A/N: This story take place Immediately following "Runaway Bride." I suppose it could be considered AU for more reasons than one haha! This idea came to me a few days ago while listening to the radio and I had to get it down. Please keep in mind that this has no beta, but do let me know what you think. Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 1
As the TARDIS engines began to roar, he could hear Donna's voice shouting his name, "Doctor! DOCTOR!" and instantly slammed on the breaks, rushing to open the door.
"Blimey, you can shout!" he said, and she smiled a little at that. He had enjoyed their bickering and banter back and forth. Maybe she had changed her mind already. Maybe, like Rose, she just needed to be asked a second time. Rose…
Before his mind could travel any further down that very painfully raw path, Donna spoke again. "Am I ever gonna see you again?" She spoke a little quietly, hope and concern laced together in her voice.
"If I'm lucky," he replied with a small smirk. He really had enjoyed her company. So very different from his last few companions. No flirting, just sass. Wouldn't it be irritatingly fun to run into her again someday?
Her face changed a little and she spoke again. "Just promise me one thing."
Uh-oh. Promise her? Promises made him uneasy right now. He had promised Rose that he would keep her safe and he had not been able to keep that promise. No, he wasn't sure he could promise this woman anything. Not after failing to keep so many promises in the past.
He didn't say a word, just tilted his head a little acknowledging her request. "Find someone," she said gently, and his hearts broke yet again.
His stony mask fell immediately into place and he spoke solemnly. "I don't need anyone."
"Yes you do," she said knowingly, nodding her head at him, " 'Cause sometimes I think you need someone to stop you."
She actually did look the slightest bit sheepish and maybe even sorry for him as she said the last bit, but her eyes conveyed the truth. He couldn't look away from her as eyes that reminded him of the monster he could be. The monster he was…without his Rose.
"Yeah," he almost whispered back. Thoughts of how his pink and yellow human had saved him so many times in so many ways tore through his mind like a dagger, threatening to tear him in two, mask and all.
Taking a deep breath to try and maintain his composure just a little longer until he could escape into the TARDIS with is grief, he said, "Thanks then, Donna. Good luck." He began to retreat back into the TARDIS, but in the back of his mind he could just hear Rose's voice: Oi! That was a bit rude. So, he leaned back out the door just a little and said, "And just –" he smiled as he remembered telling Rose to have a fantastic life when he sent her away on satellite 5, "be magnificent."
She smiled back and nodding replied, "I 'fink I will. Yeah."
At last he closed the door and heaved a sigh. But before he could do anything thing else, she was already calling him back again. "Aw, what is it now?" he said, with a hint of annoyance in his voice, but it was only half-hearted annoyance. He had poked his head out and was looking at her expectantly, not really knowing what to expect.
"That friend of yours," his face fell instantly, "What was her name?" she finished softly.
It was the last straw. The final stitch of sanity that had been holding him together throughout their adventure that day finally snapped and his throat constricted. He nearly choked as he responded through the oncoming tears, "Her name was Rose."
And with that he was gone. He closed the door behind him and ran to the console. Flipping levers and switches all over the control panel he sent the time ship rocketing into the sky. Consequences be damned, he was going to get Rose Tyler back!
The TARDIS was fighting him, but he could feel her torment as well. He knew that she wanted Rose back too, but she wasn't willing to sacrifice all of time and space to do it. That's where he disagreed with her now. Donna was right, he needed someone to stop him. He needed Rose. With one final shove of a lever, the TARDIS gave a screeching roar and crashed wildly through space and time into the alternate universe, knocking the Doctor to the grating.
When the TARDIS stopped thrashing, the Doctor jumped quickly to his feet and grabbed the fire extinguisher he kept under the console and aimed at the small fire that had broken out on the control panel. Breathing hard, he stared at the scorched surface of his TARDIS for a moment, not quite believing that he had really just done what he thought he just did. He could have ripped two universes apart. He could have killed the TARDIS. All for the sake of getting back to a pink and yellow human girl.
But the TARDIS wasn't dead – just a bit scorched. She would be fine. He threw down the fire extinguisher and ran for the police box doors. Throwing them open wide he looked out onto the city of London, sun shining, sky full of zeppelins…wait…where were the zeppelins? The universes had not been ripped in two because he had not made it back to his Rose in the parallel universe. He was right back in good old London town.
Dejectedly he turned to go back inside the TARDIS when a sound caught his attention. He stopped and stood completely still as he listened to the broadcast coming from the shop nearby. He recognized that voice! Turning slowly to look at the television in the window of that show he blinked a few times before springing forward and launching himself at the window.
There, right before his eyes, was Rose Tyler, looking about 16 years old and singing about being someone's girlfriend. Too soon, the song was over and a man came on screen explaining that that song was a previous #1 hit by his next guest, Miss Rose Tyler!
As he watched her step out on the stage in a form fitting red dress with that huge smile on her face his hearts stopped. He thought he would never see that smile again. Respiratory bypass kicking in, he watched as she gave the show's host a superficial hug and sat down across from him. Apparently, the video for her newest single was about to premiere on that very show in just a few moments.
They made some polite small talk about her past records, and then the host took a totally different direction with the interview and asked her about her relationship with fellow musician, Jimmy Stone.
What? She had gotten back together with the alternate version of her old boyfriend? The Doctor's hearts twinged as jealousy flared up within him. Giving the host one of her most charming Rose Tyler tongue-touched smiles, she very coyly managed to avoid giving away any real information on the matter. That's my brilliant Rose, the Doctor thought proudly, so clever and so quick. Then he realized that he had actually been curious about that subject since it had been brought up and was now a little disappointed at her lack of candidacy.
Then the host was wrapping up the interview and introducing her new video for a song called "Day and Night." His eyes were glued to the screen before him as the video began with Rose clad in very tight red and black leather walking down a dark street with a group of other girls and through a large metal door. As the scene changed and the music started, he couldn't believe his eyes. Rose Tyler was gazing right at him with those smoldering eyes. He could feel the blush creeping into his cheeks as he watched her dancing. He had heard he sing before, and even caught her dancing once or twice when she thought he was busy elsewhere, but not like this.
Pretty soon the shop owner came out to shoo him away if he wasn't going to buy anything and muttering something about creepy old men drooling over young girls on the telly. The Doctor snapped his head up and quickly walked down the street, tossing a quick, "Right, sorry!" over his shoulder.
As he walked past a newsstand he caught sight of Rose's picture on the cover of various magazines and quickly purchased them all. Even if this wasn't his Rose, he couldn't help himself. Not only did he long to find out how she had gotten into show business, he also knew that his Rose would be thrilled to see herself in the magazines.
Racing back to the TARDIS he noticed a music store he hadn't seen before and rushed inside to purchase any CDs they had of Rose Tyler, pop princess. Once safely inside his police box, he tore open the CD's wrapper and placed it in a disc drive on the TARDIS control panel. It was completely insane. He knew that this couldn't be his Rose, and yet the overwhelming desire to find her and take her back with him was growing stronger with every passing moment. He read about her life growing up at the Powel Estate with both of her parents, Pete and Jackie Tyler, and her manager/best friend, Mickey Smith. Great, so if he was going to even speak to Rose, he would have to deal with Mickey first. Sighing, he continued to read all about how she dropped out of school at sixteen to pursue a career in music with Jimmy Stone, who at the time was in his early twenties.
So in this universe, Rose Tyler had found success when she ran off with her boyfriend instead of debt and heartache. Jealousy reared its ugly head once more as he read that the two had been living together a few months before she hit it big and got enough money to buy a big house (which looked an awful lot like the Tyler mansion if he remembered correctly) for her mum and dad to move into with her.
Was all of this true or was some of it a cover story that his Rose had made up to start up her new life? The last part of the article talked about all of the charity and volunteer work that Rose did when she was not performing. His hearts soared with pride and he smiled as he said to himself, "Rose Tyler, defender of the Earth." One picture showed her reading to children at an orphanage with the caption, "Not even the Big Bad Wolf could keep Rose Tyler from her charity work."
The Doctor just stared at the words "Bad Wolf" for a while, thoughts racing through his head faster than her could even process them all. Surely it couldn't just be a coincidence that those words would pop up in relation to an alternate version of Rose Tyler. But it must be. It must just be a coincidence.
Then the next song on her CD began to play and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. It was a cover of "Hungry like the Wolf." That was all he needed to make his decision. He was going to track down Rose Tyler and offer her the stars. He only prayed that it was his Rose that he would find.