CHAPTER ONE

Where does the time go?
It's light out my window.

The night air was warm for London. Warm enough to leave the window open a crack. The moon was full and casting a strong light into the thin white curtains that billowed softly in the light breeze. The curtain glowed in the moonlight making it look like a ghost, lonely and wanting for a haunt. There were enough ghosts in that room already.

Brown eyes stared blankly at the moving shape. Entranced, and yet completely unseeing. Soft shadows fluttered across soft features, the face of women who'd lost everything. More than once. She sat fully dressed in a simple wooden chair in the center of the room. A double bed lay empty under the windowsill, fully made and without a crease.

A bright light appeared from the nightstand. Her cellphone. The one she didn't care about. She remained immobile in her chair. The curtain created movement in the room while it played with the light. Tiny holes in the plaster told the story of pictures no longer worth looking at. Hidden away in drawers or torn up in a fit of emotion. Now there were no emotions… there was nothing left… just emptiness.

Rose Tyler was a sliver of the girl she'd been before. So much time had passed, so many amazing memories… so many painful ones. She refused to let herself remember any of them, even the good memories hurt. They hurt more than the bad ones. Part of her often wondered if she might have been spared the heartache if she'd just said no to those remarkable blue eyes long ago.

He had shown her a better life. Gave her thrills and excitement beyond her wildest dreams. Made her feel like the most important person in the universe… but it was all gone. All of it. Now all she had was her work for Torchwood. The only time she could feel alive was when she was risking her life. It was the only way to feel him again… so when she wasn't doing that, she sat in the dark and waited. They rarely called her anymore. Something about a risk to herself and others… her mind not being what it used to be… but when they did call, it was always for the most important cases. She was still, after all, defender of the Earth. That title hadn't been taken from her yet.

Her parents, Jackie and Pete, as well as her little brother Tony, had long since given up trying to reach out to her. She'd created a divide between them, not wanting to get close to anything or anyone again. Even her dog, she'd given to Tony to take care of. There was no hope for her, that was what her mother would say. She tried so hard in those first few years after the accident, but even a mother's love couldn't pull her from the darkness.

The phone began to ring. Rose lifted herself slowly from the wooden chair and crossed the floor to the nightstand. Beside her sleek smartphone was a chunky brick style phone, ten years old by that time. Her hand hovered over its lifeless shape for half a moment, then gingerly picked up the smartphone.

"Hello?" She held the phone to her ear and waited. Her face remained completely expressionless as the other voice spoke through the phone. "I'll be right there." Without another word, she hung up the phone and slid it into her back pocket and turned to walk away. She froze for a moment, then turned back and grabbed the smaller phone and shoved it in her other back pocket. She'd never been anywhere without it, even though she knew no one would be calling.

Crossing the floor and pulling the door open, she never bothered to give the bedroom a second glance. The door slid closed behind her and the room was filled with nothing but the peaceful shadows of the curtain.

"Jonathan, come here." A short man with a pale complexion and sandy brown hair hissed over his shoulder as he leaned into the bright glow of a computer screen. His eyes were wide with excitement as he scanned the information there. In the dark, the man behind him stepped forward and sipped his tea casually.

"What you got, bogey?" Jonathan asked as he dunked his tea bag a few times then pulled it out and tossed it in a nearby waste basket. He was tall and skinny with dark skin and winning dimples.

"No- look!" The first man smacked the second in the gut and forced him to lean in. There was a red bar across the screen with bold white letters.

"Bloody hell…" Jonathan whispered. "Erik, is this… is this real? It can't be real, I mean… that would have to mean there's been some sort of dimensional…" He fumbled to produce a word, the first man only nodded enthusiastically in response.

"Spain," He whispered. "That's so close!"

"Should we call… her?" Jonathan crouched down and gave his partner a hesitant look. Erik returned it and bit the end of his thumb anxiously. There was a long silence.

"Not sure," Erik responded at last. "You've heard the rumours." Jonathan nodded sadly.

"It's like the engines running… but no one's behind the wheel." They turned and stared at the screen in silence once more. A decision weighed heavily on them.

"I feel like we have to?" Erik finally said in a whisper.

"She's been through so much… what if it's not him?"

"You know she would beat us to a bloody pulp if she knew we'd kept it a secret… She's bound to find out." Erik pushed his chair back, suddenly decided, and reached for a red landline phone that was fixed to the wall behind them.

"Maybe just tell her to come down, yeah?" Jonathan offered. "Give us a little more time to figure out what's going on. Why he's here. If it's truly him…" Erik nodded in agreement, then his attention turned to the phone.

"Rose? Yeah. Erik. We're going to need you to come down the HQ right away." He paused for only a second. "Right then, cheers." He hung up the phone and pulled himself back to the desk. "I hope my shift is over by the time she gets in." He groaned as they both stared at the red bar.

The white letters sprawled across the screen in all capitals: 'THE DOCTOR IS IN'.

By the time Rose had arrived at Torchwood Head Quarters, the halls seemed to be alive with activity. Unusual for that time of night, it had to have been two in the morning. Rose offered quiet pardons as she pushed through the crowd that had built up around the control room where Erik had called her from. The air instantly grew tense as people began to notice her.

"Oh, uh, Rose." Erik fumbled with the buttons of his vest awkwardly. "Thanks for coming so quickly-" Rose didn't both to look at him, her eyes immediately found the screen that was now being projected on the big screen at the head of the room. Whatever Erik had been babbling she never heard. Her body was rigid as she read the words over and over in her head. It couldn't be, it couldn't possibly be.

"Is this accurate?" She turned sharply to Erik, cutting him off. Her eyes wide with urgency, her words pointed.

"W-we believe so." Erik stuttered.

"The readings fit," Jonathan confirmed. Rose's eyes darted to his. "We triple confirmed… we wanted to be sure."

"Where?" Was all she managed. Her hands were shaking and clammy. The crowd at the door watched with the slightest amount of whispering. "Where?" She all but shouted when no answer came fast enough.

"Barcelona!" Erik squeaked. "Spain." Rose turned swiftly on her heel.

"Send me the coordinates." She said hurriedly as she pushed her way through the crowd on onlookers.

"Don't you want to know why he's here first?" Jonathan called after her but it was too late. She had broken into a run. He turned to look at Erik who was blotting his brow with a handkerchief.

The flight had been the most painful part of the journey. Three hours she had to sit and wait, her adrenaline pumping despite her lack of movement. All the thoughts she'd spared herself from having been suddenly set free and lighting fires all over her brain. In all those thoughts, however, she never spared one for what her supervisor might think of her taking off the way she did. Or what might lie ahead for her, what evil had The Doctor come to stop?

Rose walked with a purpose down the stunning city streets of Barcelona. Her smartphone poised in her hand as her eyes flicked back and forth between the coordinates and the environment around her. The city was just waking up, there weren't many people around. The area she was in was very residential, very peaceful. There were flower boxes in every window, but she never bothered to look. Her face was flushed with exertion as she powered forward. She was so close, almost had there. She turned a corner.

There she was.

Sitting pretty as a picture, in silent might and wonder. The TARDIS was parked neatly in the back corner of an alley, next to some trash bags. Rose felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of her. Like a mirage in the desert, she could hardly believe in what she was really seeing. Her body was sweating from the adrenaline. It had to be a dream. Any second now she would awake in the sad dark room having somehow fallen asleep. She clenched her fists tight enough that her nails pierced her own skin. She didn't awake. Part of her was terrified, frozen to the spot, the other part of her was screaming 'we didn't come here to look at it'. She took a few shaky steps forward and then broke into a sprint.

Trembling hands made contact with the hard painted wood and she let out the breath she'd been holding. It was real. For a moment, she swore she felt something pulse from the TARDIS, almost like a welcoming. Rose stood for a moment, hands firmly against the ancient ship. Inside, there could very likely be an ancient alien. Her right hand slowly reached into the collar of her shirt and pulled up a chain that hung from her neck. Her old key. She slid it over her head and shakily held it near the lock.

A million thoughts raced through her head. How much time had passed for him? Would this be The Doctor she'd remembered, or would he wear another face? Would he remember her? Would he be traveling with someone else? Would he think she looked old… it had been ten years for her. Would he look at her the way he looked at Sarah Jane? The thoughts made her second guess her decision to come, but her heart pounded its needs and she was inclined to obey. Her trembling hand hovered the key just outside the lock, her heart pounded in her ears and her entire body was clammy. After all the years of hoping, and wishing, and begging. All the years staring at a phone that never rang. Dreaming of a day that wasn't even possible.

"Oi!" A voice from behind made her gasp, the key dropped to the ground with a tiny clink. "What are you doing?" Rose was frozen. Eyes wide. She didn't dare turn around, there was no way what she was hearing was real. It just wasn't possible. Was it? She shut her eyes tightly and willed herself to wake up, but again she could confirm she wasn't dreaming. She held her shaking hands up in a way that suggested surrender, but she didn't turn. Couldn't bring herself to turn. "I asked you a question." The voice was firm, but there was a hint of curiosity behind it. Rose shut her eyes tight and tried to think of a rational explanation. If she'd learned anything from her travels with The Doctor, it was that anything was possible. In a Universe where her dad was alive perhaps it was possible… "Is that a key?" The voice persisted, it was much closer now. The familiarity of it sent shivers down Rose's spine, she kept her eyes closed and focused on the Northern tones. "Where'd you get that?" The voice was now beneath her. She opened her eyes and looked down.

There he was. Closely cropped hair, beaten leather jacket, crouched beneath her studying the key she had dropped. His head tilted up to get his first look at her, at first it was serious but the second their eyes met he'd gone agape with shock. He stumbled backward and fell in a hasty retreat from her. His eyes had been as gorgeous as Rose had remembered, lashes framing beautiful blues in a canvas of ridged angles and lines. He looked as if he'd seen a ghost. Rose slowly lowered her hands as they stared at each other, both unsure of what to make of the situation. The wide shocked eyes of The Doctor became glassy suddenly as if he couldn't hide the emotions that overwhelmed him. Then he suddenly jumped to his feet, the softness replaced by anger. A deep seething rage that terrified Rose to her core.

"Who are you?" He demanded in a tone usually reserved for the foulest of foul enemies. "Why are you wearing that face?" Rose was completely caught off guard.

"It's the only one I've got." She replied in a more timid voice than she'd intended, but a voice that resembled the Rose she used to be.

"Normally I love a bit of cheek, but I'm suddenly not in the mood for it." His expression didn't change. "Where did you get this key?" He lifted it up.

"You gave it to me." Rose tried. "At the Estates, just after the Slitheen crashed that ship into Big Ben." There was a small tremor to his features but he remained unshaken. "It's really me, Doctor. It's Rose."

"Not possible." He spat out swiftly.

"Why not?" She crossed her arms. "And anyway- I should be the one doubting you. I saw you regenerate, you haven't looked like that in a long time." The Doctor lowered his arm and allowed a look of curiosity to wash over him. "How do I know you're really The Doctor?" The Doctor seemed offended, he looked away and let out a puff of breath before looking back at her.

"Of course I'm The Doctor. Who else could I be?" He gestured to the ship next to them. "TARDIS? Time Lord?"

"But I saw you regenerate." Rose insisted.

"And I saw you burn."

His words were fell from the air like stones to the earth. They rattled around Rose's brain in a way she couldn't comprehend. They were both silent. Regarding one another with curiosity and suspicion. Pain and excitement. The conflicting emotions made the air of that small alley seem thick and hot. Rose broke eye contact and looked shyly at her feet.

"W-what do you mean?" She asked quietly. "Burn?" There was more silence in the air. The Doctor, still in complete disbelief that he was talking to Rose, couldn't help but feel anguish as he debated on clarifying. Whoever stood in front of him had to be a clever shapeshifter, one that knew all about their history, but a touch too late to take advantage. It still hurt to look at her. "This is mad," Rose said suddenly shaking her head and gripping it loosely with her hands. "I've finally snapped. They were right about me after all." She took a few steps away from The Doctor, who watched with a carefully guarded eye. "I've officially checked out. A vegetable sitting in my room thinking I'm with The Doctor again." She laughed ironically and threw her hands down, away from her hair. Her eyes focused on the ground, focused on trying to get back to reality.

A throat cleared behind her and she spun around. The Doctor was still here. His arms crossed and brow quizzical.

"Rose Tyler was burned by the Time Vortex on Game Station nearly twelve years ago." He stated with a sterile unfeeling tone. A hand flew to Rose's mouth and she turned away quickly. "That's right. Whatever clever research you've done on me, you're a little late." Rose ignored him. Her mind buzzed with possibilities. With the likely unlimited amount of Universes, this being just one different from her own, there were likely other Universes with other Doctors and Rose's. Without absorbing the Time Vortex from her, The Doctor would have never needed to regenerate.

"But there was no Rose in this Universe…" Rose said quietly to herself. She turned to face The Doctor who regarded her with curiosity, guilt, and anger. "How did you get here, Doctor?"

"Purely by accident," He crossed his arms. "I was going through the Time Vortex, tickety-boo, next thing you know we get a harsh shove and we're here on Earth." He looked around him suddenly. "Barcelona…" He let out a little laugh but there was no humour in it. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets.

"Doctor," Rose took a step forward, but seeing his discomfort stopped swiftly. "You have to believe me. I am Rose." He pulled his hands from his pockets, the look of anger returned. Rose swiftly raised her hands up in a non-threatening manner. "This is not my original Universe… yours either." She spat out hurriedly then paused and watched his reaction. His lips pursed as he considered. He wanted to believe her, she could tell. "On Game Station, in my Universe, you saved me. You pulled the Time Vortex from my body somehow, you absorbed it!" He looked away as he processed the information. "It nearly killed you, so you had to regenerate. I saw! Right in front of me! You basically exploded into light!" His eyes darted back at her. "You were in a coma for a bit, but once you were on your feet you were saving the world again." Rose smiled as she remembered the adventures. "We did a lot together… It was brilliant." She hugged herself. The Doctor ran his eyes up and down her form thoughtfully, then looked away again and rested his palm thoughtfully over his mouth.

"If that's true…" He began skeptically. "How did you end up here, and where am I?" The smile fell from Rose's face. The Doctor watched her carefully. There was silence for a little while.

"We- um." Rose tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and gulped. "We were separated…" She said quietly. "I, uh…" She tried to gather her composure. "Spent a long time trying to figure out how to get back to you… did a lot of insane things…" She looked up to the blue sky as she fought back the tears. "I guess… Fate just didn't want us together anymore." She let out a little laugh. "But you gave me a parting gift…" She attempted a smile as her arms clasped tightly around herself as she considered how to go about the next bit of information. The Doctor was quiet, his barrier against her breaking down slightly. "I think you called it a meta-crisis… it was like a clone of you, only… human?" Her brow creased as she tried to remember the details. "He stayed with me here, in this Universe, while you continued on in yours." She closed her eyes firmly and attempted to swallow the large lump that had formed in her throat.

"Where is he now?" The Doctor asked, his voice much softer. Rose turned to look away, her eyes squeezed shut.

"They called it an accident." She squeaked out, as she fought back tears. "He… died defending this Earth…" She covered her mouth as she held in a sob. It had truly been the first time she'd talked about that day since it happened five years ago. The last nail in the coffin for her. There had been hope, that she could at least live out her days with The Doctor in some form. There was a promise of a normal life with him, maybe less exciting but something she could hold onto. Unfortunately, he was just too perfect of a copy. He was The Doctor. He was tortured living the domestic human life, and he continued to put himself at risk as he had before. He couldn't grasp that he was a lot more fragile, he wouldn't be able to pull the same stunts. Maybe he didn't care… maybe he wanted a way out. Rose refused to think about it. She never let those thoughts and memories enter her head until today.

Rose shook with the emotion that overflowed from the vaults of her mind. The tears stinging as they forced their way out of her tightly clamped eyelids. She had been so childish back then, dreaming that she would travel with The Doctor forever. Thinking she was special, she was important. Somewhere out there, in another Universe, another time, her Doctor was traveling with someone else. Darkness crept around the edges of her vision. It grew and began to make her feel hot and claustrophobic. Her breathing turned to quick pants as she tried to fight off the darkness, but it suddenly overpowered her. Rose collapsed to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

In the vast darkness of her mind Rose sunk deeper and deeper. It was as if her body was weightless and her mind had suddenly been set free of the trauma that burdened it. The need to scream was no longer there. It was almost as if she was in a vast ocean, just after a storm. Two arms carefully wrapped around her in a comforting embrace. She allowed herself to sink into the familiar textures of leather and cotton.

"When I lost you…" The familiar accent crooned softly into the dark and began to pull Rose upwards, towards the surface. "When I failed to save you. I fell to pieces." Rose tried to pull herself together as she listened. "I lost my people, my planet… but that pain seemed incomparable to the pain of losing you. Of failing you." His arms squeezed her tighter. "Twelve years… I've floated along, alone, trying to find some way to fix the hurt. To forget." He shook his head. "Never could… didn't even have the strength to face your mother." He took a deep breath. "I wanted to die, wanted to end everything… but your voice kept coming back to me. Your disapproval. You'd always kept me in line…"

Rose felt her consciousness bubble up to the surface. How long had she been out? How long had The Doctor been cradling her in that quiet village alleyway? Rose looked up into The Doctor's grief-stricken face, whether or not he believed her to be who she said she was, the words he had spoken had truly needed to get out of him. She reached her hand up tenderly to touch his cheek.

"You've found your way back to me." She heard herself say, without so much as a thought.

"Yeah…" The Doctor squeezed her tight to him. "Perhaps you were wrong about the Universe not wanting us to be together…" They sat quietly in each other's embrace for a few moments. Digesting everything that was happening. The Doctor looked up into the blue sky thoughtfully. "If this isn't real I'm going to be dead chuffed." Rose pulled away from him and looked over his face.

"Surely you've got something in the TARDIS to prove I'm me? Some clever alien device that'll settle your doubts?" Rose turned to look at the police box that had been watching over the whole scene. The Doctor followed her gaze and nodded. He hesitated to unlock the door, but his hesitation was more to do with discovering the truth. There was still a good chance she wasn't who she said she was, but he wouldn't be able to take the pain again. He looked at her, then at the key he held in his hand. There was no possible way anyone would have that key, it burned with her. He slid it into the lock, and it turned with ease. He let out a breath of relief, her first test was passed… but there was still a chance.

Rose stepped into the TARDIS and let the magic of the moment take over. She never thought she would see it again. Definitely not with her Doctor as he was. It was almost as if she was stepping back in time, ironically opposite to how it usually worked. Everything was the same, the patched-up console, the coral, the emerald light of the shaft. She couldn't help herself but grin. The Doctor was already hurriedly making his way deeper into the TARDIS, not really giving Rose her full moment. It was fair though, they had to be sure. She sped after him as he made his way to the medical room. It was as suspect as she remembered. Bits of human and alien hospital junk was scattered everywhere, some old and beaten, some new, and some Frankensteined together. He gestured to the worn out dentist chair in the center of the room and Rose debated its level of sanitation.

"What are you going to do?" Rose asked as she climbed into the chair. The Doctor was sorting through various tools and danced about like he always did. Rose bit her lip and hoped she was right about faithfully believing he was The Doctor from another Universe. Hopefully a very similar Universe. The Doctor spun around, he'd placed a comedic head mirror over his brow and gave her a wink. Despite herself, Rose laughed.

"Just a little DNA sample." He said as he held up a tube.

"If you think I'm going in that…" Rose began but The Doctor shook his head.

"Saliva works just fine." Rose nodded and accepted the tube from his outstretched hand. She spit into it then handed it back with a quick wipe to her mouth. "Charming." The Doctor smiled as he turned to place the tube into a machine that looked very much like a microwave. He typed a few things into a nearby computer then turned to look at Rose once more. He crossed his arms as he observed her. "Alternate Universes…" He mused. Rose shrugged.

"Doctor," Rose said after a few minutes of silence had passed. "Forgive me, but I'd like to do a test of my own." The Doctor's brows raised in mild disbelief. His eyes darted around the room to suggest it was obvious he was who he claimed, but Rose ignored him. "What was the first thing you ever said to me?" She sat up and leaned forward as she waited for his answer. She remembered when he'd regenerated, it was enough evidence for her then. The Doctor nodded and leaned in. Their faces only a short distance apart. Rose gulped.

"Henrick's. Underground. Surrounded by shop dummies. I took your hand, you looked at me, and I said 'run'." Rose smiled and he returned it. Not only was he The Doctor, but they'd had the same beginnings. The Universes deviated at the Bad Wolf timeline. That was a relief. Rose leaned back in the chair as the machine dinged as a microwave would. Rose frowned and began to wonder if it was actually a microwave. The Doctor turned and looked at the screen, information scrolled by, thousands of words per second. The Doctor nodded as he took everything in, his hand poised over his mouth thoughtfully.

"And?" Rose asked impatiently. "Am I the same?" The Doctor turned, his face blank. Rose began to feel anxious, she wondered if the Rose in the other universe had different genetics. Then The Doctor broke out into a smile.

"Exactly the same." He opened his arms and Rose leaped from the chair to embrace him in a hug. "Can't believe it." The Doctor mumbled into her hair. Rose pulled back to observe him.

"We've got another shot at this, Doctor. You and me." The Doctor just grinned at her. "Whole new Universe for both of us to discover."

"I may not know anything!" The Doctor said excitedly.

"Not sure that's a change." Rose jabbed and gave him a cheeky grin with a little peek of tongue sticking out. He'd missed that look, so much so, that he didn't bother to retort.

"Welcome home, Rose Tyler."

For the first time in years, Rose truly felt like she'd finally come home. Let the damaged flower wilting away in a sad and dark little flat in London die there. Rose Tyler was to be reborn, just the way she'd been twelve years ago… only, with a little age behind her.

AN: Initially inspired by a song, further inspired by a lot of 'what ifs' I had... turned into this whole beastie of a plot.
Cheers.