Disclaimer: Doctor Who isn't mine. If it was things would be quite different. The BBC owns all and I bow before them.
Written for timepetalsprompts on tumbler Eight/Rose ficlet prompt: hurt/comfort (I also worked in the drabble theme, advantage!) as well as perfectlyrose's Eight x Rose August prompt: Dimension hopping!Rose meets Eight.
Rose Tyler's heart thudded in her chest as she took in the weathered police box parked at the end of the street. Finally. It was one of the most beautiful sights in the universe to her, surpassed only by the man she would soon be seeing.
She set out at a run, and upon reaching the door, she ran her hand across it a soft caress. Oh, how I've missed you. With trembling fingers, she took the TARDIS key from around her neck and inserted it into the keyhole.
Opening the door and stepping inside, Rose let out a gasp. The console room was completely different from what she was used to. Gone was the familiar coral and soft green glow of the time rotor. Instead everything was in tones of blue. There were metal struts surrounding the console and as she whirled around she realized that books, no, not just that, a completely library, surrounded the circumference of the room.
"Lovely," she whispered approvingly, as she circled the entirety of it. There was a part of her that missed the console room she knew so well, but she was home, and the TARDIS would always be beautiful to her. She felt a soft hum in her mind, and rejoiced at the familiar warmth of it.
"She is, isn't she?"
Rose startled at the sound of the voice, and turned her eyes away from the the cozy chair and lamp she'd been looking at, and up to the owner of it. All the times she had imagined it, she had never pictured a reunion quite like this. There stood the Doctor. Dark curls, an elegant blue velvet waist coat, and a cravat tied around his neck. He was simply gorgeous, but she couldn't help feeling a pang of longing for her Doctor. In this moment, and in many ways, she was further away from him then she had ever been.
"Doctor," she trailed off, not knowing where to begin. What could she even say? Was this going to mess up their timelines? There was no recognition in his face, so she was sure she was looking at a past incarnation.
"You seem to have me at an advantage, Miss. You know my ship, and she knows you." He raised an intrigued eyebrow toward the ceiling. "But I don't believe I've ever seen you before."
The Doctor frowned at his own words. "I haven't, have I? My memory is a bit off this regeneration."
"No, I've never met this you. I think I'm looking for a future Doctor," she confirmed and swallowed thickly. Her Doctor had never liked to talk about his past, so she had no way of knowing for certain. "I've been searching for him for two years and jumping across dimensions for the past six months. I thought I'd finally made it."
Her mind raced as she finished. If this Doctor wasn't a past version, then she'd never get her own back, she realized, as tears prickled her eyes. The TARDIS sent a burst of comfort to her, and she wiped them away with her sleeve before they could fall. Apparently all was not lost in her quest.
"Anybody who has looked for me that long must be someone special." The Doctor hugged her, and despite the unfamiliar body, she took comfort in his embrace. "Seems like the TARDIS brought us together for a reason, Miss," he paused mid-sentence as he pulled back and looked at her expectantly.
Rose hesitated, and the Doctor shook his head.
"Don't worry. The TARDIS wouldn't have let you in if it would've caused a problem. I can tell she likes you and she'll see to it this memory is blocked for me."
Rose nodded and without consciously deciding to do so, she realized she was giving him a tongue-touched grin. "Yeah, we have a history." She offered him her hand to shake. "I'm Rose."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rose," he said, and instead of shaking her hand, he pressed a kiss to her knuckles. Stepping over to the console, the Doctor picked up his sonic screwdriver.
"You said you've been jumping?" His eyebrows knitted together as he spoke.
"Yeah, with this." Rose took the button jumper from around her neck. "I was trapped in a parallel world, but the stars are going out and now I can get through. We need him." Her cheeks flushed. "I need him."
The Doctor took the jumper and scanned it with the sonic. "Hmm. It's inelegant but sufficient. The TARDIS and I can program this."
He walked over to the console and Rose saw Gallifreyan flash across the screen. "The TARDIS says you need to get to London, beginning of April 2009."
Rose nodded. "That's right. I've been tracking his TARDIS, but always seem to just miss him."
A familiar buzz filled the air as the Doctor pointed his sonic at the jumper. "All set." He handed it back to her.
"Thank you." Rose flung her arms around him again and sighed happily.
"You're welcome." The Doctor caressed her jaw with his thumb as he pulled back. "I might not know you yet, Rose, but I'm looking forward to it."
"It'll be fantastic." She told him, but sobered as she looked into his eyes. They had the familiar wisdom of centuries that she knew so well, but there was also a lightness to them that she'd never seen in either the ice blue or chocolate brown ones she knew so well. Her heart ached for what was going to still happen in his future. At least after it did though, she'd soon be there to comfort him.
Her jumper beeped and Rose knew it was time to go. One last trip to Pete's World to say goodbye, before a final jump home using her new coordinates.
She took the Doctor's hand and rubbed it between his thumb and index finger. "I know you have to forget this, Doctor, but deep, deep down I want you to know. Somewhere out there is a shop girl who loves you. You'll change her life and while one day you will be separated, she'll keep her promise of forever. I will do that, my Doctor," she vowed, because he was, even if she had just met this him.
The Doctor stared down at their hands and gave hers a squeeze. "To the future then."
"And a happy reunion," Rose agreed, and on an impulse, kissed his cheek before she broke away from him.
She cast one last lingering look around the TARDIS as she headed toward the doors. With a glance back over her shoulder, she waved goodbye to the Doctor.
He returned her wave, and with renewed hope, Rose stepped outside.