This isn't the End
It's not even the Beginning of the End
But, it is, perhaps the end of the Beginning.
"Can I to—" she began reaching out.
He shook his head sadly, "I'm still just an image, no touch," he murmured, unable to get past the pain he read in her beautiful hazel eyes.
"Can't even comfort you properly," she replied in a shaky barely understandable voice.
"Whole thing would fracture, two universes would collapse."
"So," she mumbled selfishly for the first time he'd ever known her.
He smirked sadly, still watching her as she tried to hold back the flood of tears. He took a moment himself to look around the area, he couldn't see it in reality, all he saw was the inside of his TARDIS, he could only see her, but then that was all that mattered. "Where are we? Where did the gap come up?"
"We're in Norway," she offered quietly.
"Norway—right."
She nodded, "Bout fifty miles outta Burgeon, a place called Dårlig Olv Stradin," she replied.
"Dalek?" His voice full of alarm.
"Darlig…it's Norwegian for Bad, this translates as Bad Wolf Bay," she choked out a laugh at the painful irony. Her face crumpled again suddenly, "How long have ya got?" she whimpered as she brushed the hair from her eyes, trying to stop the oncoming tears.
"'Bout two minutes—"
She nodded again, her face becoming red, "Can't think of what to say," she cried out, wanting nothing more than to hug her Doctor again.
"You've still got Mr. Mickey then," he nodded his head towards the trio standing off a ways, he knew they'd be there for her, there to help her through this. But he also knew they wouldn't be any help, Rose had indeed made her choice a long time ago, back when they first had grabbed hands, nothing had changed that. Her heart would forever belong to him. As would his hearts to her.
"There's five of us now, mum, da', Mickey…an' the baby," she replied, hoping desperately he would suddenly find a way to come back to her.
His face become worried and pain filled, what had he done was all that was running through his mind, "You're not?" he whispered in a tearful voice.
She pushed out a fake laugh, "No, it's mum—" she lied; she couldn't leave him with that guilt, not after all he'd already been through. "Three months gone an' more Tyler's on the way."
"An' what about you/" He didn't wanna let her go; he wasn't ready to lose the one thing that had brought back so much into his life. She'd made him live again, helped him get past the survivor's guilt. She'd shown him how to enjoy everything around him and take nothing for granted. She was the reason his tenth self was so happy and boyish.
"I'm back at the shop," she lied again.
He nodded, trying to support that, but he knew she could do so much better, "Good for you."
Rolling her eyes she shook her head, "Shut up, No I'm not. There's a Torchwood here open for business. Think I know a thing or two 'bout aliens."
He grinned wide, prouder of her than ever before, "Rose Tyler, Defender of Earth!" his eyes filled with tears, he was destroying her. Jackie had been right, this was a different Rose Tyler than two years ago, this one had something to live for, but now with that gone, she would return to the bored young shop girl without meaning.
"You're dead—officially, back home. So many people died that day, you're on the list of the dead. Here you are, living a life day after day…one adventure I could never have," he murmured looking at her, it was a life he wanted suddenly, the life he wanted with only her.
Her eyes filled with big tears, "Will I ever see you again?" she whimpered.
"You can't," he replied, his own voice catching.
"What're ya gonna do?" she sobbed.
"Oh I've got the Tardis. Same ol' life Last of the Time Lords."
"On your own?" she whimpered.
He nodded slowly, tears beginning to slip from his eyes.
"I—" she stopped, looking down trying to wipe the tears away, "I love you!" she finally managed to choke it out.
He smirked sadly, "Quite right too," he paused, "An' I s'pose if this is my last chance to say it, then—" he stopped again looking at the wonderful angel in front of him, "Rose Tyler I—"
He disappeared before her eyes…
A scream jolted her from the reoccurring dream, sitting up, Rose Tyler pushed her blonde hair from her sweat and tear dampened face. It was the same two dreams every night. Taking an unsteady breath she got to her feet and made her way over to the crib in the corner of the room. She hated that she'd lied to her Doctor, but if it meant keeping him from feeling the guilt than she would do it again. She would have done anything for him if it meant he was happy and safe.
She peaked into the crib, the four month baby kicking and whimpering, her big blue eyes open, as she reached out towards her mother, beautiful dark brown hair surrounding her face. "Come here baby," she slowly lifted the infant into her arms and smiled, she had a piece of her Doctor with her forever now, something to constantly remind her of the best two years of her life. She brought the baby to her shoulder, soothingly whispering to her. She wasn't the least bit surprised as Emma's sobs turned into sniffles. Although she was one hundred percent human, Emma seemed to be superb at reading her mother's emotions. "You miss 'em too don't you," Rose replied. A part of her knew it was impossible, Emma was born six months after Rose had last seen her Doctor, it had been just over a year ago since she'd been separated from the man she loved; but it hurt every day. Emma was the only thing that kept her going day after day.
Looking at the nearest clock, Rose noticed that it was nearly dawn, she looked at Emma and smiled sadly, "Are you hungry?" she asked making her way out of the room. At twenty-three years old she shared a room in her father's mansion, something she never would have dreamt of. She padded silently into the kitchen, only to see her father already sitting on one of the stools, clutching his infant daughter in his arms. Pete turned his eyes upon his eldest daughter and offered her a soft smile.
"S'pose it's somethin' I should get use to," he murmured as he looked down at the blue eye angel in his arms. He then glanced back up at his daughter, so much had happened in the past two years, so much had changed, so much that a normal man would have run for the hills or pretended it had never happened. Thank God, Peter Tyler was not one of those men, he'd gained a wife, a daughter and most of all a beautiful new baby he adored. "You all right then?" he questioned Rose, he could make out dried tear tracks on her cheeks.
"No," she garbled before sitting down across from her dad.
He nodded, "Still having that dream? You can talk to us Rose, you know that."
Tears began to well in her eyes again as she nodded, a part of her was thankful that she'd been trapped her with her real mother; and not Peter's Jackie Tyler. At least her mother completely understood why Rose was having such a rough time.
"I—" she stopped looking down at baby in her arms. Emma's beautiful eyes were not those of the most recent Doctor, but her first Doctor, and as she gazed into the beautiful orbs, Rose felt her heart ripping apart yet again.
"You're mum is awake," Pete understood, they were both trying to accept each other, but Rose hadn't gotten there just yet.
Rose gave a slight nod and turned, realizing it wasn't her dad that she was seeking, but the comfort of her mum. She headed back up the stairs and appeared at the door way to her parent's room. Jackie was lying on her side, eyes closed, but Rose could tell she was wide awake by her breathing.
Without a word, the twenty three year old girl did something she hadn't done since she was six, she slipped into the bed and curled up in the safety of her mother's arms. Jackie instantly opened her eyes and wrapped her daughter in a large and loving hug. She pressed a kiss to the girl's head and sighed, "I'm sorry," whimpered Rose.
"Shh, you have nothing to be sorry for sweetheart," Jackie finally understood, she'd hated the Doctor for the three years Rose was in his care, but she'd grown fonder over time; he'd given her something she never could have had in the other world, he'd given her back the only other person she loved, Peter Tyler. However, it was at the cost of losing the Doctor, Jackie finally saw the adoration and love Rose had for the Doctor. Jackie had suffered the loss of her husband for twenty years, over that time it had dulled down, she realized Rose was now going through that same pain.
"Why can't I get past him," she sobbed, "I keep seeing his faces, every time I close my eyes, he's there reaching to me."
Jackie sighed, "You loved him Rose, it takes time to get over that," she murmured as she pressed a second kiss to her daughter's her head. With her free hand wrapped over her daughter's shoulder, she soothingly stroked her granddaughter's cheek, in hopes to stop the infant from her quiet whimpering as well.
"I miss him so much mum, him, and Jack, I would do anything to have them back in my arms."
"I know baby, I know," and Jackie did know, she totally understood.
By eight that morning, Jackie had managed to get Rose out of bed and into the shower, she carried Emma into the kitchen, where she was met by her husband with a kiss, "How is she?"
"Ailing of a broken heart I'm afraid. Don't know what to do Pete, if she goes on like this she may not make it."
"You survived," he whispered as he gently cupped his wife's cheek.
She smirked gently and nodded, "I did, but I also had pictures to remember you by, mementos. Rose only has Emma, and her memories, and one day she won't even have those anymore."
"She'll be fine Jacks, you'll see," Pete pressed a kiss to his wife's forehead and sighed as he held her close for a moment, savoring the feeling of having his beautiful wife back in her arms.
"I'm heading off to work, I don't know when I'll be home," Rose spoke as she poked her head into the kitchen.
Jackie turned to eye her daughter, "Did you want to have lunch with me today?"
"I'll call you," Rose promised as she pressed a kiss to Emma's forehead and then gazed at her baby sister who sat in Pete's arms, "Bye Lily, I love you," Rose dropped a feather light kiss to the baby's head and then a quick peck to each parent before hurrying out the door.
Elizabeth stepped through the Stargate, and glanced around, smiling as she met the welcoming and warm eyes of Daniel Jackson, "Hi Liz," he greeted her with a brief hug and a light kiss to the cheek. "How's the snowflake city?" he questioned as the gate shut down behind them and they made their way into the conference room.
She smiled, "Busy, I was actually hesitant to leave John in charge, but we need new recruits. I just have the feeling it's going to be a really long month," she mumbled.
"Trouble?" Daniel inquired.
"Rodney and I had a bit of an argument this morning, and Lauryn was acting up, I think she's getting sick again. We're fine, it's just," she shrugged.
Daniel chuckled, "Say no more, I completely understand, Vala is currently cursing my very existence; I don't think she realizes getting pregnant requires two people,"
Elizabeth smirked and nodded, "It's been rough with the miscarriage and everything, but Rodney has been pretty supportive, this is really the first time we've yelled since it happen."
"Good maybe you're moving on," Daniel gently rubbed her back and handed her the file, "We found her."
"Really?" Elizabeth was surprised, they'd been searching for just over a year now, she hadn't expected to ever find the file, or the person the file belonged to. She accepted the file and opened it. "Rose Tyler, age twenty three," pausing in her reading Elizabeth glanced at Daniel, "How did we get this?"
"She showed up here in November of 2007, it was about a month after that her file, her entire history was dropped into our laps. However, as you can see it's the Rose Tyler, Chris mentioned to us when he first joined the expedition."
"I'd say, two years traveling with a man called the Doctor, that's exactly what Chris said. Has anyone contacted her yet?"
Daniel shook his head, "No, I thought you'd like the honor of telling her we're going to change her life. There's a jet waiting for us up top to fly us to London."
"I'd like Chris to be there, could we dial Atlantis back up?"
"Oh I imagine we could manage that, I'll go let the General know we'll be leaving in an hour."
"Daniel…are we doing the right thing? This girl just lost everything—"
He paused at the stair case, before giving her a gentle smile, "It gave me meaning, something to search for. Maybe it doesn't help you move on, but it's definitely the right thing to do, at least give her the chance to say yes."
Rose sighed, lunch time had come and gone and she was showing no hope of getting out of here before midnight. She'd called her parents to let them know; perhaps a part of it was pure avoidance, burying herself in work to get her mind off her loss. However, the other part was desperation, maybe if she continued to go over these cases and files, she'd find something more on her Doctor, maybe there was another Doctor in this universe and she could find him. She was jolted out of the file when her phone rang, "Hullo," she rapidly answered and waited, "Send him in, thank you." She turned around to face the wall and put a few files away.
"Rose," just one word and she felt her heart ready to pop out of her chest…it couldn't be! Could it? She felt herself frozen in place, her back to the voice that made her every fiber quiver, she closed her eyes, it had to be a dream she was going to wake up any minute.
She practically jumped out of her skin when she felt familiar hands grip her shoulders firmly, the touch that could melt her insides, turn her knees to jelly and make her lip quiver. She kept her eyes closed as she felt herself slowly being turned around, the longer slender fingers slipping under her chin, and tilting her face up; no doubt to look at him. "Rose," came that silky baritone voice again; the one she'd fallen deeply in love with. Her first true love, she was shaking and she knew it as she slowly slid her hazel brown eyes open.
Immediately brown met blue and no words were ever necessary as his lips came down upon hers. His mouth was hot and demanding as he explored every inch of hers with an intensity she had never felt before. Wrapping her arms around his neck she deepened their kiss and found herself completely lost in something far greater than herself.
"Doctor" she cried breathlessly as they pulled apart, tears coursing down her face as she looked into those familiar sky blue eyes that so often held a stormy front.
"Christopher, just Christopher, yours forever," He replied as he laced his fingers through hers, and she instantly gripped his hands with all she had.
"How?" she sobbed as she threw herself into his arms, and clutched him.
She heard his deep chuckle as he gently rubbed her back and held her, his head resting on the top of her's, "Just lucky I guess—I'll tell you all about it, I promise, but first, there's some people I'd like you to meet, can we go somewhere more private to talk?"
"Doct—Christopher this is Torchwood…"
He smiled a familiar manic grin, "I know that! But I bet you haven't eaten lately, an' I know a perfectly quiet little place where we can all speak."
"Is it really you?" she whispered as she reached out to touch his distinguished jaw line and cheek. It looked like him, big tea pot ears, sharp nose, soft lips, short cropped hair, leather jacket and black jeans.
"It's really me Rose, and I can prove it," he smiled at her, "Our first adventure was to the year five billion, the day the sun expanded, we all nearly died because an over zealous piece skin named Cassandra wanted money. I found you looking at the destroyed planet, I then brought you home and told you about my planet. Asked you if you still wanted to come with me, and you replied—"
"I want chips," she smiled widely at him, it really was him.
"Me too," he returned.
"All right then, Chips it is, you pay!"
"No money."
"What sorta date are you? All right then cheapskate, chips are on me, only got five billion years till the shops close." Tears were rolling down her cheeks again as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him as tight as she could, he was back and it was her Doctor.
"You'll come then?" he questioned.
"Right now I think I'd follow you to the ends of the universe and back!" she answered giddily.
His manic grin returned as he squeezed her hand and nodded, "Fantastic!"
Hand in hand, Chris led her to the small café at the edge of town, it was remote, few people visited it, and in fact this had been where he and Jack originally met Elizabeth and Daniel. Only seemed right that he bring Rose here, so he'd had them meet him there; and then they would tell her about the Stargate program, and offer her another adventure; one she would hopefully accept like she had his offer to travel.
Rose was so happy she almost couldn't see straight as Christopher led her down the sidewalk, her Doctor; she had the feeling the story was a long one, but she suddenly couldn't wait to hear it, couldn't wait to hear him talk again, to touch him, hold him and laugh with him again.
Stepping into the small diner, Rose spotted two other people sitting in a booth in a corner of the small quaint building. She wasn't surprised when they moved towards the two people. The first was a man, with black rimmed glasses, he was a very strong looking man, in a suit, he looked powerful and smart, his hair was dark and short sticking up in various directions, his eyes were almost the color of shallow sea water. He was a very handsome man, beside him sat a woman with chestnut hair that hung in curls just past her shoulders, she had a serious look about her, she too was dressed up, but in a different way, she wore a black leather jacket, a pair of black jeans and a red shirt under the jacket, around her neck she wore a locket, and Rose instantly noticed the wedding ring and engagement ring on her left hand. The woman had deep green eyes that had warmth to them.
"Rose Tyler, this is Dr. Elizabeth McKay and Dr. Daniel Jackson. Doctors this is Rose Tyler."
"It's nice to meet you," Rose spoke shaking both their hands as she took a seat beside him in the booth.
"And you, we've heard a lot about you, Christopher seems to think a lot about you," Dr. McKay spoke first as she smiled at the younger woman.
Rose grinned as she eyed her Doctor, the feeling was completely mutual, "What can I do for you?"
Dr. Jackson smirked and pushed a rather thick file towards her, "It's more like what can we do for you. That file holds the best kept secret in two galaxies."
Rose raised a cautious eye brow as she flipped the folder open and looked down at the first page. As she read, Christopher and his two friend ordered lunch, Christopher was kind enough to order her a sandwich and chips. It wasn't until almost ten minutes later that she closed the file and looked up at the two mystery people. She pushed it back towards Dr. Jackson, "All right, so what has this got to do with me?"
Elizabeth smirked slightly as she looked between Christopher and Rose, "We'd like you to join the expedition with us—That is Rose, we'd like you to come to Atlantis, in the Pegasus galaxy."
She felt her stomach drop, her heart race, her palms grew sweaty, it couldn't be. She was yet again being offered the chance to take off with this man to another world. See things that normal humans only dreamt of. "Why me?" She had to ask, because she needed to know if it was just for Chris, or if there was a real reason.
"Have you seen your file?" Elizabeth chuckled, "You've been to thousands of planets, touched hundreds of stars, spoken with aliens we've never even heard of. You have experience; you won't have any trouble comprehending what we face out there. You're records show fearlessness, strength and it also appears you have an amazing ability to talk to aliens from other worlds and help them communicate. We could use a person like you on our expedition. "I know it all seems a little daunting…"
Rose smiled, "Are you kidding? Stepping into a phone box that's bigger on the inside than the outside is daunting, learning the man you loved could change faces but not personality was daunting, being stuck in a completely different universe with no hope of ever going back is daunting. This is almost every day occurrence for me at this point."
That caused the three friends to smile, including Chris who wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "I have a daughter, she's still a baby—but I couldn't leave her. No matter how much I want to go on this adventure. Last time I was given an offer like this I had no one to hold me back. But she needs me, and I need her."
Elizabeth nodded, "I understand I have a daughter of my own, she's almost five now, in fact several of our expedition members now have family. You spend almost five years on another planet and you tend to go on living your life on the assumption you're home. Our Military commander brought his son to Atlantis when the boy was only seven, of course the boy is almost thirteen now, so things have changed, but you're welcome to bring your daughter. We would never force a family apart; it's completely up to you."
"What if I said no?" she asked quietly as she looked down at her rapidly cooling chips.
"We'd leave, head back to Colorado and continue the recruitment."
Rose turned her eyes to Christopher, "You too?"
He gazed into her hazel brown eyes, forcing a smile, "I'm human now—but I don't belong on this planet Rose, I told you I don't do domestic very well. I can live the life your parents live. I can't buy a house with a fence and raise kids. I belong among the stars. You're not meant for it either Rose, I've seen you, I saw you before and after—you belong to adventure and to the stars."
"How long have I got?"
"We're heading back tonight, you don't have to come to Colorado until the end of the week, but the sooner you arrive the better."
"I can be ready in a few hours…I…I have to say goodbye to my family. When I left the first time I didn't, an' when I returned—I can't put my mum through that again, she has to know."
"It's three now, we're leaving at nine, if you've like to meet us back at Torchwood by eight, we can wait for you," Daniel offered.
"Thanks—Doc…Christopher, will you come with me?"
Chris' eyes grew wide, "She'll slap me!"
"Whimp, no she won't, come on then. Ya can face Daleks' and Cybermen ya can face my mum."
"You underestimate the power your mum has," he replied as he gripped her hand and followed her out of the small café anyway, "We'll see you in a few hours."
"What do I call you? Doctor or Chris?"
"Chris is fine, I'm not really the Doctor anymore, not really. Like I said I'm human. It wasn't meant to happen the way it did Rose, but for whatever reason, the powers that be chose to spit me back out after the regeneration as a complete human. I can't really explain it, it's a miracle is what it really is. If Jack hadn't been there it's was a miracle that never would have been. He kept me going, for nearly three months he helped me, held me, kept telling me to breathe and think about Rose. You kept us going, we had to believe that somewhere you were still alive. So I was thrown back to the floor as soon as you took off with—well me. I had no memories, I was barely alive. Jack found me and said I'd been reborn. We were found on the Satellite two days later and taken to a hospital. As it was originally supposed to, the world started back up, caught up rather rapidly. Meanwhile Jack looked for a way to get us back to your year, maybe we could find you; make sure you were at least all right. He did it too, count on Jack to find the perfect way, trouble was it didn't just take us back through time; we accidentally ripped a hole straight from one reality to another. So we were caught in the year 2006, in this universe. So, Jack and I gave up, we assumed there was no chance of ever seeing you again. We both join Torchwood, which lasted about a year before the Stargate Program found us. We worked in the states for a few months, and then we were shipped off to Atlantis. Oh Rose, it's the most fantastic thing you'll have ever seen!"
Rose smirked at his exuberance, she was positive this was her Doctor now, she didn't care, "So why Christopher?"
"You kidding me? All the great actors were named Christopher; Christopher Reeves, Chris Eccleston," he paused, "I'll let you know when I think of others, "Ohh Chris Judge, he's from this great TV show…"
"I get the idea," laughed Rose as she grinned at her best friend, "I've missed you so much. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd see you or the Doctor ever again. And you're human now?"
"Yeah, human for the rest of my life, the TARDIS was good to me too! Oi, I'm thirty six years old!" he grinned.
Rose chuckled as she leaned against his shoulder, "Not such a big age gap anymore. So got anyone special back on Atlantis?"
"You mean side from Jack," he joked, "No, you ruined everyone else's chance for love. I love you Rose, I should have told ya long time ago, I can only hope I treated you well during the year when you were stranded here, because the way I felt about you doesn't even have words."
"I love you too Doctor—" she looked down at the hand gripped in her's and suddenly she felt a pang of guilt. "I loved him too you know," she whispered.
"He was a lovable man," Chris replied softly as he gently tilted her head up to look at him, "He was the same man, I'm the different man. I can't explain it, but I have the feeling you understand. It's okay to miss him and love him."
"Miss the TARDIS too, she wouldn't talk to your tenth self for a week at first. She really missed you."
"She and I went through a lot! A Time War an' all. But she had you, she was just worried about the both of ya. So…how's your mother?"
Rose grinned as they made their way up the stairs leading to the mansion, "This is impressive," he whispered.
"Yeah well apparently in this universe Da made it big."
"Yes we found records of your father, he was quite a man Rose, you would have been proud of him."
"I am, they're happy together, that's all that matters. Oh an' they have another child."
"What's her name?"
"Lily," Rose grinned.
Christopher rolled his eyes, "Oi, your mother likes flowers!"
"Mum I'm home!" Rose called through the giant house.
"Oh Rose! You missed it Lil…" Jackie Tyler went bleach white as she came face to face with the Doctor. "Oh my—how is it possible?" she felt a sob rip through her body as she surprised the Doctor by throwing her arms around his shoulders and squeezing him for all the was worth. "What happened? How? Are you really him? How are you? I've never been so happy to see you in my entire life!" she cried as she took a step back. She turned to face her daughter, who was really smiling for the first time in a year.
Christopher was still too stunned to speak, so Rose chose to speak up for him, "Yes mum it's him, only different. He's a human now. Please don't me to explain. Mum, where's da?"
"In his office? What's wrong?"
"We need to talk…all of us."
"I'll make some tea."
"Coffee please," The Doctor requested.
"Me too," Rose still hated tea, she squeezed the Doctor's hand again and together they made their way into the den, where Pete had his office. The girls were sitting on the floor, playing. Rose grinned as she knelt down, pressing a kiss to both children's head. She then lifted a protesting Emma into her arms. Rose smiled, Emma wanted to play, she; like her mother was a move and didn't like to be interrupted. "Emma, this is Christopher, he's a very good friend of mine. Chris this is my Emma."
The familiar grin was back as Chris hesitantly reached out and lifted the girl into his arms. The small child went willingly as she latched onto his leather jacket, Christopher was sure his heart melted as the baby leaned his head against his chest, listening to his singular heart beat, and gripping his leather jacket, "Dada," she murmured.
Chris' eyes widened in question and Rose just smiled, "Sorry, it's her first word."
"No, it's quite all right," He rubbed her back, but continued to hold her, unwilling to suddenly let the sweet little child go "May I hold her?"
"Of course, for as long as you'd like."
Rose spent the next twenty minutes explaining what she could to her parents without giving too much away, but the general gist was she would be traveling again with Christopher and that she was leaving tonight. She explained Emma would be coming along, and that they would be able to visit now and then. Once she'd explained everything, with Chris throwing in little tidbits here and there, she waited for their response.
"As her father, you're too old for her," Pete began, but then he eyed his daughter and his eyes softened, "However, also as her father, from what she's said and what I saw she loves you and needs you. Rose won't be happy here, I never was either. I love knowing I can protect my home and family. She's my daughter all right, the need for adventure and excitement. No, Rose doesn't belong on this planet, you are correct. As long as she's happy and you promise to keep her safe, I'll miss my little girl…I'd just gotten used to have a daughter again."
Rose felt her eyes well up with tears as she reached out and hugged her father. He all but gathered her in his lap and held her close, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "When you first came I was terrified at the idea of having a kid. I'm so proud of you Rose, an' I know your real da would be too!"
"I love you daddy," she whimpered.
He nodded and pressed a kiss again to her forehead, allowing it to linger for a moment before pulling her back. Rose looked at Jackie, who was crying, she looked up at her daughter, and held out her arms.
Gathering the girl into her arms Jackie sighed, "Just what your da' said. Couldn't keep you here the first time, don't know what I think would keep you here now. Just come home and call home okay?"
Rose nodded through tears as her mother cupped her face, "I love you mum."
"Oh sweetheart, I love you too, but I want you happy, and the Doctor—Christopher can do something we could never do."
"Thank you mum, for understanding, and for helping me this past year."
Jackie smiled, "That's what mum's do, we all have to let go sometime," she pressed a kiss to the girl's head and released her.
The loud crying could be heard no doubt through the entire base as Sean Patrick Beckett got his first taste of traveling through the giant ring. Clutched within his father's arms the six month infant let out a wail, letting everyone know he hadn't been this unhappy since he'd been unceremoniously pulled from the warmest spot in the entire universe.
"Have you ever considered a pacifier," muttered Doctor Rodney McKay as he descended the ramp leading into the gate room.
"Aye, but I didn't think Elizabeth would appreciate me shovin' it down ye're throat," returned the annoyed Doctor over his son's frantic cries.
"Down boys, we come in peace remember, so let's not leave in pieces. Give me my kid," Laura muttered as she suddenly whisked her baby from Carson's arms.
Instantly the infant quieted, stunning both men, "Just takes a little motherly touch, Rodney, don't you have a wife to find," Laura said pointedly at her friend. She'd long since learned to tolerate the egotist since being stuck in his head all those years ago.
"Rodney, nice to see you all made it in one piece," greeted John Sheppard as he and Elizabeth stepped into the gate room. He offered his brother a short smile before he was attacked by a small blonde haired form.
The shriek of excitement was emitted the minute Lauryn McKay launched herself at her Uncle John, who instantly swooped her up into his strong arms and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "You've gotten too big for this Sport," John said resting his niece against his hip.
"Elizabeth," greeted Rodney as he moved towards his wife.
The Leader of Atlantis offered her husband a smile the size of the Grand Canyon before throwing her arms around his neck. One month was far too long to be away from Lauryn and Rodney. However; soon she and her small family would be back on the Daedalus, along with fifty other new members of the expedition heading back to their home on the sea.
"Uncle Danny!" cheered Lauryn, reaching out for the archeologist who'd just entered the embarkation room.
Daniel grinned and took her into his arms, "I see the day care has finally arrived," he chided. "I happen to know that Emily and Mitch are going to be playing with you today, does that sound like fun?" he grinned as he bounced the girl against his hip.
"Yeah," came her reply as she hugged her uncle close, "Bye daddy!" Lauryn called as she wrapped her legs around Daniel's waist.
Rose had spent a month at the SGC, getting what could be described as royal treatment, however today was the day they were scheduled for the final meeting, the medical evaluations, and then tomorrow they would depart for Atlantis through the Stargate. She had to admit she was nervous, and scared, but with Chris by her side this past month, it had made things a little easier.
She hiked Emma further up on her hip as she slipped into the VIP room they would be using as a day care for the hours they were in the meeting. Among those looking after the various children were Vala Jackson, who was cursing being six months pregnant, again. Cameron Mitchell, Teal'c and Jack O'Neill; after spending a month with them she found they all had children of their own and were fairly good with kids.
"There's Emma!" cheered Cameron on the floor, where he held son of ten months. "Hi Rose," Cameron greeted as she placed her daughter on the floor with Kevin.
"Hey Cam, let me know if she's any trouble."
"Are you kidding these two are great together, go on you'll be fine."
"And don't worry Rose, you're a shoe in. You're going to Atlantis."
She smiled and nodded, giving her daughter a quick kiss, Rose headed out of the room.
She made her way into the briefing room, where sixty other candidates were seated around a large table or standing in the room, she easily spotted Christopher going over a file by the window over looking the gate room, "What are we waiting for?" Rose questioned.
He glanced up from the file and smiled at her, "The team from Atlantis arrived a few minutes ago, we're waiting for team to join us and we'll begin the first meeting."
"How many of these people in this room will actually go to Atlantis?"
"Fifty, the other ten will remain behind here and work with the SGC until we need them at a later time. Which frankly better not be soon, we've had far too many casualties lately," he murmured the last part to himself.
Rose remained quiet, the look in his eyes was a familiar glimpse of the guilt he'd held as a Time Lord, and the protector of humans. She could see he still carried that piece with him. The need to protect humans, even if he was one now.
It was another ten minutes before everyone finally gathered in the room, Rose recognized Sam, who had been the first person she'd met on the base, Daniel came in right after her, and took a seat beside Sam. Rose felt the Doctor's hand in her own as she looked around at everyone else beginning to gather in the room. Her eyes landed on a man with dark brown hair and blue eyes, he was glancing around the room, he wore a black leather jacket with an Atlantis patch on one side and the number one on the other side. A folder was open in front of him with several papers, by his side sat another man, wearing a similar jacket with just the Atlantis patch on it.
Chris leaned over to Rose and smiled, "That's Doctor Rodney McKay and beside him is Carson Beckett, Carson is my boss, they're good guys, Rodney is once you get past his exterior attitude. Carson is Atlantis' Chief Medical Officer, Rodney is the Chief of Science, and the man coming through the door right now with the twelve year old by his side his General John Sheppard, mind you when I first met him he was a Colonel, he was promoted six months ago—after a particularly frightening mission. He's the Chief Military officer and the second in command of the entire Atlantis base. That's his son, Jonathan Joseph, though we all call him Jay, he's the eldest child on the base, however he was born on Earth."
"Welcome to Stargate Command," Elizabeth spoke as she stood up and addressed everyone. "Most of you know by now why you are here. You've all signed a one year commitment without really knowing what you're getting into—however since we began the Atlantis Mission five years ago, we've developed a way for you to see what it is you're going to be involved with, thanks to the help of several people on Atlantis. I think the video will say everything you need to hear to make your final decision whether you want to take the next big step. "General Landry?" Elizabeth took a step back as a screen came down from the ceiling and the lights went out.
"Welcome to Atlantis, My name is General John Sheppard, and this is our way of showing you some of the things you'll be involved with here on Atlantis. Let's begin with the basics, first and foremost if you've gotten this far you've proved your smart and you know your stuff. But that's not enough if you want to stay alive here. All non-essential personnel are required a once a week training sessions with one a team leader, to keep up their physical form. All essential personnel are required at least one hour a day in the gym or in the field. The only exception being one Rodney McKay, who seems to enjoy avoiding me," the wild haired General grinned at the screen.
"Come with me and I'll give you a short tour; we're actually in the training room right now, the two fighting are my team members Teyla Emmagan and Ronan Dex, two of the finest fighters you'll ever witness, trust me. And if you're curious, the man behind the camera is my son Jay."
Suddenly the camera turned and Jay's face appeared on the screen, "Jay come on, quit fooling around, I kicked Rodney off camera crew for that!"
The screen cut out, and seconds later it came back in, John was standing else where now as he waved, "Sorry about that; this is the infirmary. Along with the weekly training sessions everyone has to have a physical once a month, or every off world mission. This keeps our people in great shape—well at least decent shape. This is our Chief Medical Officer Carson Beckett, and his Second in Command Doctor Christopher Eccles."
"Hullo," both men replied before turning back to their work.
"Sorry this isn't a good time, Chris joined our team just over a year ago when our original second in command Doctor was killed in battle. Let's continue shall we?"
"These are the science labs, where it's not unusual to find our scientists hiding from one Rodney McKay, oh look here's the recluse now," grinned John as he walked over to the Doctor.
"Bug off John I'm busy," came Rodney's mutter as he continued working on whatever it was he was doing.
"Rodney's been inspecting this piece of technology for the past month after our Tech expert found it on another planet."
The screen suddenly went black again before lighting up once again, this time a face appeared that caused Rose to gasp in surprise, "Hey everyone, my name is Captain Jack Harkness—okay I'm not actually a Captain, well not with the Air Force anyway, Dr. Weir encouraged use to show you some of our off world missions, since this one seems to be pretty basic, I think it's safe to show you the world we've just stepped onto. It's classified as planet M34-G23, originally thought to be an inhabited world, we've discovered after several weeks of exploring that the world is not inhabited, in fact it seems quite desolate. This is Lieutenant Colonel Lorne and Captain Cadman. Some lucky soul will be joining our team, which I think is also why John made me take the camera, since his team is still full and quite content. Anyway, so teams one through four are recon teams, we go in, see what we can learn or gain from exploring the planet, once that's decided we then send in teams seven through twelve to really dig in, most of them are scientists. Teams five and six are medical teams, with Doctor Eccles, a close friend of mine, leading the number one medical team, they're incredible what they can do on short notice, which is generally when they're brought onto another world."
The movie went on, showing clips from pervious missions, Rose smiled as she watched her Doctor call out orders in one clip as he tried to help a wounded solider. He worked with the same strength and fierce loyalty as he always had. Perhaps this was more like what the Doctor had done when he'd fought during the Time War. She couldn't help but be a little curious. She looked back over at the Doctor, who was now calling himself Christopher, "It really is you and Jack, isn't it?" she whispered.
He smiled softly at her, "Yes," he didn't need to say more, she understood and believe him
By Friday of that week, they stood with packs on their backs, duffle bags in hand and looks of awe as forty-five people stood in front of the giant Stargate as it was dialed to reach Atlantis. Three other people had children attached to their hands or hips as they prepared to step through the wormhole.
Chris had a backpack on his back and in his arms he held a sleeping Emma, while Rose held the bags and looked up with stunned silence as "Eight chevron locked" was called over the PA. With a giant 'woosh' the wormhole exploded with life.
"Atlantis, this is Dr. Elizabeth McKay, Radek are you there?"
It was a moment before they heard the voice, "We are here Elizabeth and all in one piece as well, come on through!" the man replied.
"All right, John, head out," Elizabeth commanded.
Nodding, John gripped his son's hand in his and together the two stepped through the gate, Carson, Laura and the baby went next, followed by the beginning crowd of the newcomers to Atlantis.
Rose looked over at Christopher who grinned at her with his maniac grin, he reached out, taking her hand, "Ready?" he asked as they stepped up so close to the wormhole she could feel it's cool temperature inches from her face.
Reaching out she gently touched it, then glanced at her fiancé again, "Does it hurt?"
"Nope, it's just—cold, come on we'll go through together."
Taking a deep breath Rose closed her eyes and stepped into the wormhole.