Chapter 7

They remained there for the day, the Doctor taking in the rest of Torchwood and investigating the various projects in the works. He soon found himself giving advice to the IT team on how to maximize the efficiency of their centralized computer network. After unsuccessfully trying to help them identify an odd signal they picked up, he was now trying to convince them to let him hack into the system to boost the speed. Unfortunately they wouldn't budge babbling on about rules. That was going to take some getting use to. He never was one for such things. Turning to joke to Rose he suddenly found she had wandered off.

It didn't take long after that for him to become restless. He took the liberty of asking around until he was pointed in the general direction one of the employees had seen Rose disappear. Strolling down the corridors he spotted an open door. Upon entering he found Rose standing before what he assumed was the command center for the dimension cannon project. The room was smaller than the other labs he had seen though not small in and of itself per se. Schematics and equations were taped haphazardly on a dry erase board over looking rows of tables. Computers, yellow circular device hoppers, and hand-held charging devices lay lifeless strewn about.

"This place used to be bustling," she whispered without looking behind her. "Not three days ago, I had teams of people working 'round the clock. Now..." Her voice trailed off.

He stepped beside her, looking upon her forlorn face with sympathy. "You did it, Rose. You found me and stopped the darkness. Now it's time to decommission it."

She didn't answer.

Inhaling, he crossed his arms. "Something this dangerous needs to be destroyed, Rose. Punching holes in the universe is like playing Russian roulette. It's a miracle nothing catastrophic has happened yet."

"It saved all of our lives, including mine, if you recall," she countered defensively.

He bit his tongue, realizing her attachment to the program likely had less to do with saving the universe and more to do with a certain Time Lord tucked away in another reality. "Rose..." he began tentatively placing his hand upon her shoulder, "he's not coming back."

She knew he was right. She knew it should make no sense to hold onto a device that no longer even functioned. It was irrational, it was dangerous, and yet in the back of her mind she couldn't stifle the words nagging her...

What if?

What if the device suddenly started working again? What if she could get back to her home world? She could apologize, maybe they could start over...

Or heaven help them what if something truly awful happened again and they needed his help, the proper Doctor? How else would they reach him?

All manner of scenarios began swimming in her head fighting against his words, fighting against the truth she just couldn't accept. Not yet.

"Rose..."

She inhaled, moving out from under his grasp as she twirled to face him, her arms folded like a shield between them, the armor of her resolve. "I appreciate your input, but I'm in charge of this project and I'll decide what to do with it." With that she strode purposefully from the room.

He bit his lip. If it had been anyone else he would have refused to let it go but two things held his feet and his tongue in place; one: Rose was the only one in all the universe, well, make that two universes now, that he trusted without limit, and two: she was hurting and she needed time to accept things as they were. She would come to terms on her own time. He had no doubt that she would do the right thing when she was ready.

He darted from the room, the heavy door clicking and locking behind him as he quickly caught up to her. "Rose, you should know I meant what I said."

"Hm?" she asked distractedly, lost in her thoughts.

"About not questioning your decisions."

She slowed and turned to look at him.

He took a step closer. "I mean it. I mean, I may come off as, well, a bit conceited and know-it-all sometimes but the truth of the matter is, I trust you. I trust you implicitly." More than he ever trusted himself.

The look in his face told her he was being honest, his rich dark eyes so full of trust that she found jitters once more working into the pit of her stomach. "Um, thanks." She cleared her throat eager to avert his gaze. "So what do you think?" she asked holding her hands up gesturing to the building around them as they walked once more.

"Oh, fine," he said with a sniff, wishing it were so. Truth be told he was feeling more and more unsure of this arrangement by the minute. Unfortunately it looked like he was going to be doing a fair bit of babysitting and hand slapping, trying to keep the little humans playing with alien toys they had no business messing with. Was this really what he wanted to do with his time?

Rose examined him closely, noticing his shoulders drawing inward, a slouch appearing in his back as he shuffled along next to her. "'S not so bad, once you get used to it. It's nothing like the Torchwood back home with dad in charge and there will be plenty of adventures and aliens for you yet." She nudged his elbow encouragingly, managing to draw a smile from his downcast face.

Yes. Yes it was what he wanted. Or rather, being near her was what he wanted. And saving the planet from alien invasion was rather his specialty, if he did say so himself. They'd be brilliant together. The Doctor and Rose, saving the earth. Just like old times.

They soon had exited lift to the parkade in the warehouse as they stepped onto the pavement. "Did you know it's been centuries since I last had to drive one of these?" he mentioned, holding up the silver key in his hand.

"You did pass your test, right?" Rose asked slightly worried as she recalled his lacking skills in driving a certain motor bike that time they went back to 1953.

He scoffed in feigned overly dramatic offense. "Oi! You wound me! I'm perfectly capable of driving a car. I'll have you know I used to drive one every day when I was exiled on earth during my third regeneration."

She whipped her head towards him in surprise. "You were exiled here on earth, really? What did you do?" she questioned, unable to hide the curiosity in her voice.

"Oh... well it's a long story. A story perhaps best told over dinner?" His eyebrows rose hopefully.

Rose smirked. "Fine, sure. I'll see you back home then, yeah?" she asked as they went their separate ways, her to her car, and him to his.

The Doctor held out the key and pressed the button looking for his new government issued vehicle. A black Meredes-Benz lit up with a soft beep to his left. Ah, no blue car for him then. Too bad. His mouth twisted to the side in appraisal as he entered it, slamming the door shut.

He sighed as he started the journey back to the Tyler Estate alone. Why did he even need his own car? Rose's car could take them both to work. That would only work if we lived together, he reminded himself. Technically they were living together now, albeit at her parents' house. It wasn't his first choice of residence for sure nor did he wish to stay there for much longer. They had lived together on the TARDIS while they traveled but the TARDIS was huge on the inside. It wasn't a closed-in space and neither one of them found the living arrangements to be awkward. But now, stuck on earth suddenly the thought of living together in a flat had a much deeper meaning. He knew that if they went that route it would be a huge step for their relationship. But the thought of living somewhere on his own made him feel a bit melancholy. He was always rubbish alone.

Unfortunately, no matter how he played it in his head he just wasn't sure how to bring it up in casual conversation. Hey Rose, I know I just appeared out of nowhere three days ago but would you like to move in together? He took in a deep breath. First he would have to ascertain exactly where she stood with their relationship. That was partly why he wanted to invite her to dinner where they could talk alone. Based on her comments over past two days, it was obvious she didn't view him and the other Doctor as the same man. He would have to explain to her who he was. He wasn't a clone but an actual regeneration. Perhaps it was a different type of regeneration but in the end he was the same man she fell in love with.

But what if that wasn't enough? Secretly he feared that he would never be enough for her in this form. He wasn't a full Time Lord anymore after all and he couldn't show her the universe either. His stomach turned. This is why I don't do domestic, he thought mournfully. It was enough to make his head spin.

Back at the Tyler Estate the sun had just started to set behind the trees, stray multicolored leaves catching in the wind as he drove up and exited. It was a bit cool to be going about without his coats, he decided, even for him. Upon entering the well adorned mansion, he retreated upstairs to put on his brown pinstriped suit coat and new camel colored trench coat and adjusted his swirly brown tie. He tossed his sonic affectionately in the air with a grin before pocketing it. With that he dashed downstairs to find his date.

He spotted her outside on the patio as the wind blew her gleaming hair wildly about her shoulders. Her black leather jacket flexed around her form as she gazed at the orange and pink sunset. For a moment he just stood observing her from afar, hardly believing she was actually there. Finally he stepped forward. "Rose?" he called gently.

She turned. The sight of him in his full ensemble squeezed her heart. It was so close to her own Doctor yet so very different, much like this version of the Doctor himself. The white stripes instead of blue, the missing pockets, how he wore his read converse instead of his white... How odd that such a little thing could be both at once disheartening and so overwhelming.

The Doctor stepped forward, struck by her peculiar expression. "Rose? Are you alright?"

With a watery ghost of a smile, she nodded her head ever so slightly. "Fine." But she wasn't. In fact, she was barely holding it together.

"Are you sure?" He looked her over incredulously, brow raised. But the warm tears traitorously dripping down her cheeks gave her away. In two steps he had swept her up in a tight hug, and she let out a small sob into his chest. "Oh, Rose."

After enduring nearly a day without falling apart, the littlest of triggers had sent her shaky resolve crashing to the floor. So many thoughts and feelings barraged her at once, and suddenly she felt as though she was back on that wretched beach, drowning under the frigid waves, an all-too familiar chill crawling down her insides. But suddenly, a voice snapped her back to the present.

"Rose, there's something you should know." The Doctor pulled back enough to look down upon her, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I know it must be hard. You loved him, and it feels like he's left you, but he and I... we really are the same. We had the same consciousness before the meta-crisis happened. We have the same memories and the same... feelings. I... feel for you the same way he did."

"What do you mean?" she asked dabbing her eyes.

"What do you mean, what do you mean?" he asked taken aback. Hadn't he made himself clear that day on the beach? His drew his hand up searching for hers. "Rose... I want to be there for you. I want..."

But the feel of his hand, that hand, proved too much. "Don't. Please," she interjected, cutting him off and stepping back from his reach. "I'm sorry, I just... I c-can't." She paused in an attempt to compose herself with little success. "The man I love left me and you loo-look just like him," she stuttered fresh tears streaming down her face. "When I look at you, it hurts. It just hurts so bad." With that she rushed past him and fled back into the house, slamming the door behind her.

Her words were like ice cold water splashing his face. She didn't want him. Though the feeling was enough to double him over, he somehow managed to stand firm. Inwardly though, it all came crashing down.

He couldn't do this. Not without her.

His mind began racing, his Time Lord brain instinctively analyzing as it always did when his life was in danger. And it was in a very real sense. What kind of life would he have now? In frustration, he brushed his hand through this hair and down the side of his face.

A string of very choice words in both English and Gallifreyanescaped his lips as he paced. Oh he had really mucked this up!

She was right. He did leave her after he promised he wouldn't. He winced and clenched his teeth at the memory- his memory of her asking right out if he would ever abandon her. And how else was she supposed to feel? Hm?! Oh how she must hate both of them right now. He couldn't say he blamed her.

Absentmindedly he reached up and grasped his hair once more. This was a mess and he had to fix it because the other Doctor was right, he needed Rose.


Rose fled to her room slamming and locking the door, ignoring her mother's muffled pleas for an explanation on the other side. She threw herself face first onto her bed and sobbed until there were finally no more tears to cry. Minutes slipped by unnoticed as she lay there in the steadily increasing darkness, her thoughts swirling, as she struggled to allow her volatile emotions to once more find equilibrium.

This wasn't going to work. She thought maybe she could be around him and maybe she could, but not this close. It hurt too bad. It messed with her head. It fooled with her heart. She wasn't going to abandon him, no, but they needed space- and boundaries. Maybe if she could just explain that they could go back to being like her and the Doctor used to be...

But then she realized that wouldn't work either because even then she had been head-over-heels for that Time Lord from the stars. It was never just holding his hand. It was never just a hug to her. It had always been more and she had thought it had been the same from him too.

Then that's it, she realized. They could never go back to the way things were. It was over.

She waited for the tears to come but they didn't. Her eyes were dry.


The quiet hum of engines was the only sound present on the vessel as the screen lit up the cold metal room. The blue light silhouetted the outline of the spiked grotesque creature observing the screen.

"The unknown energy source had been tracked to this location," a monotonous voice translator sounded.

"Is it from a human source?" questioned the armored individual behind him.

"Unknown. Further investigation required."

"Don't waste our time. The last human you captured was weak."

"The location was last pinged at a facility located London. Several of our sensors have indicated high levels of anomalies within the area the readings were taken. We require more subjects for questioning to narrow down the source."

Quiet once again enveloped the room. "Very well. Proceed. And you'd better hope you find something of interest. We are growing... impatient."

The sound of hardened shoes against the floor faded once more into silence.