Disclaimer- I do not own Doctor Who. If I did Rose would still be there, Donna would be part of the TARDIS crew, and well… so long as she knew the Doctor belonged to Rose then I suppose Martha could be along as well.
"Keys are a very funny thing."
Someone had told that to Rose. Once when she was very small. She couldn't really remember anything about him, only his shoes. They were black shiny dress shoes. The kind her father had owned when he was still alive. The ones her mum kept hidden in the back of the closet, so Rose wouldn't find them. But she did. She always did.
She held the TARDIS key in her hand wishing it would get hot like it did when she and the Doctor were trapped in the past cause she saved her dad, when she shouldn't have.
She wished it would light up and let her know he was coming for her. He found a way to save her and they were gonna be together again... only this time really together. Cause he loved her. He couldn't say it but she knew.
"Keys give you hope don they?"
Sure she had hope. Even though they were in different universes she had hope that one day he'd come for her. It didn't matter. They were a team. Shiver and Shake. They were never gonna split up. Never ever.
"Like if you have your key then you'll always be able to get back home. Whenever you want."
"I don't know how." Rose admitted softly to the key itself, "You were a part of me and I was a part of you… and I can't figure out how to get back to you."
Rose wasn't sure if she was talking to the TARDIS or the Doctor. It didn't matter. They were the same. All three of them holding a part of one another. Coincidentally their hearts.
"So long as you don give up, well you'll find your way."
"Mum?" Rose asked walking into the kitchen.
"Yes love?" Jackie asked trying to feed Rose's brother, Andrew.
"I need to find a way back mum."
Jackie was used to this conversation, "But you don't have a way back, Rose. He made sure that we were stuck here. Safe, but stuck."
Rose held up the TARDIS key, "I've got to try mum. He wouldn't give up, would he?"
"How do you know he hasn't?" Jackie asked gently. She knew it was hard but her daughter needed to hear the possibility, "He's so used to moving on by now isn't he?"
Rose nodded, but turned away from her mother, "I love him. I'm going back to Bad Wolf Bay. It's my bay mum. I thought it was just some stupid irony of something, but I forgot didn't I? I forgot what I figured out back then."
"What?" Jackie asked.
"Bad Wolf here, and Bad Wolf there. We're still connected." Jackie looked doubtful, "It keeps popping up everywhere mum."
"But Rose-"
"I have to give it one last shot." Rose said, "Before I finally move on and try to forget. I have to try."
I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. If I can just find a hole, a teeny tiny hole, then I can get back. Sarah Jane Smith was right, you can't just get dropped off and expect to go back to your normal life.
There's a better way to live your life. Not wasting it away in a 9 to 5 job as a shop girl. Not spending your days cataloguing monsters and demons you've faced for further reference.
It's being out there and seeing things. Seeing history right before your very eyes. Saving the world and not needing it to know. Having that action being it's own reward.
And more important being in love. That's the best way there is to live your life. Mum knew that. That's why she's in this world with dad. That's why after a big hug and lots of tears she let me go.
Here. Dalig Ulv Stranden. Bad Wolf Bay.
The last place I saw him.
"Okay! So here I am! Bad Wolf Bay right?" Rose yelled at the top of her lungs. It was as deserted as it was the last time she was there, so she needn't worry about anyone seeing her, "I have my bleedin key! Tell me what to do!"
Rose then remembered the part that had always confused her, but now… well now it made all the sense in the world. The woman who'd been with the man. Rose couldn't remember anything about this woman except her long brown hair, and the only thing she said, "Sometimes a little tears work just as well."
It had confused her as a young child because she hadn't understood how much emotions affect everything around you. When the Doctor laughed, the whole world laughed right along with him. When she felt compassion towards the emperor of the Daleks, everyone had. When she screamed realizing she was about to die at Torchwood. Knowing that she was about to fall into the void, he screamed right along with her.
Rose fell to her knees, "Please." Her thoughts immediately went to his face the last time they saw each other. To the way he said her name. To the way their hands seemed to fit perfectly in one another.
Rose was sobbing her heart out but it didn't seem to be working. She pounded on the sand and started cursing through her tears all she could hear was the sound of the stupid ocean whooshing. Her eyes were so filled with tears that she couldn't see straight. She couldn't see why it was suddenly dark, and she couldn't see what the hell her hand was hitting that was so god damn hard, and more importantly she couldn't see whatever the hell she knocked over that was made of glass. She only knew it was made of glass cause it hit the floor of the TARDIS and shattered.
"Oh I do hope your name is Alonso. I've been saving this one up for a very long time and-" He trailed off when he caught sight of her face, "No."
Rose was gasping desperately trying to breathe, "I- gasp- I can't believe- that woman- gasp- she was right."
"Who?" he asked, keeping at least ten feet between them. Not that it was hard Rose was still trying to catch her breath on the floor. He didn't want to get to close, cause every time he did, he woke up.
"I don't know." Rose admitted.
"My God!" Martha said coming out of another room of the TARDIS, "Are you alright?"
"I'm… I'm fine. Who are you?" she asked trying to keep her jealousy at bay.
"Martha Jones. I'm a med student." She said pulling out her First Aid kit, "Doctor who is this?" she added putting on her stethoscope and listening for Rose's heart beat, "Only one, that's good."
"That's Rose."
"Dame Rose of the Powell Estate." Rose managed to squeak out.
"Not to worry though Martha. In a few minutes I'll wake up and the dream will be over." He said leaning against the banister.
"Hold on, if it's anyone's dream its mine." Rose said standing, "You're the one who's still traveling in your ship. I'm stuck in a stupid alternate universe, where chips aren't as crispy mind you."
"So why aren't you dreaming about chips right now?" he countered confused. Dream Rose never got angry like his real Rose did.
"Because I love you more than I love chips." She said smiling, "Though maybe not as much as those one from that high school, yeah? Those we're gorgeous." She added taking a step towards him.
"Wait." He said holding his arm up, "If you come any closer the dream will end. It doesn't matter whose it is… it always does when you get close."
"What the hell is going on out here?" Donna asked entering from the hallway.
Both Rose and the Doctor ignored her, as Rose took another step closer, "Funny, my dreams always get right to the good stuff. Suppose we should just test?"
Rose reached for his hand and he grimaced ready for her to disappear. She squeezed his hand in her own and he grinned, maybe it was Rose's dream. Too bad that if it's Rose's dream he wouldn't remember. Though how Rose knew about Martha and Donna was a mystery to him.
"Oh Geez, you should both get a room." Donna said.
"Donna, this is Rose." Martha said softly.
Donna having absolutely no tact walked right up to her, "You're Rose. Well finally." She smacked the Doctor in the shoulder and pulled Rose over to her, "You know he said you were alive when we first met. He was all moody and I was wondering why he was being so moody if you were alive. All he said was she's gone, and my friend Rose this and my friend Rose that." Donna nodded towards Martha, "And of course this one got jealous."
Martha glared at her, and added, "That was a year ago."
"Of course it was weird that even though he said you were alive, he has your room like a shrine. Like you really had died or something. I don't think he's even been in it himself."
"Not since I've been here." Martha said.
"Could you do me a favor?" Rose asked.
"Anything." Donna said.
"Smack me really hard, like you did to him." She nodded to the Doctor who was still rubbing his shoulder.
"Rose you really don't want her to-" The Doctor started but was too late Donna had hauled off and slapped Rose on the face.
Rose straightened up cupping the side of her face in pain; she looked over at him with such happiness in her eyes that he didn't get it at first. He didn't get it when she kissed him either. But he enjoyed it nonetheless.
"I love you." She said quite like she had that day on Bad Wolf Bay.
"I love you, too." He said holding his Dream Rose only tighter still.
It took a little more to convince the Doctor neither of them were sleeping. It took a few more kisses from Rose and a few painful slaps from Donna, and even a couple raps on the head from Martha, but they did it.
"How?" he finally asked.
"The TARDIS." Rose said, stroking the ships controls as she had seen him do so many times before.
"But we're still on this earth right?" he asked.
"Yeah, but remember when you were different? Back on Satellite 5?" Martha and Donna looked confused, the thought of the Doctor being different was a foreign concept to them, but he nodded. She got up and walked over to the part that was chained shut, "I looked into the heart of the TARDIS, and it looked into me. We were connected." She took his hand and placed it to her heart, "Here."
Rose could feel her shirt was still soaked with tears, and so she let go of his hand and said she was gonna go check to see if any of her clothes still fit. Of course only a few items did. It had been five years. For her. For him it had only been two.
She wandered up to where she remembered his closet was and started looking through the shoe rack. She could borrow a pair of the kicks this regeneration of him liked so much.
It was then that she saw them. The black dress shoes.
"Doctor!" she yelled tying the kicks and grabbing the black shoes, "Doctor! I know where we have to go!"
"So as long as you don't give up Rose, well you'll always find your way." He said.
She had to have been about six, maybe seven. Rose knew it was breaking all the rules but so long as she didn't touch her…
"Tears help, yeah? Sometimes a little tears work just as well."
The Doctor threw her a look, saying she shouldn't be this close to herself, and the look also asked "What the hell did you do to your hair?", but she ignored him and watched little Rose run back towards the sandbox.
"Can we go now? Are you safe? Will you know how to get back?"
"I think so." She nodded taking his hand.
"Good cause these shoes are awful. I mean where did I get them from? The amount of junk I keep in that old ship. Rose Tyler, I think its time we do a little spring cleaning." He said, with a twinkle in his eye.
"Yeah, I suppose and while you do that you can tell me just what you've been doing the past two years with two beautiful girls traveling in the TARDIS with you."
You may think I'm crazy. I gave up my whole family for a man who will outlive me. Who will probably change his face… his whole body at least three more times before I die, knowing his luck.
You may think I'm crazy and you're probably right, but I'm Rose Tyler and this is the story of how I lived.
Okay it's a little lame but I had this idea floating around and I couldn't sleep until I wrote it all out. Like I literally could not sleep cause every time I'd be close to falling asleep a voice would be like, "Hey then Rose could say this…" and so on and so forth.
Anyway let me know what you think.
-Em
