Chapter 2 - Actions

"Doctor, if you don't open this door immediately, I will personally kick it down! Do you hear me?"

Jackie Tyler was standing in front of the guest room of the Tyler mansion, both hands on her hips, resolutely staring at the locked door. She meant it. She couldn't take this anymore. The Doctor had been moping for three days, locking himself away most times, and looking like a walking corpse whenever she caught a glimpse of him. He hadn't changed, hadn't eaten and probably wasn't sleeping either. Whilst Jackie had complained long and copiously to Pete and Mickey about the Doctor's behaviour, she was secretly very worried for him. She had never seen him so dejected and hopeless. Usually, it was other people who lost faith, and the Doctor's unwavering optimism brought them around. He always saved the day, saved everyone. Who would save him?

She knew the answer to that of course. Rose had said it herself: He had no one except her. Jackie finally felt like she understood what her daughter had meant. The thought of Rose, trapped all by herself in the middle of the aftermath of Canary Whorf made her throat constrict. It was all she could do not to lose hope, so she pushed the thought aside and banged on the door once again. "Oi! Open up!"

She heard a shuffling in the room. Finally, the Doctor unlocked the door, and opened it a bit. He still looked as haggard as before. "What," he said tonelessly.

"Oh, don't you 'what' me, Doctor!" Jackie pushed in the door and stood to face him. "You will stop this right here, right now. I can't take it anymore. This is hard enough on all of us, all right? You're not helping by being a miserable sod all day!" She prodded him in the chest as she said it. The Doctor looked unmoved. Jackie stared at him until he finally broke eye contact and sighed. He slumped down on the bed. She could basically see his brain churning away, so she waited.

Finally, he looked up. "I heard her, Jackie. I heard Rose call my name."

The sadness in his voice nearly broke her heart. She was going to say something, but he continued. "I think I'm going mental. Why would I hear her call my name?"

Jackie crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at her oblivious alien. "Well if you haven't figured that out yet, you probably never will." Jackie had long since suspected that Rose was very much in love with her strange travelling companion, and her reckless choice at Canary Whorf confirmed it. She was not sure how the Doctor truly felt about anyone, but if his current state was any indication, he must have cared deeply about her daughter.

He didn't get the hint, though. "Jackie, you don't understand. I cannot hear her because we're in different universes! They're closed off! It's impossible!"

Jackie sighed. "You don't have to tell me that, I was there, remember?" She sat down next to him and tentatively touched his arm. "But are you sure? I mean, if I learnt anything about you it is that nothing is impossible, right? She's got your magic phone box, hasn't she?"

"That's just it! She's with the TARDIS, but she hasn't a clue how to use her!" He raked his hands through his hair, exasperated. "Oh, if only I could tell her something, anything, just how to keep her safe, how to…" he deflated again. "But it's no use. There's no way."

"Yes, there is! There must be!" Jackie gripped him by the shoulders and made him face her. "There's always a way! Hey, what about calling her? Didn't you do something dodgy to her mobile?"

He sighed again. "Tried that. Doesn't work. Not here."

Jackie was quiet for a bit, then tried again. "What if you're wrong, though?" He looked up, and despite his pessimistic mood he showed a little annoyance at this preposterous assumption. Jackie sighed. "About the voice, I mean."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what if you're not going mental? What if you can actually hear her, calling for you? Maybe… she has found a way to get through, and you're… you're not answering!"

For the first time, the Doctor seemed to consider this. "Hm. I suppose that's possible… not very likely, but about as likely as me hallucinating."

"There, see?" Jackie slapped his knee. "That's more like it! Now you get out of this suit, have a shower, and then come downstairs for a bit to eat. And then we'll talk about this."

There was no arguing with her this time.

x

Half an hour later, the Doctor came downstairs, hands buried in the pockets of a fresh suit he'd borrowed off Pete. Jackie looked him up and down: he had somehow made it fit his skinny form. Noticing her glance, he shrugged and just said, "I sonicked it," which seemed to put an end to any questions a nosy human could have come up with.

Jackie was in the middle of making a late breakfast. "Pete is off at Torchwood," she said. There was pride and warmth in her voice. She had really taken to 'alternate' Pete, even in this short while. The Doctor sat at the kitchen table and was promptly presented with slightly burned pancakes and a hot mug of tea. He breathed in appreciatively and started nibbling. He finally realised how hungry he was. Jackie smirked, but then sat down with her own mug and became serious.

"Doctor, please pull yourself together, yeah? You're the only one here who can find a way back."

He looked up from his plate and swallowed a last bite of pancake. "But Jackie…"

"No buts, Doctor. You will find something. You always do. And you won't stop looking until you do." It wasn't a question. She sounded strained, almost desperate. "You will get my daughter back."

He looked at her. Since when had Jackie Tyler become more hopeful than he? Since when did she trust him so much? After all, what could he do? He had no TARDIS, no ideas, and no Rose. The thought struck a chord within him. He really did need Rose. Her brilliant ideas, her optimism, her laugh, her smile… She was part of his life, whether he admitted it or not. She belonged with him, and he, in some insane way, belonged with her. A sudden urgency gripped him. Why had he been moping and crying for days? Why was he not out there, trying his utmost to get back where he belonged? He locked eyes with Jackie. "You're right. I have no earthly clue how, but Jackie Tyler, I will get your daughter back." He drained his tea and got up. He had work to do.

x

A few hours and one trip to Torchwood later, the Doctor was back in his room, busily tinkering away on a pile of technical equipment. Jackie got him some tea and purposefully lingered around. She had noticed that the Doctor wasn't a fan of the Torchwood institute – even if it was the parallel universe version. But Pete had been able to help him out with security clearance, and got him the stuff he needed. The Doctor had grudgingly agreed that it was useful to work with them, even if he didn't always agree with their methods. "So, what's all this then?" she asked.

He kept on sonicking whatever it was he was holding. "It's a tracer. Or, at least, it's going to be. I will trace… Rose's voice." He finally looked at Jackie, his eyes unfathomable now. "If it's real, I'll find the source."

Jackie shifted uneasily. "And what then?"

He went back to tinkering, and didn't answer for a moment. Jackie turned to leave; just before she reached the door, he mumbled, "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Over the course of the next few weeks, Jackie found out that not sleeping and not eating weren't exactly problems confined to when the Doctor was moping. He was so engrossed in his work now that she had to bring him food in regular intervals and force him to at least lie in bed for an hour each night. She felt like she was suddenly his mother as well. Pete had tried to talk to him, man to man, that sort of thing, but had gotten nowhere. Mickey had offered his help, but the Doctor only laughed in response. So he wasn't moping enough to be beyond taunting Mickey, but she somehow felt consolation that despite everything that had happened, some things never changed.

So he tinkered on, mostly undisturbed, until it was finally time to test his newest contraption. Jackie, Pete and Mickey waited patiently in the kitchen one night, hoping to see what this little piece of electronic hope would accomplish. The Doctor came downstairs with something that looked like it used to be a pair of headphones. Now only one side of them remained, connected to a little wire antennae. If the situation hadn't been so serious, it would have looked quite ridiculous. The Doctor had tried it on for fitting earlier, and had actually smiled, seeing himself in the mirror. It occurred to him that Rose would have found this incessantly funny. The pang of sadness that followed this thought turned into resolve. He would talk to her. He would find a way.

Everyone looked at him expectantly. Jackie nearly jumped out of her seat with suspense. "I can hear her voice," he finally brought out. He was not prepared for the very human cheering and hugging that followed. Even Mickey slapped his shoulder appreciatively.

"Okay, so what's gonna happen now," asked Pete.

"Well…" he briefly considered giving them the scientific explanation, spurred by his natural urge to display his superiority. Then he saw their relieved faces, and suddenly understood what they had been going through the past week. They really relied on him to fix everything, somehow.

He sighed. He had to be straight with them. "This thing," he took off the headset and held it out, "interfaces with my mind. I am a telepath," he briefly paused and swallowed, wondering if they were aware of this, and saw Jackie and Pete exchange glances. "So, um, it can send certain information to my mind that I can't access otherwise. I've been hearing Rose," he swallowed down the lump in his throat. "I've been hearing her again and again, but it is faint. This tracer allows me to pinpoint where her voice is coming from."

"So like a compass or something?" Mickey asked.

"Sort of." The Doctor ran one hand through his hair. "It's not very precise, and I don't know how long it will take to find the source, or what I might find when I get there…" he stammered. Suddenly, he was very conscious of the faith they all put in him.

"Oh, never mind that, Doctor," Jackie waved his worries away. "It's the best shot we've got at the moment, yeah?"

"Well, yes."

"What are we waiting for, then? Shall we pack?"

x

Rose was sitting on the floor in the Doctor's room, her back leaning against his bed, a few books gathered around her. She had a particularly large volume propped open on her lap, but she wasn't reading it. She was staring at the ceiling.

Her two heartbeats resonated in her chest. Whenever she noticed it, she felt a slight giddiness course through her, a mad elation that she couldn't explain. Some part of her was obviously happy about this change, whilst another part of her cautioned her. She kept remembering the TARDIS' words, that it wasn't sure she would survive this. Rose already felt the strain pull at her body. Her brain was so full of words and knowledge that sometimes she felt she would burst. She felt strong, powerful even. Rose remembered how the Doctor had grown a whole new hand just after regenerating – who knew what she was capable of at the moment.

She had started reading some of the books the Doctor kept, mainly to occupy the time until the TARDIS took them where they needed to go. But she was also curious. She finally felt she could get closer to the Doctor than ever before. She could see how his mind worked, and why he behaved in the way he always did; never standing still, full of turbulent thoughts and emotions, all bubbling under the surface. Checking out some of the books he had, on history, technology or alien cultures, she found it amazing to understand all that she read, and wanted to know more. If her new, fabulous existence had a time limit now, she at least wanted to make the most of it and learn as much as she could. Maybe she would find something useful.

Currently, however, she felt less like a Time Lady (the thought still alien to her) and more like a lovesick teenager. She could not concentrate on her book, but found herself daydreaming about her Doctor. His eyes, his smile, his way of moving around the ship, his warm hugs, his hand grabbing hers… every shared experience now seemed meaningful and special. Every conversation carried weight. She also thought back to when he was still his other self, replaying that one goodbye kiss in her mind, wishing she had remembered it sooner. The longing and desire tore at her hearts, and she cursed herself for never really pursuing something deeper with her friend. She really had to get him back, and then, she decided, she would snog the living vortex out of him. Even if it was the last thing she'd do.

Rose sighed and tried to get back to her book. Suddenly, her ears picked up a slight change in the ship's sounds. They had arrived. She put the book aside, still marvelling at her new senses and abilities. She remembered the conversation she had with her mother just before everything went wrong.

"Do you think you'll ever settle down?"

"The Doctor never will, so I can't. I'll just keep on travelling."

"And you'll keep on changing. And in forty years' time, there'll be this woman, this strange woman, walking through the marketplace on some planet a billion miles from Earth. But she's not Rose Tyler. Not anymore. She's not even human."

Sadness filled Rose's hearts. Her mother had been right. She wasn't human anymore, and now she was travelling through space somewhere far from home, alone except for a weird, sentient ship. Rose missed her mum.

She came back to the console room and glanced around appreciatively. The room had changed along with her. It still had the coral structure she knew, and the light was warm and welcoming. The metal grating had given way to a smooth, wooden platform, suspended around the console. Twisting from the platform, several walkways led towards corridors up and down the ship. The coral structure on the walls accommodated a wooden walkway all around, with gadgets and cupboards hiding as yet unknown novelties for Rose to discover. She even thought she'd seen a blackboard somewhere.

The console itself seemed less mechanical now. It felt more smooth and grown, with metal wires and levers seamlessly integrating into the structure. Around the platform, three wooden, twisted and winding pillars made their way up to the ceiling, joining with the coral supports. A thorny rose with a twisting stem was carved into each. Above the rotor, far up in the ceiling, there seemed to be a leafy canopy that showed some peeks of a starry sky beyond.

The TARDIS had outdone herself this time, she found. Rose loved the new look, and warmth filled her as she felt the TARDIS' hum gently in her mind. Maybe, even if she didn't survive this, the room would stay this way, and the Doctor would have something to remember her by.

"All right, where are we at," Rose said and turned towards the central monitor. She could see a large, glowing supernova. She frowned. "Is this where the crack is? To the other universe?" she asked.

The TARDIS hummed quietly. The crack is everywhere, Rose Tyler. It is in the fabric of time and space itself. But we need this power to get through.

Rose stepped around the console and went to the doors. She opened one, and took in the amazing sight. She felt her hearts beat faster. This felt so much more real than anything else in her life before. "How do we access the star's power?"

I have tapped into it. You must call to him. Focus, Rose Tyler, concentrate, and he will hear you.

Rose took a deep breath and closed the doors of the TARDIS again. She stood by the console and closed her eyes. She let the steady rhythm of the time rotor lull her in, and she focussed all her thoughts on her Doctor.

"Doctor…" she tried, but didn't feel anything.

She tried to recall her thoughts earlier when she was reading, tried to relax. She focussed on his smile, his infectious laughter. Random memories stirred in her mind.

His former self speaking to her over the monitor when she was captured by the Daleks. "Rose? I'm coming to get you."

His unbridled relief when they saw each other again after encountering the Beast on Krop Tor.

"I'm left travelling on my own, cause there's no one else."

"There's me."

That's right, she thought stubbornly. There's always me, for as long as we have, and you are not getting stuck alone on some parallel Earth, you daft time lord!

"Doctor!" she called out, her eyes shut tightly, picturing him, letting all her new Time Lord senses reach out to the universe, trying to find the crack.

Suddenly, she felt it. It was like brushing lightly over a slight crack in a water glass, not big enough to cause any damage, but there none the less. She let her body relax and felt her way forward, through the faintest of tears, sensing the way to go. "Doctor, I'm here," she whispered.

X

The Doctor got out of a jeep, jumping onto the wet beach. He took a moment to take in the emptiness, the fresh sea air, the sound of the waves. Jackie scrambled out of the passenger's seat behind him, and he turned to give her a hand. Her eyebrows rose in surprise as he helped her down. He was the Doctor, and the Doctor didn't do domestic. Nevertheless, he had tried to be a good houseguest and travelling companion these past three months. He was grateful for all of the Tylers' help, even if he couldn't express it much. Without them, he wouldn't have made it to Norway.

Pete came around the jeep. "So this is it then?"

"Yep."

Mickey joined them. "How can you be sure it's this exact place? You said you stopped hearing her voice a few nights ago."

The Doctor glanced at him briefly. "Yeah, but then I looked at a map. It can only be here."

He walked away from the jeep. He wasn't wearing the headset anymore. It was true, the faint calls had stopped, but he knew it had to be this or nothing. Bad Wolf Bay.

Suddenly, he thought he saw something. And his ears picked up a faint call on the wind.

Doctor, I'm here…

He ran onwards, along the beach. He heard the faint calls of Jackie in the background, but he didn't care. This was the place, he knew it. "Rose?" he called.

"Doctor!" came the faint voice. He spun around, and there she was. His glorious Rose, her golden hair shimmering in the transmission, her cheeks wet with tears. The sight nearly broke his hearts.

"Rose! I can see you! I heard you! I knew it was you!"

"Doctor, you're okay! You came," she said, smiling through the tears.

He stepped closer, as close to her as he dared, and tried to touch the image. His hand passed right through it. "Rose, where are you? Are you safe?"

"Don't worry, the TARDIS is taking care of me." There was something in her voice he couldn't quite place… something like a double meaning.

"Rose, I…" suddenly, he didn't know what to say. It was all so pointless. All he could say were goodbyes. His voice caught, and he fought back tears now. "Rose, I can never come back, I'm trapped; we're trapped," he added, glancing back at Rose's family that was quickly making their way over to them.

Rose's eyes grew large. "Are they all right? How's my mum?"

"They're all good, all safe."

"You make sure you keep'em that way, Doctor! At least until I'm there."

"What? Rose, the breach has been sealed, there's no way back… how are we even talking?"

She smiled. "There's one last crack, the TARDIS found it. I'm orbiting a supernova to get enough power to speak to you… but we don't have long."

'I'm orbiting…?' There was something strange in the way she talked, something odd about how she carried herself. She seemed so… at home. Not lost, as he'd imagined. That was good. His Rose was safe, and the TARDIS would take care of her. But she would be alone. And he was running out of time to tell her…

"Rose, I…"

"ROSE!" came Jackie's shout behind him. She, Pete and Mickey ran up and stood in front of Rose. Jackie had tears in her eyes, too. "Rose, are you okay? We were so worried," she began.

"I am fine, mum, don't you worry. I'm coming back for you."

"What? Rose, you can't, you'll destroy the universe if you try!" the Doctor shouted. This was wrong, this should not happen. Goodbyes, that was all this was. "You need to…"

"Doctor," she interrupted him with more authority than he'd ever heard from her. Tears were streaming down her face. She seemed to glow with the light of the TARDIS. Her song whispered through his mind. The moment would forever be branded into his memory. "Listen to me. I am burning up a sun just to say this. I love you. And I'm coming back for you. I'll find a way to get to you. All of you!"

He was speechless. His magnificent Rose. So determined, so glorious… she had once saved him by looking into the heart of the TARDIS, when he thought he'd never see her again. She had destroyed the Daleks – so what was there she couldn't do? His mouth open, tears running down his cheeks, he just stood there. "My beautiful Rose… what have you done?" he whispered, amazed, his eyes widening in a sudden understanding.

Jackie piped up, "Rose, be safe my love, just be safe!"

Rose glanced back at the Doctor, pain and sorrow etched clearly on her face. "Time is running out… Doctor, one last thing… you are no longer alone." She placed a hand on her heart.

Her desperate plea finally brought him to his senses. He picked up his courage. He needed her to know. He stepped forward, hand outstretched. "Rose, I…"

But then her image disappeared.

Silence fell on Bad Wolf Bay. His dropped limp at his side, and he stared unbelieving into the distance. He'd failed. He didn't tell her. And this might have been his last chance.

He felt a sharp slap connect with the back of his head.

"You bloody idiot," Jackie said with a teary voice, and stalked off.

X

Rose gasped. Her hand went to her mouth and she tried stifling a sob, but it was useless. She sank to the floor, holding on to the console with one hand. She leaned back, drew her legs to herself and let the tears flow freely.

The TARDIS sent a warm, comforting glow around her. She felt like she was getting a ghostly hug. Somehow it seemed to calm her down. She wiped her cheeks. "I tried, I really did, b-but I didn't know what to say," she said to the air at random. It slowly dawned on her that she hadn't really prepared for this at all. She had just been so excited to see him again, to hear his voice, that she hadn't really thought up a plan first. Was that what the TARDIS had expected? That she'd read some books and suddenly know what to do? Should she have told him something that would help?

"I didn't even tell him about what you.. did to me! I couldn't! Now what if I don't make it and he'll never.. he'll never…" she started sobbing again.

But the TARDIS was silent. Instead, Rose heard a small noise like a gasp. A very female, very corporeal sounding gasp. Her head snapped up in shock, all her new senses suddenly alarmed.

Before her stood a very confused looking redhead in a wedding dress.