Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I get paid for it.

A/N Thank you for the tremendous response on the last story and my question about the sequel. A resounding 94% of you voted to have a sequel, and I have decided to definitely write a sequel story to this. Plus, we are nearing 500 reviews to this story too! Thank you so much for all that!

Here is Part 1 of #8 New Earth. A new world, a new adventure and a new companion as well. Anything you recognise comes from the Eighth Doctor Adventure Novel 'The Taint'.

Happy Reading!

New Earth: London

Fitzgerald Michael Kreiner was having a regular, crummy day that was usual for him. He was already on his fifth cigarette and it wasn't even lunchtime yet. Batty old Mrs Simms, his boss, had broken her hip last week which meant that Fitz was left working alone at the godforsaken flower shop. So far he'd entertained three pointless conversations with three equally pointless people and he was ready to drop a bag of compost on the next person to make a stupid remark about the sunny day or the pretty flowers.

The only good part of the day had been that he'd been allowed to smoke while he worked. Mrs Simms wouldn't let him get away with it but since he was the only one around, it wasn't like he could get told off for it. He took a long drag of his cigarette and resisted the urge to scowl as a middle-aged woman with an unnaturally cheerful smile entered the shop.

Casting a longing look at the bag of compost, Fitz put out his cigarette and plastered his best charming smile on his face. "Good afternoon," he greeted the woman with a cheery wink.

The woman blushed and giggled at his charming smile and wink, making him want to roll his eyes. "Good afternoon, young man," she said. "Now, I was wondering if you could help me."

I'd rather cover myself in compost and jump into a hole full of worms, he thought but gave a quick grin instead. "That's what I am here for, madam," he said.

"I wanted to buy a gnome for my garden," she said.

"Of course, right over here," he said, leading her over to a shelf full of those tiny bastards with their frozen smiles and creepy eyes. Fitz wasn't afraid of them; he just couldn't see the point of keeping those shifty little bastards in your garden. Of course, Fitz hadn't ever lived in a house fit to have a garden so he was not speaking from experience but he honestly didn't get the appeal.

The woman, on the other hand, practically jumped with happiness upon seeing the shelf full of gnomes. "Oh these are lovely," she squealed, picking up the creepiest one in Fitz's opinion. "It's like out of a RJ Tolkien novel."

"JRR," he corrected, mentally patting himself for not rolling his eyes.

"Pardon?" asked the woman, looking up from her perusal of the gnome.

"JR," he said again.

"Oh? Is there a RJ Tolkien Jr. too? That is so neat," she said excitedly.

Fitz put on his best conspiratorial smile and beckoned her closer. "Yes, RJ conceived him in France after a month long affair with a prostitute named Frodo."

The woman gave a shocked gasp. "My word," she said, her eyes as wide as coins. "The things you learn about these people." And just like that, the floodgates opened as the woman started complaining about the artistic types and their loose morals, getting in a few digs about Fitz's long hair and leather jacket too. By the time the woman left, Fitz was beginning to feel that throwing a bag of compost at her was the least he ought to have done.

The clock ticked its way over to midday, and Fitz grinned as he put up the 'Closed for Lunch' sign on the shop before stepping out. He walked down the road to the chippy with his guitar slung over his back. It wasn't as if he was going to play it but as he smiled at the passing brunette who giggled at him, he knew it was worth it.

He took the long way back to the flower shop after his lunch, not particularly eager to get back to work. He'd worked in that place for over two years now after his regular gig down at the pub on Mercer Street had gone down to only three days a week. It wasn't that he was bad; Fitz knew he was plenty good but Molly had been running low on cash and business wasn't exactly booming. Fitz still filled in occasionally when there was no entertainment and Molly repaid him in drinks if she didn't have the cash. All in all, it wasn't a bad arrangement, he thought as he reached the shop.

Business was always quiet in this part of the town right after lunch, so Fitz was surprised to see a blonde looking at the flower arrangements in the window. Fitz thanked the heavens every day that he didn't have to do them; some girl named Clarissa would come in the mornings to do it before Fitz got there.

The blonde, on the other hand, was staring at an arrangement of roses and baby's breath, (and didn't Fitz hate himself just a little for knowing that so exactly) with a sad look on her face. Fitz examined her tight blue jeans, the red jumper and black leather jacket that was much smaller and feminine than the one he was wearing, and smirked to himself. She was pretty.

"Can I help you, doll?" he asked with his best charming smile.

She jumped slightly at being spoken to but upon looking at Fitz, she gave a shake of her head. "No, I was just lookin'," she said, her accent almost exactly like Fitz's.

Her slightly dispassionate look made his smile dim but he didn't give up as he looked at her. "How about I open shop and you see if something catches your eye?" he offered.

She smiled a little at that and Fitz felt hope rise in his chest before she shook her head again. "That's nice of you, but I'm just waiting for my friend," she said.

"Friend," said Fitz, hoping she would elaborate and sighed when she didn't. "Well, alright then."

"Do you play?" she asked, nodding towards his guitar.

Fitz grinned; maybe she wasn't completely disinterested. "Yes, down at Molly's pub on Mercer Street," he said. "Fitz Fortune, at your service." He felt he should add a daft bow at the end but felt that she wouldn't find it charming as much as irritating. One thing that Fitz prided himself on was gauging how people would react; a habit borne out of having the stuffing knocked out of him on a regular basis when he was a kid.

"That ain't your real name though," she said, tilting her head at him.

"No, it ain't," he said, not offering anything else. Fitz hated his real name; he knew that it only took a moment for people to hear it and do the arithmetic in their head. A man in his twenties with a German last name in 1963? Must be a bastard born during the war to a Nazi father and a traitor English whore. Fitz had heard that and worse, so he didn't want to give any arsenal to this pretty blonde thing.

Her eyes turned sympathetic for a moment before she looked away, as if she was in some sort of pain too. Fitz would have loved to stay and chat but he needed to reopen the shop and get to work. He didn't want to lose his flat because the nosy hag at the newsagent's next door complained to Mrs Simms that he'd been slacking off on the job.

He walked past her and unlocked the door to the shop, taking the 'Closed' sign off as he did. Casting a last look at the blonde lost in her thoughts, Fitz Kreiner got to work.

Rose watched the man go back to work in the flower shop and sighed. She hadn't meant to sound so accusing when talking to him. The past three days in this new universe had been stressful, to say the least. They hadn't had a chance to go anywhere; the Time Lords had dropped them in London 1963 and the Doctor had so far spent an awful amount of time calibrating the TARDIS systems to fit this universe.

Rose gave sigh and ran a hand over the new leather jacket that the TARDIS had left in her room for her. She reckoned that the TARDIS must have guessed that Rose needed a change and she had to admit that she was feeling slightly better with the new clothes. The pink hoodies and baggy jeans would have to be left behind for now, as were the ratty sneakers. The new black military boots would take some time to break in but like the leather and the new clothes, it was beginning to feel more like her. Even her hair was longer, because Rose had been meaning to get her mum to give it a trim when they visited her. But now, she couldn't bear the thought of letting someone else do it.

When she had been standing in front of the flower shop, Rose hadn't been staring at the flower arrangement at all. She had been looking at her own reflection, staring at the years in her eyes and wondering how it had taken her so long to notice how much she had changed from that shop girl in London.

Rose had no idea how long it would be until the contamination inside her wouldn't damage the original universe, if it would even happen in her lifetime. Till then, this was it.

"Rose!"

She turned around and smiled when she saw the Doctor waving at her. He smiled widely when he reached her and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. That had been a new development. Rose had always thought that it would be monumental occasion when she and the Doctor got together but it had happened quietly and as naturally as breathing.

A gentle kiss before bed, upon waking up, after breakfast, after morning tea...until it just became normal. Or whatever passed for normal when it came to them. No one had been more surprised than Rose when the Doctor had been the first one to initiate the kiss but she soon became comfortable with initiating the touch as well as reciprocating it thoroughly. In a span of three days, they had gone from being best friends to, well, the jury was out on what they were now.

Despite their relationship being more romantic than platonic, Rose was keenly aware that they hadn't had sex. The Doctor didn't push and Rose was afraid of what would happen if she did and he rejected her. Rose knew that she was fragile right now and the Doctor was the only thing she had in this universe. It wouldn't do for her to make things difficult between them.

In her worse moments, Rose wondered if they were involved because the Doctor felt like he owed her somehow or because of the connection of Arkytior and the Other. But then she'd hear him teasing her about her human habits and grumble when she ribbed him about his inability to change his wardrobe and Rose felt certain that they had fallen in love with each other long before they had known any different.

"Rose," he murmured as he broke the kiss.

Rose smiled as she planted a tiny peck on his nose before pulling away. "Did you get the scanner repaired?"

"Yes, it's now fully compatible with this universe," he said, taking her hand into his and leading her back the way she had come. "So, what did you want to do?"

Rose shrugged. "It's 1963," she said. "What's fun to do in 1963?"

"Nothing much, I'm afraid," he said. "It's the beginning of the Swinging Sixties, so I suppose the Beatles, miniskirts and drugs are in trend," he joked.

Rose gave a reluctant smile at that and bumped his shoulder with hers. "So, explain to me again how we can and can't interfere," she said.

The Doctor gave a sigh. "The Time Lords picked the universe most similar to the main one. So all the same rules apply to it. The only thing that's different about this world…"

"Is that I don't exist in it," finished Rose, feeling her good mood evaporate.

The Doctor frowned. "Rose, you were not born in any other universe but your own. Like me, like the Time Lords, you are the only one in the multiverse," he said sombrely.

Rose's brow furrowed. "So then what's different about this universe?" she asked.

"Jackie and your father don't exist in this universe, Rose," he said gently.

Rose felt the sting of tears at the back of her eyes but she nodded determinedly. "What about universes where they do exist? Wouldn't they have children there?" she asked.

"Perhaps," he said, frowning as he considered it. "But they wouldn't be you."

"So, just me," she murmured to herself.

The Doctor stroked his thumb over their clasped hands. "Rose," he said seriously. "I am very…"

Rose cut him off by covering his mouth with her free hand. "Stop apologising to me," she chided gently. He'd been doing it an awful lot these past three days. "It's not your fault," she added, knowing that they had to clear this up right now. "I don't blame you. I never have and I never will."

The Doctor stared at her with wide eyes as she let her hand from his mouth fall. He had put her through hell, kept things close to his chest until she confronted him, got her trapped in a parallel world away from her mother and her friends, and she did not blame him. He had to tell her and he had to tell her now. "I love you, Rose Tyler," he said, so sincerely that Rose felt her heart positively skip a beat before starting to race.

She waited for the babbling to follow, waited for him to start muttering that he didn't mean it that way or it had just slipped out, but he didn't. He just sounded very happy, and very...in love.

Tears gathered in her eyes as Rose threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss full of love that she felt for him and the unbelievable joy she felt at his admission. "I love you, Doctor," she murmured when she broke the kiss, feeling rather than seeing his lips curve into a smile.

"Don't cry," he murmured as he wiped the tears from her cheek.

Rose giggled as a few more tears escaped her eyes. "No, they're happy tears, I promise," she said.

The Doctor smiled tenderly as he kissed both her cheeks and rubbed his nose against hers. "Come on, let's go back to the TARDIS. We have more than five billion years of Earth's history to explore. Say the time and I'll take you to it," he said.

"Can we go to the Falls of Sona again?" asked Rose, remembering the trip they had taken in the other universe to a bunch of natural hotsprings that had formed after the Earth's rebuilding in the 30th century. It had been after the Nira incident and the first time that Rose had realised that she might be falling in love with the Doctor.

"Your wish is my command, my lady," he said happily as he kissed her forehead and linked their hands together. Rose grinned at him and the two of them started their walk back to the TARDIS.

A/N End of Part 1. So, what did you think?

For those who don't know, Fitz Kreiner was Eight's longest serving companion in the novels. He was only in one audio and he was voiced by Matt Di Angelo but my personal face claim for Fitz has always been Ben Barnes.

Anyway, we got the Doctor and Rose. That was a LONG time coming. Don't worry, drama and monsters to follow soon.

Part 2 will be up soon. Let me know what you thought of this one.

~ Phoenix