Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I make any money from it.

A/N We crossed 400 reviews to this story! Thank you so much for that.

As promised, here is Part 1 of story #7 'Different Beginnings'. This story is going to get confusing very quickly very fast so I'd be happy to answer any and all questions that you might have at the end of each chapter.

Happy Reading!

Different Beginnings: Phantasmagoria

Previously

The lights in the TARDIS suddenly went out completely, plunging them into darkness. Even the Doctor's superior vision was useless in the unnatural darkness that surrounded them. "Rose?" he called, extending his arms in front of him to find her.

There was no reply; in fact, there was no sound at all. The Doctor felt a trickle of fear in his hearts, just as the lights came on again. He blinked rapidly to clear his vision but his hearts went cold when he saw that Rose was no longer in the console room.

"ROSE!" he called, knowing that he hadn't heard her move or go inside. She had simply disappeared. "ROSE!"

He was about to head to the console to see what had happened when a blinding pain filled his head. With a scream loud enough to chill any mortal's heart, the Doctor fell to his knees as his vision went white. The TARDIS gave a mournful whine as her systems began to shut down one at a time.

The Doctor lost consciousness slowly, feeling the connection to the TARDIS being broken off but being unable to stop it.

Across the universe, the ominous laughter of the Black Guardian continued echo.

When the Doctor regained consciousness, the first thing he realised that he was tucked in rather comfortably in bed. A familiar scent enveloped him and he smiled happily. Rose. Thank Rassilon she was alright.

It had been an extraordinary dream, he remembered. They had handed the Key back to the White Guardian but then the TARDIS had been enveloped by darkness and Rose had disappeared. He also recalled a splitting headache but he expected it had passed. Rose must have helped him into bed.

In any case, his head felt fine. He felt rather well-refreshed for some reason. He turned to his side, only to have his senses assaulted by Rose's scent again.

"Rose,"he whispered, without opening his eyes.

A giggle answered and it was music to his ears. She was here, they were both alright and the Key was where it was supposed to be.

"Rose?" she asked, sounding amused. "Feeling mischievous, are we?"

Before he could ponder that rather odd statement, he felt soft lips press against his and his hearts thundered in his chest. He opened his eyes and there she was, pulling away from the kiss and grinning at him.

What? He didn't voice that out loud as he saw Rose in bed next to him. But she looked so different. Her golden hair was longer, almost all the way to her waist and there were no dark roots. Her face was bright and flushed pink but her eyes had a lot more gold flecks in the brown rather than the occasional green that was there before.

His mouth opened and closed a few times, unable to understand what had happened. She didn't seem to notice his rather speechless state as she ran a hand over his cheek and his lips and smiled. "What would Lord Rassilon think of you calling me 'Rose'? Such a scandal," she said teasingly.

"R-Rassilon?" he stammered.

She grinned. "Don't you remember the last time you called me Rose in public? I thought he'd have a fit over you not using my Gallifreyan name," she said.

Gallifreyan name…Arkytior. No, none of this made sense. Rassilon was long dead, Rose was human and he certainly couldn't remember how those two things could be happening in this conversation. "Am I dreaming?" he asked, his voice sounding hoarse to his own ears.

Rose threw her head back and laughed and he couldn't help but stare at the shining golden hair and her pale creamy neck. Pale creamy neck that led to other parts barely covered by a thin white sheet. He gulped as he let his eyes trail down her body as she lay like a goddess, with her hair like a halo around her head.

Dream-dream-dream his mind screamed because there was no possible way that this was real. He and Rose weren't like that, whatever his feelings.

He opened his mouth, ready with a hundred questions on his lips but something chimed and Rose sat up hastily. She touched the device on the side table next to their bed and the Doctor sat up and stared. This wasn't the room in the TARDIS. This was a spacious room done is shades of white and blue with a huge glass window to the side. A window that went from the floor to the ceiling. And beyond which, there was a view of...No, no, no.

Impossible. That was impossible. He jumped out of bed hastily, hardly realising that he was naked as he stood looking out of the window. The twin suns shone brightly over the citadel in the distance and he couldn't breathe. Gallifrey, he was on Gallifrey.

Except just like Rose, this wasn't the Gallifrey he remembered. Oh, it looked much the same but there were fewer buildings in the citadel and the whole place looked…new. The Doctor was more than a thousand years old but Gallifrey was a lot older than him. However she looked so much newer, without the hushed burdens of history that eons had heaped on her.

He couldn't breathe, couldn't think through the confusion and the impossibility of knowledge that he had somehow travelled back in time to his own planet.

"Not that I object to it, but you do realise that you're naked right?" he heard Rose ask behind him.

He turned around and stared at her. She was sitting up, the white sheet wrapped around her, her hair falling around like waterfall around her. No, this wasn't real, couldn't be real. Gallifrey had strict time defences, one couldn't just pop back into the planet's past upon a whim.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, frowning.

He didn't answer, merely shook his head. "This isn't real," he said, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, Rose was still there, looking at him in confusion.

"What's not real?" she asked him.

"This!" he said, gesturing wildly around him. "Everything! Gallifrey! You!" he said.

Rose's smile dimmed. "Are you feeling alright? Has the stress got to you yet again?"

"Stress of what?" he asked, despite himself.

She looked worried as she stood up and walked up to him. He averted his eyes but she seemed unconcerned at her unclothed state. Some part of his brain pointed out that he was in the same state as her but before he could think to cover himself up, she said a string of musical syllables that nearly stopped his hearts.

It was his name; no, he corrected, it was the name he instinctually knew had belonged to the Other. Rose couldn't have known, not even this version of her. Unless…

"Arkytior," he murmured, his brain starting to put the pieces together. He had suspected, oh he had suspected this but never in all his lives had he thought that this would be true. It was Rose; she was the Eternal that the Other had fallen in love with.

No wonder he couldn't see her timeline, their timelines had been entwined from such a long time ago. Bonded forever, in such a way that not even death could have broken it.

But no, he reminded himself. This was just an illusion, perhaps a long buried memory but he had to get out of it. He had to find his Rose; the Rose Tyler whom he had met while Cybermen had taken over the shop in London, who was his best friend and the one he adored immensely. The past was just that; the past. It might have influenced why he had been intrigued by Rose but he knew that he had come to love her for all she had done for him and the universe since she had travelling with him.

Rose Tyler was grumpy in the mornings, was inordinately fond of chips and the colour pink, and loved to pester him about changing his wardrobe once in a while. She had a compassionate heart, a generous soul and a smile that could light up the skies. She was very real and he had to wake up now to find her. The Other and his Eternal could relive their memories for all he cared but he was going to find his Rose.

Never saw the sun shining so bright,

Never saw things going so right…

"What is that?" he asked, snapping out of his thoughts at the song that had started playing.

"What is what?" Arkytior questioned, looking concerned.

Noticing the days hurrying by,

When you're in love, my how they fly

Oh blue skies, smiling at me

"Irving Berlin," he muttered, recognising the song. He blinked and when his eyes opened, he nearly lost his footing at the sounds that assaulted his ears. Crowds cheering, children laughing, vendors selling their wares, the sound of ocean in the background…

"Doctor?"

He gave a start as he recognised Rose. It was his Rose, with her shorter hair, dark roots and all, jeans and a blue hoodie. He gave a cry of delight and planted a kiss on her forehead before pulling her into a tight hug. He felt her laugh as she returned his hug.

"Blimey, you're acting like you haven't seen me in years," she said as she pulled away.

"Feels like it," he said. He glanced around again and realised that they were at a fair. He certainly did not remember coming here. "Where are we?" he asked.

Rose looked at him in concern. "Blackpool," she said. "You feelin' alright?"

"Blackpool?" he asked.

"Yeah, we handed the Key over and I said we should go somewhere fun," said Rose cautiously, looking very worried at his lack of recollection. "Doctor, do you wanna go back to the TARDIS?"

"No, no," he said at once. "Blackpool is good. Fun to visit indeed. What year is it?" he asked.

"2008," said Rose. "Look, let's go back to the TARDIS. I'll make you a cuppa while you try and understand why you can't remember yeah?"

The Doctor nodded slowly. "Right, yes," he said. "Where did we park the TARDIS?"

"Come on, this way," said Rose, taking his hand and pulling him towards the boardwalk. As they passed the last of the vendors, the Doctor stiffened at the song being played.

When you're in love, my how they fly

Oh blue skies, smiling at me

Nothing but blue skies, do I see…

"That song," he said.

"Irving Berlin, isn't it?" asked Rose.

"You can hear it?" he asked, sounding surprised.

Blue birds singing a song

Nothing but blue birds all day long

"Yeah," said Rose, looking very worried and the Doctor couldn't help but compare the near identical expression he had seen on Arkytior's face. "Come on, back to the TARDIS."

The Doctor let her lead him away from the fair but as they walked underneath the exit arch of the fair, the world seemed to tilt and everything went dark.

Noticing the days hurrying by,

When you're in love, my how they fly

Oh blue skies, smiling at me

"Irving Berlin," he muttered, recognising the song. He blinked but stayed right where he was. "No," he said, realising that he was still on Gallifrey. "I was in Blackpool."

"What is Blackpool?" Arkytior asked him, touching his forehead as if trying to gauge if he was ill.

He stumbled away from her and sat down on the bed, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "None of this makes sense," he murmured.

She knelt in front of him and took both his hands in hers. "Tell me what is wrong," she said, her expression pleading.

Try as he might, he couldn't ignore that look, least of all from her. "I am swinging back and forth through time. In a way that shouldn't be possible," he said.

"Do you want me to send for Lord Rassilon?" she asked. "Perhaps he shall be able to help."

He almost nodded before shaking his head. He couldn't be certain that this wasn't some dream, perhaps a telepathic trap that was forcing him to relive a past life that he had erased completely from his mind. "No," he said. "I just…I need you to refresh my memories," he said, looking at her.

She looked worried but nodded as she extended her hand towards his temple. Startled, he caught her wrist before she could establish a connection. "No!" he shouted, wincing when he saw the hurt flash across her face. "I-I meant, just talk to me," he said, softening his voice. "Please."

"What do you want to know?" she asked, looking slightly wary.

"Gallifrey," he said. "What are you doing on Gallifrey?" There, that was a safe question. Why would an Eternal be on Gallifrey?

She bit her lip as she stood up and sat down next to him on the bed. "Hiding," she said, looking down at her hands. "Lord Rassilon is keeping Fenric and the others away for the time being."

He went rigid when she mentioned Fenric. So there was something connecting it after all. He owed Rose an apology for dismissing her concerns, among other things. "How is he doing that?" he asked, his tone gentler now.

"The birth of our daughter has all but obscured my immortal signature," she said, sounding very sad. "We have no idea how long it will be until it wears off and I'll be visible to them again."

The Doctor's vision swayed precariously. A child; she had given birth to a girl. The legend had been true. He had been a father; she had borne him a child. A womb-borne child. "Where…" he said, his voice sounding so hoarse that he wasn't sure she could hear him. "Where is she now?"

Her head bowed and a few tears dropped into her lap. "In the vortex," she answered in a small voice. "I cannot say where she is. Lord Rassilon was adamant that it was the only way to keep her safe."

Without even thinking, he pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. She buried her face in his neck and sobbed as he held her tightly. "I am so sorry," he said. "We'll find her one day. I promise," he added, meaning every word of it. Now that he had this confirmation, no power in the universe would stop him from finding his daughter, Susan's mother.

"I believe you," she murmured, looking up at him with tear-filled gaze.

He brushed the tears off her cheek with his thumb and gazed into her eyes, feeling almost humbled by the glow of Eternals that shone from them. He could see why he had fallen in love with her as the Other. Like his Rose, she was beautiful, kind and held such love for him that it was overwhelming.

He felt unworthy of her, but he didn't stop her as she leaned in and kissed him languidly. Without breaking the kiss, she pushed him back until he was lying on the bed on his back. The Doctor was so completely lost in the sensation that he missed the song when it started playing again.

Blue days, all of them gone

Nothing but blue skies from now on…

A/N End of Part 1. Thanks for reading.

So, what did you think? I know it might be a bit confusing so feel free to ask but as the story unravels, things will become a lot clearer. The song I used is called 'Blue Skies' by Irving Berlin. Nice song if you ever want to hear it.

The next part will see what happened to Rose when she disappeared in the last chapter. Or did she really disappear? It could just all be a dream and the Doctor and Rose really did go to Blackpool after they handed over the Key to Time!

Part 2 will be up soon. See you then!

~ Phoenix