She'd been searching for almost a year, making jump after jump, trying to find her way home. Trying to find him. And if she was being completely honest, she was absolutely miserable.
Rose Tyler wanted nothing more than to snuggle up with the Doctor in bed and just be with him. Dimension jumping was difficult and depressing, especially when she kept landing in universes she did not want to be in.
Thankfully, that matter had been resolved when Jake had the idea to track the TARDIS's energy signature - but it was imperfect. Rose never knew what planet she could end up on, and after a rather dangerous experience involving some acid rain, they installed an emergency recall button on the dimension hopper. She avoided using it at all costs, because it drained the power - if she used the recall, she would have to wait extra time between jumps. Time that she could be using to track down the Doctor.
She'd just said goodbye to her family, again. She always said goodbye. Just in case. Because she knew that one of these days, she wouldn't be coming back. She'd find the Doctor, they would fix the problem with the stars, and they'd be right back at it - travelling the universe, together every step of the way. Stuff of Legends.
"Ready, babe?" Mickey asked, drawing Rose from her train of thought. She set her shoulders determinedly and held out a hand, accepting the yellow dimension cannon from her friend. Rose had decided a few months ago that she hated the color yellow. It had only become a reminder of everything she didn't have.
"Alright," Jake said from across the room. He looked up from his computer. "I'm tracking coordinates now."
Mickey lifted a giant gun from the nearest table, carrying it to Rose and helping her slip the strap over her head.
"Good luck," he said quietly. She smiled at him softly, though her eyes were tired, and pressed a kiss on his cheek.
"Thanks, Micks."
Jake's voice rang through the air again.
"You're ready to go in 3...2..."
With one last glance around the room at the Torchwood team, Rose slammed down on the button and vanished.
Travelling through dimensions was unpleasant, but the trip only lasted a second or two. And it was a pain she was willing to endure if it meant finding him again.
She landed on an empty street, her eyes blinking open as she stumbled forward, throwing her arms out in front of her just in case she needed to catch herself. She found her balance quickly and grasped at her gun as she looked around slowly, taking in her surroundings. She was on Earth.
It was just beginning to get dark. The only light in the dim alley where she'd landed was coming from a tiny light at the top of a police box.
She froze. Her eyes widened as she looked it up and down. Her heart leapt as she felt it - the slight hum of the TARDIS on the edge of her mind. Her chest felt tight and she felt her eyes watering, a wide smile breaking out on her face.
She pulled out the chain that dangled around her neck, underneath her shirt, and grasped her TARDIS key. Her hand was shaking as she fumbled with the lock, her vision blurring with tears. The door opened with a gentle click and she rushed inside, stumbling over her own feet onto the black, grated floor. She dropped her gun unceremoniously by the door, making sure the safety was on, and gently laid down the dimension cannon beside it.
Approaching the console, a disbelieving laughter bubbled from her throat. Her hands danced across the controls and the TARDIS's hum increased in pitch.
"I missed you," Rose whispered. "Is he here?"
The TARDIS indicated the affirmative and Rose's tears started to spill over. She took a deep, shaking breath, and turned toward the corridor.
"Doctor!" she shouted, her voice cracking slightly.
She heard heavy footsteps in the distance, growing louder as he got closer. The Doctor skidded to a halt in front of her, and her mouth opened and closed as she tried to find words. She took it all in.
Leather jacket. Blue eyes. Northern accent.
Her face crumpled and she let out a sob. She wasn't home, not yet. But she was so close, and why couldn't it have just been the right time -
"Rose," the Doctor said, growing alarmed. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
She shook her head, burying her face in her hands. Her throat closed up, her heart pounding, and she told herself to relax, to calm down, but she couldn't. Her breath hitched as the Doctor pulled her into a hug.
"What happened? Where's Jack?" he asked.
"I'm sorry," she told him, but she wasn't quite sure what she was sorry for. Sorry she was messing up the timelines by even being there, sorry that she never told this face that she loved him. Her tears wet his leather jacket, and she inhaled his scent as she gasped through her tears – a scent that was so familiar, but long gone. Not the right one, not now.
"Shh," the Doctor said, stroking her hair. He was quiet as they stood there, and Rose's cries died down. When she was completely silent, her arms wound around his waist and her face buried in his jacket, he spoke again, his voice soft.
"You're from the future."
It wasn't a question.
"You're not supposed to know tha'," Rose mumbled into his jacket. She sniffed and forced herself to let go of the Doctor, pushing him away from her. "I need to leave."
"You're not going anywhere," the Doctor said, grabbing her wrist as she tried to walk away. His grasp was firm but gentle. He tugged her back toward him.
"I have to go," she said, sounding miserable.
"Why are you here?" the Doctor asked. "Why are you on your own?"
"'M not - "
"Don't lie to me, Rose."
"I can't tell you."
"Where am I?"
"I can't - "
"Rose."
"I don't know. I don't know where you are. Tha's the problem."
The Doctor was silent for a moment, eyes searching her face for confirmation. He frowned.
"How far into the future are you?"
"Well, I dunno - um. I'd say four years or so."
"Really?" he asked, suddenly surprised. "You stayed that long?"
"I promised you forever," she said, staring at him reverently. His jaw dropped a bit at the openness of her expression and the sad note in her voice. He swallowed.
"You never said..."
"Not yet."
"You didn't leave willingly," he said. She shook her head. "Then how..."
She didn't reply to him. She didn't know how.
"Isn't this goin' to cause a paradox or somethin'?" she asked instead, gesturing vaguely between them.
"Rose, why are you here?"
"'M trying to find you," she said, the words coming out harshly. "'M trying to get back home."
"On your own?"
"Yeah."
"If I..." the Doctor paused, searching for the right words. "If I lost you, Rose, I wouldn't stop looking until I found you. So..."
"'S not possible," she said. "For you to find me. Get back to me. You tried. I know you did."
"But you're here, now."
"Guess 'm smarter than you, then, ya daft alien," she joked weakly, still sniffling. He smiled slightly.
"Where were you that I couldn't get back to you? Where could you possible be - "
"I can't - "
"Just tell me, Rose. I'll make myself forget, I promise."
"You can do tha'?"
He nodded.
"Where did you come from?"
"A parallel universe," she answered quietly.
"A parallel universe?" he repeated. She nodded.
"'S a bit...well. Complicated. There was an issue, with some Daleks and Cybermen and Torchwood and the Void..."
"Daleks? Cybermen?" he said, raising his voice slightly.
"They're gone now," she said, laying a hand on his arm. She didn't miss the way he leaned into her touch. "They're trapped in the Void. I nearly was, too. But, um, Pete saved me - my dad, I mean - "
"Okay," he said, stopping her explanations. "I think you should start from the beginning."
He guided her to the jump seat and she collapsed, exhausted, curling her legs up beneath her as she leaned back. He sat next to her, tucking an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to him so that they both fit on the small cushion.
"They called it the Battle of Canary Wharf," she said softly after a moment. "We were there. There's this organization – Torchwood, it's called, and they, uh, investigate. Alien stuff. But they were poking in all the wrong places. They opened the Void, accidentally let through a bunch of Daleks and Cybermen. We fixed it, you and me. But I got trapped."
"In a parallel universe?"
"Yeah. Me, Mum, Mickey. All of us."
"You were with your family," he stated. "Why are you here? Trying to find me?"
Rose stared at him.
"You really are thick, you know tha'? Always have been."
"Rose – "
"Because I love you, ya idiot."
His mouth opened and closed as he stared at her. She continued to speak as if she hadn't just flipped his entire universe upside down, picking at her nails nervously.
"I told you as much when you" – her voice cracked – "when you came to say goodbye. Just a projection. No touch. Burnt up a sun, ya said. We only had abou' three minutes, in the end."
"Rose," the Doctor breathed, still staring. She glanced up at him, meeting his eyes.
"We ran out of time," she whispered. "But I couldn't stay there. Not without you."
They looked at each other for what seemed like an eternity before she glanced away again.
"And then the stars started going out," she said, a bit too conversationally.
"What?" the Doctor asked, sounding alarmed.
"So it became more than just a personal mission. I need to find you. Future you, I mean. So we can figure out what's wrong."
"Rose Tyler," the Doctor said, in awe of his companion. "Look at you, all grown up."
"Defender of the Earth," she said, smiling a bit when he poked her in the arm.
"Come on then," he said. "Let's get you home."
"Wha – you can do that?" she asked. "It won't cause a paradox? You taking me to future you?"
"Met myself a few times," the Doctor said conversationally, shifting off the jump seat and circling the console. "We never seem to get along. Four years from now, you said? I can track myself down, find the coordinates."
She nodded, unable to find the words.
"I'm going home," she said to herself softly. A wide smile broke out on her tear-streaked face. She wiped her eyes and laughed, almost deliriously. "I'm going home!"
The Doctor danced around the console, and she clung to the railing, delighting in the way that they were tossed about. She'd missed it, the travelling. But she didn't have to wait much longer.
The TARDIS calmed as she landed and Rose stood up straighter, trying to put herself together, but she was a bundle of nervous energy.
"Ready to go?" the Doctor asked, holding out a hand.
"Yeah," she said, beaming at him. They stepped toward the door together, Rose stopping to look down at the gun and the dimension cannon she had dropped on the floor earlier. With a sigh, she bent down to pick them up, slinging the gun over her shoulder and putting the dimension cannon in her pocket. The Doctor stared.
"Please don't," she said, before he could even ask one of the questions that began brewing in his mind.
"Okay," he said after a moment, though he still eyed the weapon suspiciously.
"Hey," she said, drawing his attention back up to her face. She placed her hands on his chest, tracing the edges of his jacket, smiling at him. Then in a swift movement, she reached up and slapped him.
"That is for not telling me about regeneration, you stupid Time Lord," she said, and she dragged his face down to hers to capture his lips. The Doctor was completely caught off guard, but immediately responded once he realized what was happening, nipping at her bottom lip as she pulled him closer.
"I miss you," she told him as she pulled back, slightly out of breath.
"I'm still there," he said softly.
"I know you are. My Doctor."
He smiled genuinely.
"Go on, then. I've got to get back to you and Jack, find out what trouble you've gotten into."
"Goodbye," she said. She opened the door and stepped out into fresh, cool air. She glanced back at him, leaning against the TARDIS doors.
"Not goodbye," he said. "See you later."
"Yeah. Suppose so," she smiled. She turned to look around, her gaze falling on another, identical blue box just down the street. She stepped forward.
"Oh, and Rose?"
She turned around.
"Have a fantastic life."
They smiled at one another, and she watched the TARDIS dematerialize just moments after he closed the door. Then she turned around and looked down the street. Her feet were moving before she even realized, the TARDIS doors getting closer and closer until they were just out of reach. And then she was laying one hand on the blue wood and grasping her key with the other, sticking it in the lock.
"Home," she whispered to herself. The door swung open.