Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, or favored. It helps keep me motivated :)

A note on a change I'm making: in the second chapter, I said that Rose was born around spring of 1987. When I watched the first series again last week, I noticed that she was 19 in 2005, meaning that she would have been born in 1986, so in order to accommodate this with what I've written so far, I'm now having her birth at October of 1986, and will be making the necessary changes to chapter 2.

Continue to read and review.

October 1992

Within a couple of days, Rose Tyler's sixth birthday would be approaching, but unlike other years, she wasn't very excited about it. For one thing, she now had very few people who were interested in celebrating it, as opposed to last year when her whole nursery school class had given her a party at the end of the day. This year, only Mickey was interested in coming over to her house for cake, which Ella had promised to bake for her since her mummy didn't know how to bake. One girl in her class talked about getting her a card, and the group of older kids with whom she and Mickey played with promised to get her bags of candy, but none of them even asked to be invited over. And everyone else in school neither knew nor cared about it. It made Rose feel as if a celebration wasn't worth it.

Also, right when she needed to talk to John Smith the most, he refused to show up to her in any way. The first thing she'd done when she was alone after getting home from her visit with Sarah Jane Smith was to call John Smith up, intending to ask him if all the stuff Sarah Jane had said about him was true, and if so, why he had never brought any of it up before, but he did not answer back either at the moment or anytime afterwards. She'd started to fear that because she'd now met someone else like her, it meant that John Smith no longer needed to appear to her anymore. Despite the fact he'd scared her sometimes and often further complicated situations, he'd still managed to protect her, and at times he still acted like a close friend, making her laugh with some rather funny sayings, listening to her talk about her day, and reminding her that she wasn't crazy and that you could get over even your worst fears. His presence had become a great comfort to her.

More than a month later, five days before her birthday, which was on the 30th of October, she was sitting alone in her room, with one hand around a copy of Madeline, which was her favorite book, and another around Snoopy, her favorite stuffed animal. Her mummy was in her room working on her novel, as she now did every night without failure. While Rose was truly interested in practicing her reading, she had something else in mind for the evening.

She carefully placed the book in a table which she had then emptied. As soon as it was in the position she wanted it in, she moved close to the window and closed her eyes, all while still having one of her arms wrapped around Snoopy. After nearly a month of practicing demonstrating her powers, she learned several methods of control, one of which was holding on to an object of value as you tried to move an object. It was all working well so far, with the majority of the objects she placed her attention on simply moving, without causing damage. At the moment, she could practically feel the large book slowly opening up…

Rose!

All of a sudden, as Rose let out a small gasp, the book flipped around once and then fell off the table, landing on the floor with a soft thud. But since it was only a small scare, and she was still holding on to Snoopy, this was all that happened. If she had been more scared, or if she hadn't been applying pressure to another object, it would have been possible for the whole table to have either fallen over or even broken apart.

Rose! I'm back!

It was clearly John Smith, and despite what could have been coming, Rose got a little excited. She noticed that there was little of the usual urgency and panic in his voice. As a matter of fact, he sounded the same way Mickey did when he was trying to find her during recess, as if he'd been looking forward to a particular event throughout the whole day and was finally about to experience it. If John Smith had any idea about what she'd just been doing, his voice showed no sign of it.

John Smith! I'm so glad that you're talking to me again! You seem to be in a good mood now.

Well, you can thank that on the fact that I had to go dormant for a full month.

Dormant? What's that supposed to mean?

It means that you're in a state of rest. I can only get a limited amount of energy in the state I'm in now, so when it runs out, I have to rest, and it's during those times that I'm not able to contact you.

That makes sense, but why didn't you ever tell me that before?

I never had to go dormant for this long in the past. After all the things you went through on the first day of school, I went through a lot of stress, to the point where I found myself falling into a deep sleep. Usually, I find myself just sitting as still as a statue and staring into blank space, and even in that state I am still able to detect some emotions and sensations, but now, I felt nothing. Nada. I have no idea what you've been up to this month, and even now, I'm finding it difficult to take in your appearance and that of the room we're in.

Rose wasn't able to see him either, and she noticed that even though he sounded cheerful, he still spoke in a rather low and weary tone, just as people sound when they just woke up in the morning.

Well, just so you know, we're in my bedroom.

Oh, yes, where the color pink is on every corner, and where princesses are always smiling down at us from posters on the walls. Probably the nicest place I've seen in years.

And my birthday is almost coming up.

Really? Thanks for reminding me. I should get my special birthday song ready, since I can't stand the ones they sing around here.

By the way, John Smith, you never told me where you got that song from last year. You said it was from a special place, and that was it.

She said this in an attempt to bring up all the questions she had for him. At first, John Smith didn't seem to understand the direction she was heading towards, and just laughed and said, why should that matter, Rose? At different places, different things for certain occasions, so you'll never hear people singing the same songs for birthdays in every country in the world.

A lot of stuff doesn't matter to you, John Smith.

Now you're the one who's not making sense. I tell you only those things you need to know. Everything else is of little importance.

Don't you think I should at least know where you came from?

I already told you that I had to leave my old home for my own safety. Isn't that enough for you? I can never understand the curiosity of young children. You want to know everything about the world, but that's just…

What about the fact that you visited other people before me?

She thought she would now be able to get her point across, but John Smith once again took this back, saying I believe I brought up a former friend of mine during one of my first conversations with you, but you didn't understand what I was saying.

What do you… but then Rose remembered one of the first things John Smith had said to her. They had been in this exact same room, and he'd started rambling on about something after trying to explain his purpose in meeting her. He'd said, If only I'd been able to get back to Ace. Her mummy had once told her that ace meant to do really well in something, to the point of being an expert, so she'd believed that John Smith was talking about getting something well done once again. It wasn't until now that she thought he could have meant getting back to a person who for some reason went by that name.

So is that what you meant by Ace?

Of course it was, and since little kids take language so literally, I knew that I could bring that name up and avoid having to answer questions about who it was. Now if I had said something like Polly or Ben or Jo, then you would not have left me alone all day…

All those people you just mentioned were other friends of yours, right Doctor?

At the mention of the word doctor, John Smith started getting frustrated. And how do you know that, Rose Tyler, and why did you just call me doctor?

Last month, I met one of your old friends; the one who has powers that are similar to mine, and we've met two more times since. Her name's Sarah Jane Smith, and if you really want to know, she was just as upset as I am now when I told her that you'd never mentioned her before.

John Smith didn't say anything.

I also found out that you used to travel all around time and space with a machine that had a weird name along with many friends you've never told me about before, that you're from a planet called Gallifrey, and that you're much older than you look. If all of that's not important, then I probably don't understand the meaning of important at all!

When John Smith spoke up again, Rose was not only able to hear how upset he was, but to see it as well. He was in his hat and long coat, along with the sweater vest he sometimes wore, and it all looked wrinkled, like someone who'd been sleeping in their clothes, but what was most obvious was his dark glare and how he was looking Rose right in the eyes.

Rose Tyler, what did I tell you about letting other people know about your powers? Do you know how much trouble you could end up getting us into? People always talk about how curiosity kills, and perhaps you should have thought about that before opening your mouth about private matters!

But as mad as John Smith was, so was Rose.

So what did you want me to do? Just sit and wait for you while all sorts of strange things happen? There had to be someone else there to help me while you were gone, and that's all Sarah Jane has done. And she reached out to me first, so I wasn't just telling some stranger about my powers. Do you really think you can do it alone, Doctor? You're invisible half of the time, and people think I'm crazy when you make me talk to you, so do you really think you've been helping me that much? DO YOU?

Nice seeing how much you appreciate me, you pathetic little girl. What would like me to do next, go back to Gallifrey and risk having my own people execute me because they think I'm a criminal? Or perhaps, seeing the state I'm in now, just vanish into thin air and cease to exist in any universe? Thanks for letting me use your little mind as a refuge these past two years, but since you think my time is now up, I suppose I can step out and risk an uncertain death. Goodbye, Rose. Hope you're clever enough to handle mind-reading, visions of the past and future, and telekinesis combined alone.

He wasn't actually being serious, but a strong panic now arouse inside Rose Tyler. However, instead of knocking something out this time, the small radio her mummy sometimes let her use went on, and an old song with a lively melody started playing, with the artist announced as John Smith and the Common Men:

When I look into your smiling face, darling

And you run across the big green valley

I picture you and me racing away together

Our eyes locked into that sunny horizon…

Before the song could continue, though, the radio tumbled off the table,and John Smith seemed to forget his anger, shouting, Rose! Catch that radio now!

It came very close to getting broken, but Rose was able to run up and catch it in time. At this point, she felt very warm, and she could feel sweat trickling down her back, but she was relieved about the fact she was able to move around.

That was a close one, sweetheart. We wouldn't have wanted your mummy to interfere and once again think you're crazy, right?

He no longer sounded angry, but Rose wondered if the matter was really settled. Did you mean all that stuff you were saying, John Smith? Are you really going to leave me?

Of course I'm not. Can't you understand sarcasm when you hear it? At least now I can tell you one similarity between you and Sarah Jane Smith besides your powers: neither one of you can stand the idea of me leaving you, even when you both give off the impression of being strong enough to take matters into your own hands. But of course, Sarah Jane somehow learned to move on, and so did the majority of my companions. Part of the reason I never brought them up is because children always like thinking ahead, and that's what I need from you now.

But Sarah Jane told me that she never really moved on. She went back to her job and family and friends, but she never stopped waiting for you. Deep down, all she's ever wanted is to get back in your time machine and travel with you once again.

John Smith now looked a bit sad. I guess you're right. And here I was, thinking that sending K9 to her would have been enough for her to stop with those wishes, but once again, I was wrong.

I've actually met K9 as well, and I already know that he was another friend of yours. Sarah Jane said that when she first got him, he would be kept turned off in her room and no one would ever see him, but when she started taking care of my friend Mickey Smith, he found him and was able to get him turned on all on his own, so now he likes spending a lot of time outside, and some people in her neighborhood know about him as well.

John Smith laughed at this. Just what I thought. Can you really expect a clever robotic dog from the year 5000 to remain dormant for so long? But then again, I was the one who wrote to her about keeping him away from other humans. No one is ever able to fully follow my demands.

I can see why. You ask too much and tell so little.

You can say that again, sweetheart. I could go on some more about this, but it's getting late, and you have to go to bed soon.

But before you go, would you mind telling me at least a little bit about all this? Perhaps starting with Gallifrey?

John Smith sighed, but he went on. All right. Here's the story of how I got to you:

After I left my last friend, the one called Ace, I went back to Gallifrey on the TARDIS, and my people, the Time Lords, were at the start of a conflict. Some of our enemies had gotten into Gallifrey and convinced them that I was the one who send them there so that I would be able to do as I pleased when I traveled in the TARDIS, so as soon as they saw me, they had me imprisoned and then sentenced to death. This had already happened before, so they were now determined to execute me on the spot if necessary. Yet, once again, I managed to get away, because at the moment of execution, I turned invisible. How it happened is something that I still have no idea about, but just as a riot was starting among the Time Lords, between those who thought I was a criminal and those who knew I was innocent, I ran off and managed to find the place where they'd stored the TARDIS, and as soon as I was in, I once again left Gallifrey.

When I got to Earth, the TARDIS no longer worked, and when I got outside of it, I was fully invisible to everyone. Everything went so badly that I was almost at the point of death. However, I was seen by a psychic gypsy woman in France, and she told me that by getting into the head of someone with psychic abilities, I could stay alive. She found the TARDIS and stored it in a secret place where I could still find today without worrying about thieves. I was with her for three months, having a couple of adventures and nearly forgetting all the trouble I was in. Then she said that the time she could spend with me was running out, so she was sending me to the place in the world I was most familiar with, where there was a child that needed me, saying that the innocent mind of a child could keep alive for as much as ten years. Afterwards, she recited a chant that send me off to you, and that's how I ended up here with you.

John Smith was now starting to fade away, becoming fully invisible within fifteen seconds. Rose called out, Do you have to go now, John Smith?

I do, but here's one last thing. You know that song that was playing on your radio?

Yeah?

I first got the name John Smith from the name of the band that plays it, which is John Smith and the Common Man. I was traveling with my granddaughter, Susan, at the time, and she loved the way the song sounded so similar to the birthday song we use in Gallifrey. We were almost convinced that the members of the band had met up with a Time Lord and stolen the song from them, but we never found out of this was true. So if you want my birthday song and I'm not able to appear to you, try tuning in to the old radio stations or buy a record or CD from the band. The name of the song is "Running Across the Valley of Time".

And with that, John Smith was gone.