Hello people!

Thanks for sticking around for chapter two.

Reviews are much appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.

Rose ran up the stairs to Jackie's apartment, and knocked on the door. She was mentally reviewing her explanation for not having visited in a year, when a complete stranger opened the door. "Um, hello, I'm looking for Jackie Tyler?" she asked hesitantly. "This is her apartment, right?"

"Where've you been? Jackie hasn't lived here in months," the woman at the door told her.

Rose was surprised. Her mother had been comfortable living there. Why would she leave? "Well, do you know where she is?"

The woman's smile became an expression of sorrow as she heard that question. "You don't know?" Rose shook her head. "Jackie died. Last summer, at the battle of Canary Wharf."

"She's dead?" Rose almost whispered. She couldn't believe it. How could her mother be dead?

"You really didn't know? Where were you last summer?"

"Traveling."

"So you missed the battle and everything. Oh, sweetie. Here, come on in and I'll make you a cup of tea and tell you all about it. What's your name?"

"Rose," she was able to whisper through her tears.

"Funny, that was Jackie's daughter's name. Come on inside, Rose, sit down. There you go. I'll be right back."

She ushered Rose inside the living room, and then went off to the kitchen to make tea, leaving Rose alone with her thoughts.

But the only thing she thought was, 'how can my mum be dead?'

"Drink this, dear. You'll feel better. Now, about what happened to poor Jackie, well, you know about the ghosts and everything, right?" Rose shook her head. "Really?" Rose nodded. "But, they were everywhere! How could you have missed them?" Rose shrugged.

"Okay. I'll just have to tell you then. So, one day, everything was completely normal, right? When suddenly, all of these ghosts came out of nowhere! Everywhere in the world. No one knew what they were. And then they just disappeared, as quickly as they came. But for months afterwards, they kept on coming back. Every day, at certain times, these ghosts would appear. And after a while, we started thinking they were real ghosts. You know, our loved ones back from the dead. But then on July 1 of last year, they appeared like normal, and then turned into these big metal cybermen.

"The cybermen were killing people left and right, and talking about upgrading and becoming like them and stuff like that. And we were all terrified, of course. I mean, just imagine, millions of metal men who could shoot lasers and everything! And then, it just got worse. These other weird alien things started appearing out of nowhere. They were kind of cone-shaped, brownish, and they shot death rays out of what looked like a whisk. We all thought we were going to die, of course, but then they all started to fly up and into the top of Canary Wharf, you know, the tower. And then they were all gone. So many people were dead or missing, but the aliens were all gone.

"Jackie disappeared that day. You know, some people say she was at Canary Wharf during the battle. There are eyewitness accounts of her, her daughter, and a strange man in the middle of the battle, saving the world. Some people say they saw her husband too, but that's impossible. He died a long time ago. Isn't it just amazing, though, about Jackie? I mean, I knew her! I knew the woman who saved the world!"

"How did you know her?" Rose asked. "And, how did she save the world?"

"I met her at the grocery store once. We struck up a conversation."

Rose mentally rolled her eyes. "But how did she save the world?"

"I don't know. Everyone who was there died or disappeared. Her, the people who worked there, the man with her, I suppose you could try to find her daughter and ask her, but no one's seen her in months-"

"Wait," Rose insisted. "People have seen her daughter since then?"

"Oh yes! There are more rumors surrounding her than her mother! People seem to see her every time the world is in danger! Apparently, she was in the Royal Hope Hospital when it disappeared, and I've heard that she was the one who drained the Thames last Christmas, and helped stop that web ship."

"Christmas…"

"Yeah, Christmas."

"When was the last time she was seen?" An idea was forming in Rose's mind, and for the first time she saw a glimmer of hope. She stopped crying and dried her face, wishing desperately that her idea was correct

"Oh, that was way back in March, when the hospital disappeared.

"March…"

The woman had begun to look at her strangely. "Yeah, March, that's what I said."

"I've got to go." Rose put down her mug and ran out the door.

Rose ran into the Doctor a block away from the Tardis. "Rose, we've got power!" The Doctor yelled. At the same time, Rose said, "I think I know where we are!"

"You first. You know where we are?" The Doctor asked.

"I think. I was talking to this woman, she loved listening to gossip and spreading rumors, so I'm not sure how much was true, but she said that my mum had died last summer during this battle with Cybermen and Daleks."

"What?"

"It would have been after we left. And I thought that we had just gone into the future and missed it. But then she started talking about when my mum disappeared. And apparently, she was in the center of the battle with her daughter and a strange man."

"But that sounds like-"

"I know. So I was thinking, in books and stuff, there are other universes. Parallel universes. And people can travel between them, and meet themselves. So if we fell out of the time vortex…"

"Rose, you are brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! A parallel universe, of course! I've been blind!" He paused. "You read books like that?"

"Mickey used to leave them lying around my house. But you said something about power?"

"Right! We found a live power cell! It just needs time to charge up. We can leave in about 24 hours."

"That's great!" When Rose realized that they were in another universe, she had expected to have to spend the rest of her life there. But now, it was as if her future had been returned to her. She would not have to live in this world forever. She could go back to her life in the Tardis. Now, with a huge smile on her face, she ran back to the Tardis.

After telling Mickey everything she had told the Doctor about parallel worlds and such, Rose ran off again. The Doctor ran after her, and asked where she was going.

She replied, "I have 24 hours in a parallel universe. Who knows?"

"I don't suppose you'll listen if I say stay out of trouble?"

"Who knows?" she repeated.

"Oh, blimey. Every time. Why can't I meet one person, just one, who will actually listen?" The Doctor said under his breath before going after Rose.

As usual, he completely forgot about Mickey.