Rating: K

Summary: AU. Set in Pete's World. Edith Black is a volunteer at the local nursing home, where she is assigned to a resident whose story she'll never forget. Based on the format of the miniseries Casanova.

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.

Author's Note: Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while, but I've realised just how much homework you get in Year 12. Anyway, I've had this idea for a while, and decided to finally get it down. It'll probably only be about 3 chapters.

The Legend of Rose Tyler

My name is Edith Black. I'm 19 years old, I have brown hair, blue eyes … oh hell, you don't need to know much about me, because this story isn't about me. Well, it is but it isn't. It's about the most life-changing experience I've ever had. It's about the day I met Rose Tyler.

I'd volunteered to do some work down at the local nursing home. My gran used to live there, so I knew the grounds well enough. It was all worked out – I'd do some cleaning, talk to the residents, and walk out with a few brownie points on my CV. So first I had to be assigned to a resident.

"You'll be with … Rose Tyler," murmured the receptionist. My eyes widened at the name.

"Any relation?" I asked excitedly.

"To who?" asked the receptionist, obviously quite bored.

"TheRose Tyler!" I exclaimed. "There was this woman, years ago. They called her the Defender of the Earth." The receptionist shrugged, then told me the way to Rose Tyler's room. As I walked up the stairs, I gulped. I'd read about Rose Tyler years beforehand. Whenever there was a news report or newspaper article about a possible alien invasion, there was her name. Of course, all that stuff was from the archives. There hadn't been any mention of her in years. Finally I approached her room, and knocked.

"Come in," said a voice. Slowly opening the door, I walked in. There was an old woman sitting up in bed. In front of her was a tray that was full of scattered papers. I noticed that some had pictures on them.

"M-Mrs Tyler?" I stammered.

"It's Miss, dear," said the woman. "Please, take a seat. They told me you were coming." Nervously I sat down next to the bed.

"Are you really her?" I asked. "The woman who worked for years to defend the world from alien invasions?"

"What do you think?" asked the woman, a smile forming on her wrinkled face. I studied her. There was something about her eyes that made her look … different. Her being old, there were obviously years of experience in them, but I also saw something that I couldn't explain.

"You are, aren't you?" I whispered. "But … blimey, how old are you?"

"One hundred and twenty years old," answered Rose. "I've had a long life."

"You look pretty good for it," I admitted. "So what are all these papers and things?"

"I've decided to write the story of the 2 years of my life that changed me forever," explained Rose. "I have so many memories from those years that I want immortalised."

"But what about the rest of your life? You must have done so much more," I said. "I've read about all the aliens you helped to defeat. Apparently you killed some of them quite easily."

"In that case, it was because I'd faced them before," said Rose. "In those fateful 2 years, I learned things I'd never forget." She indicated towards the papers.

"Will you tell me about it?" I asked, hunching forward. "It sounds so extraordinary."

"If you wish," said Rose, who began rummaging through her papers, until she pulled out a photo. "Here we go. This is a picture of me, taken when I was 19 years old."

"That's my age," I commented. I then looked at the picture. It wasn't a very good one. It was taken through some bushes, and the young Rose wasn't even looking at the camera.

"You were very beautiful," I said. "But don't you have a better picture than this?" Rose shook her head.

"That's the earliest surviving picture of me," she said. "All the others are gone. The only reason I have this one is, well, if I told you that it'd be out of sequence with the rest of the story. Let's just wait 'til we get to it."

"Okay," I said, nodding. "Go ahead."

And so Rose Tyler talked. She began with a bit of a background to her life, then told me about being trapped in the basement of a department store, with shop-window dummies coming towards her.

"Get out," I said.

"My dear, you're going to hear a lot today that sounds unbelievable," said Rose. "Just let me speak, then you can make up your mind as to whether my story is true or not." I sighed.

"Okay," I said. "Please continue."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"He looked at me, his blue eyes boring into mine. 'I could save the world but lose you', he said." I gasped.

"What happened next?" I asked, almost afraid of what would happen.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As Rose kept speaking, I found myself imagining these scenarios in my head. I could almost picture this Doctor in my head, with younger Rose by his side. My head was filled with quotes from Rose Tyler's adventures.

"What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?"

"I only take the best. I've got Rose."

"Just … tell me you're sorry."

"I can dance!"

I giggled as I thought of Captain Jack. He sounded like one cool (and hot!) guy. But then the story got a whole lot more serious. In the year 200 100, Rose, the Doctor and Jack were on the Gamestation. And right next to them were thousands of Daleks. The way Rose described them just made me loathe them.

" 'Do that for me Rose. Have a fantastic life'," quoted Rose. Tears came to my eyes, as well as hers.

"I can't believe he did that," I said softly. "To keep you safe."

"That's what the Doctor was like," said Rose. "Always putting others before himself. But I wasn't taking that. My fantastic life was with him."

"So what did you do?" I asked. Rose smiled.

"I couldn't remember at first, but about a week later it came back to me," she said. "It was a little hazy at first, but even now it's clear as day. I mean, who could forget something as intense as staring into the heart of the TARDIS?" I gaped.

"Youwhat?!" I exclaimed

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I could feel the power running through my head. I was burning, but I couldn't let go," described Rose. "The Doctor knew I couldn't hold on much longer. He looked into my eyes, and do you know what he said?" I shook my head.

"I think you need a Doctor."

I squealed, which is very uncommon for me. Rose, sensing my excitement, continued.

"Then he stepped up to me, he closed his eyes, and…"

"He kissed you!" I cried, unable to contain my thoughts. "He kissed you, right?" Rose nodded. "Oh my god! Like, the way you were telling the story, I always hoped … but I never imagined … you kissed an alien!"

"It wasn't just a kiss," said Rose. "The time vortex flowed from me into him. But it's a very bad thing for a Time Lord to have all that power inside him, as I was soon to find out." My eyes widened. What did she mean?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"The flames were engulfing him, and there was nothing I could do," said Rose. "Beneath them, I noticed that his features were changing." I cocked my head to one side. "Then, when it was over, there was a completely different man standing in the Doctor's place." I couldn't take it any longer.

"WHAT!" From the room next to ours, a nurse came round.

"Shh, you'll wake the other residents!" she said. I looked down sheepishly. When the nurse had gone, I looked back at Rose.

"What?" I whispered.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

That's all for now. And don't worry – this will be more than a recount of events.