Rose laid in bed for a long while after they dropped Adam off, staring at the ceiling. Finally, she got up and headed for the console room. The Time Lords looked up as she entered.

"Thought you'd gone to bed," the Doctor said. Rose shifted under his gaze.

Before she lost her nerve, she took a deep breath and spoke. "Peter Alan Tyler, my dad," she said. "The most wonderful man in the world. Born 15th September, 1954." She swallowed hard. "Died 7th November, 1987. He would have loved to see me now, that's what Mum always says." She looked up at the two Time Lords. "So I was thinking, could we, could we go and see my dad when he was still alive?"

She watched the Doctor look at the Emissary, something passing between them before he turned back to Rose. "Where's this come from, all of a sudden?"

Rose just shrugged, thinking it was a lost cause. "All right then, if we can't, if it goes against the laws of times or something, then never mind, just leave it."

The Emissary shook her head. "No, we can do anything. We're just worried about you."

"I want to see him."

The Doctor nodded slowly. "Your wish is my command," he said, as they set the TARDIS in motion. "But be careful what you wish for."

~~~

The Emissary, Doctor and Rose sat in the very back row, watching Jackie and Pete.

"I, Peter Alan Tyler, take you, Jacqueline Angela Suzette Prentice," the registrar said.

Pete repeated, "I, Peter Alan Tyler, take you, Jacqueline Suzanne, Suzette, Anita.."

The congregation snickered as Pete fumbled. Jackie just sighed and waved it away. "Oh, just carry on. It's good enough for Lady Di."

Rose hummed thoughtfully. "I thought he'd be taller."

~~~

Back in the TARDIS, Rose looked no happier. "He died so close to home," she said. "No one was there when it happened." She looked up at the Doctor with pleading eyes. "I want to be that someone, so he doesn't die alone."

The Doctor sighed. "November the 7th?"

Rose nodded. "1987."

~~~

The TARDIS materialized and Rose stepped out, looking up at the sky.

"It's so weird," she said, turning back to the Time Lords. "The day my father died. I thought it'd be all sort of grim and stormy. It's just an ordinary day."

"The past is another country," the Doctor told her, shrugging. "1987's just the Isle of Wight. Are you sure about this?"

Rose nodded determinedly. "Yeah." She walked a bit forward, then stopped. "This is it. Jordan Road. He was late. He'd been to get a wedding present, a vase. Mum always said, that stupid vase." They watched a green pull up and Pete got out of it, heading across the road. "He got out of his car, and crossed the road." She closed her eyes and turned away. "Oh, God. This is it."

A beige car raced around the corner just as Pete crossed. It slammed into him and kept going. Pete was left laying in the road, barely moving, vase shattered around him.

The Emissary nudged Rose. "Go to him, quick." Rose stared at her father, frozen in place.

~~~

A few minutes later, they were standing around the corner, listening to sirens wail. Rose sniffed. "It's too late now," she told them. "By the time the ambulance got there, he was dead. He can't die on his own." She looked up. "Can I try again?"

Above her head, the Emissary met the Doctor's eyes and shook her head. It wasn't a good idea. The Doctor ignored her and a few minutes later, they were exiting the TARDIS again.

"Right," he told Rose, pointing. "That's the first you and me. It's a very bad idea, two sets of us being here at the same time." He ignored the Emissary's muttered 'Oh is it a bad idea?' in the back of his mind. "Just be careful they don't see us. Wait till she runs off and they follow, then go to your dad."

They watched Pete's car pull up. Rose shook her head. "I can't do this."

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to," the Emissary told her firmly, "but this is the last time we can be here." She looked away briefly to see the beige car approaching down the street.

"Rose! No!" The Emissary looked back at the Doctor's shout to see Rose starting to run. The Emissary lunged forward quickly to grab Rose's wrist. Rose jerked to a stop.

"Let go of me!" she cried, pulling against the Emissary's grip. "I can save him!" Rose was only human, though, and no match for the Time Lady's strength. She sobbed, turning into the Emissary's hug as the car hit her father.

"Go to him," the Doctor said, his hand coming up to rest on her shoulder. The Emissary pushed Rose towards her father.

~~~

It was silent in the console room as the Time Lords sent them off into the Vortex. Rose sat curled in the captain's chair, staring off into space.

The Emissary exchanged worried looks with the Doctor. "Rose?" she asked finally. "How are you doing?"

There was a long moment where Rose didn't answer. When she did, her voice was hollow and accusing.

"I could've saved him," she said, glaring at the Emissary. "I could've saved him and you stopped me, you let him DIE!"

"When we met," the Doctor cut off the Emissary's answer, "I said travel with me in space. You said no." He looked up at Rose, eyes accusing. "Then I said time machine."

Rose shrugged a little bit helplessly. "It wasn't some big plan," she defended herself. "I just saw it happening and I thought, I can stop it." Her voice turned angry. "And I would have been able to if the Emissary hadn't stopped me!"

"She stopped you from ending the world!" the Doctor defended. When the Emissary looked over at him, a bit surprised, his face was furious. "You would've ripped time apart, just so the universe could do something for you!"

"What, so it's okay when you two go around saving people, but not when it's my dad?!" Rose yelled back. She was on her feet, glaring at both Time Lords now.

"We," the Doctor snarled, pointing between himself and the Emissary, "know what we're doing. You don't."

"He would've been alive!"

The Emissary decided it would probably be better for them all if she stepped in before they said something they'd regret. "Rose," she said gently, voice soothing, getting the blonde's attention. "I'm sorry you had to watch him die, and I'm sorry we let you go through it twice." Rose faltered, her anger fading in the face of the Time Lady's calm. "We should've explained everything to you beforehand."

"What, what do you mean?" Rose asked. She glanced at the Doctor, who just sighed and crossed his arms. The Emissary was probably right, but he didn't have to like it.

"Some things, like your father's death, are what's called fixed points," the Emissary explained. "They're points on the timeline that were always going to and will always happen. We can't change them without catastrophic consequences."

Rose shifted awkwardly. "But I've seen you two go to other times and save people, how…" She trailed off.

"How do we know we're not changing a fixed point?" Rose nodded. "The short answer is that we can sort of feel fixed points. We can sense when something can't be changed."

Rose nodded. "And I can't, so you stopped me from changing something that can't be changed."

"Exactly," the Emissary said, smiling a bit sadly. "I am sorry about your dad."

"Yeah," Rose sniffed. "Least I got to say goodbye, so thanks, I guess." She backed away from the Time Lords and walked off down the hall.

They watched her go.

"You reacted fast," the Doctor said after a beat. "I don't think I would've been able to stop her."

The Emissary snorted. "Would you have even realized you needed to?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, offended. She rolled her eyes.

"We shouldn't have gone a second time in the first place," she scolded. "But no. You didn't listen to me."

"Alright," he scowled. "Fine. You were right." The Emissary laughed at the look on his face.

"Feels like I should get that in writing," she teased, walking around the console to reach a screen. She scanned the readings quickly, checking to make sure there were no lasting effects from two sets of them being in the same moment. "All the same, though, no harm done," she said. "And it's not entirely your fault. I could've argued more, or explained the risks to Rose."

"I didn't think we'd need to," he admitted. "I thought she'd just listen to me."

The Emissary leaned her back against the console, humming thoughtfully. "I think in normal circumstances she would. This was her father, though." She looked over at the Doctor. "You can't tell me that you wouldn't try to change things if you were presented with the opportunity to save our home or your family." He didn't answer, but she knew the answer. She sighed. "Maybe we should take her home for a bit, let her visit her mom."

The Doctor nodded his agreement. "We can go in the morning."

~~~

When Rose entered the console room the next morning, the Doctor was alone. She paused. "Where's the Emissary?" she asked him. "Usually she's already in here with you."

He looked up at her. "She's having tea with your mother."

"You brought me home?" She tried not to let the panic show in her voice. She hadn't realized he was that angry over yesterday.

The Doctor didn't seem to notice her panic. "Yep," he said simply. "The Emissary thought it'd be better if she explained what happened before we dropped you off all upset." Rose didn't answer, busy trying to think of a way to convince the Time Lords to let her stay. Luckily, she was spared from having to say anything as the doors opened.

"Alright, I've explained where we went to Jackie," the Emissary was saying as she walked in. "I don't think she was very happy, but at the very least she'll understand if Rose is still upset." She looked up and paused. The Doctor was busy fiddling with some thing he thought needed fixing and Rose was standing frozen by the stairs. She sighed. "Doctor, you did tell her it was only a visit, right?"

Rose visibly relaxed as the Doctor looked up, oblivious. "I thought she already knew," he said.

The Emissary rolled her eyes at him and smiled at Rose. "We just thought you might appreciate a visit to your mom before we go on another adventure," she explained. Rose nodded and headed towards the door.

"You won't take off and leave me here?" she asked just to be sure. When the Emissary shook her head, she pulled open the door.

Upon seeing Jackie's sad smile, the emotions of the past day came crashing down on her and Rose fell into her mother's arms sobbing, the door shutting softly behind her.