She closed her laptop. It was about 3 in the morning, and Rose really wanted to finish up her report of the field work they'd done today at Torchwood. Yet, she was unable to make anything that resembled close to a coherent sentence. Words had been completely lost to her, so she decided a break would be good. The choice was out of her hands anyways when she fell asleep immediately after, waking up several hours later to find that she was now late for work. Not that she wanted to go, anyways.
She had been working there for a few months now. It'd been near a year since the battle of Canary Wharf, and she really wasn't doing any better. It took her a while to even start doing anything, but now she was able to get a small apartment away from her parents. They still regularly popped by to say hi and check up on her, but ever since she joined Torchwood, those visits became less and less frequent. Picking up her phone and deciding against calling them, she went out to go on a walk.
It was still quite early in the morning, so not that many people were out on the streets. She took in the calm atmosphere and the cold air, thinking that she probably should've taken a coat with her. But it was fine; the cold added a nice challenge, a soft numbness to her sore limbs. She stopped by a vending machine and bought a bottle of water before sitting down on a nearby bench.
She had walked all the way to a park. The verdure was quite a nice sight—it was autumn, but the leaves hadn't started falling off for most of the trees. It reminded her of the garden that they had on the TARDIS. It was a small thing and rather unimpressive compared to the literal landscapes that were stocked in different rooms, but something about that garden was… cosy. It was humble and homey, and she loved seeing the things grow. She had no idea what any of the official, scientific names were, but she always knew which plant had which name. Even when he had regenerated and he stopped going to the gardens on a frequent basis, she kept going.
It reminded her of Hector, the little spider plant. She still had no idea where it came from, considering it wasn't native on the planet that they were on at the time, but she had loved that plant very much. She had no idea how to care for it and it should've died quickly, yet the little thing kept thriving. No complaints from her.
And that was mostly what she did: think of the past. She was stuck there, her mom had said, but really, where else had she to go? Back to the TARDIS, back to him.
She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to think anything like that. It was never the time for it. Missing him wouldn't change a single thing. And he had said it before, no? 'Do that for me, Rose. Have a fantastic life.' And that's what she would try to do, to the best of her ability.
She wasn't really succeeding, but that was besides the point.
She crunched the plastic bottle a bit harder than she needed to and threw the trash in a trashcan next to her. When she tried to get up, she found that she couldn't. Her legs wouldn't budge. So she remained there, glued. Sighing, she closed her eyes. Maybe take a bit of a kip? It wouldn't hurt.
She found the strength to move when she heard a yell from a nearby building. She hopped the fence and ran to the sound as she wished she had a taser on her person. As she didn't, she would have to find another way to calm the situation.
Her work seemed a bit less easy when she heard a gunshot. And another one—and a few more. She didn't stop. She went around the building and kicked in a door at the back. As the gunshots ceased, she walked further into the building. It was a small shop, selling some antique things. Must've been a robber or something, yet no one had ran out of the building. It was all a bit odd.
It got even worse when she recognised the face of the person in the hallway. Buzz-cut dark hair, soulless blue eyes, and a leather jacket.
"Doctor?"
He turned to her with a shocked look before returning his eyes in front of him. He ducked and another gun shot roared through the building. He ran to the backdoor, snatching her arm on the way. He slammed the door behind them and sonicked it. "Get out of here," he told her before running away.
She finally got her guts back. "No," she said, and ran to catch up with him.
He turned back around quickly. You could practically hear the 'huh' written on his face.
"I'm not—," she started, but he grabbed her by the arms and pulled her aside as another gunshot rang out. "Run!"
They both did. She wouldn't let go of him, so he didn't have quite the choice in pulling her along. They continued along the sea of buildings, right until they came across a blue box she immediately recognised. He fiddled with his key and opened up the door, pushing her inside. He slammed the door behind him and quickly ran to the console, pressing buttons here and flicking levers there. She made her gorgeous sound of wheezing as they took off.
When the Doctor turned back to Rose, she was hugging a coral pillar of the TARDIS. He couldn't see her face, but the light, repetitive shiver at her shoulders told him enough. She had said his name, so obviously, she knew him. Whether personally or not was a whole different question, but her reaction to the TARDIS, and more notably, the TARDIS' reaction to her, told him that this was far from her first time inside the ship. With that, he decided to leave her alone for a while. As he leaned against the console, Rose let go of the piece of coral. She looked at it wistfully and smiled before looking his way. "Sorry," she said.
He nodded and crossed his arms. "Who are you? How do you know who I am?"
She sniffed. It was the first time she was back in the TARDIS in a year. She had really missed the Old Girl, and it was lovely to see and feel her again. But now she was faced with a whole different problem: a man who looked like the Doctor. And she knew to never take that lightly. She had to be careful with what she shared, as it could ruin everything in an instant. "Are you from this universe?"
He cocked an eyebrow. She figured it must not have been an everyday question. Especially if the war had also happened here, meaning travel between universes wasn't even a thing anymore. She stayed silent and kept looking at him.
"Yes, I am," he answered tentatively.
"Then I don't know you. I know a parallel version of you," she answered.
"You're not in your own universe?"
"No."
He looked at the console. "Huh."
And that was it, wasn't it? Someone who was lost in a universe she doesn't belong in. Yet, no way home. Seeing him was like rubbing it in her face; she could never just take off where she left and continue with a completely different version of the same man. All of this was just a painful reminder.
"Who are you?" he asked.
She had already missed this version prior to missing the other one. She thought she was over at least this version of him, but seeing him now?
"A friend."
It hurt. And there was nothing more to it.
Glancing at her, he took hold of the screen and turned it to himself. "What's your address? And the year and date, thanks."
And as much as she wished she could stay, she knew she couldn't. There was no point. Not the same man, not the same place. He would never want her along, either. She knew too much, and especially this version could never cope with that. It wouldn't work. And it would never be the same. She told him the address and approximate date (she didn't really know herself), and he drove the TARDIS—albeit wobbly—to the place. A small apartment, south of London. 'Home'.
Home. "Can I say goodbye to the TARDIS?"
"Go ahead," he said weakly.
She went back to the coral strutt. At least the TARDIS had recognised her. She wasn't sure how to explain it, but she felt the affection of the TARDIS for her through the warmth. If the Doctor would never recognise her, at least there seemed to be a connection between both TARDISes. It was ironic in a sense; the TARDIS was both their last piece of home.
"Take care of him, Old Girl," she whispered. She felt a mental nod and backed away. "Thank you," she said, both to the Doctor and to the TARDIS. And she walked out.
The Doctor turned back to the console, and was about to take off. But he could still see the screen; it showed her, staring at the TARDIS from the outside. She was crying. And then the Doctor decided it really couldn't end like that.