5I promised myself I would never write one of these. But then I watched the confidential cut down for Doomsday, and wacthed the scene where The Doctor and Rose have their heads against the wall, and as usual my eyes went blurry and a lump formed in my throat and I had to write something.
I really should be concentrating on my real storys, not writing all these pissy little one shots. Oh well.
Not sure how good this is, it took all of 45 minutes to write. But I'll let you guys judge. Please read and reveiw!
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. I am just a fan (as apposed to fanatic, not a means of keeping one cool)
Rose Tyler sat in the chair. It was one of those wheelie chairs, and she couldn't resist spinning on it before the man on the other side of the desk coughed.
"Sorry." she said, rapidly coming to a stop.
The man nodded, tapped his clipboard and then coughed again.
"So…Rose Tyler." He said, rolling the word on his tongue, "Why do you think you'd be a good employee for Torchwood?"
Rose fiddled with her jacket zip. She didn't want to be here, but she reasoned it was ten times better then going back to that bloody shop.
It didn't help that in the other universe The Doctor had blown it up. She couldn't walk by that place without remembering the warm, comforting feel of his hand as he slipped it into her hand and the exhilarated look in his eyes when he looked at her for the first time.
Run.
The man was waiting for her to answer.
"Sorry, can you repeat the question?" Rose asked. The man stared at her, rolled his eyes and sighed.
"What, Rose Tyler, makes you think you would make a good employee at the Torchwood Institute?"
If I told you I knew The Doctor, you'd hire me in a second. Rose thought. She didn't say anything though. The very thought of The Doctor made her stomach lurch.
And then the memories came. Every time she thought his name the memories came. And every time she tried to stop them, get distracted by a fly on the window, but they were too strong. It was like trying to keep away a charging bull with a tea towel.
She mentally slapped herself. My god Rose. What are you doing to yourself? If The Doctor can live without you, you can certainly live without him.
But could she? Could she really forget everything that had happened to her, everything she'd seen? Most of all, could she bear not knowing what had happened to him? What if he was dead? Even her Super-phone couldn't pick him up. All the jiggery pokery in the world could tell her nothing.
It was painfully frustrating. Like her life had been sped up, and now had just stopped. That was it. Ride's over, now pay your ten quid and get off.
She hadn't even got a chance to say goodbye.
It wasn't like before. Oh, she had thought she was never going to see him again plenty of times. Her first trip on Satellite Five, her first encounter with the Dalek, when she created the paradox and he got eaten by a Reaper, when he'd sent her home, when he'd regenerated and she thought he was going to die, when he'd jumped through the window to save Madame Du Pompadour, when The Wire stole her face, when he'd been stuck in the Pit and she was being chased by Ood, when he had been drawn by that little girl...
God, she worried a lot.
But all those situations had been different. At least then she had still been in the same universe as him. But now…bloody hell, her phone couldn't reach him! She was completely and utterly isolated on this universe. She loved her Mum, she loved Mickey, she loved Pete, but for some reason she loved The Doctor even more. He'd caused her so much pain, showed her too much, and yet she was utterly in love with him.
What did you do to me Doctor? She asked, how did you manage to make me so helpless? Was it the TARDIS in my head? The promise of adventure? Or was it your flashy, charming smile?
It was like she was a kid who had become lost in a shopping centre. So many strange faces, so many things to see and do, but all they really want to do is go home.
Well, The Doctor wasn't here any more. She had to fend for herself. Torchwood was perhaps her only link to the other universe, and she'd take the chance if it came up.
But then again…what if he had a new companion? Like he said, he had to move on. What if he'd already found someone new? Then it might get complicated. They were probably sitting on other Earth eating chips, while she was stuck at a shoddy job interview for a shifty alien institute who, if they knew what she knew, would only hire her for her knowledge and dump her once they had sucked her dry. If only The Doctor could save her…
That's it!
Rose was fed up now. Fed up with The Doctor. Fed up with having to rely on him. He could live his own life. He'd abandoned her, if unintentionally, and she couldn't go back to the past anymore. She was stuck, so she may as well do something while she was here.
It was then that Rose Tyler's heart froze over. It would only ever come back in a month or two, on a bay in Norway, but after that…the old Rose was dead now, and the new Rose had made her choice.
The man behind the desk was still waiting. He cleared his throat.
"Miss Tyler?" he asked warily, "Are you alright?"
Rose stared at him for a moment, then crossed her legs and leaned back in the chair.
"What would you say…" she asked thoughtfully, "If I told you I knew The Doctor?"
The man put down the clipboard and stood up.
"Welcome to Torchwood, Miss Tyler." He said, reaching out his hand for her to shake, "Would you like me to show you to your office?"
Rose almost laughed at that.