"So, this dimension canon," The Doctor said, as Rose, Martha and he headed into the Torchwood building the next morning. "How exactly does it work? You said it was a way to send you safely through the walls of the universe? But how can you be sure?"
Rose ran her key-card through the machine by the elevator and stepped inside when access was granted, shrugging her shoulders at the question.
"I'm not really sure m'self, that's all left up to the scientists. I work alongside them, but I don't understand everything about it," She said, pressing the third floor button. "It should be ready for testing soon, but they won't let me test it until the power levels are up to sixty-five percent."
"So you're kinda like... a guinea pig?" Martha said slowly, and The Doctor looked irked by that, even more so when Rose smiled at Martha.
"Yep. Only willing." She replied, and The Doctor shook his head, grinding his teeth together.
"Rose, are you insane? Willingly going in to test a machine that could honestly rip you apart atom by atom if even one thing goes wrong?" he shook his head adamantly. "I don't think so."
"Yeah, well until you showed up again I was willing to do everythin' in my power to get back to you," Rose replied shortly, jaw set in determination. "If I died along the way, then my reassurance on that was that you'd never have to find out about it anyway."
For a moment, The Doctor and Rose stared at each other, both equally as frustrated, before Rose eventually sighed and led the way out of the elevator.
"Look, Doctor. I was in a really bad way after Norway." She said quietly. "I was numb, inside and out. I honestly didn't know what to do with myself. Working for Torchwood didn't even help for a while. The running did, now and then, it was like a spark of life in me. But it would always fade. Then I got to talking to this boy from the science department, Ollie." Martha noticed how the Doctor's jaw flexed when Rose mentioned this 'Ollie' and she shook her head. "He told me he was interested in dimensional travel, and he believed that it was possible to travel through different universes. I told him everything I knew, and he was really excited by it, saying that with the right force of momentum, you could theoretically push something through the walls of the universes without puncturing it. As long as you took certain issues into account and you could ensure the safety of everyone and the universes in general." She moved to a large steel door, typed in a code and ran her card key through the slot. "I ran the idea through to dad, and it took some time to convince him, but he allowed the project through in the end. It… made me feel alive, Doctor. Doing this, it made me feel like I finally had a purpose again. Every second I worked on this thing the numbness went away and parts of me began to heal."
The Doctor's expression had softened considerably at her words, and he sighed, running a hand down his face slightly.
"Rose, I'm so-" he began, but Rose cut him off.
"No. Don't." she said simply. "Don't apologize. You couldn't do anythin' to stop it from happening. It just happened and I had to live on. I just needed to find something to help me. This project was my crutch." She smiled, a little thinly, and pushed open the door into the large room that waited beyond.
"Ollie?" she called out, and after a moment, a young scientist quickly approached, smiling warmly at Rose. With his spiky black hair and blue eyes, he was just like the type of pretty boy Rose always used to be attracted to, and he felt a surge of jealousy run through him. Oh that was so unbearably human!
"Rose, you came in! Your dad said you were taking a few days off," Ollie was saying, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Did he? Well, he might have suggested it, but I'm not too good at listenin' to suggestions, am I?" Rose grinned at him, and he grinned back.
"I guess not. Who are your friends?" he asked, looking behind her curiously, and Rose gestured for them to come forwards. "This is Martha Jones and The Doctor." She said, once again feeling a sort of thrill of happiness run through her at being able to introduce him to people she had met here.
"THE Doctor?" Ollie said, obviously star struck for a moment. Ollie had been one of the people she felt close to in this universe, so she had eventually told him stories of The Doctor, and she knew that the young man was awe-struck at being able to meet him. Grinning, Rose nodded.
"Yep!" she declared, excitement sparking in her eyes as Ollie turned to her in delight.
"But I thought…" he began, and Rose nodded.
"He was," she said simply.
"But he's…"
"Here, I know. Which is good for us, yeah?"
"Rose, that's brilliant!" Ollie said immediately, moving forward to the Doctor quickly. "Hello, I'm Oliver Denwise. I've heard so much about you, Doctor." He offered his hand, and unable to resist someone acknowledging him, (and from the fact he was obviously excited, The Doctor could tell that Rose had been telling stories, and it made him feel a little smug) he shook the offered hand, releasing it after a moment so Ollie could shake Martha's hand too.
"Hello Oliver," The Doctor said cheerily. "So, where's this Dimension Canon, then?"
"You still want to work on it?" Ollie asked after a moment, confusion etched on his brow. "But I thought, the TARDIS…"
"Didn't come in the TARDIS unfortunately," The Doctor said, distracted by looking around. "Sent here without a capsule, nasty, tricky business, and we have no way back except for this machine of yours. Figured I could lend a hand of my own."
"Oh, that'd be great!" Ollie said enthusiastically. "Just follow me." He turned and quickly began to walk away.
"A little eager, isn't he?" Martha grinned, looking over at Rose, who let out a soft laugh.
"He's as enthusiastic about this project as I am. Just like this is my crutch, it's his baby." She explained, moving to follow him. "He's probably been one of the best friends I have here, save Mickey and Jake."
"Jake?" The Doctor inquired, and then brightened. "Oh, how's he doing then?"
"Pretty good," Rose smiled. "A bit restless that I woke let him use any guns, but he's adjustin'," she grinned, tongue pressing against her front teeth in an almost mischievous manner, and the Doctor got the impression that teasing Jake was something Rose loved to do, and he smiled slightly at the thought.
"Here we are," Ollie said brightly, and the Doctor glanced up to look at the large machine. There were scientists working all around it, but they moved to let the group pass, and the Doctor immediately kneeled and began to scan the sleek contraption using his sonic, his expression becoming more interested when he looked at the readings.
"…I think we can work with this." He said after a moment, and Rose's face lit up.
"Really! It could work?" Rose asked, excitement colouring her tone, and the Doctor nodded, pulling his brainy specs out of his jacket pocket and putting them on.
"Potentially. It's got a LOT of work that needs to be done, though." He mused. "Judging by the rate it's at now, it wouldn't have been actually ready for another year and a half at least. But, you didn't have me then."
"So, Mr Spock," Rose teased lightly. "With you here, how long should it take?"
"Weeeeell, I'd need to perform my own tests, see just how fragile the universe's walls are first, but, if everything goes well, I'd say… maybe a month? A month and a half?"
"Well it's better than a year and a half," Martha conceded, though she sighed at the thought of being stuck for a month.
"A month and a half is nothin' compared to waiting a year," Rose agreed, moving forward to bend beside the Doctor. "What do you need?" she was distracted however, by a figure walking in the room, clipboard in hand.
"Miss Tyler?" Adeola said, some amusement in her voice. "I had a feeling you'd come in to work today, despite what Mr Tyler said."
Rose looked up and grinned, shrugging her shoulders. "You know me well. What's up?"
"Well, It's about the Ablox situation," Adeola explained, before she faltered. "..Martha?"
Martha was staring at Adeola like she had seen a ghost, and Rose did a double take as she looked between them.
"I thought Martha looked familiar, but that is almost uncanny." She finally said, and the Doctor murmured in her ear.
"Cousins."
"A-Adeola." Martha said, shock laced onto her face. "But- but how…you died…"
"I died?!" Adeola demanded, and there were tears in her eyes. "You-you're the one that's dead!"
"Parallel universes," The Doctor offered up. "You two are from different worlds. In this universe, Martha died where Adeola lived. In the other universe, where we're from, Adeola died where Martha lived."
"Parallel universes," Adeola breathed. "Right, okay, I just…this is bizzare."
"You're telling me," Martha whispered, before hesitantly, she took a step forward, and suddenly, the two women were hugging and half laughing and half sobbing.
The Doctor smiled slightly, and turned to Rose.
"Let's get to work, shall we?"
"I think that went rather well," The Doctor declared cheerfully as he and Rose made their way down the street, as Martha had decided to stay and catch up with Adeola. It may not have been her Adeola, but she still wanted to know how she'd been. Parallel universes were funny that way. Rose could understand. It was how she felt about her dad in this word, and Mickey with his gran.
Rose laughed, rolling her eyes at his words as she clung to his hand, a smirk on her lips. "Oh really? So you blowing up that section of the canon was completely planned, yeah?"
"Completely." The Doctor affirmed seriously, trying to keep his lips from twitching into a sheepish smile. Okay so things hadn't gone perfectly to plan, but he'd definitely reduced the time span on getting the canon to work, and his scans had come back positive. By all intents and purposes, it should be safe.
"You are so full of it!" Rose scoffed, swinging their hands between them lightly, and even that simple gesture lifted her spirits. After a moment of companionable silence between them, Rose paused and sniffed. "I smell chips," she declared, and The Doctor grinned.
"Can still sniff 'em out like a bloodhound then," he joked, and Rose huffed, hitting him hard on the arm.
"Oi, you!" she warned, and the Doctor let out a low whine.
"Don't hit me Rose, I've had enough of that from your mother! If there was one thing I didn't miss, it was the famous Tyler slap!" he pouted, and Rose laughed loudly, her eyebrows raising.
"So you ran into mum and she slapped you, did she?" she snickered. "Makes sense, poor baby," she teased, leaning up to press a playful kiss against his cheek, and her lips left a fire trailing on his skin. "How about I buy us chips to make up for it, since you're most definitely gonna be a tightwad and not have any money on ya."
"Rose, I have psychic paper and a sonic screwdriver," The Doctor said indignantly. "I don't need money, but you know what? Chips sound brilliant. Just like our first date." He grinned goofily at her, and she grinned back at him, beginning to pull him towards the fish and chips shop that was just around the corner.
"Good, but next time, you're buying, you hear?" she told him firmly, and he nodded.
"Yes Captain Tyler," he snickered, and she groaned slightly.
"Oh shut up you git," she mumbled, poking her tongue out at him. "Keep it up and I'll just buy chips for me and not you."
"I'll just steal yours," the Doctor challenged, smirking.
"Yeah, and you'll get another slap." Rose shot at him, raising an eyebrow, and he groaned, pouting.
"You win this time, Rose Tyler!" he declared, and she grinned brilliantly.
"I always do!"
She paused when her phone began to ring, and pulled it out of her pocket, holding it up to her ear before she spoke. "Mum? Whoa – whoa, alright! I'm sorry!" She grimaced, and The Doctor shook his head sympathetically. If Jackie was on a rant, they might be here for a while.
"I know, I know… Yeah, I just got distracted." Rose was saying into the phone, and she glanced up at him as she spoke, pressing the tip of her tongue against the corner of her lips in a smile, and he grinned back at her. "M'kay, I'll come round later then." She huffed out a breath and rolled her eyes skywards. "Yeah, I'll talk to ya later, mum, promise."
Hanging up the phone, Rose looked over at The Doctor, and raised her eyebrows at him, slipping the device back into her pocket.
"Hope you don't mind gettin' a bit domestic, cos mum wants us all over for tea tonight."
"Oh," The Doctor pulled a face, before finally, he sighed, and relented. It was possible he was pulling Rose from her family for good, and there was no guarantee she'd be able to get back after leaving here, so spending time with her family should be her priority, and he didn't want to leave her, even for a few hours, so finally, he nodded his head. "I think I can deal with domestics for a little while, at least."
Rose's smile was all he needed to affirm that he'd made the right decision.
"Right then! We've got hours until then, anyway, so c'mon. Chips." Rose began to walk again, tugging his hand to make him catch up to her, and smiled. "So, tell me more about your adventures with Martha – or just… things you've been doin' since I've been gone."
The Doctor looked thoughtful as they headed into the chippy, before finally, he nodded his head. "Right then, I'll tell you the story of how we met Shakespeare!"