Jumping Through Time

Rose was standing in her living room, arguing with Joshua. The next thing she knew, she was falling. All around her, she could feel the Vortex pulling her. It was so beautiful. She had a moment to think that before she was suddenly dropped from the Vortex. She barely caught herself as she tumbled through the alleyway. Everything around her was different. The air even smelled different than what she was used to.

She looked around, curious as to where she was and how she got there. What she was was an unbelievingly large bubble surrounding a city. People were bustling through the streets wearing robes of vibrant reds and golds. A few wore blue with gold. A pang of recognition coursed through as she realized where she was. She was on Gallifrey, in one of the many markets under the citadel. In the distance, she could see the citadel in all it's splendor.

She backed into the alley, hoping she hadn't been seen. She shouldn't be here.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Rose spun to see an elderly woman dressed in the same blue robes she'd seen others in. It took Rose a moment to realize the woman was speaking English and not the Gllifreyan she expected to hear.

"Who are you? And how am I here?"

"My name is impossible for you to pronounce. But you can trust me. As to how you got here, well, that's what I'm here to teach you. You are an amazing woman, Rose Noble. You've been through a bit of trauma recently, which triggered the last of your transformation. In doing so, you were brought here to the people who could help you."

The woman's words should have put her on edge. Instead, Rose found herself believing that she could trust the woman. She was projecting the sincerity of her words and that immediately put Rose at ease.

"Is there something I can call you?" The woman smiled.

"You may call me mother. That's who I am, you know. Not yours, of course." Realization dawned on Rose as to who this woman was. With that revelation, she smiled widely.

"Lead the way, Mother."

~DW~~DW~~DW~

Mother led her through the alleyways, then the streets. It was much less crowded here and most seemed to be wearing the blue robes.

"Why the differences in the colors?"

"Oh, I see why he likes you. Red is the traditional robes here on Gallifrey. It's a combination of the red grass that covers the globe and the yellow represents the Vortex. The blue robes are in honor of the Doctor. While you are here, you will see that the colors are now primarily blue, in honor of him."

"What did he do to deserve this honor?"

"He saved us, my dear. Those in red agreed with Rassilon, that we should ascend. The Doctor saved us, and the rest of the Universe, from this fate. Had we ascended, the whole of creation would have been destroyed. Unfortunately, this has created two factions. Obviously, most here agreed with him saving us."

"I thought he destroyed Gallifrey."

"He didn't. But he had to alter his memories to believe that he did. Every single one of his incarnations came together to save us. Because of this, he had to alter his memories of the event. Any time you are around your past self, the past version has to forget the memories to preserve the Time Line."

"Nothing must change. If it does, that created a paradox. And because the Doctor is so ingrained in the dealing of the Universe, any change to the Time Line would be catastrophic, right?"

"Very good. I see you've learned quite a bit from my youngest son. Now, however, you will be learning from my oldest."

The had stopped in front of a massive house on the outskirts of the city. Standing in front of the house were many people. Some she recognized from memories she had shared with Joshua. Others, she wasn't as sure who they were.

"Rose, meet the House of Lungbarrow."

~DW~~DW~~DW~

Braxiatel was nothing like she imagined he would be. Joshua had always described him as gruff and hard to get along with. The man she met, however, seemed genuinely pleased to get to teach her. He showed his art gallery to her. Well, what was left at least. More than half of the collection had been destroyed in the War.

It took several days to learn what had happened to her. Because of her stint as Bad Wolf, she had changed her physiology to compare to the Doctor's. She wasn't a Time Lord. She was a mixture of a Time Lord and TARDIS. Because of this, she could travel through Time without a capsule at will. Also like a TARDIS, she could take people with her.

Braxiatel started off small. She learned to move herself through space first. It took several days before she was able to master this with pin point accuracy. Next, she was taught to move herself and one other person. Mother and Braxiatel were the only ones she was allowed to practice this with. The rest of the brood, many cousins as she had learned, were still in training and weren't allowed to make the trip yet. Despite their ages, ranging from 20 years to 200, they were still considered Time Tots.

It took her another two weeks before she could master taking someone with her. Then, the hard part started. Because they were in a bubble Universe, the could only jump to different points in Gallifrey's history or future. The Universe encompassed Gallifrey only. Because of this, there was no trade and they had to learn to support themselves without the aide of off-worlders.

They started by just going a few minutes either way. Rode found that much more exhausting than just going through space. It took several weeks of practice and jaunts into Gallifrey's ancient past and far future, before that weariness wore off. At that point, both Mother and Braxiatel deemed her ready to return home.

~DW~~DW~~DW~

Mother made sure to have Rose's clothes returned to her for her journey home.

"It doesn't matter if you tell him what happened here or not. However, for the sake of your family, make it seem like you've only been gone minutes instead of months. I'm not sure if they would understand what has happened to you. When did you leave?"

"The beginning of December, the year 2019."

"Aim for Christmas. They'll be worried sick, of course. You will have been gone for at least two weeks. But it doesn't matter when you land, they will have worried."

"I think I will take your advice. Will I ever see you again?" Mother grinned softly.

"I imagine so, Rose Noble. But remember, the next time you see me, I won't know who you are. Oh, I'll sense the importance of who you are, but not your name. You'll have to find a way to tell me."

"I will, Mother. See you soon." Rose enveloped her in a bone crushing hug, which took a moment for her to return. It had been years since someone had touched her like that and the last had been her son. She did return the hug and watched as Rose faded out of sight.