A/N – I know, I know, it's literally been well over a year, almost two, I think, since I last updated this story. BUT, this story is far from over. In fact, I recently regained muse for it, and as such, I went back and edited all of the chapters, as well as added new parts into them. If anyone is still reading this, then honestly, you'll probably want to re-read to figure out where the hell we are in the story anyway.

So yeah! It's definitely worth going back to chapter one and having another read through. I have a plan on where to take this story now, and I've been on a big DW kick recently, and remembered this, so I'm running back towards it! Hopefully I can keep myself focused on it, and I'm so so sorry that I left everyone in the lurch. I hate unfinished fics as much as the rest of you do!

Anyway, without further ado, enjoy the chapter!

"So apparently, I do something bad enough in my future to actually cause Queen Elizabeth the first to want me dead!"

Rose was laughing, her hand pressed against her head as The Doctor continued to regale her with the story of how he and Martha had met Shakespeare. She had a feeling he'd exaggerated with a couple of parts, because he always did that; but she had to admit, it sounded like a real adventure, and it was making her even more excited to start travelling with him again.

"Wouldn' be the first time you've ticked off royalty though would it, Sir Doctor?" She teased with her tongue against teeth grin, picking up a chip before popping it into her mouth.

"Oh you're one to talk, Dame Rose," The Doctor grinned back at her, plucking one of the chips for himself and biting into it. "Anyway – I wanna hear more about you and your life here. Everything and anything!"

"Alrigh'" Rose allowed, crossing her legs slightly under the table as she considered. "After I first got stuck here, I was pretty adamant that you'd come back, so I decided t'not get comfy. A month passed, and I was starting to feel like… well, like it really was hopeless. Mum had been understanding until then, but I saw how worried she was about me, so I decided to just…start getting out and about. I'd go for walks every day, stay out most of the time, pretend I was doin' something, just to stop her from worryin'."

The Doctor reached out silently, clasping Rose's free hand with his, and she shot him a small smile, feeling a tingle run up her arm from the contact, but continued on.

"That's just how it was for a while. I didn' really do much of anythin' until the second month. I was just… wanderin'. That's when I met this little Mescha girl, Lau."

"Mescha?" The Doctor repeated in surprise. He recalled that trip easily. It was one of the more peaceful journeys the two of them had shared. The Mescha were a race of bipedal creatures who were very technologically advanced. They were able to create cloaking devices that would allow them to take on the form of any other race they knew of. They also created a device which would allow them to speak in multiple different languages. To top it off, they were a friendly race, simply curious about the universe around them, and that was something The Doctor could appreciate. "How'd you find out she was a Mescha?"

"Well her biological replication device was broken, yeah? So it was showin' her true form, and she was separated from her parents. People were screaming and freaking out, and she was terrified – she was just a kid." Rose gnawed on her bottom lip slightly, letting out a breath. "No-one else would go to her, so I did. She was so scared Doctor. The way she looked at me… it was like she was expectin' me to just pull out a gun and finish her off."

The Doctor stared at Rose as she spoke, gently running his thumb over her knuckles to calm her, like she had done for him the night before. Of course Rose had gone over to a terrified alien child when no-one else would. Rose held so much compassion inside of her, and it shone out of her all the time.

"Anyway, her translator was still working, so she was able to tell me her name and that she'd been separated from her parents. Still, seeing her had caused so much panic that the police were showin' up, so I just took her hand and ran for it. I knew that if I could get her to her parents, they'd fix the replication device and she would be alright, but I knew that if the government or anything had gotten ahold of her, she might not ever see her family again, so I legged it, and that's when I felt it, just this…spark of life, inside of me." Rose touched her chest with her free hand, leaving her chips forgotten. "I stopped feeling so numb, and it was pro'lly the adrenaline, but it just felt so good."

"I managed to get her back to her parents after about an hour or so, but that hour was the first time in two months that I'd actually felt somethin' other than pain. Lau gave me this big hug to thank me, and this special gem-stone from her planet and it just felt so good, and that's when I started to think that maybe I could start makin' a difference here, if I was never gonna see you again. I wasn't gonna settle, not really… but I could be content, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know," The Doctor agreed with a small smile, squeezing her hand. "I bet she went home and told all of her friends and family about you… Rose Tyler, protector of a little girl – a lost little girl who had nowhere else to turn. I don't think she'll forget you anytime soon."

Rose looked up at him for a moment, and he saw that one of her cheeks were damp, and his other hand reached upwards, gently running the thumb over the tear-track, feeling as though something were stuck in his throat. She turned her head slightly, leaning into his touch, the hand not clutching his reaching up to gently cover his other. Her lips then grazed across his palm in the gentlest of kisses, and The Doctor felt the breath he hadn't even been aware he was holding, leave him shakily.

"Rose…"

She looked up at him again, big brown eyes with flecks of gold in them seeming to search him, and finally, The Doctor averted his gaze, and swallowed.

"Is that when you decided to work for Torchwood?"

Rose released the hand on her cheek, allowing him to draw it away from her, before she shook her head. "Nah, not really. I was still… I guess I was still angry, even though it wasn't dad's Torchwood that caused all this, it was still Torchwood. Plus, I knew how much they liked guns and stuff, and I didn't want any part of all that. Instead I just… took to runnin' every day. It kept me in shape, and it kept the numbness at bay, even though it'd always sink back in after I stopped. It wasn't until around month six that I decided… that's when I heard your voice in my dreams."

"When you said there was no way back, that's when I decided, because sometimes, when you say somethin' is impossible, you end up being surprised." She shot him a smile, and shrugged. "I thought that I could maybe help people as well as try to find a way back through. It was better than workin' in a shop, and it was the only hope I had left. So, once I got back home, I threw myself into it."

She fell silent then, and bit down on her bottom lip, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt guilt wash over her suddenly. For about three months after Bad Wolf Bay, Rose excelled in field-work and negotiation, but often she endangered herself, needing to feel something other than the ache. It would have carried on that way too, had she not been dangerously wounded. She could recall waking up in that hospital bed, her heavily pregnant mother sat faithfully at her side. Rose had been covered in lacerations, her shoulder fractured, and several bones in her leg shattered. Jackie had immediately broken down as she woke up, and Rose had curled into her arms, crying and apologizing for being so reckless. Coming so close to death, and seeing how much strain she'd put on her family had caused her to snap herself out of it.

If she was going to get back to The Doctor, she needed to be in one piece. After healing, she showed care and intelligence towards her work, and it wasn't long before she was given her own team to look after, and promoted to Captain. She had a feeling that her dad was just trying to give her more responsibility to help have something to ground her. It wasn't just her life on the line, she had others to think about. She still had the scars from that incident littered over her body, and they served as a constant reminder to always use her head.

"Come on," She said after a moment, fishing the last few chips from the wrapping, before she popped them into her mouth, and stood. "We should pro'lly get back, my lunch break is almost over."

The Doctor groaned, but nodded his head slightly, standing up. Rose grinned at him, rolling her eyes fondly, before she let go of his hand in favour of wrapping her arms around his left one, clinging onto his coat slightly.

"Stop moanin'! You can get back to tinkerin' with the dimension canon with Ollie. He really likes you, y'know." She teased, and The Doctor sniffed.

"Weeeell, he's alright, I s'pose. Smart kid." He allowed, and Rose smirked, shaking her head as the two of them began to walk, heading back towards Torchwood.

"Alright Captain, time to fess up,"

Rose glanced up from her computer, fingers pausing over the keys, to raise an eyebrow at one of her team members, the only girl other than herself. Her name was Meredith, and she was a brilliant strategist, and very light on her feet, and able to think quickly in bad situations. She was tall, had curves in all of the right places, and had bright blue eyes, a head full of long, chestnut hair, and a constant grin on her lips.

"Sorry?" Rose asked, and Meredith rolled her eyes with a grin, before she sat down on the chair on the other side of Rose's desk.

"Don't play dumb, Rose. That guy you came in with! You were all over him, and don't even deny it! Can't say I blame you though, he's pretty fine." She let out a low whistle, and Rose groaned, covering her face with her hands, feeling warmth rush to her cheeks.

"Mer! It's not – we're not…" She trailed off, lifting her head and leaning back in her seat. "It's… really complicated. That's The Doctor."

Meredith's eyes widened. Though she and the rest of her team were not exceptionally close to Rose, not having known her for too long, they were all aware of who The Doctor was, and the significance he held in Rose's life.

"That's him? Actually, really and truly him?" She asked, and Rose nodded in confirmation. Meredith laughed then, and shook her head in disbelief.

"Christ, Rose, how have you not jumped him yet?"

Rose let out a low, unhappy moan at the return to the uncomfortable topic, and rubbed her face, biting down on her bottom lip.

"I dunno, it's just… I really care about him; he's everythin' and sometimes when he looks at me it's like I'm everythin' too but… I just, I don't wanna make anythin' awkward."

"Well if it helps, he was totally checking out your ass when you walked away." Meredith offered, and Rose gawked at her, her mouth falling open, until finally, she started to laugh. It brightened her entire face, her lips drawing up into a huge smile, and Meredith could only stare at her with wide eyes.

She'd never seen Rose Tyler laugh before.

"That Doctor does you good," She noted seriously, and Rose's laughter faded, though her smile didn't disappear from her face. She nodded, touching her lips, and her smile grew slightly as she thought about the pinstripe wearing Time Lord a few rooms over.

"Yeah, he really does." She agreed. "I mean, the whole reason I was helpin' on the dimension canon was so that I could get back to him someday. I promised him forever, Mer, and I intend to give it."

"It's good to see you actually happy, Rose." Meredith admitted with a smile. "Since you've found him, I guess that means you'll probably be leaving soon?"

"Sorry, yeah-" Rose began, her expression turning apologetic, feeling the stirrings of guilt rising in her stomach. Her team had become such a big part of her life, that it felt almost like she was abandoning them.

"Don't apologize." Meredith waved a hand slightly, a small smile on her face. "I get it, I do. I used to have someone like that, someone I'd change the world for, if I could." Her smile faded, and her hands rubbed together, something that Rose knew was a nervous habit of the other woman, something she did when she was uncomfortable.

"…What happened…?" Rose asked quietly, uncertainly, not wanting to push the other woman, and Meredith took a moment, steeling herself for the reply.

"Cybermen," She said simply. "You know, back when we all worse those stupid earpods. I got out of the factory, but she-" she shook her head. "She got upgraded."

Rose pressed her fingers to her lips a little harder, as though trying to keep herself from speaking out. What could she possibly say to that? Apologizing was meaningless, she knew that. Before she could think of something to say, however, Meredith was continuing.

"I wasn't the only one who lost someone that day, but it taught me that you should always make the most of your life, and the time you have with those around you – so just… enjoy it, Rose. Enjoy it all." Meredith offered her a smile, before she stood up, and wiggled her fingers in a wave, before she turned to leave.

"Wait-" Rose finally blurted out, biting down on her bottom lip. "The Doctor reckons we've still got about a month until the cannon is finished. "So there's still time to – like, have coffee now and then, and chat, and stuff…"

"Rose Tyler, I thought we just established you've got the hots for Mr-great-hair, and you're already asking me out on a date? For shame!" Meredith teased, and Rose rolled her eyes, laughing.

"Shut up. I just meant… I've been your Captain for a couple of months now and I just… I don't really know any of you. I just shut you all out, because it was easier for me. I did the same for my family, and now that I've only got about a month I guess I'm just…" She trailed off, but Meredith picked up for her.

"Trying to make up for the time you're gonna lose? I get it." She smiled. "I got a thing tonight, but tomorrow after the shift ends… you and me, yeah? I can make you my best mate in two hours, tops."

"Yeah, we'll see!" Rose laughed, shaking her head at Meredith's words and actions. "Go on, bugger off, I've got reports to finish. See y'later."

Laughing, Meredith waved her hand and exited Rose's office, and the blonde woman shook her head, laughing quietly and shaking her head.

Meredith was right, she was trying to make up for the time she was going to lose. She had a month left, and that thought both terrified and excited her. She thought of Tony, her little brother who she'd likely never see again, and her parents – and her team and Mickey and Jake… It was heartbreaking in its own right, but Rose made her decision long ago.

All she could do now was make good use of the time she had left with them all.