Through the drive to Rose's flat, she and the Doctor didn't release hands for a single moment. The atmosphere was light and happy as the Doctor told a story about the planet Larvik, and his listeners were all laughing at his expense.
"No- I'm telling you, it was huge!" the Doctor protested as Rose leaned her head back, laughing so hard her stomach hurt. She hadn't laughed so much in a long time, and she was amazed that her cheeks weren't hurting.
"It really wasn't," Martha offered, her lips curved up into a small grin.
"Martha!" the Doctor cried, indignant.
"You haven't changed a bit, boss." Mickey laughed as he parked up the truck outside of a good looking block of flats.
"He really hasn't," Rose giggled, looking over at Martha. "He did the exact same thing on Craltho, you know, and almost got us all arrested while doin' it."
Martha's smile faded somewhat, but she shook her head, forcing a smirk onto her face.
"Doesn't surprise me," She said simply, getting out of the truck after them.
"Oh, now this is nice." The Doctor mused, looking up at the flats, head tilted to one side critically. "Still overly domestic, though." He finally grimaced, and Rose rolled her eyes in a good-natured fashion, beginning to pull him towards the steps.
"Calm down," she laughed, linking her fingers between his, causing a thrill of happiness to run through both of them. "I decorated the inside, not the outside."
Smiling, she pulled out her keys and unlocked her door, biting her lip as she pulled him inside, and the Doctor stopped short, a small smile crossing his face before it broke into a full-fledged grin. He looked at Rose, still grinning, and she smiled back at him widely.
"It felt more like home this way," she explained, gesturing to the coral painted room. The lighting was almost identical to that on the TARDIS, and there was a table in the centre, circular and adorned with objects to make it look a little bit like the console. Black couches lay spread around the table similar to the captain's chair, and the blinds were arranged so you could hardly tell there were windows in the room.
"It's brilliant!" The Doctor said in delight, moving further into the room to look around. "It's nothing on the old girl, of course, but for a domestic situation, very, very good! Molto bene!"
Rose shook her head and smiled, sitting down on one of the couches and tucking her feet up, similar to the way she would sit on the captain's chair on the TARDIS when she would watch the Doctor work. The Doctor sat next to her immediately, not wanting to be away from her for too long, and after looking around the room in interest, Martha sat on the opposite couch, joined by Mickey.
"So, how'd you get here?" Rose asked, looking confused. "You said, on the beach –" They both winced at that particular memory. "-that there was no way to get back to me without the walls between our universes fracturing."
Martha started slightly. She had always just assumed that Rose had left The Doctor by choice and left him broken-hearted. But the truth was, she had been trapped here? Something similar to guilt stirred in her chest, and she looked down at her feet, not wanting the expression to show on her face.
"Martha and I were exploring this high frequency of time energy that my timey wimey detector-" Rose rolled her eyes with a fond smile. "-picked up, and it led us to an abandoned house. As it so happens the energy actually was being emitted by some creatures known as the Weeping angels."
"Weeping angels?" Rose asked, furrowing her eyebrows slightly. "What are weeping angels?"
"Humanoid aliens, to be exact," The Doctor mused slightly. "Look just like angel statues, you'll see them covering their faces, giving them the expression of crying. They're stuck in a quantum lock, you see, so they can't move when people look at them, they literally turn to stone. That's the ultimate defence mechanism, but if you blink or look away, that's all they need to grab you. Typically, they send their victims back in time, feeding on the residual time energy left behind. They let you live out the rest of your life in the past. They're called the Lonely Assassins, because they can't look at each other, or others." Leaning back slightly, he looked troubled. "There must have been some kind of weakness in the barriers between universes, because instead of sending us back in time, they sent us to a completely different dimension, and not just any dimension – this particular one."
"And the TARDIS is still stuck in our dimension," Martha added. "So we don't really have a way of getting back."
"Yeah you do!" Rose said, brightening slightly, a grin on her face. "Torchwood have been workin' on this... dimension canon," she explained quickly. "It's not quite ready for testing yet, but, the theory is if the walls of the universe ever weaken, then the canon will be able to transport you through dimensions. There's no guarantee of the time period you'll end up in, but we're tryin' to calibrate it to get us to the right time period in the right universe. It's not ready just yet for testing, but it will be."
"Dimension canon? Why would you even make one of those?" The Doctor frowned.
Rose looked away, biting her bottom lip slightly. "It was sort of a…just in case. If the walls started to break down, we'd find out and we could use it to safely propel me between dimensions to find you again. It was my idea." She admitted, glancing back at him to see him grinning at her. She blushed, shooting him a mock glare. "Shut up."
"Well, take me to see this dimension canon tomorrow annnd I could probably tweak it around a bit, see if it's actually any good – we don't need any more holes in the universe, to be honest, but if it's the best and only way to get back, then as long as it's safe, it's our best option." He said simply. Usually, the safe card wouldn't bother him, but he had both Rose and Martha to worry about now – given that Rose still wanted to come. She had a life here now, what if…
His worry must have shown on his face, because Rose squeezed his hand lightly. "All three of us?" She asked quietly, lightly biting on her bottom lip.
"If you still want to come along, then, of course you know I'd love to have you back and- and the TARDIS would be overjoyed. We both missed you and well, y-y'know." The Doctor replied immediately, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. His worry was misplaced however, because Rose broke into a brilliant smile, one he loved, and nodded.
"Yeah, of course you numpty!" she grinned. "I didn't spend all that time helpin' the scientists develop the thing to not use it if I could."
The Doctor beamed slightly and nodded, unable to express how much that lifted his spirits. Instead, his hand found Rose's, and she linked their fingers together, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. Turning to Mickey and Martha, he tilted his head. "So Mickey the idiot! How have you been?" he asked, and Mickey grinned.
"Pretty good, boss." He shrugged. "Head technicians officer for Torchwood now, come a long way, eh?"
"Any idiot can handle a computer," The Doctor grinned, a teasing lilt to his voice, and Mickey rolled his eyes, but he was smiling at the shared joke. He turned to Rose. "What about you, Miss Tyler?" he asked, voice softer, and Rose shrugged her shoulders.
"It was hard at first," she admitted. "Especially after you said goodbye, because before that, I still had some hope, you know? I still thought there was some way back. After that, though... It was like I had to force myself to get up in the morning sometimes, but dad got me a job at Torchwood. I figured I could do some good, and it helped. I always felt…numb," she shivered slightly. "But sometimes dealing with aliens and running, it helped me feel again, even if it was for a while. Eventually they named me Captain, which was so weird," she laughed, and The Doctor felt his hearts break at the words she was saying. He'd gone on to assume Rose would live a wonderful life, surrounded by her family, and eventually forget him. Instead, she'd been numb, for a year or so. He was always the cause of ruining his companions.
"I also found out just how frustratin' humans could be." Rose frowned slightly, remembering the incident from earlier. "The Colonel, he hates aliens more than anything else in the world." She grimaced. "He never listens to reason."
The Doctor's gaze hardened. "He was the one who ordered the genocide, correct?" he asked flatly, and Rose bit her lip slightly.
"You heard about that, then?" she asked quietly, slumping. She'd failed him, that much she knew. As if sensing her thoughts, The Doctor shook his head.
"I'm not mad at you, Rose. You did exactly what I would have done – they were scared and ultimately defenceless. They wanted sanctuary, and didn't know how to correctly seek it. You did all that you could." He pressed his lips together in a firm line, eyes blazing. "I'd like to have a word with this Colonel, though."
Rose relaxed slightly, and grasped his hand with both of hers, running her thumb over the back of his knuckles in a reassuring manner. He looked down at their hands and relaxed somewhat, letting out a breath.
"So, how'd you and Martha meet?" she asked bracingly, trying to steer the conversation away from her life in Pete's world.
A small smile on his face, The Doctor began to regale his tale, with Martha occasionally correcting him on what actually happened, as he had the tendency to use hyperbole.
"Is everything okay?" Rose asked Martha, as the medical student came out of Rose's room, wearing a pair of Rose's pyjamas. Mickey and The Doctor had decided to run back to Torchwood because The Doctor was getting restless and wanted to find something to tinker with, so after a lot of whining, Mickey had given in and decided to take him to pick up a few things. Rose didn't mind too much, though she didn't like being away from him now she had only just got him back, but it meant she had time to talk to Martha one on one. She could sense that Martha was treading lightly around her, and if she was going to re-join the Doctor, and by extension, Martha back in the TARDIS, she wanted to clear up the air now.
"Yeah," Martha said slowly, sitting down again, hugging her knees to her chest and avoiding meeting Rose's eyes, causing the blonde to sigh.
"Martha, listen. I'm not blind, and I'm not stupid, I know that ya have feelin's for the Doctor – it's written all over your face." She said simply, though not unkindly. "And by extension that makes you jealous because he's always touchin' me and we're so close, yeah? I'm gonna be honest – I don't blame you. It's almost impossible to not feel that way for him." She said slowly. "And I'd be lying if I said I was a little bit jealous of you, too."
"What? Me?" Martha said in genuine surprise, looking up at Rose in disbelief. "Why?"
"You got to travel with The Doctor – what I've been missin' for a year and a month. You had the excitement, the adventure, but mostly, you had the Doctor." Rose said, shrugging her shoulders. "But then it hit me – The Doctor needs companions. He needs someone to hold his hand and get through it with him." Rose looked down at her feet, swallowing a lump in her throat. "I always worried, after I got stuck here, that he'd always be alone, but he found you – and you saved his life, and I feel stupid for even letting myself feel jealous because thank you, Martha. You saved him."
Martha took a deep breath and nodded, feeling her unease beginning to fade. It was really hard to dislike Rose Tyler, and Martha was starting to feel awful for all the times she'd been petty and thought bad things about her.
"It's just, I always felt like I was in your shadow," Martha admitted after a moment. "He'd always say things like: 'I wish Rose were here,' 'Rose would have known what to do' and I guess, it just made me feel like second best."
To her surprise, Rose didn't immediately jump on the defensive, instead, she scowled.
"What an idiot." She muttered, narrowing her eyes. "Martha, I am so sorry you had to deal with that. The Doctor, despite being a 'superior being' with all his Time Lord knowledge is seriously, a bit thick." Seeing Martha's look of surprise, Rose let out a laugh. "Yeah, he's severely oblivious. I understand that he missed me – I missed him too, but he was making you feel awful, and I'm sorry for that. I don't know anything about you, but honestly, Martha Jones, you must be brilliant, and you shouldn't feel like you're sittin' in any shadow I might have cast."
Any sort of resentment or bad thought Martha had still been feeling for Rose vanished in an instant. She could tell that she was sincere in what she was saying, and Martha suddenly felt a lot more confident in herself, and smiled at Rose. She could understand suddenly, why the Doctor was so stuck on this girl. Martha had never seen so much honesty and compassion in another person before. She wasn't perfect – like Rose said she herself had been jealous. There was no way she could just force herself out of having feelings for The Doctor, but having seen him and Rose interact, having met Rose for herself… she could try to move on. It wasn't going to be easy, but she was determined to see it through.
Feeling much better, Martha shot Rose a warm smile and Rose smiled back widely, before speaking again.
"'Sides, this wasn't the only time I've been jealous because of The Doctor," She informed Martha, and she raised her eyebrows.
"Seriously? He never seems to really give anyone much thought except you, though. Why were you jealous?" Martha asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, right," Rose scoffed slightly. "Try tellin' that to Madame De Pompadour." Rose's bottom lip jutted out slightly. "That was probably one of the first real times I felt like just… turnin' tail and running home to mum. I mean, she was beautiful, smart as anythin', and…" She trailed off with a sigh. Remembering that particular adventure always had her feeling a little down. "Thing is, yeah? The Doctor can't help but be a big flirt. Over time I just… got used to it, I guess."
Nodding her head, Martha could understand what she was saying. The Doctor was definitely a flirt, sometimes without even realizing he was doing it. Probably part of his charm, or something.
"Want some coco?" Rose asked suddenly, rubbing her hands. "It's pretty cold tonight."
"I'd love some," Martha agreed, and Rose stood, grinning.
"Great! Care to join me so you can regale some of The Doctor's mishaps to me? I need more teasing material."
Smirking, Martha also stood and took Rose's offered arm. "As long as you return the favour with stories of your own," she said lightly.
"Martha, I'd be delighted."
The Doctor wasn't sure what to expect when he opened the door of Rose's apartment. He'd been wary to leave them alone – knowing that when Rose and Sarah Jane had first met they hadn't bonded right away and that had made him unsure of what to expect this time. What he didn't expect, however, was to see Rose and Martha talking animatedly on the sofa together, used mugs lying on the table.
Hearing the door open, the girls turned and immediately lapsed into laughter, and the Doctor frowned. This was the Sarah-Jane situation all over again. Laughing at his expense.
"What?" he demanded, shutting the door behind him, and dropping his bag on the other couch. The girls just laughed harder, and then Martha shook her head once she'd calmed down, a small grin on her face.
"Okay, I might head to sleep – you two need to catch up and it's been a long day," she decided, looking at Rose meaningfully, causing the blonde to shake her head and rub her face in embarrassment.
"Night then Martha," The Doctor said baffled, as Rose repeated his words, and Martha disappeared into the spare bedroom. Rose patted the seat beside her, and the Doctor immediately sat down beside her, arms wrapping around her in a hug, which she happily returned. She exhaled slightly, resting her head into the crook of his neck and smiled.
"Good choice with Martha," she murmured, content to lie there. "I like her. She seems brilliant."
"She is," The Doctor agreed, his head resting against hers, just revelling in the fact he would hold her again. There was something they both knew they were avoiding, a very important issue, one that often haunted his dreams.
"I love you."
"Quite right too. And I suppose, if it's my last chance to say it. Rose Tyler-"
One day, she'd expect him to finish that sentence, and that frightened him. He both wanted to say it, and wanted to avoid it at all costs. Closing his eyes, the Doctor contented himself in holding Rose close to him.
Rose eventually closed her eyes too, her head moving to rest against his chest where she could feel the steady thump of his hearts. It was to this that she fell asleep, untroubled for the first time in many months, by nightmares.