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Square: 80/FINISH
Trope: Time Travel

Timey Wimey

The old dimension cannon that John Noble had modified with the fragment of TARDIS coral that had refused to grow in Pete's World worked exactly as her husband had planned. Therefore, many years after his human heart had given up on him…and circumstances had finally proved such a leap to be necessary…Rose purposely left everything behind for a second time as she blinked back into existence in her former universe...and in front of a very familiar blue box.

The woman smiled both joyfully and tearfully at the welcoming hum from the TARDIS as she leaned her forehead against the ship and gave it an affectionate pat in return.

Oh, how I have missed you! she fervently thought with no real need to say the words aloud. She knew the TARDIS would hear them anyway. She also made no move to open the door, either, since she also knew that there was a distinct possibility that the Doctor inside did not even know her yet…or even the opposite could be true.

Maybe it had been so long since their last meeting that he had forgotten all about her.

That last consideration, in particular, made her heart ache. However, during their 53 years of marriage, especially after they had realized the changes Bad Wolf had wrought in her, John had told her all about his many different lives…with his many different companions…before he had become human. His goal had been to prepare her for this very moment. Therefore, she had to admit that it was distinct probability that any future Doctor had completely buried the memory of Rose Tyler and had moved on entirely. After all, for the sake of his sanity, he had done it before.

Of course, there was also another possible scenario. However, Rose would not even allow herself to consider the idea that one of her Doctors was on the other side of those blue doors. She knew that the TARDIS would have let her know immediately, if that had been the case. Plus, when she looked closely, she could see that this TARDIS differed slightly in color and appearance than it had when she had traveled full-time with the alien and his magnificent time machine. She was a bit surprised by that, even though John had told her that sometimes the Old Girl liked to change things up a bit and redecorate between regenerations, as well.

Therefore, with one final pat, she stepped back from the ship and waited with bated breath. After all, since the sentient ship already knew she was there, it would not be long before her pilot…whichever version he turned out to be…did, too.

Rose was right. Just a moment later, the door opened and an unfamiliar blond head poked out. Her breath involuntarily whooshed out in relief at her first sight of the Doctor… any Doctor…in many years - even if it was one whom she did not recognize.

Oh, he's a bit of a pretty boy, too! She could not help but to think as an echo of the very first version of the Time Lord she had known popped into her head. Therefore, she pushed down her doubts and insecurities about the whole entire situation as she also purposely adopted the manic grin she now knew that version had used in time of uncertainty.

"Hello!" she said aloud with a cheerful wave, instead – just as he would have.

"Hello?" the Doctor in front of her repeated the greeting with a bit of confusion as he stepped all of the way out of his ship. That was when Rose could finally see the cricket whites that he wore and…here she sighed in a kind of fascinated disbelief about his sense of style…the celery garnish that was attached to his lapel.

The ship gave a friendly-sounding chime, however, and the man's expression changed to one of intrigue. "My TARDIS knows you?" he asked with some surprise.

"Yep," Rose replied as she popped the "p" sound the same way that her second Doctor…and, consequently, her husband…liked to do. "She should. After all, we've been through a lot together." She patted the ship affectionately again after that understatement. The omni-temporal TARDIS simply hummed in agreement with her assessment.

"Do I know you, then?" the man inquired with increased interest. After all, his ship usually never showed much interest in anyone and he wondered what made this woman so different.

At the question, Rose looked at him closely as her heart thudded in her chest. Since he did not recognize her at all, she assumed that he had to be an earlier version of the same man she had loved in three separate bodies. Consequently, at this particular time, he was not really her Doctor. Therefore, even if that knowledge broke her already fragile heart a little more, she forced herself to shrug nonchalantly.

"Not yet, apparently," she answered as calmly as she could. "But you know how it is...all wibbly wobbly and timey wimey...yeah?"

"Yes! That I do," he acknowledged, now more at ease in her presence since he understood it a bit more. In fact, an easy attractive smile that Rose noted already held a hint of the Doctors that she had known and loved before crossed his handsome features. For some reason, that helped to lift her spirits.

"A future companion, then?" he clarified. "Do you need my help? Do I need my help? After all, it certainly wouldn't be the first time that I had to rescue myself, you know."

Rose thought about all of the implications and possibilities of that statement before she shook her head to clear it of the sudden…and extremely appealing…thoughts of all three of her Doctors together with her again. She knew that was unrealistic at the very least when it came to the first two…and downright impossible in the case of her husband. He was gone for good. In fact, his death was the only reason she was there…in her original universe to handle the current emergency...on her own. Therefore, she forced herself to push such thoughts away again in order to focus on the Doctor in front of her and come to the crux of the matter.

"All of that might be true," she admitted in a tone that suddenly deepened with urgency now that the initial awkwardness of the meeting had passed. "However, what I'm really looking for is any version of You who can help me to save the multiverse… again."

"Oh dear…the multi verse… again?"

The Doctor did not like the sound of any of that. However, he knew well that drastic times called for drastic measures. Therefore, he finally allowed himself to do what he rarely did as he opened his Time Sense and traced the stranger's Timeline. He was in for an unexpected shock, though, as he saw her shimmering golden cord entwine with his own steady dark blue one again and again, with only the occasional branching off before it returned and permanently connected with his. He suddenly understood then that the woman was so much more than the ordinary human companion that she initially appeared to be. After all, somehow she apparently had a lifespan that matched his own and…here he gulped in surprise…and perhaps something more...there was obviously a lot of history and future between them.

In fact, one small branch of the timeline in particular made him pause.

"There was a Metacrisis?" he asked in disbelief.

Rose's sense of urgency faded away into sadness again. "Yes…yes…there was," she replied quietly.

The emphasis on that last word told the Doctor everything that he needed to know.

"Oh!" he murmured. "Oh, I see," he added more firmly as he looked more closely at the woman in front of him and the knowledge of their obvious connection finally clicked in his supposedly superior Time Lord brain. At the same time, however, his two hearts also ached at the knowledge of what she would become to him in the future and that he would apparently lose her...more than once...in the process.

"I'm going to have to forget all of this, aren't I?" he asked the question, anyway, even though he already knew the obvious answer. The situation was much too serious to be otherwise. In fact, if the High Council found out about her and their relationship...

"I'm 'fraid so," the woman unintentionally interrupted his thoughts as she answered. However, the familiar pain lessened enough that a ghost of her former smile was able to reappear. "I don't know exactly how far I am down your timeline, but I don't think I actually meet you in mine for a few more incarnations, at least."

"Brave heart," he murmured to her…and to himself.

After all, he...who took great pride in knowing everything...had been completely blindsided by this meeting. Nevertheless, he found it to be extremely exciting, as well. He did love a good adventure...and he certainly could not deny his connection to the woman in front of him. In fact, he could already feel the pull of their conjoined timelines. Consequently, he did the only thing he could. He turned and gestured politely for her to proceed him into the TARDIS.

"Well…then," he also told her with the confidence that he was rapidly beginning to feel again. "Let's see what we can do about all of this…before then."

In her vast relief that she finally had the invaluable assistance she needed, Rose's eyes flashed gold for just a second as she accidentally bestowed the full version of her infamous tongue-touched smile on the Time Lord, as well. It had always affected the Doctors she had known and loved…and this one proved to be no different. In fact, as both of his hearts sped up at the sight, the Doctor suddenly had a hint of exactly why his entire future seemed to be bound to her.

As he followed the mysterious…and fascinating…woman into the TARDIS, he even found that he was rather looking forward to that time, as well.

Notes:

I simply could not resist this "What if?" plunny that sprang into my mind and would not leave me alone until I wrote it. However...even though it has been awhile...I am still working (I promise!) on my "Saving the Multiverse" series. Since, Rose has already met the Fifth Doctor there, I probably won't take this little one-shot any further.
Probably!