The Aliens Of London

Rose slept the best she had ever had in nearly a year. Oh course, considering the fact that she had spent most of that year dying as a parallel universe snuffed her out, she woke up a little more refreshed... And more than a little confused than usual, after all, she didn't sleep well as a rule. Dying kind of stopped her from getting the appropriate amount of z's. She didn't hear her tell tell alarm, and for a second, she wondered if Pete had taken the liberty of turning it off again, as he had done a couple times to make her get some rest. It didn't help really, but always made her linger and burn far longer than if she had woken up normally... She rolled over with something semblance of a annoyed sigh, she hated when he did that. It was odd, after so many years living without a father, Rose felt, despite all of her longing, now she didn't quite need one any more. Or at least she didn't need one to coddle her and tuck her in.

Grown woman and all that.

For a few seconds, all she could do was feel how sore her body was, and while that wasn't really odd, the fact that she was not feeling that tell-tell burn that she always felt since getting stuck in Pete's World... Rose blinked. Where was her nose bleed? Why the hell was she so comfortable? Where was the agonizing pain? The song of the TARDIS was soft and sweet in her head, giving her a wonderful, and gentle 'good' morning like sound. Rose did the only thing she could in that situation. She gave out a cry of undiluted joy, jumping straight up and pumping her fists with a laughter that did not stop until she ran to the wall, and kissed one of the exposed struts of the TARDIS, and the coral like structure gave her a warm, gentle shock.

"Oh, you crazy Old Girl, you have no idea how much I love you."she told her, and she got something resembling a giggle in return.

She couldn't seem to stop her idiotic grinning, even when she finished her morning exercises: It was a mixture of yoga, gymnastics, and martial arts, something her instructor at Torchwood had put together after she had checked her endurance and overall body type. Rose was hard pressed to finish it, the simplest routine, the one she had started out with nearly a year ago in her mental memory, she felt rather knackered. She scowled as she took a quick shower, and tried to ignore the longing for her twenty-two year old body.

That would come with time, she reminded herself pointedly. No need to whine, after all, she knew what sort of adventures were in store for her, and how much time she had to prepare for them... Or at least most of them, no doubt at one point her changed personality or changed answers would affect where they would go. But, the TARDIS for sure would take them where ever they needed to be. The answering hum in her head reassured her of just that, and Rose toweled her hair with a smile.

She changed into the clothes laid out for her; they were, to her amusement, a pair of skinny jeans, converse(red), her blue jacket(though judging from the feel of it, it was actual leather now) and a cream camisole. It was a hodgepodge of both Rose of twenty-two and nineteen, noted Rose, touching at the clothes with something close to trepidation easing into her, despite the grin that was still in place... This is what she was now, she thought, dressing quickly, and pushing back her hair(smooth and no longer as dry thanks to the product the TARDIS had provided) into a high pony tail. Her make-up, her armor, was quick and placed with much practice, clean, somewhat glam and smokey. She looked in the mirror.

And Rose saw her unstressed younger face, cheeks still having a touch of baby fat, her curves softer... She looked nineteen. She nearly felt nineteen, at least mostly nineteen. Her memories of before(after?) were still present and affecting her of course, but Rose felt that despite everything she was still...

Well, she was still Rose Tyler in the end. Her mother had said that she had changed too much because of the Doctor, but Rose saw as she had changed just enough to realize who she truly was. So she saw nothing but Rose Tyler in front of her, realized to her full potential and that reassured her that her mother's ominous prediction of her changing wasn't quite true...

But her eyes, she thought. They reflected something that she hadn't had at nineteen originally. That wasn't quite Rose Tyler... It was the eyes of experience, and she blinked widely at the actual, physical change. There, in the irises, was a gold that had not been there before. She touched underneath her eye, the gold specks seemingly swirling... And something in her stretched leisurely and gave a low, gentle howl. Like a warning or a greeting, ringing in her ears. It was not the TARDIS, and she jumped back in alarm. She swallowed, shivered at looked at herself again, noting even as she blinked that the gold did not leave. She had told Gwyn that she would gladly do whatever she had done on Satellite Five, again and again... But Gwyn had not been lying when she said Rose was afraid of the big, Bad Wolf.

Part of her wanted to scoff, how could she be afraid of, what essentially, was herself? But most of her saw the danger of what the name, message, the Bad Wolf meant. She wasn't stupid, or naive as she once been. And she would do anything to keep the man she loved safe... And possibly prevent her death in just under three years time. She shook her head, took a breathe, and tried to center herself.

She gave her best 'Tyler' grimace, something she had become infamous for at Torchwood. Despite the fact that it looked slightly out of place in her younger face(in fact it looked rather ridiculous), she felt a comfort in seeing it. With a firm nod, she left her room with purpose and hunger roaring in her stomach. Following the flicker of lights and hums of the TARDIS, she walked leisurely and without real urgency.

"Thank you, I'm starved!"she said with delight once she had found the galley, and quickly set to making a hearty breakfast, something she had not had in a while.

It was odd she mused, flipping banana pancakes with ease and much practice, how her mind conflicted with her body. She was starved, and while part of her(those twenty-two year old memories of her possible fate) simply wanted dry toast, the younger part of her was already making a traditional, heavy breakfast that she made every morning up until this point of her life. The TARDIS hummed pleasantly the entire time, and she found herself relaxing in the replica of a fifties dinner, just as it had been before she had been trapped in Pete's world.

How very confusing she thought bemused, and blinked at the groggy looking Doctor as he came in. He was wearing the same jumper as yesterday's; his large hands coated in grime and grease, his jacket tied 'round his waist, and his sleeves rolled up. He was blinking and yawing, shuffling rapidly from foot to foot as he headed for the cabinet as he searched for something. Something warm and light came from her chest when she looked at him, and the smile on her mouth couldn't be taken from her even if the Emperor of Daleks himself came in through the door asking for sugar. He didn't seem to notice her she though, watching as he rummaged around the cabinets.

"You changed the galley again. I can't even find the pot. Why do you always hide the pot?And why are you projecting smells of banana pancakes? That's just cruel."he said aloud, and he was scowling at the TARDIS, who gave him the equivalent of a bored sigh.

"That's because I made said pancakes, and the pot's on the table because I already made tea with it."she said chirpily, and watched with some amusement as the Doctor swung around rapidly.

"Oh."he said after a moment, blinking at her and the spread on the table.

She grinned, he was quite adorable when he was out of sorts, no matter what face he wore.

"I really hope this isn't too domestic for you... I mean, I made enough for both of us."

He blinked at her, and looked at the food, and then back at her. He grinned, still a little confusion in his eyes.

"Fantastic! I love the nibbles!"he said, reaching out for the stack of pancakes.

She grinned at the phrase.

"Molto bene!"she enthused, echoing his future self unconsciously. She reached over to flip the last pancake onto the stack, and turned off the stove in an single, efficient movement.

She sat across from him, humming along with the TARDIS as she reached for her tea. She smiled at him as he served himself, she did not miss the way his blue eyes followed her every movement, or the way they lingered on her jacket. Two sugars went into his tea, and she smiled again. It was so odd to see him there, so close, and her hand twitched as she remembered all those times they had shared meals like this... Only, he would hold her hand, or her feet would be in his lap, or vice-versa...

"That's not the one you came in with."he said, and she glanced down at the smooth, comfortable jacket the TARDIS had so kindly provided.

"It was in my bathroom this morning. You didn't steal my clothes did you?."she responded back, savoring the delicious eggs she had made herself.

His eyes squinted at her raised brow.

"No. Must've been the TARDIS. How'd you find the galley?"

"I followed the flickering lights."and the humming, she thought to herself.

He nodded, and hummed absently, chugging his tea rapidly. No doubt burning his tongue in the process. He ate quickly and without pause, once again trying to tempt Rose into one more trip. This, Rose found to lovely and distracting... Oh, she was tempted to say to go to Scotland to see if Sarah Jane hadn't been lying about the Lock Ness monster, but she pushed it back and sipped at her tea leisurely.

"Look, we can go anywhere you like, why do you want to go home?"he asked, and seemed put out. She shrugged.

"I kinda left without notice, Doctor. What if I'm reported as missing or someone accuses Mickey of my murder?"she said lightly, trying to hold back a chuckle at the fact that they had done just that.

Or, they would have if she hadn't told her mother. ... If her mother hadn't gone and done it anyway. Her mother was always a wild card, so it could be either way. She just hoped she hadn't ruined Mickey's life like she had last time.

"Time machine. I can have you back by the morning after you left."

"Really? What happened to Napals?"she asked, and smiled tartly as he scowled.

He seemed rather ruffled at that, and he chugged the last of his tea in one gulp. Then, he looked at the empty cup, at the pot, and stiffly poured himself another one, while Rose felt as if she was glowing from the inside out at the action.

"You questioning my driving?"

"No, I'm not. Never argue with the designated driver, at least that's what my mate Shareen says."she said back firmly.

"Isn't that what we're doing? Arguing?"

She smiled easily at that.

"That's implying that you have a chance to change my mind."

He huffed, but amusement was lingering in his keen eyes.

"Is that so?"

"Very much so."she said back, and she grabbed all of her plates and placed them to the sink.

He raised a brow at her, and then smiled.

"Rather cheeky aren't you?"he asked, and he sounded annoyed, but the smile on his face gave him away.

Rose just smiled, and winked, before she went back to her room to clean up, leaving him to his breakfast. She would have cleaned the dishes, but she got a huff of annoyance from the TARDIS at her attempt, and she just hummed in amusement back. So far, so good she thought, singing softly along with the song that echoed in her head. After a brief pit stop for her phone, sending her mother a text, as she had been doing the entire time she had been aboard the TARDIS, Rose felt an ease and a readiness at what was to come. After all, she knew just what to expect. ... Or, really, an approximation of what was going to expect.

~BW~DW~BW~DW~BW~

The Doctor landed the TARDIS with a heavier set of hearts than he should have. It was an easy landing(for once), and he watched with some trepidation at his... Companion from the corner of his eye. Golden, massive, complex lines met his eye for a few seconds, as he let the sense he most reluctance to use in this body. His time-eye showed, that surrounding Rose Tyler like an aura, bright and caressing her form like a lover's embrace was a set of time lines like he had never seen before, even on a Time-Lord. He blinked for a second, the after images of his quick peak of her time-lines lingering even as she beamed at him. It caused a startling image, and he had to blink at her for a few seconds. He should have known better than to check her time-lines, even if he hadn't had a weaker time-sense this time around, he would have been hard pressed to look at her directly...

"How long have I've been gone?"she asked casually, a slight smirk on her lips.

He felt himself bristle up at the challenge of her words.

"About twelve hours."he said confidently, and she rose a brow, before she shook her head, that private joke glinting in her eye.

"Oh. Right, I won't be long. I just want to see my mum, and get a few things."

"What're you going to tell her?"he asked, and she smiled, tongue in teeth.

"Who knows? What do you tell a mother after you've been to the year 5 billion and only been gone, what, twelve hours? Don't you disappear."she said, and she was firm in the last part.

She, to his immense surprise, ran to him then, instead out the doors, and her lithe arms went 'round his waist. The hug lasted about thirteen seconds, and he hugged her back for about twelve point five of those seconds, before she slipped back out of his arms, and with a quick wave, out the doors of the TARDIS. His eyes followed her every movement, from the quick way she turned to the sway of her hips as she left. The Doctor felt warm all over, and followed after her, watching as she disappeared up the stairs in a flash of tight jeans and yellow hair. The Doctor tried to control the smile on his lips as he leaned against the TARDIS, kicking at rubbish before he glanced at a post nearby.

Rose's face stared back at him. Hearts suddenly beating over time, the Doctor lurched forward, and looked at the poster, if he had paid attention, he would have noticed a distinct lack of gold in the brown-green eyes, but he did not, and all he saw was the fact that she had been missing for a year. Her little amount of teasing in the TARDIS did not seem as amusing at that moment.

"Oh, bugger."he muttered, before he took off at a run, taking the steps three at a time.

He burst into the flat easily(really, who put their keys in rocks by their front door anymore?) and panicked slightly as the two Tyler woman looked at him.

"It's not twelve hours, it's twelve months. You've been gone a whole year. Sorry."he said, and he noted with a start that the mother had been crying, her eyes red rimmed, and Rose looked stricken.

Or furious. One of the two. He was hoping for stricken.

The mother took one look at him, glared, her mouth turning into a grimace, before she stood straight up, and smacked him straight on the cheek.

"What the bloody hell!?"she hissed, and then, of course, she slapped him again.

"Oi!"he said, dodging out of the way and behind her daughter.

"Oh no, I have to smack her too! What the hell Rose!? You said you'd be gone a while, not a whole bleedin' year!"and then, much to his horror, the woman started to cry. It was rather loud and wet looking.

Ugh, domestics. Looking slightly shell shocked, Rose took a step forward, hands out peacefully.

"Mum, I didn't know it would be this...Long."she said, looking pointedly at the Doctor with a look that plainly said 'I told you so'.

"Oi! It was an honest mistake, I really didn't mean too. If anything blame the TARDIS."he said and Rose scowled.

"Don't blame 'er! You're the one driving."she said pointedly, and he scowled back at her.

The older Tyler woman(what was her name again, Camille? Something with an 'ee' sound at the end, he was sure of it) just hissed at them both.

"The hours I've sat here, days and weeks and months, all on my own. I thought you were dead, until you started to text me! Then I was convinced you were kidnapped... And where were you? Traveling. What the hell does that mean, traveling? That's no sort of answer. You're bleedin' passport is in your underwear drawer!"she raged at them, and wisely, he took Rose by the shoulder's and made her take a step back.

Human mother's sure were protective he thought, wondering mildly if he should worry about regenerating. That had been a set of very hearty slaps. Another few just like that and he'd have to explain to Rose what the new man in their mist was doing in place of him. As daft as this face was, he rather liked it.

"That's what I was doing. Am going to do."Rose said quietly, earnestly.

Her mother would hear none of it, and turned towards him with a scowl.

"And you! Who the hell are you!?"

"I'm the Doctor."he said, and he tried to smile at the woman.

He doubted that his, well, less than handsome face helped his cause at the moment, even if she had flirted with him.

"Doctor?! Doctor who?! A year of ago you were here to investigate the explosion at Henrik's."

He shrugged.

"I was, technically. Rose helped me finish the investigation, she handled pressure very well... Now, I deiced Rose had what it takes, and... Well, I invited her to travel with me."he said simply, and he had.

He had liked what he had seen, and continued to seeing in one Rose Tyler, unfortunately, it seemed the older Tyler woman did not like that at all.

"What does that even mean?! Have you been using my daughter for sex!? Some sick fetish!?"

"What?!"he asked, because, really, what?

"No! Mum, it's not like that!"protested a flushed Rose, but, some part of him felt slightly offended at the very rapid protest.

Daft face or not, he had always had a way with the ladies... And, well, Rose was... She was...He rather liked... He shook his head, after all, now was not the time, especially with a very fuming mother in front of him. Specifically, her mother.

"Oh, right, because you haven't been taken advantage by an older man before, Rose."spat the mother, and Rose blinked at her mother.

The Doctor stilled at the comment, watching Rose very carefully for her reaction. Her face was slightly pale, but at the same moment, he saw no offense at her mother's words. She did not look upset, embarrassed or shocked, as most would have at those words. She looked firm, almost amused(that pesky private joke again), though her mouth pulled into a grimace, and she shook her head at her mother.

"Mum, firstly, I was fifteen and stupid. Secondly, I'm neither now. I know what I'm getting into."she said it, her strange eyes flickering to him, and she smiled.

Her mother's fury seemed to lessen at her daughter, but when she turned to the Doctor, it was with a righteousness and back in full force.

"And you! You waltz in here all charm and smiles, and the next thing I know, she vanishes off the face of the Earth! How old are you then? Forty? Forty five? What, did you find her on the Internet? Did you go online and pretend you're a doctor?"she hissed.

Now he felt offended.

"I am a doctor."he in protest, because in all senses, he was a doctor, of many things in fact. No one lives for a few centuries without picking up a few things, like doctoral degrees.

"Prove it. Stitch this, mate!"

And, of course, she slapped him again.

"Mum!"

"Oh don't you Mum me. Rose, I don't know what to do with you."she muttered, and her face fell into her hands.

Rose bit her lips at this point. She carefully, put her arms around her mother's shoulders, and soothed her with a quiet hum.

"Mum, it's okay, no more lies, or half truths. I have been traveling. But, not 'cross the continent or anythin' like that."she looked at him, asking permission.

The Doctor thought for a moment, and nodded, hating the domestic part of this, but understanding that Rose needed to tell her mother.

"For you, I left a year ago. For me... Well... I left roughly... Er, I guess it'd be... Oh, bugger, Doctor help me out here."she said, turning away from her mother, hands still on her round shoulders.

She was smiling at him, timidly, and he smiled back. Quickly, he calculated their time spent together, and part of him wondered at the fact that he hadn't even known her for an entire earth week.

" 'Bout four days. Give or take an hour or so."

"Thanks. See, to me, I've only been gone four days. Mum, the Doctor is an alien, and well... He has this great ship, called the TARDIS, she can travel in time, and space... He showed me the end of the world, and I got to meet Charles Dickens... Oh, Mum, it's so beautifully strange and..."she stopped at the look her mother gave her.

Her eyes were wide as was her open mouth, then she turned to the Doctor again, mouth switching into a snarl.

"You turned my Rose into a NUTTER!"

This time however, before the older Tyler woman could come near his (now raw, thank you very much)face , Rose grabbed his hand, and said just one word:

"Run!"

The Doctor did so gladly.

~BW~DW~BW~DW~BW~

"I swear I forgot how stubborn she could be."mused Rose as she sat on the roof of her old home, looking out at the Estates.

It was so funny, to think, not even a few years ago, she had been just a child, wishing to touch the stars as she looked up through the smog. To think all she had to do was reach out and touch the man next to do just that was wonderfully strange. He sighed, leaning against the slightly raised area where she sat.

"Stubborn isn't quite the right word."he said mildly, rubbing his cheek with a scowl.

She smirked at him.

"You're so useless."she said, and he scowled.

"I don't do families."

"I could tell by the amount of slaps you got. Sorry 'bout that."

He sniffed.

"Well, if it's this much trouble, are you going to stay here now?"he asked it seriously, and Rose sighed, curling into herself slightly.

London was a mass of concrete and smog, bustling in front of her. Wonderfully, no zeppelins were in sight. Her heart felt heavy, because, well, she had botched up this part of her life badly the first time around. She had nearly ruined her relationship with Mickey, she had broken her mother's heart, time and time again chasing around a mad alien with a blue box... But the worst part was that she had loved every part of it. She had always thought that shop girl would be the best of her life, and then he had come in, blasting down the limitations she had placed on herself in a fiery explosion(literally), making her transform into this... Woman, this woman that had fought in wars, become a near Goddess, killed the Devil, and had died in a parallel world and been brought back to do it all over again with the hope that it would end in a better way.

Rose could see the small out he was giving her. She could fix herself and become better at this old life: get a better job, maybe marry some bloke and have two point five kids. She could walk away, just now, get some beans and toast and... Rose smiled to herself, laughing at the ridiculous thought. Once upon a time, that was all that she had ever wanted. Now, she could hardly bare the thought of life being that boring. What was that to running and saving the universe? To being with him?

"Not a chance. You showed me the stars Time-Lord. Don't think you can make me walk away right now."she said, and she looked him straight in the eyes, those blue eyes that she had so missed.

He smiled, and then smirked.

"Well, she's not coming with us."he said seriously, and Rose snorted.

"I'd rather think she'd sooner cut off her own foot than travel. She hates getting out of the city, much less the planet. This isn't the kind of life my Mum ever wanted."

"What about you, Rose Tyler?"

She sighed, and stood, looking at the slightly clouded, smog filled sky. Her hands reached out as far as she could. Rose smiled with all her might, and if she had known it, her eyes looked even more golden in the light of the sun.

"I've always wanted to touch the stars."she said quietly, and turned towards the man that allowed her to do just that.

Even after knowing him for so long, she couldn't quite read this version of him's face, it was still and stoic. But his eyes, blue and piercing shone with an emotion that made her heart flutter.

"Fantastic."he said firmly, and she laughed, before she sat back down to bask in the sun.

They sat in quiet for a while, Rose watching the sky, waiting for the tell-tell sign of the Slitheen's plan in action.

"Nine hundred years of time and space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother. Let alone three times."he said after a moment, and Rose turned toward him with a raised brow.

"Your face."she said grinning, and he pouted.

"It hurt!"

"You're such a baby. Wait, nine hundred years?"she asked, and she blinked rapidly... When had she forgotten that little tidbit?

Had it really stopped mattering to her so much that she forgot his age? While she shouldn't have... She teased him about it often enough, once upon a future-past. And there were always those moments, those terrible, moments when it showed in him. His eyes, each time they got to a point that 'not everyone lives' those were the moments she remembered that the man beside her was not as young as he appeared... But... Part of her knew that yes, she had simply... Stopped caring, even if she had always had the impression of age, of the wisdom he had gathered because of his long life. Love was a funny thing she thought, watching him from the corner of her eye. She had after all, fallen, head over heels, stupidly, madly in love with an apparently nine-hundred year old alien.

"That's my age."

She laughed.

"No? My mum was right. That is one hell of an age gap. Just think of all of the things you've seen... All of the people you've met..."she said softly, and though he smiled, she saw the sadness in his eyes.

She reached out, leaning against him, and smiled up at him. He smiled back, and she wound her arm around his, digging into the tight crossed arms he had in front of his body. Reluctantly, it seemed, he allowed her to worm her way into hugging his arm with her's. She grinned at him. They stayed like that for a moment, him stiff as a board. It took him a few minutes, but after a moment, he relaxed, ever so slightly. She leaned her head on his shoulder. The TARDIS sang sweetly in the back of her head, his double hearts worked at a steady beat, and something howled softly in her heart with a lightness she hadn't felt since her fingertips had let go of the lever at Torchwood.

"Are aliens really that strange in the world? I mean, when we beat the Autons, it was quite the spectacle. And you, you were all across history. I saw it, looked you up... You must have been here a million times! How can me runnin' 'round with an alien be so mad?"she asked, and he shrugged.

"Well, you humans, remarkable species, always letting your minds explain extraordinary things into the most mundane. See a blue box appear, walk right past it. Nah, until you're ready, any evidence of alien life is just going to slip over your heads and be ignored with so much as a 'oh, flying saucer, just a weather balloon, nothing to see'."he said pointedly, fondly, and if she wasn't mistaken a little bit of scorn in there.

Then, quite suddenly, as if on cue a deep horn sounded over their heads, and both of them, quite seasoned in this kinda thing(even if the Doctor didn't quite know it), rolled, and ducked as a the bleedin' Siltheen ship zoomed over head. Thick, black smoke trailed behind it, and Rose watched, forcing her mouth a gape as it missed Tower Bridge, wove around St Paul's, then with a nasty back-fire and a splutter, dove for the Thames, taking out part of the Clock Tower. Big Ben chimed, ringing out as the ship spluttered in the water. Rose let out a laugh, as the Doctor gaped in disbelief.

"Oh, look a weather balloon."she said plainly, holding out her hand with wiggling fingertips. He grinned, and naturally, they did what they did best, or would learn to do best together, all over again...

They ran.

~BW~DW~BW~DW~BW~

The Doctor watched as a swarm of humans surrounded the bridge, the grip of one Rose Tyler firm on his hand. She did not seem to notice, or at least did not say aloud the difference in temperatures of their hands. The Doctor had a tendency to keep actual skin to skin contact limited to prevent his companions from understanding just quite inhuman he was. Of course, considering it turned out that Rose was quite tactile, he figured that old standard was out the window. She didn't seem to mind in the slightest, her habit of reaching out to him and grabbing onto him at odd moments... It was as if she needed to assure herself of his presence, though, the Doctor had noted that she was quite touchy with other's as well, so perhaps it was not exclusive to him.

The amount of irritation that thought brought was quite illogical, but present all the same. Never mind the fact that as much he hated to admit it, the warm, soft body of Rose helped ease something that Time-Lords had been trying to breed out for millennium, which was the need of another's touch for comfort and skin-ship. The fact that she did so readily, despite the fact that he was not human, stunned him and gave him a good feeling if the universe could produce a being like that. Either that, or she really hadn't registered the whole fact that he was alien...

"It's blocked off."he said mildly, watching with wariness and distrust at the sight of the militia.

Rose frowned, and looked up at him with those strange eyes of her's.

"We're miles from the centre. The city must be grid locked. The whole of London must be closing down."

"I know. I can't believe I'm here to see this. This is fantastic!"he confided, and he grinned at her.

She smirked back.

"Weather balloon argument is no longer valid is it?"she asked plainly, and he shook his head in glee.

"Nope."

"Any friends we have to be fishing out of the Thames?"

He shook his head in negative, his grin never faltering. She was beaming as well, but it much more subdue than his own goofy grin... But there was something glowing in her golden speckles that made her just glow like the outlines of times around her.

"Nope, I don't recognize the ship."

"Should we be worried how hurt the passengers of the ship are?"

He blinked at her, looked at the ship, and shook his head.

"Nope. Looks like they made a clean landing, despite all the smoke. The ship looks more or less intact. They shouldn't be too hurt."he said reassuringly, and she nodded slightly, though it looked as if she was still worried.

"Alright, let's get a move on, we have to help them!"she said seriously, and he looked at her serious expression with lifted brows.

"Oi, hold your horses! Aren't you excited for this at all? This is what I travel for, Rose! To see history happening right in front of us. And this is the moment that you humans discover that you aren't alone!"he said eagerly, gesturing to the commotion around then.

She smiled, brightly, and gave a small shrug.

"It's already happened for me. Got my own personal alien eye opener right here."she said seriously, and she shook their joined hands slightly.

He grinned.

"That's all I am to you?"he asked, and she smirked.

"You also like to drive me 'round."she said sweetly.

He rolled his eyes.

"Oh great, me, a great Time-Lord has been reduced to a chauffeur."

"More like a friend taking me for a road-trip, don' ya think?"

He huffed.

"I suppose that's a little better."

Her eyes sparkled. Before a serious expression came over her face, and she looked back to the smoking ship. Her brows were furrowed, and frown came on her face.

"We can't take the TARDIS, look at all those eyes, someone's bound to notice."

He nodded, humming.

"Another alien in the mix might make people a little trigger happy."he mentioned offhandedly.

"I don't think I fancy any sort of gunfire going off around me."she said in the same tone.

"Then how do we get to see everything?"

She grinned, waggling her dark brows.

"Like everyone else in the world. We watch it on the telly."

~BW~DW~BW~DW~BW~

Jackie Tyler was glad to say that she hadn't had a very extraordinary life. She had always been the practical sort, her two feet firmly on the ground. Sure, like anyone else she had hoped, she had wondered what if... She was rich? What if she became a famous actress? But that had only been fleeting and random thoughts that never consumed her. Because there was things to be done, and she had to feed herself. She had to feed her mother. Her father, her daughter... Her husband... Now Pete... Had been the opposite of her.

He was the dreamer, the one with his head in the clouds. It was every other day that he had come up with a new scheme to get rich, his dark eyes sparkling with promises and hope. When they weren't wandering to another girl's arse that was... But he had been a good man, bit helpless in anything that didn't involve a new sort of dream, but a good man nonetheless.

Their daughter had inherited that from him. That tendency to shoot for the impossible. She was a good kid, but she had stars in her eyes. Jackie had no doubt that Rose would fall into the same routine her dad had; lured in by sweet promises and would fail disastrously, to crash and burn and be left in tears. Jimmy Stone was evident of that.

Unlike her father however, Rose couldn't take rejection or disasters very well. Jimmy Stone had broken that dreamer in her... Rose had been doing so well in being practical: she had a decent job, she had a great, if little stupid bloke, and she was well set on paying off her debts. Jackie had been content on the fact that her daughter wouldn't do anything stupid and her life without any more stunts like quitting school and running off with a conman of a 'Musician'.

Then of course, she disappeared. Vanished. No hair nor trace left of her nineteen year old daughter. Only one bleedin' phone call, and a few sparse texts over the last six months had told her that she was even alive. When she saw her again, of course Jackie was beside herself. When Rose had started to sprout about magic boxes, aliens and time travel, Jackie had been convinced that she had joined a cult of some sort. Lead by that man, his eyes wondering everywhere and mostly on her. As if he couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

Then of course, a bleedin' alien ship had to crash into the Thames.

"Big Ben destroyed as a UFO crash lands in Central London. Police reinforcements are drafted in from across the country to control widespread panic, looting and civil disturbance. A state of national emergency has been declared. Tom Hitchinson is at the scene."said an anchor, before the scene changed to someone else.

"The police are urging the public not to panic. There's a help line number on screen right now if you're worried about friends or family."

Jackie tuned out the rest as soon as she had memorized the number, even as the man on the couch next to her daughter changed the channel. They sat very closely together, the man that called himself a Doctor. Practically in each other laps, with her arm 'round his. They even sat the same: tensed, ready to spring up with a lot of movements to their feet. As if neither them could really sit still. Jackie frowned, watching the way they leaned slightly into each other. The way that their eyes were both fixated to the screen. She looked at them, she really couldn't take her eyes off them... But she looked even more closely at her daughter.

She looked different.

It wasn't even what she was wearing... Though that was somewhat out of character, too. Her daughter was for big earrings and bright, glamorous make up. She didn't do subtle studs and pull her hair back unless it was to look cute, or smoky makeup. She liked hoodies and pastels. She did not like bright leather jackets, though she did like thin little camis with a spot of lace. She didn't like bright red runners...

But the change was mostly in her eyes, the way she held herself. It was as if her daughter had grown up in the course of the year... She was calm. The way she held herself that was different than before, a slight straightening of her shoulders... The way she looked people in the eyes was fiercer than before. There was an emotion to her eyes that she didn't have, a lightness. A gleam. A happiness...

It wasn't that Rose had been unhappy. Jackie knew that though Rose was sullen about her turn in life, she had accepted the fact that it was her own doing, and that it wasn't too terrible. She had been content, if restless. But she hadn't been unhappy. It was more as if she had finally found something that satisfied her more than the life she had had a year ago. She felt fear for her daughter at that. Rose was a dreamer just like her father, and though she had seemed to outgrown that... Maybe not. And Jackie had never seen his dreams come true. She did not want disillusionment and depression to affect her as it had affected him. Over and over. Constant...

Then of course, alien ship in the Thames. Jackie didn't know what to believe. On the one hand, Rose had never been one to lie to her, or at least, not when it mattered the most. On the other, she was also just a kid, nineteen if she was to be believed... Twenty if not. At this point she didn't know what to think... Other than the fact that aliens were real, and that there might be one sitting next to her daughter, arms intertwined as if they were any other couple.

How the hell that had happened, or what she had done in a past life to get this to happen to her daughter and her, she had no idea.

But she did know that tea was a good way to calm the nerves, so she gave out to her friend, Ru, one of the many of the Estates who didn't have a telly, and one to Rose. The Doctor looked at her mug expectantly, and she quite deliberately took a sip, glaring at the tosser that had taken away her daughter for a year, time travel or no, because that was how much time had passed for her! He frowned, but turned his way straight to the telly.

"You've broken your mother's heart."said Ru with a shake of her head, though she didn't look past the telly or what was going on.

"I'm not going to make him welcome."Jackie heard herself say, vaguely, as she was more focused on the way Rose's eyes took in everything.

She had always been an observant child, but the way her eyes moved from one thing to another made Jackie worry. Because she was looking at them, straight forward and not curious. Not worried. Just... Looking, focused, and assessing. She looked like a solider trying to take everything in all at once. Or maybe a scientist trying to dissect everything. Neither were a comforting thought. Neither was like her Rose.

"I cradled her like a child."said Ru, clicking her tongue.

"Oi, I'm trying to listen."stated the man, his icy eyes glaring. Jackie scowled right back at him.

She turned away from him, when his gaze at her stretched on. It was a very strong glance. Her mum had always told her that eyes were essential in determining what a person was made of. Jackie did not know what to make of the man's light eyes. It was so... Strange. Alien... It was very similar to Rose's new gaze. She frowned, glaring at the floor. That was the type of man took away her daughter... That was the type of man that looked at her with such... The man that made the stars appear in her eyes again.

"Oh, guess who asked me out. Billy Crewe."she said offhandedly, looking up to look at her daughter.

She waited on baited breath and Rose finally looked up, wrinkling her nose. It was such a familiar expression that Jackie nearly burst into tears. Instead she held them back. And watched her daughter expectantly. Because this was familiar. That was her Rose, beneath all that new looks and strange gazes and straight shoulders, that was her daughter.

"The butcher? Oh, mum, come on. You said he was a wanker."she said, and the Doctor rolled his eyes.

Jackie sighed in relief, and smirked at her daughter.

"Never did say I said yes, now did I?"she said back, picking up the familiar pace of their banter. Rose smiled at her then, a softness to her eyes.

"Your still getting the best cuts I bet."

Jackie grinned at her daughter, and felt that maybe she hadn't changed too much... Right?

~BW~DW~BW~DW~BW~

"And where do you think you're going?"asked Rose pointedly, and the Doctor, like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, turned around with a a slight, sheepish smile.

The TARDIS hummed in amusement in the back of her mind, and Rose but her hands on her hips, raising a brow at the man she loved. He shrugged, putting his hands deep in his pockets.

"Nowhere. It's just a bit human in there for me. History just happened and they're talking about where you can buy dodgy top-up cards for half price. I'm off on a wander, that's all."he said, and Rose smirked.

"How 'bout we wander off together? Bit strange, talking about domestics with the ship in the Thames in all."she said pointedly.

He shrugged.

"Apes will be apes."he said snidely, and he started to edge away.

Rose was a step behind him, each time he stepped back, she followed.

"Your off to go investigate."she said, and he raised a brow.

"No, I'm not! This has nothing to do with me. It's not an invasion. That was a genuine crash landing. Angle of descent, colour of smoke, everything. It's perfect."

She frowned, and looked at him pointedly.

"Little too perfect, don'cha think? Everyone around the world has seen it now, all of the world is watching. And it was a beautiful landing, straight through the Clock tower. It was like it was begging to be seen."she said, offhandedly, examining the rings on her fingers.

He sighed.

"Maybe this is it, really it. First contact. The day mankind officially comes into contact with an alien race. I'm not interfering because you've got to handle this on your own. That's when the human race finally grows up. Just this morning you were all tiny and small and made of clay. Now you can expand."he said it wistfully, like a father watching their child go to school for the first time.

Starman sounded off, and she smiled at him. Wiggling her brows as he looked towards the building where the song came out of, amusement in his eyes.

"Really, Starman? We're entering the big leagues and all you have to say is that your wandering off?"

He shrugged.

"You don't need me. Go and celebrate history. Spend some time with your mum."he said seriously.

Rose shook her head.

"Not a chance, were in this together. We're going to enjoy history, that's what you promised me, didn't you? 'It also travels in time'."she quoted.

He was quiet for a moment, and she feared that she wouldn't change their adventure at all. Or worse, he would kick her off the TARDIS, leave her behind for being a noisy idiot. But the TARDIS hummed reassuringly in her head, and Rose knew she had to go with him. She felt something shift in the air... But, still he looked at her with her

"What if I told you you'd get shot at?"he asked, referring to their earlier conversation.

She rose a brow.

"Then please stay close, I bet you could handle a bullet or two."

"Oi, now I'm your meat shield?"he said it in disbelieving tone, but something told her that he was considering it a real possibility.

"I'll be yours if you'll be mine."she said playfully, but evidently it was the wrong thing to say because his eyes grew dark.

She sighed slightly, and then squared her shoulders.

"Look, either I go with you, and you keep an eye on me the entire time, or I follow you. Simple as that."she said and his eyes widen.

"You'd really follow me to a situation with loaded guns?"

"Really."

"Really?"he asked, and she smiled.

" Until the end of time, Time-Lord."she shivered slightly at her own words, then, as if that sentence carried more weight then she intended.

He looked at her for a long moment, then he smiled.

"Ever broken in anywhere?"

She just grinned, thinking of all the times they had broken into places... Mostly on accident, but that didn't change their constant breaking and entering. Not to mention, the ones done by her when she had been young and stupid. So, yeah, she had a bit of experience.

"Lead on, Starman."

~BW~DW~BW~DW~BW~

"So, where are we?"asked Rose, clutching to his hand as they carefully stepped off the TARDIS.

He looked at her expectant eyes and grinned.

"Albion Hospital."he said, glancing about.

His hand twitched towards his left breast pocket, and Rose guessed he was eager to sonic around. However, considering how quiet he was whispering, she wager that they were in a hot zone. He wasn't risking taking out alien tech just yet. As lovely as it was to get shot at, Rose kept her voice down, following his example:

"Oh, alright, is this where they have the crew?"

"As far as I can see, yes."he said, and he took out what looked to be a mobile from about six years into the future, though it had a bit of odds of wire and circuitry sticking out.

No doubt his jiggory pokery in effect.

"How'd you figure that out?"

"Internet."he said mysteriously, scrolling down a page of what looked like a Wikipedia page.

"Seriously? Mickey is always going on 'bout it."

He stopped for a moment, turned to her, and grinned his goofy grin. His icy eyes flared to life, warmth and affection for the human race coming out for a brief second. He held up the phone proudly.

"You'd be surprise how much knowledge you humans end up putting there. For all the world to get access to. Bit dodgy, but the intent to spread all of human consciousness into something so easily accessible. And in the next decade, you kind will go leap and bounds in that aspect... Bit fantastic, don't you think?"

Rose smiled, thinking to how frequently she had used it in the past, so, not at all. At nineteen, she hadn't been too interested in it, Mickey had though... Or, she supposed, he was. She had learned the beauty of computers in the course of time with the Doctor and Torchwood, but she hadn't known a lick of it the first time around. It wasn't that she hadn't found it useful... It was that she didn't have a use for it. How times had changed. Pete's world had really picked on the whole internet craze faster than this world had(and considering how much she knew it would accelerate in the next decade or so, that was saying something), so, as a near complete novice she had been a little lost until Mickey had shown pity on her.

She wondered how Mickey would react if she started sprouting back the same techno jargon he so easily tossed at her whenever she had bothered with computers. It had usually ended with her begging him to help her... The fact that she could probably go toe to toe with her computer genius of a friend now would drive him spare. Even more so if he ever found out that he would have been the one to teach her had she not gained her memories of the next three years... Or, well, two years. Her third year only counted if she wound up stuck in Pete's world again. She frowned at the thought.

"But I bet we use it mostly for stupid things. Like lookin' at cats."she pointed out, and she was pleased as he had to slap his hand over his mouth to stifle his sudden, loud laughter.

It took him a moment, but he controlled his muffled laughter. His eyes sparkled.

"You're insight on the human psyche is frightening."

She sighed dramatically at him, tilting her head back and placing her hand delicately on her forehead.

"I fear for the future of us silly apes."

"Right you are to do so."

The fact that his tone was so serious made Rose hard pressed to keep a straight, dramatic face. Suddenly, the Doctor pushed her back, his once animated face cementing into a cautious mask. He stuffed his probably nicked mobile into his right pocket and took out his sonic. Rose thought to the fact that she had never seen what had happened here in her first go at this adventure, and wisely shut her mouth, allowing him to guide her into a position behind him. Finger on his lip, she nodded, returning the gesture, and he motioned his head for her to follow him.

They crept along the walls, his hand tight on her's. She could feel his double-pulse, quick and telling her to stay quiet. It wasn't until quite suddenly, when his hearts began to slow, that she dared ask:

"So, anythin' else mentioned on the internet?"she said it so softly she thought he might not of heard her, but he threw a glance over his shoulder.

"Just one crew member."he said back, nearly as soft.

His back muscles were tensed, as was the grip he had on her hand.

"Any injuries?"

"Wasn't clear on that."he said, and the frustration in his voice was clear.

"Any mentions on the conditions of the ship?"

"No."

She could almost hear the scowl he was sure to have on.

"That's suspicious."

"Bit."

For a moment, they were silent.

"Five quid the alien is under four feet tall."she whispered, trying to lighten the mood.

The Doctor simply tossed her a glance over his shoulder, as if she was mad. For a moment, all he did was stare, until she smiled timidly at him. It was bright enough that he could trust her, but small enough so he could tell she was aware of the situation... Or at least she hoped it came across that way.

"I haven't got five quid."he pointed out reasonably, and she, remembering all the times he had soniced cash out of unsuspecting ATMs, merely rose a brow at him.

"Ten?"

"You're on."he said determined, and she grinned.

They crept along in silence for a while, until the Doctor relaxed, letting go of her hand. She eased her tensed body as well, and moved to be beside him again. He grinned, and she grinned back.

"Thought I heard the clicks of rifles."he said, and he opened a door gallantly.

Of course, she walked in first at his gesture, and had to stifle the urge to groan at the sight of dozens of armed Red Berets, (parachute regiment, first battalion she identified), all holding their weapons loosely. The Doctor walked in after her, and bumped into her frozen form. Both groups looked at each other, and Rose looked at the weapons, raising her brow.

"Look, rifles."she said plainly.

And then of course they lifted they rifles straight at them. Before she could get shot at for the first time in her nineteen year old body, mercifully, a scream sounded out, and the Doctor took charge.

"Defence plan delta! Come on. Move! Move!"he said, and of course the Berets followed his strong voice as he raced from the room.

"Talley hoe, mates!"she called out, struggling to keep up with the Doctor.

Of course they ended up at a mortuary, and Rose wondered if the Doctor always showed his companions this good of a time, or if she was just special to look at a place full of corpses. A woman, paled and terrified looked at them from behind a desk. Her mouth was a gape and her eyes were wild.

"It's alive!"she said, looking for the life of her as if she rather be anywhere but there.

Gently, Rose went to her, and quickly saw that while she was frightened, she didn't seem to be in shook. Or at least, too bad in shock.

"Spread out. Tell the perimeter it's a lock-down."said the Doctor, eyes assessing.

The Berets didn't move a muscle, no doubt starting to question the fact that they had followed the command of a man without a lick of uniform.

"My god. It's still alive."whimpered the woman, clawing at Rose as if she was a life line.

She gently shushed her, and let the woman grab at her. She carefully put her arms around the small woman, and she sagged into her.

"Do it!"hissed the Doctor at the unresponsive group, and they all stood at attention at his command.

"And don't you dare shoot a thing, keep your rifles on safety!"she screamed out, and the Berets looked at her as if she was mad.

She put on her infamous Tyler grimace, and straightened, dragging the poor woman with her.

"I gave you orders men, now keep your safeties on, this is the first potential form of sentient life other than our own. You don't want to be the idiot to kill it! Now don't stand around like a bunch 'o ninnies! Utrinque Paratus!"

At that, they straightened out, and saluted her before they went off. The Doctor looked at her amazed, and she grinned.

"My mum dated a Para, back when I was six."

He grinned.

"Of course she did."

The shared a glance for a second, before she turned to the dumbfounded doctor, who was staring at them as if they had two heads.

"So, what's your name?"she asked turning to look at the woman still holding onto her.

She swallowed visibly, her eyes darting around the room.

"I'm...Er, Dr. Toshiko Sato."she said, licking her lips.

"I'm Rose Tyler. Were you sent here to examine the crew of the ship?"asked Rose.

The young woman nodded, looking nervously about.

"I swear it was dead."she said, and she looked at her hands.

And Rose nodded, making soothing motions on the woman's back, even as she seemed to regain her composure, and stopped gripping at her side. Seemingly centering herself, the young doctor took a step away from her, shooting her a grateful smile.

"Coma, shock, hibernation, anything. I'm the Doctor, by the way. What does it look like?"

Toshiko opened her mouth, but the harsh clash of metal made everyone in the room freeze. Rose, carefully pushed the woman away from the source of the noise. The Doctor tensed.

"It's still here."

He made a move to go towards the soldier outside, but Rose shook her head and he froze.

"Doctor, it must be terrified. A gun won't help in the least."

He looked at her for a long moment, before he nodded sharply. He gestured her toward the noise, and they both kneeled, hands outstretched in a universally peaceful gesture. The heard as the poor creature, shuffling... And out came... A pig, eyes wide and wild as Toshiko's had been.

"Hello."the Doctor said softly.

Several things happened at once. One, the pig reasonably freaked out, squealing in terror and shooting off like a bullet on its hind legs. Two, a solider came in to investigate the noise, and let his safety click off as he lifted his weapon. And three, Rose pushed herself forward, tackling the poor thing just as the Doctor hoarsely yelled out:

"Don't shoot!"

And then of course the gun went off.

~BW~DW~BW~DW~BW~

The Doctor could safely say that he had had a double heart-attack. For a second, the terrified animal only squealed under Rose's covering, still form. The Beret gave out stammered excuses, and the Doctor could only give the man a look, as he had raised his gun as if to shot again. The surely seasoned man took a stumbling step back, and the Doctor wondered who was training the Paras so poorly while trying not to freak out at the fact that Rose could be dead... Or at least he thought that until he heard soft murmuring, and he could just make out:

"Shhh. You're fine, I know you're in pain but we're here to make you better. Shhh."

His hearts settled at the soft, un-pained voice. Rose straightened up, lifting the sniffing piglet with ease. He watched with as the poor animal bore its face into her neck, its surgically altered legs curling around her in a somewhat embrace. It made hoarse, gruntal noises, obviously in pain even if it wasn't physically hurt from the crash. Rose's eyes, golden and fierce, looked at the animal in horror. She seemed to understand in an instant, her hand coming up to gently touch at the surgical scar at the base of its neck, fresh and jagged. The piglet(only a few weeks old) flinched, and squealed at the touch.

"Who would do this?"and her voice was soft and trembling.

"What do you mean?"asked the young doctor.

"It's a mermaid."he said quietly.

At the questioning look he received, he sighed.

"Victorian showmen used to draw the crowds by taking the skull of a cat, gluing it to a fish and calling it a mermaid. Now someone's taken a pig, opened up it's brain, stuck bits on, then they've strapped it in that ship and made it dive bomb. It's terrified. They've taken this animal and turned it into a joke."

His blood boiled in his skin.

"That's sick."said Rose her disgust evident in her face.

She looked rightly furious. However, she could still manage to hum softly at the animal as it seemed to try to bury itself into her side. The tension in its body was notable, as was its pain and the young Doctor Sato looked at it with disbelief and pity.

"So it's a fake, a pretend, like the mermaid. But the technology augmenting its brain, it's like nothing on Earth. It's alien. Aliens are faking aliens. But why would they do that?"she asked, and the Doctor shook his head.

He wasn't sure if it was disgust or fury, but much like Rose seemed to be he felt both. This poor, scared creature had been strung together with the equivalent of a butcher knife. It had been twisted around: its bones broken and twisted. Circuitry had been crammed into places that were never meant to be able to achieve higher brain function. And it was an infant at that, it could only be an infant that could be affected so... From what he could gather, the procedure had given the piglet enough consciousness to be aware enough to drive(poorly, but still trying to drive) a bleedin' space ship, meaning that it most likely had enough self awareness to think critically. The fact that he felt a mental hum higher than normal for a pig from the creature also cemented the intelligence boost...

It was obvious now that the Big Ben crash was meant to be a red herring. The fact that Rose had called the crash too perfect struck him then. Because it had been perfect. Textbook in any manual that involved crash landing and how to do it without damaging the ship... And to be in the public eye. There was no one in the modern world that wasn't looking in at Great Britain, waiting on baited breathe. It was as if someone had set the stage, and now, with a panic thoughts, he wondered just what the set up was, and who had done it. Honestly, how Sol 3 ever went a day without blowing up was beyond him!

"Rose, come on, we have to go."

"You can't just leave!"said Sato scandalized, and he raised his brow.

"Yeah, we can. This is us, leaving."

Rose gave the woman a shrug, hitching the small piglet higher in her arms.

"Take care of yourself Toshiko Sato."

They left despite her protests. Rose looked at the piglet, and then at him with furrowed brows.

"Can you change it back?"

"No."he said, his jaw clenched.

As they walked out, several Paras turned, eyes wide at the 'alien' in Rose's arms. Both the Doctor and the Rose turned to each other for a fraction of a second, before they took off at a run. The Doctor made sure to keep Rose in front of him as the Paras stopped their dumbfounded-ness and started shouting after them. She had nearly gotten shot once after all, and that was all his hearts could take. For now at least.

"It would kill it to remove the wires in its brain, wouldn' it?"she asked, over her shoulder, turning wildly in the general direction of the TARDIS.

He could feel the TARDIS, calling out with a sense of urgency. Hearing both gunfire and shouts behind him, he pushed past Rose, snapping up the piglet-mermaid and then grabbing her arm to toss her in front of him, and hopefully away from the bullets starting to whiz past their heads.

"Yes!"he panted and watched as her long legs picked up the pace, running as if she was born to do it.

He winced as a bullet grazed his left leg, and a couple more move past his ear.

"Rose, leg it!"

To his frustration, Rose kept the same pace.

"I am!"she growled..

"Then, leg it faster! I really do not take kindly to getting shot at!"

Rose laughed at that. Hysterically, no doubt.

"Where is your sense of adventure?"

"Apparently taking a holiday in your head!"he said, and he hated how he laughed, because he was getting shot at and so was she...

But somehow that didn't matter, because she was laughing. Somehow she was enjoying herself(did he pick up a nutter?). She was running with him. And while his bleedin'(in more ways than one) leg smarted, it was okay.

"STOP! THIS IS UNDER TORCHWOOD OPERATION!"called out someone behind them, and he wondered as he saw Rose stumble, looking back wild eye to stare at the man that had called out.

He saw fear in there then. Suddenly, Rose did pick up the pace. She moved fast as a principal, but somehow the actual notice of a name had her running as if a Dalek was on her heels. Not that Rose would ever have a reason to run from that... A blessing for sure that Rose would never, ever see that... Thing of hate.

"That sounds too official to be safe!"cried out Rose, voice high and scared.

"Agreed!"

After a few turns, they stopped, trying to get their breathe back.

"What are you going to do with it?"whispered Rose in an urgent tone, gesturing to the struggling creature in his hands.

Before he could answer, of course some clueless Paras talking into their radios ran into them.

"Again?!"asked Rose, turning tail as he did the same.

They ran diligently fast, she now bringing up the rear as they tried to get some distance into the Paras they had ran into.

"We can't leave it here! Where can we take it? There may be some technology that the Earth's not meant to have yet!"she hissed, and she sped up as he did.

He nodded his agreement. They ran side by side now, and he felt the TARDIS nearby. Nearly home free if they could just reach the TARDIS.

"Where else are we going to put a piglet-mermaid capable of drivin' a space ship? On the TARDIS, of course."he stated the obvious, and she laughed.

Her laughter died out as they started to get shot at again, and as she ran to the suddenly visible TARDIS, he suddenly realized he had his hands full as they reached it. He fumbled for a bit trying to juggle the piglet but then of course it began to panic and scramble around. Rose took charge, tugging at the doors.

"Please tell me you have a key!"she called out, her eyes wide.

"Left pocket, past the jam jar!"he said, and despite her exasperated look, she stuffed her hand into his pocket, and took out his key.

"STOP IN THE NAME OF THE QUEEN!"

"Stop shooting at us in the name of the Queen!"called out Rose, and she stuffed the key into the lock, and pulled the door, rushing inside, with him on her heels.

He shut the door and locked it tight, all but tossing the piglet-mermaid into her hands as he raced for the console. He set the humming TARDIS into the vortex, before he hunched over the console to stare at the human girl collapsed on his jump seat. She was grinning, holding the piglet-mermaid with a gentleness and her eyes sparkling.

"I say we name it Jasper."she said, petting its head.

The Doctor stared, before shaking his head in disgust.

"Jasper!? That is not a proper name at all! His name has to be Porco Rosso!"

She looked at him as if he was insane;

"That's too long!"

"But it's a perfect name, I mean, where else are we going to find a pig that drives aircraft?"he said reasonably, and she opened her mouth to argue only to shut it again.

She frowned at him, and then looked at the sniffling creature in her arms.

"I do love that film. How about Rosso or Porco for short?"she confessed after a moment, grinning at him.

"Porco, obviously."

She laughed again, and then he laughed. Then they laughed together for a good solid five minutes. The poor creature sniffled, bringing them out of their shared mirth of adrenaline and like-mindedness. He felt himself swell with a sense of pity and understanding towards the small thing. Reaching carefully, as not to scare it even further, he picked up the piglet-mermaid and nodded his head.

"Come on, we'll take him to the med-bay. Something tells me with you around we're going to be seeing it a lot."he said smartly, and she smiled sweetly at him.

"You mean for all the times I'm going to patch you up? Good idea, teaching me how to take care of you ahead of time."

He scowled at her statement, and took the corridor to the Medbay, out of everything, the clean, sterile room was one of the few that didn't move in the course of seven hundred or so years of traveling. It was always right off the console room going through the left door, and marked by a green crescent moon, a fact that always made him grateful. Most of the people who traveled with him caught on quick, and could always drag their fellow travelers, and on the odd occasion(one billion to one in rarity, really) himself onto the most reliable and fool proof Medical area from all across time and space. His fastidiousness and frank stubbornness in keeping the Medbay the best possible had left more than one of his companions roll their eyes in frustration. Of course, that was only until they needed it. Then they were all grateful and smiles. As he gently led Rose to the many medical tubes, the animal let out a frightened squeal, no doubt recognizing either the smells or look of a Medical area.

"It's alright sweetheart"she soothed, as he placed him softly to the examination table.

The baby shivered and squealed in fright. His hearts twinged, and he quickly allowed the machine do its job, a thin tube, clear and strong as any Earth diamond going over the animal. The animal dropped, its eyes fluttering and its squeal lessening with each breathe. Finally, asleep and only whimpering in undeniable pain, the Doctor quickly set up to display to see what exactly they had done with the poor animal.

It was terrible.

They had might as well have pulled the him apart with meat cleavers and then strung him back together with dental floss. However, he didn't say this, and allowed himself to swallow his bile of disgust as he checked over the readings, lighting up the screen. Rose, curious as she was, looked over his shoulder. Her brows furrowed, he noticed, out of the corner of his eyes. Her fingertips came to hover over the screen, and for a second, he thought she would actually touch them, but she didn't, only frowned, and her eyes flickered to him.

"So? What can we do to help him?"

He turned to her, and gave her a grin.

"We can't make him into a normal piglet, but we can ease him better into the body forced on him."

She grinned, eyes turning to the animal in a fitful sleep.

"I can live with that."

"I can too."

The stayed silent for a second, him adjusting doses of medicines and putting in instructions for the machine to perform the necessary surgery to adjust the placement of the pig's four legs, as well touching up the mechanisms adhered to his brain. In a few hours, the poor creature would at least be comfortable, if still afraid of its new found sentience and body. He pulled back, rubbing the bridge of his nose before he turned to Rose as the medical tube darkened its clear screen and did its work.

"I think this belongs to you."she said softly, reaching out to hand him his battered yale key.

He took it delicately to his hand, and stuffed it into his pocket, careful to make sure the thing went past the jam jar, least he loose it. He looked at her, really looked at her, with her wide made up eyes and too many rings on her delicate fingers. She was so young he thought. Only nineteen really, twenty to her mother and anyone who knew her. But still so young. He hardly remembered being nineteen, at the academy he supposed, stiffed and trapped in a world of rules and strict regulations. And yet this girl was looking at him with a soft smile on her face and ready to face the danger that was possibly facing her world in a heartbeat, for what, the fourth time? And she was not faltering, as he surly would have at that young age, still kept back and trying in vain to keep in line with what his society wanted of him...

Before he could lose his nerve, he riffled his hand into his right pocket, and casually leaned against the medical until. He smiled, trying to say to himself that it wasn't a nervous one.

"Thanks, you were pretty handy with that."

She smiled, and winked as she leaned against it as well. Her brown-green eyes, with their golden flecks sparkled.

"Honestly, a jam jar?"

He felt himself puff up at that.

"Oi, you never known when you're going to need one!"he said honestly, thinking to all the times he had used it.

"I suppose."she said seriously, her tongue-in-teeth coming out and he felt himself grinning in response.

"Speaking of which, I been meaning to give you something."

Her brow rose.

"A jam jar?"

"Nah, though know that I think of it it might come in handy. How big are your pockets?"he asked, and he felt himself babbling and trying not to fidget like a hundred year old.

"There not bigger on the inside like yours are, if that's what you mean."she said, and she sounded slightly disappointed as she put her hands in her pockets, wiggling them at him.

"Pity."

She nodded seriously, a frown on her face.

"I agree."

"Well, if you can't fit a jam jar, then this should come in handy, would have a few moments ago at least."

He extended out his hand, and it was a key, a key to the TARDIS specifically. She held out her palm, and accepted it, gripping the key tightly with a gentle smile.

" 'Bout time you had that."

"Thank you."she said, and it was sincere and her smile was soft and her eyes said something that the TARDIS couldn't, or wouldn't translate, for it was a language all its own.

~BW~DW~BW~DW~BW~

At her request, Rose got the Doctor to go back to the Estate. He had seemed confused at that, but her instance, and her truthful 'I've left some things unsaid', he landed the TARDIS inside her mother's flat. She stepped out, and was greeted with the sight of one Mickey Smith, gaping at her with her mother right next to him, doing the same thing. She grinned, waving and moving back inside to drag the Doctor outside. He grumbled, eyeing the two people that had constantly brought her back to earth was once upon a time.

"Don't you dare make things domestic."he muttered, and she rolled her eyes.

"So, Mum, this is the TARDIS. TARDIS, Mum."she said, and was amused at the greeting hum the TARDIS gave, even if her mother couldn't hear the eleven dimensional being.

Her mother looked to the police box and pursed her lips.

"Bit titchy."she said flatly, and that got a scoff from the Doctor.

"Well it is!"she said, and she glared at the Doctor.

"Rose."Mickey said it softly, eyes wide and breathe ragged.

Her heart twinged at that, and she smiled at her childhood friend.

"Hey there, Micks."she said softly, and he frowned.

"That's all?! Rose you've been gone a bloody year and that's all you got to say to me!? 'Hey there, Micks'?!"

"You see what I mean? Domestic."muttered the Doctor, frowning at Mickey, as he turned round towards the Doctor with a snarl.

"And you! You come swanning in and steal away good people and lead them astray! I looked you up, all across history, leaving nothing but a trail of death."he hissed, and the Doctor went stock still, blinking at the man.

Rose tensed, and frowned at him. She advance on him and poked him in the chest, glaring at him as he crossed his arms with a scowl.

"Micheal Smith, don't! He's done a lot of good, surly you saw that across history too? He saved your life!"she reminded him, and he frowned at her, again, looking angry and put out.

He looked away, at the Doctor. Something hardened in his eyes as he glared, before he turned back to her with a fire in his eyes.

"And what did you do, a year away with him? Huh, come on Rose, this is nothing like you! You aren't impulsive, or at least not any more."he said, and he sounded both hurt and sad as he looked at her.

She frowned at him, and raised a brow.

"Look, I'm here. I'm not in the hospital, or crashing Jimmy Stone's stupid hot rod in revenge. I'm not fifteen and stupid, anymore. I went with him because I saw a chance to get out of just being a simple shop girl and I knew I could make a difference."she said, and frowned at both her mother and Mickey as they stared at her.

She sighed slightly, fiddling with the rings on her fingers as she saw the indignation of her family rise up just as she knew it would.

"What's wrong with being a shop girl, I've worked in shops!"said her mother and she shook her head.

"Nothing is wrong with it, it's as decent as any job. I just never wanted that for me, Mum. I mean honestly, did you want that for me?"

Her Mum stared at her for beat, her eyes softening.

"No I didn'."she said, and her voice was sad.

"That still doesn't mean that you should have left like that. We we're good, Rose."he said, and she sighed again with a smile.

"We were, Micks. But we weren't that happy with each other, either. We were content. We were settling with each other. And we deserve better, each of us."

He stared, and she saw it, in his eyes. He saw that it was just as she said. Because, they had settled with each other. After the whole Jimmy Stone crap-fest had settled over, she had needed someone, and Mickey had been there. His Gran had just died, he had needed someone, and Rose had been there. It had been so easy with each other, easy as breathing to be a couple and offer comfort. But it had never been about passion or challenging each other, they never got into a row and they should have. They should have gotten angry each other at something, something should have sparked at one point...Should have had done something that roused more than just the sensation of love that wasn't exactly romantic. Even if they did love each other, it hadn't really been that kind of love. It had taken Mickey staying in Pete's world for both of them to see that, and she refused to leave their relationship the way it had until she wouldn't be able to see him again.

"So that's it then?"he asked, and he sounded resigned.

Rose nodded and smiled at him. He smiled back, and in both their smiles she was sure that there was a sensation of lost because they had been good for each other. But, unfortunately, they weren't the best for each other, and Rose refused to let either of them settle for anything less than true, all consuming love. Maybe it was selfish of her to think that way, because she had found the man that she would always, always love... But, it didn't stop her from putting the final nail in the coffin of their relationship more firmly this time around. Because the man across from her, that daft, silly man with his computers and not being the Tin Dog fixation deserved more than that, or at least, he would once he settled into what she saw him become in future-past she had running in her head.

"You're still daft for running off with an alien."

"Says the man that dated Sally Moffat, she's a heart breaker, made you cry your eyes out again and again. Always built you up."she responded, and he laughed.

The Doctor, typical really, spoke out:

"Oi, Rose, as lovely as this conversation is, we have to find the people that turned Porco into a mermaid!"

Startled, having forgotten he was there for beat, she turned to him, grimly.

"Right, and how do you propose we do that Time-Lord? You didn't recognize the ship at all."she asked this, because, really, they had no plan to track down the Slitheens, other than, 'let's get them!'.

He faltered and she smirked at him.

"Ah, well..."

"How 'bout the tech? Recognize that?"she asked more pointedly, crossing her arms.

"Looks kinda of familiar."he said, and he sounded sheepish.

"Any idea of who is behind this?"

"Oh, lots of ideas. Plenty of them, we just got to narrow it down a bit. Quite a few quadrants of space have technology like that, not mention the whole time-travel thing could also be a fac-"he began, rambling.

"He's useless."said Mickey, shaking his head.

The Doctor, macho as he was in this incarnation, puffed up, glaring at him.

"Oi, who was clinging to Rose's leg at the sight of a little Nestene Conciousness?"he sneered at this raising a brow at the younger man.

True to fashion, Mickey, being just as stupidly macho, puffed up to match the Time-Lord.

"Who got their alien arse saved by a shop girl with a bronze medal in junior gymnastics?"he said, and Rose felt both amused and insulted at his come back.

Honestly, she didn't even say that this time around, but trust Mickey to remember that from primary!

"Who doesn't work in a mechanics shop?"countered the Doctor.

With each question, both men took a step closer and closer to each other. Their scowls near identical, and if she hadn't been used to this behavior from them from before, she would have suspected they would go to blows. But... They wouldn't. Would they she thought as the tried to tower each other.

"Who doesn't even have a proper name?"snapped Mickey

"I have a proper name, its a nice name, thank you very much! And its better than your name."

"I bet you don't even remember my name."accused Mickey, rolling his eyes.

"Ricky!"said the Doctor with a firmness and flippant nature.

Mickey scowled, crossing his arms.

"It's Mickey."

"No, it's Ricky."said the Doctor, firmer than before.

"I think I know my own name."

"You think you know your own name? How stupid are you?"

"Alright, all of you button it! Everyone sit, we're having some bloody tea!"said Jackie, and she pushed both men towards the coach with a growl.

Rose tried to hold back a laugh at the look on the men's faces, both dumbfounded and surprised at the fact that even in a crises, her mother dolled out tea. They were properly cowed though, and they didn't move a muscle or open their mouth they continued their bickering, instead they settled for glaring at each other. Her mum disappeared in the kitchen for a while, and carefully, Rose approached the wall eased into a casual that didn't surprise the men as they switched on they raised the volume on the telly. She heard her Mum whispering frantically on the phone, informing the right people of the Doctor and triggering their entrance to Downing Street, she sighed, glad she didn't have to do it herself.

To many questions that she couldn't exactly answer at that moment.

"Every day, I looked. On every street corner, wherever I went, looking for a blue box for a whole year."said Mickey softly, eyes flickering to her.

She smiled faintly, her gaze focusing on him.

"It's only been a few days for me. It's hard to tell inside this thing but I swear it's just a few days since I left."

"Not enough time to miss me, then?"he asked, and it sounded like a challenge.

"I did miss you."she answered honestly, though she had no idea if it was the man-child version of the man in front of her or the one she had left behind again in Pete's world.

A little of both she supposed.

"I missed you. So, now that you've come back, are you going to stay?"

Before she could answer, the Doctor jumped up, grinning in brilliance as he ran into the TARDIS. It took him a moment, before his head popped out of the door and he grinned.

"Got it! Ha, ha! Patched in the radar, looped it back twelve hours so we can follow the flight of that spaceship. Here we go. Hold on. Come on."he crooned in delight, and she went after him, Mickey on her heels.

They gathered around the screen, and she watched with interest as he tapped the screen proudly.

"That's the spaceship on its way to Earth, see? Except. Hold on. See? The spaceship did a sling shot round the Earth before it landed."

"So, the aliens were on Earth already? What do they want?"

"No clue... Whoever those aliens are, they haven't just arrived, they've been here for a while. The question is, what have they been doing?"

"Other than abducting harmless piglets you mean?" she asked, and she shared a dark look with him.

"Other than that yes, why make a big production of this? Why Big Ben, why have the whole world watching on baited breathe?"

"Why indeed..."

Their was a knock on the TARDIS door, and looking extremely offended and confused, the Doctor opened it. Her mum stood their, a tea tray juggled in one hand and hand raised as if to knock again.

"Sorry, no solicitors."said the Doctor, ready to slam the door shut no doubt, but her mum scowling stopped him in his tracks.

"What part of sit here did you not understand? I mean, really, you speak well enough English."she said, and before the Doctor could say even a word to that, the bloody door was knocked off its hinges of her mum's front door as several men in sleek black uniforms came in.

"Step out of the Box! We request the alien known as the Doctor to come with us."

The Doctor, stepped forward eagerly, and Rose followed on his heels as did Mickey follow on her's. She slammed the TARDIS shut and locked it, before shoving the key deep in her pockets. Stepping quickly away from Mickey, she let her hand slip into the Doctor's and he gave her a squeeze as their fingertips intertwined.

"Hands up and where we can see them."

"Oooh, I've always wanted to do this! Take me to your leader!"said the Doctor brightly, lifting their joined hands.

Rose could only repress a groan, as he had said that way to many times in the coarse of her meeting him. Not that he would ever admit it, of course.

~BW~DW~BW~DW~BW~

"Ladies and gentlemen, can we convene? Quick as we can, please. It's this way on the right, and can I remind you ID cards are to be worn at all times."said the man, Ganesh, his own ID said, and the Doctor took his somewhat hesitantly, because, really, was it bad enough that a Time-Lord had dragged into the mess of trigger happy alien intellectuals?

He put it on anyway, but really.

"Here's your ID card. I'm sorry, your companion doesn't have clearance."he said, and he said it as if an after thought.

As if Rose was the after thought, and she most certainly was not. His grip on her hand tightened ever so slightly, and he scowled at the harassed looking man.

"I don't go anywhere without her."he said, and the firmness in his voice surprised even him.

Because, each and every minute spent with her next to him the truer that statement seemed to be and he had no idea what to make of that.

"You're the code nine, not her. I'm sorry, Doctor. It is the Doctor, isn't it? She'll have to stay outside."he said, and the Doctor shook his head.

"She's staying with me."

"Doctor. I don't have the clearance. Just go and make that lot calm down and look at things logically. I'll take the domestic approach."she said, and she sounded as firm as he did in the fact that he wanted her to go with him.

"But-"

"Trust me. Go. I'll be alright."she said, interrupting swiftly, her eyes flickering around, and he saw that she was going to look about.

He nodded but he didn't like that one bit. Nor did he like the way his stomach twisted at the thought of them being separated, but he let the man escort him away. Of course, he didn't expect her to nearly tackle him mid-step. He stumbled as if he hadn't really expected it... Her arms went around his neck as he turned around, and she tugged her to him, her young, soft, hot body against his. Why was she so? So... He swallowed as he felt her lips go to his ears:

"Be careful."she whispered, her voice soft, and her breathe ghosting over his ear and making him shiver.

He nodded, and looked into her eyes. With those green mixed with brown, and that swirling gold, he wondered what had put the worry in there.

"Same goes to you."

With a firm nod to each other, and one last squeeze, he entered the conference room.

~BW~DW~BW~DW~BW~

Amused and nearly trying not to grin too widely at the future prime-minster, or President of Britain, depending on the universe, Rose let her arm intertwine with the frantic looking woman. She looked over her shoulder at Joseph Ganesh(that was what his ID card said anyway) that had tried to take her first, and gave him a large, beaming smile.

"She looks official enough, don't worry, she'll take me to security."

With a roll of his eyes, the man walked away, and Rose tightened her grip on Harriet's arm.

"Okay, keep walking, away from the commotion. What's wrong, you're paler than death, come on ma'am, you can tell me. What happened?"

Harriet opened her mouth, more panic appearing on her usually composed face, and Rose gave her a reassuring smile. Without warning the older woman started to cry, her arm tightening around Rose's.

"Oh my dear God... Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North, and oh God."she sobbed, and Rose rubbed her back carefully as stopped in the Cabinet Room.

She tried not to think about the dead body in the cupboard.

"Shh, it's okay. My name is Rose Tyler, and I'm here to help."

"They turned the body into a suit. A disguise for the thing inside!"she cried, clinging to her slightly, and Rose shushed her as she checked her body for the signs of shock.

She hadn't gone into shock last time, but, Rose could never be too careful. No matter how tough Harriet Jones was.

"It's all right. I believe you. It's alien, me and the Doctor, that's one of the experts downstairs, have already seen some of the tech they have and it's serious. Now, describe in detail what you saw."she said softly, and as she Harriet began, she set to looking around the room.

Unlike before, she made a bee-line for the cupboard, her mouth setting into a grim line at what waited for her. The unfortunate Prime-minster that had been elected in her absence toppled out, and she caught the corpse carefully before guiding it to the floor. Carefully, she checked the pulse in a hope, and of course she got nothing. She took a deep breath, looking at the stricken Harriet before shaking her head.

"Harriet, for God's sake. This has gone beyond a joke. You cannot just wander. Oh, my God. That's the Prime Minister!"screamed out Joseph.

Rose jolted forward, pulling him further into the room even as his arms failed in protest.

"Let me go!"

She ignored him, pulling him behind her just as a sickly sweet voice went on:

"Oh! Has someone been naughty?"her stolen human eyes sparkled sweetly.

Rose felt a fury enter her as Maraget the Siltheen looked at them, excitement obvious. She grimaced in response, glaring as she pushed both Joseph and Harriet back, behind her.

"That's impossible. He left this afternoon. The Prime Minister left Downing Street. He was driven away!"he said and he sounded a tad hysterical.

Rose grimaced again, notice that the wide, gleaming smile was just as ominous the first time she had seen it.

"And who told you that, hmm? Me."said Blon and just as before, her hand drift up ready to reveal herself.

Rose tensed her legs in preparation as the zipper went across her forehead in a blinding blue light.


AN: I do not own Doctor Who, its characters or its universe in any sense. That right belongs to the actors who gave the characters their faces and attitudes, its writers, and the BBC.

I'm just going wild with fanaticism and love of the franchise.

And Holy! Update Batman!

This chapter was about 16,362 words, about 33 pages. This took me forever to write. And the next chapter will probably take as long, because I'm a senior in high school with too many AP classes, and a load of shiznes to do on top of having a job. But well, I had a lot of fun writing Jackie, how did she seem? Anyway, thank you for reading and feel free to leave comments, questions and to PM me. I hope you like it!