Ehm, it's 00:06, but it's not considered being late, is it? I just happened to forget to check up for mistakes, so I had to do it tonight. But I'll do anything for my lovely readers. Also, I'm sorry to tell you I'll have to abandon the routine a bit, because I have finals and all my time will be occupied with more and more scientific facts. I'll finish on the 26th of June.

So, for making it up, I'll post a special chapter today. It's a completely original story, and there are hidden some hints for major facts of the story. Enjoy.

Ch.11. Something old, something new.

"Hello, is somebody there?"

"It's nothing. It's just a wolf."

.-.-.-.-.-.

"Doctor, I need to do some shopping in Earth."

He raised his head and hit the control panel with it, making him whimper with the sudden pain. He had been trying to fix the shield extrapolators and hadn't heard her coming. He sat up, carefully this time and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Shopping?"

"Yes. I've ran out of shampoo, and I'd also like to buy some other things."

"Which things?"

"Just things. Why are you making such a fuss?" He averted his gaze and muttered something "What."

"Because Jackie might hit me with a pan or slap me, something I'd like to avoid." The tips of his ears acquired a soft shade of pink and she giggled.

"You afraid of my dear neighbour, Doctor?"

He scoffed "Me, afraid of a mere human? Of course not. I'm The Doctor, The Oncoming Storm, a silly ape couldn't even…"

"Rose." Jack showed up, interrupted him "You have a phone call. She says she's Jackie." The Doctor paled and they both burst out laughing. He looked at both of them, and when he realized they were teasing him he was furious.

"Messing up with the designated driver isn't a good idea, you know. I could leave you wherever I feel pleased as a revenge."

She laughed and crouched down "C'mon. We don't necessarily have to land at the present. We can travel some years to the past when she doesn't know you yet. That's why we have a time machine, don't we?"

"We could use the travel to refill the shelves. We've ran out of almost everything edible."

He sighed and gave up. Standing up, he set the coordinates to Earth, some years to the past and grabbed the starting lever. He glanced at them warningly and pulled it down.

The three of them laughed as they bumped and were shaken, grabbing the banister to keep standing on their feet. The TARDIS landed with a soft thump and they grinned ecstatic.

"Blimey." Jack exclaimed "Your driving has worsen in this three months I've been travelling with you."

"Shut up, Captain or I'll throw you to the nearest nebula."

Rose rolled her eyes. Boys and their usual bickering "Now could you please leave the testosterone behind and get going? We've got so many things to do."

She opened the door and a warm breeze caressed her skin. It was unusually warm for a winter at London, and the sun shone bright in a clear sky. She took her fluffy jacket off and threw it behind her, almost hitting the Doctor in the process. Yes, the soft jumper would do.

People were sitting on the fresh grass enjoying the good weather, and the entire city seemed to have slowed down. She considered the idea of telling the shopping off and enjoy the calm of the day, but she didn't know if she would be able to convince the Doctor to take her on a shopping day again.

The two men stepped outside behind her "Nice weather." Jack commented

"Here we are, London, 20th of January, 1999. Where do you want to start?" when he finished saying that, he saw a hint of blonde from the corner of his eye. He turned his head and froze; Rose –a younger version of her- was having a walk alone near them.

He grabbed the oldest Rose's arm "We have to go. Now."

"What's happening?" she asked alarmed, but the Doctor still pushed her away from the TARDIS almost painfully "Stop and tell me what's going on!"

He let her go "It was you. Not you but a younger you, the one that lived near here in 1999."

"Oh, really? And how was I?" she asked curious

"That's no joke Rose. If you bumped into you, if you suggested her- you in some way you would change your forthcoming actions, who knows what would happen in the future."

He rubbed his neck. How come they always got in trouble? It was an innocent shopping trip and there they were, about to cause a rip of the reality. Bugger, he really had bad luck.

He sighed and covered his eyes with his left palm "We have to go."

"No!" she shook his too tight hand off her "We have to do urgent shopping and it has taken me too much time to convince you to come. Moreover, London's a very big city, it's quite unlikely to meet me again."

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her lightly "I can't live this to chance, Rose! Time's very fragile and has to be treated with care if you don't want all the reality to fall apart."

"Are you implying I'm not careful enough?"

"Th-that's not…"

"Oh yes, you did. You always complain how silly us humans are, and I happen to be one silly ape too? Silly Rose who doesn't know how to be careful with events that could change the future. Well, let me tell you I've done quite great in this whole year and nothing has happened yet."

He looked at her and felt his anger build up "Oh yeah? How about that day you touched a Dalek, bringing it to life? Or that other time you brought someone on board who tried to change the future, putting the whole universe on danger?"

"Oh now everything's my fault?! Remember you are the one who put us in all those dangerous situations for your own enjoyment and to fulfil your sense of grandeur."

He clenched his jaw, his eyes clouded and his mind began racing. A tiny voice in his head begged him to stop before he said too much, but he ignored it.

"You want to know what I think? That maybe you aren't here for the shopping. Maybe you're here to regain your memories and you have used me and my time machine just to do it." He let her go forcibly "So go on! Look for your little you and ask her, then rip apart some realities in advance! Maybe this way you'll notice how wrong you are."

She glared at him hurt. His words had reached their objective and every insult had felt like a slap on her face. She looked up, trying to stop her tears and gritted her teeth, tense.

"You know?" she snapped "It hadn't cross my mind but now I might do as you say. Because as we all know, you always the cleverest one everywhere we land, aren't you Doctor?" and she left him standing there, his eyes dark and clenched fists.

He turned around and saw Jack looking at him smugly "What." He snapped

"Nothing."

"What was I supposed to say?" he shouted exasperated. He was very ticked off their behaviour "She takes for granted something we must protect. It's the duty that was left for me."

"I'm not telling you what you should do and what you shouldn't, but if you keep making her feel inferior I might try to steal her from you."

He went out the park in an opposite direction Rose had taken before, leaving him standing alone "What does that even mean?" He muttered and repressed a curse.

He opted to have a walk. He didn't want to admit he was upset about making Rose get mad at him but he definitely wasn't happy about it either. She had become an important part of his life in a year they'd been travelling together and he hadn't enjoyed when she had acted so careless about it.

What was he supposed to do?! He was the last of his kind, he had to do all the job of his fallen brothers! And meeting yourself was very, very dangerous; he had some experience about it.

And there was the fact that she had used him. She had betrayed his trust in her and led him without his consent where she wanted. She only cared for the memories she had lost, noting more than that.

But, actually, did it hurt more her betrayal or realizing she didn't care about him?

He sat down on a bench and sighed. All the humans were sitting on the grass or pacing around, all happy just because an accumulation of water in gaseous form wasn't hiding the sun behind.

"Why are you sad in a day like this?" a tiny voice asked behind him. He turned his head and saw a tiny Rose looking at him with big owlish eyes. Her hair was darker than the colour she had in the future. Her arms were crossed, and relaxing on the bench back, her head resting on them and tilted so she could look at him properly.

"Why do you assume I am sad?" he asked

"You look like you've lost something important for you and can't find it. Jackie puts this face when she can't remember where she put her wedding ring."

He returned his face forward "Doesn't your parents tell you not to talk with strangers?"

"I'm not a child, I'm almost 13! Moreover, we are surrounded by people. If you tried to do something to me I just need to scream."

"Fair point."

She sat down with him in an Indian style, cupping her face with her hands, her elbows resting on her legs. She looked at him curiously "So, what happened?"

He glanced at her. She wasn't that different from her present self, with or without memories. She still had this kindness and need to help people, even if she didn't know them. He chuckled without force, it was ironic the one who tried to comfort him was the one he'd had the fight with.

"I had a fight with my best mate. I shouted, she shouted, we both said bad things and she left."

"Why?"

"I tried warning her about something, but she didn't pay any attention at what I said. I also discovered she had been using me all this time for her own benefit."

"How long have you known each other?"

"A year and two months. We travel together."

She played with a loose strand of her blouse "How do you know?"

"I'm sorry?"

"How do you know she was fooling ya? I mean, a year is a really long time to keep up a façade. Did she admit it was all a lie?"

"No, she… looked-"

"Hurt? 'Course she was. You accused her without proof, and showed her that after all this time you don't trust her."

He looked down at his own hands. He really wanted to shout at her she wasn't being objective, but she really was. She was stating things clearly despite being only a child and made him think about it. Did he really listen to what she had said? No, he didn't. He had just wanted her to do as he said without complain, and that wasn't what friends were to.

He realized he had been a jerk without a reason, and she had all the right to blame him. He had hurt her in so many ways in a very little time. And what about now? She might not want to hear about him again and ask him to take her home. And he would do it, despite he would be imploring in his insides for her to stay. Because she deserved so much.

"What do I do now?" he asked, his voice weak at the sudden emotions.

"Apologize. Explain her why you reacted like this. Maybe she won't forgive you for a while, but if she has stayed by your side all this time she probably will."

He observed at the little human sitting beside him. Even if she was younger, she was still her, all pink and yellow "You're very intelligent for your age, you know."

She smiled, her tongue poking between her teeth "Daddy always tells me that. He says the Wolf family is intelligent and strong. Oh." She looked at the time on a fob clock hanging from a golden chain she was wearing around her neck "Speaking about him, he's waiting for me. I gotta go now. I hope to see you again, Doctor, so you can tell me how it went."

"You bet for it." He replied and watched how she left. Okay, it was time to find older Rose.

.-.-.-.-.-.

She was crying. She was trying desperately not to do so but she hadn't succeed until then. She dried her tears with the back of her hand furious. How dare he tell her all this things? Maybe she had overreacted, but he still didn't have the right to accuse her of something that was completely false.

She had stayed by his side in the merrier and the worst, but deep down he still didn't trust her completely. He was looking for a reason to shut her out of his personal bubble and he had just find the breaking point. The truth is that his words had hurt her like steel bullets, like she had been smacked with the implications of his speech.

Maybe he was just looking for an excuse to take her back to London. Did she really had to go back home? After all she had seen out there, she doubted she could really return to normal life, with mortgages and boring jobs as a shop girl.

But this wasn't the main reason she didn't want to go. She cared for the Doctor deeply. She didn't want him to be alone again, not after what had happened to his people. But now in what position was she to ask for something?

She paced around, her eyes misted with tears when she bumped into someone. She grabbed her arm instantly, trying to keep her from falling.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking…" her words died down when she saw who was before her. Big hazel eyes looked back at her. She swore mentally. The only thing the Doctor had asked her not to do and she ran into it. Just fantastic.

"You are me." The little girl stated

"Now what are you…?" she began, but at seeing the serious expression of her face she stopped "You know."

"Yes."

"How?"

"It's not the strangest thing that has happened to me. Daddy's from the future, so I'm used to it. I also saw you landing an hour ago. Your spaceship's really beautiful, but a bit tiny, isn't it?"

"Oh. It's bigger in the inside. But I really shouldn't be talking with… well, me. We could have a lot of problems."

She tilted her head "But there's no Reapers around even if you have touched me. I think we are going to be just okay."

"Reapers?"

"Timelines cleaners. They appear when a timeline's too wrong and erase it."

She looked at her younger self impressed "Oh. Your daddy taught you all this?"

"Yes! When he's able to come home from work he teaches me everything he can. He's a great daddy."

She smelled a scent that made her stomach rumble. Beside them, there was a chip shop. She looked down and saw her younger self looking at the recently made chips and chuckled "As we've seen we aren't having problems in our meeting, how about I invite you to some chips? In exchange, you don't ask me anything about the future."

"Deal." She replied almost instantly and ran towards the shopkeeper to make their order.

They sat down, one in front of the other and started devouring chips. They were faintly golden and salty enough. Older Rose picked up one and chewed it slowly, marvelling its taste.

"I still don't think it's a good idea to hang around together, you see. I travel with that man who knows a lot about time, and told me no to meet you. We even had a really big fight about it."

She swallowed the chips inside her mouth and had a sip of Coke "The Doctor?"

"Yes…" she looked to the bowl of chips, but suddenly raised her head "Wait. When did I say his name?"

"You didn't."

"Then how…"

"I met him before I found you." She grabbed another chip and ate it. Her older self went from astonished to furious and began muttering curses. That… alien telling her not to do something and he does just that, huh?

"He was pretty upset."

That made her stop insulting him "Why?"

"He regretted telling you all that things, and thought you would ask him to go home for it."

"I couldn't possibly leave him for this… oh this stupid, daft, dense alien!" she laughed and ate three more chips. Then she noticed the chain hanging on her neck and opened her mouth "The clock! You already have it!"

"Yep. I've had it in my hands since I have memory." She looked at it "Blimey!" she exclaimed "I promised daddy I would be at home an hour ago. I'm sorry, I gotta go."

"No worries. Go home, quick. And it was nice meeting myself." She grinned, and her younger self answered with a kind smile.

"Me too. I hope the time between us will pass as quick as possible." She opened the door of the shop but turned before leaving "Oh, and make it up with the Doctor. He's a bit dense, but he really cares about you.

"Will do." She muttered. Leaving the money for the chips on the table, she left looking for the Doctor.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Jack was having a walk at the busy streets of London. He wanted to give space to these two lovebirds to make it up, and he quite enjoyed being alone for a while. Both of them were so dense they didn't even realize their own feelings. He was quite the expert in matters of love and had seen it instantly.

The way they looked at each other, the way they hardly ever lost contact with the other… it was quite obvious.

Something tugged his jacked and he looked back, meeting a pair of whiskey eyes. She looked back at him and let him go.

"Too old." She muttered "I'm sorry, I had mistaken you for someone."

"Don't worry, you didn't bother me at all. You can go, sweetie."

"Thank you. Oh, and don't make them wait too much or they will worry."

She walked down the street, leaving him dumbfounded. No doubt Rose was indeed interesting, even in her early ages. He laughed quietly and went back to their spaceship.

.-.-.-.-.-.

She ran through the park, looking for a man with leather jacket and soft jumper. She undid her steps and found the TARDIS, standing alone on the green grass. She leaned on her surface and let her breathing go out with forced puffs. She had walked more than she had realized, and she had spent twenty full minutes running until she saw the park.

She sat down on the grass trying to regain her breath, her back making contact with the blue wooden surface and looked up at the sky.

"Rose?" the Doctor called her from her left. He was panting lightly

"Doctor…"

"No, let me." He handled her his hand and she got up, standing face to face "First of all, I am sorry I shouted at you. I know I hurt you and you have no idea how bad I'm feeling about it. I said all these things because I felt betrayed, even if I had no reason, and I wanted you to feel it too, but that isn't a justification to act like this, and I'll understand if you want to go home."

She placed a hand gently on her arm.

"Stop. I couldn't possibly leave you for a silly argument. I told you wouldn't get rid of me easily, and I would chain myself to the console if you try to shut me out." She grinned. He still looked a bit hesitant but she opened her arms in invitation. He embraced her and rested his forehead on the hole of her neck "I have to apologize too, though. I bumped with myself earlier. Literally."

He snapped his head up "What?"

"Don't worry, no reapers in sight."

He relaxed again and after a while he let her go a bit reticent. "Wait, I didn't actually tell you about the reapers, did I?"

"You couldn't. It was young Rose who told me about it." He looked regretful "I was so stubborn I didn't even let you talk. I'm so sorry."

"Hey." He caressed her cheek with his thumb "Forget about it. But how could younger you know about reapers?"

"My dad appears to be a time traveller and we're from the future. Or he is the only one, I don't really know. She actually saw us landing."

"Really? She didn't tell me."

"Yeah." She heard some quick steps coming closer and saw Jack running towards them "Jack!"

"Oh, I see everything's clear, then. I suppose we have to move that warning to another day, Doctor."

She looked at them puzzled, but the Doctor did his best to ignore it. Jack plastered a cheeky smile on his face. He huffed and went inside the TARDIS, followed by a very confused Rose and a teasing Captain. He settled the coordinates to the vortex and let her navigate.

"We actually didn't do any shopping." He stated

"I can always ask Jackie to do it. She would really like the visit, you know." She commented, playing absentminded with a black ball

"No. absolutely not."

She threw the ball to Jack, who captured it gracefully "I don't understand, what is so terrific about her?"

"She almost hit him with a pan the first time we landed in her living room. Oh, and she slapped him because we spent four months of Earth time without paying her a visit. She has him a bit crossed."

He laughed at him and threw the ball to the Doctor, who was trying to ignore the conversation as best as he could "Doctor, you have quite a go with the Tyler women."

"You tell me." He muttered under his breath and passed the ball to her

"Oi!" she exclaimed and threw the ball with strength to his head, taking him by surprise. For her amusement, he hit him at the head

"Actually, I did meet your younger self today, Rose. I may say you were quite the human even since then."

"Wait, all of us met me? I mean, we were heading in totally opposite directions, what are the odds?"

"Maybe it's just that you always happen to be at the correct place at the correct time." The Doctor commented, already playing with the knobs and the buttons of the console.

She let the subject drop, accepting the answer, but something tickled at the back of her head. She began feeling it not too long ago, but it put her on ward. Something told her nothing was as easy as they put it.

Something was coming.