Chapter Two
"Mum, it's happening again," Rose said to her mom, pressing a hand against her forehead and closing her eyes.
Jackie absent-mindedly reached for a handful of popcorn and continued to watch the movie. "What is, sweetheart? Headache?"
Rose hesitated a moment, knowing the protestations that would follow her reply. "Norway. I've got to get to Norway."
Jackie turned her head and stared at Rose for a moment, then took the remote to pause the movie. "What? Again?!"
Rose nodded her head, maintaining the pressure on her forehead. She wasn't actually in pain, it was just such an odd sensation, almost as if...No, it couldn't be, she thought. Out of curiosity, Rose imagined her conscious self reaching out across the water to the gray beach she stood on when she saw the Doctor for the last time. It ached to remember his last words to her: "Rose Tyler..." And then he was gone.
An image assaulted her mind and she gasped. "The TARDIS!"
"What? Rose, what are you going on about?" her mother demanded to know.
"The TARDIS, Mum, I saw it! On the beach at Bad Wolf Bay!" Rose sat up abruptly, her eyes dilated with excitement and what she was sure was a telepathic touch from the TARDIS. She fingered the key that hung around her neck on a chain. She visualized the TARDIS, imagining herself putting the key into the lock and opening it up to find the Doctor waiting for her, grinning that silly grin.
Rose gasped as yet another sensation swept her. "The TARDIS, Mum! She's calling me!" Rose stood up and bolted for her room, yelling "I'm packing, I'm going!"
Jackie wasn't far behind her daughter. She saw Rose throw her knapsack on the bed and start stuffing clothes and personal gear inside, like she had done when she was preparing to head out into the universe with the Doctor.
"Sweetheart," Jackie began, taking both of Rose's hands into her own. "Sweetheart, please, don't do this. You're getting your hopes up for nothing. He said it was impossible for you to return. I may not like him all the time, but I know he wouldn't tell you that if it wasn't true."
Rose let her mother hold her hands for a moment. "Mum, I promise, I'm right. It's different this time. It's a lot stronger than before, when he had to orbit the TARDIS around a supernova just for the energy to punch through to this universe. The- the TARDIS is calling to me, not the Doctor."
"The TARDIS is?"
Rose nodded her head. "Yes. Ever since I first traveled with the Doctor I've had this connection to the TARDIS, almost subconsciously. I can feel her, Mum. I can really feel her! I reached out mentally, to visualize that beach in Norway, and I felt a thrill run through me! She was happy she found me, and of course she'll have the Doctor with her." Rose resumed her packing. After she was done, she sat at her desk and went online.
"I'm checking flights out of Heathrow for Oslo. I'm going," she said firmly.
Jackie watched her for a moment, then sighed heavily. She knew Rose could be extraordinarily stubborn when she got this way, so knew there was no arguing with her. "Rose, darling, please. I just don't want to see you hurt is all."
Rose continued to look at her monitor and clicking away at airline websites. "Mum, I promise, I'm right. I know it. I feel it deep down to my bones." She paused in her internet research and turned to face her mother. Her tone became gentler. "Either way, right or wrong, I'll text you so you know. I'm not going to vanish on you again, like I did before. Okay?"
Her mother knew this was something Rose had to do. She reluctantly nodded her head in agreement. "All right. Do you have everything you need? Spending money, credit card, ID, passport - "
"Yes, Mum, yes." Rose stopped her mother before she could continue her list of necessary items. "I'm going to call a cab. I got a flight in four hours. Once I get to Oslo I'll phone you and get a rental car and drive to Bad Wolf Bay. If - when - I find the Doctor, like I said, I'll text you. Then you can call the rental agency and have them retrieve the car. Dad'll pay for it, he won't mind."
A flash of sadness crossed Rose's face. If she was right, and she knew she was, she wouldn't see her parents or her baby brother ever again. Or Mickey and his grandmother, who was almost like her own. The sadness didn't last long. She knew they would all be very happy for her, that she'd found the Doctor, that she'd found a way to her "home" universe.
The cab was at the Tyler mansion within the hour. Rose hugged her mother goodbye. "I'm so sorry Dad and Tony weren't here. Give them a hug and kiss for me and tell them I love them and I'll miss them and..."
"Yes, yes," said Jackie. "Your cab's here. Do what you need to do, sweetheart. We'll still be here."
Rose gave her mother one final hug, the tears welling up. She refused to let them flow. She was going to the Doctor, her Doctor! She mumbled, "I love you, Mum! Be well." And she was off to start a new chapter in her life.
