"Hey Nan, what was your grandmother like?"
The older woman leaned back from kissing her grandson goodnight. "My gran?"
"Will you tell me about her? Mum never will. She never answers when I ask."
"I know," Gemma Tyler said. "I know. Your mum gets mad at Granna Rose."
"How come?" John asked. "What's the big deal?"
"Maybe you'll meet her some day soon."
"What! No! I'm going to live a long time!"
Gemma laughed, tucking the covers more tightly around her grandson. "Not like that, John. She's still alive in the world somewhere."
"What? She's alive? Nan!"
Gemma laughed. "Oh dear. Your mum will be furious. You're all excited. Lie back, John. I'll tell you the story if you promise to go to bed. Do you promise, sweetheart?"
John nodded with big eyes, settling back into his pillows and bedding.
"Very well. Your Granna Rose was born in London. Her husband Pete died shortly after Rose was born. Her mum, your great great great gran Jackie, wasn't married, raising Rose alone, for the first 19 years of her life."
"I thought Pete was the ruler of Torchwood though..."
"He was, sweetheart, he was. Just listen."
John nodded.
"So when Rose was 19, she met this bloke. He was an alien."
"No way!"
"He was," Gemma nodded. "His name was the Doctor."
"I've heard of him."
"He took Rose and they travelled around the stars and through time in his spaceship, called the TARDIS."
"I thought that's what Granna Rose-"
"Do you want me to tell my story?"
"Yes, Nan."
"Very well. So eventually, they saved the world, several times, from nasty creatures called Daleks and Cybermen. And Rose was saved from being sucked into the void where they're being imprisoned. She was saved by the very same Pete that you know! This is your grandad Pete. From this universe. Because there is more than one universe."
"Yeah! Yeah!" John leaned forward as if that would let him hear better.
"So Rose was brought back to this universe. As well as, of course, Jackie. That's how she and Pete got back together and had your great great great uncle Tony."
"Then what!"
Gemma shifted herself on the edge of John's bed. "Well. Rose worked for Torchwood. She did all she could to get back to the Doctor on the other side. And you know what? She did. Granna Rose. Brilliant she was. And she found her Doctor. They loved one another, but he never found the courage to tell her. So she went after him. They saved the universe-again, sweetheart. And somehow there were two Doctors. Except one was human."
"Human? How did that happen then?"
"Well, I don't really know that part, except that it had something to do with a man named Jack and the Doctor's hand. And a woman named Donna."
"How did they get back here, Nan?"
"I'm getting there, sweetheart. Let's not get too excited. Your mum doesn't need to know I'm telling you all of this."
"I won't say anything! Honest."
"I know," Gemma said with a smile, wrapping her arms around the boy and giving him a rare squeeze. "Your nan loves you."
"Love you too, Nan," he whispered back.
"Now, the Doctor crossed back over here once more to leave Rose a second time at Bad Wolf Bay, which is where?"
"Um... In Norway?"
"You're such a smart boy! Yes. But this time, she had the human Doctor with her. So they could live together. A human life. Which the other Doctor couldn't give her-"
"Since he's an alien and lives a long long long time!"
"Exactly. So Rose and the human Doctor, he went by John to outsiders, lived their life together."

"Is that where I get my name?"

"Probably, sweetheart. Though your mum would never admit that. She's a stubborn one, that child."

"So then what?"

"Well, the Doctor died."

"And Granna Rose was really really sad?"

"Devastated."
"What does that mean?"

"Really really really sad," Gemma laughed softly. "But when he died, Rose was an old woman. They'd grown old together. However, as he lay dying, he gave her a gift. He didn't know it at the time, I think, but he gave Rose one last kiss. And with it, he gave her his last bit of regenerational energy. Because that's how Time Lords are 'reborn.' They regenerate. Now, there's one bit of this story that I haven't told you..."

"Yeah?"

"Before the Doctor, the original one, regenerated the first time when Rose knew him, she became Bad Wolf."

"Is that like a superhero name or something, Nan?" The boy's eyes were wide with awe. "Was Granna Rose a superhero!"

Gemma laughed. "No! Nothing like that, John. She absorbed the time vortex and the Doctor had to take it back so it wouldn't kill her, because it's not meant for humans. So he had to regenerate, turning into the man that you've seen pictures of."

"With his awesome hair!"

"Haha, yes, sweetheart. And so when the Doctor gave her his parting gift, something about being Bad Wolf must have reacted and it turned her young again. Which is how she's stayed. For quite a bit."

"So is mum mad at Granna Rose because she still looks young and pretty while mum is getting older?"

"Ooh hush hush hush, boy!" Gemma bit back the laugh this time and tried looking stern. "I'm sure it's nothing of the sort," she continued, though she was sure that her daughter was irritated with the way that Rose would pop in and out, still looking fabulous as always.

"So then where did Rose's TARDIS come from?"

"It was a gift that the original Doctor left for them. They grew it."

"Grew? But I thought it was a space ship!"

"It is. TARDIS's grow, however, John. So now she travels around our universe. Visiting the stars. Saving people. Much like the Doctor is doing on his side of the universe." Gemma yawned. "And now it's time for bed."

"But I still—"

"For both of us."

"Will I ever meet her?"

Gemma shrugged, tucker her grandson in for the final time. "Who knows. Happy birthday, sweetheart."

"Thanks, Nan." He smiled as Gemma flicked off the light on her way out of the room.


John rolled over in his bed, still too excited to go to sleep. Granna Rose was like a superhero! Living forever. Seeing all sorts of neat stuff. Sleep was impossible. Instead, he watched the clock.

10:03

10:12

10:27

10:44

11:21

Just as he was drifting off, however, a blue-ish light shone through his window and a strange noise filled their back yard. Grabbing a torch, he crept to his window, peering down.

A blonde woman waved up at him.

He didn't move.

The blonde woman motioned him to come to her.

John frowned.

The blonde woman planted her hands on her hips and waved more frantically for him to come to her.

So John did the most logical thing: listened to the adult. Sliding his shoes into his slippers, he slung a robe around his frame and tapped down the stairs to sneak out the back door. "Hullo. Who're you? Are you my Granna Rose?"

The blonde woman knelt in front of him. "Aren't you a smart boy. Yes. Yes, I'm Rose."

John's face split into a grin. "Brilliant! You're amazing! Nan just told me all 'bout you!"

"Did she now?" Rose's eyes twinkled. "Well since it's your birthday, John, I was going to take you somewhere."

"You weren't!"

She shrugged. "Alright then. Back to bed th—"

"No! I want to go somewhere! Where's the TARDIS? I want to go!"

"There we are! Behind me." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder and when John peered around her, he indeed saw the blue police box tucked into the back corner of their yard. "Where to then, John?"

"Anywhere!"

Rose grinned. "I like you, young Tyler." She snapped her fingers and John's back yard was filled with a warm yellow glow as the doors of the TARDIS opened and Rose guided him through. He thought he heard her whisper words that sounded like 'allons-he.'