Getting back up to speed...almost reunion perfectly sums up this chapter. Let me know your thoughts.

Gabrielle

The Almost Reunion

The first thing Rose was aware of when her mind processed what had happened was that Clara was not only crying, but positively wailing.

"Shhh, Clara," Rose crooned as she bounced Clara in her arms as she adjusted the bag over her shoulder. It was then that Rose realized that she wasn't in the middle of the street like she had expected, but instead was in a backyard. There was something that told her she should know where she was, but something else grabbed her attention first. She glanced up at the sky, and instead of seeing the stars blinking out like she was used to, she saw only darkness and the shape of countless other planets not far from Earth. Apparently this universe was actually running ahead of Pete's World and she had no idea what was happening, which didn't help calm Clara down.

However, just then Rose heard the back door swing open, terrified of who would come at her now. And Clara was still crying, scared by the dimension jump. As Rose saw a shape appear in the doorway she held Clara closer, cursing the fact that she had arrived far away from both Mickey and the Doctor.

"Rose?" the familiar voice called, coming out of the shadows, clearly shock in her eyes.

"What?" Rose said, her eyes filling with surprise. "Sarah Jane?"

Sarah Jane rushed over to be closer to Rose, her eyes widening at the sight of the crying child. "Come on, it isn't safe outside."

Following Sarah Jane inside, Rose tried to calm Clara down to no avail. As Sarah Jane instructed her to sit on the couch, Rose glimpsed a teenage boy peeking curiously at her from around a corner and was thoroughly confused. There was no way he could be Sarah Jane's son, but who else could he be?

"Can I?" Rose asked, adjusting her grip on Clara, feeling bad that Clara wouldn't stop screaming. "Can I calm her down before I explain?"

After Sarah Jane nodded, Rose placed the bag on the floor, searching for what would calm Clara down. Finding a bottle of formula, Rose shifted Clara over so that she way lying against a pillow. Leaning over and trying to croon that it was going to be okay and to calm down for mummy, it took Rose a full five minutes of torture before Clara quieted down. Breathing a sigh of relief, Rose gave the bottle to Clara, relieved when she began to feed herself without a fuss.

"I used a dimension jump to get here," Rose said, pulling out the yellow button machine to show Sarah Jane. "The stars were going out in the parallel universe. It wasn't just there, all worlds were going out. That is why it was possible to use the dimension jump to get here. We needed to get here to find the Doctor. But this hasn't happened for us yet, do you know what it is?"

"We don't know what is happening, Rose," Sarah Jane explained as she sat on the couch next to Rose. "We just know that the Earth was pulled somewhere else with other planets. Mr. Smith, my computer system, says there are twenty seven. You saw Luke earlier," Sarah Jane continued with a sad smile on her face. "He's my son. He's adopted," she explained when Rose looked confused. "And, Rose…there are Daleks here. In the street killing, the Daleks are here."

"But what about the Doctor?" Rose asked, trying to keep her voice even. "The Doctor would be able to fix this, where is he?"

"Don't worry about it yet," Sarah Jane murmured as she turned her head to look at Clara again. "I never thought I would see the day when the Doctor had a child…" she murmured to herself before turning to Rose. "How old is she?"

Reaching over and picking up Clara and handing her to Sarah Jane, she spoke up again. "Seven months," she answered as her face grew a smile. "I don't know what I would have done without her."

"Excuse me for asking," the older woman said, adjusting the baby in her lap. "I thought that Time Lords and humans weren't compatible. The Doctor said that once…" Sarah Jane mumbled, noticing Rose's shocked expression. "Oh, we were never like that, sweetheart," she assured Rose. "I was just wondering why the Time Lords had such a distaste for humanity if they looked the same and he said it was because a few of his species were breeding with humans and that just wouldn't do. So they eventually bred out their fertility with other species besides their own and started using the Looms. After that the Gallifreyans advanced and developed TNA with three strings instead of two like we have," Sarah Jane paused, remembering how baffled she had been when the Doctor had offhandedly mentioned this to her. "Of course that all happened millennia before the Doctor was even born."

"The thought of the Looms creep me out," Rose mumbled halfway to herself before she giggled. "The thought of weaving a baby…it's just wrong," she stopped, wondering what she should say to Sarah Jane. "And it is all very complicated with Clara…wasn't planned or anything like that. I mean, she is the Doctor's daughter, but not technically," Rose paused, her face flushing red at Sarah's confused expression. "The Doctor had to turn human…and…you know…Clara happened then."

"Oh," Sarah Jane said, nodding her head at what Rose had told her. "That man never fails to surprise me," she explained, deciding she had to tell Rose something. "Rose, I saw the Doctor once after he lost you," she said, waiting for Rose to register what she was telling her. "I just want you to know how special you were to him. No matter what happens, that daft alien loved, still loves, you and your daughter. You weren't just a normal companion for him, it was so much more than that," Sarah Jane stopped, deciding that was all she was going to tell Rose. "I feel like he wouldn't want you to know about how upset he was, so I'm going to leave it there. And…I wouldn't tell him when you see him again."

"He always said he wanted me to stay with him forever," Rose whispered as she tried not to cry, not noticing Sarah's wince that the Doctor would have never said that to her. "And I'm going to keep that promise," she finished, her eyes opening with new strength behind them. "So, no one knows where he is?"

"We can't reach him," Sarah Jane quietly murmured, her head perking up when Luke called out for her that Mr. Smith was registering something. "I need to check that, Rose. Just stay here with your daughter, I'll be back in a minute."

While Sarah Jane was gone, Rose leaned over Clara once more, kissing the little girl on the forehead. "It'll be okay, Clara," she lied, not sure if anything would ever be okay again. "Mummy is going to find daddy real soon, sweetheart. Oh, he'll be so happy to meet you, Clara. We just need to be brave right now until we can find him. Remember that, no matter what happens that mummy loves you."

"Rose, you better get in here," Sarah Jane called from the other room, her voice showing how serious she was at the moment.

Glad that Clara looked like she was about to nod off, Rose followed Sarah Jane, surprised to see a large computer system with a screen full of people she recognized. "Harriet Jones?" Rose asked as she stepped in front of the camera, shocked by what was happening. "Jack? Oh my God, Jack!"

"Rose!" Harriet said, her jaw dropping that she was in the same room as Sarah Jane. "I thought you were dead? Your name…it said you died."

At the same time, Jack spoke up, his face a flirty grin. "Looks like the Doctor can't get rid of you that easily…even trapping you in a parallel universe can't keep you two apart," he said as his smile grew. "I can't believe you found your way back. Does the Doctor know you got back?"

"Wait," Rose announced as she glanced at the dark-skinned girl on the other corner of the screen. "Who are you?"

"Martha Jones," she answered, her eyes looking Rose up and down. "I used to travel with the Doctor. Oh my God, I can't believe you are back Rose. Wow…we have to let the Doctor know that you are back," Martha continued, addressing Harriet now. "But how did you connect me to this conversation?"

"This, ladies and gentlemen," Harriet announced, gesturing to the screen. "Is the Subwave Network. It is programmed to find anyone who can help us contact the Doctor during times of crisis."

"And you invented it?" Sarah Jane asked, leaning forwards around Rose so more of her face could be seen.

Harriet grew a sly smile before she responded again. "I developed it, but it was the Mister Copper Foundation."

"This web chat is nice and all," Jack said, rolling eyes in annoyance. "And I really would like to find out how you got back to this universe, Rose. But we really just need a weapon right now to get rid of the Daleks. Martha, you work for UNIT, what are they saying about it? What is that key thing you have?"

"The Osterhagen key," Martha answered in a cold tone.

"That key is not to be used, Doctor Jones," Harriet spoke up, sending off the authority she had when she was Prime Minister. "Not under any circumstances."

"Am I the only one who doesn't know what is going on?" Rose asked, getting a response from Sarah and Jack that they didn't know either. "What is the Osterhagen key? Will it help us find the Doctor? That's who we all need right now," Rose continued with a harsh glance at Harriet. "And, no offense, Harriet, but we all know what happened. I was there that day, the Doctor handled it all by himself and you had to take charge and destroy them in cold blood, Harriet. I really don't think you have any right to speak for the Doctor right now!"

Appearing shocked at Rose's words, Harriet began to defend herself. "Rose Tyler, I have lived longer than you and know that the fairy tale image you have of the Doctor can't last forever. Because I understand that one day when the Earth is in danger, the Doctor will fail to appear. He didn't listen to me, but maybe you can."

"I do not have some deluded fantasy about him! The Doctor and I have a child together, I think that gives me more right to say that I know him than you, Harriet Jones," Rose hissed back, thoroughly offended by the older woman. "And I'm going to say that the thing we need to concentrate on right now is finding the Doctor."

Martha sent Rose a shy smile for a moment, surprised at how quickly Rose had come to the Doctor's defense. "I agree with Rose, which is why I've been trying to find him. The Doctor has my phone on the TARDIS, but I haven't been able to get through."

"That's why we need the Subwave," Harriet explained with a sigh, deciding not to bring up anything to Rose again. "To combine forces. All of us together at first. The Doctor's secret."

"I've got it!" Jack announced as he turned around to look at another screen. "We have to boost the signal. That's it. We transmit the telephone number through Torchwood. That was we will be using all the power of the Rift."

"And Mister Smith!" Luke brought up, pushing in next to Rose to join in on the call. "He can get the whole world to call the same number, all at the same time. It has to work, billions of phones all calling the Doctor at once."

"Brilliant," Jack exclaimed as he glanced at the teenager. "Who's the kid?"

"My son," Sarah Jane explained, sending Jack a warning glance as Ianto came up behind Jack to start the signal going."

Jack nodded his head as Ianto talked to Harriet about how the signal will be traced back to her, basically sacrificing herself to save the Earth once and for all. "Speaking of kids, where's yours, Rose?"

Glancing back at the other room for a moment and hearing no sounds, she turned back to Jack. "Clara's just in the other room, I haven't been in this universe long."

"It is what I have to do," Harriet said before they sent the signal. "People are dying on the streets, it is my duty to save them. Enough of words, we have to begin."

"Sending the call," Jack announced at the same time Mister Smith began to call.

As they all worked to send the signal to the Doctor, the air seemed to stand still. The ringing noise ran on and on as the attempt to call the Doctor again. Reaching out to grab Sarah Jane's hand, hoping that this would work. It was the best they could do, literally if this didn't work, nothing would.

Waiting impatiently, Harriet suddenly spoke up, intending to turn off her access now that the Daleks were right outside of her door to kill her. "Captain," she said to Jack, her face a brave mask. "I'm transferring the Subwave Network to Torchwood, it's up to you now. And tell the Doctor," she continued, glancing at Rose for a moment. "He chose his companions well."

As they were all mourning the loss of Harriet Jones, Prime Minister, her section of the screen suddenly flared, revealing the spikey haired Doctor and his red-haired companion. Stifling a gasp, Rose watched in a moment as the Doctor took to realize that they had connected with him.

"The entire Medusa Cascade has been put a second out of sync with the rest of the universe. Perfect hiding place. Tiny little pocket of time. But we found them," the Doctor paused for a moment, noticing something on the console screen. "Ooo, ooo, ooo, what's that? Hold on, hold on. Some sort of Subwave Network."

"Where the hell have you been?" Jack sarcastically hissed at the Doctor, causing the Time Lord's eyes to widen as he looked over at Jack's face in the video. "Doctor, the Daleks are on Earth."

However, something else had taken the Doctor's attention at the moment. "Rose," he whispered, leaning closer to the screen as Rose did the same. "You found a way back to me…"

"Yeah…" Rose whispered, trying hard not to cry that she was finally seeing the Doctor after all this time. She glanced at the redhead next to him, assuming that she was the feisty companion Mickey had told her about. "You just can't get rid of me yet."

A nervous chuckle came from the Doctor at Rose's words. "Quite right to," he said, repeating the words he said on the windswept beach. "Are you okay, Rose? And...and Clara? Is she with you?"

"Safe for now thanks to Sarah Jane," Rose responded, her eyes flitting across the screen for a moment before she continued speaking. "And Clara is in the other room…hopefully asleep by now."

"And she is safe and…happy?" the Doctor asked, completely forgetting everyone else's presence now that he could see Rose with his own eyes for the moment.

Jack interrupted the Doctor, attempting to be firm even though he was still smiling. "You can see her later, Doctor. Right now we really need your help and we don't have a minute to waste," Jack explained, noticing how Martha had winced a bit and appeared upset when the Doctor and Rose had been talking. "The Daleks are taking people to their spaceship and it isn't just Dalek Caan."

"Yes, I know," the Doctor said, finally looking away from Rose at the other people present in the conversation. "Hello, Sarah Jane, told you it wasn't goodbye last time. Who's that boy?" he asked, continuing before he got an answer. "And Torchwood! They're brilliant…well, they are now anyway," the Doctor said with a huge smile on his face. "All you clever, brilliant people."

"Hello, I'm Donna Noble," Donna announced, pushing the Doctor more off camera for a moment. "Nice to see you again, Martha. And Rose…I can't believe I am actually talking to you!" she happily said, her gaze fixing on the Torchwood team. "Oh, who are you?"

"Captain Jack," the Doctor explained, glancing over and seeing Donna's star struck expression. "Don't. Just don't."

Right after the Doctor said who the flirtatious American was to Donna, the scanner of every single person went gray with static at the same moment.

Rose glanced up in shock at Sarah Jane, repressing the urge to knock on the side of the computer to make it work. "What happened? We lost the signal?"

Before Sarah Jane was able to respond, a voice, an ancient and raspy sound, spoke up through the static with no picture. "Your voice is different, and yet its arrogance is unchanged."

"No," Sarah Jane whispered, her voice clearly terrified as Rose gaped at her in confusion. "But he's dead."

"What are you talking about?" Rose asked, looking at Luke for an explanation. However, the teenager looked just as confused as Rose was at the moment. "What happened with the connection? What happened to the Doctor and everyone else?"

"I'm so sorry," Sarah Jane replied, pulling Luke in for a tight hug. "It isn't fair that this is happening while you are so young."

"But what is happening?" Luke questioned as Sarah Jane released him from the hug. "What can be worse than the Daleks?"

"It's Davros," Sarah Jane explained, her face showing just how terrible whoever Davros was actually is. "I met him before when I traveled with the Doctor…this isn't good…not good at all."

Rose nodded, understanding why Sarah Jane was so scared. Throughout her travels with the Doctor she had met so many evil beings that she couldn't even begin to describe. "What are we going to do?"

"Rose, your dimension cannon, it has had more than enough time to recharge, right?" Sarah Jane asked as she turned to look at Rose. Her face was so full of knowledge it took Rose aback for a moment. And after seeing the Doctor, even if it was just from a computer screen, her heart was aching at how quick their reunion had been. In her fantasies it had always involved them running towards each other like on a silly romance movie, both faces filled with glee. Before either of them knew it, they would be in each other's arms once more. And maybe, if Rose was very lucky, the Doctor would finish the sentence he had begun on Bad Wolf Bay. But it appeared as if fate was not on her side for the moment. If things kept on progressing the way they were before, it was very probable that she would never see the Doctor face to face again.

"Yeah, but I'm not going to leave everyone here to fend to themselves," Rose replied, her voice confident that she wasn't going to change her mind. "And it is going to happen in every world eventually."

After a long pause and a glance at Luke, Sarah Jane spoke up again. "That isn't what I mean at all, Rose. You can go and find the Doctor and help him. I'll leave right after in my car and hope to meet you there."

"No," Rose said once again, narrowing her eyes.

"Rose, it is what the Doctor would have wanted me to do," Sarah Jane explained with a sigh. One way or another, she was going to try her hardest to get Rose back to the Doctor's side. "And you won't be abandoning anyone at all. In fact, it would be very helpful to everyone, Rose. It's what you have to do right now."

"I'm not leaving Clara," Rose announced, her eyes wide at Sarah Jane. "It isn't safe and I don't want her to be hurt. You understand with Luke, don't you?"

"Clara will be safe, Rose," Sarah Jane explained motioning both Rose and Luke to follow her into the other room. "Luke can watch her for you. And then, once the Doctor figures out how to save the Earth, both of you can come pick her up. It's the best chance we all have, Rose."

Sighing when she realized that Sarah Jane was right she leaned over and picked up Clara, balancing the sleeping baby on her hip as she looked at Luke. "You will make sure she doesn't get hurt?" Rose asked the boy, knowing that she could trust Luke even though she hadn't known him long. "Do you even know how to hold her?"

"Of course," Luke replied with a smile. "We had to take care of an electronic baby for school once and I passed with high scores."

Nodding her head, Rose laid Clara back down, kissing her on the forehead as she pulled out her forehead. With a sigh, she realized she had barely thought of Mickey since she arrived back on this universe. He had been jumping for months, and Rose was confident that he would be able to take care of himself. Still, she was nervous as she typed his number into her mobile. Breathing a sigh of relief when she heard Mickey's familiar voice, she spoke up. "Mickey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I ended up at Donna's house," Mickey explained through the mobile. "I'm fine, about to shift myself. How are you? Is Clara okay? Have you found the Doctor yet?"

"No, but we're safe with Sarah Jane," Rose told Mickey, sighing with relief that her friend was safe as well. "I'm going to do a shift as well and lock onto the TARDIS."

"Good luck, Rose," Mickey responded, clearly rushing her to hang up so that he could phase himself. "Don't worry, the Doctor will fix it all or he'll have to have a word with Mickey Smith."

"Thank you," Rose sighed, hoping that nothing would hurt Mickey. "Be safe, okay? Bye, see you soon."

Once she had finished her call with Mickey, she pulled out her dimension jumper with a sigh, pulling out her phone again and calling Torchwood's familiar number. "Control, I need another shift," Rose explained, hoping they understood the urgency of her voice. "Lock me onto the TARDIS, now. Right, I'm going to find him. And you better make sure Clara stays safe, I'm trusting you. Still, wish me luck."

"Good luck," Luke called out, a nervous smile on his face as she waited for the shift to take place.

"Good luck, sweetheart," Sarah Jane said as well, her expression showing Rose just how likely it was that they would all die tonight.

Still, she didn't have long to think about what that meant before she dissolved into a bright light just as she had before. Squeezing her eyes shut tight, Rose hoped that she would be able to see her daughter again.

However, it didn't take as long as she thought it would before she felt her feet on solid ground again. Looking around at her surroundings, Rose figured that the TARDIS just hadn't arrived yet. She was on a seemingly abandoned street, clearly devoid of people because of the Daleks. Walking farther down the street, Rose wondered how long she had to wait when she heard the most beautiful sound her ears had ever heard.

Rose was sure she was barely breathing when she saw the TARDIS materialize a few feet in front of her, just like it had in all her dreams. She couldn't believe this was actually happening, that she was about to see the Doctor again and she was going to fight like hell to not lose him again.

However, she saw something out of the corner of her eye and her mind froze. There it was, straight from her nightmares. A Dalek was just across the street and she knew what was going to happen next. Rose cursed herself for not bringing a gun, rationalizing her decision by how much the Doctor hated them.

"Doctor!" Rose screamed as she turned and banged on the TARDIS door, keeping one eye on the steadily approaching Dalek. "Doctor! Please! DOCTOR!" Rose cried out, sure she only had seconds left to be alive. She had failed. After everything they had gone through, this was how it was going to end?

So close!