I don't own. Sorry, I would say I wish I did, but I'd never come up with plots as good as the real writers do.

Author's note: First thing, I got a review I couldn't reply to asking if there is a pairing in my story. Yes, yes there is. It is definitely Doctor/Rose, it will just take a while to get them back together. On that note, I finally managed to get Rose out of Pete's World! Yay! It will happen in another 20,000 words or so.

The rest of Rose's week fell into a pattern. Her mornings were spent researching, drawing up plans, and working through formulas. Then lunch with Mickey and Jake. Then she would spend time reviewing her conclusions and memorizing them to show to River later. In the afternoon she'd go to her parents house and play with Tony and chat with her mum, spending time with the family she knew she'd be leaving behind. River insisted that the first cracks would be developing soon and they needed to be ready. She was also sure that Rose would feel the cracks somehow. Her visits to River were mostly centered on the plans for the dimension cannon but they still made time to work on Rose's mental abilities and, of course, fun. Rose got to know River. The older woman told her about her adventures as an archaeologist, at least the ones that didn't involve her and the Doctor. River seemed to have a knack for finding trouble that rivaled Rose's own ability.

"So you can travel the way I'll be able to, as well?" Rose asked one sunny afternoon over iced tea in the garden.

River shook her head. "No, I use a vortex manipulator. My Tardis abilities are limited to languages, understanding the Tardis, and a connection to you."

"Oh."

"You, Rose Tyler, are completely unique."

The night before Rose was due back at Torchwood, Jackie Tyler answered a knock at the door to her home, not long after Rose had left.

"Mickey! This is a surprise, come in, come in, you plum."

"Thanks Jackie." Mickey said as Jackie took his coat. "I need to talk to you and Pete." His voice was uncharacteristically serious.

Jackie paused, her eyes searching his face. Slowly, she nodded. "Why don't you have a seat in the sitting room? Pete's up putting Tony to bed. I'll see if he's done, shall I?"

As she bustled off, Mickey walked through the house confidently. He'd been there often enough that he felt comfortable, despite the grandeur and the size. He hated to worry Jackie, but this was serious. He snagged the remote as he sat down and turned the telly on, flicking through the channels until he found a football match. He settled in on the comfortable sofa to wait for the parents of his best friend. His life hadn't been complicated until that time traveling alien had dropped into it, but he couldn't complain a whole lot. He had a job that he loved, more time with his gran, a nice place to live, and good mates. It was only times like this that he regretted it.

As Pete and Jackie walked into the room, hand in hand, Mickey switched off the telly and sat up straight.

"Mickey, good to see you." Pete said with a small smile.

"Boss." Mickey replied with a brief grin and a mock salute.

"I'm guessing you have news for us and I doubt it's good." Pete said as he sat in a large chair opposite Mickey.

"It's Rose. Something's wrong, she's acting funny."

Pete nodded his agreement.

"What d'ya mean acting funny?" Jackie squawked, indignant.

Pete looked at his wife wide eyed. "But, surely you've noticed, she's been acting oddly all week."

"She seemed perfectly normal to me." Jackie protested.

"But that's just it." Mickey interrupted. "She's been too normal, old normal." He took a deep breath, "Jackie, this week she's been happy."

There was a brief silence as that sunk in.

"Oh." Pete said softly. Of course, she seemed strange to him because he'd never seen Rose truly happy. To Jackie though, her daughter was back to normal.

"And you think that means something's wrong, do ya?" Jackie demanded. "Maybe she's just feeling better."

"I think we both know better. She isn't just gonna forget about the Doctor like that." Mickey insisted. "Jackie, I saw her smile this week. A real smile with her tongue stickin' out an' everything."

"Do you think this has something to do with her accident?" Pete said.

Mickey shrugged. "I dunno. But it might have something to do with this." He handed Pete a few sheets of paper he'd printed out. Print outs of the same website Rose had read nearly a week before.

"This is just a children's story." Pete said slowly, trying to fill in the gaps. Jackie tugged the papers from his hands and started to read.

"Not one that exists in our world." Mickey told him.

"Does that matter?" The older man asked.

"Bad wolf..." Jackie whispered, meeting Mickey's eyes. He nodded.

"Alright." Pete said, slumping back and throwing up his hands, "I'm confused. Can anyone tell me what that story has to do with Rose?"

"When Rose was traveling with her first Doctor, they landed in Cardiff, on the Rift, to refuel. Rose called me and I went up to meet 'em." Mickey said. "Course, they found an alien plot, a Slitheen in hiding was trying to build a faulty nuclear plant to explode the earth with enough energy to send her off-world. She called it the Blaid Drwg project, Bad Wolf. The Doctor and Rose froze at that. They said they'd heard those words, those same words, everywhere they went. Months later, Rose appeared home again with the Tardis. The Doctor was facing his death and he sent Rose away to keep her safe. Bad Wolf was written everywhere and Rose figured it wasn't a warning, it was a message telling her there was a way back to the Doctor. And she made it back to him, saved 'im."

"Pete, this story, this is Rose's story translated into terms folk could deal with in the past." Jackie added, having finished reading while Mickey was talking.

"But this story has been around for centuries, maybe more than a thousand years." Pete sputtered.

"From what I heard, Rose heard it in 1869 and 200,100. Everywhere in between, too. I don't think time is an issue." Mickey said.

"So you think that she thinks that she can get back to the Doctor?" Jackie said.

Mickey nodded. "It's the only thing that makes sense."

"Does she even know about this story though?" Pete asked, "I mean, you didn't, Jacks."

"She asked Jake about it, last week, when we were over at her place for dinner. I don't think she'd read the story, she just asked if one existed." Mickey said.

"Then how did she find out?" Pete mused.

Mickey shrugged. "Said she heard someone mention it in a shop." He hesitated, "And I did ask her about it." He admitted.

"You plum!" Jackie nearly shrieked, "What did she say?"

"Well, I said I remembered the graffiti everywhere, and said she knew something. She said she'd tell me when she knew more."

Pete stood abruptly, pacing the room. "I don't like this. Not at the same time as her black out. Not with what Dr. Harper said."

"Owen said something?" Mickey asked.

Pete glanced back at him, then at his wife, who was glaring daggers at him. "I didn't want to worry you." He told her, "Not until I knew more."

"She's my bloody daughter! I think that gives me the right to know!"

He winced, "I know, I should have thought, I'm sorry."

She crossed her arms, giving him a look that meant he was going to be sorrier.

"What did Owen say?" Mickey pressed. He trusted the doctor. He'd had to talk him out of his advances on Rose, but otherwise the two got on well enough.

"He said that Rose's brain activity was abnormally high while she was unconscious. Higher than it should have been if she was conscious. He said there was almost no chance that she was unaware during that time."

"So he thinks she was aware of everyone trying to wake her up? Aware of how panicked we all were?" Mickey said, doubt flooding his face. Rose was compassionate, if she saw the distress they were in, surely she would have come out of it sooner. Unless she was trapped but aware, but that still didn't explain why she didn't tell anyone about it.

Pete was shaking his head though. "No, I don't think that's what happened. But something happened and Rose knows what it is, she just isn't telling anyone."

"So we're back where we started." Jackie said.

"No, we know that Rose thinks she can get back to the Doctor and I'd bet money that it has something to do with her accident." Pete said.

"But what do we do?" Jackie asked, looking between the two men.

Neither had an answer for her.

"I don't think we'll find anything by questioning her." Pete said slowly, "We've tried that. Mickey said that she'd tell him when she knows more, maybe we should wait for that."

"But the Doctor said it was impossible. That she'd never see him again." Jackie said, "What if she's getting her hopes up for nothing?"

"Not even the Doctor is always right. I think Pete's right, for now we wait." Mickey said.

Jackie fussed a bit more but reluctantly agreed. After saying his goodnights, Mickey made his way home. His worries were, if not assuaged, somewhat eased knowing that Pete and Jackie were aware.

Safely unaware in her flat, Rose met with River.

They'd moved on from mental shields and were working on communication. Rose and River were able to speak with one another mentally across vast distances through their connection to the Tardis but Rose still needed to perfect the art.

"Can I do this with anyone else?" Rose asked.

"Some other telepaths." River said.

"Does that include the Doctor?"

"Yes and no, you can speak to him mentally, but you have to be touching him."

"When I asked him about his people he said he'd be able to tell if any were left because he'd feel them in his head. Can he feel you? Me?"

"Yes. I'll also teach you how to hide your mental signature. That way neither he nor the Master will be able to sense you. But normally, when the Doctor is with you, he'll be able to sense your presence."

"Should we work on that next, then?"

"Sure, sweetie."

River didn't spend her time without Rose idly either. She worked on designs for the cannon, preparing the journal, and running calculations on the time frame. Pete's world ran faster than their home world which meant that the time when the cracks appeared wouldn't be exactly the same. River wanted to come up with at least an estimate so that Rose would be ready. By the end of that first week, she had an answer, more or less.

"A month?" Rose squeaked.

"No less than a month, no more than six weeks."

"Will we have everything ready in time?"

"I think so. It all depends on when you can start building in the real world." River told her. She wasn't quite certain, but it had to work.

Rose nodded. "I'm going to start making a parts list and running it through the Torchwood databases. When I know what we have, I'll know where to start."

"Good plan. You also need to start working on your Tardis abilities."

"I thought that's what we're doing!"

"No, no, the travel-through-time-and-space part. And you can't practice here." River said sadly.

"Why's that?"

"This world isn't real, with the right mindset, you could change the laws of physics. I could just as easily disappear and reappear as you could. This will be the hardest for you, since I can't really guide you through it."

"But you know a little, right?" Rose begged.

"A bit. Rose, this is where it gets dangerous, you have to be careful."

"How dangerous?"

"If you lose control, you could end up anywhere, anywhen, you could even end up stuck in the vortex."

"But you know that I've done it, it happened."

"Time is in flux, Rose. Promise me that you'll be careful. Start small, space jumps only until you get the hang of it."

"I can do that. I promise. So, how does it work?"

"You know, maybe you met J.K. Rowling, because it's an awful lot like apparating." River said with the wink that usually accompanied the word 'spoilers'.

"Really? I love Harry Potter." Rose giggled.

"I know." River smirked. "So, you take a step forward and pivot on one foot, thinking about twisting out of space and into the vortex. Once you're in the vortex you think about the time and place you want to be. While you're doing that, you have to be in contact with the Heart of the Tardis inside you."

"Why do I get the feeling that this will be a bit more difficult than it sounds? And, believe me, it sounds difficult enough." Rose said miserably, her full lower lip beginning to tremble. Her journey depended solely on her ability to shift through space and time and it was never looking more impossible.

"Rose," River moved to place her hands on Rose's shoulders and looked directly into her eyes, "I believe in you. More than anyone else. You can do this."

Rose hugged the other woman fiercely. She had just the right words. River held her just as tightly for a long moment before stepping away.

"Shall we get back to work? We have a lot to do."