12Hello! Welcome to my first Doctor Who fic, hopefully this is just the beginning! Please don't go too hard on me…
As usual, read and review, tell me if you like it and don't hesitate to give constructive crit…no flames please! And enjoy! Mistakes have been fixed!
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, nor do I own Pink's music or lyrics (you'll see why).
In a bazaar, on a planet far away, a woman walked through the street.
But she wasn't Rose Tyler. Not anymore. She wasn't even human.
Rose glanced with a bored expression at the stalls around her. She didn't even know why she was there. At the time it had seemed like a good idea, all she had needed was time to herself. But she wasn't finding that in a bustling market.
She was now forty-nine years old, but still much younger than she looked. She figured it was from all the time travelling she had done long ago, but secretly she knew it was more than that.
She passed a jewellery stall and glanced at a blue bracelet that seemed to have a swirling substance inside each bead.
"Beautiful isn't it?" asked a voice. Rose looked up to see the stall keeper smiling down at her.
"That bracelet is made of crystal from the planet Kel-Jesarian 6. It is normally worth ten credits, but for a lovely lady like you I'll give it to you for eight."
Rose shook her head, "No thank you."
The stall man continued, "Oh, but it suits you so well! It matches your eyes!"
Rose glanced at him sceptically, considering her eyes were actually brown.
"No, thank you." She insisted, "I'd best be on my way."
"But…miss!" he shouted, but Rose had already merged with the rest of the crowd.
Rose was defiantly regretting this trip now. But, that was the terrible thing about space travel; it took forever to get a trip back, especially on the long trips to planets in the Scarlet System.
Rose grinned, remembering the trip she had made with the Doctor long ago, in which she had seen this planet, and its galaxy, fall into a black hole. And yet, here she was, almost thirty years later, after travelling in a top-of-the-line spacecraft that smelt of fresh paint and being stuck in customs for hours before they finally let her go. Honestly, she preferred the TARDIS any day. No bloody customs, no stupid passports, just get up and go.
The memories brought a pain in her chest. Ever since The Doctor…left…she had been devastated. She had refused to eat or sleep, and just sat in her room and contemplated her existence. By the time she had recovered, she had completely shut herself off from the world. She had tried to regain some form of a life, but it just wasn't the same. It never would be the same.
She'd moved out and continued to work at the shop. A few weeks ago, her mother had died. She wished fervently she had spent more time with her, talked to her about her problems, opened up instead of shutting her doors, but it was too late for that now. Her niece, Christine, had suggested that she take a trip to get away from it all. She didn't know anything about The Doctor. So far, the trip was doing nothing for her grief, only feeding her frustration with life.
If only, she thought, If only I could have one more chance.
She decided she needed to sit down. She found the nearest bench and sat, painful memories filling her mind. The Doctor, standing on the bay in Norway thirty years ago. The sadness, knowing she couldn't touch him. His face as his image faded out of her life for the last time. She'd loved him so much…
She reached in her bag for her ancient ipod and switched it to an old classic hits station. The music of Pink filled her ears.
If someone said three years from now you'd be long gone I'd stand up and punch them down cos their all wrong. I know better, cos you said forever. And ever. Who knew?
She pursed her lips and rapidly turned the radio off. Everything these days seemed to remind her of him…
She suddenly remembered her mother, taking all the trouble to drive her down to Norway so she could see him. The comforting words she said as her daughter cried. The concern on her face as she watched that very same daughter fall apart in front of her eyes. And she hadn't even given a thought about her for thirty years.
She pulled out a mirror from her bag to check her make-up, but instead found herself staring at her reflection in disgust. How could she have become so utterly helpless over one man?
But he wasn't a man. He was so much more than that…
Suddenly, Rose heard a noise. For a second, she thought it was just a normal market noise, but then as it got louder her stomach somersaulted and her face broke into a wide grin.
That wasn't an ordinary noise. It was the most beautiful sound in the world, the sound of the universe.
It was the TARDIS.
Rose dropped the compact mirror, hardly noticing as it shattered on the hard ground. She leapt off the seat and ran towards the noise. The rest of the world was a blur as she ran, and as she rounded a corner her prayers were answered.
There it was, just as she remembered it. The big, blue box that was the TARDIS gleamed at her in the light, and she just stood there, staring at it and smiling as a tear ran down her cheek.
He's here. She thought. He's finally come to get me.
Then the door opened and Rose gasped as The Doctor himself stepped out. She waited for him to see her, but instead of looking at her he turned his attention to the TARDIS.
"Well." He said, "Doesn't look like there was much damage…although I don't know where the hell we've landed. I might just go ask…"
He turned around, and he spotted Rose. He froze and stared at her for a second, eyes wide, and then he blinked.
"Rose?" he whispered, confusion spreading across his face.
"Doctor." She whispered back, tears falling down her face.
The Doctor walked over to her, and then his face broke into a wide grin and he hugged her.
"Oh my god." He said, a slight choke in his voice, "It's really you."
"There's only one." She said as he relinquished his grip.
"How long has it been?" he asked.
Rose smiled, "Thirty years."
"You don't look a day older." Rose blushed at that.
"Nor do you."
The Doctor laughed, "Yeah, well, that's me! How's the family? Jackie still talking her head off?"
Rose sighed, "Not any more."
The Doctor's grin disappeared, "Oh Rose…I'm sorry. When did it happen?"
"Few weeks ago." She paused, "I came here to get away. We're in the Scarlet system."
"That far out? Jeez..."
"How'd you get here?"
"No idea. We crashed. Poor TARDIS, getting old now. We've had all sorts of trouble…almost landed on Napoleon the other day. Now that would have been a disaster."
The Doctor grinned at her again, and then pulled her into his embrace once more.
"It's so good to see you!" he exclaimed, "I thought I'd never…"
Suddenly, he stiffened. Rose felt it, and was instantly filled with a kind of fear.
"What is it?" she asked, trying to sound as if she knew nothing. There was a pause, and then The Doctor pulled away.
"Since when," he asked suspiciously, "Did you have a heart on your right side?"
He put his hand on her chest, and Rose gulped. The Doctor frowned, and then pulled his hand over to her right. His eyes widened and Rose was filled with shame.
"Two hearts." He whispered, "You have two hearts. When did this happen?"
Rose gulped. No way out of it now. The Doctor waited for her to speak.
"Well…" she began, "When I absorbed the time vortex…I did something. I don't know how I did it, I had no idea I was doing it in the first place, but it just happened. I wanted you safe Doctor, I wanted to be with you forever. I thought if I did it we'd never be apart. I used the time vortex…" she trailed off.
"And you used it to become a Timelord." Finished The Doctor, his voice a mixture of awe and anger, "Rose, do you know what you could have done? You could have re-written history. You could have made sure you were never born, you could have killed yourself!"
"I didn't mean…"
"You are so lucky that nothing happened Rose! There is so much that could have gone wrong…"
"But they didn't did they?" said Rose, trying to defend herself, "I didn't even know about it until a couple of years ago. I mean, I had suspicions, but I didn't really know. I never went to a doctor about it; I already knew what it was, so nothing was discovered, no re-written history. I even kept it from Mum."
The Doctor sighed and took a deep breath. He was about to say something when a girl poked her head out of the TARDIS.
"Doctor!" she shouted proudly, "Found the problem! We managed to land right in a gap in the universe! If we can just…"
She trailed off as she saw Rose, "Who's that?" she asked warily.
The Doctor coughed, "Rose Tyler, meet Martha Jones. Martha Jones, meet Rose Tyler."
The girl had brown skin, with a crown of very dark brown hair which sat up in a stylish kind of bun on the top of her head. She wore a red leather jacket and a white T-shirt, and Rose saw her teeth were perfectly straight and white as she smiled and hesitantly held out her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Rose." She said, and then glanced at The Doctor, "Funny, The Doctor never mentioned you."
"Didn't he?" Rose said, her mouth forming a thin line as she turned to The Doctor, his face rapidly turning bright red.
"And so it begins." Rose remarked coldly, "Another assistant. Do you even get tired of it? Because do you know what he does Martha? He leaves us behind. Curse of the Timelords, was it? Or is it just a fad with you people?"
"Rose…" warned The Doctor, "Don't start a fight…"
"What's she talking about Doctor?" asked Martha, "What does she mean?"
Rose turned to her and was about to open her mouth, until she remembered. This was how she was like with Sarah Jane. Rose had never even thought about how hard a time she must have had, being stranded alone, and leaving behind her amazing life.
But she'd managed to survive. She got on with her life. But what about me?
She had been in that TARDIS for so long, she had become utterly dependant on The Doctor. She couldn't live without him. Suddenly, she felt so pathetic. All this time she had been thinking about him, about their adventures, but she hadn't realised what it was doing to her. She dreamt about him at night, because in her mind she couldn't live without him. Like a baby duck without its mother, she'd wondered around and tried to latch on to the remnants of her old life and tried to bring it back, and life had moved on without her.
She hadn't even talked to her own mother…
Rose sighed. She glanced at The Doctor, and forced a smile.
"I'm glad you're not alone." She murmured, "Take care of her, okay? Make sure you guys have a ball while it lasts."
The Doctor blinked, and then gulped. "I'm sorry Rose. It's like I said, I have to move on."
Rose bit her lip. Is this what I'm going to be like in a few years?
Martha glanced at Rose oddly, and then coughed, "Doctor, we fell through a hole in the universe. If we get out fast enough, we can get out and cause less damage. I'd say five minutes would be best, after that it'll just crack. If we leave it alone it should close in its own time."
Rose grinned, "Been teaching her well?"
The Doctor sighed, and then smiled, all previous anger gone from his features.
"Hey, you know, I still left your old room. Do you still want to come with us? Now that you're…you know…I can teach you how to run the TARDIS."
Rose's hearts leapt in her chest. She wanted to say yes, to jump up into that ship and never look back. But…
She sighed, "You know, there is nothing I would love to do more in the world than say yes. But…I can't."
The Doctor's face fell, "Why not?"
"When you left me…I was torn apart. I couldn't do anything, because I thought I needed you. Even before that, I gave up my normal life just to be with you. But now…now I need to stop depending on someone else. I need to get on with my life, like Sarah Jane. Start a family. Get a real job. Be myself again."
The Doctor was silent for a moment, and then he nodded.
"I understand." He said, "I supposed I'd better get going then."
Rose nodded, "Yeah. Suppose."
Martha waved, "See ya later Rose!" and she ducked back inside. The Doctor followed, and Rose waved,
"Goodbye Doctor, my old friend!"
The Doctor smiled and waved his arm theatrically, "Goodbye, my time-lady! May we meet again on better terms!"
He was about to go inside, when Rose grabbed his jacket.
"Doctor?" she asked, "That day on the bay….what were you going to tell me?"
The Doctor grinned mischievously, "I'm sure you figured it out already."
He shut the door behind him, and the TARDIS instantly began to fade. Rose watched it, listening to its hum for the last time, and then she was about to turn away, when to her surprise it began to materialize again. She watched in confusion as the TARDIS once again came into view, and then The Doctor jumped out and rushed to her. And kissed her.
At first, Rose pulled back in alarm, but then she began kissing him back. It was kind, passionate, and Rose embarrassingly reflected it was exactly how she'd imagined The Doctor would kiss. He stopped, draped his arms over her shoulders and leaned towards her ear.
"I love you." He whispered, "And when you're ready, I'll come to get you; even if I have to tear a hole in the universe myself."
He kissed her on the cheek, and then spun around and sprinted towards the TARDIS. Once again it began to disappear, and as Rose watched a genuine smile crossed her face, the likes of which hadn't touched her face in years.
She laughed. Still laughing, she turned around and made her way back to the market, a new spring in her steps as she repeated The Doctor's words in her head.
But The Doctor could wait. As for her, she felt alive again, and she had an eternity ahead of her. Maybe she'd even find her own TARDIS!
And when she was ready, she knew he'd come. But until then, she'd get her life back.
I'm alive, she thought, still laughing as she walked back to the market, I'm Rose Tyler again. And I'm going to make the most of it.