Hey everyone! Back with a new chapter. And boy, this one was a real b!tch to write. Kept on redoing the whole thing. I'm still not 100% happy with it, but I like it all the same. Here, there will be more dream sequences, a time jump, and flashbacks. The time-jump/flashbacks are mainly because I wasn't quite sure how to write about Nine's adventures without Rose. I'm still working on that bit. But enough of that for now. On we go!

I do not own Doctor Who.

Chapter 3: Guardian

He was standing inside a small apartment. It was in shambles, and it appeared that no one had lived there in years. The couches were faded and torn in some places. Tables and chairs were overturned. Windows were cracked. Dust appeared thick on the surfaces. Hearing a faint melody coming from somewhere, he glanced around until his eyes landed on a door off to the side. Stepping over some broken glass, he made his way over and opened it.

He saw a bedroom, and from the pinkness of it all, he guessed it belonged to a girl. But unlike the rest of the apartment, except for the dust, it looked reasonably well kept. There was a desk on one side and a fair-sized bed in the center, as well as a closet. A music player (stereos, was it?) was perched on the desk. Ah, so that was the source of the music. But who used to live here?

This was my home. And this is my room.

The Doctor stiffened and looked around. No one. Then he noticed a swing hanging from the ceiling in the center of the room, where the bed had just stood. A small girl, appearing no older than ten or eleven, was seated on it. She wore a blue dress and a pink jacket with a hood that drooped over her eyes, obscuring them from view. But the Doctor knew she was staring at him.

"You're the one from the playground. You spoke to me. Who are you?" he asked.

The child's mouth curled into a smile.

You're persistent as ever. But I wouldn't expect anything less from you, you daft alien...

"Are you...are you making fun of me? Right now? Seriously?" he said, raising his eyebrows.

That's the problem, isn't it? You're always so serious. It's like you don't even enjoy life anymore. Of course...I don't really blame you. Not after what you've been through...

The Doctor stiffened again.

"You...whoever you are...just stop it. You can't even begin to fathom what it was I went through!" he snarled.

The girl smiled again, and faded. The Doctor nearly jumped as he heard the voice in his ear.

"I think I can, just a little. And that's why..."

The Doctor woke up with a start. It was night-time in the TARDIS. Or what passed as night-time, anyway. He slid off the jumpseat where he'd apparently fallen asleep again, and started pacing about the console room. It'd be a normal thing for him to do in his free time, when he wasn't saving some planet or city and getting himself in trouble as a result. But for the first time in a very long time, something was bothering him. Quite a lot, actually, and not just the amount of times he'd dozed off and had dreams that he could only half-remember.

It was also to do with the series of adventures he'd been having lately. They all felt a little off. It wasn't just the time when he had landed in Cardiff in the 1860s and ended up saving Charles Dickens, of all people, from a race of ghostly blue beings called the Gelth, on Christmas, no less. It wasn't the time after that, when he had landed somewhere in London in 2006, and ended up saving the Earth from an alien family called the Slitheen from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorius (Rassilon, he hated saying that.). They had been hell-bent on blowing up the Earth so that they could sell the chunks. As raw fuel. For profit. Wasn't that just brilliant? And if that wasn't enough, he didn't even want to think about that time shortly after, when he had ended up in the Salt Flats of Utah, in the year 2012. Out of all the stupid apes he had come across in his time, the one he met there had to have been beyond stupid. Arrogant, sick and twisted mind that he had, he called himself a collector. And the prize of his collection? A Dalek. A bloody Dalek.

Yet it wasn't any of it that bothered him. It was the girl. That strange child dressed in that hooded white dress. It had been days and days, if not weeks, since he had taken her in, and she still remained a mystery. He hardly saw her around the TARDIS, yet he knew she was there. Mainly because he would hear the sound of small footsteps running from time to time, or the opening and closing of a door. On the rare occasion that he did see her, she never spoke. Instead, she would regard him with those honey-colored eyes of hers. Those eyes often shone with amusement, but sometimes, he saw a glimpse of sadness in them. Or possibly longing. But what would she have been longing for? She only looked to be about 10 years old. Then again, he could be wrong.

Anyway, what really bothered the Doctor about the girl was that throughout all the recent dangers he had encountered, she had always been there, silent and observing. That is, until it looked like there was no hope left. Then suddenly, he would have the solution, like it was unlocked in his head. No, it was more like he had seen himself in his mind's eye doing those things that he, in turn, would do. Like he had done them before. Of course, that was impossible. Then again, he's a Time Lord. He lived impossibly. Still, even he'd know if he'd done something before. Which meant, it most certainly had to be the girl.

The Doctor frowned to himself, still pacing. The Face of Boe had called the girl "the most precious" in the world (or was it existence? Universe, maybe?), but what was that other thing he said?

And when the time comes when you are in grave danger, she will come to your aid.

That part still bothered him a little. Yes, he had been in trouble during those adventures, but he wouldn't say he'd been in grave danger. Furthermore, Boe had said there would come a time, not many times. Yet, she was always there during the ensuing trouble, right next to him, watching, clutching his hand like the child she was...

The Doctor stopped dead in his pacing around the console, thinking back to those adventures.

He was trapped inside that dungeon thing as the Gelth-possessed corpses reached out to him. He was not liking this one bit, but he knew he had to come up with a plan. He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, and suddenly, the girl was right next to him when he'd told her to stay on the TARDIS. He stared at her, wanting to scold her for following him, but she clutched his hand and stared back at him, into his eyes, and he saw...He saw himself turning off all the lights and turning on the gas. He saw! And then he did as he saw...

Downing Street. Trapped inside a room with Harriet Jones. And with those damn Slitheen just outside the door. He had started pacing about, trying to find out where they were from, and their weakness. As he passed the large table again, he saw the girl in front of him. He let out a groan of frustration. Why, why, WHY did she not listen when he told her to stay in the TARDIS? Was it her mission in life to disobey everything he said? She stared at him again, with her strange green-brown eyes, and lifted her right hand to hold his. His mind had blanked out for a second, but then he suddenly started to realize just exactly what it was he needed. He looked over at her again, a small smile tugging at his mouth...

Daleks. It just had to be Daleks. Well, just one Dalek, actually. But still. Out of everything that Van Statten fellow collected, he just had to have a living Dalek in his possession. Just his luck. For some reason though, the girl wasn't there this time. He couldn't blame her. Anywhere was better than here with this Dalek. So imagine his surprise when he saw her standing next to the exposed creature on the first floor. The other surprising thing was that it did not try to kill her. Nor was she afraid of it. Instead, she appeared to be comforting it, allowing one of its tentacles to curl around her small hand. She glanced at the Doctor, and then at the rather large gun he was holding, and shook her head. She pitied that cold killing machine. But...why? He studied them carefully. The girl was staring at the Dalek, and it was staring right back at her, neither of them speaking. If he didn't know any better, he'd have thought that they were communicating telepathically. When the girl looked back at him, he saw tears in her eyes. The Dalek closed itself off again, letting go of her hand. It began to levitate and the spheres on its body detached. There was a brilliant flash...and then it was gone...

With the possible exception of their Dalek encounter, the Doctor realized that everything that had gotten him and the girl out of (very likely) painful deaths had stemmed from the fact that she had only appeared exactly when things began looking dire, and that she had held his hand. He had thought she'd been merely seeking comfort, but now he wasn't so sure. The girl, he now suspected, was involved in this, in an even bigger way than he could imagine. And if anything, he knew he wouldn't rest until he found out just who, or what, that girl was.

"Jack...Jack!"

The immortal captain glanced around himself. It was pitch dark everywhere. Other than his own body, he couldn't see anything around him. Wondering absently if he'd overdone it with that last drink (or two or three or however many) he had, he was suddenly launched backward onto the non-existing ground. Swearing under his breath, he got back to his feet, dusting off his coat, when he saw her. A small girl wearing a white dress with a hood that covered her eyes just stood there, staring at him. Or he thought she was staring, it was a little hard to tell. He cautiously approached the girl. Dream or not, she could be dangerous. As he reached out, the girl began to glow brightly. Jack shielded his eyes, noticing vaguely that the girl seemed to grow taller. When the glow subsided, he looked at where she had been. And he could swear his heart almost stopped.

"Rosie?"

The blonde woman smiled at him and walked over.

"Hello, Jack. It's been awhile," she said.

"But...but you fell into the void," he said.

"And how did you know that, Captain?"

Jack opened his mouth, but then stopped. How did he know that? He looked at Rose, not sure what to say, which was a first for him.

"Jack...didn't you ever wonder why you can't die?" she asked gently, looking up into those bright eyes.

"Well..." began the captain, but he stopped short as he noticed the golden glow swirling in her eyes.

Rose smiled as realization dawned on him.

"That's right. Satellite 5. Only I couldn't control it. I brought you back for good," she said quietly.

Jack found his voice after a few moments.

"But why? I was supposed to go down fighting. Blaze of glory and all that," he said, half-jokingly.

Rose suddenly found Jack's vortex manipulator extremely interesting, concentrating her gaze on it. She looked a little embarrassed about something, and Jack almost laughed.

"He sent me home. But I had to save him. I had to protect him. So I looked into the TARDIS and she looked into me. That's what "Bad Wolf" is. I create myself. I scattered the words in time and space, to lead myself to him," she began. "I saw everything, Jack. All that is, all that was, all that could be...it was killing me. But before he took it out of me...I brought you back. I wanted you to live."

Her hands began to shake as she clenched them. Jack, noticing this, held them in his own.

"But Rosie, why did you do it? Not that I'm complaining, of course," he asked, studying her face.

"Like I said, I couldn't control it then. But I think a part of me knew, too. I was Bad Wolf at the moment, I did see all possible futures and timelines," she mumbled quietly.

"What? What did you know?"

Jack suddenly found himself on the receiving end of a tight hug as Rose threw her arms around him. Or as tight as a hug could be in a dream.

"Whoa, there. Rosie, what's wrong? C'mon, you can tell me," he said, a little surprised, but not denying the warmth that only she seemed to be able to give him.

After a few more moments of silence, Rose spoke, voice slightly muffled in his chest.

"I need you, Jack. Other than the Doctor, you're the one I trust most. And it was the same throughout all the possible outcomes. Regardless of whether I fell through the void or not. You were always there, Jack, watching over me, protecting me and making sure I was alright. But the one timeline you appeared in the most is the current one. The one where I fell into the void."

Jack listened, trying to process what she had said so far. Of course, he would look out for her and protect her without a second thought, but what about the Doctor? As if she could read his mind (which he suspected she could), Rose continued.

"I don't exist to him anymore. It's like my entire existence was erased. And in a way, it was. My body was pretty much erased when I fell in there, but everything else survived because of Bad Wolf. So I sent what was left to different parts of time, more specifically, different parts of the Doctor's timeline."

"Wait...does that mean there's several of you traipsing around?" Jack asked incredulously.

Rose looked up at Jack and smirked, arms still around his neck.

"More or less, Jack, but don't get any ideas."

"Can't blame a guy for trying. I always thought that if it weren't for the Doctor, I would've had a chance with you," he said, grinning devilishly and swinging her around in his arms.

Rose giggled loudly and Jack felt more warmth toward her as he set her down.

"Anyway, that's nice and all, but back to what I was saying. There are several of me, each in a different part of the Doctor's timeline. They have to be found by him, and once he does, he must bring them, well me, together. Only then will I live again," she said, serious again.

"Boy, that sounds strangely...grim. You're pretty much saying that your entire, er, re-existence depends on the Doctor. And that's if he's able to find all of you," Jack said.

"Yeah, pretty much," Rose agreed, and then she face-faulted. She sank down and seated herself on what passed for the floor. Jack joined her, sitting next to her.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned.

He was met with a look of mild exasperation and amusement.

"That did sound really grim, didn't it? But the point I'm trying to make is..."

Rose trailed off, and Jack noticed her cheeks grew slightly pink and she avoided his eyes.

"What? Whatever it is, is it really that bad?" he teased.

Rose shot him a glare, but he knew she wasn't mad.

"You're gonna have to find me first. And you can't let go of me, no matter how insistent he gets. No matter what, you have to stay with me," she said.

"Rose, I would gladly stay with you even if you didn't ask. But I have to ask, why are you letting me know all this? I mean, if the Doctor can't remember..."

Rose leaned against him before he could finish, resting her head on his shoulder.

"He'll be suspicious of me every time. And it will hurt like hell. I won't be able to handle it alone. I need you there," she said in a low voice.

Jack nodded. He understood completely. And he'd be lying if he said he wasn't touched at the amount of trust she was putting in him.

"Alright, Rosie. I promise you, I'll be with you every step of the way," he said.

"Thanks Jack..."

Jack looked at her as she began to fade.

"Rosie? What's going on?!" he shouted, alarmed.

"It's okay, Jack. It just means I have to wake up. And so do you."

"Will I remember this?"

Rose smiled as her body continued to fade.

"Not really. But you'll know you have to find me. And you'll know who I am after you do. Just don't go blurting out who I am, because he won't get it."

She gave him a quick peck on the lips. He looked at her, a little shocked.

"Shouldn't you save that for the Doc?" he asked, blushing slightly, but not minding one bit.

Rose laughed again. She was almost gone now.

"Jack...I love the Doctor. But I love you just as much. That's probably the other reason why I brought you back forever, now that I think about it. Now, go ahead and wake up. You'll see me real soon, okay?"

With that, she was completely gone.

Jack opened his eyes blearily, still seated in his stolen ship. His head was slightly pounding; he really shouldn't have drank so much. But now was not the time to be questioning his beverage choices. He had a blind date with a cute girl after all. And he'd do anything to find her. He grinned as he cloaked the ship, and set a course for Big Ben.

Yes, I just did that. Please don't hate me. I always thought Rose and Jack had a deeper bond going on, something only they share. I know I made it sound like she was possibly in love with him, and I toyed with that idea for awhile. But, as it is, she'll have a different bond with him than the one she has with the Doctor. Like, more along the lines of closest friend, confidant, protector, etc. If any of you are familiar with the series Boys Over Flowers and the eventual relationship between Makino and Rui, specifically in the J-drama and K-drama, then you know what I'm trying to aim for. Until next time!