Chapter 3 ~*~ Passing Time
Mickey was not sure he could do this. It had been decided that he'd be the best person to inform Sherlock about the accident. The fact that they insisted on calling it that made his blood boil. It had been sabotage, plain and simple and now his best friend was... He couldn't even finish the thought. Pete was in hospital, comatose, and the doctors weren't sure if he'd ever wake up. Jackie was beyond herself with grief. He squeezed his hands into fists and took a deep breath. He'd decided he could not do this alone, so he had looked up an address in their files. Finally he lifted his hand and knocked on the front door. It took a minute then Mickey heard movement behind the door. John opened the door and he had a bright smile and was about to open his mouth in welcome when he took in the look on Mickeys face.
"What happened? Is it Sherlock and Rose?" John demanded and Mickey took another deep breath.
"Sherlock is fine, but there was an explosion at Torchwood. Rose is..." He trailed off and tears prickled his eyes. "Rose is..." He still couldn't say it and all the color in his face drained as they stood there in silence.
"John what's going on?" Mary asked when she came up to the door. Rosie tucked into her arms.
"Rose is dead," John said dully finishing the sentence that Mickey was unable to.
"No!" Mary denied looking to Mickey, but she could see in his eyes it was true. Mickey closed his eyes hard and cleared his throat.
"I'm supposed to tell Sherlock," he said and he unclenched his fists. "I can't do it alone," he said with a pleading look in his eyes.
"It's okay Mickey," Mary said reaching out and taking his hand. "It's..." she trailed off as a few tears fell down her face. She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "Let me call our sitter, she lives just down the street. We'll go with you. You don't have to do this alone."
~*~Sherlock~*~
Thirty minutes later they were all in Johns' car heading towards 221 B Baker Street. Mickey was sitting in the back seat, his face blank. John wasn't sure how they were going to do this. He was worried about Sherlock. This was going to crush him and he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to come back from it. He looked back at Mickey again and had to ask.
"Was there, was it an accident?" John asked and Mickey looked a bit surprised, like he'd forgotten there were people with him.
"No," Mickey said flatly, "There was a bomb of some kind. Rose's dad, Pete, he's in hospital, in a coma. Rose was the only one in the lab when it... when it exploded." Mary gave a little sob and John put his hand on her leg. They both knew that this was going to be a hundred times harder for Sherlock and they had to be there for him. They all fell silent again as they nears Sherlocks' flat. John parked in a 'no parking' spot, but he didn't really care. They all climbed out and looked up at the flat.
"He's..." John started and Mary took his hand. "He's not going to handle this well." John said and Mickey nodded his head. They all walked in, John using his key. John was glad when Mrs. Hudson didn't open her door, hopefully she was out. He stopped at the top of the stairs and took a deep breath before unlocking the door. He stepped in followed by Mary and Mickey. He could hear Sherlock in the kitchen.
"Rose, you're home early-" he stopped when he rounded the corner and saw them all standing there. "Rose isn't due home for an hour, so if you're hoping to drag her out to dinner you're going to have to wait." He told them, and then he took a slightly closer look at their faces. "Why is Mary crying?"
"Sherlock, somethings happened," John said and Sherlocks' head flicked to John.
"There was a..." Mickey trailed off when Sherlock turned his attention to him. "Something happened at Torchwood and..." He trailed off again, something about the look on Sherlock's face made him pause. "There was a bomb and..." He trailed off again and Sherlocks face contorted in anger.
"Just say it Mickey!" Sherlock yelled and Mickey and Mary flinched.
"Rose is dead," he said finally and watched as Sherlocks' face fell. His whole demeanor changed suddenly he was no longer intimidating or scary. Sherlock looked to John and Mary and shook his head taking a step back. His face shifted through a few emotions then he looked at Mickey.
"How do you know?" he said after a moment and Mickey was taking back.
"What?" He asked and John took a deep breath.
"How do you know Rose is...?" he trailed off and Mickey was still a little lost. Sherlock turned and began to pace the living room "Is there a body, there must be something that leads you to believe Rose is... How do you know?" He seemed unable to say the words either.
"She was in the lab when it exploded," Mickey said and Sherlock turned slowly towards him, his head cocked to the side.
"Which lab?" he asked and John was confused. He'd been expecting anger, maybe even screaming and violence, but this, this pre-Rose detached Sherlock was, wrong.
"The..." Mickey looked to his side at Mary and John then shook his head, he didn't really care about top secret at the moment. "The Time Hoppers Lab," he finally said and Sherlock nodded his head. "There is no body, there was nothing left." Mickey said and Sherlock raised an eyebrow. "The only think they could dig out of the rubble was this." Mickey said reaching into his pocket and pulling out something. All John could see was that it was a tangled mess of what looked to be some kind of chain.
"It's made from iridium, its melting point is 4449 degrees," Sherlock said as he held out his hand for it. Mickey held it out to him and Sherlock took it from his hand. The chain seemed to be stuck together, but it was not melted. When Sherlock looked at it he could see it was stuck together because the emerald had melted around it.
"Sherlock, what-"
"How long did the fire burn?" Sherlock asked and now he almost seemed to be excited about something. "A minute, maybe two?" He asked looking down at what had once been Rose's necklace. "Rose told me all about the safety protocols they have there." He said now looking skeptical. "And you really think her body was destroyed in one minute?"
"The explosion-
"Couldn't have destroyed her whole body, if it was that strong it would have taken out the whole floor, not just that lab," Sherlock said cutting him off and John was standing there in shock. Why did any of this matter? Rose was dead, if she was in the room when the bomb went off, why did it matter how much of her body they found.
"Sherlock, the techs combed the area, they're pretty sure they found pieces for all the Time Hoppers, she didn't-"
"Pretty sure?" Sherlock said with a bitter laugh. "And you're just going to assume she'd dead on 'pretty sure?'" Sherlock closed his fist around the necklace and shook his head as he stuffed it in his pocket. "Of course you would just assume she's dead. Slow little minds." He mocked at Mickey with a scowl.
"Sherlock-"
"Get out," Sherlock said turning away from all of them as he cut John off. "I need to go to my Mind Palace."
"Sherlock really-"
"I said GET OUT!" He yelled cutting off John again and pointing at the door. John took Mary's hand and tugged her towards the door.
"Come on Mickey," John said touching Mickeys' arm. Mickey jumped a little and when he turned to look at John he had a very odd look on his face. They all walked out and John closed the door behind him but he didn't go any farther.
"I'm going to stay here tonight," John said looking back at the door still a bit confused, hurting because he'd just lost a very good friend and his best friend had just lost the most important person in his life. "He might need me later. Are you going to be okay?"
"I'll be fine," she said nodding her head. "I'll get Rosie and-" She stopped and closed her eyes for a long moment taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Poor Sherlock," she said and John pulled her into a hug. Mickey just stood there and watched as everything Sherlock had said poured over him. They had all just assumed Rose was dead, was it possible, could there really be any kind of a chance?
"Mickey, I'll give you a ride home," Mary said pulling him from his thoughts.
"Thanks," Mickey said vaguely with a nod of his head.
~*~Doubt~*~
Sherlock had been pacing the living room since John and Mary left to go to Rose's funeral. He knew she wasn't dead, she must have used a Time Hopper and hopped forward, he just had to wait. He was so sure she was fine. Pete was still in a coma, so he couldn't talk to him, but he knew Pete would have important information. He knew Rose had had a Time Hopper on, there was no other reason she would have taken off her necklace, it was the only time she did.
He looked up when there was a knock on his door. He didn't want to deal with John and his infuriating sympathy right now. But he also knew ignoring him would do no good seeing as he had a key. Maybe he should have the locks changed?
"Mr. Holmes?" The voice was feminine and it took him a moment to place it. He walked over to the door and opened it. Jackie Tyler, Rose's mum, was standing on the other side of the door.
"If you've come demanding to know why I wasn't at Rose's-"
"I don't think she's dead either," Jackie said cutting him off and his eyes went wide. "Everyone said I needed to have a funeral, to begin the grieving process, but my daughter is not dead," Jackie said harshly and Sherlock moved back from the door and she stepped into the flat. It was the first time she'd been here. Rose kept saying how she'd like to have her over for tea, but she'd never invited her.
"Would you like some tea?" Sherlock asked, he remembered Rose once said tea was her mother's answer to all of life's problems.
"I'd like that, thank you Mr. Holmes." Jackie said nodding her head.
"Please, call me Sherlock; when I hear 'Mr. Holmes' I look around for my insufferable brother." Sherlock said and Jackie smiled as they walked towards the kitchen.
Once the tea was made and Sherlock had dug out some biscuits that Rose favored they sat down at the table. Sherlock had gotten out the cream and sugar, in case Jackie took tea like her daughter. She fixed her tea quietly and then they just sat there for a few minutes in silence. He knew, being a mother, Jackie would want to deny the fact that her daughter was dead, all mothers would. So he wondered if she had another reason, or just didn't want to believe her daughter was dead.
"Why do you think Rose is alive?" He asked, keeping his voice even, knowing he could be harsh when he was looking for answers and he didn't want to alienate the one person who might be thinking along the same lines as him.
"After the explosion they took Pete to the Torchwood hospital, and when I got there the doctor told me he was in and out of consciousness, but he wasn't speaking. When I got to his room and he saw me he tried to speak, before he lost consciousness and fell into the coma he said 'Time' twice. I could tell by his tone it was important to him. The doctors were sure it was just babble. But they don't know about the Time Hoppers. I'm not even supposed to know, but when Rose got picked to start testing it Pete felt like he needed to tell me."
"And you're assuming he was trying to tell you she had a Time Hopper on?" Sherlock asked, before he stood and walked over to the mantel. He picked something up and walked back over to the table.
"Yes, that's what I think." Jackie said nodding her head. He set the bundle of a chain down on the table and sat back down.
"This is Rose's necklace; I got it for her for Christmas." Sherlock told her and Jackie nodded with a small smile at him.
"She loved that necklace; she's going to be well gutted when she sees the state it's in." Jackie said and Sherlock took a deep breath and nodded. It was so nice to hear someone other than him speak about Rose in the present tense.
"I'll replace it, when she gets back." Sherlock said and Jackie smiled at him. "But look, if you look closely you can see the clasp was undone when the emerald melted. The clasp is totally intact. Which means Rose had taken it off, the only time she ever takes it off is right before a Time Hop."
"So you really believe it too," Jackie said nodding her head with tears in her eyes. "It's not just denial; you really believe she's coming back."
"I do, yes," Sherlock said nodding his head.
"Did Rose ever tell you I thought she was dead for a whole year?" Jackie asked and Sherlock nodded his head. He knew that story well and it made him angry at the Doctor, how could he be so irresponsible with someone else's life like that? "I thought Mickey might have killed her." Sherlock scoffed and Jackie nodded her head and chuckled. "Yeah looking back it was pretty ridiculous. She was just off traveling with him." Jackie sobered and reached across the table and put her hand over Sherlocks. Sherlock looked down at her hand but didn't remove his. He looked up when she started to talk again. "I gave up on her back then, but she came back to me and she'll come back to us now, I believe in her." He turned his hand over and squeezed her hand once.
"As do I," he told her and she smiled, even though she had tears in her eyes.
~*~Helping~*~
The first week after Rose's funeral Molly showed up with a hand that needed some tests done, they were looking for a specific poison that dissipated quickly, and she was hoping he could find traces of it in the fingernails. She smiled at him, though it didn't reach her eyes, but she didn't tell him she was sorry for his loss, warned off by John he was sure. Everyone was being very careful with him these days. It was starting to irritate him; they were treating him like a bit of a moron.
"So, do you think you can find it?" Molly asked after she'd explained everything to him.
"Should be easy," he said putting the hand in the freezer. "I'll let you know by tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest."
"That would be great, thank you." Molly said nodding her head. She wanted to ask him how he was doing; she wanted to be sure he was okay. He looked okay, he didn't look sad or drawn in, he certainly didn't look like he was doing drugs again, which she knew was something John was afraid of.
"I'm fine Molly," Sherlock said after watching the thoughts swim through her head. "And when Rose comes back you can all get back to your normal lives."
Three weeks after Rose's 'death' Lestrade showed up with a mind boggling case that involved a prized poodle and a pirate. That had kept him busy for almost a whole week. He'd gone to call Rose twice throughout it and his fingers twitched to take her hand when he'd been chasing down the pirate. After he solved the case Lestrade had another case, and Sherlock knew what he was doing.
A month after her 'death' Mycroft showed up. Sherlock was surprised it had taken him so long to show up. But then he knew Mycroft could see him just about any time he wanted walking through the streets of London.
"Mycroft, what are you doing here?" Sherlock asked putting down his violin to stare at his brother. Mycroft for his part didn't have the same perpetually sad eyes that everyone else seemed to walk around with these days. The only other person who didn't was Jackie. He'd found himself seeking out her company twice now since her original visit. He'd gone so far as to go to the hospital where Pete was to check on him. Though Jackie seemed to know it was in part because he wanted Pete to wake up and tell them where Rose was.
"Just wanted to see how you're doing," Mycroft said as he walked in and sat in John's chair.
"Why don't you just ask that dolt you've been having follow me?" Sherlock asked, though he didn't sneer as much as he normally would have.
"Well, good help is hard to find," Mycroft said with a sigh. He leaned forward a little and Sherlock could feel his eyes searching his face. "You really believe she's alive don't you?"
"What do you care?" Sherlock asked walking over to his laptop and opening it. "You don't even like Rose."
"On the contrary little brother, I've grown...fond of Ms. Tyler." Mycroft said with a small smile. Sherlock smirked and shrugged his shoulders.
"Yes, I really do believe it." Sherlock finally said and Mycroft nodded his head. He wasn't sure if Sherlock was living in some state of denial or if he had information Mycroft did not. Either way he could see his brother was not spiraling out of control as he'd feared he would when he'd heard about Ms. Tyler death. Mycroft sat there with him for a few minutes before bidding him farewell and leaving.
Mrs. Hudson came by with food far more often then she used too. She commented on the fact that he seemed to be keeping the flat in pretty good order, though she left off the 'now that Rose is gone' part of the comment, even though Sherlock heard it in his head. It had been two months now since Rose had disappeared and part of him was starting to lose hope. Would she really have gone so far forward? What if she'd gone backwards and her Time Hopper got broken? What if she was stuck back there? Would she have left him some kind of note or a postdated letter if that was the case? He'd spent two days searching all the places they'd been together with no luck. He decided she must have gone forward in time.
Mary brought Rosie by a few times, always with no agenda, just because she knew, though he never said it, that Rosie brought him some comfort. Rosie didn't look at him like he'd lost his mind because he believed Rose was alive. She simply smiled at him and drooled on his shoulder as he talked to her about whatever case he was working on.
"What's that?" Mary asked as she made tea. There was a long white box sitting on the counter, about the size of a jewelry box. Sherlock looked up from talking to Rosie and tried not to sigh. He knew she was going to give him a pitying look when he told her that he'd had Rose's necklace remade, for when she got back.
"It's for Rose," he said looking back down at Rosie, who was smiling at him and waving a toy in his face. Mary nodded her head and wondered how long Sherlock was going to hold on to this hope that Rose was alive. No one could have survived an explosion the size Mickey had described.
"Okay," she said picking up the tea she'd made them both. She didn't argue with him, or tell him, again, that Rose was dead. She knew it would do no good.
"You're not going to tell me I'm being stubborn?" Sherlock asked finally looking back up. "That Rose is dead and I need to mourn her and move on?"
"No," Mary said handing him his tea and sitting down in Johns chair. Sherlock looked at her skeptically. He knew she didn't suddenly believe him, but he'd take her acceptance of his belief. "What are you working on now?" Mary asked and Sherlock began to tell her about his newest case.
John didn't come by as much as Sherlock had thought he would. The few times John came by he did nothing but talk about whatever case Sherlock was working on. He was careful not to mention Rose, or anything to do with her. So it surprised him when John showed up at about 8pm a few days before the three month mark of Rose's 'death.' He walked in to find Sherlock organizing Rose's bookshelf. She had accumulated many books over the last few months that she read on her down time. He'd read every single one of them since she'd been gone. He was actually looking forward to telling her that he'd finally broken down and read the Harry Potter series, and she'd been right, he'd loved it. Though Rose was the only person he'd ever admit that too.
"John, what are you doing here so late?" Sherlock asked standing up off the floor. The flat was clean; Sherlock was putting a conscious effort into keeping it looking nice. He didn't want Rose to think he was incapable of taking care of himself, even if it was a tiny bit true.
"What are you doing?" John asked as Sherlock walked towards the kitchen. He'd made himself a cup of coffee earlier but forgotten about it. John followed him into the kitchen. He was surprised by how clean the flat looked. It almost worried him that Sherlock was keeping it so clean. He knew Sherlock was still waiting for Rose to come home. Mary had told him to leave him be, but John was starting to worry for Sherlocks' mental health. It couldn't be healthy to be in such a deep state of denial. Sherlock picked up his coffee and took a drink of the cold liquid. He could see the critical look on John's face and raised an eyebrow. He knew what was coming and he was trying not to get angry at the fact that John was so unwilling to listen to Sherlocks' reasoning.
"Well, say what you came to say then John, I have things to work on." Sherlock told him, his voice slightly cold. John took a deep breath and looked around the flat.
"It's been almost three months Sherlock," John started as though Sherlock wasn't aware of how long it had been, right down to the seconds. "Don't you think you should-?"
"What John?" Sherlock demanded as he slammed his cup down on the counter sloshing it all over. He was tired of this speech, tired of defending himself to his friends. "Move on? Pack up her stuff?" He said indicating the living room, which had small touches of Rose everywhere. "Do you understand that if I 'accept' that Rose is gone there will be nowhere to go but down?" He knew that if Rose was gone, if he had to someday accept she wasn't coming back there would be nothing left for him here. Rose had changed him in a very profound way and he could not go back to who he was before her. If she was gone he would sink down into a pit he would not be able to, or willing to, pull himself out of. "I know you all expected me to turn back to drugs when this all happened." He said and John winced slightly at the accusation.
"Sherlock we just-"
"And don't think for a second you've been sneaky with everyone's routine 'drop by's' or the 'just checking in.' Or the fact that Molly has been by once a week since it happened with some body part she needs analyzed or the fact that Lestrade has kept a steady stream of cases coming my way. You're all so transparent." He sneered even though he knew they were only looking out for him. "If I wanted to I would have found a way around all of you to get to what I wanted. But I know, when Rose gets back she'd be disappointed. She'd understand, because that's what she does. But she'd still be disappointed and I will not disappoint her. So you really want me to believe she's not coming back John?! Do you really want me to accept that? Because I promise you, you will not like the results!" He was breathing hard and his eyes looked wild. John had never seen him look so scared in all his time with Sherlock.
"No," John finally said shaking his head. "No I want you to believe it as long as it takes." Whether that was believing it till he was proven right or long enough not to fall apart when she didn't come back, John didn't care. So long as he didn't lose Rose and Sherlock. Sherlock took a deep breath and turned around and pulled a washcloth off the sink to clean up his spilled coffee, and then he put the cup in the sink and sighed.
"Would you like a cup of coffee John?" He asked and John recognized the gesture for what it was and nodded his head. He walked to the fridge for the cream and was unsurprised to find a full bottle of the French vanilla creamer Rose favored on the top shelf. He made himself a cup of coffee then followed Sherlock into the living room. They sat down in their chairs and John took a deep breath.
"Okay, I want to understand Sherlock." John said and Sherlock gave him a puzzled look. "Why do you think Rose is alive, tell me everything." So Sherlock did.
~*~Time~*~
The room sizzled as the air swished around a bit, there was a small 'pop' and Rose was standing in the half cleaned wreckage of the lab she'd just been in. She swore as she looked around. She could tell by the state of the room that this was not the three days she'd been trying to jump, it was much cleaner then it would be in only three days. It had all happened so fast and she knew she was lucky to have escaped at all. She took a deep breath as the slightly dizzy feeling overcame her. She hadn't been able to prepare herself before the jump and her head was swimming a little. When she could she took a tentative step forward and smiled lightly. Well, at least she wasn't going to faint. She took another few steps towards the door before it was flung open and Mickey, eyes wide with shock, was standing there staring at her.
"Rose?" he said and his voice shook just a little. "You're really here," he said and Rose was surprised by his shock. Surely Pete would have told them she'd had a time hopper on, they had to know she'd jumped forward, right?
"Yeah, course I am," she said and then he was running to her and wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Sherlock said but I never quite let myself believe." Mickey said and Rose was confused.
"Sherlock said what?" She asked when he took a step back.
"That you weren't dead," Mickey said and now it was Rose's turn to look shocked. She ran her hands through her hair and took a deep breath.
"You thought I was dead? Why? Didn't Pete tell you I'd had a Time Hopper on? Why would everyone assume I was dead?" Rose asked as worry stared to swirl in her belly.
"Rose, Pete was only a few feet from the doors when that bomb went off. He was in a coma for almost two months," Mickey told her and Rose swore again. "When he woke up he couldn't remember anything about the day of the explosion. His last memories were from having dinner the night before. He's doing fine now, but he still has no memories from that day."
"Oh god Mickey, how's my mum doing? And Sherlock?" She was almost afraid to know what Sherlock was going through.
"Your mum and Sherlock, they never thought you were dead." Mickey said with a small smile on his face. "They've ah, bonded a bit over it actually," Mickey said and Rose laughed trying to picture it.
"How long has it been Mickey?" Rose asked and he shifted from foot to foot. Shit, so a lot longer than three days. Buy the look on his face she'd guess longer than three weeks too. "Mickey?"
"You disappeared three months ago today," he said and Rose took a deep breath then she pushed past him and out the doors. There were a few people who stopped and looked at her, shock written all over their faces.
"Where are you going?" Mickey asked as he followed her out.
"I'm going home Mickey," she said as she sped up a little, pushing past people as they stopped in front of her. "Call my mum, tell her everything, and tell her I'll be there in a little while." She was practically running as she shoved her way towards the stairs. Mickey followed her into the stairwell; she was full out sprinting now, skipping two and three steps at a time. Rose crashed out the doors on the ground floor and more people turned to look at her. She ran past the front desk and skirted security smoothly.
"It's okay," Mickey said as they looked stunned and weren't quite sure what to do, you were supposed to check out through security before you left, but they'd just watched a dead woman run past. He turned to the girl behind the front desk. "I need you to inform the Director that Rose Tyler is alive, I've got to call her mum." He said pulling out his mobile.
Rose stopped running as soon as she reached the street. She took a few deep breaths then hailed the nearest cab. She climbed in and told the driver the address. She couldn't sit still, she was dreading seeing what state Sherlock might be in. Mickey had said he didn't believe she was dead, but he could still be in a very bad place. Oh God what was she going to find at home?
"I'll triple your rate if you get me there in five minutes," Rose told him and the guy smirked at her and nodded his head, hitting the gas. She tried to tell herself that he'd be fine; John and Mary would have kept him sane, even Mycroft would have helped. The cab stopped at the curb 4 minutes later and she swore when she realized she didn't have her wallet.
"You recognized me when I got in, I could tell," she told the driver and he nodded. Sometimes being in the tabloids could be mildly helpful.
"Dead girls don't often grab a cab though," he said and Rose nodded her head. She grabbed a pen that was sitting on the floor and scribbled a phone number and an amount on a piece of paper that she found in one of her pockets.
"You call that number and tell him Rose Tyler took your cab and promised you this much, yeah?" He took the piece of paper and his eyes went wide.
"Will do," he said and Rose smiled and jumped out of the cab. She walked up to the door and swore again, she didn't have her keys, shit she was two for two so far. She knocked on the door and hopped Sherlock would answer, even as unlikely as it was. She was not surprised when Mrs. Hudson opened the door. Mrs. Hudson gasped and her hands went to her mouth and her eyes went wide when she saw her and Rose smiled. She leaned in and kissed her check quickly.
"Later yeah?" Rose asked pushing passed her gently and running up the stairs. She knew during the day Sherlock kept the door unlocked so that Mrs. Hudson could bring up clients. She could hear the violin playing on the other side of the door and took a deep breath. She turned the nob and pushed the door open slowly, Sherlock kept playing.
"If you've brought more tea I've not finished what you brought an hour ago Mrs. Hudson." He said airily and Rose smiled at his tone. Mrs. Hudson had been taking care of him while she was gone. She'd have to send her flowers, dozens of them.
"No, I didn't bring any tea," the bow screeched across the strings and Rose winced slightly at the terrible sound. He turned slowly as he lowered the violin and when he was facing her he had a smug smile on his face.
"Ms. Tyler, you're very late," he said as he set the violin down and opened his arms. She ran straight to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He lifted her up so he could kiss her and Rose laughed when he pulled back.
"I'm so sorry," she said as tears fell down her cheeks and he nodded then kissed her cheeks, her forehead, her neck and her hair. "Mickey told me everyone thought I was dead."
"I didn't," he said in-between kissing her. He couldn't stop kissing her, and his hold around her waist only tightened. "No one but your mother believed me. I knew you weren't dead." He said and this time he kissed her mouth deeply and Rose sighed into the kiss. She vaguely heard the front door close and decided Mrs. Hudson needed flowers and chocolate, a year's supply, once a week. Sherlock let go of her waist only to bend down and sweep his arm under her legs so he was carrying her, and she giggled when he kissed her again.
"I need to go see mum, she's going to be waiting," she told him and this time when he kissed her she plunged her hands into his hair as he deepened the kiss. He pulled away with a look of such longing it took Rose's breath away. "Later," she said pulling him back down for another kiss as he headed towards their room.
~*~Home~*~
Rose was pulling on her shirt when there was a knock, well a pounding, on the front door. Rose laughed when Sherlock smirked at her. She ran her hands through her hair, though she knew at once her mum would know what they'd been doing. Sherlock was pulling his pants on still when Rose ran from the room giggling.
"Rose Tyler you better open this door right now!" Jackie yelled as she pounded on the door again.
"I'm sorry mum," she said as she opened the door. "I was just-"
"Oh I'm sure I know what you were 'just'!" Jackie said with a stern look before it broke and she surged forward with a happy sob and wrapped her arms around Rose. Sherlock came walking over and she was surprised by the bright smile on his face.
"Tea Jackie?" he asked and Rose felt her mum nod her head.
"Thank you Sherlock," Jackie said as she pulled away looking from his back to Rose. "Though I should throttle you both, leaving me at home waiting for you, you're just lucky Mickey called."
"I told Mickey to call you," Rose said in her defense. Jackie just shook her head as she took Rose's hand and pulled her towards the kitchen.
"Jackie, I've got more of that chamomile tea you like." Sherlock said and Jackie smiled at him.
"Thank you," Jackie said letting go of Rose's hand and walking over to him and Rose was shocked to her toes when he opened his arms and pulled her into a hug. Mickey had said they bonded over their belief that she was alive, but she had not expected Sherlock to be so, familiar with her. "Didn't I tell you our girl would come back to us?" Jackie asked and he nodded a wide smile on his face.
"How's Pete doing?" Sherlock asked and Rose remembered he'd been in a coma.
"Yeah, Mickey told me he'd been in a coma, is he okay?" Rose asked a bit worried now.
"He's fine," Jackie said a bright smile on her face. "He's already back at work. He's there now trying to figure out how to make you not dead." Jackie said as she and Sherlock sat down. Rose sat down as well and nodded.
"Is that going to be a problem?" Rose asked and Jackie smirked.
"Well, it's going to take some creative thinking to explain how you didn't die in a huge explosion without mentioning the Time Hoppers." Jackie said as Sherlock stood to get the tea kettle when it whistled. "But he's smart, he'll figure something out."
"Well that's good," Rose said nodding her head.
"Sherlock!" Rose looked up as the door flew open. "I just got a call from Mickey and- My God!" John said when he came into the kitchen, followed by Mary, who was holding Rosie and saw Rose sitting at the table. "He was right; oh thank God he was right!" John said and Rose stood and John walked swiftly over to her and hugged her.
"Rose," Mary said with a bright smile and Rosie smiled kicking her feet.
"Oh she's gotten so big," Rose said when John let her go. She walked over and smiled at Rosie. She was about 4 months old now and Rose was sad to see how much she'd changed. "I missed so much," Rose said sadly.
"You're back now," Mary said pulling her into a one armed hug. "That's all that matters."
"Rose!" Rose pulled away and looked at the door as Molly ran into the flat. She ran over to Rose and pulled her into a tight hug. Now, Molly had seemed like she was getting over her dislike of Rose before all this, but she had not expected this kind of welcome from her.
"Hello Molly," Rose said hugging her back.
"Sorry," Molly said pulling back as a blush formed. "John called and told me you really were okay and I was just so happy." She said pushing some loose hair back off her shoulder.
"Looks like this is where the party is," Lestrade said stepping into the flat and Rose chuckled.
"John did you call all of London?" Sherlock asked and John blushed a little and shrugged. Lestrade walked over and clapped Rose on the back.
"Glad to see you're not so dead after all," Lestrade said and Rose laughed nodding her head. "He's not nearly as clever without you." He said nodding at Sherlock and Rose giggled and Sherlock scowled.
It didn't take long for Mickey to show up with Martha, four boxes of pizza and three bottles of Roses favorite wine with them. Mrs. Hudson showed up with a bunch of her little cakes and suddenly they were having an impromptu welcome home party for Rose. Pete showed up a bit later with some paper work for Rose to sign, bringing her back to life and then joined the party. There was music and drinking and much catching up on Rose's part. Sherlock told her about a few of his cases and of course how he solved them. Mary showed Rose how Rosie was beginning to keep some weight on her legs and then Rosie showed her that she was starting to babble a bit. Sherlock got talked into playing a few songs on the violin, all of which were Rose's favorites.
"So, John mentioned you didn't go to my funeral," Rose said to Sherlock when he sat down next to her after playing the third song on his violin. Everyone had been there for more than three hours now and Rose was about ready to call it a night. Sherlock took a deep breath and nodded his head.
"I just couldn't stand there and watch them lower an empty casket into the ground." Sherlock said and Rose took his hand. His voice hadn't wavered in tone of pitch but Rose could hear the pain in his words. "Not when I knew you weren't dead."
"I'm so sorry Sherlock," Rose said she rubbed her thumb up and down his hand. "I meant to go three days forward, but it was so crazy, and I didn't have much time and-
"Rose I'm not mad at you. I'm just so..." He stopped as he realized they had a bit of an audience. Rose watched as Sherlocks' cheeks flamed and she had to hold back a giggle.
"Well I think it's about time we all saw ourselves home," Pete said and Jackie opened her mouth to protest but Pete silenced her with a look and she smiled and nodded her head.
"Yeah," John said as he shifted a sleeping Rosie in his arms. "Time we got this little one home to bed." He said and Sherlock sent him a thankful look.
"Rose, you come in day after tomorrow and we'll work on getting you reestablished at work, yeah?" Pete said as he grabbed Jackie's coat.
"Course I will dad," Rose said standing up to hug him.
"I'm glad to have you back babe," Mickey said and she turned to him and hugged him.
"We're all just so happy you're okay," Mary said walking up to Rose to give her a hug. Rose said goodbye to everyone, giving out hugs and promises to catch up soon. After about 15 minutes the flat was empty but for Rose and Sherlock. As the door closed behind John and Mary Rose turned into Sherlock and he wrapped his arms around her.
"Gods Sherlock how did you not go crazy?" Rose mumbled into his chest. His arms around her tightened and he kissed the top of her head.
"I knew you'd be back Rose," he told her honestly. He pulled away with a smile and took her hand. "I have something for you." He said and he pulled her into the kitchen. He reached a drawer and pulled it open and pulled out the long white box with a smile.
"What's this for?" She asked as he handed it to her.
"Well, you're necklace took a bit of a beating in the explosion." He said with a wry grin. Rose hadn't even thought about her necklace, she'd taken it off to put away, which was how she found the bomb. She opened the box and smiled at the beautiful necklace inside. It was the same as the necklace he'd given her at Christmas, only now there were two charms hanging from it. The same miniature magnifying glass with the emerald stone set in the middle and now there was a miniature old fashion clock face hanging next to it.
"I love it," She said as she pulled it out of the box and handed it to him and turned around.
"I wanted something to represent the thing that saved your life," he said as he clasped it behind her neck. "Time was on our side." He said as he leaned down and kissed her neck.
"Thank you," She said as she turned and hugged him. Then her smile fell a bit and she looked worried.
"What?" He asked and she sighed.
"First someone leaked information to Magnussen about me; now someone got in and planted a bomb Sherlock, that shouldn't have even been possible." She said as she bit her bottom lip. "I have a feeling this is going to get worse before it gets better." She said as the worry clouded her eyes.
"Come on now," he said taking her chin in his hand. "You've got the famous Sherlock Holmes on your side, whoever is behind this we'll catch them and we'll deal with them." Rose nodded her head and he reached out and pulled her into a hug again. But Rose felt a chill run down her spine, she had a feeling it wasn't going to be that easy.
~*~M.M~*~
He smirked as he read the article the next morning about the miraculous return of Rose Tyler in the paper. He folded it and put it down in his lap and picked up his tea. Apparently killing Rose Tyler was not going to be as easy as he'd thought it would be. Well, that was fine; he had new plans now, and bigger fish to fry as they said. He looked to his computer as it beeped and a nasty smile spread over his face.
"Finally," he said as he typed into the computer. He pulled up something new up and typed a bit more till he found the video feed he was looking for. Then a 15 second shot filled the screen. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it was a bit odd. Just a thin jagged crack in the side of a building, but it was glowing an eerie golden yellow and his smile grew.
"That should work," he said as he stood up and got to work on his new plan.
A/N- Hope you guys liked this one! The next story should be out in a few days, maybe a week. I love hearing from the readers, so drop me a line! Reviews feel the soul!