For shuntoff

[huffpuffblonde]

It took three weeks to get to that beach, ten minutes to get a broken heart, five and a half hours to leave, three more weeks to get back home, and another month before she bothered to leave her bedroom. Two weeks after that she had an identity established, and started training at Torchwood. Sixteen days and she was a certified field agent. A year

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[huffpuffblonde]

She startled, hand still gripping the taser. Well, she thought she'd been being discreet about it, put apparently whoever that was happened to be particularly clever. It was also sentient, probably human, spoke English, and knew she knew he was there. Well, there went that. Frankly, as long as he wasn't an 'it' and 'it' wasn't about to eat her, she wasn't really concerned with the company. Maybe a bit concerned that he was snooping around such a dangerous place, but that's about where it ended.

Except for one other thing.

He was... particularly northern. She couldn't tell with so few words, but... definitely northern. The short sentence was enough to throw her into a tiny fit of nostalgia, to the extent that she released the hold on her weapon and lost a bit of her caution.

"Sorry, but you were following me. You really shouldn't be down here, s'not sa-" She rounded the corner, and her jaw dropped open. It took her about a second to pin her eyes to the shape against the wall, to adjust through the darkness, but when they did, they widened, like a started doe.

It was him.

[shuntoff]

Well this was just great. A woman wandering around the sub-basement that could have a potentially very dangerous being lurking in it's depths. Right then. He'd just have to make her leave. Force her out. Telling folks to run for their lives wasn't always a good call, but it did have a grand effect. They'd scatter like cockroaches when the lights flipped on. He needed her to go. Then again if she ran and whatever was down here got her that was one more life on his conscious. He wasn't particularly fond of that.

None of that was his concern right now because she was looking at him strangely and it was making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. She didn't even finish her sentence and she was making no attempts to. Well wasn't that just irritating? Standing there with her jaw to the ground. She looked daft.

"Well, then. Pick up your jaw. Go on." He made a shooing motion with his hands. "Pop back upstairs and get home. Not exactly a safe place for the likes of you. Run along." His voice held a sing song quality. He was irritated, but he didn't want to frighten the girl. Women tended to cry when they were frightened. Not something he felt up to dealing with.

[huffpuffblonde]

Maybe she's a bit too distracted by his sudden appearance to notice the subtle (and not so subtle) clues. First and foremost, this is impossible. The walls are closed, and that version is gone, but she can rule that out with timeywimey. But the lack of recognition in his face, the way he's telling her to go home, the slight differences in his posture and his eyes. It all gets passed up, because...

There he was. That was him, being as rude and dismissive as ever. All... getting himself into trouble, wearing leather, with ears and snark and... how in the hell-- "It's you!"

She lurches forward, dropping the fragile (and probably expensive) device onto the floor. It cracks, but she doesn't care, she's too busy throwing her arms around his neck. She's pulling back a second later, hands braced on his arms. "Oh my god, how are you even here? That's not supposed to be possible- how did you even- you can't know yet--"

[shuntoff]

There was a loud oomph that came out when she leaped onto him. He had no choice, but to hold onto her. He didn't want her falling and hurting herself. He wasn't hugging her though. Oh no. This was him keeping her from falling down.

This was just great. He had managed to find a nutter. This was supposed to be an easy trip, but he was being assaulted with hugs and smiles. Rubbish.

The second she pulled back he let her go and moved to put his sonic back into his jacket. He gave her a once over and shook his head. "Here? Whatcha mean? I'm here doing my job. What're you doing here is the question you should be asking. All running around and hiding the dark like a lunatic." The last bit was interesting. What wasn't he supposed to know yet? It was a bit unsettling.

He stepped around her quickly and scooped up her device from the ground. He turned it over in his hands multiple times and lifted it up to his ear. He gave it a shake and then held it out in front of him. "Broke." He tossed it to her and put his hands on his hips. "Who are you?"

[huffpuffblonde]

She caught it easily, but didn't spare it a glance. She was too busy staring at him, looking just the teeniest bit crestfallen. It couldn't be that he didn't remember. That was impossible. But it could be that it was.... "This is before we met. Oh, I shouldn't even be--"

She shouldn't be talking to him at all. She'd throw off the timeline. She certainly wasn't going to tell him her name. She'd read about causal nexii. They weren't any fun, especially when two universes were involved.

She took a step back, worrying her lip between her teeth. Then again... If this was before they met, it meant he was going back. Which meant she could get a lift back home, and all she'd have to do is wait for him. She'd have to dodge herself, stay low for a few years until the timelines caught back up, but that just meant she could hide out in Torchwood until just after she fell through to the other side, then meet back up with him. He wouldn't have to be alone, and things would be sorted again.

As soon as they stopped the Auton invasion.

"This... it's not gonna make any sense, but I travel with you, later on. Just that we're not supposed to meet, yet. But I need your help! It's a... bit of a long story, I can't really tell you, because... well, paradox, it's complicated, but-"

She was cut off rather abruptly by the sound of something heavy hitting something metal, and she whirled around as the basement door was thrown off it's hinges.

[shuntoff]

She whittling on and he was managing to keep up surprisingly well. He traveled with her in the future? He traveled with a human woman? There had to be some good reason for this. He wouldn't just pluck a stray female from the street and usher her into the TARDIS. None of this was making any sense to him. He didn't understand why her. He didn't get it. As far as he could tell she was a little girl with a silly toy. She must've done something extraordinary for him to have chosen her. He was a little curious as to what that was, but he was smart enough to not pry--yet.

He whirled around at the sound and his eyes went wide. Whatever it was couldn't be good. It had kicked that door right off it's hinges and that spelled disaster. He was not equipped to handle this it was as big as he thought. This was strictly a recon visit to the sub-basement. He didn't have a game plan just yet. He wasn't about to devise one with that thing coming right for them and a human lurking around with a giant bullseye stamped right on her forehead.

He snatched her hand up and pulled her further into the sub-basement. "Run!" He shouted as he tugged her along behind him. This meant nothing to him. This was simply running for their lives. Running for her life. The Doctor didn't particularly care one way or another about how he fared in this situation. He didn't need her blood on his hands as well.

He came to a split t-section and stumbled to a stop. His head whipped left and then right. "Right it is." He went right dragging her along behind him. He could see a door up ahead and if he could just get behind he could use the sonic to lock it. It'd buy them a few moments before that thing tore it off the hinges and continued chasing.

[huffpuffblonde]

Before she could fathom it, her hand was in his and she was being tugged down a hall. It was amazing. Brilliant. Just like old times. Just like the first time, with her heart hammering in her chest and her legs on the ground and- and this was it! He was here, she found him again, and she'd get to go home, to the TARDIS. This was so brilliant, she couldn't help but grin as they ran.

The door at the end of the hall blocked them off, and she tugged her hand from his for a second. "Hang on!"

She doubled back. Against the wall as a collapsible steel gate. It was left open for them, thankfully, but if she could just-- She tugged it across, the metal screaming against the concrete floor, and snapped the padlock shut. It should by them time, but it meant there'd be no going back the way they came. "Get the door open!"

[shuntoff]

He wasn't quite sure why she was smiling, but he just chalked it up to his first assumption. She was a nutter of some sort. A nutter who was barking orders at him. Usually he was the one who was ordering people around. She was quite good at it and he'd have to say she was brilliant. He hadn't caught the steel gate. She was smart, but smart didn't automatically get someone a ride in his TARDIS. He wasn't overly fond of companions these days. It was too hard.

"Bossy are we?" He grabbed the hand and put his shoulder into the steel door. It swung open and he ushered her inside quickly. "Go, go, go!" Once she was safely inside he rushed in behind he. He put his back into it and closed the door. He retrieved his sonic from inside his jacket and aimed it at the lock. There was a short buzzing and he took a step back to breathe a little easier. He stuffed the sonic back into his pocket and turned ot her.

"You were after that weren't you? You and your little toy were after that." He gestured wildly to the door. He wasn't sure he was liking this meeting anymore. If she was hunting aliens that wasn't a good thing. "What's ya name? I wanna know--right now." He was never very good with not having all the facts necessary.

[huffpuffblonde]

"Northern, are we?" She returned just as easily, stumbling in past the steel door and catching herself against the post at the bottom of a flight of stairs. She turned to catch her breath, to sit on the steps and watch him seal the door with the sonic. She wasn't exactly prepared for him to round on her like that, he was... different. Harder than she remembered. This definitely had to be before her, though he was never quite as rude the first time they met. He was all clever and grinning and manic. Not this time.

"'Course I was after that thing. It's my job, it's what I do." She frowned, shoving back up to her feet now that they had a minute. She could faintly hear the shaking metal as that thing unsuccessfully (for now) attempted to get past the gate, and glanced over her shoulder to the stairwell. Was this really the time? Well, if he was ever going to trust her, she needed to give him a few answers. "The thing is, I'm not really sure I'm supposed to tell you. You're not supposed to know me yet, not until we meet up later on, but I'm--"

The way he was looking at her, though, that answer wasn't up to scratch, so she sighed. "I'm Rose. It's a long story, but I got a bit stuck in a parallel universe- this universe, we got separated, and if you're goin' back- you don't have to take me on yet, you're not supposed to, but if you could just give me a lift back to the one we're from originally so I can wait it out and get back to you, that'd-- really, I'd appreciate it more than you'll ever know."

[shuntoff]

She was clever he'd give her that. She could keep up and to be quite honest she wasn't even all that frightened by it. Whatever was out there didn't have he running up and out of the building. She was confident and that was the most important part of all this right. Keeping calm int he face of danger. You couldn't panic when that kind of thing happened. You had to just keep moving and come up with that Earth saving plan on the move. It really was the only way to handle these types of situations.

"No. It's what I do. You're just a girl with busted toy." From what he had observed it was a nice piece of technology, but there was no way he was going to admit it. They were evolving down here, but it was still a very slow process. It would be sometime before they could admit to living in a world with aliens. Least that was his impression. He could be wrong, but it wasn't likely.

"But you're what? Come on then. Out with it!" He was impatient and curious. A very bad combination. "Rose." He repeated the name and looked her over. Parallel universes. Separation. Lifts. That was all a bit much and to be honest he wasn't sure if he could get her back. He'd need a hole in time. He didn't think he could willingly tear a hole open just to get her back. He could attempt to find one somehow. He didn't know off the top of his head, but he'd figure something out.

He didn't say anything for a moment. He wasn't even sure if he was going to do it, but she needed help and he could try. He opened his mouth, but shut it almost immediately. He stalked toward the stairs with his shoulders square and breezed past her without speaking. Instead he lead the way up.

[huffpuffblonde]

"Right, well to be fair, it wasn't busted to start with, until you turned up in the wrong place, time, and universe." She could see the mental debate going on in his head, braced herself for some sort of comment, and was... heartily disappointed when there was none. He just... swanned off.

She was after him a beat later, one step behind, jogging to keep up with his longer, northern legs. It would figure that he'd sweep into her life, oblivious, swan off, not even acknowledge her or give her time time of day. What she really wanted more than anything at the moment was a hug. Because... he was there, she could go home, and everything could be right again.

"Oi, you can't just go swanning off! This stuff's important," She huffed, trying to keep up. "And what're we gonna do about that thing down there? Someone could get hurt."

[shuntoff]

His universe. This was his universe. He hadn't fallen through any holes in the time vortex and he certainly wasn't universe hopping for the fun of it. She was the one who was apparently in the wrong place. She was asking him to go out of his way to drop her off. He'd give it a shot. He could try to help her, but he wasn't sure if it would get the result that she wanted. She wanted her Doctor. He wasn't that man. He wasn't sure if he'd ever turn into him. He just didn't see that in his future.

He cracked a smile and kept climbing the stairs. Swanning off. He could go swanning off. It was what he was best at. Once he got to the top of the stairs he whirled around to her. "I'll deal with it. I always deal with it. Right now I have no way to deal with it and I left my device to hunt it down there. So I have to go figure out a way to handle it safely up there." He thrust a finger into the air and nodded.

He spun back around and navigated through the first floor for the TARDIS. "No one'll get hurt. Promise." Promises, promises, Doctor. Can't make promises to someone if you're not even sure you can keep them. He'd try his hardest to make sure no one got hurt, but these days it was getting harder to make sure that happened. So hard.

"If you travel with me then why'd I just leave you here?" He was curious. That seemed a bit irresponsible of future him. Just running off and leaving her here on her own.

[huffpuffblonde]

He promised nobody would get hurt, and that was good enough for her. She nodded at him, looking confident. "Okay."

And that was that. She took him at his word and trusted him just like she always did. He'd sort it out. The second question, though, was a bit more complicated, and she scratched at the back of her neck.

"I dunno if I can tell you, actually, since it's in your future, you might... I dunno, change it. But you didn't leave me here, I... sort of... fell. Got trapped, stranded," A frown tugged at her lips. "You were able to send me a message, burnt up a sun to get it through, just a projection, but you said there was... that there was no way back through. The walls were sealed up- but they can't have been, if you're here. Because you've gotta go back, right? I dunno how the whole... timey-wimey crossing over works, but you've gotta go back through to meet in in the first place, yeah?"

[shuntoff]

That was different. She sounded like she trusted him. Not many people trusted him when they met him. Then again she said she knew him. Future him. Right. His future self who apparently toted around a small blonde with a clever mind. Not usually his style, but things did change for him. He wasn't even sure he actually believed her yet. It all seemed so hard to fathom. It seemed like a future he could never have.

There it was. The walls. The vortex. Time-wimey talk. That was his word. His term. How she got on her hands on it wasn't exactly proof. She did know a lot, but what she was saying made no sense.

He came 'round a corner to find the TARDIS. He stopped in front of her doors and looked over his shoulder at her. "This is my universe." His tone was flat. This was nothing new to him. He dug out his key from his pocket and unlocked the doors. He pushed it open and stalked inside. If they were going to sort this out they might as well do it somewhere safe. Some place without prying eyes or ears.

He made his way to the console, but stopped just short of his controls. "When did you meet me--future me?" Maybe that could shed some light on this situation. He could compare that to his current timeline which was long, but something could click.

[huffpuffblonde]

She did trust him. He just didn't trust her to trust him yet. She was confident that he eventually would. She strode quickly to keep up, much like she'd done when they first met, there in her flat, and he swanned off. Her, nearly out of breath trying to keep up with his long legs as he headed back to the-

The TARDIS. She paused outside of it, pressing her hand against the wooden paneling. Four years since she'd seen the old girl, and there it finally was. Her home. She stroked her thumb across the wood a second before ultimately following him in and up the ramp, heading for the jump seat like it was all well and normal. Except the humming in her mind, though fond and friendly, felt a bit... different. She wrote it off as having spent so long without her, with the time lines being all wonky.

"I met you in two thousand and five. You blew up my job," The last was said rather pointedly, and she gave him a look that was a combination of fond, amused, and accusatory. Something he said drew her up short, though, and she frowned. "Hang on- what did you mean by 'this is my universe'? Don't be daft, of course it isn't. How're you even getting the TARDIS to work? The last time we came through here, it nearly killed her."

[shuntoff]

He peered around his controls at her. She wasn't phased by the inside at all. Anyone who hadn't been inside of his ship would have said it by now. They always said it. He was a bit frustrated that it hadn't come up. This was honestly his favorite part. He ducked back behind the controls and bowed his head. So she had been inside the TARDIS before, but that didn't make her his future. There could be lots of explanations which is why he wasn't clinging to anything just yet. He had to be absolutely certain. He wanted to be certain.

That perked him up a bit. She gave him a year and what he did. Sounded like him. In fact that was him. He distinctly remembered that as if he had already done it. Why did he remember it? Because he had already done it. Unless she was some invisible girl as well as clever he didn't remember seeing her with him. She seemed to honestly believe everything she was telling him which lead him to believe he wasn't her Doctor at all. He wasn't even her past Doctor. He was no one's Doctor. Certainly not hers.

"I've already done that. Big boom." He threw his hands outwards to emphasis that. Why? Because he could. "Got a bit dodgy when I had to deal with the Nestene Consciousness. That lot--very accusatory." He shook his head and went to work on the controls. "Unless you've been slinking about and watching my every move I very much doubt you and me traveled together." He side stepped around the controls until his back was to her. "It works cause this is where she draws her power from. This is her universe. My universe." His hands stilled. "I believe---I'm not your Doctor."