Disclaimer: I am not doing this for any monetary gain. I do not own Doctor Who nor the music of the wonderful Sara Bareilles.
Chapter 4: One Sweet Love
Savor the sorrow to soften the pain sip on
the southern rain
As I do, I don't look don't touch don't do anything
but hope that there is a you
"Earth to Rose Tyler... Come in Rose Tyler…"
"Wha'?" Rose asked, forgetting where she was, before remembering a second later as she stared at her assistant, standing in her office doorway.
"Rose, you have a meeting with the International Leaders of Torchwood in five minutes and I'm getting phone calls from your team asking me where you are. And here you are, asleep in your office like you don't even have a proper bed in your flat!"
Molly Hanson, former university intern turned assistant. Curly red hair, green suits and always making sure Rose was at her best – bless her!
"Sorry, Molls, I'll be right up. And tell the others not to get so worked up - it's only a meeting with my Father and a couple of other blokes about funding," Rose said, sitting up in her seat and adjusting the collar of her blazer.
"Yeah, but you're trying to get an awful lot of money for that new project," Molly said, ending in a sort of sing-song sort of way. "That cannon thingy. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes right now. And those are some lovely shoes by the way. New?"
"Thanks, they're Jimmy Choo." Rose stood and did a quick twirl in place. "How do I look?"
Molly walked up to Rose and adjusted the jacket and brushed a piece of lint off of it. "I think you might just get it. Good luck."
"Thanks," Rose said, beaming her 1000 watt smile.
She gave Molly a quick hug and ran for the lift which opened the minute she pressed the 'up' button. Rose gave Molly a quick thumbs up as the doors swished closed. In the blink of an eye, Rose reached the top floor. Her whole team was at the doors, waiting for her to come out. Christine and Damien and tall-Robert. Even not-so-tall-Robert showed up on time for once. This was turning out to be her day, she just knew it!
"Come on Rose," Damien said, grabbing Rose's arm and pulling her out, "the International's are here and we have to get started posthaste."
The team walked up to the door which opened when they were close enough and it then closed behind them with a loud 'bang'. A spotlight appeared above Rose's head and she squinted around the dark room trying to see where it was coming from. Why wasn't the light on?
"Rose?" a familiar voice asked.
Rose squinted through the light and her father appeared, flanked by two men on either side of him, and she stared at all three of them in shock.
"Something wrong Miss?" the man on Pete's left side asked, leaning forward slightly so they were at better eye level. He stared at her with his wide, mournful blue eyes; eyes that still haunted her to this day. Rose took him in entirely; remembering like it was only yesterday: short, cropped dark hair, green jumper, dark pants, leather jacket, northern accent.
"Ah, she's probably fine," the other man, the one to Pete's right, "right?"
Rose still couldn't speak! Gorgeous brown hair, adorable freckles, pinstriped, brown suit. "How can you two-?"
"Rose, this is John Smith and John Smith," Pete said nodding to each man as he said their names.
"Pete, it can't be -?"
"Can't be what?" Pete asked, walking forward to her and taking Rose's hand. He pushed her in front of the two men and disappeared behind her.
"Nice to meet you," her first Doctor said extending his hand.
"Hello," the other Doctor said, wiggling his fingers to her in greeting and extending his own hand as well.
"This…can't be real," Rose said, closing her eyes and bringing her hand to her forehead, "it just can't be."
When she opened her eyes again, she was suddenly standing on some sort of theatrical stage with the spotlight again on her and the two Doctors sat at the far end of a table with their legs propped up and their arms behind their heads.
Rose looked down at the notes she had on a podium and began to speak. "Guess I should begin. What we have invented here at Torchwood London is a device that could -"
"Speak up Rose, can't hear you," her first Doctor said, pushing his ears forward to emphasize the fact.
"And with those ears, that's definitely saying something," her second Doctor said looking at the other man who glared back at him.
"Sorry," Rose murmured. She coughed into her fist and continued. "Anyway, the device so far, during a strenuous battery of tests, is able to transport objects literally through the void (that's the dead space between worlds) and to another universe. With proper funding we believe that eventually it could be possible to send animals and human beings to other universes as well, as well as finding a source to the lights disappearing in the sky."
"Yeah but that doesn't seem very safe though?" her second Doctor asked. He scratched behind his left ear as he waited for a response.
"I'm sorry?" Rose asked. She looked around the room but unfortunately there was no one else save the three of them. Where had Pete and her team disappeared to?
"Safety," her second Doctor said, standing up, putting his hands in his pockets, and walking towards her while continuing to talk. "Simple question really. There's any number of things that can go wrong with an object like that. Especially in the wrong hands. Based on previous experience, I don't really think Torchwood can handle an object of that caliber. What about you Smith?" he asked, turning to the other Doctor who was suddenly holding a banana in his right hand.
"I think you might be right Smith," her first Doctor said as he stood up pointing the tip of the banana at the other man. "Therefore, I think we have no choice but to deny you. Sorry. Well, not really."
"Wha'?" Rose exclaimed.
"Sorry," her first Doctor said, "i's just a bit too much for a pack of apes like you lot to handle."
"Yeah," her second Doctor said, drawing out the word, "all of reality could be caput if an object like that is created."
"But…it would be fascinating for exploratory purposes. The first of our kind, to study other worlds."
"Or maybe just a way for you to get into ours? Hmm?" her second Doctor said.
Rose blinked. "...That's beside the point."
"Oh, sorry Rose can't allow something like that to exist. You're beyond us now."
Moving as one, both men stood back to back and held up their sonic screwdrivers and pointed them in her direction. Rose screamed.
Rose woke up in a cold sweat and held her head in her hands for several minutes afterwards. That was the third time this week that a dream about her two Doctors haunted her. Every time it was something different but always had the same ending: reminding her that she couldn't go back.
Looking to her left, at her bedside clock, it read 2:20 A.M. and Rose sighed. She got up out of her sheets and left the room. Rose splashed some cold water on her face, just to calm her nerves, before going back to her bed to lie down.
This time, rather than being in a grassy knoll, Rose was in a meadow full of flowers. All around her, the same noise as her first dream assaulted her ears. THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP.
"Rose?" She turned and her second Doctor stood in the center.
She began to run towards him.
He raised his arms to her.
"Doctor," she whispered when she finally reached him…
Her mobile phone began to ring, waking Rose up a little over an hour after she fell back to sleep. Blearily she reached for it and answered. "'lo?"
"Rose, its Pete. I need to see you in my office in twenty minutes. It's urgent."