Chapter 1

Rose

If he was being perfectly honest with himself, he'd been waiting for this day ever since the first time he met them so many years ago. Back then he'd been a useless nobody, content with just continuing to cut down Chosen where he found them, no big plan in mind or any ideas of reform, he just wanted to kill something. Leftovers from the Purge thousands of years ago from which he still hadn't fully recovered. Nothing had mattered back then.

Until Stonehenge, until a mad man with a box and a bow tie, along with a frisky red head and a brilliant brunette had shown up, strutting about like he owned the place. In the span of one night he managed to turn his whole character upside down and all around. And what got Kaullus all the more was that all present knew him! Him, a worthless relic of a lost age! The brunette had hugged him and smiled at him, until the mad man had stepped in, speaking in a firm tone that, at the time, Kaullus had mistaken for jealousy.

And suddenly he was lost with them at Stonehenge, watching the mad man tinker with a giant cube that was said to house the most dangerous thing in the universe…

So long ago now. And he had seen them since then, all through the centuries. And every time he felt like they were making him better, until suddenly he found himself in a situation that he would have once just turned away from and gone about his business. But now he found himself asking 'what would they do?' and after trying to answer that impossible question he went about doing his best to emulate what they would do. And suddenly he found himself doing these things not to make them proud, but because he liked doing it. He liked helping out. And every now and again he would run into them, getting into their own spot of trouble. Sometimes they had company, sometimes they were on their own. Sometimes they brought another couple, sometimes it was that maddening Captain that defied logic…though Kaullus had to admit he hadn't seen much of him lately.

Probably skulking around Cardiff, waiting for them to show up He thought to himself as he hopped onto the bus behind a blonde girl wearing a faded pink hoodie and slack jeans, and jumping off at the same stop as her.

This had been his routine now for the last eighteen years…when he wasn't on call with something else. James and Lily's deaths still hung over him, it was only four years after their deaths and little Harry was still missing. But he'd managed to distract himself with work, and in that work a bubbling sense of excitement had begun to take hold over the last few months.

Because this was it. This was the day. For two thousand years he'd stumbled around the Earth, doing his best to avoid the earlier incarnations of his old friend, only meeting when a certain pink and yellow human was with him, because that was when they knew him.

That same pink and yellow human had just gotten off her morning shift in Henrik's, a decidedly bored expression on her face as she stepped out for lunch.

'Just you wait' Kaullus wanted to say so badly, as he watched her with her boyfriend making googley-eyes and generally having a bit of a laugh, 'very soon now you're gonna be whisked away to see the stars.'

And that 'very soon' was today. Because today he'd gotten a call from Eye, the central intelligence system in the Underworld, informing him that there had been a Sighting – and not just any sighting. A Blue Box Sighting.

Today was the day.

Today, Rose Tyler met The Doctor.

As the afternoon wore on, Kaullus began to get restless. What was keeping him? They'd told him about this meeting at least five times, usually as a way to make their other friends a bit more comfortable around them. He'd never gone into the shop himself, just stood vigil around the Powell Estate, or more accurately London, or even more accurately, around wherever Rose was. He'd been like that ever since 1987 when Pete Tyler died. He could never say hello, but he could at least be a friend when she needed one.

The unpleasant memory of Jimmy Stones came to mind. Kaullus was still sure he would have killed the little shit unless Rose, wonderful girl that she was, begged him to stop. She didn't know him, she had barely been wearing anything save the shredded nightshirt; her face was red with tear stains as well as slap marks…and she'd still begged him to stop. She just wanted to go home.

And so he took her home. Because when in his life had he ever been able to deny Rose Tyler anything?

Her mother had been traumatised by the sight of her, dragging her in and immediately putting her to bed. Kaullus had then been subjected to what he would come to term, the Tyler Inquisition – a thousand questions, all at once, without pause, all in one breath. Quite a feat for a species without a respiratory bypass system. Still he'd done his best to answer her questions and promised that the one responsible would be held accountable.

Two nights later the police had received an anonymous tip that a known rapist was hiding out in the Powell Estate in flat thirty two. Two hours after, Kaullus watched from the shadows as Jimmy Stones was tossed into a police car in nothing but a shirt and boxers. Before the car pulled away though, Kaullus stepped into the light, enough so that Stones could see him. The enraged shrieking as the bastard connected the dots was the most satisfying thing he'd heard all week.

Which brought him back to now, three years later, the twenty-sixth of March 2005, half-past four in the evening. And still no sign of the Doctor.

What's keeping him? Kaullus checked his watch again, the shop would be closing soon so what was taking him? Rose had always teased him about blowing the shop up so where was the kaboom?

There's supposed to be an Earth-shattering…well maybe not that big of a kaboom. Well, maybe a bit more than a normally big kaboom…Oh my God I'm starting to think like him! Well, that should only be natural, considering we keep running into each other. Still it doesn't mean I have to think like him. Why can't I think like her? All arranged and normal and human-ish. Not that she'll – Oi! Spoilers! What spoilers?! It's already happened for me!

…I'm arguing with myself…it's official, I am clinically insane…. Fantastic!

He'd perched himself on the fountain in Leicester Square and was just staring at the shop whilst his mind babbled to itself, as if that would make it blow up for him. But nothing was happening! Nothing, nadda.

They did say March twenty-sixth, right? He was about to reach into his coat pocket to get out his old beaten diary – a gift from another temporally challenged friend – when he caught sight of her again. Same bored expression as when she'd left for lunch, except now it was 'bored expression as she goes back home to her mother.' And then she was halted by the security guard at the front of the doors, holding out a package for her. Suddenly things started to perk up. Things he'd been told by them both coming back to him.

'I was just gonna give Wilson his winnings and go.'

'Jeopardy friendly her, right from the go. Hears a door close, just has to look into it!'

Suddenly he was moving, even as she huffed and snatched the package out of the guard's hand and turned back in. Catching the guard's smug look as she walked back in, Kaullus felt no guilt when he walked through the doors and, when the guard tried to stop him, laid him out with a back hand punch. It didn't matter that these events needed to happen – causality loop and all – no one made fun of Rose Tyler.

Except for me. And the Doctor. And Jack….wow you'd wonder why she still hangs around with us.

She'd already gotten in the lift and was heading down when he reached the lift doors. And despite what he knew was about to happen, he couldn't help the excited grin that tugged at his lips as he started for the stairs.

He could hear her calling out for Wilson about his winnings even as he cleared the first set of stairs, acute hearing due to whatever it was had been done to him all those years ago to make him…him. As such he also picked up the frustration in her voice as she tried again. And then he heard a scuttle, and against his reason, knowing the Doctor would be waiting, his pace picked up.

"Hello?" That was her, same curious voice as ever…if a little higher pitched due to her youth. But still the same, still Rose. Really did never change. "Hello, Wilson, it's Rose." She called out again, even as he came to a halt at the bottom of the staircase, finally remembering that he couldn't let himself be seen. Not yet anyway. Didn't mean he couldn't peek around the corner.

She was blonde now. How long had she been blonde before giving up on dying it? A bit clumpier going by the way the pink hoodie hung from her, though that could be from the baggy jeans. And she was going towards the fire door.

Of course! Kaullus couldn't help but think in fond exasperation. Because a weird noise couldn't possibly be, I don't know, a piece of plastic slipping off…actually come to think of it, that's exactly what it is. Huh.

She'd gone through the fire door properly now and was likely staring around at the numerous shop window dummies, still calling out for Wilson.

Come to think of it, they'd never really gone into detail about Wilson properly. Rose had told him that the Doctor merely stated he was dead. Still, Kaullus always felt better if, when he couldn't save a life, he could still glean something about the person or thing that killed the victim. The door was locked, no surprise there. Nevertheless he was not without his own little tool for getting into places. Who said the Doctor was the only one allowed to own a sonic screwdriver? Kaullus' version was slightly smaller than the one his friend used, with a darker casing, the emitter had two settings – blue and red – with built in dampers to cut out interference from outside transmissions. What Kaullus really liked though was the identification ring: You slotted your little finger through it and, if you were the keyed-in owner, it worked; if you weren't…bad things happened.* Given to him in good faith, it was a sign of trust that he'd vowed never to break. Getting to work, he pointed the dark red emitter at the door knob and set to work, keeping an ear out for the Doctor. Where was he?

He's running late.

The gentle hum of the screwdriver ended with the abrupt click of the door lock. Steeling himself for what might be within, Kaullus opened the door. What he saw, admittedly, was not the worst he'd seen in his crossing paths with the Doctor and Rose – he'd seen a human with a Dalek for a head for crying out loud! Wilson's slightly podgy body was lying out on the floor, his chair tipped over, and clear signs of a struggle littered all over the place. The most prominent thing about the whole thing though, was the gaping hole in the man's chest, smoke still rising out. Wincing a little at the sight, Kaullus sighed and closed the door again.

And the same time the fire doors slammed shut. It wasn't until he heard the frantic shaking on the other side that he remembered he wasn't the only person down here.

Rose!

That panicked sense of urgency whenever something threatened her was active again, and he was at the door in a flash, screwdriver in hand as he set to work unlocking the door. On the other side he heard something topple over and his need to get in intensified.

"Is there someone mucking about?" That was an odd tone there…Kaullus had heard Rose sound nervous before, but that was usually when they really had no plan whatsoever and she was just adlibbing. The last few decades though…and in 1869 now that he thought about it…well she was young yet. And it was her way of being curious that would make her…wait…curious…

No, no, no! Don't do that Rose! Don't be curious, don't go looking for it! Get back over to the door! It didn't matter that it was a set event, he'd gone through too much with this brilliant woman, with her Doctor leading them along, to let something as degrading as a living bloody plastic dummy to do her in!

And then he heard it. The stretched out, bendy whine of plastic. And then a thud. A step.

No! NO! The sonic was now on and he had it on the door.

"R-right, you got me, very funny…" oh god the nervous laugh. Again it struck him weird that the nervous laugh came out now. Too much time with a more seasoned Rose. "Right I've got the joke! Whose idea was this?!" Another few thuds…four more were moving…five more… Come on! Come ON! "Is this Derek? Derek is this you?!" Terror…he'd very rarely heard terror in her voice before, she'd always been so level headed, only really losing it when the Doctor was in trouble, not the other way around.

Damn it Doctor, WHERE ARE YOU?! The door finally swung open and Kaullus found himself at the back of a huge swath of living dummies, all with their back to him, focussing on the girl who was now backed up against the far wall, the lead dummy in a beach shirt raising its arm to strike her. Rose wasn't moving.

WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU MOVING TYLER!? Why the hell aren't I moving?!

That last thought set him into action and he grabbed the nearest dummy, however his eyes never left Rose's screwed up face as she waited for the blow to land. Sadly he'd seen that face before, three years ago…and that made him mad. He was about to rip the dummy's head off when he spotted something that sent his heart soaring.

He looked the same as when he'd literally run into them in Cardiff in 1869, like when he ran into him at the speakeasy in 1941, when he ran across him in 1987; cropped hair; blue eyes; leather jacket and jumper; black jeans; and of course, big ears. He wrapped his hand around hers – in a way that Kaullus had seen them do so many times before, drawing an unconscious grin on his face – and said one word to her, one word that would define the two of them for all time, just one word.

"Run!"

And then they were off, the dummy's hand striking thin air.

Today was the day alright.

"Well then." Kaullus finally muttered, popping of the head of his captive dummy and kicking it across the room, his own London accent ringing out, drawing the attention of the plastic host. "I seem to remember being in this position before. Last time I was a pathetic wreck of a man. Now?" He grinned as he sauntered through the swath of living plastic to stand in the centre of them, ignoring the mechanic whirrs as the Nestene creature's knuckles disconnected to reveal their concealed blasters. "Now I'm a man who's met the Doctor. Name's Tahkaullus Neuvo. And this is just so fitting."

And then he was moving. Even as the first shot went off, he'd swept two off of their feet with a low sweeping kick. The blast he'd dodged hit the Nestene opposite the gunner and it went down.

"Ooh," he couldn't help but mock, "friendly fire. Not very good team players are you?" He kicked out before they could respond, still low, balancing on his hands, and sent the Nestene in front of him smacking into a stack of boxed clothes. Shoving himself back onto his feet, Kaullus went for his screwdriver, already bored with the admittedly less versatile plastic people than he remembered.

"Gotta say, I thought fighting you guys again would be more…fulfilling." He admitted as he set the sonic to a setting that would temporarily cut out the Nestene Consciousness's control. "When you boys were masquerading as Romans, it was a lot more believable. What happened, did your daddy have something better to eat that day?" He didn't really expect an answer so he just pressed the button on the sonic and let it do its job. The effect was slow but visible as the Nestenes slowed to a halt, sputtered, and then ultimately stopped, collapsing to the floor.

Sighing, Kaullus pocketed the sonic again and turned to leave…and ran right into the big eared slice of good news he'd seen a minute before.

As he expected, the Doctor's first line was, as always, abrupt and, because he was the Doctor, rude. "What're you doin' here?"

"Hello to you too" Kaullus muttered in return as he straightened himself out, dusting off some imaginary dirt. "Yeah don't thank me for taking care of this lot." He nodded at the group of frozen Nestenes.

The Doctor followed his eye and looked at the fallen dummies, "An' how'd you manage tha' then? Never mind. Don't care, toddle off now." And with that he strolled right by him. Rolling his eyes, Kaullus stuffed his hands in his pockets, counting down.

Three…two…one.

"Oh!" The Doctor turned back, "I'm off to go an' blow a big relay transmitter device on top of this building, with this 'ere." And finally he held up the device that had been hidden by his jacket-covered self.

Big-ish, two bits of bundled something wired up to an electrical doohickey, and of course a ticking clock. Yep, that's a bomb.

"An' there's the chance I'll be blown 'way with it," the Doctor continued, coming back and ushering Kaullus back the way he'd come and toward the lift, "but don' worry 'bout me. You jus' go on home, go get yourself a lager an' watch the match." He practically shoved Kaullus into the lift when it arrived, not knowing that the only way he could've done that was because Kaullus had allowed himself to be shoved around. Sighing, Kaullus turned around with a rebuke on his tongue…and it died when he saw that familiar look, that look of absolute seriousness that survived the fires of regeneration every time.

The Doctor looked him in the eye, "Like I told the girl, you telling anyone about this will end up getting them killed." And then he pushed the button for the ground floor and stepped away as the doors closed. And again Kaullus rolled his eyes and waited for it.

Three…two…one.

A hand grabbed the door and forced it back open, the Doctor popping his head back in, "I'm the Doctor, by the way. What's your name?"

Fighting hard not to smirk at the sheer familiarity of this, he replied "Tahkaullus."

"Yeah?" And to his credit the Doctor frowned, "Sounds foreign."

"Urdu," Kaullus replied easily "derived from 'Takhallus.'" He shrugged and tried for a small grin. "Means poet."

The Doctor's frown lasted a bit longer as he analysed him for a moment longer before giving one of his more patronising grins. Is it creepy that I can tell which are his real smiles and which are fake? The Doctor cut in before he could think about that any further. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr Poet. Run for your life!" He waved the bomb in his hand again and then vanished down the corridor again. This time the doors closed without a fuss and the lift rose up to the ground floor.

Still it took a while for the lift to reach the floor, so Kaullus leaned against the wall, folded his arms and let out a chuckle. That went just about as well as he thought it would. Oh he hadn't intended to run smack dab into the Doctor, although it did answer a few questions he'd had. Can't believe he got his nickname for me from me. Causality loop right there. The Doctor had been just as blustery as Rose and himself had made him out to be; in a rush, no time to chat, but definitely time to tell you his name and what the hell he was doing here. That's just the Doctor for you. He thought to himself fondly as he jogged out of the lift doors and through the ground floor of Henrik's. The security guard was just coming to – whack! – oh dear he hit his head on the floor again. Sighing, Kaullus picked him up and stared at the doors, rolling his eyes when he realised they were still active. Well, seeing as Wilson was dead there wasn't anyone to switch off the power. Shrugging, he stepped through the automatic doors, cool as a cucumber, and laid the unconscious man down on a near bench.

He only got another couple of steps before the explosion. The sound of shattering glass accompanied the loud boom and he couldn't help but smile when he spotted a familiar face staring up in shock and little bit of awe as her workplace went up in smoke right in front of her.

Welcome, Rose Tyler, he thought to himself as he watched her scramble off past a very familiar blue box, to the rest of your life.

He wasn't all that concerned about her right now though, she'd be back at the Powell Estate within an hour and then Jackie Tyler would be doing her thing again, calling up her neighbours and telling the world that she deserves compensation. Then Mickey would come in, his usual sweet but clumsy self, and try to get her down to the pub to catch the last five minutes of the match on Sky. No he was more interested in the blue box that just sat there at the opening of an alley being a possible nuisance for anyone with a bike to get past. Kaullus crossed the street in silence, ignoring the shock babbling of onlookers staring at the burning Henrick's building, and came to a halt in front of the blue wooden doors. Not quite as blue as when he first laid eyes on her, a bit more worn, but still very clearly the one and only Time And Relative Dimension in Space Type 40 capsule that had brought his friends to him on that night so very long ago, and ever since. He laid his hand on the wooden door and immediately felt the telepathic hum of the sentient machine hidden within.

"Hello again for the first time, Old Girl." He thought to her, and almost immediately he felt the surprised, and at the same time not surprised, response from the TARDIS. "It's been a while for me, though I guess this is the first time you've ever felt me isn't it? Hmm, funny how things work out isn't it? How's he doing? Still mourning the Time Lords?" He felt the sad hum reverberate up his arm and nodded his understanding. "Yeah thought as much. Don't worry though. He's going to get better very soon now, so very soon someone is going to come into his life…" His heart swelled with pride as he continued, "and she is going to be…well…she'll be her, won't she?"

He felt the happy, if not a bit wary hum from the ship and smiled, understanding her hesitance. "Oh don't worry, this won't be like one of the usual strays. Oh no, she's going to change things around here. I'd better not say any more, you know what River says…or I guess you don't yet. Never mind then. See you later in the past, Old Girl." He felt the farewell travel up his hand and let go.

There was nothing more he could do today so he determined to head home…well, home was relative. Right now home was a flat in the Powell Estate just shy of Jackie Tyler's. Which meant he'd be in a perfect position to run into them tomorrow.

The ride back by bus was short, and he hopped off just in time to see the boy who'd be left behind, Mickey Smith, chuck a familiar plastic looking arm into the bin. Oh boy…so that's how it got so close. He couldn't help but grin as he remembered the smug git telling him about it. Only focussing on him my arse! It just wanted a piece! Can't say I don't understand, Rose looks great in a dress.

Shrugging, and reminding himself about established timelines and all that jazz, Kaullus climbed the stairs of the estate and slotted his key in, just making out the familiar gaggle of Jackie Tyler, once again on her phone, chatting to…Bev by the sound of it. And poor Rose being subjected to the Tyler Inquisition. He almost felt sorry enough to play with the timelines a bit…almost. Sorry Rose, but when it comes to Jackie Tyler, you're on your own.

His apartment wasn't exactly cushy. Mostly what he had were the essentials, as well as a change of clothes that were all identical. Another influence of the Doctor's, wearing the same thing all the time. Of course unlike the Doctor he had to modify the look over time to fit in with the current trends lest he appear a nutter and he'd rather not miss out on an adventure with the mad man in his blue box. When it came to his room however, he had indulged a bit, buying himself a double with a good springy mattress. He had needs after all, and after living as long as he had, he'd had quite the number of…dancing partners as Rose had yet to one day put it. But right now, 'dancing' wasn't on his mind as he hung up his coat, stripped himself clean of every scrap of clothing and collapsed onto the bed. He wasn't exactly tired, rather he needed to relax and prepare himself for tomorrow. Today had been the meeting, tomorrow would cover the adventure.

He was out like a lamp a few hours later.

A/N *People who have the toy probably recognise the screwdriver that Kaullus is using. Personally I like to call it the Mk VI.5, simply because its clearly the Mk VI but beefed up a bit. There is a story behind that but I'm not telling. Spoilers and all that.

Review are good for the soul. Also good motivation. I might get all self conscious and not do more. You wouldn't want that would you?