Oh God, the guilt! We had an all day teacher strike today, and I barely did anything at all. In order to make the day less than a complete waste of time, I wrote this chapter. It crosses over into Torchwood.
Rose had been enjoying herself a lot more now that she had the Doctor's previous companions to talk to. They were the only other people who really understood everything that she'd been through, everything she'd seen and done. And now she had someone to discuss the Doctor's adventures with. For example, everyone agreed that the Doctor's recent adventure with the living sun had borne quite a resemblance to his adventures on the Bitter Pill...
"So tell me," said Rose one session, "did you guys ever meet any famous or historical figures while travelling with the Doctor?" Barbara grinned.
"Plenty," she said. "Ian and I met Marco Polo, Emperor Nero, Richard the Lionheart ... it was a history teacher's dream!"
"I met a future dictator who looked exactly like the Doctor!" remarked Jamie proudly.
"I met rather a large number of government officials, does that count?" asked the Brigadier. "Oh I know it's not much compared to you Miss Tyler, with your Queen Victorias and your Charles Dickenses..." Rose's jaw dropped open.
"That reminds me!" she exclaimed. "I was always hoping that if I died, I could talk to Gwyneth again. You know – the maid who helped us close the rift?"
"Of course," said Ian. "She was a very brave girl."
"Right, that settles it," announced Rose. "I'm gonna go see her. Sorry to leave so soon."
"Don't worry about it!" insisted Barbara. "You go catch up with your friend. Then tell us all about it later."
"I will," replied Rose. "See you later." Rose stood still, closed her eyes, and thought of Gwyneth. She couldn't remember exactly what she looked like, their encounter had been so long ago, but she had a fair idea. When she opened her eyes she was, as usual, in front of a door. Rose grinned in excitement as she knocked. She heard movement from the other side, and then the door slowly opened.
"Rose Tyler!" exclaimed Gwyneth as she opened the door.
"Hi!" said Rose enthusiastically, giving Gwyneth a hug. "How are you?"
"Er ... great!" replied Gwyneth, overwhelmed. "Please, come in! It's so good to see you again."
"You too," said Rose, stepping inside. Gwyneth hastily shut the door and showed Rose in. "Please, sit down, sit down!"
"Thanks," said Rose. "You know, I remember something you said to me once. About being with your parents in paradise. I'm glad to know that you got to see them again."
"And you've been reunited with your da, no doubt," said Gwyneth. Rose nodded.
"Listen, Gwyneth..." she said, "I can't tell you how bad I feel about what happened. The Doctor and I got messed up in your life. If it wasn't for us, you wouldn't have..."
"Don't worry about it," said Gwyneth. "It was my decision, remember? And if I recall correctly, you didn't even want me to do it."
"I guess so," said Rose. "But Gwyneth, there's something I need to ask. The Doctor told me that you were physically dead when you blew that house up. Is that true?"
"Ah, I had a feeling you were going to ask about that," said Gwyneth. "And not just because I'm psychic." She sat down, trying to put her thoughts into words. "Okay, it's like this. When I stepped under that arch, I just felt all the life drain away from me. I didn't realise what had happened – I just thought it was part of the process. As the Gelth kept coming through me, I realised just how cold I felt. I felt like there was something missing. It was while you and the Doctor were trapped behind the bars that I realised that I'd died."
"But how were you still conscious?" asked Rose.
"I think the Gelth still needed my soul, as well as my body, to get through the rift," explained Gwyneth. "After all, that was the part of me that had been affected for all those years. But when I struck that match, it was enough to release me."
"How did you figure that out?" questioned Rose. Gwyneth smiled.
"I had, let's say, an epiphany," she said. "As it turns out, my parents were sending me a message, telling me what to do and not to be frightened. The Doctor told me my parents would give me the strength – he was right."
"The Doctor's good like that," said Rose, smiling. Gwyneth suddenly looked at Rose, a serious look on her face.
"That's partly why I was so excited to see you again," she said. "I wanted to talk to you about what I saw in you that night."
"The things I'd seen, the darkness, the big bad wolf..." said Rose. Gwyneth shook her head.
"No, not those things," she said. "I'm talking about the more spiritual side. Rose Tyler, you had an aura."
"Oh yeah?" said Rose. "I've heard about these things. Like a shadow that glows around me."
"Yes, yes," confirmed Gwyneth. "And yours was amber."
"And what does that mean exactly?" enquired Rose.
"Personal strength and courage," said Gwyneth. "And the power I got from it was intense. But it changed when you were around the Doctor. It became a soft pink - which means true love." Rose sighed.
"I suppose that would make sense," she said.
"It was radiating so much energy," said Gwyneth. "So much love. And when you and the Doctor were behind the bars, holding each other's hands, it just burst into my vision. Two figures surrounded by this pink light. And it proved to me that what you and the Doctor had was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen." Rose couldn't help but smile. She knew she should have been devastated – knowing that having been separated from the Doctor, she'd lost something that was even more important than she realised. But it also made her think of how grateful she was to have had that time with him.
"Not many people can have that kind of love for another person, or receive it," said Gwyneth. "And I'm sorry that you didn't get more time with him."
"Thanks," said Rose. "I'm sorry that you never got to see that butcher's boy of yours again while you were still alive. I take it you've caught up now?"
"Oh, absolutely," said Gwyneth, blushing. "Turned out he liked me too."
"Oo, does he now?" teased Rose. "That's great Gwyneth. I'm really happy for you. I guess coming here has made you complete."
"Well, almost," admitted Gwyneth. "But technically, I'm not a hundred percent complete."
"Sorry?" said a confused Rose.
"That night, when I closed the rift," said Gwyneth. "Something happened in the explosion. As I died, a tiny part of me escaped through the rift. It moved through the rift, forwards in time. It finally stopped – colliding with the conception of a child."
"What are you saying?" asked Rose. Gwyneth took a deep breath.
"I have ... a clone," she said. "I don't know how it happened, but that part of me ended up as part of this child. That child is grown up now." Gwyneth turned to her television set.
"Show Gwen Cooper," she commanded. The screen flickered into life, and Rose was shocked to see this woman, who looked exactly like Gwyneth, on the screen.
"She looks just like you!" Rose exclaimed.
"Looks just like me, sounds just like me," said Gwyneth, "even her name is close to mine. She was conceived on the rift – in the same spot that I died. Not only that, but she can communicate with ghosts, she has visions, and she can resurrect the dead."
"Blimey," said Rose.
"She works for Torchwood now," said Gwyneth. "Her boss is a nice man named Captain Jack Harkness." Rose gaped.
"As in brown hair, cheeky smile, incredibly good-looking Captain Jack Harkness?" she asked.
"Why, yes," said Gwyneth. "How did you...?"
"Oh Gwyneth," said Rose. "Now it's time for me to tell you a story..."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Gwen has always bugged me in her similarities to Gwyneth, so I developed this theory to explain it.
Fun fact: That idea about Gwyneth telling Rose her aura sparked from fantasies I had about a year and a half ago where her ghost would visit Rose and tell her her aura ... and that the Doctor was her true love. Meanwhile, the ghost of Pete would visit the Doctor.