Previously
Seeing the apparent distress in her eyes, the Doctor pulled her forward and engulfed the blonde in his strong arms. Rose felt peace finally encompass her body as she smiled slightly into the worn leather and took in his distinct scent.
Suddenly she isn't Rose Tyler, the hard woman who became the defender of the earth. She is Rose Tyler, dead end shop girl getting chased by shop window dummies when a man grabs her hand and says "run". She's young and flirty and naïve and wants to bring boys onto the Tardis and show them the stars the same way he did for her. She's daring and excited, the whole universe brimming with worlds to explore. But most of all she's yearning to be good enough for her impressive alien companion who she hopelessly fancies.
This isn't real
The whispering voice comes from the back of her head and Rose can't help the tears that leak out of her eyes. Can the universe ever just give her a break?
Reluctantly Rose pulled her face away from the leather it had burrowed into and removed the hands from around her waist.
"Please stop this." She whispered.
"Stop what? Rose, you need to tell me what's wrong." His urgent plea drifted into her ears and Rose had to fight the shiver that traveled down her spine. Looking into his stormy blue eyes, Rose felt her resolve dissolving. She didn't have very long to think on the matter however, when a sharp pain pierced her temples.
The shouts of both the captain and Doctor faded into the background as Rose laid herself on the ground and closed her eyes in an attempt to relive the agony. A golden presence was filling her mind and the pain dulled.
What are you beating up Jack for!
The feminine cockney was unexpected yet familiar as it pushed its thoughts into Rose's head.
"He's not Jack! This is some kind of virtual memory torture and I need to get out of here!" Rose shouted at the voice in her head.
She heard an exasperated sigh before a bright flash of gold flooded her vision and forgotten memories came zooming into focus at a lightning pace.
…kidnapped you while you were running in that park in London. They believe that your reappearance two years ago is connected the cyberman attacks and void activity being detected…
..consider you a threat to the general public and because of your affiliation with Torchwood…
…machine that will allow the user to relive past events in their own time line...
…it doesn't actually do anything to the real world. You're basically just interacting with shadows of the past…
With a gasp Rose opened her eyes and gently touched her forehead. The pain was receding and the blonde was left only with the sting of embarrassment. Blinking once she sat up on the kitchen floor and looked up at the two men currently staring at her.
Mortification washed over her as she took in Jack's haggard appearance and the Doctors concerned eyes. They were real. And she had wasted all this time sneaking around the ship under the impressions she was in some sort of virtual torture system.
However before anyone could speak a huge crash resonated throughout the Tardis sending the occupants of the kitchen spiraling into the wall. The whole ship was shaking violently and Rose held on tightly to the side of a cabinet, as Jack and the Doctor steadied themselves against the table.
"What's happening?" Rose yelled over the distress noises the Tardis was making.
"There something wrong with the Tardis! She's making an emergency landing on the closest rock she can find. Just hold on!" The Doctor yelled back.
Rose felt an odd sense of déjà vu at his words but kept her grip on the cabinet.
"We were in the middle of the vortex! We could be landing anywhere!"
It was Jacks familiar protest that enlightened Rose on the situation, and caused the icy feeling of dread to settle itself over her heart.
She cursed quietly under her breath before glancing up at her two companions. Her past self had said that changing things while she was here wouldn't cause a paradox. And if Rose was going to make it through this particular adventure she was going to have to do some editing.
…
Martha Jones was not one to complain, she really wasn't. But after the fifth day of hanging around the vortex, she decided to make an acceptation.
The day after the Doctor had fixed the hot water in her bathroom, Martha had woken up to find him completely enthralled in the Tardis computer.
"Something was here Martha, there's time traces everywhere." He responded when she asked what he was looking at.
"What do you mean something was here? I thought nothing could get in unless you invited them?" Martha questioned as she sat on the edge of the jump seat.
"Invited?" The Doctors voice sounded distracted, and Martha knew he had probably only heard the end of her question.
"I don't know! I was under the impression things couldn't just walk onto your ship whenever they liked!" She was irritated. The Doctor had the faraway look in his eyes that she so frequently saw and it meant he was a million miles away from the conversation.
The Doctor, as if sensing her anger, moved around the consol and dropped onto his stomach in the middle of the floor.
"Doctor?"
Taking out the sonic screwdriver from his jacket pocket the alien began scanning the grating in circular patterns, muttering in a language Martha couldn't understand.
"Doctor!"
The Doctor glanced up. "What is it Martha?"
"What do you mean something was here?" She repeated, annunciating the words slowly.
"Something was in the Tardis last night, which should be impossible." He tucked the sonic back into his pocket and jumped up off the grating. "Doesn't look like whatever it was did anything, just jumped in then jumped out."
"Jumped?" Martha questioned.
"Through time. We're in the middle of the vortex, that's the only way in."
…
Rose lay coughing on the concrete of the alleyway the Tardis had deposited them on, with Jack in a similar position. During the last few seconds in the time ship the air had gone toxic causing the two companions to make a mad dash out the doors when the ship had landed. The Doctor was currently still inside the ship, something about "Superior repertory system" and "Stabilizing the brake frequencies".
Jack glanced sideways at Rose from his sprawled position on the ground. "You okay?" He rasped out, his voice rough from the fumes.
She nodded, still trying to catch her breath.
The sound of the Tardis door opening caused the two to glance back. Smoke billowed thickly from the door and after a moment the Doctor emerged looking irritated. As soon as the Time Lord crossed the threshold into the alleyway, the door shut tightly behind him leaving only the last billows of smoke to drift lazily upwards.
"Won't be able to get inside for awhile." The Doctor stated, crossing over to his two travelers. "The circuits connecting the navigation to control have been burnt straight through. She'll need some time to repair herself and won't let us back in until she deems it safe enough." He sighed heavily. "Knew we shouldn't have made those two trips to Katriok 5 without giving her time to rest, the old girl has worn herself out."
Jack pushed himself to his feet before offering Rose a hand, which she took gratefully.
"What no karate moves? No screaming about me being an imposter?"
The light teasing was so perfectly Jack that Rose launched herself into his arms before she had time to think about what she was doing.
The ex conman laughed slightly before encircling his arms around the woman he considered his sister. "If this is an apology hug, I don't need it. I mean I got this awesome cut out of our little brawl."
Rose smiled into his neck, while tightening her arms around the man.
"Not an apology hug, just missed you."
The sound of the Doctor clearing his throat brought the two friends apart, and Rose suppressed a grin at his slightly irritated expression.
His stern gaze fell onto the pair. "Now that you two have made up, I for one would like to know what happened in the kitchen."
"And I," whispered a throaty voice. "Would like to know what you are doing out past curfew."