As he arrived onto the scene, The Doctor looked around warily, eyebrows furrowed in unease. Something didn't feel right. There were an awful lot of soldiers around and he didn't like that, because there were too many guns. It didn't help that the air tasted wrong, almost like death. The Doctor's gaze hardened, and he looked around before spotting someone he was very familiar with.

"Mickey the idiot!" He cried out, almost joyfully, as he ran towards the man, who was pushing a few boxes back into a van. Mickey spun around, shock clear on his face, and his eyes widened even more when he saw him stood there.

"Doctor!?" He said, complete disbelief in his tone. "But how – I thought…"

"It's a long story involving some stone angels that weren't actually stone who transported us across dimensions, but that can wait for a while, 'ello!" The Doctor grinned, pulling him in for a hug. Mickey hugged him back after a moment and grinned, letting out a laugh

"This is amazing! Rose'll be… she'll be ecstatic, to be honest." Mickey admitted. "A part of her died, after she got stuck here, and it never really came back." He frowned slightly, and looked off somewhere, recalling Rose breaking down only ten minutes earlier. She'd failed to save aliens before, but she'd only ever set her jaw and returned to her work with a fierce determination. He couldn't help but wonder what had changed, and it worried him.

The Doctor winced slightly, the thought of any part of Rose dying tended to bring out that reaction in him. "I… I know how that feels, Mickey. I do." He replied, before he averted his gaze to Martha, and cleared his throat, nudging her forward. "Well, Mickey, this is Martha Jones – Martha, Mickey Smith."

Mickey glanced at Martha, and immediately held out his hand, smiling. "Nice to meet ya," he said, looking at her in obvious interest. Martha's lips curved up into a smile, flattered, and she shook his hand.

"You too," She said honestly, as The Doctor looked around, his earlier feeling of unease returning.

"Mickey, what happened here?" he asked, turning back to look at the technician, and was even more uneasy when he saw the flash of anger that crossed his face.

"They keep sayin' it was an invasion, but it wasn't. Five Ablox, that's all it was. Rose said their planet was wiped out by something they called the darkness. They needed somewhere to repopulate. Rose went out to look for some residual time energy that the sensors picked up-"

"That was us," The Doctor agreed. "Well, kind of – more like it was what the angels left behind in the process of transporting us here."

Mickey nodded, able to believe that. "Well, we were in contact over the radio, when she cut me off to use her translator. After a while, she was back and she was saying they were attacking, and she was running. I sent out some back up – we only really use stun guns, and only when we really need to," he added. "Rose is pretty much in charge and she hates usin' weapons. I reckon that's your influence, probably."

"Good girl," The Doctor said with a small smile.

"She stunned the head one, and after a while, we rounded up the rest and disarmed them. Rose was planning on peacefully negotiating with them – she said they were just scared. We were going to help them, but then the guns showed up." He scowled over at the armed officers. "Rose got into a big fight with the Colonel. He wanted to just kill them and be done with it – but Rose said she wasn't going to let any genocide happen – she went off on this rant, talking about how Earth is getting more and more noticeable, and soon, warrior races will show up, and we'll be defenceless. "

"And what did the Colonel say to that?" The Doctor asked, his voice dangerous, as though he already knew the answer.

"As soon as Rose turned her back he ordered them to fire. Rose went crazy. Slapped him, and I think she would've torn out his throat if she could have," Mickey admitted, lips pressed together in a firm line.

"What, they just killed them? Defenceless aliens, stunned, defenceless aliens?" Martha asked, her mouth falling open slightly.

"Of course they did." The Doctor said in a low voice, and he was shaking slightly. "Humans! They just can't resist! Anything to feel more powerful than another race, just slaughter them without giving it a second thought! Needlessly killing!"

"I know, boss." Mickey said simply. "We're not like that, though. Torchwood – since Rose became Director beside Pete, it's all about peaceful negotiations with aliens now. We have weapons, but we've not used any except the stun guns."

The Doctor's anger subsided slightly and he nodded, somewhat stiffly.

"Good man," he said simply, and looked around. "Where did Rose go?"

"She completely broke down for some reason – after she finished screaming she looked like she'd lost all of her energy and just started cryin'…Pete took her back to Torchwood," Mickey replied. "Give me a hand loading these boxes up and I'll give you a lift."

"Atta boy Mickey!" The Doctor smiled, though the news of Rose breaking down caused his hearts to twist painfully in his chest. Exhaling, he lifted up two boxes to push them into the van. He was so close to seeing Rose again, soon, he'd be able to make everything right again.

"What he did was murder, and there's nothin' justifiable about it." Rose mumbled, her hands wrapped around a mug of coffee, which she stared into like it held all of the answers to her problems.

"I know," Pete said tiredly, running his hand over his face. "But they're a higher level of authority than us, Rose. It was wrong, and you're right, it was cowardly, but we can't do anything about it now."

Rose shook her head, shoulders drooping even more. She had a duty, to do things in The Doctor's name, and she had failed him. She wondered how disappointed he'd be in her right now, and the spark of life that had filled her earlier dimmed out completely, leaving way for the numbness to seep in all over again.

"I think we should both head back. Take the rest of the day off, Rose." Pete said quietly.

"Nah," Rose said, and Pete was alarmed to hear the hollowness in her tone. He hadn't heard that voice since the days after The Doctor said goodbye to her. "I've got work to do."

"No, you're going home to take a rest. Fill in your paperwork tomorrow." Pete said firmly, looking grim. "And phone your mother – she's worried."

"Mum's always worried," Rose muttered, but releasing the coffee cup from her death grip, she stood, swallowing back the lump in her throat. "I'll see ya later dad." She said quietly, but before she could leave, he pulled her in for a hug. Rose closed her eyes and leaned into it, letting out a shaky breath. After a moment, she pulled back and managed a smile.

Leaving the office quickly, the first thing she did was go to the bathroom, and run a tap. Splashing some cold water onto her face, she looked up into the mirror and examined her reflection, before she frowned. Opening her eyes a little wider, she gazed at them, noticing that little flecks of gold now decorated her irises. "That's weird…" She murmured, before she pulled back and exhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose to fight back an impending headache.

Finally, she left the bathroom to head to her own office and picked up the box of paperwork that lay waiting for her. Pete could tell her to go home, but she wasn't going to stop working. She needed a distraction from thinking about him, and what had just happened. Paperwork was mind-numbing and often made her want to sleep. Perfect.

Picking up the box, Rose pulled out her keys and headed down into the car park, unlocking the boot of her car to put the box down. Before she did however, she heard a voice call her name.

"Rose!" Mickey was yelling as he got out of his van, raising a hand to wave at her. Rose shifted the box in her arms to give a half-hearted wave back, and raised an eyebrow when the other door of his truck opened and a young woman got out. Was that…? It looked a lot like Adeola… A half smirk appeared on her face, her eyebrows rising in curious question, but then another man got out after her.

Rose dropped the box.

At first she could only stare, something powerful seizing her heart and gripping it as her hands slowly covered her mouth. Impossible. It couldn't be. She was dreaming – this was a terrible, wonderful, cruel dream. A small noise, something akin to a sob broke from her mouth, and she suddenly became aware she was shaking.

The man – The Doctor, HER Doctor looked up at her, and even from across the parking lot, she saw his mouth form a single word. Rose.

Suddenly she was running, sprinting towards him as fast as she could, and he was running towards her in turn, and the closer she got, the more she could see that wonderful, brilliant smile on his face. A sob breaking escaping her, Rose forced herself to run faster. If this was a dream, she would take it gladly.

She threw herself at him, and he caught her, crushing their bodies together and clinging onto one another as if afraid the other would disappear at any second. Rose wound her arms around his neck and buried her face there, inhaling the scent of him, the scent she'd missed – and she could feel the hole inside of her chest starting to patch itself up. It was so wrong – when she awoke she'd be empty again, but this was so perfect, she couldn't bring herself to care. The Doctor's arms were wrapped firmly around her, holding her to him, and she let out a shaky laugh. It felt so real.

"Rose, my Rose," The Doctor whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

Rose pulled her head away to stare up into his face, studying every feature she saw and committing it to her memory. She never wanted to forget. Her hand came up to his cheek and gently, she ran her thumb over the skin, and his hand covered hers, causing her to let out a shaky breath.

"Hello," he murmured, reminiscent of the first time he had said it to her in this body. Rose let out a shaky laugh, her lips curving up into a wide, true smile that lit up her entire face.

"Hello," she replied, pressing the tip of her tongue to the corner of her mouth, The Doctor cupped her face in his hands carefully, and let out a happy sigh.

"Rose Tyler, how I've missed that smile," He said, gently pressing his forehead against hers. Rose let out a happy hum, her arms winding around his waist in another hug.

The Doctor looked down at her, feeling his hearts practically sing at the sight of her, his pink and yellow human. He'd missed her so much, there weren't enough words in any language to describe it – not even his own.

They stayed like that for a while, just holding each other. Across the parking lot, Mickey smiled, nodding his head slightly. Martha had been watching them too, but had turned away after a while, feeling as though she were intruding on a private moment. The smile on the Doctor's face was brilliant – glowing.

"They just fit together, don't they?" Mickey said absently, and Martha looked up at him, slowly nodding. She had to admit – it was obvious The Doctor loved Rose - and from the look on her face, she obviously did to. She couldn't even bring herself to feel jealous about it.

"Yeah, they do." She said simply.

"Rose and I used to date – before she met The Doctor." Mickey was saying. "And for a while, when he took on that face, I travelled with them – and then I saw it first-hand. No matter how Rose felt about me, The Doctor would always come first to her. They just had this…bond. It was impossible to break, even if you tried. That's why I left, first time we came here. I needed an out, I think." Mickey leaned against the truck with a small smile. "Glad I did. Rose and I broke up, but now she's more like a sister to me. Everything that happened, it just made me into a stronger person."

Martha looked at him intently for a few moments before she turned to look at The Doctor and Rose again, who were walking hand in hand towards them.

"Makes sense," She said quietly, slipping her hands into her pockets. "Even when she wasn't there – it was impossible to come between them. It was always – 'If Rose were here', 'I wish Rose could have seen this' and so on. It was easy for a girl to feel…a bit jealous."

Mickey nodded understandingly. "I get that, but just like I found it impossible to hate The Doctor, you won't be able to hate Rose – she's just…You'll understand why he took a shine to her – it's impossible not to."

Martha didn't reply to that, but managed a smile when The Doctor and Rose approached.

"Martha! This is Rose!" The Doctor said, saying the name like he was speaking of a precious artefact. "Rose – this is Martha, my- well friend and travelling companion!"

Rose smiled, holding out her free hand to Martha, who took it after a moment's hesitation. There was no hostility in the blonde's eyes, just happiness.

"Thank you – for being there for him," Rose said simply. "He needs someone. Plus – if he took you along you must be something special!"

"I only take the best!" The Doctor declared, shooting Rose a goofy smile, who grinned back at him, squeezing his hand. He squeezed it in return, and looked around. "Is there anywhere we can talk? Now that the gang's all here-" he brightened. "A gang! I've never had a gang before, that's new, new and good, I like the sound of that."

"Doctor," Rose grinned, nudging him playfully, and he blinked.

"Oh, yes, right, well, there's a lot to talk about. Catching up, explaining how we got here and how we're going to get back." He continued, and Rose nodded.

"We could go back to my flat?" she offered, shrugging. In her mind, this was still a dream, but dream or not, she was willing to go along with it. She grinned impishly. "If you're not afraid of carpets and windows too much."

The Doctor shuddered. "Oh Rose, really?"

Rose laughed, rolling her eyes, and to The Doctor, it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.

"Nah," she grinned. "I redecorated the place so it looked a little less domestic – I think you'll like it," she said cheerfully. "Mind givin' us a lift, Mick?"

"Not a problem," Mickey replied with a shrug, getting in the driver's seat. Martha moved to the other side, but before The Doctor could, Rose stopped him and looked at him intently.

"Doctor – be honest." She said quietly. Dream or not, she needed to know. "…Is this all just a dream?"

The Doctor's expression softened, and he shook his head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"No, Rose." He murmured, his forehead pressing lightly against hers. "It's not a dream, it's real – so very real."

Rose let out a shaky breath, before her face lit up into a huge smile, tears pricking into her eyes, though she pushed them back. He was real, it wasn't a dream. She'd spent so many nights dreaming about him, now that he was really back, it still felt like a dream.

"Come on, Rose Tyler," The Doctor said, delight in his tone. "We've got a lot to catch up on."

"Allons-y!" Rose giggled, beginning to pull him towards the other side of the truck, and The Doctor beamed.

"Exactly!"