A/N: This is the first fanfiction I post in years, and my first incursion in the Doctor Who universe, so I'm a little nervous! I'm a recent Doctor Who fan, and I certainly don't claim to know the canon backwards and forwards, so I apologize if I make mistakes here or in future chapters.

This was inspired by bluedawn01's excellent story Shades of Blue Cerulean.

I hope you enjoy!

When Jackie finally manages to tear her away from the wall in that awful white room, she has been silent for a while, her tears run dry. Her throat is hoarse from shouting in anger and desperation, her hands throbbing from hitting the wall, but all she really feels is numb, an empty shell of herself. She follows them outside without much resistance, mechanically: out of the room, down a corridor, one feet in front of the other all the way to an elevator. If she could muster up the energy, she would be surprised at being able to function with a heart torn in pieces.

They bring her to Pete's mansion, put her in a bed, whisper soothing things she can't really hear. There is only silence screaming at her without the gentle hum of the TARDIS, and she tries to remember the last time she has gone to bed without its presence in her head. Velma II, she decides, where they had been forced to stay overnight, but then there had been his voice talking softly as she drifted off to sleep, a voice she would never hear again. Arms that would never hug her again, a hand forever empty, smiles never shared, and suddenly she finds tears to cry again.

The first few days are a blur. She doesn't want to talk, doesn't have the will to move. They force her to eat, to take her a shower. She changes back into the clothes she was wearing that day because she doesn't want to admit to moving on, even in that small way. The walls are closed, she is trapped, and do people really expect her to carry on like her life hasn't just ended?

Two weeks after the worst day of her life, something snaps her out of it.

"…and Pete said it's all taken care of, no one should be able to crack that story, is what he said. Sure people will wonder, an' we won't be able to stop the tabloids spreadin' rumors and all, but at least now you have an identity. You'll have papers and a bank account, you'll be able to start workin' and everything…"

Jackie has forced her down to the kitchen in front of a cup of tea, and proceeds to tell her the all-important news. Pete has forged an identity for her as their long-lost daughter, kidnapped at an early age and only recently found again. For Jackie, everything had been so much simpler. They had simply pretended that she had survived the Cybermen attack, but had suffered temporary memory loss due to the traumatic shock. People would no doubt talk about how much she'd changed, but no one would challenge her claim. She was the same person, after all, the one and only Jackie Tyler. But Rose had never existed in this world. This universe had never wanted a Rose Tyler, except in the diminutive form of a dog, and for her this is just an irrefutable proof that she shouldn't be here, that she has no place in this world.

"Rose, are you even listening to me?"

"Yes mum, that's great. I exist again." She takes a shaky breath, lets it go quickly. This is another step towards moving on, and she hates everything about it. "So what do you want me to now? Work in a shop again?"

"Don't take that tone with me. Nothin' wrong with working in a shop. But no, Pete thought you could start working for Torchwood. Even I have to admit, if there's one thing those years with him gave you, at least, it's a knowledge of aliens."

Rose huffs out a breath in pain and closes her eyes, hands clenching at her side. Torchwood. As if she would work for the thing that destroyed her life. Without even considering the Torchwood in her original universe (she wouldn't, couldn't, think about that white room again), if it hadn't been for this Torchwood's inability to deal with the Cybermen on their own, if they hadn't invented those damn dimension hoppers, they would never have come to her universe, and she wouldn't have been brought to -

Wait.

The dimension hoppers.

When they had come here by accident, before, the Doctor had said that travel between parallel universes was impossible. But he had been wrong. That much was obvious. Torchwood had done it once, maybe it could be done again…

She could sit around and mope all day, and spend the rest of her life being miserable, or she could try her hardest to get back to him. And Torchwood is probably her best chance of doing just that.

Steeling her resolve, she looks back at Jackie with a purpose in her eyes that has been absent ever since she was dragged into this universe.

"Alright mum. Call Pete. You can tell him I'll work for Torchwood."

The dimension hoppers had been entirely dependent on the walls between the universes being open, and would not work anymore, but Rose doesn't despair. After all, she tells herself, there's bound to be other solutions. Now that she's found her determination, there's no way she'll let herself give up. She won't accept his statement of 'impossible'. If it had really been impossible, she wouldn't be here in the first place. And, she argues with herself, he probably wouldn't just give up, either. She's sure that he's working too, on his side of the universe, trying to find a way to get her back. It is only a matter of who, between the two of them, got there first.

At Torchwood, no one seems particularly interested in developing dimensional travel anymore, now that the threat has passed. Even Pete is reticent to use his influence over it, thinking his not-daughter's despair at being separated with the Doctor would pass. Rose knows otherwise. The last years of her life changed her, defined her in ways she would never have believed possible, and she doesn't want to have to redefine herself without him. If people aren't willing to help her, she will have to do it alone.

She throws herself in her studies, aiming to finish her A-levels while working part-time for Torchwood. The rest of her time is spent in the Torchwood archives, poring over mission reports and descriptions of alien technology encountered or salvaged. Now that her slum is over, she throws herself into action with all her might. Jackie is delighted, thinking that Rose is on the right track to recovery, but she doesn't know it is all in the hopes of finding a way to leave. She is going to figure out a way to go back to him.

She has been here six months when she wakes up in the middle of the night, hearing his voice.

They all expect her to crumble to pieces again, she knows. They keep glancing at her on the ride back to London in a way they think is subtle, waiting another meltdown. It only steels her resolve. You can't, he answered, when she asked if she could ever see him again, and just that thought makes her fists tighten, her jaw clench. I can't, really? Well, tough, she thinks. I'll hear the rest of that sentence if it's the last thing I do.

She loses herself in her work with even more ardor than before. She enrolls part-time at a university, takes up engineering and physics courses. She moves out of her parents' house to stop her mum complaining about her working too much and rents a flat close to Torchwood that she hardly ever spends time in. It isn't home. Nowhere but the TARDIS, with him, could ever really be home for her anymore.

God, she is going to find a way to get back.

She has to.

Reports have been coming in of strange noises and flashes of light occurring around an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of London. With no other information to go on, Torchwood has sent one of their best teams to investigate. Mickey Smith, Ben Evans, Jake Simmonds and Rose Tyler are under order to assess the situation, take no unnecessary risks, and report back. After a brief assessment of the area surrounding the building revealing nothing out of the ordinary, they are now crouched in a back alley next to the warehouse, trying to figure out the best plan of action.

"The building's too large, we'll have to split up, we'll cover more ground that way," says Jake, inspecting the area in front of him. "Would take too long otherwise." He glances at his teammates to see them nodding their heads, giving their assent.

"Yeah, you're right," agrees Ben. "Let's each take one side. I got this one. Jake, go right. Mickey, Rose, circle left."

"OK, that's a plan. Keep radio silence unless you find something. Be careful," Jake adds, clapping Mickey on the back before making off towards the side of the building, half crouching as he runs to another alley. Rose and Mickey nod to Ben briefly before moving off in the opposite direction.

They progress slowly and silently, staying hidden as much as possible. They warily scan the area as they go, attentive to any suspicious sound or sign of movement. So far, nothing. The place feels empty and desolate, broken windows and graffitied walls testament of its abandonment to time. They stop close to a door that is half hanging on rusted hinges.

"Right, that's my way in," says Rose quietly, nodding in its direction.

"Yeah, alright," replies Mickey. "I'll keep going round to the other side."

She nods and starts moving towards the door when he grabs her arm, making her look at him again.

"Rose, don't do anything stupid."

"Yeah, sure," she answers quickly. When Mickey continues to frown at her, she rolls her eyes. "Mickey, I'll be careful. Now go."

With one last look at her through narrowed eyes and a swift nod, he takes off.

Rose rolls her eyes once again. What does he think she's going to do? She knows better than to engage the enemy alone, without backup. Sure, she's grown a little… reckless recently, and she knows Mickey has noticed, but she isn't stupid. She sighs, and starts in a half-crouch towards the door.

Over two years. It has been over two years since she last saw him, almost three since she became stuck in this universe. She hasn't given up hope yet, even though she's had little success so far. It's just… some days are harder than others. Sometimes she feels herself almost surrendering to the despair that's been steadily growing, the heartache too much to bear. And, well, if she happened to be on a mission at the time… She shakes her head, clearing her mind to focus on the task at hand. No point thinking about this now. There was work to be done.

She has been exploring the warehouse for a good twenty minutes, walking carefully down a corridor, looking in one empty room to another without encountering any sign of whatever is supposed to be here. There is nothing, no sign of activity or recent disturbance to the mess the place is in. She is beginning to think that his has been a false lead when she stiffens and pauses, straining her ears.

There. There it is again. A sob, faintly echoing through the corridor.

She takes off in the direction of the sound, her hand gripping almost painfully the handle of her stun gun. She creeps forward cautiously, trying her best to be silent, until she comes to an open door. Carefully peeking inside, she freezes for a second time.

It is a large room, as dimly lit as the rest of the building, and as broken down. Scattered pieces of junk and broken glass are scattered everywhere on the ground. But what catches her attention is that back against one of the walls, inside what looks like a giant cage, are three human beings.

One is a man who looks to be in his sixties, sitting on the floor with the back of his head against the cage, his eyes closed, his posture slumped in defeat. One is a woman in her thirties, kneeling on the floor, one arm around the shoulders of the third person in an attempt at comfort. And that third person… Rose clenches her fist as a stab of pain shoots through her heart. That third person is a young girl who can't be older than ten, sitting cross-legged on the floor, crying softly.

Rose fights against the overwhelming impulse to go to them and set them free. She has to call for back-up. She doesn't know where the kidnappers are, or even what they are. She can't just jump head first into the situation, even if her whole body is tightening in an urge to run to the cage. At the least, she should get one of her teammates here.

As she raises her hand to her headset to call Mickey, the line suddenly comes to life. Amidst the sounds of shots being fired and something crashing nearby, she can hear Jake's voice, yelling.

"Everyone, get out! One of them saw me, and they're not friendly aliens! I called for back-up, but for now, get the hell out of the building!"

Her breath quickens, her mind races, thinking fast. If the aliens know they have been found, they might decide to leave, to get away and find someplace new to hide. They might take the prisoners with them, or even worse… they might kill them, in favor of secrecy and a hasty escape. She can't risk it.

"Mickey, I've found prisoners," she calls into her headset. "Get back towards me, I'm going to get them out through that same door I came in. Hurry!"

Without waiting for his answer, she rushes into the room, quickly scanning it for any signs of aliens. Apart from the humans, it's empty. She hasn't met anyone on her way in either, so maybe luck is on her side. They might be all where Jake is, on the far side of the building. She moves towards the cage just as she hears Mickey's sharp reply.

"I'll be there fast as I can."

The humans all look up as they see her come in, and she quickly signals them to stay quiet.

"Shh. It's alright, I'll get you out of here. Any of you hurt?" As they shake their heads, she lets out a small sigh of relief. Good. They would be able to move quickly.

"Alright, we need to hurry, in case one of them comes back." She examines the cage and finds the door, kept close by a strange looking lock. Quickly changing the settings on her gun and motioning to the prisoners to move back, she is about to shoot when a faint, scared voice stops her.

"Miss? There was… another one of us," the woman pipes up. "A man. They took him away not long ago."

Rose lowers her gun and looks up, torn. She can't really go look for him now, can she? The aliens are alerted to their presence, there is no time. She has to get these people out, at least, while she still can.

"Alright," she answers in her best reassuring voice. "I promise we'll look for him. For now, let's get you out safe and sound, OK?"

She gives them a small smile, and they nod uncertainly. Breathing deeply, she raises her gun once again and aims it at the lock, praying it would be able to break it open as she presses the trigger.

It does, but the noise her shot makes, added to the sound of the lock exploding and crashing into a million pieces on the floor, reverberates loudly into the adjacent corridors. Rose swears quietly as she moves to open the door. If any of the aliens are remotely close to them, there is no way they haven't heard that.

She leads the prisoners quickly through the corridor, but soon she becomes aware of the sound of rushing footsteps behind them. She yells at them to go faster, and sees with relief the older man pick up the child in his arms, who was having trouble keeping up the pace.

Just as they are turning a corner, she feels a blast of energy rush past her to crash into a wall, missing her by mere inches. She crouches against the wall and quickly sets her gun back to stun.

"Go!" she yells, looking back at the prisoners. "It's straight out from here, and Mickey should be there and help you get away. I'll try to slow them down!"

"Mickey!" she shouts into her headset as she peeks around the corner at the two aliens coming towards her from the end of the corridor. She fires a few warning shots before pulling her head back in, narrowly avoiding another energy blast.

"I'm almost there!" comes the reply.

"Get to that door and help those people get away! Get them somewhere safe!"

She fires a few shots again and sees with satisfaction one of the aliens fall to the ground, stunned. The remaining alien ducks for cover into an adjacent room.

She waits with bated breath for any sign of movement from the corridor. She has to stand her ground, hold out a little longer, and then back-up would get here. She is so intent on the door through which the alien has disappeared that she misses the flash of movement from another door across from her, and when she hears the shot it is too late.

She feels the energy engulf her body, burning every nerve as pain explodes inside her. She tries to scream but she has no voice left, no breath. Darkness consumes her as she falls to the ground, her life slipping away from her.

A/N: Before you all panic remember that this is a Doctor x Rose story, so I probably wouldn't kill her in the first chapter… Just a thought. Anyway, comments are appreciated!