CHAPTER 9

As soon as she dematerialized, she realized three things: 1. She really should have left the Doctor a note so he wouldn't worry about her and know where to find her, 2. She really had no idea why she suddenly felt this urge to go and visit Jack, and 3. Using a vortex manipulator while already in the time vortex was probably a really bad idea. In fact, she ruefully mused as she was suddenly overcome with vertigo and nausea, that should probably be number 1. After being tossed about like clothes in a dryer for what seemed like forever, the vortex finally spit her out and she rolled onto what felt like a concrete floor. She stood up, a little wobbly on her feet and her stomach threatening to empty its contents, and surveyed her surroundings.

The room was dark and damp. It appeared to be an underground bunker of some sort. As her stomach settled and her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she was able to make out two bunks against the wall with unmade beds, and two simple metal desks with uncomfortable looking chairs against the opposite wall. Two simple chests of drawers lined up on the wall across from the solitary door from which a tiny sliver of light spilled from underneath. That was it. She surmised that she was underground somewhere because the space was void of any windows. Perhaps she was in the Torchwood Hub? But this didn't look like any room she had ever seen before, and she knew that Torchwood base inside and out, and in two different universes for that matter. This was not the Hub. So, where was she? When was she, for that matter?

She closed her eyes for a minute and allowed her time sense to kick in. She still wasn't used to her enhanced abilities and wondered if they would ever feel natural to her. She was on Earth (well, that was good at least), London (even better), and the year was... 1940 (okay, that's not good). She racked her brain. London 1940, London 1940, London 1940. This was significant somehow. Then it hit her: the Blitz! She'd landed in London in the middle of the bloody London Blitz! Almost as confirmation, the room she was in was rocked as a large explosion sounded overhead. She was knocked off of her feet.

As she struggled to get to her feet again, her time sense provided more details. The specific date was 3 October 1940, approximately one month into the Blitz, and even more significant, this was the same day that she and the Doctor landed in London, met Jack, and saved the world from confused Nanogenes. So, I have left the Doctor behind for reasons I don't fully understand, Rose berated herself. Now not only do I have to avoid having a bomb land on me, I have to avoid contact with a creepy child who wants his Mummy, and avoid running into a younger Doctor, Jack, and myself, so that timelines aren't skewed. Rose Tyler, you have officially taken being jeopardy friendly to an completely new level. Oh yeah, and I have no idea how I'm going to get back because this manipulator doesn't travel to a spot inside the vortex. As the Doctor I need to avoid was fond of saying, "Fantastic!"

Realizing that she wasn't going to get anywhere if she didn't get out of this room, she took a deep breath, opened the door and...

"Well hello there, beautiful! Where'd you come from? Hello! Captain Jack Harkness." He held out his hand in greeting, face beaming with his trademark gorgeous smile.

Bollox.

-DW-

The Doctor was in a state of panic. "Rose? Rose? Ro-ose! ROSE! Oh, come on now, this is no time for hide and seek!" He ran around his beautiful ship, randomly opening doors and slamming them shut again when he found them empty. He had already checked her usual haunts: her room, his room, the kitchen, the library, the telly room, the pool (that was oddly enough inside the library), the wardrobe room, and the loo. He then checked the more unlikely places: the racquet ball courts, the sauna, the flower garden, the gazebo, the tennis courts, the zero room, and he even checked medbay. All were void of his pink and yellow former human. Which is why he was suddenly looking in every single room on his ship randomly, his breathless new companion following behind.

"Doctor, this is a huge ship. I'm sure she's somewhere around here. Just calm down, Raggedy Man!" Amy tried to console him, but to no avail.

"She's gone, Amy. She's gone! Don't you see?" He turned to her, desperation, despair, dejection, and a few other good "D" words as well, painted clearly on his face for all to see. "I trusted her enough to tell her something horrible that I'd done so that I could ask for her forgiveness, and now she's left me!"

"Oh, I'm sure it's not that," Amy tried to calm him down. "Trust me, Doctor, I lived with her for twelve years, and she never gave up on you. That woman loves you! She'd do anything for you! I'm sure that it would take more than an admission of a little mistake to chase her away."

"But this wasn't a little mistake, Amy!" he sniffed. "This mistake could have destroyed the universe! And the only reason it didn't was because a woman committed suicide!"

Amy's eyes grew big as saucers, but she made no comment. "Still, that woman is mad about you! She'd never just leave you high and dry without good reason!"

"This was good reason, Amy. I'm dangerous. You should probably leave me, too."

"Not a chance, Raggedy Man," she smiled. "Okay. Let's say that she has left the TARDIS. Surely you have a way to find her?"

His face lit up. "Her ring!"

"Her ring?"

"Yes, her engagement ring!" He began to dance around the consol, pulling levers and twisting knobs. "I never got a chance to tell her, but the stone is not just an ordinary stone. It's Gallifreyan, from my planet. There's not much left of my planet in the universe: just the TARDIS and me, and that ring. I can trace the ring!" Suddenly, though, he stopped, his face sober. "But suppose that she doesn't want me to find her?"

Amy was flabbergasted and threw up her arms in despair. "DOCTOR!"

"Right. Alright. She did leave the TARDIS while in flight. Perhaps she was captured. It's happened to her before. This is not a usual thing to happen, mind you, but if it was going to happen to anyone, it would be her. She is the most jeopardy friendly person I have ever met!"

"So, she could be in trouble?"

"Hang on, Rose, I'm coming!"

-DW-

Rose thought quickly and came up with an alias: Jane Doe. Really? Jane Doe? That was the best I could do? Oh, he'll see through that one all right. I'll never make fun of the Doctor calling himself "John Smith" ever again.

The young captain just chuckled and shook his head. "Well, Ms. Doe, care to explain how you ended up in the men's dormitory? And why a beautiful woman such as yourself has to have such a horrible alias?"

Might as well tell him the truth, she decided. There was no deceiving Jack. She raised her hand and showed him the vortex manipulator. "Got the coordinates wrong. Was supposed to land about 65 years in the future from here. It's been acting wonky. And as for the alias, I'm from your future, and you haven't met me yet, and this little meeting could have disastrous consequences on the space and time continuum, so it might be best to get out of my way, let me go, and forget this entire conversation!"

Jack scratched his head. "Okay... that's a new one... okay. Hey, where'd you get that manipulator, anyway? It looks like mine!"

"Spoilers!" Rose just put one finger to her lips and ran out the door.

That was a close one, she thought. But just when she thought that she had made it through unscathed, she felt a new memory wash over her. Not a new memory, exactly, but an altered one.

-DW-

Young Rose Tyler was dangling from a barrage balloon, when suddenly a large white tractor beam came out of nowhere and a man's voice said, "Nice to see you again Ms. Doe! I knew you just couldn't keep away from me. Now, if you could just turn off your cellphone, we'll get you to safety."

Bewildered, she did as she asked. She landed in his arms with great applomb. Blimey, but he was gorgeous! "Hello," she said.

"Hello," he beamed.

"Hello, wait, I've said that already, haven't I?"

"Blimey, you're looking at me like you've never seen me before, Ms. Doe! And here, we just spoke not five minutes ago!"

"Sorry?"

He took in her younger looking face, the Union Jack t-shirt, and the distinct absence of a vortex manipulator on her wrist, and suddenly, he understood.

"Uh, never mind. Hello. Captain Jack Harkness!" he beamed.

Somewhere across town, an older Rose Tyler breathed a sigh of relief.

-DW-

The TARDIS materialized inside a cupboard. The Doctor and Amy emerged to find several guns pointed at them. "Doctor, is it you?" The guards stepped aside to reveal none other than Winston Churchill, Prime Minister.

"Indeed it is, old friend! Amy, Winston Churchill. Winston, Amelia Pond."

The Prime Minister just looked pointedly at the Time Lord and held out his hand.

"What's he after?" Amy asked.

"TARDIS key, of course" the Doctor replied.

"Think of what I could achieve with your remarkable machine, Doctor. The lives that could be saved."

"Ah, doesn't work like that."

"Must I take it by force?"

"I'd like to see you try!"

The friendly banter carried on as the trio ascended in a lift to the roof of the building.

"Listen, old friend, it's not that I don't want to catch up, but I'm actually busy trying to mount a rescue right now. You haven't seen a blonde woman walk through here recently, have you?" the Doctor doubted he had, but it didn't hurt to ask.

"Nope, no women here other than your lovely ginger friend, but if you're mounting a rescue, how about saving my country from the Germans? For a little more than a month, this great city has been bombarded night and day."

Amy stared at the skyline in front of her and took in the barrage balloons. "Doctor, it's..." she started.

"History," he finished for her as a bomb exploded in the distance.

They were introduced to a Dr. Edwin Bracewell, who was working on a Top Secret ironsides project. On his command, a beam of light came out of nowhere and struck down the Nazi plane.

"But..." the Doctor stammered. "That wasn't human. That was never human technology. That sounded like. Show me. Show me. Show me what that was!"

"It's our new secret weapon!" Churchill crowed.

But the Doctor stared in horror as out from the emplacement rolled a Dalek. Rose was momentarily all but forgotten.

-DW-

Rose was running through the streets of London. That had been a close call with Jack. She had to get out of town and quickly, too! Then she heard it, "Mummy, are you my Mummy?"

Chills ran up her spine as she turned around. There in front of her was a child in a gas mask. What was his name again? Think, think, think! Then it came to her. "Jamie! Jamie, is it? No, sweetheart, I am not your Mummy, but I know who is."

"Where is she? Where's my Mummy?" She had forgotten just how creepy this kid was. But she took a deep breath and reminded herself that the kid was really quite harmless as long as he didn't touch you, and when the Doctor cracked the puzzle, everything would be alright anyway, even if he did. Everybody lives!

Then she remembered how in the end, the Nanogenes went airborne. She turned and ran. "Mummy! Mummy! Mummy!" the child called after her. She didn't pay any attention to where she went, but just kept running, her head turned to look behind her to make sure the child wasn't following. She kept this up until with an "oof!" she ran into something solid and made of leather.

"Rose! There you are! What is it that I've told you about wandering off?"

Bollox again.