How you doin'. Just a quick note-y to warn that this story isn't something even remotely serious and in fact may soon fall into the happy category of crack. I really have never tried to do this before so criticism is appreciated.Characters may be a bit OOC. Ye have been warned.

...xxx...

"Donna, please don't get too…"- the Doctor whipped his head quickly around only to find he was surrounded by drastically Donna-less space – "…far from me or you'll get lost. Damn it, why do they never listen! Seriously, the number of times I've had to spend a perfectly good shopping trip in finding R-" he stopped himself there, because obviously he was being silly. Talking to himself like that and dwelling on THAT subject was not healthy and he knew it. So he just sniffed distractedly, rammed his hands into his pockets and strolled on. Or rather pushed on, as the crowds really were thick enough. Or rather tried to push on before bumping into a very annoyed Rose Tyler. Who promptly started yelling at him, partly out of exasperation (or so it seemed) and partly out of the need to out-yell the crowd, which was trying to make a human/ confused timelord sandwich out of them.

"Doctor, what the hell! It took me ages to find you, don't…. OY MATE STOP PUSHIN' YEAH?"

To this the Doctor was just gaping. Gobsmacked he was.

"Yeah, nice impression of a fish there! Cat got your tongue, what's the matter? Were you hoping to get rid of me, huh? Well you can't lose me that easily you can't!"- Rose gave his expression a grin- she didn't get the opportunity to see him speechless often- and pulled him away from the crowd behind the stall of a guy who sold tiny yellow motorbike-like contraptions.

This gave enough time for the Doctor to process what was happening. His frantic thinking went somewhere around the lines of "ROSE ROSE ROSE ROSE WHAT HOW WHAT WHAT HOW" in the beginning while he was being yelled at. Then they progressed to the more coherent " ROSE TYLER IS HERE?! BUT THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE! UTTERLY COMPLETELY WONDERFULLY IMPOSSIBLE" but then the darker parts of his timelord brain stopped having a coffee break and kicked logic into the mess "This is obviously an earlier version of Rose I am encountering, she has obviously just lost an earlier version of me around. But she looks different? Have I really started forgetting how she looks like? Ah… Need to take that easy, help her find the right me without making her realise that she is gone, but still, Rose Tyler…"

Apparently he had said the last part out loud, or at least her name, because she responded with a soft "Oh, no…"

"Rose, you…"

"Oh, this is bad…"

"Rose, listen…"

"You've lost your sonic screwdriver again, haven't you..."

"What?!"

"And your tie. How could you lose your tie like that! It was my favourite tie! But don't worry, we'll find them"

"Rose, I am sorry ,but- wait what?

"Don't try to talk your way out of this- I can recognise that broken puppy eyed expression anywhere- last time you made it you had lost your sonic. You can make another one, cheer up! I should be the one pissed off at ya right now, stop giving me those sad eyes."

"Rose Tyler, do I have to tell you to put your finger on your lips! Just listen! I haven't lost my sonic screwdriver, it is in perfect condition and safely tucked into my pocket and I even have a spare one back in the TARDIS in my second suit, where I keep it in case of emergencies. Now, the problem here is that you have lost me and I…um…lost you (a shadow passed through his face quite quickly but quick enough for Rose to register and her mouth was a perfect 'O' before he could even finish his dramatic speech) and you need to go and find me right now before a paradox of some sort pops up!"

After he finished he was going to look over her with his best patronizing expression and was just lifting his eyebrow up to complete the mask of annoyance ( although he was so happy to see her and only about 10 per cent of him were actively into making his façade while all the others were plotting to snatch her out of her time stream, to hell with the consequences, and have the best adventures ever, the Doctor in the TARDIS with Rose Tyler as it should be), when he was engulfed in the best hug he'd had in a very long time ( because, obviously, it included a Rose). So it was sort of a miracle that he heard her, being busy melting into a happy, albeit a bit self-hating at the moment, puddle of goo.

"Oh my God, Doctor, it's you!"

...xxx...

As the custom goes, this began with a very lost Rose Tyler in a very very crowded market place, visiting which was something the Doctor could not escape doing every few months as it was the only place to provide with necessary TARDIS parts in just the right colour. As it happens, this habit of his never really changed so in order to not encounter himself too much he had adopted the stealth and speed of a rabid ninja who's just finished 10 coffees and was thus really really hard to follow. A valid tactic, to be honest, but he seemed to be forgetting that they weren't on the right universe for it to matter. The place looked the same, a bit too much, she thought as she'd been there before ,but was only a parallel version of the real market and was thus currently a safe haven from paradoxes (paradoxi? Paradoxes? God he was rubbing off on her)

So there was Rose Tyler very lost and very annoyed because CLEARLY everybody else on this planet were at least 6 feet tall and the messy hair of her manic companion was impossible to see from where she was standing. And he had sped off like there was no tomorrow. Normally it would have been okay- but there was no real reason for it, except for the force of habit. And it hadn't been the best of days. It started out great enough, but then the TARDIS decided that great just wasn't good enough and fell through the vortex. At least it appeared to be a place the Doctor knew so he was quickly gathering the parts to fix the bloody ship and get on with the journey to a place with people who weren't so bloody tall all around. And in this wonderful mood she bumped right into him, and predictably she decided to have a go at him. And she did too, but nearly as much as he deserved- and he deserved it big time for this stunt. Only, he looked so very broken and apparently also confused because she saw happiness and grief jump in and out of his eyes at least 20 times before he finally had opened his mouth to start being coherent. And when he did it wasn't the hurried apology, she was expecting, but her name. And in such a tender and heart-broken way. Whoa. Something was beyond wrong with that picture. Soon she saw it in his face and in careful choice of words.

And apparently it wasn't the screwdriver this time.

It was the wrong universe.

At the wrong time.