If you've ever followed any of my other stories, you know that I am notorious for starting out strong and then losing the plot. I'm determined that this will not happen here. Because unlike my other works, I actually have an ending in mind. So you might get multiple chapters in one day!

I don't own Doctor Who.

CHAPTER 2

Rose ran. She wasn't proud of it, but she did what she had to do. Her husband, the Doctor, the Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm, was dying. Was he currently being upgraded into a Cyberman? No. Was he exterminated by a Dalek? No. Was he struck down in battle against an invading Sontaran army? No. It was cancer. Bloody cancer! It was an enemy that not even the Doctor could defeat. It was so unfair! So she ran. She was so ashamed of her cowardice, but it was like she was driven by an unseen force. That night, after she was sure that her husband was asleep, she snuck out of the house, climbed into the TARDIS and punched in the dematerialization sequence as he'd taught her. Once she was in the safety of the time vortex, she cried like she had never cried before. The Baby Girl, as they called their magnificent young time ship, slowly rocked her in sympathy.

She had only meant to be gone for a few hours and be back at his side in the morning, but so great was her compulsion to run, that she lost complete track of the passage of time. Hours turned into days. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Months turned into years. Before she knew it, centuries had blazed by. Still, she kept running. She wasn't completely alone, however. She picked up companions of her own along the way, and together, they saved the universe multiple times. But, one by one, each of these companions left her, or they were lost to the ravages of time. Finally, she realized that the time had come for her to stop running. So she landed the Baby Girl softly in the back yard of the house she had shared with the Doctor, barely minutes after she had left, cursing herself for what she had done, and praying that he'd never know of her cowardice and betrayal. Quietly, she slipped under the covers next to him and cried herself to sleep.

The Doctor, however, was awake. Through his bond with the TARDIS and with his wife, he was aware of what had just transpired. Realizing that she had been gone for who knows how long and that she was most likely alone during that time, he made a second vow. He'd never speak of this to her. He also doubled his resolve to return her to his fully Time Lord self as soon as possible. Taking her protectively in his arms, he too cried himself to sleep.

Clara Oswald sat cross-legged on the floor of the TARDIS, watching the Doctor work, his thick brows furrowed in concentration. He was tinkering, as was usual. It seemed that the Old Girl was always in need of repairs. Or, she mused, it was a kind of therapy for the old Time Lord. She envied him this. She knew she was in desperate need of therapy herself.

Recent events had taken a heavy toll on the young woman, and it showed. Where once she would smile and chatter away for hours about anything and everything as the brooding Time Lord worked in silence, now she found herself as silent and brooding as the old man. If he'd noticed this change in her, he wisely made no comment to this effect as he only understood too well what had brought about the change in her. Sorrow. Immense sorrow and heart break over forever losing someone you love. Clara's list of losses was short but weighed heavily on her soul: Danny Pink. The Doctor's list was endless: so many people that he had cared for and lost. But at the top of his list was one name, one name so precious to him that he couldn't even bring himself to utter her name aloud: Rose Tyler.

Suddenly, the TARDIS began to rattle and shake and buck about like she hadn't done since they went to Trenzalore while he was still his Eleventh self. Sparks flew from the console. Wherever they were going, she absolutely did not like it!

"Doctor!" Clara cried. "What's happening?"

"I don't know! It's like something's got hold of her! I can't get her under control! Grab hold of something! This is going to be a bumpy ride!"

"Going to be?!" Clara yelled, with more than just a trace of sarcasm.

They bucked about some more before landing extremely hard and with a loud CRASH! The lights of the console flickered once and then blinked out completely. In the pitch darkness that followed, a faint, glowing green light emitting from under the console was all that remained of the TARDIS' s power. The Doctor swallowed. He had seen this happen only once before. He hoped his instincts were wrong. After checking on Clara and ensuring that she was alright, he bravely opened the TARDIS door and beheld... zeppelins. Bloody zeppelins. His instinct was proven to be correct. He was once again in the universe that he had once dubbed "Pete's World". Whether or not the aforementioned Pete was here, he really didn't care. There was only one person here that he ever hoped, and yet dreaded to see: Rose.

As the two citizens of the Prime Universe stood squinting in the sun, that was when he saw her, walking over the hill, hand in hand with what appeared to be an old man. She stopped when she saw the TARDIS. Then she locked eyes with the Doctor.

It was him. It was bloody him! He had regenerated, that much was obvious, but one look into his eyes, and there was no doubt. It was him. Why him?! Why now?! Without moving her head, she glanced over at her husband. Did he have something to do with this? He turned his head to face her, apology in his eyes. Yes, he did, the bloody git.

The fully Time Lord Doctor took note of this exchange and his eyes widened in shock. That was no old man! That was (he gulped) him! The other him! His meta crisis self who got to have the forever with his Rose! But, he looked so... So, old! Granted, he was a fine one to talk. But what happened to him? And Rose- beautiful, brilliant, perfect Rose: she didn't look like she'd aged a day. Something was definitely wrong here.

Clara watched the exchange between the couple that had just arrived, and then watched her Doctor's face: he knew them! And from the look on his face, he was not pleased to seem them, either. Still, they seemed harmless enough.

"Doctor? When and where are we?" She queried. "And who are they?" She continued, pointing to the human Doctor and Rose.

Her Doctor cleared his throat. "Clara Oswald, may I introduce you to..." here his voice trailed off, as if he was unsure of what to say.

Rose spoke up first, offering her hand to Clara. "I'm Rose Tyler. And this is my husband... also known as the Doctor."

Clara gasped and looked at her Doctor. "It's true, Clara. He's me. Or he was me at one time. It's a very long story. We have crashed into an alternate universe, which is why the TARDIS is not functioning. What I don't know, is how we ended up here."

"Oh! Sorry! That was me!" The human Doctor called out, manic grin plastered on his face, his hand extended in a wave. "I might have created a homing device that locked onto your TARDIS in order to bring you here."

Rose just glared at her husband. What was he thinking?!

But the look the Time Lord gave him was much worse. "You did what?! Why would you do that?!"

"I'm dying," he blurted out. "I need you to take care of Rose."