I was standing in the TARDIS control room. It looked exactly as it had the last time I had seen it, and there, sitting in the captain's chair, was the Doctor. He was reading, feet resting on the console, his completely pointless glasses on his face. My heart hurt just to look at him.
The buzzing sound was getting louder, I focused in on it; concentrating on hearing the meaning in the noise, it was like an old radio that had to be tuned into the station. I was fiddling with the imaginary knobs in my head. As I did, the sound became clear and I realized that I was hearing the Doctor in my mind.
He was reading "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", in his mind saying what utter hogwash it was and yet still enjoying it; his mind drifted back to the day of the Sycorax invasion. This body had been so new, saving the world in his pajamas… a bit like Arthur Dent, I smiled at the memory. I could hear it all in her mind. I could see his memories as they drifted through the event. I saw it when his eyes focused on me in the memory. "Rose…" The melancholy tone to his thoughts was almost palpable, "I miss you…"
I had intended to not speak, not sure if this was a dream or reality. I didn't want to shatter the illusion if it was a dream but I was also afraid of it being real. It would completely divide me from the rest of mankind. But the melancholy and loneliness of the Doctor's thoughts broke my self-restraint.
"Doctor!" I said clearly, focusing hard on him. "I'm here. I look a bit different but it's me, I'm here."
His head snapped up and focused on me, eyes wide with surprise. "Rose!" he yelled running toward me, one of his trademark manic grins. I held up a hand to stop him and he froze… sadness staining his features. "Oh, I understand…" he stuck his hands in his pockets and gazed at me.
"Oh, bollocks." I said with a smile. "This time, you don't understand anything, and to quote you… I'm just an image, no touch." His face lightened considerably as he realized I wasn't rejecting him.
"How are you doing this?" he asked me, eyes narrowed. "Or is this just some bizarre figment of my imagination?"
I deliberately closed my mouth tightly and thought at him. "Not even your imagination is THIS clever." Somehow I knew instinctively that he would hear me… that we were two of a kind.
The Doctor's jaw dropped. "Well Rose, you've gotten an upgrade." He shuddered at his own poor choice of words, "Urgh, not upgrade… Cybermen memories… let's use promotion."
"Promotion?" I asked aloud. "What do you mean?"
The Doctor's brow furrowed. "Rose Tyler, human Defender of the Earth… you're now Rose Tyler, Time Lady.
