A/N: Yes. I know, I'm starting another story with three others not completed. I'm a horrible human being and I deserve to die. *sighs and hangs head in shame* I have a problem. Anyway, just a thought. In some ways this could be considered a prequel to Glimpses of the Future, though there are some subtle differences.

Disclaimer: All rights to the characters go to BBC. If I owned Doctor Who, you'd know it.

Warnings: Nothing drastic, some language, and your feels may break in this first chapter.

"Once the breach collapses, that's it! You will never be able to see her again, your own mother!" He was close, and he was angry. To be more precise, the anger was directed at her. She was't sure if she had seen him like this since the early days, since his last body when she made so many mistakes in a desperate attempt to save her father. That was different than this time, this time she knew she was right, was completely sure in her decision, and she let him know it in her next words.

"I made my choice a long time ago and I'm never gonna leave you." He stilled at the words, something flashing behind his eyes. "So what can I do to help?" Because there was no way she was going to sit on the sidelines this time, not about to sit around and hide while he did this. The warbled noise of the coms rang out above them, and she didn't really know what it meant, but she also didn't care too much, her eyes were locked on his, waiting for his reaction.

"There's coördinates over there, set them all to six." He ordered suddenly, stepping back from her and looking away. "And hurry up!" She did as she was told, she played the good little companion, and moved to set the coördinates.

"We've got Cybermen on the way up." She told him, casting a glance over her shoulder as he moved behind her.

"How many floors down?" He asked, studying the screens that pulled up. She hated the only answer she had to give him, but she told him what the monitors said.

"Just one." He moved to another computer and began typing. It was when the words Levers operational emitted from the speakers that his face cracked into a wide smile, the kind of smile he got when he snapped all the pieces together and figured it out.

"That's more like it, bit of a smile." She couldn't help it, and it looked like he was done being angry for now. "The old team" She tossed in, though it was kind of drowned out by his next words.

"Hope and Glory, Mutt and Jeff, Shiver and Shake." He said as he lifted a large black object and carried it partway across the room. She smiled her own smile as he passed her.

"Which one's Shiver?" She asked him teasingly, and he just grinned his wide, ear to ear grin.

"Oh, I'm Shake." He said it as if it was obvious, handing her the magnaclamp. She staggered slightly under its weight for a second before mimicking his actions in placing it against the wall. "Push the red button." He instructed, and she did, knowing what exactly these were going to do. "When it starts just hold on tight. Shouldn't be to bad for us," He was speaking quickly now, and there was no doubt in her mind that Daleks were coming at them like crazy. "But the Daleks and the Cybermen are steeped in Void Stuff." They both grabbed hold of the levers, and he glanced to her. "You ready?" Her eyes flicked as she saw motion not too far ahead of her.

"So are they.." Was all she could manage as she looked on in horror as four Daleks approached a window.

"Let's do it!" He yelled, pushing up on his lever, and she did the same before they both ran and linked their arms around the magnaclamps attached to the wall. Daleks began to be pulled into the light that opened up on the wall, the same way the Cybermen came in, and she heard The Doctor yell something, but she couldn't be sure what it was. She smiled, everything seemed to be going as he had planned, and held on. She should've known better. There was a spark and the sound of the speakers saying Offline and then the lever that The Doctor had set was drifting the wrong way.

She watched in absolute horror as he stretched for the lever, even letting go of the magnaclamp in order to pull it back into position. "I've gotta get it upright!" He yelled, pulling desperately on the lever. Slowly but steadily the lever slid back into place, and she dared to feel relief.

"Doctor, hold on!" She managed to yell over the whooshing sound of countless Daleks and Cybermen being sucked into the Void as the pull increased once more, leaving The Doctor clinging to the lever for dear life. "Hold on!" She yelled again, well aware that his fingers were starting to slip. And then he was flying toward the wall that would suck him into the place most species call Hell, and all she could do was let out a wordless scream as he fell away from her.

There was a flash of a teleporter, and she couldn't tell who it was that grabbed The Doctor around the middle, all she knew was now two people were being pulled toward the Void. He gave her one last look, and she thought of all the things she never said, and that she knew she never could now as the pair disappeared in what was probably the last of the teleport flashes.

Then the hole healed itself, just like The Doctor said it would, and the light started to fade as she stared at the distorted wall. The computers announced Systems closed and the pull toward the far wall stopped, yet she still clung to the magnaclamp for a moment. Finally she regained feeling over her body and she found herself walking toward the wall. She leaned forward, her cheek and hand pressed against the wall, as if it was just a normal wall, and he was just on the other side. For a moment she felt a warmth against her skin, much like if he were doing the same, and she pressed herself closer against the white paint, clinging to the memory of him.

Then the warmth was gone, and she couldn't cry. She knew she should've been crying, screaming, sobbing, but instead her body had betrayed her and she'd just gone completely numb. She pulled away from the wall and turned, walking away, her body rigid and her eyes focused on something that wasn't really there as she left the Ghost Shift room. It was in this rigid, numb state that she barely found her way back to the TARDIS, whose metal grating and control panel literally trembled with the force of the ship's 'sobs' as she mourned her thief. She staggered to her room, and sat on the edge of her bed nearly all night, and still, no tears come.

It was actually almost three weeks before she actually cried, and when she did, something inside her broke. She wasn't sure how long it was before she could breathe properly, but after she had cried herself out, she dragged herself out of her room to the bathroom and showers. She hadn't left the safety and comfort of the TARDIS since what was now being called The Battle of Canary Wharf. In clean clothes and much more clean herself, she could finally think, and once she could, she was faced with the debilitating question of what now? She supposed she'd have to get a job again and a flat. It was as she thought about doing this that the TARDIS interrupted her.

Little Wolf... I've lost my thief, I cannot bear to lose my cub as well.

She gave a teary smile at that, stroking the side of the console, much like... no. Not yet, she wasn't ready to think of it- him yet. "I know, and I don't want to lose you either, but I haven't got much of a choice have I?" The TARDIS gave a small rumble, and she chuckled darkly in response, as the old girl replied.

I could teach you, Little Wolf. I could teach you the ways of the Time Lords, the ways of my thief, and we could continue, the TARDIS and her Rose, all across the vast spaces for all eternity. The words held considerable impact on Rose, and she had to fight down a bitter laugh.

"There's the problem see? I can't be for all eternity, as he was always pointing out. Us humans, we don't tend to last too long." The TARDIS gave a little indignant huffing noise, to which Rose returned a short, bark-like laugh that didn't seem to belong to her. "Oi! What was that for?" She asked.

You looked into my heart, Little One, you looked into Time itself and survived, all to save my thief. You were willing to give your life to save Time's protector, and for that Time has gifted you. For saving my thief, I gifted you both. Perhaps now it will become more of a curse.

"What?" Rose barely managed to choke out, trying to comprehend what she was pretty sure the TARDIS was now telling her. Said TARDIS churred in something close to sad laughter.

You must be careful among those of Earth, Little Wolf, for since you took Time into you, you have been changing. My thief was not to be the last of his kind for long, but soon you will be. Rose's mouth hung open in complete shock as the words began to sink in.

"Are you... You're saying..."

Yes, my cub, the changes are almost completed. Within a few weeks, you will be the last Time Lady.

And so they set to work, The TARDIS teaching Rose the things she needed to know in order to be prepared for the future, past, present, wherever it was they decided to go. They spent about four months just drifting through the Vortex, getting more acquainted with each other, though they both knew this time of resting was for Rose's benefit. As she got nearer to the most drastic physiological change, what had started with some bodily discomfort had turned into almost constant agony as each cell in her body slowly rewrote itself. It was much like a regeneration, except stretched out in the tortuous length of about sixteen weeks.

As she healed and the pain receded, Rose found herself murmuring to the console, talking quietly to the TARDIS as she learned more about how she worked. (It was difficult, with the TARDIS shamelessly sending sparks showering everywhere when she did something wrong.) That was when the TARDIS started what Rose called 'Time Lord boot-camp'.

After a long day of being taught of Gallifrey and how to properly take care of and fix the TARDIS, Rose would usually retire to her room, which had changed considerably, where usually there would be a book on some sort of civilization or historical event on her pillow. If she hadn't noticed any changes in her mind and body before, she did now. She didn't sleep nearly as much as she used to, she could usually go about five or six days on about two hours, and she spent a lot of the time that she used to spend sleeping reading or tinkering on the TARDIS. (Though she still kept an eye out for flying sparks.) While she used to sometimes have trouble learning things, she now soaked them up like a sponge, her thinking was quicker and she almost always felt like she had an abundance of energy.

While most of the changes were good, there was one thing that hurt in a way she never expected to hurt. There was this small space at the back of her mind, it felt like there should be something there, somebody rather, the mental voice of others, but it was silent. Whenever she dwelled on it, it almost crushed her with a debilitating loneliness.

Even more time passed in the TARDIS, and the need for adventure began to gnaw at Rose, but there were two more things the TARDIS needed her to do before she would allow anything. The first one was relatively simple, considering her new intellect, and her very own Sonic Screwdriver was completed in about two days time. It was similar to The Doctor's old one, except it was made of a blackish metal alloy, and rather than blue, the tip glowed dark red.

The second task, however, would be a bit more tricky- Learning to properly pilot the TARDIS. They began by travelling in space only, moving from London to Ireland and back a few times, before going other places around Earth, tweaking and improving her flying skill before doing a few interplanetary trips. They never went exploring, they just bounced about while her abilities improved. Travelling in space was easy enough, but it got rougher when it came to travelling in Time.

It had been nearly two years since The Doctor had been taken to another Universe when the TARDIS finally decided Rose was ready and able to start going out and saving the world like her thief had, but there was something the two of them needed to do first.

"I'm going to try to at least get a message through to him." She said aloud one day. She often spoke out loud to the TARDIS, lack of any- dare she say it- human company left her with talking to her ship as the only other option. And yes, Rose now thought of the TARDIS as her ship, just as the TARDIS thought of Rose as her cub, they had lived, and grown, and grieved together, and they held a nearly constant mental link to each other.

You can try, my cub, I would like nothing more than to assure my thief, but you know just as I do that it may not be possible.

"I know." She admitted, "But I have to try." And with that she started looking, searching desperately for any weak spot in the walls of the universe. She was close to giving up when she finally found it. Guiding the TARDIS as close as she dared without shattering the universes, travelling back in time so it had only been a few weeks for The Doctor, before turning to the TARDIS for help. "I need to get him to hear me, old girl, but I don't know where he'll be. Could you help me reach him telepathically?"

Of course, my Little Wolf. Came the reply, and Rose stroked the console affectionately.

"Thanks, you beautiful thing, you." It drained the both of them, but they finally got the message through, or so it seemed. It was the TARDIS though, that pointed out that they would need another source of power if they were going to get a real transmission through, they were both exhausted just from sending a brief set of instructions, let alone a visible message. It was then that the TARDIS found a suitable supernova to use for power, and they got ready.

"He's here. Ready girl?" The TARDIS hummed beneath her, and she smiled. "Alright. Let's do this." The engines wooshed with a familiar sound, and she could see him. He looked kind of translucent, like a ghost, but she didn't say anything. For him it had only been a few weeks. For her it had been nearly three years, and she was just thrilled that she could see him. He saw her too apparently, because he turned, and his face split into a smile.

"Rose.." He breathed, like he didn't dare believe it, and she couldn't blame him. "Where are you?" he asked curiously, and she couldn't hide her genuine smile now.

"The TARDIS, where else would I be?" She asked him teasingly as he walked closer. "I managed to find a tiny little spot in the Universe left, and it's just about to close." She said sadly, of course it wouldn't last much longer. "You have no idea how much power it's taking to send you this projection of me." She said with a weak laugh, smiling her tongue between her teeth smile. "I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye." She saw pain flash across his face, and she felt sure it was mirrored on her own.

"You're all pale, kind of like a ghost." He said it through weak laugher, because in all honesty he wasn't quite sure that she wasn't a ghost.

"Gimme a tic.." She murmured, pulling her Sonic Screwdriver from her pocket and pointing it at a part of the TARDIS console. His form solidified before her, and she hoped hers did too. He was within touching distance now, and she was fairly positive he knew that she couldn't touch him, or vice versa. It hurt even more that they were this close and couldn't touch. Then she heared the voice of Jackie Tyler, and for the first time she noticed her mother, Mickey, and her sort-of father a few feet behind The Doctor.

"Can't you come through properly?" her mother asked, voice flooding over with hope. It broke her heart (hearts) to shake her head 'no.'

"The whole thing would fracture.." She explained, then added for emphasis "Two universes would collapse."

"So?" This time it was Mickey, and she couldn't help but laugh softly ever so much at that.

"Where are we?" She asked, looking around. All she could tell was that it was a beach, and judging from her mother and Mickey's clothing, it was pretty cold out. "Where did it come out on this end?" Naturally it was The Doctor who answered.

"We're in Norway. A place called Dårlig Ulv Stranden" She blinked in shock. For some reason the words stirred something deep within her, like they were familer. "Dårlig.." He mused thoughtfully, his eyes moving away for a second to scan the place where the water met the sand. "It's Norwegian for 'bad'"

"Even saying goodbye you have to be all smart huh?"

"The name translates to Bad Wolf Bay." She silenced, giving him a small smile. The fact that those three words were still following them seemed ironic, even a little bit redundant, but it was nice. Familiar. Then he frowned, and she saw pain anew. "How long has it been for you?" He asked, and it's like he knew, but it's no use lying.

"A while." She answered vaguely, and he seemed to know that that is all he was going to get, so he moved onto another question.

"How long have we got?"

"Bout two more minutes.." She said softly, her eyes flicking to the watch she kept on her wrist, mainly out of habit.

"I always knew I'd have to say goodbye to you at some point.. but now that I have to, I can't think of a damn thing to say!" He said with a sad laugh, looking down, not meeting her gaze, and all she wanted to do is run her fingers under his chin and pull him up to look at her, but she couldn't. So she tried a joke.

"So, you'll be having fun with Mr. Mickey then?" And that elicited a chuckle from him.

"Yeah, just me, Mickey, Pete, and Jackie Tyler.. what could go wrong?"

"And the baby!" Jackie threw in, and noticing her daughters wide eyes, she nodded in affirmation. "'Bout six months time, there's gonna be a new little Tyler running about."

"Who will hear countless bedtime stories of her big sister and The Doctor." Pete chimed in helpfully.

"Me trying to survive around a pregnant Jackie Tyler... Oohh this should be fun. Next time you see me Rose, I'll probably have been slapped into regeneration."

"Doctor.." She said quietly. He ought to have known better than anyone else that there would be no 'Next time you see me.' But his name is all she had to say, before he sighed a tired sigh, and looked at her.

"I know Rose... I know.. But let me hope." She nodded in understanding, and he gave a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Hey, you're looking at one of the commanding officers of this Universe's Torchwood London." She tried to smile in return, though she failed miserably.

"Still protecting Earth then, huh?" She teased.

"Nah, it's more of a habit by now. But Rose, there is something I need you do for me."

"Yes?"

"Live an ordinary life, day at a time, Have the big adventure I can't. Make it brilliant, Rose. Make it fantastic." It hurt her to lie to him, it physically hurt her deep down in her chest, so she didn't say yes, she just gave him a gentle smile, similar to the kind his ninth self gave her when something was happening that she didn't understand. :"By my reckoning, got about thirty seconds left." He said quietly, like he didn't want to say it at all.

"Mum.. Mickey... Dad.." She spoke louder now, trying to hold onto herself and stay strong. It wasn't working. Tears worked their way down her face. "I'm going to miss you.. so much.." They responded with tears and nods and assurances that they would miss her too but never forget her. She tried to believe it before turning to face The Doctor, who looked like he himself was on the brink of tears. "I... I love you.." She barely managed to choke out.

"Quite right, too.." He chuckled weakly in response. "And I guess if it's my last chance to say it..." Another pause, and she knew what would happen before it did. "Rose Tyler..."

And then she was alone, in the TARDIS. She leaned against the console before she finally just buried her face in her hands and sobbed. And the TARDIS cried with her, and the two wept for the man they loved, comforting each other for a long moment. It seemed like an impossibly short amount of time before Rose knew she had to pilot her away from the supernova. As she took her hands away from the controls, she saw the impossible. A redheaded bride, standing in the TARDIS.

"What?" The woman gave a sound kind of like a squeak as her mouth popped open in evident shock. "What?" She repeated, incredulous.

"Who are you?"

"B-but.."

"Where am I?"

"What?"

"What the hell is this place?!" She demanded, anger growing in her features.

"What!?"

So. What do we think? Worth continuing? Please let me know so I can figure out if I want to put more effort into continuing this.