Should have been, could have been
Chapter 2: Those words never saved
Rose's PoV
Freshly revived from the faint, I nervously wait for the TARDIS to appear in Torchwood's underground office. I've fantasized about our reunion often. Usually those fantasies ended with the Doctor confessing his love for me before…well….dancing. I try to focus on the issue at hand because obviously, something is really, terribly wrong but at the thought of seeing the Doctor again after I've told him I loved him, the nerves are overtaking my worry.
What if he didn't feel the same? What if he wanted to turn me down gently, preferring Madame de Pompadour over me or because he simply cannot feel that way for me because of a strange Timelord-reason I have no notion of? Jack has told me he was absolutely heartbroken over losing me but still…..
And how will he react when he finds out it is me who has suddenly grown two hearts?
My worries are disturbed by the familiar whooshing sound of the TARDIS and my heart…hearts jump up at the sound. God, I've missed it.
When the Doctor walks out of the TARDIS, I resist the urge to run to him. Instead I watch in the shadows, wanting to surprise him. Another woman with fiery red hair, called Donna apparently, follows him and although I'm glad he's not alone, I sincerely hope those two have a purely platonic relationship. As I watch them shake hands with the Torchwood crew and spot the Doctor rolling his eyes as Jack flirts with her, I realize that they indeed are like brother and sister.
"Ok, what exactly is going on?"
The Doctor looks worried as Tosh shows him recordings of the rift activity and listens to Jack's story about his trip to Pete-verse.
"I admit it's really odd that you suddenly showed up somewhere in a room on the third floor while your office is below-ground but how are you so sure you were in an alternative universe? How did you know?"
Jack gives the Doctor and Donna a grin. The Doctor eyes him warily.
"Well, the fact that I bumped into good old Micky Mouse was a dead giveaway."
The Doctor freezes.
"And of course, the woman who showed up here…."
"Was me," I finish Jack's sentence as I step out of the shadows. Thankfully, my voice does not reflect my emotions as I sound a lot more confident than I feel.
"Hello again.''
The Doctor simply stares at me, mouth open wide. His stare is heated, like I'm the only thing that matters to him in the whole wide universe, before whispering my name and running towards me.
Before I know it, I'm back in his arms, where I belong.
Unfortunately, there's still a hole in the universe and something else fishy going on and forces us to cut the hug short.
I introduce myself to Donna who smirks at me claiming that 'Spaceman had been moping over me for forever'. I've got the feeling we'll get along just fine.
Meanwhile, Jack suggests we use the TARDIS as a doorway between the two universes, opening one set of doors across the console room to enter the Torchwood office and another set of doors to enter Pete's verse. After all, only the Doctor, Jack and I can walk across the two universes and it would be a bad idea if we ended up unconscious every time. On top of that, I notice Jack had grown pale after his trip to Pete-verse and I doubt he could simply walk back and forth without feeling the strain on his health either.
The Doctor quickly moves the TARDIS to the exact spot where I suddenly appeared in the Torchwood headquarters, dragging me along.
I can't help but to feel giddy the moment I enter the TARDIS again, having missed the sentient ship almost as much as her designated driver. Jack and Donna follow us, while Jack's team stays behind to keep an eye on the rift or any other strange alien activity.
The Doctor, who hasn't let go of my hand since he saw me again, beams at me before his eyes grow big.
"Wait a minute! Jack said that the woman who showed up in his office out of the blue, you, grew a second….heart."
He looks at me worriedly and I know he's planning goodness knows how many medical examinations in the medbay instead of focusing on the TARDIS right now.
Deciding it takes less time to simply show him I've got two hearts, I grab his hands to put them on my chest in a way he can feel my double heartbeat, forcing myself not to ponder
about the intimacy of the gesture.
"According to Owen, I did not only grew a second heart the moment I should have died but my lifespan has also increased. I don't know how old I can become, though.''
The Doctor swallows audibly, uncharacteristically silent, before looking into my eyes.
"Rose, I…"
He sounds exactly like he did on Bad Wolf Bay and I almost expect him to disappear again.
He doesn't though.
He breaks.
"Oh Rassilon, help me," he mumbles before softly kissing me. Finally.
The kiss is gentle and sweet, like you'd wish a first kiss to be. Before I know it though, the kiss turns passionate and I groan as his tongue enters my mouth.
He holds me even tighter than he did before as my hands move towards his butt as he frantically kisses my neck before moving back to my lips again. I gasp at the action and I want him more now than I ever did before, which is certainly saying something. Encouraged by the fact that I can feel exactly how much he wants me in return, I roll my hips towards his and this time, he is the one who lets out a groan.
I suddenly realize another benefit of a second heart; with one heart, I would have needed to stop kissing for a moment to take a gulp of air but now, I can continue kissing him like I've wanted for years.
Meanwhile, our kisses have turned from passionate to desperate, with bumping noses and teeth clashing. The facts that there are others on board to research a gap in the universe with us, have been long forgotten as I gently tug my Doctor's hair as we make out.
Jack's PoV
"So, that's…?"
"Rose, the woman he's desperately in love with? Yeah." I finish Donna's question as we look at the console.
Thankfully, everything goes according to plan; the TARDIS can indeed be used as a pathway everyone can use to go from one universe to the other without having to fear medical repercussions or death. I open the door and smile at Micky.
"I've brought help.''
He eyes the TARDIS with a grin.
"I can see that. Where are Rose and the Doctor?"
''Look over there,'' Donna nudges me.
I smile as she points towards the two lovebirds, who are apparently busy on catching up on years of sexual frustration. Both of us aren't sure whether to laugh or roll our eyes at our friends. It seems they have completely forgotten Donna and I are there, judging by the fact that Rose's legs are currently around the Doctor's waist and he has his hands on one of her breasts as they snog.
''Please don't tell me they are about to shag on the console," Donna mutters and I've got the feeling that's what they already would have been doing now if it weren't for us being there.
Micky looks inside the TARDIS and raises an eyebrow as he watches his best friend and ex-girlfriend make out with the Timelord.
"Ok, who's going to break them up?"
''Let me guess, the Doctor has finally become my official son-in-law?'' The voice of Jackie, who's standing outside the TARDIS, is loud enough to be heard in the console room.
Realizing my two love struck friends are going to be really embarrassed if Rose's mother walks in on them, Donna, Mickey and I decide to break them up.
"Ahem, as glad as I am that you've finally decided to do something about the sexual tension between you two that was so thick you could cut it with a chainsaw, I do think you might want to pick another time.''
"Oi Spaceman, Rose, as happy as I am for you that you're reunited, I have no desire to see my best mate shagging his girl on the console," Donna adds.
"Me neither mate. Come on, before Jackie interrupts the two of you''.
At Micky's words , the Doctor and Rose manage to pull away from each other. Both are rather spectacularly red, look thoroughly snogged, which is of course the case and the Doctor is accidently wearing Rose's pink lipstick as well.
Donna laughs as she hands the slightly dazed alien a handkerchief before we all leave the TARDIS and the Doctor nervously greets his parents-in-law.
"Thousand years old and he's afraid of his mum-in-law," Donna whispers to me and Micky and we laugh as we watch the blushing couple.
Somehow I've got the feeling this will be one of the last times everyone is laughing and happy. None of us have forgotten something bad is going on and we're about to find out what it is. I remember the Doctor's face when I warned him. I've never seen him so worried as he was back then and if he's worried and nervous, I am afraid of what's coming because it will not be pretty.
''Need some help everyone?"
My gloomy thoughts are disturbed by three people who walk out of the TARDIS. Well, three people and a tin dog, to be more precise. I smile as I hug Martha before looking curiously at her two companions. The woman who presumably owns the tin dog looks older and has brown hair and a friendly smile. The other woman, who is dressed stylishly in a long trench coat and has curly hair, gives me a flirty smile.
The older woman and the tin dog, Sarah-Jane and K9, are enthusiastically greeted by Rose and the Doctor but the latter looks obviously surprised to see the woman with the curly hair standing there, before he gives her a hug as well. She beams at him and at Rose before realizing my blonde friend doesn't know who she is.
''Oh well, that's what you get for traveling backwards in time," she mumbles sadly before introducing herself.
"Hello, I'm professor River Song."