Prologue

Pete's World

Rose

June 2014

"Doctor!" she screamed as she felt him shove her away forcefully. Very forcefully. With more force than she had ever imagined he would use on her, in fact.

In that moment, time slowed to a crawl for Rose. It was as if the air had become a thick jelly, but she could see everything with startling clarity. She felt her hip, shoulder and head collide with the rough cement floor. She watched their attacker's hand squeeze the trigger on the weapon he was holding. She saw the tiny flash of light and puff of smoke as the weapon discharged. She saw the Doctor's body jerk backwards as he began to collapse to the ground in front of her. And she saw the blood begin to pool around his body.

Time accelerated past its normal pace as Rose flew to the Doctor's side. She barely registered the sounds as the Torchwood team that had been behind the two of them fired their own weapons in their defense or the chaos that ensued as the attackers were subdued. All of her senses seemed frozen as she gazed down at the Doctor's face. His skin was already paler than usual, his brown eyes nearly black as his eyes locked on hers. "Rose," he gasped out.

"Don't, Doctor. We're getting out of here right now. Save your strength please," she whispered. Oh God. There is so much blood, too much, she thought. "Jake, we need evac NOW!" she shouted.

"On it," came Jake's terse reply.

This isn't supposed to happen. You said we would grow old together. Spend our lives together. "Stay with me, Doctor, don't give up," she murmured in his ear. "You promised."

Rose looked in the Doctor's eyes again when she felt him squeeze her hand. His fathomless, ancient eyes bored into her. "Rose Tyler," he whispered, in that way that only he could. "I love you. Please. For me. Have a fantastic life." His head dropped back to the ground and his eyes closed. Rose leaned in and pressed her lips to his and came away bloody.

"I love you, my Doctor." No response. She leaned into him further and that's when she realized. He wasn't breathing. "No." She started shaking him. "NO, Doctor, stay with me! I love you! You promised! NO!" And then everything went dark.

Pete

December 2014

Pete Tyler sighed and rubbed his eyes briefly as he attempted to sway his wife to support his decision. "Jacks, it's been six months. I know we're all still grieving, believe me I am too. We'll probably grieve him forever. But we can't just let her stand still. It's not healthy. And it isn't like the last time either. Then she had the Cannon project and some kind of hope. But now…" he trailed off as his eyes implored Jackie to understand what he was trying to say.

"Now she's given up," Jackie whispered tearfully. "I know, Pete. I know. But you know how close they were. And not just in the normal 'We're a married couple, of course we're close' kind of way, either. Even back when he was still all big ears and leather, there was just something… different about the two of them. The way they were around each other. Rose told me once he was telepathic and I think that might have been part of it. I'm not sure that even grieving a spouse normally is really a comparison… My poor Rose. I do want her to move forward Pete, I do, it's just… I don't want to push her away and I don't want her risking her life again because she doesn't think she can go on."

Pete inwardly breathed a sigh of relief at his wife's concerns. These were things he could address. "That's why I think this will be perfect. I know you don't like the idea of her being so far away, but I think London has too many memories for her. Too many memories of him and of Him. The New York office has been begging for a west coast American field office in California for some time now and I've just gotten around to finding a location. A year ago when I first started the ball rolling on this project I envisioned trusting it to Rose and the Doctor together. I figured the adventure of a new place, hell new continent would keep them from the boredom of being stuck on this one planet. Now, I'm glad I decided not to choose a metropolitan location for the office there. LA might have been too much, but I picked a quiet town up the north coast instead. If I put Rose in charge there, maybe she'll come back to us."

"From across the bleedin' ocean and the other side of the continent?! How's that supposed to work then?!" Jackie screeched at him.

"Look Jacks. She need a project. Something to focus on besides her pain. That's what I'm hoping to give her here. And I really think she needs to be in the position of taking charge of herself again. I'm just as guilty, but I think we've been coddling her for too long. She has to find who she is without him. She's never really had to do that. Even during the Cannon years, she grew up, matured, but she was always focused on Him. Finding Him. Getting back to Him. If we let her go, we'll get the Rose we love back." And Pete did love Rose. In the years since she had come into his life he had come to truly view her as his daughter. He had loved the Doctor as well, coming to see the strange half-alien as a son in the years since their second trip to that blasted beach in Norway. "Jake told me. The Doctor's last words. He wanted her to have a fantastic life. She'll remember. She just needs to figure out what that is for her now."

"Is it safe, Pete?"

"It's as safe as anything else we could convince her to do. Rose doesn't do safe. You know that. But you also know she's the very best Torchwood has when she's on her game. I'm planning to put her in charge, so hopefully that will minimize the field work and thus the danger. If you have another idea, I'm open to it, but this was the best thing I could think of. The offices and everything won't be ready until early March, so we still have some time. Will you help me convince her?"

"Alright, Pete. On one condition. Tony and I get to visit her as often as she'll have us. And where is this 'quiet town up the north coast' anyway? California you said? What's it called? We need to find her a place don't we?"

"You can help her with that if you want," Pete smiled with relief. "And of course you and Tony can visit her. I'm sure he'll love seeing the states. Yes California. The town is called Gracepoint."