Chapter One

A undeniable excitement bubbled up from the Doctor. Bad Wolf. The chalkboard had said bad wolf. He knew those words; he craved to see those words one last time so long. Those words had not simply appeared out of nowhere and he had not written them, there was only one explanation for it, Rose was here, she had to be.

The Doctor landed the TARDIS and he immediately rushed to the doors, bursting out of the time machine like a small child on Christmas morning hurrying along to see what Father Christmas had brought. The words on the blackboard had proven exactly what he had been seeing for months now. Rose was trying to tell him something, she had to be, and he was going discover what it was and find her.

The hows and whys she was possibly in the TARDIS did not matter, at least not right now. The Doctor simply did not care, all that was important was that Rose was here and he had to get to her. She had been trying to communicate with him for months, but like some pudding-brain human he had ignored all the signs.

The Doctor rushed through Clara's apartment, searching for his companion.

-"Clara?" He shouted loudly, opening random doors. "Clara?"

But after searching the entire flat it was obvious she wasn't home. With a disappointing sigh the Doctor went to her bedroom and sat at her vanity. He stared at the strange three mirror setup. What could anyone possibly need all these mirrors in one location for? As he contemplated the strange furniture he recalled Clara had said something about a date. He would wait for her, for a short time. He needed Clara's help for what he had planned.

oOo

The Doctor had been waiting for some time but just when he was considering of leaving he heard the front door open and shut. Moments later Clara opened her bedroom door but hit the TARDIS instead. She tried to peek in to see what was blocking her way.

-"You just have to squeeze through." He spoke from the vanity.

-"Doctor?" Clara scooted through the door and gave him her best annoyed look. He knew that look all too well, so he did the only appropriate thing he could do for his friend. He decided to have a little fun.

-"Why do you have three mirrors?" He waved to the three mirrors which surrounded the vanity. "Why don't you just turn your head?"

-"What are you doing in here?" She groaned.

-"You said you had a date. I thought I'd better hide in the bedroom in case you brought him home. Bit early, aren't you? Did it all go wrong, or is this good by your standards?" He asked his face serious.

-"It was a disaster and I am extremely upset about it, since you didn't ask." Clara flopped down on the bed with an exasperated sigh.

-"Fine." Frankly he could care less about her silly date. "I need you ... for a thing."

-"I can't."

-"Oh, of course you can." The Doctor's tone grew impatient; he was feeling antsy and needed to get out of here. "Come on, you're free. More than usually free, in fact."

-"No, it's just possible that I might get a phone call." Clara checked her mobile.

-"From the date guy? It's too late. You've taken your make-up off."

The Doctor stood and made his way to the TARDIS. He had enough, they were leaving.

-"No, I haven't. I'm still wearing my make-up."

-"Oh, right. Well, you probably just missed a bit." He rushed to the TARDIS doors. "Come on, come on, come on, come on."

Clara stood with a long drawn out sigh but reluctantly followed as the Doctor almost bounced up and down like an excited dog. He rushed inside the TARDIS and immediately went to the console and started to enter some coordinates. When Clara entered he immediately put the time machine into motion.

-"I haven't actually said yes." Clara grumbled as she entered and heard the familiar sound the TARDIS taking off.

-"Yes." The Doctor waved his hand dismissing Clara protest. Frankly that was not important, she would soon change her mind after he showed her the evidence he had found. Once the TARDIS was safely off the ground the Doctor rushed back towards Clara. "You know sometimes when you talk to yourself," he spoke rapidly, not pausing long enough for Clara to reply. "What if you're not?"

Clara frowned.

-"Not what?"

-"What if it's not you you're talking to?" He stopped near Clara and stared down at her short frame. "Proposition. What if no one is ever really alone? What if every single living being has a companion, a silent passenger, a shadow? What if the prickle on the back of your neck, is the breath of something close behind you?"

Clara sighed and for the first time gave him a look of pity which made him flinch. She didn't believe him.

-"How long have you been travelling alone?" Her tone was soft and soothing; much like one someone took with a child throwing a tantrum.

-"Perhaps I never have." He replied thoughtfully, ignoring the twinge of regret he felt at the fact that Clara was just not opening her mind up to his idea.

Clara gave him a mixed emotions look, one that said he had finally totally lost it. The poor old man would need to be committed and another of fear … She was actually scared. But the question was it fear for him or herself?

The Doctor grabbed Clara's hand and pulled her up the stairs, fully intending to prove her wrong. He pulled her to where he had left the chalkboard with the words he hadn't written. With anticipation he stopped and dropped her hand as he extended it towards the chalkboard at the words Listen and Bad wolf. With apprehension he held his breath, waiting for Clara's gasp of surprise and her full apology, but to the Doctor's dismay she merely shrugged.

-"Look, I did not write that." He encouraged.

Clara stepped closer to the blackboard and leaned in.

-"It looks like your handwriting." She replied casually.

-"Well, I couldn't have written it and forgotten, could I?" The Doctor snapped, feeling his anger rise at how quick Clara was to dismiss his evidence.

Clara lips quirked into a tiny smile at his outrage.

-"Have you met you?" She joked, trying to lighten the mood. Turning away from the chalkboard she glanced behind the Doctor to his work table. "What's all this?"

His table was still covered with all the books and journals he had found for his research, but seeing Clara's skepticism he wondered if he really should tell her what he was thinking. If she thought he was mad for suggesting the writing wasn't his, what would she think when he told her that he knew Rose, a former companion of his had written those words.

-"Research." He quickly walked towards the stairs and back down to the TARDIS controls. Unfortunately Clara was hot on his heels.

-"Okay, I will bite, research for what?"

The Doctor stopped at the console and immediately started to press some buttons. He glanced at the monitor but quickly looked back down when Clara stopped next to him.

-"It's just you know research for stuff, it's not important." He tapped on a few random buttons. "Hey, how about we go to the planet Alias, where we all have to wear masks and guess who is under them?"

-"Doctor." Clara started, her tone held an edge of warning. "You told me you had something to show me, and now you are skirting around the topic, what is going on?"

The Doctor shrugged and dared a glimpse at Clara, but as he did so, out of the corner of his eye he saw it. No, not it, her. He saw Rose. Remaining very still he, kept his eyes forward but watched her with his peripheral vision. He knew right away it was her. There was no mistaking the sandy blonde hair and her big brown eyes. She looked so sad, the Doctor thought.

-"Doctor?!" Clara snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, trying to get his attention. "What is going on?"

Blinking several times, the Doctor focused on Clara for a moment but quickly whipped around to where he had seen Rose, but nothing was there. Not willing to accept what he had seen was a figment of his imagination; he rushed to the corner where Rose had just stood, with her pleading eyes.

-"Where did she go?" He spun around; looking high and low for any sort of evidence Rose had been here.

-"Who?"

-"She was right here, you saw her right? Tell me you saw something in the corner of your eye." The Doctor rushed back to Clara and gripped each of her shoulders. "There was a girl, right over there. I know you must have seen something!" He yelled, starting to feel desperate.

-"Doctor, there is no one else in the TARDIS." Clara said gently. She scanned his face. "You look tired. When is the last time you actually slept?"

The Doctor shook his head as his grip got tighter on Clara's arms. His fingers dug into her skin.

-"I don't need sleep." He snapped but after seeing Clara's flinched at his grasp he let go and let his arms sag to his sides.

Maybe he did need some rest.

He knew he was being ridiculous. This was insane. Rose was not here, he had left her in the alternate universe, and there was no possible way she could come back. Those doors were closed forever; he had made sure of it. So if he wasn't seeing Rose, what was happening to him? The Doctor dared to look down at Clara. Her worried frown said everything he was afraid of. She was frightened.

-"Please, you need to tell me what is going on?" She pleaded.

The Doctor lowered his head forward in defeat. Clara was here to help, she was his friend, and he could trust her, couldn't he? Licking his suddenly dry lips he swallowed thickly.

-"Dreams." His voice was ragged, as if he had been shouting for hours. "I have been having this dream ... They are different … but always the same." He paused for a moment as he tried to gather his thoughts. "I think those dreams are bleeding into my reality."

-"You are having hallucinations?" Clara asked a bit surprised.

-"No, of course not." He snapped and walked away from Clara, suddenly needed space. As casually as he could muster, he strolled to the other side of the TARDIS console. "I just see things ... sometimes out of the corner of my eye."

-"What sort of things?" Clara followed, not willing to let this go.

-"I don't know. Things!" He roared but at Clara's raised eyebrow he knew he couldn't fool her. "It's just a woman, I see a woman, alright?"

-"A woman?" Clara's asked, her tone to the Doctor's surprise sounded almost bitter. "What woman?"

-"It's really no big deal." He dismissed, not willing to discuss this anymore. "I am sure I just need a goodnights sleep." The Doctor pulled a lever on the TARDIS and then marched towards the hallway with a determine look on his face. "I am going to go sleep, right now."

Not giving Clara time to respond he scampered off with speed before she could grill him anymore.

oOo

The Doctor rushed to his room. Wasting no time he stomped to his bed and let himself fall on the soft mattress. As soon as his body hit the soft duvet a small sigh of pleasure escaped his lips. He wasn't one to lounge in bed or even enjoy the act of sleeping. It was a waste of time if you asked him. It was time he could be exploring the universe and having adventures, but even he, a great Time Lord needed to recharge every now and then, and right now he really did need sleep.

-"Okay, let's do this." He growled out with determination. He would not let his dreams control him any longer.

The Doctor shut his eyes and seconds later he slipped into a deep sleep.

oOo

The Doctor stood by the TARDIS, glad that he had fixed things in what they had properly named Pete's world. The Cybermen threat had been stopped and with a little help from the small group of people who had made this all possible, this world would have a wonderful and bright future, even if it was a bit of an odd alternative universe.

To make things even better Rose had been able to see her father once again and under much better circumstances then the first time. Pete had not reacted to well to the news that she had a daughter and unfortunately he had not given Rose what she sought, but the Doctor knew that Rose would be alright.

So considering everything, the Doctor was rather pleased with how things had turned out in the end.

-"Off we go, then." The Doctor called cheerfully.

-"Er, thing is, I'm staying." Mickey suddenly said, his voice wavering slightly.

The Doctor stared at Mickey shocked.

-"You're doing what?" He asked, astonished that he had not seen this coming.

-"You can't." Rose piped in seeming just as bewildered as the Doctor was feeling.

-"It sort of balances out, because this world lost it's Ricky, but there's me." Mickey hesitated for a moment but as he kept talking his tone grew more confident. "And there's work to be done with all those Cybermen still out there."

-"But you can't stay." Fresh tears appeared in Rose's eyes.

The Doctor did his best to remain still, to stay out of this moment. He could comfort Rose later, but for right now they both had things that needed to be said, and the Doctor knew this. He knew that Mickey's mind was already made up, he was going to stay here whether he or Rose liked it or not.

-"Rose, my gran's here. She's still alive." Mickey voice shook as he tried to hold bad his own tears. My old gran, remember her?"

-"Yeah." Rose replied shortly, trying to keep herself together.

-"She needs me." He quickly added, trying to hold back his own sorrow.

-"What about me? What if I need you?"

-"Yeah, but Rose, you don't." Mickey looked away from Rose and turned his somber eyes to the Doctor. "It's just you and him, isn't it?" Suddenly feeling uncomfortable the Doctor looked away. "We had something a long time ago, but not anymore." Mickey finished as he turned back to Rose.

-"Well, we'll come back. We can travel anywhere. Come and see you, yeah?" Rose gave the two men a forced smile.

The Doctor hated to be the one to burst her bubble.

-"We can't. I told you, travel between parallel worlds is impossible. We only got here by accident. We fell through a crack in time." He paused for a moment but seeing the sadness in Rose's face didn't make it any easier. "When we leave, I've got to close it. We can't ever return."

Mickey seemed to absorb this information and with a deep breath he gave the Doctor a nod.

-"Doctor." He extended his hand out.

The Doctor gave it a firm shake, suddenly feeling quite proud of whom Mickey was turning out to be. He was not just a simpleton running after a girl's attention anymore. He was a true hero.

-"Take Rose's phone. It's got the code. Get it out there. Stop those factories." He paused and gave Mickey a grin. "And good luck, Mickey the idiot."

Mickey chuckled at the nickname that did not fit him anymore.

-"Watch it."

The Doctor left Rose to say her goodbye and headed back in the TARDIS, preparing the time machine for its flight back to his own universe and to close the crack they had originally fallen through. This was too dangerous; no one could be allowed to stumble onto it. There was no telling what sort of damage could be done if someone else got access to Pete's world.

Once Rose was safely back inside and the TARDIS had returned them to their own universe, he set to work on closing the small gap they had fallen through.

-"I'm sorry about Mickey." The Doctor quickly said, while he pressed a couple of buttons, repairing the tear in space.

Rose sniffled but her eyes were dry and she seemed a bit more in control of her emotions.

-"It's okay." She slowly strolled over to the TARDIS console. "Mickey always regretted not being there for his gran, now he has a chance to fix that." The Doctor nodded. Not many people got second chances like that. Mickey was a smart man for taking his. "Anyway, Mickey was right." She quickly added, stopping next to the Doctor.

-"About what?" He asked, turning towards Rose.

Very slowly as if afraid to spook him, she reached out and grabbed his hand.

-"Mickey and I haven't had anything in a long time ..." She paused and lowered her eyes, suddenly appearing bashful. "Since that day I met you, it's just been you."

The Doctor swallowed thickly, totally caught off-guard. He knew how Rose felt, he felt the same way. But he couldn't just tell her ... it wasn't that simple. Embarrassed, the Doctor looked away, but as he turned his head away he caught a strange glimpse in the monitor. The Doctor whipped back towards the dark monitor and to his complete and utter shock he was ... old!

He bent down and leaned in closer to the screen. He squinted his eyes and stared at this strange new reflection. His hands moved to his face and he felt the skin around his cheeks and chin, stretching the area around his eyes. Why did he have such dramatic eyebrows? As he felt his face around like a blind man, a tiny voice in his head told him that this was him, a new him.

-"Doctor?" Rose asked, crouching down to look at him. "Are you alright?"

-"I'm old!" He gasped, still in shock.

Rose reached out and with a gentle touch she smoothed the strong creases in his brow.

-"You look the same to me. My Doctor." Her voice was so soft he had barely heard her.

The Doctor kept his gaze on his reflection as a slow recognition came from deep inside him. He knew this was a dream.

-"I'm ... dreaming ... this is a dream." He found himself repeating out loud.

Rose let out a small musical laugh.

-"Of course it's a dream. What else would this be?"

The Doctor stood up and Rose followed suit.

-"I am just remembering ... but why?"

With a giant smile Rose set her hand on his arm.

-"I don't know, you will have to ask yourself that." Her perfect smile held a hint of mystery as she started to walk away. Her fingers lazily drifted the length of his arm until she was out of reach.

The Doctor whirled around and kept his steel gaze on her. There was something odd about all this. He had millions of dreams before, but none that felt like this and this, felt ... off.

-"I don't understand." He finally said.

-"That's okay, you will eventually, Doctor. You always figure it out in the end." Rose stood on the other side of the console, except she looked different. She seemed older somehow, wearier.

-"Are you the one who wrote on the chalkboard?" He asked, cautiously approaching her.

Rose let out a heavy sigh as her head lowered, but she didn't reply. The Doctor kept his slow approach until he was only inches from her. He stared down at her blonde head and felt a twinge pull at his hearts. For so many years he had longed to be face to face with Rose again and now here she was, sort of. He had avoided her memory like the plague so why was she here now? The Doctor found himself lifting his arm and very gently set his fingers under her chin.

Her skin was cool and soft. Carefully he tilted her head up, forcing her to look at him.

-"Rose, why are you here?"

-"Because you need me, Doctor."

Frowning, the Doctor wanted to ask what exactly that meant but Rose spoke again.

-"Doctor?" She called his name. Confused he wanted to reply but Rose quickly set both her hands firmly on his arm and started to shake him. "Doctor?" She called again, this time more urgently.

oOo

-"Doctor wake up"! Clara shook him a bit more violently. He let out an annoyed moan and tried to roll over. "Oh no you don't!" She angrily grabbed his arm and gave him a good shake. "Doctor wake up!"

-"Rose?" He asked groggily as his eyes popped open.

-"No, Doctor, its Clara." Her face was creased with worry but her eyes were blazing with anger. Still in a daze the Doctor wondered how she did that, two emotions at once. Clara lowered her head a bit more, this time she gave him a proper scolding gaze. "Doctor, we need to talk, who is Rose?"

A/N:

Quick note. Before I thought of this story, I was playing around, making a video of the 12th Doctor remembering/seeing Rose, which is what gave me the idea to write this fiction. The video is now done and uploaded to YouTube. The link is in my profile is you wish to take a look. Thanks for following/favorite :)