Disclaimer: Not my intellectual property. At least, not most of it.
AN: Glad y'alls are excited for this chapter! Enjoy
Sarah Jane Smith led her son into their house and up the stairs to the attic where she did most of her work. If UNIT wouldn't tell her what was going on, she thought, she'd find some other way.
"I'm telling you Luke, something else happened. I could feel it. That man, that Harold Saxon, he called himself the Master. Whatever went on up there, the Doctor was involved."
"Sure, Mum. If you say so." Luke replied. He figured Sarah Jane was right, but even with his extraordinary brain, he couldn't determine what happened on board the Valiant.
Sarah Jane stepped through the door of the attic with Luke behind her.
"Mister Smith, I-" Sarah Jane broke off as she saw the supercomputer already extended from the recess of the fireplace.
"Sarah Jane Smith. I detected an unidentifiable alien presence in the attic which appeared while you were gone. The alien seemed to appear from nowhere. There was no evidence of a teleport or transmat. I placed the alien in a containment field."
Only then did Sarah Jane see the purply-blue cylindrical field containing a figure on the floor to one side of the attic.
The alien was hominid with brown hair cut just below the shoulders. Though it was curled up around a large, red bag, Sarah Jane could see a figure that indicated, to a human, that the alien was female. Her face was completely buried in the bag as well as covered by a curtain of hair. She wore clothing from, or at least blended into, Earth. She was also quite soundly asleep.
Sarah Jane decided that waking her could wait. There were, after all, many species that did not take kindly to be woken.
"Mister Smith, run a full analysis." She ordered the computer.
"Mum? What about her?" Luke asked, peering over her shoulder.
"She's not going anywhere. I want to find out where she came from."
"Sarah Jane. The alien is carrying a transmitter device but is unarmed. I cannot determine what the transmitter communicates to. The genetic structure of the alien is unlike any in my database. The body structure is almost identical to a human. Identical in every respect save an increased brain capacity. It is also interesting to note that most of the elements in her body came from Earth's sun. My scanners are detecting sizable quantities of two types of radiation. One I am unfamiliar with the other is artron energy. She carries more artron energy than any organism I have yet encountered."
"So she's a time traveler?" Luke asked.
"It would seem so." Mister Smith replied.
"Does she have a time traveling device with her?" Sarah Jane asked.
"No. I am still unable to determine how she appeared in the building."
"Does she seem to be dangerous?"
"Not excessively. She is carrying no weapons and does not seem to have poisonous capabilities. When I placed her in the containment field, she merely tested the field, sighed and laid down. Her lack of adrenal reaction leads me to conclude that she is not expecting an attack." Mister Smith said.
"I think so too. Luke, please go call for takeaway. I'm going to keep an eye on our guest." Sarah Jane said. "Mister Smith, please lower the containment field but keep it ready."
The hum of the field faded and Sarah Jane sat on the sofa, watching the mystery alien. Mister Smith was good at finding answers. That he could determine next to nothing about their visitor was worrying. On the other hand, the artron energy was indicative of a time traveler. It might even be a friend that Sarah Jane hadn't met yet.
Sarah Jane sat puzzling on the sofa and eating the chow mein Luke ordered, or looking over the results on Mister Smith for a few hours. Luke went to bed with the promise that Sarah Jane would wake him when things changed. She was reading over the blood make up when she heard a noise from behind her. She turned to see the alien stir again in her sleep, and again. Within seconds the alien was rolling wildly and struggling with invisible bonds. She let out a few low moans then the pitch began to rise and she cried out. Sarah Jane still couldn't see the alien's face while she thrashed and struggled but she'd seen her fair share of nightmares. The alien ceased struggling and fastened her arms tightly around the red backpack she'd brought. She let out a high keening noise that fractured into sobs.
Some things, Sarah Jane decided, trumped caution; she couldn't let anyone suffer through a nightmare if she could help it. She knelt beside the creature and shook her shoulder.
"You're dreaming, wake up!" She said.
The alien cried out again, this time clearly. "Doctor!" The alien wailed.
Sarah Jane froze in place. That certainly explained the artron energy but very little else, other than she could likely trust this visitor. She resumed shaking and soothing the sleeping female. With one final shake, the alien awoke with a cry.
"It's alright!" Sarah Jane said softly, "You're safe. You were having a nightmare. Do you understand English?"
The alien sniffled and wiped a sleeve across her face, clearing away unseen tears. Her back was still turned to Sarah Jane.
"I'd better," said the alien. Her voice sounded young and... cockney of all things. "Sarah Jane?" came a tremulous query.
"That's me." Sarah Jane answered automatically. Slowly, while pushing strands of brown hair from her face, the alien turned around to face the woman. Big brown eyes lit with gold met Sarah Jane's while the wide, full lips trembled. Sarah Jane studied the face in front of her for a moment before leaping away.
"Mister Smith! Activate the containment field." Sarah Jane cried.
Rose blinked as the bluish field snapped back into existence. When she'd first arrived, she was surprised but not upset by the field. Sarah Jane had every right to protection in her home. She had, however, assumed that as soon as Sarah Jane returned all that would be taken care of.
"What's wrong?" She slurred, groggy with sleep. "It's me, Rose. Rose Tyler."
Sarah Jane shook her head slowly, her face icy and impassive. "No. That's not possible. You are using her face. Tell me what you want."
"It's me. It's really and truly me." Rose insisted.
"Rose Tyler is dead."
Rose hadn't realized that Sarah Jane would have seen that bit of information. That did tell her that the Doctor hadn't visited since they saw each other last. "Not dead. Officially yes, but not actually." Sarah Jane still looked skeptical. "The first and last time I saw you, you told me that some things are worth breaking your heart for. And then you told me that if I ever needed a place to go and a friend, I could come to you." Rose's voice trembled and broke as her emotional exhaustion swept over her again. "I think I need a friend." She said plaintively around sobs.
Sarah Jane's face softened slightly, but still refused to melt wholly. "Then how did you get here? And why does Mister Smith say you aren't human?"
Rose turned to face the supercomputer. "You named your computer Mister Smith?" She asked over her shoulder, a smile threatening to tug the corners of her lips.
"Yes." Sarah Jane said defiantly. "Answer the question."
"I promise that I am Rose Tyler, just the same as I was when I last saw you and when I last saw the Doctor."
"I want to believe you. But Mister Smith is conclusive."
"Actually, if I may interrupt, Sarah Jane, I wish to share more information with you." The computer spoke in an even and moderated tone.
"Go on." Sarah Jane said.
"Assuming our visitor to have earthly origins, my data makes more sense. These portions of the chromosomal sequence are identical to statistically likely sequences of human DNA. I conclude that seventy-five percent of her genetic sequence is human. That portion contains the whole of the human genome. The other twenty-five percent has been perfectly spliced in and integrated until it made the structure look foreign. The assumption that she is from Earth was needed to sort out the DNA." The computer reported, displaying a variety of screens covered in letters and numbers.
Sarah Jane studied the screen for a long moment then turned and studied Rose. "Release her." She said abruptly before walking forward and enveloping Rose in a hug. "I'm sorry, my dear. I'm so sorry for whatever happened." Sarah Jane murmured as Rose pressed her tear streaked face into the older woman's shoulder and sobbed. The two sank to the ground as Rose's knees gave way. Finally safe, Rose cried herself to sleep on the floor of the attic of Number 13 Bannerman Road.
Sarah Jane smoothed Rose's hair back from her sleeping face and gently cleared the lingering tears from her cheeks. Though she had warned the girl, she never truly thought that the day would come that Rose Tyler would knock at her door. Of course, she hadn't. She'd appeared in the middle of Sarah Jane's attic. Still, Sarah Jane had seen the way the Doctor looked at Rose, the way he took her hand and hugged her. She'd worried for the Doctor when she saw Rose's name on the list of the dead at Canary Wharf, the terrifying day when all the nightmares of her past came back to haunt her. He, of course, had never stopped by. Until Rose awoke, Sarah Jane knew she would discover nothing of what happened. As she lifted Rose's slender frame onto the couch, she noticed that the girl was much, much too slender. Her face, which used to have the fullness of youth, was dominated by angular cheekbones. Purple bags stood out under her eyes even against her surprisingly tanned skin. Her ribcage was evident and the knobs of her vertebrae stood out like beads on a string all the way up her spine.
"What happened to you, Rose?" Sarah Jane whispered, staring at the girl who seemed so fragile but Sarah Jane was certain that she'd borne a weight greater than most people imagine. Sarah Jane draped a blanket over the sleeping girl and found a sleeping sack for herself. She laid down on the floor next to the couch and fell asleep.
When Rose awoke again, there was a golden toned light filling the room. She shifted suddenly from lying to sitting as she woke and tried to remember where she was. Was it time to go back to England? Then, as her senses adjusted her brain filled in the gaps. She was safe, and at Sarah Jane's, and there was a teenage boy sitting in a chair watching her.
"Er, hello." Rose said, running a hand awkwardly through her hair.
"Good morning," said the boy, "My name is Luke. Mum said I should let you sleep but when you awoke I should tell you that she is downstairs and has made breakfast."
"Mum?" Rose said groggily.
"Sarah Jane. She adopted me after I was created by aliens."
"Oh." Rose said, still feeling fuzzy. She'd definitely gotten more sleep in the past thirty-six hours than she had for a year. Maybe more than a year. Torchwood wasn't big on sleeping in either. She blinked fully awake. "Right. Hello Luke. I'm Rose."
"Hello Rose. Mum said you traveled with the Doctor. Did he have something to do with that Saxon thing yesterday?"
"Luke, leave her alone." Sarah Jane said from the door of the attic as she watched Rose's face pale at his words. "How about breakfast, Rose?"
Rose nodded and followed the older woman downstairs.
Sarah Jane's house was spacious and light. Though the furniture was outdated, it was still tasteful. Most of the rooms had little personal touches but Luke left an imprint. A few school books stacked haphazardly on a table, sweatshirts thrown over the backs of chairs, a bike helmet in the corner, and, most notably, a collection of framed photos on the mantle.
In the sunny kitchen, Rose wrapped her hands around a warm mug of tea and tried to remember how long it had been since she'd had tea. Nearly a year, she decided. Early on, people still had food in their homes they were willing to share. She moaned in pleasure as she took a sip, then flushed.
"Sorry, it's been a while since I've had a cuppa." She explained to Sarah Jane, who was watching her closely.
"Rose... How long has it been for you? And what happened?" Sarah Jane asked gently, placing a comforting hand on the girl's.
Rose took a deep ragged breath as she prepared to summon up her demons.
"Five and a half years since I met you. Five years since it all went wrong. Since Canary Wharf." Though the memories of that day still stung, they were easy to face compared to the last year.
"There's an organization called Torchwood. It was founded by Queen Victoria after the Doctor and I saved her from a werewolf and was meant to protect England from aliens. According to this timeline, a few years back they discovered a tear in space above London so they built a tower to reach it and started poking at it. Something came through and soon after the ghosts followed. The tear reached between parallel universes. It was a parallel that Mickey, the Doctor, and I had fallen into not long before. My dad was still alive there and we helped him defeat the Cybermen. Mickey stayed there when we left. Parallel worlds are supposed to be closed off, but Mickey was there at Torchwood when the Doctor and I started investigating the ghosts. The first thing that came through was a void ship, made to survive in the absence between universes called the void. Inside it were Daleks. Then the ghosts solidified into Cybermen from the other universe.
"The Doctor realized that everything that had passed through the void picked up a kind of background radiation and if he opened the portal to the void, everything that came through it would be sucked back in. So Mickey, and my other dad, and my real mum, went back to the other universe 'cuz my mum was killed by Cybermen in that one. The Doctor and I had been through too though, so we held onto these alien clamp things so we didn't get sucked into the void. Then a Dalek bumped into one of the levers holding the portal open and I had to let go to keep the portal open. And then I slipped. But my dad came back and caught me just before I fell into the void and took me back to the parallel world. Then the hole sealed and I was trapped.
"The Doctor thought it was impossible, but I found a way back and soon I'll see him again. But this year... oh god this year..." She trailed off as tears ran down her face. "The year that no one remembers except those on the Valiant."
Sarah Jane wrapped her arms around Rose's shoulders. "Tell me what happened, Rose." She murmured. And Rose did. And Sarah Jane held her as she relived the hell.
Rose slept off and on through the rest of the day in Sarah Jane's spare room. The year that never was left her exhausted and spent. Sarah Jane wrote down Rose's account of events and compared them with the facts she had gathered. Everything lined up, so far as she could see. She continued studying Rose's genetic data too, trying to figure out just what happened to the human girl who left with the Doctor.