A/N So! Here we are – chapter one! I thought I'd put this up tonight and dedicate it to all the Who fan (myself included!) who are having to suffer the Eurovision instead of getting to see 42!!! ARGH!!!

Thank you to everyone who read, and especially to those who reviewed – reviews make me soooo happy! You guys rock! Have a virtual chocolate biccie from me!

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who (sigh). I only write for fun and don't profit from my work!

Explanatory note: I feel slightly compelled to explain a little something…I have made our poor Doctor travel around on his own for almost ten years between leaving Donna and meeting Martha. (Who will be appearing in the next chapter!) This is just a little plot device of mine to increase the impact of the Doctors feelings for Rose, and eventually to help Rose overcome her insecurities about being 'forgotten'. OK…that was pretty pointless but I feel better now!

1 – A Normal life

7.00 – the tinny beep of the alarm clock sounded, but Rose was already awake. Some days she didn't want to wake up from her dreams…dreams about good times with the Doctor and dreams of the future she never got to have with him. Other nights she would fall into a fitful sleep filled with nightmares, of past horrors and imagined ones. For the first year she slept only when absolutely necessary and spent her nights studying. One of the lessons she had learned from her Doctor was that she was actually worth something – she wasn't useless and destined for a dead end in life as she once thought. She worked hard and got her A-levels by night, and by day she worked at Torchwood. Now, she would just sit up and think about him, and record her memories. She had kept a diary aboard the TARDIS with her photographs and all her precious memories recorded, but now that was in the other world with the Doctor and she was determined to make sure she wrote everything down, absolutely everything, so that she would never forget…never ever.

Rose sighed, running her fingers through her tangled hair. She got up from the bottom of her bed where she had been sitting, writing her memoirs and started to get ready for work.

Fifteen minutes later she arrived downstairs in the huge mansion kitchen, where she found Pete (she still couldn't bring herself to call him Dad) already eating his breakfast and throwing a ball for her parallel world counterpart – Rose the dog.

"Morning…" She said, unenthusiastically.

"Morning Rose – you look wrecked." Pete said through a mouthful of cornflakes.

"Nothing new there I'm afraid." She smiled vaguely and went to fridge to get some juice. "Where's mum and Matthew?"

"Still sleeping…."

"Small miracle that is…" Rose smiled a little and she sat down at the table opposite Pete and stared at her orange juice.

"Mmmm…" Pete said. He never really knew what to say to Rose when she was like this. She'd been thinking about him again.

She talked in her sleep. Jackie said she always had since she was a little girl. On a good night they may not hear her at all or they would hear her murmur and chuckle from past happiness. But on a night like last night…she would go to bed and they would all sleep. Then, in the early hours of the morning they would hear her. She would sound like she was in pain. She would call his name and tell him that she loved him and then her light would click on and she wouldn't sleep again for a few days. Jackie was worried out of her mind, but nothing she said or did seemed to help her daughter.

Rose sighed and looked out the window. She looked at the clear blue sky – another day. She used to love looking at the sky, especially at night, but she couldn't anymore. Every time she looked at the stars she would wonder where he was, and what adventures he was having without her.

"Rose? Rose? Are you ready?"

"Wha'?" Pete was tapping her gently on the shoulder. "Oh, sorry." She shook herself.

"We're going to be late for work. You really should take something you know – to help you sleep. You're going to drive yourself into an early grave at this rate."

Rose sighed and grabbed her jacket before following him out the door. It was just another day at the Tyler mansion, and another day at Torchwood.

After the final defeat of the Cybermen, Pete had been offered a high managerial position in Torchwood and he used his influence to get Rose into a good position once she was ready to go back to work. Her extensive experience and knowledge of aliens had proved to be very useful to the facility, and it was going from strength to strength. The other members of staff were initially taken aback by the appearance of this 'lost daughter' that none of them had ever heard of, and most were cold towards her, assuming she was only given a high position because her Dad was such an important man. That was the way Rose liked it – it meant that she didn't have to waste her energy on trying to be sociable for the first few months. She had been in such a fragile state when she started work that if anyone had so much as mentioned a place or a species that she and the Doctor had had encountered, her eyes would fill up and she would have to excuse herself from the meeting.

As time went on Rose began to shut these emotions down. She tried to compartmentise them and only let them out when she was alone. Now, two years down the line she was quite respected by her co-workers and had a good working relationship with them, although she had a feeling that most of them still thought she was strange. That was the way she liked it.

"Morning Mr Tyler, Miss Tyler." The greetings followed them as they walked through Torchwood on their way to their respective offices.

"Rose! Rose!"

"Hi Mickey." Rose smiled as Mickey Smith came skidding down the hall towards them. Then her face fell – he looked far too serious. "What's wrong?" she moved forwards.

"Can I have a word – in private?" he glanced at Pete who nodded and moved away.

Mickey led her into the nearest empty office and paced around the desk.

"Mickey – what is it? Spit it out!" Rose couldn't help smile a little. Then her face fell at the look on Mickey's face.

"You haven't been honest with me…."

Duh duh duh!!

Press the little button – go on! You know you want to! ;)

I'll hopefully be updating on Wednesday. I've completed the fic now so I'll put it up quite quickly.