"This one knows me," the Bad Wolf murmured, smirking up at Rose with a look of dark amusement. Rose blinked hard, half-expecting the image to fade and disappear before her eyes, but the woman remained as solid and life-like as though she were actually there, standing in the room with them.
"You ... you can see her?" the younger Doctor asked as he glanced from the Bad Wolf to Rose and back again in bewilderment.
"What is she doing here?" Rose demanded breathlessly, staring wide-eyed into the familiar features of her own, nineteen-year-old face. The last few times that Rose had seen the Bad Wolf, she had been a strange, otherworldly glowing creature with indistinguishable, nondescript features. This time, however, it was like looking into a mirror of the past, and the effect was spooky to say the least.
"You ... know her?" the unfamiliar Doctor in leather asked in surprise.
What's going on? Rose's current Doctor asked curiously, using their bond to speak directly into her mind.
"It's ... it's her, it's ..." But Rose's stuttering words were cut off as the young blonde woman suddenly shot to her feet and placed a single finger to her lips, motioning for Rose to be silent.
"I'm not who you think I am," the Bad Wolf murmured quietly. "I took this form for a purpose. The others can't see me, only this one." She motioned towards the Doctor at her side, who was gazing between them both with a look of wide-eyed shock.
Rose could still feel her current Doctor silently pulling at the back of her thoughts in an attempt to help her to focus so that she could explain to him what was going on. However, there was no reasonable explanation that Rose could come up with to answer him as she blinked in confusion at the familiar features of the blonde-haired woman. The creature claimed that she wasn't the Bad Wolf, but what else could she possibly be?
As Rose continued to hold her silence, the Doctor in the bowtie slowly stepped up to her side, his hand wrapping securely around her own as he warily studied the empty space that Rose and the Doctor in leather were currently staring intently at.
What is it? What's there? he asked curiously.
"Oi! Stop that!" They all turned in unison at the interruption and Rose felt her heart skip a beat in her chest as her gaze landed once more on the familiar features of the Doctor as he once was. "We can all hear that, you know," he muttered as he openly glared at the Doctor who was currently holding Rose's hand. "We're all the same person, we're linked telepathically."
His dark brown eyes slid to Rose then, and he looked her up and down critically as he continued, "Who's this, then? And why did you ...?"
"Spoilers," Rose's Doctor cut in again, taking a half-step forward as though he intended to block Rose completely from the view of the other two men in the room.
"It's okay, Doctor," Rose piped up quietly, giving her bondmate's fingers a squeeze as she looked at each of the men in turn. She was eager to tell the younger Doctor the truth of who she was - if for no other reason than to erase that cold, dark look from off of his face.
She was about to open her mouth and do just that when the Doctor at her side suddenly tightened his grip on her hand and muttered anxiously over their bond, No, it's not safe. He can't know ...
"Okay, you really have to stop that," the Doctor in pinstripes snapped irritably as he reached up with one hand and rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck.
"You ... you bonded with someone?" the Doctor in leather gasped in disbelief. "With a human? How is that even possible?"
Both of the older Doctors turned to glare at the youngest version of himself, but neither of them made any attempt to rush to Rose's defense or explain themselves.
"Oh, but this is fantastic!" the Bad Wolf woman cried in excitement, clapping her hands together in glee and letting out a short bark of laughter that rang off of the stone walls around them. "I knew I picked this form for a reason. This is just too perfect!"
"When does this happen, then?" the Doctor in pinstripes piped up tersely, unknowingly cutting the invisible woman off as he continued to eye Rose up and down with a look of utter distrust and distaste. "And who are you, eh? Where do you come from?"
"It's nothing that you need to worry about," the Doctor in the bowtie growled defensively as he took another step forward to place himself more directly between Rose and his past self.
"Oh?" the younger Doctor asked primly. "Am I not allowed to be curious about who my future wife is?" He hurled the word like it was an accusation, and Rose felt it like a slap to the face. She couldn't help but flinch slightly as she stared hard at the familiar features of the man who had tried so desperately to give her her happy ever after. How was he supposed to know that the Bad Wolf wasn't going to allow Rose to live a natural, human life?
"We've met before, Doctor," she muttered quietly, meeting the younger man's eyes directly and forcing herself not to show all of the hurt that she could feel deep within her chest as he glared openly at her. "You don't have to worry, I'm not just some random human ..."
"We've never met before," the Doctor replied darkly, furrowing his brows at her in confusion. "I think I'd remember that."
Rose sighed as she desperately reached once more for the easy familiarity of her telepathic bond. Are you sure I can't tell him ...? she asked silently, gritting her teeth together in frustration as she continued to stare down the face of the man that she had already spent a lifetime with in her parallel world.
"Tell me what?" the Doctor in pinstripes demanded at the same time that the Doctor in leather pressed the heel of one of his hands to his forehead and murmured "That really is quite distracting. It's like ... telepathic feedback."
"Sorry," Rose muttered awkwardly, casting her gaze to the ground in embarrassment as she shuffled her weight between her feet and silently eyed the two men who were fidgeting uncomfortably from unwelcome intrusion of her silent communication.
Don't be sorry, Rose's Doctor replied, squeezing her fingers reassuringly and pointedly using their mental connection despite the other two men's protests. "They're just jealous," he added out loud, flashing each of them a teasing smirk.
"Guess you really have moved on," the Doctor in pinstripes replied darkly. "First you forgot the Time war, and now ... this." He gestured rudely towards Rose and then shoved his hands firmly into his pockets as he continued to glare between the two of them.
Rose's Doctor immediately released her hand so that he could step forward and meet his younger self's eye with an intimidating, dangerous look. "You don't know what you're talking about," he growled, his voice low and threatening while at the same time he used his telepathic bond to flood Rose's mind with silent, soothing reassurances. The drastic disconnect was making her head spin and Rose fidgeted awkwardly on the spot where the Doctor had left her, unsure of how to address any of them in this small room where time was bending so unnaturally all around them.
"My, my, you've certainly got them all worked up now," the Bad Wolf woman muttered, clicking her tongue as she crossed her arms and surveyed the two men who were standing practically toe-to-toe and glaring daggers at one another.
Who are you? Rose asked her silently, narrowing her eyes on the young woman.
The other woman's only answer was another sly, knowing smirk as she nodded back towards the two older Doctors and muttered, "Best sort your men out, there, Clara. Wouldn't do to have him strangle himself. The paradoxes alone would be an absolute nightmare ..."
Rose wasted no more time as she stepped up between the two men, placing her hand on either one of their chests as she urged them to step apart and drop it. "Alright, Doctor, that's enough," she insisted, addressing them both. "There'll be time enough to sort all of this out later. For now ..."
But her words trailed off into silence as she blinked and took a closer look at the Doctor in pinstripes. She hadn't noticed it earlier in the dim lighting, but now that she was standing closer and her fingers were brushing up against his chest, her gaze caught and held on the unfamiliar tie that was wrapped around his neck. She had seen this version of the Doctor wear dozens of different ties throughout the time that she had known him in this world and the other, but she was used to seeing simple, geometric patterns or swirling shapes that were reminiscent of the time vortex itself.
This tie, however, was new - and it was unlike anything she had ever seen him wear before. It was black and decorated with pale blue roses and dark, maroon-colored leaves. Seeing her own namesake worn like it was a symbol of mourning, tucked tightly between the Doctor's two hearts, made Rose's breath catch on something sharp and painful in her chest. She instantly felt her connection with her current Doctor fill with his own regret and sympathy as he quickly caught on to what she was staring at, and he wasted no time in taking her hand in his once more as he pulled her gently back to his side.
"What is it?" the Doctor in pinstripes asked warily, eyeing Rose and his older self suspiciously. "What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing, it's just ... your tie ..." she muttered lamely, still unable to take her eyes off of the dark floral pattern before her.
The Doctor looked down at himself for a moment and then scrunched up his nose in confusion as he turned back to meet Rose's gaze again. "My tie?" he repeated dubiously. "What's wrong with my tie?" His hands raised to his neck where he grasped the strip of fabric defensively, as though he were afraid that she might try to mock the small symbol that he wore as though it were battle armor.
"Nothing! There's nothing wrong with it," Rose amended quickly, forcing herself to glance away from the blue roses and meet his eyes directly once more. "I like it," she added with a soft smile. "It's very nice."
The younger Doctor hummed thoughtfully under his breath as he looked down his nose at her, still silently assessing every detail of her expression. Rose felt a subtle tug against the edge of her mind, but her eyes widened in surprise as she realized that it wasn't her husband who was pulling curiously against her - or, at least, it wasn't her current husband.
"Oi!" the Doctor in the bowtie cried indignantly as he stepped once more between Rose and his past self, shielding her defensively behind his body.
"Alright, alright, calm down," the Doctor in pinstripes grumbled awkwardly. "I wasn't trying to do anything. I was just ... curious, is all."
"Well, kindly keep your thoughts to yourself, if you don't mind," Rose's Doctor growled pointedly.
"Oh, you're one to talk!" his younger self snapped in irritation. "Swanning in here and parading around with your quaint little telepathic bond."
"I think you're both mad," the Doctor in leather suddenly piped up from where he had been watching them at the edge of the room. "Been spending too much time on earth, by the look of things. When did you two get so ... sentimental?"
Both of the older Doctors instantly opened their mouths to argue, but Rose effectively silenced them all again before another row could break out. "Alright! Okay, yes, lots to discuss, here. But first, and most important, is probably escape, right?"
All three of the Doctors grumbled under their breaths and scuffed their feet petulantly as they grudgingly conceded her point.
"So ... how long have you three been down here, sitting behind an unlocked door?" she asked. When the three men gave her no response other than irritated scowls and sheepish silence, Rose rolled her eyes and sighed, "Well, some things certainly never change, do they?"
"Oi, we were working on it!" the Doctor in the bowtie muttered defensively.
"It really should have been locked," The Doctor in leather grumbled in agreement. "Why wasn't it locked?"
"Because I was fascinated to see what you would do upon escaping," an unfamiliar female voice piped up primly. Rose turned and felt her eyes go wide as she stared at the red-headed woman dressed in period clothes and covered in gold finery standing behind her. "I understand you're rather fond of this world," the zygon posing as Queen Elizabeth murmured amusedly. "It's time, I think, you saw what's going to happen to it."
A/N: I didn't realize until this most recent rewatch of the 50th Anniversary the blue rose tie that Ten is wearing throughout the special. It was such a beautiful, intricate detail and I'm so glad that I caught it this time around. After all of these years, Doctor Who still manages to be a show that constantly surprises me!