Title: Valiant: Chapter 2, The Memory (2/3)
Author: sablize
Fandom: The Vampire Diaries (TV series)
Character/Pairing: Damon/Rose, Doctor/Rose (Tyler)
Rating: T
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a rose, a memory, and a wolf. Damon has a chance meeting with someone who might just change everything.
Spoilers: TVD: 2x11, 2x12; DW: Journey's End
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Author's Notes: Second chapter of my strange fix-it crossover. This chapter does contain a few Doctor Who references, but again, don't be daunted xD
"Where've you been?" is Stefan's first question when Damon walks in the door, Rose trailing behind him.
"Not killing Jules, don't worry. Bitch deserves it though." He brushes past his brother and into the living room, where he pours himself another drink.
Stefan eyes Rose, who smiles and says, "I'm Rose. Damon, uh… well, I'll let him explain it."
Damon does no such thing. "Call Elena," he says, tossing his brother his phone. "This'll probably be important."
"How important?"
"Very important, brother." He turns to Rose. "You wanted to use the computer?"
She nods, and he points her into a small office with a laptop. She leaves the two brothers with a small, self-conscious smile and another nod.
Stefan sighs. "What are you doing, Damon?"
"That's for me to know and you to dot dot dot," Damon says with a smirk, recalling words from the past. Simpler times, with no Roses and no werewolves, but he doesn't want to think about that. "I'll fill you in when Elena gets here."
When the doorbell rings, Damon lets Stefan answer the door as he goes off in search of Blonde-Rose (as he's taken to calling her). She's still sitting at the computer, and her eyes are strangely wet.
She notices him, wipes her eyes and sniffles once, then gives a shaky little laugh. "Well, I knew this place felt right. I'm home." At Damon's questioning look, she adds, "In the right universe. I was trapped in a parallel one."
Damon shakes his head in disbelief, but moves behind her and asks, "How do you know?"
She points at the screen in front of her, where two names are highlighted: Jacqueline Tyler, Rose Tyler. Damon's eyes flick up to the top of the screen. The header read Torchwood One, Canary Wharf: List of the Dead.
"You're dead?"
"Technically," she says, closing the webpage. "Like I said, parallel universe. Changes a lot of things."
He watches her go and can't help but think, What the hell have I gotten myself into?
Elena demands answers. So the three of them are sitting in the living room—Rose is pacing— and Damon explains the situation.
"Damon, I know—" she starts, but he cuts her off.
"No, Elena, you don't know. Sooner or later, you're going to have to face Klaus, and you need strong vampires behind you." What a bad excuse. Well, he can't help it if he wants Rose back.
"What I don't understand," Stefan says, drawing Blonde-Rose's eyes to him, "is, well, how are you going to do this?"
Rose smiles and pulls the yellow… button thing from her pocket. "Simple. I go back in time, stop Damon from going into the bar and picking a fight with Jules, then heal the wound."
"Wound?" asks Elena.
"Well, changing time so someone lives is a very… dangerous business. Trust me," Rose says, smile fading. "But I have enough handle on timelines to heal the wound and stop the Reapers from appearing and ending the human race."
Stefan looks unimpressed. "You're telling us you can travel in time?"
As if on a cue, the front door opens, and in steps Blonde-Rose. Another one. The trio's eyes flicker between the two identical people in disbelief.
"How…" starts Damon, but the question dies off as the Rose in front of him presses her yellow button and disappears in a flash of light. The other one steps forward to take her place, picking a leaf out of her hair.
"I've been hiding in your bushes for the past hour," she says. "Stupid thing transported me back too far."
Elena presses a hand to her forehead, mouth open in shock. Finally, she gets out, "So, you can travel in time. And you're going to save Rose. By going back in time. And telling Damon to go home, so Jules won't try to bite him and Rose won't die."
"Yep."
Elena shakes her head incredulously and glances at Damon. "You meet the strangest people."
Damon just smirks. Then his face turns serious. "You're really going to do this?"
Rose smiles again. "Yes." There is a long pause. "I need some of your memories first, before I go. So I can convince you."
Damon stands, and Rose places her fingertips gently on his temples. He shoves his most recent memories to the forefront of his mind. It hurts. God, it hurts, like his heart's shattering all over again. Soon, however, Rose steps away. Her eyes are somber and she gives him another sympathetic smile.
She starts walking towards the door.
"Wait, where are you going?" Elena asks, thoroughly confused.
"Transporting back that far takes a lot of energy," Rose explains. "I don't want to end up taking you with me. That would be bad." She smiles, opens the front door, and leaves.
Damon, after a second, runs after her. She's stopped halfway down the walk, the button in her hands.
"Rose," he says, keeping his distance. There's just one last thing he has to ask. "How did you know?"
She understands exactly what he means. "Your timelines. I could see them and the point where they diverged, and you were on the worse path." She pauses. "I've got all of space and time and all eternity to search for the Doctor. I might as well help as many people as I can along the way."
Damon nods and steps away, just to be safe. "Thank you."
She smiles then, the tip of her tongue poking from between her teeth. Then, in a flash of brilliant light, she's gone.
