Hi readers! I'm sorry I made you wait so long for this chapter. I've just been super busy (yes, a lame excuse, I know). The next chapter will probably be the last, but I haven't written any of it yet, so you might have to wait a while for that one as well. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! Let me know if you do ;)

Eleanor

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters, settings or plots.

12.

The two of them stared at the spot where their daughter had just been standing. John looked to his side, at Rose, who seemed completely lost for words. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a hug. She pressed her face to his shoulder and started to cry. Although he didn't like to hear her cry, obviously, he was glad she did. She had woken up from her zombie-like state and was finally facing her emotions. She had a way to get her daughter back now, and she wasn't going to give up until she had succeeded.

'It will take me back to the right universe, because it has already taken me there once. It knows the way.' Rose smiled.

'And then he will take both of you back through the cracks the canon made?'

'That's the plan.'

'It's dangerous,' John whispered.

'You're not worried about that, are you?' Rose asked gently. She put her hand on his cheek. 'You know a little danger is not going to stop me.'

John pressed his lips together and decided to change the subject.

'How are you going to find her when you've reached the other universe?'

'Yeah, I thought about that. I figured I still have the Tardis' phone number from when I travelled with you. Assuming she's in there, and he hasn't– and the number's not changed, I can just call her. Right?'

'Yeah, I guess so…'

Time seemed to speed up until the moment she was gone. John sat down in the kitchen, his head in his hand. He shouldn't have let her go. He should have stopped her. He should have gone himself. Why hadn't he gone himself?

What if she never came back? What if his other self would seduce her with trips to far away planets or the Middle Ages? Would he? He'd like to think that he wouldn't, but to be quite honest, he wasn't completely sure.

Had he just lost both his daughter and his wife?

He straightened up and shook his head decisively. He might not be sure about him, but he had complete faith in Rose. They had a life together, and she would never, never abandon her children.

He heard little feet enter the kitchen, and saw Sarah and Sadie shyly peer at him. He smiled and opened his arms. They sprinted towards him and climbed onto his lap, both sitting sideways on one of his legs.

'Where's mummy?' Sadie asked.

'Mummy's gone to get your sister. She'll be back soon,' he said while stroking her hair. 'But I'm still here.'

'I'm hungry,' Sarah interrupted him.

'Well, let's make you something to eat then, shall we?' He looked at his watch, noticing that it was already past lunchtime.

The strange sensation of materializing in another universe flowed through Rose's body. She gasped short quick breaths and turned around on the spot, trying to make sense of the bright sunlight and the grey buildings. She was a bit disoriented, not having felt this sensation in a long time. She didn't dislike it, though. It was a very comforting feeling to her, a feeling of hope and finding your loved ones.

Her eyes started to get used to the bright light and she recognized where she was. The Powell Estate. She smiled. How very appropriate.

She pulled her phone from her pocket, her heart beating fast. With trembling hands she dialled the number and pressed the phone to her ear.

She hadn't felt this nervous in quite some time. She was going to hear his voice again. She knew it wasn't going to be the same voice. Immy wouldn't have called him "that bloke" if he looked exactly like her father, so obviously, he'd regenerated. Rose breathed deeply, trying to think what she was going to say.

'Hello?'

A woman? A woman's voice? Rose didn't know what to say. Had the Doctor regenerated into a woman? She knew it was possible, but she just hadn't thought of it. She shook her head. No. The number had probably changed. The number that used to belong to the Tardis now probably belonged to this woman.

'Hello?' the voice said again.

Rose contemplated hanging up, but she didn't have any other way of finding the Doctor. 'Hi,' she answered. 'I'm looking for the Doctor?'

There was a short pause. 'Who is this? Where did you get this number?' the woman asked a bit louder.

'I'm Rose. Rose Tyler. The Doctor gave me this number. Can I speak to him please?'

'I'm sorry, he's busy,' the voice answered. 'Can I take a message?'

Rose frowned. 'Sorry, but can I just ask who this is?'

The woman cleared her throat. 'Your message?'

Rose sighed. 'Tell him I'm in London, at the Powell Estate.'

'I'll tell him,' the woman said, and immediately hung up.

Rose looked at her phone in surprise. She had imagined this to happen a bit differently. But then again, she wasn't here to find the Doctor. Not really. She was here to find her daughter, and take her back home.

But still, who was this woman? She must be his new companion, Rose thought, but she didn't sound nice at all. Rose scoffed. She had expected better from him.

She walked over to a bench on the other side of the playground. She sat down and stared ahead. One tragic day, the Doctor tried to catch a ghost there. She smiled sadly.

She sat on the bench for a few minutes, looking around at the slight changes that had been made to the place she had spent her childhood. Some trees weren't there anymore, and some had been planted since she last saw the estate. A lady walked by. Rose remembered her, she used to live one floor down. She saw that she had aged a lot. She started to get a bit worried. What if someone recognized her? She was supposed to be dead in this universe.

She turned her gaze to the ground and bowed her head. She'd best not attract any attention. Maybe she ought to–

A familiar sound interrupted her musing. Her head snapped up, and she saw the blue box slowly take shape on the other side of the playground. She sprang up from her bench, impatiently waiting for the Tardis to become solid. When it finally did, the door swung open, but no one appeared.

Rose took a few hesitant steps towards it. She walked faster and faster, and sprinted the last few yards to the blue doors. She took a big leap through them, and came to a halt inside the console room.

Again, she felt a bit disoriented. The console room had changed, and she didn't see Immy anywhere. She had forgotten how big it was, and there were a lot of stairs going up and down where didn't use to be any.

'Mum!' someone squealed.

Rose turned on the spot. She saw a flash of blond hair, and felt two arms around her neck before she really registered her daughter running towards her. She put her arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. Immy mumbled something, but Rose couldn't understand her muffled words.

They held on to each other for a while, but then Rose took a step back and put her hands on Immy's shoulders.

'Are you all right? Have you been eating? Taking care of yourself?'

Immy rolled her eyes. 'Yes, Mum, I'm fine.'

Rose squeezed her shoulders, smiled and then dropped her hands to her sides. A soft cough interrupted the silence. Rose turned around, and looked at the man standing on the other side of the room. She had never seen him before, but she recognized him instantly. She didn't know exactly what it was, but she could see it was him, even though his entire appearance had changed. She took a few steps towards him.

'Hi,' she said lamely. It wasn't the way she would have greeted him when they were still together, but she wasn't sure how to do this properly. If there was any way to do it properly.

'Hi,' he replied.

'You have changed.'

'You haven't.'

'You know that's not true.' Rose smiled.

'I didn't – I didn't mean physically.' As he said that, it was as if he was standing before her again; the Doctor as she had known him. The man her husband used to look like, before he aged 16 years. She couldn't help smiling, and took the last few steps that separated them. She hesitated for the shortest of moments before she gave him a tight hug. She was surprised by how normal it felt. It wasn't romantic or weird, it was just two friends greeting each other after a long time.

'Thank you for keeping my daughter safe,' she murmured. She let go of him. 'But just tell me: did you kidnap her?'

'I did not!' the Doctor answered, looking very affronted. 'I didn't even know she was you daughter.'

'Oh, come on!' Rose laughed. 'Have you actually looked at her? She looks just like me! Well, a younger version of me. Which is the only version you know, come to think of it! You really should have recognized her.' Rose crossed her arms.

'I just didn't, okay?' He looked a bit sheepish. 'She looks a bit old to be your daughter anyway, doesn't she?'

Rose blushed, but didn't answer his question. 'Let's get going,' she said. 'I want to be home in time for tea.'

The Doctor looked a bit taken aback by her sudden desire to leave. He'd hoped to be able to talk to her for a bit longer. 'Already?' he asked a bit hesitantly.

Rose smiled wryly. 'Yes, I'm sorry. I've got a family at home, and they're probably all worrying about Immy and me. You can take us home now, can't you?' The Doctor nodded. 'Why don't you come to our house when we get there? You can meet my other children.'

'You've got more?'

Rose laughed. 'Yeah, I've got three more at home. A boy and two girls. Twins.'

'Right. Yes. Sure,' The Doctor said, walking around the console and pressing buttons. He cleared his throat. 'Let's get the two of you home. Could you – could you turn that lever over there in the middle?'

'This one?' Rose asked as she walked over to the console. The Doctor nodded. 'By the way,' she said as she took hold of the lever, 'who was that woman answering the phone?'

'Oh, that… That's River. She's my… She's my wife.'