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Chapter one – An unexpected visit

He's head and shoulders under the TARDIS console, fixing the dimensional stabilizers - again - when he hears it. A whoosh, followed by a thump, then an "oomph", and finally a clunk.

"What?"

He pushes himself out from underneath the console and looks across the control room to where the unexpected noises came from. And then freezes.

Because there, on the floor, is the one person he should never be able to see again. Universes should be collapsing. The end of everything - again. But, even knowing there must be trouble with a capital T following close behind, his hearts still leap madly at the sight of her. Although to be honest, unconscious isn't really one of her best looks. Which, he thinks ruefully, is a shame, considering how often she wears it.

He jumps to his feet and crosses the distance between them in three long strides.

"Rose? Can you hear me?" He gently slips his hand under her head and lifts it, just a bit. She's still breathing. No obvious damage - no blood or signs of trauma. She's wearing jeans and a jumper and lying next to her on the floor is a large, black duffel bag. He relaxes as she starts to stir in his arms. Her eyes begin to flutter open.

"...Wha...?"

"Shh," he murmurs. "Sit still for a minute. You've had a bit of a jolt."

"John?" She's still not focused. She blinks once, twice, and looks around. She takes stock of her surroundings and her head seems to clear again. She looks at the Doctor with a smile tinged with just a touch of sadness. "Ah. Doctor. Hello."

"Hello yourself," he says with a quiet smile. "Are you quite sure you understand what I mean when I say something is impossible? I only ask because it seems every time I say something's impossible, you turn around and prove me wrong. I'm beginning to think I need to look up the definition again. Did I ever tell you I spent some time with Samuel Johnson when he was writing his dictionary? Interesting chap, bit of a braggart, but the man knew his words. Marvelous writer. Lots of people think he invented the dictionary, you know but…" He trails off with a distracted pull on his ear.

She gives him a little laugh, and rubs at the back of her head. "Good to see you again too."

He pulls her into a tight hug. He had been so sure when he dropped the three of them off in Bad Wolf Bay two months ago that it was the last time he'd ever see her. Then he'd lost Donna. He'd worked hard those two months to push his loneliness deep into the back of his mind so it wouldn't drive him crazy. He hadn't wanted anyone around him for a long time. Just dealing with other people had been too much. His loneliness had wrapped itself around him like a stiff blanket - smothering but not comforting. Surprisingly, Jack had been the one to start to break him free from it. Something about the past few centuries had given him a knack for seeing through the Time Lord's defenses. He was nowhere near healed but he had been heading in the right direction. Until now… "Oh, it i is/i good to see you."

They spend a few minutes sitting that way, neither one wanting to move, and then he asks nonchalantly, "So... er… not to spoil the reunion or anything, but you'd tell me if the universe was collapsing again… Yes? Um. Not that this isn't lovely, don't get me wrong. This iis/i lovely. Best surprise I've had in … well… ever, really, now that I think about it. Most of my surprises tend to be of the more iunpleasant/i variety. But, you know… I'd hate to think we're just sitting here while planets are burning, puppies are being lost down wells, or, well… whatever the latest in evil overlord plans might be?"

He pulls back just a bit to look her in the eyes, and she completes the motion by sitting back even more and pulling her knees to her chest. The way she's looking at him makes him feel like she's been dying of thirst and he's the water. He wonders briefly if he's looking at her the same way.

"Nope! No collapse, no danger, no evil overlords. It's all safe this time around, even for puppies, far as I know. He made sure of that." She seems to have found what she's looking for in her inventory of him, and begins to look around the control room instead.

"He?" The Doctor knows who she means, but asks anyway, with an expression carefully guarded to give nothing away.

"John. That's what he called himself. Doctor John Noble." She looks back at him at this to gauge his reaction to the choice of name.

He smiles broadly when he hears the name. "John Noble. Ha! Excellent choice. Donna'd like that."

"And imuch/i more original than Smith," Rose teased.

He looks back at her fondly, then his smile fades. "And… so? Where is … John?" He looks around the console room again, just to be sure he didn't miss an unconscious half-human, half-Time Lord lying around, but sees nothing. Part of him is worried that she'd left him alone back in the other universe. Another part of him hopes that's exactly what she did. That she'd come back to him because in the end it was him she wanted, not some substitute. His emotions are running wild and he's trying hard to keep them in check. As happy as he is to see her again, every time they say goodbye another piece of him dies inside. If she's just here for a visit of some sort, he's not sure he's going to have the strength to say goodbye a third time.

She can see the uncertainty in his eyes and wants so much to ease his mind, but she's not ready to give him the whole long story right now. She's had a difficult trip and right now her feelings are still too raw. Even after all these years.

"He's gone" she said flatly, looking away from the Doctor. "He died." His hearts ached at the pain in her words. Her eyes shift back to him and his feelings must have shown on his face because her next words were to reassure Ihim/i. "It's okay. We had a good life – no - a ifantastic/i life." At this, she meets his eyes and holds his gaze. "We really did. And when he... died... it was peaceful. In his sleep. Right next to me. It was the best life anyone could ask for. And that's thanks to you, Doctor." Her eyes well up a bit on the last part, and she looks away again.

He watches her carefully as she begins to walk through the room, touching a coral strut here, caressing the control panel there. He can see she's not nineteen anymore, but really, she doesn't look much past twenty-five. Just how long has it been? How can "John" have died peacefully in his sleep after just a couple years? Sure, he was part human, but even that should have given him a good thirty or forty years.

Cautiously, he asks her, "How long…?"

She looks pensively at him, and gives him that sad smile again. Oh - her eyes look so much older… and sadder than they had the last time he had looked into them. "Longer than you might think." Her eyes no longer meet his. "But really, can we talk about it later? I promise, I'll tell you everything. Just… not now, okay?" She straightens her legs and pulls herself up to stand, stretching cramped muscles.

"Now, what I need more than anything else is a rest, a hot shower and a cup of tea. In that order." She looks down and takes a deep, almost nervous breath. "Is that okay? Can you put me up for a while?"

Does she really have to ask? He doesn't know everything that's going on, but seeing her like this pulls at his hearts. Deciding to push his questions back for the time being, he puts a smile on and jumps nimbly to his feet. "Kip, shower, cuppa. Your wish is my command. Wellll… When I say wish, really I mean request. And by command, I suppose I mean happy to oblige. Don't want you to think you can go around issuing commands or anything. Anyway! Your old room is still the way it used to be. A bit dustier than you may remember it – it's been a while after all. Not quite sure where it is at the moment, but I'm sure we'll find it." He bends over to pick up the large duffel bag she arrived with and slings it over his shoulder. He holds out his elbow to her. "Madam, may I show you to your quarters?"

Rose gives him the brightest smile he'd seen from her yet, and he is suddenly glad that he hadn't pressed her for more answers. She takes his arm and replies, "Why, yes sir. You certainly may."

As they walk arm in arm, companionably through the hallway toward her room, he tries to keep his concern from showing. She is obviously different from the Rose he had left on the beach that day, the day he had given away the one thing most precious to him to what he had hoped would be a better life. The worry and curiosity are eating away at him. He knows what that decision cost him; what did it cost her? Had it all been a mistake? But he intends to respect her wishes, and let her get her bearings around her before he pushes. He's never been able to deny her when she'd asked for something in the past; he wasn't about to start now. Not when she'd lost so much already.

Her room is closer than either of them had expected. When they get to the door, he opens it and lets her enter first. She walks in and looks around, slowly taking in all the familiar details. "It's just like I remember it." She lovingly fingers a glass paperweight they had bought together in another life.

"Hmm, so it is. And not too dusty either. The TARDIS must have spiffed it up for you. You always were her favourite."

"Quite right too," Rose says, with a secret smile and an affectionate look toward the walls and ceiling. "We have a connection like no one else, don't we, girl?" The Doctor frowns at this reminder of what Rose had done to save him from the Daleks on the Gamestation. Does Bad Wolf have something to do with how and why she's here now?

There is much more going on than Rose is letting on. He can feel it. He can smell it. Something… something… something just on the corner of his brain that he can't quite reach. He gives her a questioning look, but says nothing, and puts her duffel on the bed.

She puts back the paperweight and turns to him. "I didn't even think to ask – are you travelling alone? I'm not gonna get in the way or anything -"

"No!" he answers too quickly. "I mean, no, you're not in the way of anything. And, no, I'm not travelling alone. Well, not right now anyway. Jack's with me - helping with some repairs. He's out in the market outside right now trying to find a new part for the dimensional stabilizer. Should be back in an hour or two." He pauses for a minute. "Is that okay? If you want I can bring him back to Cardiff…"

She smiles. "No, Jack being here is fine, 'course it is. I've missed him. We've got a lot to catch up on. Tell him I'll see him when I get up, okay?"

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

He slips his hands in his trouser pockets and casts his eyes around the room looking for something else to say.

"Okay then! Anything I can get for you before your kip? Tea? Biscuit? Maybe one of those chocolate ones you used to love before bed? Think I've got some in."

"Thanks, but no." She gazes longingly at her bed, just the way she left it with the pink duvet and lace-trimmed pillows. "I'm knackered. I just want to lie down and sleep for year."

He looks up sharply at that. He knows she's joking but he certainly hopes she isn't planning on sleeping Itoo/I long. He isn't sure his curiosity is going to hold out the eight hours humans normally need, let alone much more than that. But she gives him a knowing look and says, "It's okay. I'm just exaggerating. I just need a rest and I'll be good as new, alright? And I promise, all the answers you want as soon as I get up. Is that okay?" Again she asks that. She sounds so worn down that his hearts give in just a little. How could he say no to that?

Softly he answers, "Of course it is. Get some sleep and I'll have tea waiting when you're ready. Just call me if you need anything." He gives her a gentle kiss on the top of her head, squeezes her hand, and walks out the door, closing it behind him.