Hi, here's the next chapter. Please don't hate me.
Rose slid into the car along with her Pete. She had agreed to help him carry something home from his office because apparently, her mother was too busy. It had taken a lot of convincing on Pete's part to get Rose to agree to visit Torchwood, but he had promised it would be a quick little visit to pick up something. Pete weaved in and out of traffic, occasionally mumbling something under his breath.
Rose's mind was occupied with the TARDIS' warning of another Time Lord and the Bad Wolf. In the end she had only agreed to go because if the Doctor was in fact in her universe, the best place to track him down would be Torchwood. She hadn't informed anyone of her interactions with the mysterious ship. She knew it wouldn't be well received by Mickey or her mother. Jackie was especially resentful of the man who had almost gotten Rose killed on several occasions and then broke her heart.
Pete pointed to a large building covered in glass windows and said, "There it is, the Torchwood Institute." Rose could still remember traveling back to the actual Torchwood Manner. That adventure which had taken place three years ago her time (if she had her time lines correct) and had been filled with a knighthood, werewolves, and Queen Victoria. Rose could still remember everything about it, she remembered the Doctor faking a Scottish accent and calling her a "timorous beastie."
Pete pulled into a parking spot and turned off the car, gesturing for Rose to exit. She looked apprehensively at the doors with the Torchwood logo. Her stomach dropped and she bit her lip but she stepped out of the car and walked towards the doors, her 'father' beside her. Pete babbled on about the founding of the institute, which was completely different from the one in her universe. Apparently here, the Institute was founded after an alien ship had landed during World War II and gas mask children terrorized war torn London.
Rose's brown eyes widened as Pete described how a man had somehow managed to stop the conversion of the population and cured those infected. "What was his name?" Rose asked, her curiosity threatening to boil over
"Captain something," he mumbled. His face was pensive and he ran his hand through his receding hair.
"Captain Jack Harkness?" she offered, barely repressing a smile.
"Something like that, he ran Torchwood for years until his death. He was a good man, cared about the lot of us that worked with him." Pete's eyes were filled with nostalgia and he was smiling slightly. They were now standing in near the lift and there was a soft ring as the doors slid open. Rose stepped in and moved towards the back, allowing her father to slide his security card and choose the correct floor.
The lift began to rise and with a slight jolt Rose was knocked into the wood paneling behind her. She readjusted herself quickly and tried to focus herself. She inhaled deeply, allowing herself to exhale some of the tension that had been bothering her since earlier that morning. At last the doors slid open, exposing rows of computers, each manned by a person who was busy typing away. The grey Torchwood logo lined one of the walls and decorated each of the seven glass doors in the room. The air was clean and crisp, just like the rest of the institute. Pete began to make his way towards one of the glass doors and held it open for her. She ducked under his arm, expecting to find a box for her to carry out. Instead, there was a man sitting on the other side of the desk.
"Ah Rose Tyler, I presume? The name's Harold Saxon, director of Torchwood." The man extended out his hand but Rose just stared at it. She turned to face Pete and he wouldn't meet her eyes.
"Yes," she answered carefully, calculating possible escape routes and how easily she could make it past Pete.
"Finally! Your father has told me so much about you, speaking of which, Tyler, may I speak to her alone?"
Rose watched as Pete shut the door behind him, trapping her in a room with the director of an institution that she hated
"So Ms. Tyler," he began. "I bet you're awfully curious to know why it is that you're here, am I correct?" When she didn't answer him, he tried a different approach. "Tell me, what's your experience with our line of work here at Torchwood?"
She thought before she gave her answer, making sure to choose her words carefully. "I worked at a shop once, one day the dummies came to life, started attacking people. I helped a man stop it."
"A man? Tell me more about him," the Master encouraged. Rose however, kept her mouth shut.
"He was just some bloke I met on the street, bit too stubborn and headstrong to be honest, but that's all." Rose told him, not completely lying.
"I see. Well Rose, may I call you Rose? How about you take a walk with me and I'll show you around. We'd love to have you work with us here at Torchwood. You would be ….invaluable to our cause." He walked out the door, Rose hesitantly following. "Our labs of course, are on the lowest floor," He told her as he pushed the button for the lift.
As they descended, Rose felt a tiny nagging in the back of her mind, a brief flash of light but it faded quickly. She disregarded it, more focused on controlling herself. At that moment, every muscle in her body was screaming at her to run. Rose knew how much it would mean to Pete if she at least went with the Director, so she tried to keep herself calm. The lift doors slid open and the two of them stepped out. Saxon guided her down a cold hallway that came to a halt at a wall.
Rose could feel the hairs on her neck standing up and asked him, "Sir, where are we?"
He smiled before pushing at what seemed to be the open air, but instead made contact with something solid. A door flew open, revealing a ghastly crimson light. The shielding changed, revealing the magnificent blue phone box that Rose had left behind so long ago. "Welcome home, Bad Wolf."
It had to happen at some point, I hope you liked the chapter. A bit of good news, Rose and her Doctor shall be reunited soon!
Please review, it means a lot to me.
~Emily
