A Place in Time (6/30)
Apr. 27th, 2008 02:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amberfocus 
Banner by Megz33
Chapter Six: I Can See it In Your Eyes
Rose Tyler was glowing with her success at achieving her scholastic dreams. Going back to school after she had lost the Doctor hadn’t been an easy choice for her, but she found that the actual school work had been simple, far simpler than it would have been had she never dropped out and taken the courses normally at the appropriate time. Travelling with the Doctor must have expanded her brain power or her ability to absorb information and use what she knew. Perhaps it was listening to all his lectures. She smiled at the memory. Her Doctor would be so proud of her.
She glanced overhead as a Zeppelin bathed her in shadow. Three years in and she still wasn’t used to the big silver ships floating in the sky. She didn’t like them. Dangling from a ladder with a Cyberman chasing you as you tried to climb up into one would do that to anyone, she thought.
Her mobile rang and Rose answered it quickly when she saw who it was. “Hey, Mickey.”
“Hi, Rose. I hear you got the highest score in your class!” She could hear pride in Mickey’s voice. “Congratulations, babe.”
“Thanks,” she said.
“Can I take you out to celebrate tonight?” he asked. “A run to Frankie’s Fish and 'almost' Chips?”
Rose smiled. “I’d love that.”
“All right. I’ll pick you up at 7:30,” he said.
“Okay, see you then.” They said their good-byes and Rose hung up her phone. Good old Mickey. Always there with a kind gesture. They’d gotten really close in the last year. The friendship between them had strengthened considerably since she’d lost the Doctor. He’d been there for her to lean on. Neither one of them had been interested in rekindling their old romantic relationship, but they were the best of mates.
Mickey had really stepped up. She was so proud of him. If she had to be stranded in a parallel universe, it was nice to have someone around who felt like home. Other than her mother, anyway.
She drove home, the music on louder than strictly necessary. She sang along to it. Her future was wide open before her. It was a nice feeling.
As she and Mickey finished up their dinner, he pushed his plate to the side. “I need to talk to you, Rose,” he said a serious expression on his face.
“What about?” she asked curiously.
“Torchwood.”
“I’m not going back there, Mickey. It was too hard, it reminded me too much of what I lost.” Rose’s voice was firm in her resolve.
“That’s not what this is about. I don’t think you should come back and work at Torchwood. What I need to tell you is that ever since the Doctor closed the entrance to the Void, we’ve been monitoring it.”
“And?” Rose raised her eyebrows when Mickey fell silent. He sighed.
“And a few days ago there was a sudden burst of energy. It’s remained steady ever since. The opening is not very big, but according to our readings it’s growing. We’re not sure where it goes, but since it led to our home universe before, there’s a strong chance it might do so again.” Mickey’s dark brown eyes held onto Rose’s copper ones.
“How strong a chance?” asked Rose her stomach twisting as she waited to hear what he said.
“Our scientists are calculating it at 85 percent, Rose. It’s not big enough yet for anyone to get through. But we might be able to send through a message soon. And if the Torchwood people on the other side receive it, they might be able to get in touch with the Doctor and find out what’s going on. You might be able to talk to him, Rose. I know it isn’t the same as seeing him again, but it’s something. I can see it in your eyes. You want this, don’t you?”
Rose stared mutely ahead of her. To speak to him again. It was more than she had ever imagined. She smiled. “I want it,” she said. Then reality hit her. “But the Doctor said reality would split apart if the entrance opened again.”
“I don’t know what’s doing it,” Mickey said, “But it seems to be stable. Maybe it’s too small to destabilize anything. It’s had three years to heal.”
How wonderful it would be. “The opening is in a different place this time. It’s near the rift in Cardiff. It’s in the headquarters of Torchwood 3. I know you don’t want to work for us full time, but I can get you assigned there as a temporary assistant,” Mickey told her. “And make sure you get to be involved in it all.”
“Thank you, Mickey,” she said. “You can’t know what this means to me.”
Mickey gave her a fond smile. “What are friends for?”
****************************************
When Donna and Martha woke up the next morning it was to brilliant swirls of color. They were back in the fissure. “We’re going home?” Martha asked concern for the Doctor in her voice.
“No, no, no,” the Doctor said nearly bouncing with glee. “We’re going to find Rose!”
Martha stared at him mutely wondering if he’d finally cracked. “Doctor, we found Rose. She died.”
“I looked in the box last night. I looked at what she left me. One of those things was a photo album of her life. Martha, she had blue eyes! My Rose’s eyes were brown. I checked the coordinates. They were only off by one! We landed in the wrong universe!”
A slow smile spread across Martha’s face. “Rose is alive?” she asked incredulously.
“She’s alive!” She ran over to him and hugged him fiercely.
“I’m so happy for you! I’ll go tell Donna. This is amazing, just amazing!” And with that Martha ran out of the control room, her heart bursting with joy that the broken man she had seen last night had been given a second chance to find his heart’s desire. There was no longer one bit of resentment in her heart when it came to the Doctor’s love for Rose Tyler, not after seeing what her “death” had done to the Doctor. She had understood for the first time, seen it so clearly in his eyes, just what the depth of his feelings for the girl had been and how much Rose affected him still.
When Donna came into the console room she asked, “So how long are we going to be in the fissure, this time? Do you know?” She hadn’t known quite what to say and figured ‘I’m glad your girl’s not dead, when do we land?’ was probably less than tactful.
The Doctor looked up from the control screen. “I’d say about 3 days. I should have known, you know. That the TARDIS was headed to the wrong place before. When the colors turned ugly, I should have known it wasn’t right.”
“We all make mistakes, Doctor,” Donna said. “Even you. And at least it was a mistake. At least it wasn’t your Rose.”
“But it was one me’s Rose. That’s a weird concept. I’ve been alone so long, the last of my people, the only one. It shouldn't be possible. To know there is another me out there in some alternate universe, that’s just really odd.”
“I imagine it would be. We like to think of ourselves as one of a kind.”
“Exactly. And that other me, well, she didn’t wait for him. She married some ordinary man instead.” The Doctor frowned.
“He wasn’t an ordinary man, Doctor. You know Rose wouldn’t marry an ordinary man. Not after you. Not after any version of you,” Martha said. He hadn’t seen her come back into the room. “He was kind and he loved her and he told me…” Martha stopped, her throat tight as she remembered. “He told me to tell you that he was sorry for your loss. He lost his wife and he was compassionate enough to be sorry for your loss. Don’t ever call him an ordinary man.”
The Doctor held her gaze for a moment then nodded once. “But he wasn’t me.”
“And she wasn’t your Rose. Maybe they weren’t as close as you two were. Maybe she took his advice to heart and got on with her life. I don’t know. But your Rose, I think she will have waited. I know it. I’d have done in her shoes,” said Martha. “I almost did in my own shoes,” she admitted ruefully. “You’re a hard act to follow. And if she knew you loved her back, she would have waited.”
“But that’s the thing, Martha. I never told her. I never took the chance.”
“She’d wait. I just know it. She’d wait.”
Ch. 7: http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/48783.html
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