Rose sat in a stairway with a book in hand. It had been, she guessed, another year and she had learned a lot more than she had thought possible really and it kept her well enough distracted. Her hair still had a few small beads hanging around though she was able to wear her hair how ever she pleased.
In reality, finally, because at some point she had argued herself alive with herself, she was allowed to do whatever she liked except for her clothes. She had to stay in these strange at first robes and dresses, some what akin to what the others around her wore but she had a blue dress type thing on that came to her knees a black robe over it all with a white sash and green socks. Some times she matched and some days she wore her colors for all to see.
Stretching back she looked out a window and out at a forest of silver trees and two suns.
Oh if the Doctor could see her now… Knowing his language, the chapters of his society, government, even the span of different classes she had taken was giving her knowledge that he never would have told her, unless she asked anyway. Really she could take classes that offered information and knowledge from vintage cars, cosmic science, to whatever fighting styles came to be, to an extent anyways.
She had taken up getting fit, to run, and climb, kept up on it everyday. Little bit of boxing after language classes, and sonic classes. She wanted her own sonic screwdriver, or sonic something or other. So much she could learn, so much to learn!
Not that she could get away anyways, she thought.
Around her the clocks struck what she had learned was lunch time. Picking up her book and walking down the steps before other students clamored around her she made her way to the Academy courtyard humming a tune she had picked up from Tardis and the Gallifreyans around her. Smiling to herself she thought of the times when Tardis had hummed it to her, taught it to her.
The hustle and bustle around her almost made her late to grab something to eat, but she got some sort of hot pastry dish with meat and what seemed like vegetables and ran across the Academy again to a rather large building she had deemed worthy of it's job.
Stained glass bubble windows, small glittering lights, cottage looking at the same time. Magical, beautifully magical.
Here… well here, she learned months ago that Tardises were loomed! Almost created like the children of Gallifrey but more so materialize out of no where and just loomed there for a while, great and ominous. Ominous, oh yes, after the Doctor was through if you saw the Tardis it was ominous, you never knew what was going to happen, but not all would be good.
Humming her tune Rose walked in licking the crumbs off her fingers to smaller looking dark form she couldn't fully explain because most days it changed itself… The chameleon something or other finding it's worldly shapes. Her hand hovered around it while the Time Lords and Ladies would causally spare her a glance or talk to her. They could see the pain in her eyes and were pleased that she had lit up, and still lit up every time she came into this place.
The little Rosie human was growing into their culture and strangely they had no high threats about it. For five months straight, unless busy with education or with a Cardinal or Council member she had been here with that exact Tardis.
They sought out to question her, but her mind was blocked quite well and she only smiled softly, ghost like whenever she was asked how she always knew where that specific Tardis was, and why she always hummed to it.
Rose closed her eyes before taking a breath and walking away about ready to leave when one of the Time Ladies waved her into another room. Following through with her when she did grin she couldn't help but laugh joyously. The Lady had given her a medium sized ring that, into great detail she was told, could let her time and space travel too. Could she see her Doctor again?…
Oh she certainly hoped so. Grinning madly, like her own Doctor she wandered around to the Citadel ready to have a good conversation with the High Council, see if they'd be alright with her running off somewhere by herself because if this was the only place she could be she'd rather live as she was and not under lock and key should something go wrong.
One month later that is how she ended up here, after much practice, with one of her teachers, named Patience, a ring on each hand, which she thought was quite odd in her own world it would signal to anyone she was married. She frowned, she would much rather be married to the Doctor, but really with everything that has happened she thought that was very unlikely to ever happen. Especially now. The rings were another set of transports, once they touched together she just had to think coordinates and time and she was there, granted usually another person had to have the matching but the High Council had wanted to see what she was capable of.
"So, miss Rose, where in time and place have you brought us?" Like the mad woman she was grinned at her Patience.
"We are on Anura, plant made mostly, entirely of water. Home of Anurans, amphibian race." Teacher nodded at her. "Lovely Rose, now can you tell me why exactly you chose here?"
"Absolutely! I missed seeing clear, blue water. Really could go for a swim too, yeah?" Teacher shook her head at Rose.
"No unfortunately, but we can go to a different area and time before we have to get back." Rose nodded and thought through her planetary studies. No matter where you went, time still went a bit wonkey at times. Wibbley, wobbley, timey, wimey stuff indeed!
"Quite right, Earth then? Time…2008." Getting into a pair of jeans, pink shirt and blue jacket she righted herself and faced Patience.
"No, wandering off Rose. " After a look over Patience grabbed her hand and off they went to Earth, Rose smiling at the connection of rings and ignoring as she did every time the fluttering and sinking of her heart.
ooOoo
The Doctor sat the Tardis back down at the rift to refuel with Jack. His hair sticking in every which direction, showing just how much he had been trying to get a grip on his head, literally.
"Doctor! I have to check in with my team." The Doctor nodded and flattened his hair a bit and rubbed the back of his neck. He was tired, more tired than he had been for some time. They had found no sign of Rose anywhere, nor had they heard anything from Jack's team while they were out and about on his phone.
"I'm coming with you Jack. Take a peak at your stuff down there." He frowned. "Talk to Pete, get some more information from him. See what you've done with Torchwood. " Jack walked out and took a breath fresh air, equally as tired as the Time Lord himself. Just because he couldn't die did not mean he did not become exhausted.
The Doctor rubbed one of the Tardis's walls on his way out behind Jack. We'll find her, somehow. The Tardis hummed in response and shut the front door behind him leaving him flustered a moment.
"Well then, I assume you're mad at me then, are you?" His Tardis key burned hot in his hand before going ice cold. "I'll take that as a yes then." The Doctor rubbed his ear and put the key back in it's place. "I am trying to find her, didn't mean for her to end up somewhere else on purpose you know!"
Jack cleared his throat.
"You look like a madman standing there talking to a police box Doctor. Come on, bit of rest before heading back out? I need to check up on everybody. Make sure no one is killing each other and get an update. Side by side they began down the street while near the waterfront behind the Tardis two figures appeared.
ooOoo
Rose smiled at the water and the people around her. After so long it felt good to be back home. Real home, not somewhere or some when else. Really she hadn't thought about coming here immediately, not when she was still trying work out her own feelings, memories and such out. Though if she were being one hundred percent honest with herself then she would have thought about everything she had just swept under the rug in her mind because once on Gallifrey she had distracted herself with so many things.
Standing up straight Rose took a huge breath of fresh Earth air and turned to Patience eyes dancing with mixed emotions. Patience grabbed Rose's hand and patted her head.
"No running off from me little Rose. No more getting lost." At that Rose blushed, she did have a tendency to run off looking for something, someone, some distraction to help. "You would fit right in with the Prydonian Chapter. Too cunning for your own good I tell you child. No running off and absolutely no interfering." Rise tugged her hand away from Patience and too a step away from her.
"I won't interfere, and I won't run off unless necessary. I just want to see Home, and maybe see just one friend before we have to go back." Patience narrowed her eyes at Rose weighing in her head what to do. She really didn't intend to stay on Earth with Rose but whenever the planet and people were mentioned everyone could tell her heart ached and screamed within her. Her resolve faltered. She really didn't want Rose to get lost, or go against their set rules but something was pulling her back to Gallifrey. The one mind Gallifrey shared telling her to leave Rose there. Would she abandon the girl?…She had to, hopefully not for long though. One hour… That should suffice. Yes.
"You have one Earth hour Rose, before you meet me back here." She pointed towards the ground between her feet. "Lord President will have me put up and away if you don't. Or you will be." Rose nodded and hugged the woman before her and bit her tongue in her own mad grin.
"You're not coming?" The older woman shook her head.
"No, I'm needed for something." Rose nodded. "One hour?"
"One hour." They both looked at the time and then, Rose ran, going against her word to Patience. That's all she wanted to do anymore, run. Run to forget, run to remember, run from everything and to everything. Her eyes still danced as she ran passed the Tardis…
The TARDIS?! Her heart stopped. She stopped and tried to breath deeply. Rose looked back to where she had left Patience but she wasn't there, she wasn't anywhere…Turning her eyes back to the Tardis she reached a hand out and let her fingers touch the big blue box.
Was the Doctor in there? The wood beneath her fingers pulsed softly. No, but he had been not that long ago. Minutes maybe?… With someone… Rose was finding it very difficult to breath, the key she never took off lay near her breast bone and vibrated. Oh…She very much wanted to open that door. She very much wanted to keep all the emotions boiling at bay too.
ooOoo
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