A/N: Hello! It's been a whole week, and I hate waiting an entire week just to post. So, this first adventure is kinda Romana oriented/from her POV, but after the end of this it'll get more Doctor/Rose POV. This is, after all, a Doctor x Rose story. Honestly, this is how I wish things would have been fixed.
Enjoy!
Her mind was going wild with theories, so much so that she could ignore the pain in her side.
"Doctor," Harriet mentioned, taking a few steps back towards the girl who seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The Doctor, however, paid no mind as he locked them in the room. She reached towards her, her gaze on the bloodied abdomen of the girl.
"Doctor, there's a girl," Rose said, and Romana was torn between crying and laughing.
Her mother was so young, she could see it in her eyes. She looked to be a few hundred years off of when she gave birth, at least. Not to mention, she looked perfectly human. Romana knew a lot about her mother, specifically that she was human when she first traveled with her father. It wasn't until after 'the incident', as Romana so fittingly deemed it, that she began to change.
And her dad.
Holy shit, she was so terribly confused when she first saw him disappear into a light and then come out with a completely different face. That man, however, still had brown hair and a youthful face. He still had gentle eyes, particularly when he looked at her or Rose. The man in front of her, who she knew for a fact was her father, only with a different face, was entirely different from the man who'd raised her.
She knew about regeneration. Of course she knew. Her mother and father made sure that she was perfectly clear on how the whole process worked. This was mostly because they didn't want her to be too terribly frightened if her dad just happened to walk in with a new face one day, but also because they were so unsure of what she really was.
But before it had just been something she knew about, and then her dad had gone and gotten himself killed.
This, however, was far different than either of the faces her dad had.
"Hello, I'm the Doctor, and this here is Rose Tyler," he pointed to the blonde, "And Harriet Jones. Who are you then?" The Doctor asked, and the sob got caught in her throat. Though, the Doctor attributed it to her wound more so than any emotional turmoil.
She wanted her mother and father back. She wanted to go home to them. Instead, this man was standing here, staring her down with cold eyes. He didn't recognize her in the slightest bit.
"R-Romana," she stuttered, and nearly cursed herself for not throwing out a different name when the Doctor's eyes sparked with memories.
Even if he didn't know her, he did know a Romana. And this him, well he was just emerging from the Time War.
"Pretty name, that," the Doctor said, and just like that any pain or guilt was wiped from his face. He was turning back to the two other's in the room, looking for a solution to the problem at hand. "Help her out, would you?" He murmured to Rose.
From the corner of his eye he seemed to catch something else in his gaze, moving solemnly towards a limp figure.
"What was his name?" The Doctor asked, dragging the body towards the closet.
Rose looked horrified, as she figured her mom would. Despite all the death she saw, it never really got easier on her.
"Who?" Harriet inquired, getting up to get a better look at the man.
"This one, the, uh, secretary, or whatever he was called," the Doctor muttered.
Romana tensed when a hand landed on her shoulder. Her mother was giving her a sympathetic look, squeezing a little at her startled face. Clearly, she thought the girl was terrified at the sight of the dead man. Not to mention, if the stars in her eyes were anything to go by, she was losing a lot of blood.
"I don't know," Harriet admitted, "I talked to him. I bought him a cup of coffee. I never asked his name."
When Harriet walked away from the closet, Romana took a moment to study her father. He looked weighed down by the guilt of the world, and a deep pain was etched on his face, one she was sure that remained from after the Time War. Her father, the real one, never looked like that. He felt guilt, of course, but since she'd been born, since he had her mother, he'd recovered- if only a little bit.
"Sorry," the Doctor whispered to the man, leaving his body so that he might help with the situation at hand. "Right, what have we got? Any terminals or anything?"
Though the question seemed a bit more aimed towards Rose, his gaze stayed fixed on Romana.
"No, this place is antique." Rose replied, "Save the occasional teen, looks like we've got nothing."
Her mother gave her a tongue-touched grin, one she loved (and just so happened, seemed to inherit). Romana flashed her a brief smile, though it was clear there wasn't a lot of happiness behind it.
"That looks pretty bad," Rose commented, causing Romana to grimace as pain bubbled to the surface at the mere mention of her wound.
"Yeah, hurts a bit," she admitted.
"After we get out of here, we can get you fixed up, you know," Rose reassured her, to which Romana nodded back at.
She was lost in her mind, searching for an answer as the three other occupants began talking about strategy and whatnot. The images that'd invaded her mind earlier were slowing down, allowing her time to process them. Though, they seemed rather insignificant.
First was a tower, gleaming gold in the moonlight. The stone structure touched the sky, its bell ringing out to the city below. She was sure she'd never seen anything like it before.
Next was a hand, pale and tensed. On it was a ring, with familiar inscriptions on it. They were Gallifreyan, though the image wouldn't focus enough to allow her to properly translate it.
Finally there were golden eyes, staring at her with the whole of time. They were fierce, filled with all of the rage of a mother wolf, protecting her cub.
"Romana?"
An indignant "huh" tumbled out of her mouth, her gaze snapping back into the presence.
"Are you okay, dear?" Harriet inquired, looking particularly concerned for the young girl.
"Me, yeah, I'm always okay," she promised, an empty smile on her lips.
"It's Mickey," Rose said, examining her phone closely.
Romana's eyebrows shot up, surprised to hear that name. In her time, Mickey had been living in an alternate universe, the same one her grandmother was in. She'd never had the chance to meet them, but she'd heard loads of stories from her parents.
"Oh, tell your stupid boyfriend we're busy," the Doctor practically growled, and Romana couldn't help but snort at that. "Oi, what's got you laughing?"
The offended arch of his brow caused her to laugh even more.
"Yeah, he's not so stupid after all." Rose brought her phone in view, offering the Doctor a glance at the picture Mickey had sent to her.
Rose snatched her phone back, calling Mickey up so that she might gather more information. Romana still had a small smirk on her face.
"You're taking this all rather well," Harriet spoke to her, casting a concerned glance in her direction.
She shrugged, leaning against the wooden table. While she was concerned with the sudden shift in time, and the rather painful wound in her side, she found it interesting to watch. This was, after all, her parents. They weren't quite in love, not like in the present, but they were on the right path- even if her father was acting like a jealous git.
"Harriet Jones," she tested the name on her tongue, deciding she quite liked the ring. "Have you ever thought of running for Prime Minister?"
The older woman gave the suggestion a rather quick thought, mulling it over but not giving a concise answer. She didn't have to. Romana knew of the events that followed well enough.
"It's asking for the password," a voice said, one she didn't recognize.
Clearly, it was Mickey, who the Doctor had decided would do best on speaker.
"Buffalo. Two Fs, one L."
"So what's that website," a softer, more feminine voice spoke. Romana had a sneaking suspicion she knew exactly who that was.
"All the secret information known to mankind. See, they've known about aliens for years. They just kept us in the dark." Romana decided that Mickey was a bit dramatic.
Though, she'd never had the luxury of being "kept in the dark". She wasn't even born on Earth, though that had been a bit of an accident. Earth was the intended target, only they'd managed to get knocked off course. When the Doctor offered to try another go at it, Rose had nearly bit his head off because the baby was coming.
"Mickey you were born in the dark," the Doctor added, and Romana managed another laugh at the obvious jab. It was clear that someone was having human envy.
"Oh, leave him alone," Rose chastised, though she was looking in Romana's direction at the same time.
"Thank you," Mickey replied, pleased with himself.
"I didn't say anything," Romana defended herself, offering a crooked smile.
"Yes, thank you for that," the Doctor cut in rudely, sending the girl a rather sharp glare. She either didn't care or notice.
"Alien invasion, strict schedule," Harriet reminded them, sounding a bit like a mother scolding her children.
"Password again," Mickey prompted.
"Just repeat it, every time," the Doctor answered, pushing himself away from the table as Mickey got to work. "Big Ben. Why did the Slitheen go and hit Big Ben?"
"If I looked like that, I'd crash into Big Ben too," Romana muttered under her breath.
"What?" Rose asked, leaning down towards the girl. She waved her off.
"You said to gather the experts, to kill them," Harriet suggested.
Her suggestion was short lived as the Doctor entered, what Romana termed 'word garble'.
"That lot would've gathered for a weather balloon. You don't need to crash-land it in the middle of London."
"You okay?" Rose asked Romana, nudging her shoulder gently. The girl nodded.
"Yeah, molto bene."
"Rose?" The Doctor looked to her expectantly.
"The Slitheen are hiding, but then they put the entire planet on red alert. What did they do that for?" She offered, smiling when the Doctor gave her a rather proud looking nod.
"Oh, listen to her," the woman's voice flooded through the speaker.
"She's trying," Romana chimed in, "at least that's something."
The woman stayed silent for a moment, before saying, "Who are you?"
Romana scowled, opening her mouth to reply before she was cut off. "Doesn't matter. Look, I've got a question, if you don't mind. Since that man walked into our lives, I've been attacked in the streets, I've had creatures from the pits of Hell in my own living room, and my daughter disappear off the face of the Earth."
Feeling a bit guilty, Romana snuck a glance towards her mother. She looked pensive, though determined.
"I told you what happened."
"I'm talking to him!" Jackie snapped, "'Cause I've seen this life of yours, Doctor, and maybe you get off on it, and maybe you think it's all clever and smart, but you tell me, just answer me this, is my daughter safe?"
"I'm fine," Rose assured her, sending a gentle smile in the Doctor's direction.
"Is she safe?" Jackie repeated, and Romana felt she could understand her grandmother's pain just a little bit more.
When she was little, very little, often times she'd be stuck with Uncle Jack or told to wait in the TARDIS while her parents left to be heroes. She knew just how important what they did was now, but at the time all she could think about was the overwhelming fear of the unknown. She'd wait and wait for hours with nothing to calm her but the gentle lull of the TARDIS in her mind, never knowing whether they'd come back unharmed or not. Never knowing whether they made it out okay.
Hell, one time her dad didn't make it out unscathed, but that was a whole other story.
"Will she always be safe, can you promise me that?" Jackie continued.
The Doctor was listening, though he wasn't speaking. Him and Rose were watching one another closely, seemingly coming to an understanding, but Romana couldn't stand the silence.
"Nobody can promise that," she said, remembering the day her father returned with a new face, "and it hurts like hell, but sometimes we need to let the people we love venture into the world on their own. Because, sometimes, we're too selfish to realize the rest of the universe needs them just as much as we do."
Her parents were looking at her then, confused and saddened by the pain behind her words. They didn't know that they were the ones she was talking about, and while her tone was forlorn, it was filled with pride.
"We're in," Mickey stated, breaking the occupants from whatever spell they'd fallen under.
A/N: Let me know what you thought! This will get a bit timey whimey. It will include snippets between where Romana is, and where the future Rose and Doctor are. A few past faces will pop up as well, because I wouldn't be me without including past Doctors.