The Wizard's Guide to Timelords and Other Demons Book 1: The Forgotten War

Fallen Angel

"Rose?" The Doctor said as he stared dumbfounded at the woman standing in the TARDIS doorway, silhouetted by the unusual brightness of the control room inside.

The moment was more uncomfortable than the Doctor believed it should have been. Three months had passed since he had left Rose with his meta-crisis twin on Pete's World, and the two of them seemed to have hit it off pretty well at the start. Yet not a day had gone by that the Doctor didn't think about her and, at times, he still yearned for her companionship. Somehow, Rose knew exactly what to say to ease the tension.

"Happy New Year, Doctor," she said with a warm smile, though this time it sounded less bubbly, and more formal. "John sends you his best."

"John?" The Doctor asked, looking puzzled. Then it dawned on him. "Oh, you mean John Smith. So, he decided to go with that name, did he?"

"Actually, I started calling him Corin at first," she replied. "After all, I couldn't call my husband The Doctor for the rest of my life now, could I? He eventually decided to go back to John later on."

"Your... husband, you said?" The Doctor asked, still looking puzzled.

"Yes Doctor, my husband. We had a little girl named Mia." For an instant, a look of sadness flashed across Rose's face. The Doctor was unsure if he should inquire further, but fortunately, the moment was saved by Captain Jack who was not at all please with having been overlooked this far into the conversation.

"Ahem," Jack said, clearing his throat.

"And happy New Year to you too, Jack! Glad to see you made it back ok."

"Well, that's just great Rose," the Doctor burst out in a sudden show of excitement. "That is just...amazing. Congratulations! All in the last three months? That's...incredible!"

Now it was Rose's turn to look puzzled, but she did it in kind of a flirty way that made it look charming. Then she pointed over her shoulder with her thumb towards the dark grey police box behind her.

"I do have my own TARDIS you know," she sassed, "Or hadn't you noticed yet?"

Still feeling somewhat awkward, it took the Doctor a second or two to work it out. "Ah, yes! From the coral fragment I left you. I would imagine you and...John have been traveling quite a bit now, seeing the universe, jaunting about throughout time and space and all that."

"Quite a bit, yes," Rose repeated back, her smile fading a little.

Another silhouette appeared in the corridor. It was Alex Hopkins.

"The boys are ready to go now," Alex said to Rose.

"Good, let's get started then," Rose replied.

Rose and Alex stepped out of the TARDIS doorway and made their way to Elise. As she passed by, the Doctor noticed that Rose looked very different from what he remembered. The sweet, playful, countenance was gone, and she seemed wiser and more somber. She definitely looked older now, and not just in her demeanor. Gentle laugh lines and numerous streaks of gray in her hair betrayed her age. Her voice also seemed deeper and richer than he remembered, though almost imperceptibly so. When the Doctor had last seen Rose three months ago, she was twenty-one. The woman who had just walked by was easily in her late forties, though just as radiant and beautiful as ever.

Rose found Elise sitting on the ground with her arms wrapped around her knees, shaking. Her blood-red eyes seemed to be staring off into the distance while her parched lips whispered chants in an unknown language. Her pale face, now twisted in pain, was pitted and scarred as though it had endured years of harsh punishment. Rose knelt on the ground beside her and took Elise's hand in hers, squeezing it gently.