Chapter Two: A taste of things to come.
Rose scrambled off the Doctor, still panting a little from the excursion that they had just went through with the killer arm.
"Mum, it's not what it looks like," Rose began, hoping against hope she would be able to cut her mother off before the storm that is Jackie Tyler hit full form.
Nope. Jackie was already off and running.
"I should hope not!" Jackie shrieked. The Doctor winced at the pitch the harpy of an ape was using as he climbed to his feet. Her attention was currently on Rose, who looked a little pale and shaken up. It seemed to not matter to her mother, who was lashing out at her child in such a way that even the Doctor was tensing up and swallowing back a protective growl. The language this ape was using against Rose was borderline abusive! Not even thinking what he was doing, he reached out snagging Rose's hand in his.
"Run," he told her, eyes wide, begging her to curl her fingers like last night and let him led her to safety once more.
"Wait a minute," Jackie yelled at him, just as his weight shifted and he darted past her, dragging Rose with him. "Get back here!! Who is going to clean this up, huh?? This was a gift from my own Mother!!"
Rose fought back the laughter that threatened to bubble up to her lips as the Doctor pulled her out of the flat and towards the stairs. She could hear her mother rushing out after them.
"Hold on now, "Jackie's voice echoing over the plaza of the Estates. "You can't just go swanning off like that!"
"Yes I can," quipped the Doctor in an infuriating chipper voice. "See? This is me, swanning off. Bye!" He threw that last part over his and Rose's shoulders as they vanished into the stairwell. The scream of fury that Jackie of "Who the hell are you?" followed the pair as the door closed behind them, they headed down to the ground level. The Doctor found himself chuckling in amusement.
"Okay," she tried to get him to talk to him as they jogged together, "are you going to tell me what is going on yet?"
"Not likely," he grinned back at her. Rose just rolled her eyes at his antics.
"But that arm tried to kill you!" That part mildly bugged her. Why hadn't it go after her this time? She could have sworn it did that the first time. "I saw it! The fingers were digging into you, they had knuckles and everything."
Trying to catch her breath as they continued down, tenth floor, ninth, she looked up at his profile and fought the blush from her cheeks and the tightening in her core. How she had missed this him, the little arrogant smirk curving his lips, the glitter in his icy blue eyes when he was having fun. Rose had to jog to keep up with his pace as her rounded the landing for the eighth floor. Trying again to get him to talk more, she called out, "It was trying to strangle you! You can't just walk away, you got to tell me what is going on!"
"No I don't," he grinned at her as they hit the seventh floor.
"Fine!" Rose huffed. "Then… I'll go to the police! I'll tell everyone. You said it, you said if I did that I would get people killed, yeah? So. Start talking, mister, or I'll start talking." The threat was even emptier on her lips as it had been before.
The grin he tossed her was adorable and at the same time, completely condescending. What came out of his mouth was the last thing she was expecting him to retort with. "Now you're threatening me, Rose Tyler. Proud of yourself?"
They had reached the ground floor and the Doctor pushed the doors open pulling her after him. He thought she looked simply adorable as she followed him, looking shocked at him, mouth hanging open. "You'll catch flies doing that." He warned with a laugh, his Northern accent making his voice shake. Her mouth snapped shut.
As they exited into the sunlight, Jackie Tyler was waiting for them. As soon as she spotted the leather wearing bloke and the madam, she yelled down to them again. Like Hell they were going to swan off on her like that.
"Hey! Mister, just who the Hell do you think you are, huh? Coming in, breaking my furniture!" Jackie was still fuming. "That was from my Mum!!"
"She's not my mum," mumbled the Doctor under his breath as he pulled up short to turn slightly. Tilting his head, he looked up at the still raging Tyler elder. "It's not Mister!"
"Then who the hell are you?" Jackie snapped, asking now for the third time.
"I told you, if you bothered to listen," the Doctor grinned. "I'm the Doctor!"
"Yeah?" was the sneer from the fourteenth floor. "The Doctor what?"
"Just, the Doctor," he tossed back as he turned from Jackie, tugging Rose along as he started off again. Rose could tell he was having fun aggravating her mother. She forced herself to swallow her own grin, it has been far, far too long since she saw this side of either of them. How funny it was, to find such joy in something of simple, so domestic.
"The Doctor?" Rose asked now, following him while glancing up as her mother started yelling again about her getting her arse back in the flat, and something about airs and graces. Rose just shook her head, she would have time later to deal with her mum. Right now, she needed to deal with the Doctor. She was a little busy playing along with what she knew was like a secret game to her Doctor. Somehow he seemed to find validation in his identity doing this with people. Like a well-rehearsed act, he turned to her and gave a cheery little wave.
"Hello."
"Nobody's called 'The Doctor'," Rose found herself challenging him, something about the way he was acting made her spine straightened. She would not be pushed around, she may be physically only nineteen, but she had years on her mind.
"I am," he grinned at her again. For a reason he could not fathom, he was enjoying the way her fingers would tighten around his, or the way her eyes flashed as he kept teasing her. She kept asking questions, kept challenging him. So much like a few of the other had. But their touches didn't send little jolts of electricity up his arm, or make his hearts beat wildly. His grin grew wider when she asked, a touch of attitude he always associated with teenaged apes, a bit of steel he saw when she was wrestling with the arm, and tones of warmth in her voice, "Is that supposed to sound impressive?"
"Sort of."
"Well, you've failed."
That brought him up short. Turning to her, his expression astonished. He looked into her eyes now, searching that. There was something in that last statement that he couldn't identify. It was like she knew him, a flicker of deeper recognition. Those whiskey brown eyes stared right back him, searching his eyes in return. She was so different from last night, he thought idly. Maybe that was because she had her wits about her today, maybe it was something else. Whatever it was, it seems to call to him. He took a step closer to her, her small hand still held in his large one. Blue eyes flicked down to her full lips as her pink tongue swiped across them.
"Really?" he murmured, leaning in slowly. "Well, I like it." Was it his imagination or was she leaning in to meet him?
The sudden blast of a car horn startled the pair out of their reverie. Blinking a few times to clear his head, the Doctor finally realized that Rose still had the plastic arm in her free hand. In one fluid movement, he snatched the arm from her hand, started walking across the concert plaza, and letting go of Rose's hand finally, he lobbed the arm into the air where it landed with a loud BANG! in one of the industrial rubbish bins on the estate.
"Wait a minute," Rose called out, dashing after him. "You can't just chuck that thing away, isn't it dangerous?"
The pink and gold girl felt really stupid for saying that. She already knew the answer to that question. Ugh, and John had said once there was no such thing as a stupid question. If only he could hear her now.
Not anymore," the Doctor laughed. "I killed it." It was a simple fact of the matter.
"How did you kill it if it isn't alive?" She challenged him again, a playful smirk dancing on his lips and in her eyes.
"I know," he laughed again. "Doesn't make any sense at all. Fantastic, isn't it?"
The pair kept walking as Rose appeared to be digesting and mulling over the Doctor's words. The Doctor was quiet as well, thinking over what he still needed to do to see this thing to the end, and the why. He found himself once more impressed and amused by the pink and yellow human as she walked along with him, curiosity and fascination on her beautiful face. They passed through the concert of the rear of the estates and into the open, yet bare scrublands that followed. Taking a breath, Rose tried again.
"So, are you the police?" She glanced up at him. "You can tell me, I've seen enough."
"No," the Doctor shook his head, chuckling at the very idea, or the tone she used. It was all soft, and cuddly, coaxing. Cute. "I was just passing through. I'm a long way from home."
Despite knowing the answer, she asked "Which is where?"
"Miles away. Miles and miles."
Why did you park so far away?... You walked for miles. Miles and miles.
The Doctor shook his head as a voice came to him, it sounded a bit like Rose's but it couldn't be. A flash of gold eyes distracted him a moment.
"What, like, Manchester?" Rose asked with a secret grin in her eyes.
"Bit further than that," he grinned back at him.
Shaking her head, she looked forward, walking with him. "But really, tell me. I really want to know. Those plastic things. How come they keep chasing me?"
The Doctor paused a second to look down at her again, gazing at her face. She watched him back, and for a third time, he felt himself drawn to her. Shaking it off, he covered the second with arrogance and went back to being condescending. "Oh, suddenly the entire world revolves around you. You were just an accident. You got in the way, that's all."
"Then why was it in my flat?" Oh, there was that challenge again. It made him grin more.
"It was after me, not you," he laughed, explaining it as if he was speaking to a daft, thick child. "Last night, in the shop, I was there, nice and busy. Then you blundered in, almost ruined the whole thing." He paused to give her a mock glare, waiting for her reactions. Silly little ape thought she could challenge fantastic him. "This morning, I was tracking it down, but it was tracking me. The only link it had to me was you. It –"
"Came looking for me because I met you," she cut in with that smirk, mischief lightening up those golden eyes. "Right?"
The Doctor blinked at her. How could she possibly know that was what he was going to say? There was a tickling in his mind, a musical tones of laughter. Oh the TARDIS was having fun with this, he was sure. And now she was laughing at him for trying to make Rose feel stupid. Before he could properly respond, the pink and yellow human threw his own words right back at him and he could only grin that manic grin.
"So what you are saying," she laughed, "is that the whole world revolves around you?"
His massive grin made her smile back at him. "Sort of, yeah."
"You're full of it," the laughter spilled from her, soft and husky with a hint of burn, just like the color of her eyes. He wanted to hear more of it.
"I've missed this," he surprised himself by saying.
"Missed what?"
"Little human beings trotting along at my side and asking daft questions," his smile was a little sad. Rose was shocked. Was he talking about his past companions? "Those were the days!"
Stopping in her tracks, Rose watched him. The tone he used… she had never heard it before. It made her heart clench and her stomach knot. For some reason, she was taking it wrong and while logically she knew that, but emotionally, she wanted to stand up for herself. She was not like the average companion! She was Bad Wolf! She was… well she just was.
"Hey," her voice was low, nearly that growl again. The Doctor stopped and looked back at her with wide eyes. "I'm not your secretary. And I am not your pet. Have you got that?"
The look of shock and horror came over his face, even as his eyes seem to darken. Hurrying back to her, the Doctor hastily tried to explain himself. "Oh no, no, no," he breathed softly. "You don't understand, Rose Tyler. Those people, asking questions? I loved them. Oh God, I loved every one of them."
For a second, Rose worried the Doctor was going to cry. Instead, he straightened his shoulders, and walked away from her towards an empty parking lot. Watching him a moment more, a great sadness welled up inside her. Was he like this after he lost her last time too? Losing each of them hurt him more than she ever thought it had, he had hidden the pain so well.
"Okay," she cleared her suddenly tight throat, and jogged to catch up once again. "So. This plastic stuff. Who else knows about it if you aren't the police?"
"No one. Just me."
"You're on your own? Shouldn't you tell someone? Don't you have contacts or something?" Rose hedged, watching him. Surely U.N.I.T. could help him.
"There's no one," the Doctor sighed. "It's better this way. For everyone." For a second, his tone dropped to a low rumble, dark, brooding. That was the Doctor she knew, hidden beneath this manic mask he was trying to show her. After that second, the tone vanished, and his warm accented tone turned back to conversational. "Sides, who else is there? I mean, you lot, what good are you?"
She rolled her eyes, and now he was insulting humanity again. Figures.
"All you do is eat chips, got to bed, and watch telly," he continued, missing her expression. In fact he gave her a look that suggested she just dribbled on her shirt. "All the while, there is a war going on right underneath your nose."
"But… a war with… who?" She asked. He never answered her the first time. Frowning a bit, she wondered for a moment if he was talking about the Time War. But last she knew, but this time it was over already. If it ever really had an end, from the way her Doctor used to talk about it.
"Long story," the Doctor sighed again.
"What?" Rose stopped and touched his arm, making him stop and look at her again. She huffed, indignant. "Too long for me? Do I look like I can't cope?"
He smiled again, watching as she seemed to puff up, so like that little puppy trying to look scary. "No, you look like you can cope with anything, Rose Tyler." Her name seemed to just roll off his tongue. The Doctor found he liked the way it sounded. There was that light again in her eyes when she smiled proudly up at him. Like she wasn't used to people telling her something so simple. The musical tones that was the TARDIS in his mind seem to shake and tremble with laughter again at the display. For a moment he had an image of a wolf pup doing something that made the Alpha happy, and feeling proud and big and important. He had to laugh at the look.
"Well then," she grinned and started walking again. "Who is it? What kind of war? I mean, why use shop window dummies? Does that mean someone's trying to take over Britain's shops?"
Rose laughed with the Doctor, which really sounded as silly this time as it did then.
"No," the Doctor said, still laughing a little. "It's not a price war." The pair enjoyed a moment of laughter. But then, as quick as the smile came, it was gone. "They want to over throw the human race and destroy you all. D'you believe me?"
Thinking about a moment, she nodded, "I think I do."
The Doctor blinked as he came to a halt, surprised that was had listened to him. She was still listening to him. Rose took a breath and shrugged a little, "I mean, I know what I saw. It should be impossible, but it happened. I felt it. Saw it. I must be mad, but yes. I believe you."
They stood, watching each other as a wind blew over the flat lands at the edge of the estates. Questions warring in both minds, both wanting answered, to say something. But, where do you begin with everything that is going on? Turning, the two faced each other properly for the first time, a common thread binding them together, two survivors of a series of extraordinary events. Even if the other didn't know the half of it.
"Really, Doctor," Rose asked softly, breaking the silence between them. "Who are you?"
She knew she didn't really need to ask, she already knew this answer. It was so big, the word to describe him. And yet, the word was also so small, and sad. Rose asked simply because this was one of her more treasured memories of this version of him. The Doctor ran his hand over his head, looking left and right. He looked as if he was trying to decide how to answer that question. They were completely alone for the first time since he found her this morning. This area of the estates was nothing but a flat, wasteland. It was a flat land of grass that lead over to the motorway and an empty car park. Rose felt something touching against her shields, looking up she dropped them slightly. She knew that sound, that melody of the Vortex. The TARDIS was close enough to her now to greet her Wolf. Rose had to force herself not to let the smile bloom on her face, to keep her eyes on the Doctor as joy swept through her. She wanted to sob and scream with laughter. She was nearly home, were she always felt she belonged. Even John had pointed that out to her once, after they realized-
The Doctor stole her attention from her memories as he reached out, touching her cheek with cool fingertips. He had felt the TARDIS rejoicing in something, the thrill and joy swamping him. A feeling of warm coursed through him, so tender and so big, he nearly had tears in his eyes. It forced his darkness back into the corners of his mind. Stepping closer to Rose, keeping her attention on him, and him alone, he straightened to his full height, towering over the girl. His fingers grazed over the soft skin of her cheek lightly, like he was afraid to touch more, thinking she would shatter and disappear from his sight.
Rose kept her gaze on him, her thoughts fleeing as she let herself look him over. The angry red welts on his neck were a terrifying reminder of what had occurred only a short while ago. Worried colored her gaze as she noted the specks of blood from where the glass had cut into the back of his neck and cheeks. He had gotten hurt while protecting her already, and yet, yet he was not showing any signs of pain. Her eyes fluttered close as he caressed the apple of her cheek before skimming down to her jaw in a butterfly light touch.
"D'you know what we were saying?" He began in a soft voice, the low tenor for her ears only. His hand moved to her shoulder as he started talking, traveling down her arm. "About the Earth revolving?" An exhausted smile came to him his fingers skimming over her hoodie covered arm to her hand. "It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning and you can't quite believe it cos everything looks like it's standing still."
His eyes never left her face. Opening her eyes, Rose found herself lost in icy blue depths. He watching her, looking at her, through her as his hand engulfed her small one once again.
"I can feel it," he told her, his tone intense as his gaze, his Northern accent like a soft rub on the skin. "I can feel the turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour and the entire planet is hurtling round the sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it." Rose's breathing hitched in her throat as she clutched to his hand, a sudden breeze kicking up and swirling around the two of them. The pair oblivious to all but the words pouring from the Doctor's mouth, eyes locked. "We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go…"
The Doctor broke the moment, stepping away from her. Rose gasped as the connect was suddenly broken, feeling as if gravity could snap at any moment, sending her hurtling without an anchor or a way to stop herself. For a second, her mind was back in a certain white room, the wind roaring in her ears, pulling, pulling at her… demanding.
"That's who I am," the Doctor's voice brought her back from her own personal hell. Raising her eyes to his, he just seemed to go blank and stared at her. "Now forget me, Rose Tyler. Go home."
Then he walked away.
It took everything in her to not call out to him, to beg him to let her help him. She knew him, she could help. Her heart screamed out for him, but all she could do was stand there and watch him walk away. She wanted to cry. Another part of her, a primal part of her, growled and shift inside her. He could not scare her. Rose continued to watch him, knowing he would not look back. The Doctor never looked back. Tears glittered in her eyes as she watched him enter the TARDIS, standing so proud and strong in the car park. As the engines kicked on, the wind whipped around her and the whirring sound of the ancient and magnificent ship disappeared, Rose still stood there.
And if anyone had been watching, for a second, only a brief second, whiskey eyes flashed molten gold.
On the way back to the estates, Rose's mind was working overtime with what she knew now, and the difference she had experienced already. Frowning a little, she felt the brush of the TARDIS again in her mind, trying to ease her mental state. That moment of flashing to the Battle of Canary Wharf really messed with Rose more than she wanted to admit. Lifting her face, she looked over the two towers that made up the Powell Estate. The breeze moved around her, tossing her blonde hair playfully. Shaking her head, Rose started forward again. There was at least one thing she could do now. If the timeline holds true, then she will see the Doctor again later this evening. So her first action needed to be to get a hold of Clive. A stab of guilt went through her heart as she remembered Clive Finch. He was so nice, and he died, never have met the Doctor he sought so hard. Maybe she would change that. Oh part of it. She knew better than anyone. You can't always save everyone.
Making her way towards the second tower, she steeled her heart. She needed to talk to Mickey. Soon. She could not allow him to be hurting like she did last time. Besides, he was the only person she knew that had internet access. Moving though the concert plaza, she headed to flat number 90. She could have just called him but she had already switched it off. Her mum was blowing it up between the texts and the calls. Rose had other things she needed to tend to before she could tend to Jackie Tyler's wraith.
"Hey, hey!" Mickey Smith's voice broke her thoughts and a smile erupted on her face. "There's my girl!"
Rose laughed as he swept her into his arms, picking her up and swinging her around, all the while clinging to her tightly. His gorgeous smile was like the sun had come out after a summer storm to Rose. How she had missed her best mate! It had been so many years since she last saw him. Oh, Jake would be so jealous right now, she thought with a laugh.
"Look at you," he finally got out, putting her down to the sounds of applauds. "It's still all over the news, babe. Just think, if you had just taken ten more minutes to leave…" Mickey let out a woosh of air and made the motions of an explosion with his hands.
"Shut up," Rose laughed at his antics, punching him in the shoulder before giving him a kiss on his cheek. Turning her attention, she felt tears spring to her eyes as Sally Salter swept her into a huge hug. Rose laughed a teary laugh and clung to Sally. Mook Jayasundera come over and wrapped his arms around the two women hugging and crying tears of relief. Patrice Okereke watched the three of them, laughing softly and shaking his head before joining the trio in their group hug. Rose took the time to look each one over, touching each on the cheek, as if to prove to herself they were really there.
Sally leaned back first, using the pad of her thumb to whip away the few stray tears off Rose's cheek. "None of that," she sniffled. "Look, you're making your mascara run, silly." Sally had been born Stephen Salter, but had run away from home when he realized he was more comfortable as Sally. She had yet to return home or even call her parents since she started her transition.
"Let 'er be," grinned Mook, the tiny, quiet kid of the gang. Oh he was as adorable as she last saw him. His wide dark eyes checked Rose over for any injuries quickly. "She's allowed to be emotional. She almost died, remember?"
Sweet Mook, Rose thought fondly. The shy boy so scared of his own sexuality. Mickey's flat was really the only place that he felt safe expressing himself for who he was. Mook came from a large family that lived on the estate, with six elder brothers that he was certain would make his life hell if they knew. Rose did noted the way Mook's eyes trailed over to Pat and found herself wondering how long that crush had been brewing and why she never noticed it before.
"But, here she is," crowed Patrice jovially, "our unstoppable, golden Rose." That made her shake her head as another teary laugh slipped from her. The eternal joker of the little gang, always fast with a smile and a quip to cheer others up.
As the trio hugged and cheered over Rose's survival, Mickey slipped into the kitchen to make everyone coffee. There was something in his body language that had Rose tensing. That was not how the Mickey she knew at nineteen moved. But he was smiling and laughing with everyone. Everyone seemed to be talking all at once, and Rose loved every second of it. It had been more years than she wanted to admit since she last saw this group. The little band that played for the love of the music and the joy of each other, the circle of friends, as thick as thieves and closer than family, all three of them were estate kids, like herself and Mickey. Taking the coffee Mickey offered, he winked before moving on to hand Sally her coffee. Leaning back in her chair, a knee braced against the table, Rose idly wondered why they were all here this time. And Mickey was not really acting like the boyfriend she held in her memories. In fact, if she didn't know better, he was acting more like the Mickey Smith she trained under at Torchwood before they were separated again.
Even now, she could admit to herself that he was handsome, strong, and so much braver than he would ever know. Always ready to lean a helping hand, with that winning smile that made his dark eyes dance, even as he danced a silly dance with Pat before moving on to drum out a riff on poor Mook's head. He laughed so easily now, Rose could only smile fondly. Mickey Smith was many things, but above all else, he was a good man.
Patrice stood, asking if anyone was hungry as he went to the fridge to dig out the leftovers from last night's supper: curry. Rose shook her head and stood up, waving off his attempt to feed her a spoonful of the cold mix. She was laughing so hard now. Looking at each of her dear friends, she realized that they were being a bit more than normal, thinking somehow she needed to be cheered up after the ordeal she went through last night at Hendrik's. Funny that, she barely remembered the event in any detail, only that that was the first time she saw and touched her first Doctor. The night before was…
What was it? Rose frowned a little, chewing lightly on her thumb nail as she tried to remember more clearly. It was night, she remembered the woods, the shouts, the flashes of some kind of energy cannon firing off. It was firing at her, and her team. Alpha and Omega teams. An ambush? Yes. Then, what happened?
"Babe?" Mickey's voice once again pulled her from her thoughts. Looking around the kitchen where everyone had gathered, Rose noted that everyone was staring at her. Sally was half out of her seat, worry written all over the four faces. "You okay?" Mickey asked softly, moving to stand in front of her, cutting of all visual distractions of the trio at the table. His hands were warm on her shoulders and she found herself nodding absently.
"Yeah. Yeah," Rose breathed out and forced a smile. "Hey, Mickey Mouse, mind if I use your computer for a moment?" Her voice was trembling.
"Yeah, sure," he nodded, those dark eyes boring into her own brown ones. "Go on, I'll bring ya tea, babe."
Rose found herself in Mickey's room. It was clean, almost scary so. Moving to the computer, she pulled her hoodie off and draped it over the back of his computer chair. She stared at the screen for a moment, dazed. Shaking her head to clear it, now was not the time to go all PTD, she mental scolded herself.
Opening the internet browser up, she tried to stop the gagging sounds as it was Internet Explorer. Oh, she did not miss that waste of time. Efficiently, her fingers danced over the keys as she typed in 'D-O-C-T-O-R'. She paused a moment to take a sip of her tea that Mickey had given her, then patted her on the shoulder and headed back out to the living room, where she could them arguing playfully over a new name for their little band. Someone, likely Mickey himself, was tuning their bass.
Leaning back in the chair, Rose considered the little blinking cursor. She hadn't hit 'search' yet, trying to remember what it was she put in to get to Clive's web page. Rose knew she needed to go there, and knowing about Torchwood now made her a little wearier of just doing the random search she did the first time. Okay, she let out a breath and rubbed her hands over her face. That was just weird. Really weird, just thinking it. The first time. Hopefully she never had to say that out loud, otherwise she could easily see herself being sanctioned for the nutter she sounded like and that would be the end of it.
"Come on, Rose," she muttered to herself, sitting forward again. "Just get the email and reach out. Nothing serious. Torchwood doesn't know about you yet."
"No," a voice from behind her pulled a startled scream out of Rose as she spun around to see Mickey, leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest. "They don't know about you yet. Or me." He offered a little grin then, "Seriously, Rose? You shrieked. What would Jack say?"
Rose was on her feet in the time it took to blink and cursed out in a musical alien language that made Mickey laugh. "Yeah, I'm not too fast anymore either," he quipped, still smiling at her. Rose still was tense, trying to make sense of what she just heard. Remembering what happened the last time she went up against the Nestene, she studied Mickey carefully. With a snort, he pushed away from the door and moved over to her side, nudging her out of the way of the computer. "No, I'm not plastic. Sides, you started it." He glanced up at Rose now, sitting in the seat she vacated in her haste to stand. "Callin' me Mickey Mouse. Once Jumpin' Jack Flash is allowed to call me that."
"Wait," this was a bit much, even for her right now. "Are… are you… Mickey?"
His fingers moved with a practiced ease over the keys as he started to breeze though the search, knowing what he was looking for. "Last time I saw you," he muttered, eyes on the screen, "You were with the Doctor and his, what was it called? Something Crisis, and that loud red head woman, Donna."
"Metacrisis," Rose supplied, leaning over Mickey's shoulder now, watching as he filtered through the search results. "And his name was John, John Noble."
"That is almost as bad as John Smith," Mickey snorted, arching a brow to look up at Rose. The website she was looking for was sitting on the screen. She let out a soft laugh, leaning back before her knees gave out. She landed on the corner of the bed, watching Mickey as he watched her.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Rose had to ask, to check something. "I mean, how did you get here?"
Turning around in the chair to face her, Mickey rubbed a hand over the top of his head and looked up at the ceiling. "I remember Martha," he said in a heartbreakingly soft tone. "I remember my wife."
"Martha? Wasn't she that girl with U.N.I.T.?" Rose asked, trying to remember. If she remembered right, Martha Jones was the simply gorgeous medical doctor with U.N.I.T. she had met once. "You married Martha? How did you convince her to do that?" Rose couldn't stop her laughter, nor could she keep herself from ribbing him.
"Oi," Mickey looked at Rose now, laughing, "I'll have you know she thinks I am very handsome, charming, AND clever. She never stood a chance against me." He boasted, sound suspiciously like a mutual pansexual friend.
"I'm sure that's it," Rose teased. The pair fell silent as they regarded each other.
"Seriously, the last thing I remember was being north of Cardiff. Was about six years from now," Mickey explained. "We had responded to a request from Captain Cheesecake about some hostiles in the area."
"Since when did Torchwood work with U.N.I.T.?"
"They don't," another boyish grin that just screamed mischief graced his handsome face. "We went solo after I failed to join U.N.I.T. Anyway, Jack calls up, needing back up, so we head up there." He paused a moment, leaning forward in the chair with a creaked, his fingers laced together between his knees. "It was night. Someone was shooting at us. Jack was shouting for us to get out. His team was trying to get us an evac. The visitors had weapons like I'd never seen, Rose. Like a cannon, but like the Dalek weaponry, but not, yeah?" Lifting his eyes, they were rimmed with tears. "I was hit. I remember Martha screaming for me to get up. She was trying to get back to me, to help me. I just remember her screaming for me, Rose."
Rose took a shuddering breath, shaking her head. Her heart was breaking for her best friend as he recounted what he remembered.
"Then," Mickey finished up simply, "I woke up here. It was morning, and I was here. And Sally was on my couch snoring away like nothing happened."
"Oh Micks," Rose breathed, standing to go to him. He didn't turn down her offer of a comforting hug. "It's okay. It has to be. I mean, we both are here. At the beginning of everything. She is out there, Mickey. We can find her." She cupped his cheeks. "We will get you back to Martha."
He watched his ex-girlfriend, best mate, and partner as her eyes flickered gold again and he chuckled, giving her a hug before letting go. "Careful, Rosie. You're wolf is showing."
"What?"
"You're eyes, just not. They flashed gold."
Another alien curse in that musical language she never told him what it was, came from her as she spun away. Sighing heavily, she flopped onto his bed with a thud. "Lovely, got to watch that."
Silence fell over the pair, each lost in their own thoughts.
"So." The both began at the same time, making the old friends laugh.
"You first," Rose giggled.
Mickey chuckled, "Alright. Just going to say, look on the bright side. You don't have anything holding yourself back from throwing yourself at the Doctor this time."
"Mickey!" Rose laughed hard. Once she calmed enough, she looked at the screen then back at him. "How do we want to do this?"
Her tone had gone serious. He knew that tone, she was slipping back into the mentality of the Omega team Commander of Torchwood. Nodding, he leaned back in the chair, doing the same.
"Well," he began, rubbing his jaw, missing his beard for the millionth time today. "Way I see it, we got two options. Either do what we did last time, or we do something new. What can you see?"
Rose hesitated a moment before letting her eyes slip closed. Mickey stood and closed the bedroom door to give her quiet and privacy. When she opened her eyes, they carried the faint golden glow. Mickey moved back to his chair, making sure that his cell phone was face down and his webcam was in a drawer. Knowing how Torchwood was now, one couldn't be too careful. And neither of them wanted them to learn about Bad Wolf too early.
"I can see," she murmured, frowning as she worked to concentrate. "I see many options. Most not good." With a little cry, Rose snapped her eyes closed and whimpered. "Hurts."
Mickey was at her side in an instant. "Babe, talk to me."
"I can't see," she whimpered. "I don't think, I'm complete yet, Mick."
Lifting her eyes to his, they both sighed. No cheating today then. Nodding Mickey settled back in his chair. They sent the next few minutes creating and dismissing plans of how to proceed from there. After a time, and a knock on the door, the conversation came to a close and they had an idea of what to do. Sally poked her head in and asked if they were okay. She looked worried. Both of them had been acting weird towards each other since Rose got there. She just wanted to make sure they were okay. After reassuring Sally they were just fine, Mickey followed her back to the living room. Rose got back on the computer and reached out to Clive Finch.
It was about fifteen minutes later when Rose exited the bedroom. She nodded to Mickey and gave Mook a loud kiss to the forehead with a laugh. She had something she needed to do before tonight, she told them. The band had a big gig tonight and wanted her to be there to see their re-imagining. Rose laughed and told them she would see them later. Mickey waved to the trio as he grabbed up his car keys, heading out after Rose.
"Oh, hey," Sally called out after them. "What do you think of the name Bad Karma for the band?"
"Bad Echo?" Mook suggested.
"Bad Dogs?" said Patrice around a mouth full of snacks.
"Bad Wolf?" Sally tossed out. But Rose and Mickey had already left.