(Untitled)

[miss_rosetyler]

Date: December 23rd, 2009
Time: 5pm
Location: London
Characters Involved: Rose Tyler, The Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones
Ratings and Warnings: PG
Complete

Rose Tyler was thirsty and a little bit cold. She turned up the collar of her jacket and continued to walk down the London street. It was so crowded; Last minute Christmas shoppers elbowed and bustled

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[justthedoctor10]

The Doctor opened up the TARDIS' door, and stepped out, expecting to find a war torn planet, in dire need of his assistance.

Instead, he found London. At Christmas.

"Bugger!"

He whirled back and stared at his big, blue box, but sighed in resignation. "Alright. Fine. London at Christmas."

He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked off, wandering down the street.

Christmas time on this planet always made him think of Rose, and her family. Despite the Sycorax invasion, the time he spent with her, freshly regenerated had been the best Christmas he'd ever had.

Not that he really celebrated much, but he always loved throwing himself into Earth customs.

The Doctor looked around him, hoping for a few killer Santas, and found none.

He kept walking.

[miss_rosetyler]

Rose thought that, at the very least, there should have been snow. The sight of soft flakes descending on London might have been just enough to make up for the fact that she had returned to a universe that, by this point, seemed to be equally lacking in the Doctor.

She kept walking. Her feet were sore and her thin trainers were not ideal for the cold weather. It wasn't her fault; it had been late spring in the other universe. When the jump between universes had been made, she had turned up on a London sidewalk in a t-shirt. Rose didn't want to admit where she had gotten the jacket.

It was while thinking about all of this (the weather, her sore feet, the desperation of dumpster diving), that Rose heard that sound. That oh, so familiar sound. Like a great whirring machine.

She strained her head above the crowd, but couldn't see the blue box that she knew must be somewhere nearby.

Rose Tyler began to run. She ducked through the crowds, glancing down alleys as she hurried down a London street, at Christmas.

[justthedoctor10]

The Doctor kept walking, glancing about him as people rushed by, not paying any attention to him. This suited him just fine. He stopped in front of a bookstore, and glanced into their display window at the latest releases and top sellers.

Nothing appealed to him. It wasn't as if he hadn't a library of his very own in the TARDIS, waiting with any volume he pleased.

He sighed heavily, and looked around him as people kept moving. "What am I even doing here?" he asked no one in particular.

[miss_rosetyler]

Rose was shouting. She was yelling for him over the crowds and she didn't care how much of a lunatic they thought she was. One particular member of the crowd did not give way as she barreled past him and Rose nearly tripped forwards onto the concrete. Staggering, she regained her foot-hold and ran.

And as she ran, without thinking, her fingers went to the silver chain on her neck and the little silver key hanging there. It had come with her across universes; it had been a sort of token for her. A standard that she bore. Dame Tyler's coat of arms.

"Doctor!" She called, her voice was near shrill with the amount of effort pushed into each shout.

[miss_rosetyler]

Rose Tyler found the TARDIS. There it was, tucked between a pair of bins and a few old boxes. That old blue box, looking the same as it ever did. She had pushed through the crowds to reach it and now stood with her cheek against the wood. She gazed across the texture of the paint and remembered.

She remembered the first time she had stepped into the TARDIS. She had run in and then had promptly run back out because it was bigger on the inside.

It had been so long since she had been inside the TARDIS. Her fingers picked at the key around her neck. There was something that felt almost like trespassing in what she was planning to do. The TARDIS was not exactly her territory anymore, was it?

Oh, it had been so long.

She slowly leaned forward and slotted the key into the door, relishing the click that sounded when she twisted the key. She closed her eyes. She opened the door. She stepped in without looking, snapping the door shut behind her.

Rose Tyler opened her tear-swollen eyes. She was home.

[justthedoctor10]

It was much later that The Doctor got back to the TARDIS. He pulled out his key to open the door, but noticed that it was already unlocked. He lifted an eyebrow and slowly pushed the door open.

Everything seemed fairly normal. The TARDIS hummed out a greeting, and all of the lights were at their normal colors, if a little dimmed.

Slowly, he made his way up the ramp. "Hello?" He put a hand to the wall and looked up. "Who've you let in this time, then?"

[miss_rosetyler]

Rose had spent so many years being patient, stuck in another universe, with little hope of return. Obtaining hope, now, had made it far more difficult to remain patient. She had spent the first hour simply soaking in the familiar surroundings: the console, the padded seat, the columns with their organic appearance. Rose studied all of it. She touched all of it, running her fingers along each crevice and pulling the memories back into herself

[justthedoctor10]

The Doctor walked up and rounded the console, checking readings, and clicking a few switches. He went to sit down on the jump seat, but found it was occupied.

By Rose Tyler.

He stared for a good long moment, blinking, trying to comprehend the sight before him. She looked peaceful, eyes closed, lips pouted slightly.

"Oh, now I know I've lost it," he muttered. But couldn't help himself. Even if it wasn't really her, even if it was some figment of his imagination, or some trick...it looked so real.

He slumped onto the grated floor, watching her, but she didn't move. "You know, I knew eventually I'd crack," he said conversationally. "I just always thought I'd...I don't know, turn into the Valyard...not...start seeing and hearing things like some drooling psychopath." He sighed and reached out a tentative hand, brushing her hair aside. "Still. At least it's a nice projection of insanity..."

[miss_rosetyler]

Rose Tyler remembered the way to the kitchen. As she walked down the corridors, she smoothly switched to automatic pilot. She allowed her memory to guide her. So far it had not failed her; she did, after all, successfully find her old room and was pleased to to find it in the exact state the Doctor had promised her.

She had rushed through a shower, taking just enough time to rinse off her skin and clean her hair. It had felt great to be able to change into fresh clothing after she had spent a week in those she had been wearing when she turned up in this universe.
The chest of drawers in her room was filled with clothing she had almost forgotten she had ever owned. In the end she chose a pair of plain jeans, a tshirt, and a red zip-up: each with their own associated memories.

Rose was combing through her hair when she arrived in the kitchen, sniffing the air for that tell-tale scent of a brew. "Hello.." She greeted the Doctor with a smile.

[justthedoctor10]

"Hello," he replied readily, handing her a mug of tea. "Hope you still like it the same way." He took a sip from his own cup and sat down at the small table.

[miss_rosetyler]

Rose took the mug and wrapped her hands around it, sucking in the warmth through her fingers. She held it close to her face, inhaling deeply through her nose. "Yeah, I do. Old habits die hard." She placed her lips on the edge of the mug and slowly tipped it back. The hot brew trickled onto her tongue. The taste and feel was quite satisfying.

She followed the Doctor to the table and sat across from him. She took another sip and swallowed.
"Something pretty big musta happened over here.." Rose finally said, setting her mug down. "Cause it caused quite an imprint in Pete's World. I guess that's where all of this kinna began, and how I ended up back here."

[justthedoctor10]

He nodded but didn't meet her eyes. "That would be my fault..."

He took in a deep breath before starting to explain. About his part in Harriet Jones's downfall, and the events that led to Harold Saxon...About The Face of Boe's words, and how he ignored them, and then about Professor Yana and his transformation into the Master at the end of the universe, and losing the TARDIS. About what he'd done, ensuring that the Master couldn't travel anywhere except the 21st century and the end of the universe.

About the "Tochlaphane," and about being imprisoned, and the events of the year that wasn't.

It felt so good to sit down and really tell someone, he let the words spill out, feeling as if he couldn't stop. She deserved to know what had happened, what had brought her here.

He stopped at The Master's death, and stared at her, trying to predict her reaction to it all. If she'd be able to forgive him for the way she'd turned back up.