Adjusting to life on "Other Earth"; as Rose had come to call it had been hard. 2 years she had spent living day to day, longing for adventure and wishing to see the stars reflected in the Doctor's eyes once more. He left her with a world unbroken, both parents and a new baby brother. Life was just that, life. It was the mundane adventures of Humans. She had become acclimatized to life with the Doctor, to life running with him, travelling with him, saving people, aliens and cultures with him. When Rose was with the Doctor, she was Home. No matter what planet, country, sector of space, or period in time, when Rose and the Doctor were together she was happy.
Then, in an attempt to save her life he left her. He left her on "Other Earth" with her new/ old family, with no hope of ever seeing her beloved Doctor again. His last words, "Rose Tyler..." and the rest of the sentence; lost and unspoken, echoed through her soul. It hurt to live in this world without him. It hurt that there was no Doctor in this Universe and there never could be.
In an effort to live her life in a way that would make him proud, Rose took a job with Other Earth's version of Torchwood. The job was exciting, and a million times better than a regular job at another shop, but it wasn't the same. Torchwood used her skills and knowledge to develop new technologies and protocols to protect the planet; Other Earth may not have a Doctor to protect it, but it still had Rose Tyler. She was determined to defend it and did so honorably.
Her determination spurred a project with Torchwood that sent her through a rift in space, back to a threatened Earth, to save the planet, the Human race and the Last of the Time Lords. Their reunion had been a long awaited, painful one. And somehow at the end of it, after saving Earth and the Human race once more Rose was left facing the Doctor saying her goodbyes again on the shore of Bad Wolf Bay.
Same spot, same words, same aching pain, only this time the Doctor left her with his double; an exact physical copy, with the same memories and emotions as the Original Doctor. Born in battle, this new Doctor was raw (a Time Lord/ Human Meta Crisis Donna had called him) and he needed Rose. He was part Human, so he would age and die and as the Doctor said, they were the same, except that this copy only had one heart, and that one heart wanted Rose. And if she was honest with herself, really honest, Rose loved the idea of growing old with the Doctor at her side.
As the Tardis pulsed in and out of existence on its way back to the other world Rose realized that not only was she left with this New Doctor and charged with healing him and making him a better man but, she realized as his hand gave hers a tight squeeze as the Tardis made its last reappearance and faded forever, she also had to learn how to live with a man who already loved her.
Rose squeezed his hand back and looked at him nervously, where would they even start? She thought.
He looked down at her and smiled just as shy. "Where to?" He asked.
"Home." She replied after a moment's hesitation. "I think we could use some tea."
"Alright." He said enthusiastically, holding out an arm to her. "Allons-y!"
The Doctor's favourite catch phrase caught her by surprise and she smiled up at , she thought, he might not be that different after all.
Setting the stage. In the next Chapter we'll see Rose and the Other Doctor living together and getting to know each other all over again.
Let me know what you think of this first chapter!