Turning Pages

As the Human-Doctor and Rose embark on their new journey, they face the challenges of mortality, a new universe and make that final push, sending them back into the embrace of the stars.

Prologue: The First Page

'Thought I'd find you here.'

'You never did miss a trick.'

The night hung heavy around the Powell Estate, fog caressing the sides of the buildings, pressing insistently on the uniform rows of doors and windows. Rose Tyler shivered in the cool, damp air, pulling her large sweatshirt closer around her shoulders, trying to lock some heat in. She shoved her hands deep into the fleecy pockets and sighed, her shoulders dropping.

The Doctor was standing in the courtyard, arms crossed over his chest, staring up at the Powell Estate as though it held the meaning of life. His brow was furrowed, and his legs were firmly planted on the concreted floor in a wide stance. It was clear that he had been stood here for a good time; the dampness in the air had begun to cling to his hair, making it stick closer to his head than usual. He didn't look up as she approached.

'How did you know?' he asked, shooting her a side-long glance.

'Just had a feeling really...'

She casually left out the part where she had driven virtually everywhere she could think of in London, scanning roads and parks until she had eliminated most places they used to go. Her old estate had been her last scrap of hope. She had practically squealed in delight when she had pulled up and saw his familiar long figure silhouetted against the fog.

Rose sighed in exasperation; she had driven for hours trying to find him.

'So what are you up to?' she asked tentatively, trying to appear casual and unconcerned. 'Never knew you were so fond of this place...'

'Oh, I'm not,' he sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, on which his stubble was prominent. 'Just...came here to think. This was where it all started; all those years ago. You were nineteen, Rose, with your whole life ahead of you. An ordinary life.'

His eyes flashed to hers quite suddenly, and she felt a bolt of electricity that originated somewhere in the pit of her stomach, travelling the route of her veins. He asked, 'Do you miss it?'

'No,' she answered instinctively.

'Really?' he asked again, raising his eyebrows. 'Can you really tell me that a part of you wouldn't happily run up those stairs, into your old flat, greeted by your mum on the sofa with a cup of tea?'

Rose considered the door on the second floor which she had once considered home. The window was dark and cold; an unstaring, acknowledging eye which had never seen her before. She swallowed the lump in her throat, a barrage of memories flooding her senses.

'That's someone else's flat,' she told him firmly, 'someone else's life.'

'It used to be yours,' the Doctor replied, looking back up at the building. 'This was your sanctuary.'

'Some sanctuary – being too scared to leave after ten in case you got lynched.' She joked. He looked at her knowingly and she sighed.

'I've already got over what I lost,' Rose maintained. 'It's just a reflection of home; that's all.'

The Doctor paused for a moment, and shoved his hands in the pockets of his trousers. 'Am I a reflection?'

'No,' she told him firmly. 'You're him. The same man, yeah?'

'Am I though?' he asked, seeming to talk more to himself than to her. 'If he's there, and he's the original? If he's your home and I'm...the parallel...the copy? How am I not the reflection?'

Rose swallowed hard, avoiding his eye. 'You're just...not.'

The Doctor snorted in sarcasm.

'You're the same man!' Rose insisted, throwing her hands up in the air. 'I can see it in your eyes; it's the same look, the same expression. You're still the Doctor through and through, no matter how many hearts you have.'

The Doctor stilled, his face still impassive. 'One heart,' he pondered thoughtfully. 'One life.'

'Can you live with that?' she asked, approaching him a little closer.

They were almost shoulder to shoulder; Rose could feel the warmth from his skin diffusing through her, despite the layers of clothing. She looked up at the estate with him, mirroring his stance. He didn't reply, but didn't move away. She heard the rowdy shouts of a gang of passing drunks and ignored them, not wanting to break their cocoon of silence. Still, she couldn't help giving her parked car a worried glance.

'I'm afraid, Rose,' he whispered, almost too quiet to hear. 'My life's going to run out. Even now, I have limited time. I've lived so long in the knowledge that I was going to keep running, and keep living, and exploring. And now, it's like I woke up and found that I have a death sentence hanging over my head. A single bullet could finish me, or a measly little virus. It's like everything in the world is suddenly coated in splinters, and I can't touch anything.'

Rose didn't know what to say, or how to console him. She looked up into his face. His breath was making tracks in the air, dispersing wildly with the heat of his newly-human body. Apart from this, and the blue suit which he wore instead of his brown, Rose could see no difference. She wished he could see himself through her eyes, to acknowledge that no visible change had been made. He was still the Doctor.

'What about me?' she questioned lightly. The Doctor finally looked at her, his brow still tensed. 'Am I covered in splinters?'

The Doctor seemed to be pondering her, before finally saying, 'No. You're not.'

He laughed through his nose; a single, dry chuckle. 'Completely harmless, you are, Rose Tyler.'

'Oi!' she protested, whacking him gently on the shoulder. 'I'm fully trained in combat, you know. I could take you down.'

'Promises, promises,' he raised his eyebrows, giving one last laugh before his face once again relaxed into that dreaded pensive expression. 'It's hardened you, Torchwood has. The most damage the old Rose could do was a nifty slap around the face.'

'Got that off Mum,' Rose smiled brightly. He didn't smile, and she sighed. 'Look, it's been a few years. Of course I'm different. I grew up; I had to. Surely you can't have expected me not to change?'

'Of course I knew you'd change,' he snapped, 'I thought I'd never see you again. I had to remember you how you were, because that was the only you I had left. We've had time apart from each other. It was difficult, of course it was, and we changed. I'm just...'

'Just what?' she interrupted, foundations of anger starting to bloom. 'You want the old me, is that it?'

'No!' he growled, weaving his fingers into his thick hair, exasperated. 'No, no, no, that's not what I'm trying to say.'

'Then what?'

'I'm worried,' he confessed, his mouth set in a hard line, his eyes boring into hers. 'I'm worried that you'll have outgrown me. That you won't want a reflection of the man you used to know. What if that's not enough for you? What if you've got new dreams?'

Rose couldn't help the slightly hysterical laugh from escaping her mouth. 'Don't be daft. Why would I break through into a different universe if I'd outgrown you? I need to be with you. All that stuff I saw, all the stuff you showed me, all the places we went....you changed my life.'

The Doctor looked at her for a long moment, his eyes thick with tears, shining in the streetlights. 'We can't have that anymore, Rose. That's gone. I...I'm gone.'

'You're right here,' she whispered, closing the gap between them, her fingers fisting the lapels of his jacket.

The fabric was cool beneath her hands, and his face was inches away. Their breath twisted and danced in the cool air between their mouths. He looked down at her, his eyes searching hers for any doubt. Less than twenty four hours ago, they had been on a plane from Norway, sitting in silence as they flew back to London. They had not spoken for the entire journey, nor had they touched. Rose felt as though she hadn't slept in years.

The Doctor closed his eyes in resignation, sighing, his hands resting lightly on her hips. They seemed so warm through the fabric of her jeans. She hadn't felt the touch of his hands in the so long. It didn't matter that they were too warm, or that they were trembling slightly; they were his.

'Do you believe me?' she breathed out, searching for his eyes once more.

It took him a while to readjust his gaze back to hers, but when he did she could see the acceptance that was there. He nodded, his damp fringe brushing her forehead gently.

'Good,' Rose approved. 'No matter what life we had before, this is the one we have now. A normal life.'

Rose couldn't control the small pang of longing for life in the TARDIS, running for their lives, weaving their way through the stars. It was a hunger deep within her to escape, and to feel that excitement again.

The Doctor looked reluctant. 'I don't know if I can do it; a normal life.'

'You can,' Rose reassured, searching for his hands, which now hung limply by his sides. She gave them a quick squeeze, the warm skin pleasant in her palms. 'We both can; together.'

The look which he held her with intensified, becoming almost too much to bear. 'What if we don't have to?' he asked, searching her face. 'What if I told you, right now, that the TARDIS was just around the corner, and that we could have that life again?'

Rose knew deep down that he would know if she lied. 'I'd want to go,' she confessed. 'But she's not. She's a world away.'

The Doctor swallowed, looking slightly sheepish.

'Doctor?' she asked, frowning.

'He gave me a piece of the TARDIS,' he blurted out, breaking away from her gaze. 'Before we left. The other...me. It's a complex mix of minerals and energy patterns and...Well never mind, it's the TARDIS needless to say. I have a piece of her with me. I can grow another TARDIS from that...'

'Wait!' Rose felt numb. 'You can grow...another TARDIS?'

The Doctor hesitated. 'It will take time...but, yes.'

'And you thought that this wasn't worth mentioning, I spose?' she growled, stepping back from him slightly and folding her arms across her chest.

Behind the annoyance, her stomach was doing a rather elaborate dance. She could feel the tears of happiness welling behind her eyes at the thought of being out there in the stars again. Exploring and running, with the Doctor. Their life wasn't gone; it was just out of reach for the moment.

'I had to know what you wanted,' he explained, looking wary.

'If I wanted a normal, human life...' she asked, not wanting to know the answer, 'would you have stayed with me? Here on earth? Would you put the piece of the TARDIS away in a drawer and forget about it, and we could grow old together?'

The Doctor said nothing.

'Didn't think so,' she snorted, looking away.

She barely had time to register the growl of her name before his mouth was upon hers, hot and hard, his hand cupping the back of her head. She gave a small whimper of surprise, which quickly melted away into passion as she returned the kiss enthusiastically. Suddenly the air seemed so cold, and he seemed so warm against her lips. Rose pushed herself into him at the urging of his hands, winding her arms around his neck tightly, pulling herself up against his kiss, trying to bury her entire being within his warmth. His lips were too soft for her to comprehend, and she could feel the slight scratch of his stubble against her skin, making her shiver.

He gave a small moan against her mouth, before pulling back.

Rose immediately felt the loss of his mouth, her lips tingling in the cool air. He released her entirely, and Rose hung next to him, confused as he once again turned to stare at the Powell Estate.

'Why can't you understand that I want this life with you? What do I have to do to convince you? If you said to me that you wanted a normal human life, of course I would stay with you. Of course I would.'

'But I'd always know, wouldn't I?' she shivered, wanting the warmth of his body. 'I'd always know that you'd want to be up there; deep down, that your heart wasn't in the life that we were having.'

The Doctor seemed to have no response.

She looked up at the sky, the familiar sense of longing filling her stomach. The night was too cloudy to see any stars, but she could feel them, sitting there just out of reach, filled with wonder and promise. Her eyes welled up in the night air. All that life lingering out there, ready to be explored.

She sidled up to him, grasping his hand tightly in hers. 'You can take us back up there?' she whispered, almost pleadingly. 'Doctor?'

He grinned, and it cut through the foggy air like the brightest light. 'Oh yes,' he told her.

Rose couldn't help the laughter of delight from bursting free, and soon he was joining her in delight. He threw his arms around her waist and tugged, hoisting her into her air, spinning her around in the cold air. She squealed and swung her feet playfully, clinging to his broad shoulders.

It was utterly absurd; she was outside the old estate, with a human version of the Doctor, in his arms, their laughter ringing around the empty courtyard. And despite the cold, her heart was warmer than it had been in years. The Doctor gave a small grunt of effort with holding her entire weight, but still did not set her on her feet, his chuckles reverberating deep within her.

'Oi, mate! Get a room!'

The loud, slurred shout was followed by a series of drunken howls. Rose ignored them as they passed, burying her face more securely in the Doctor's shoulder. He gently set her back on her feet but did not relinquish his hold around her waist.

'Anywhere, Rose; we can go anywhere!' he enthused into her ear, before releasing her with a quick squeeze and looking up into the sky. 'A few short months and we'll be back up there, I promise. Oh, Rose, the second moon of Zysoon, the asteroid belt of Galaxy Five, the whole universe!'

Rose laughed from her stomach, happier than she had ever been. She clapped her hands in delight and followed him as he bounded across the courtyard, pointing at various spots in the sky. He looked more like the Doctor than she had seen since they had arrived here. For the first time, she could see that true glimmer of wonder fill his eyes.

The Doctor pointed at a spot in the clouds, which she followed with her eyes, grinning widely. 'See that? Me neither...but anyway that's the great light display of the Adora Alliance; lasts a hundred thousand years. If it happens in this universe, of course...' he broke off, looking slightly downbeat.

'I'm sure they do,' Rose reassured, not wanting him to lose this sudden burst of delightful energy. She gave his warm hand a tight squeeze and he grinned down at her.

He gave a light chuckle and pulled her closer, placing a warm, brief kiss on her forehead. Rose smiled into his jacket.

'Where else?' she whispered.

'Anywhere, Rose!' he repeated. 'Providing that I don't mess up the growth stage of the new TARDIS, that is. But why would I? I'm brilliant.' He winked at her.

Oh God, the look was back; his face was drooping slightly, his eyes glazing over. Rose felt her heart sink; it had taken her so long to get him to even crack a smile. He dug his hand into the pockets of his coat and seemed to be rummaging for something.

'A new TARDIS,' he said thoughtfully, sadness tinting the edges of his voice.

'A part of the old one, you said,' Rose corrected, squeezing his hand encouragingly.

'Not the same thing,' he smiled down at her sadly. 'I can still feel her, though, because of this...'

He drew his hand from inside his pocket, grasping something tightly in his clutch. When he opened his hand, Rose saw that it was a small cluster of yellow rock, glittering slightly in the streetlights. At a glance, Rose would have called it sandstone. It looked similar to the material which the beams in the old TARDIS' interior were constructed of. The edges were rough. As she watched, the small piece of rock seemed to pulse, sending waves of golden light into the fog around them. Listening carefully, Rose was certain that she could hear a slight, lulling hum.

'Can you feel her?' his eyes flashed down to hers once more, filled with wonder.

Rose frowned. Perhaps it was her imagination, but she felt as though she could indeed feel a slight nudge at the back of her mind. A weak, baby push compared to what she used to feel in the old TARDIS, but the same kind of touch. Rose nodded and smiled at the Doctor, who was holding her gaze with proud, watery eyes.

'You miss her,' Rose stated.

'Yes,' he agreed, 'so much.'

Rose could imagine the hole which the loss of the TARDIS would have left within him. She had felt the loss years ago when she had first been trapped here. The Doctor had, of course, been the main source of loss, but she had still felt the absence of his beloved ship, lingering in her suddenly silent mind.

'I missed you,' she whispered, rubbing her nose against the fabric of his jacket. It wasn't the same feel as his old brown suit, but the blue fabric held his familiar scent, perhaps a little muskier than usual. 'It feels...I dunno...weird that it really happened. I got back to you, I found you, and...We can just pick up where we left off? Can we really? I mean...you're human now. Doesn't that, I dunno, limit us or something?'

The Doctor looked uncomfortable and said, 'Well, I won't be leaping off the sides of buildings or swallowing any knives, that's for sure. And I'll have to sleep every...eighteen hours? Gosh, that's a bit naff. Don't know how you do it if I'm honest...'

Rose bit her lip, feeling shy about her next question. 'Doctor?'

'Hmm?' he asked, once again studying the piece of the TARDIS with interest.

'While you're...growing the TARDIS...we're stuck here, yeah?'

'That's right,' he agreed, grimacing slightly.

'And we can...have a normal life for a while?' she asked lightly. 'Do...human things?'

'Anything you like,' he agreed distractedly.

Rose certainly wasn't going to blatantly mention the issue of sleeping arrangements, and since he didn't seem to be cottoning on in the slightest, she decided to drop the issue with a sigh. He didn't notice, but he put the piece of the TARDIS back in his pocket and drew her closer with a gentle tug on her hand. Oh, how she'd missed his hands. She'd missed the rough feel of his fingers around the back of her hand, fidgeting slightly, but still steady and secure.

'How will you grow a new one?' she asked, curious.

'Oh, soak the piece of coral in a cocktail of chemicals. The right PH and temperature, leave it for a few months under surveillance and bang, boom, she'll be ready for a test run. Nothing too difficult, obviously. A little hop to the nineties, a few trips to the moon; lovely stuff.'

'Can't wait,' she agreed, the infectious grin spreading across her face again. 'Hope you appreciate all the effort it took to get back to you.'

'Oh, I do,' he grinned, before waggling a long finger in her face. 'Although, very, very dangerous. New rule; no breaking down the walls of the universe, Rose Tyler.'

'Whoops, sorry,' she teased.

She felt more herself than she ever had. She was Rose again; the same girl who was amongst the stars all those years ago. Without even evidence of a transition she had gone from the shadow of herself that she had been previously, back into someone who had a soul. The Doctor held that power, she realised. He held the key to her very essence. It seemed almost impossibly lucky that he was here, and that they were both safe.

With that thought in mind, she grasped his hand in both of hers, taking a deep, shuddering breath.

His face had, once again, become pensive. She sighed; perhaps the mood swings would settle down as he grew accustomed to his human emotions?

'It's strange, Rose, being human. Don't know how you do it,' he admitted, running a hand through his damp hair. 'All these weird little emotions running around. And one heart, that's just weird.'

'You'll get used to it,' she poked him gently in the ribs.

She realised the unwitting cruelty of his words as he winced.

'I just meant...well, this is you now, and that's great. You're still him,' she finished lamely.

The Doctor paused, looking at her doubtfully, before saying, 'yeah.'

He took a deep, bracing breath and nodded, a little more surely than before. 'Yes, I'm still the Doctor. Just a little less...'

'A little less nothing. Don't you dare try and say you're less than him.'

Rose knew that her motivational speech was for herself as much as it was for him. She had spent the past few hours grappling with the idea that he was the same man, and that he was the man that she wanted. The exact same man, she had told herself, just a different species.

'God, I missed you.'

She spoke the words just before grapping him by the lapels and pulling him down, once again, to her lips. He muffled a surprised moan against her mouth, obviously alarmed by her sudden attack. She was trying so desperately to drown out that little voice of doubt; trying to erase the images of the brown-suited Doctor leaving and focus only on this Doctor staying. They were going to have their own life in the stars.

He took a while to lift his hands from their useless position at his sides and place them firmly in the small of her back. He gave her a little tug towards him, pulling her flush against his chest. With a small noise of mock-annoyance at his manhandling of her, she broke off from the kiss and rubbed her nose gently against his. He hastily recaptured control of her lips, breathing heavily through his nose. They needed this; she realised. Whether or not it was too soon, or if they were simply using each other for the moment to heal the wounds of the day. It didn't matter because the same lips that she had spent years missing were kissing her, slow and steady, and so very real.

He broke the kiss this time, whispering against her cheek. 'Rose,' his voice was hot against her skin. 'We're getting ahead of ourselves.'

'Are we?' Rose asked thickly, disappointment washing through her.

She had, in the past few seconds, began to entertain the idea of taking him back to her flat and locking him in the bedroom for a good twelve hours at least. But, like water through cupped hands, the chances of that seemed to be growing slimmer by the second.

'There will be plenty of time for us, Rose, don't you worry,' the Doctor tapped her on the nose gently and she raised an eyebrow in annoyance.

'Give me a few months, Rose,' he continued, 'I'll bring it all back. The TARDIS, the world, the universe. We'll be up there soon, I promise, because that's exactly where we belong.'

'I'll hold you to that,' she promised, waving a threatening finger in his face.

Rose realised, as they stood in the reflection of her old estate, where it all began all those years ago, that this was not the end of their time. It was the beginning; a new, beautifully clear beginning, that was stretched so gloriously with possibility that she felt her body might soon go into shock due to sudden, overwhelming happiness.

The Doctor and Rose stood, the fog encasing them gently, and turned the first page of their new story.

To be continued...

I have to admit to being very excited at writing this new story! I really love the idea of the Human Doctor and Rose picking up where they left off, because I'm just soft like that ;)

If you enjoyed, please leave a review! I'm would greatly appreciate feedback and encouragement to continue.

Hope you enjoyed!