. A loud thunk comes from the opposite corner. I whip my head to see what it is, to see a large book plopped on the floor. Slowly getting up, I walk towards it. The Sonic Screwdriver and Its Uses.
"This what you call light reading?" I ask the TARDIS, to which she hums in response. "I'll take that as a yes, then." I flip through the pages, carefully reading each one. After a while, another beam of bright light appears by the door, and I stand up quickly when I realize who it is.
"Doctor! I'm so sorry I'm intruding, I didn't-" I start.
"I am not the Doctor, I am a voice interface," it interrupts.
"What are you doing here?"
"When they clamp in place, hold on tight," it states, not answering the question. "They will form a ladder to bring you to safety." The beam swallows it up, leaving me alone once again.
"What does that mean?" I ask the empty room as the door changes before my eyes. Instead of plain metal, a solid wooden door sits in its spot. There's another click from it, and the handle turns itself. It immediately flings open, and I start racing down the hall. Without thinking of the consequences, I open the door to the console room quickly. The Doctor stands with his back to me.
"I don't want to go," The Doctor states before twirling around, finally spotting me. "What!?"