Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. Scenes from this chapter were taken from the episode "Aliens of London" (also not mine). Anything else you recognize may be borrowed as well, or maybe great minds thinking alike.

Let me take a minute to explain the delays in posting this chapter. I started writing this just after moving to a new city, away from friends, out of class, no job, etc. Now, I'm back in college, attending church, and engaged to an amazing guy, so I"m also planning a wedding. I'm not abandoning the story, but I don't have the time I once did for it either.

NOTE: I am back to writing and just made slight changes to this story. Practically unnoticeable. New chapters coming as soon as I have a few more written. (7/2/15)

As always, Thanks to my Beta JKW.

Thanks to my Advisers: Hope'sFace and DarkRomanceAdict.

CHAPTER 12: Twelve Months

Previously on Doctor Who I Never Promised You a Rose Garden...

The Blue TARDIS was a Dimensionally Transcendental being. She could see Time even greater than her beloved Driver could. If she brought Rose home when he wanted then Rose would lie to her mum about where she had been. This in turn left Rose without anyone to really talk to about the Doctor, and that led to a strain on her relationship with the Time Lord. But if Jackie Tyler found out, it worked out much better- even for Mrs. Tyler in the end. So, with quiet apologies to her Wolf and the Mother, the Tardis altered the landing once again.

D*W

The a blue police public call box appeared in an empty alley in London on March 20, 2006. The place was rundown with trash all over the ground that no one had bothered to put in a dumpster nor had anyone bothered to clean it up. Graffiti covered the buildings' walls and posters were pinned to the lampposts. You could tell from one glance that this was a more working-class neighborhood, that the residents had to fight just to get by, and they were often overlooked by passersby.

Out of the blue police box stepped a blonde in an old gray shirt, pink jacket, worn jeans, and scruffy sneakers. She had a smile a mile wide as she looked behind her to the Time Lord who was closing the Tardis door behind him. He was in his usual get up: black- jeans, jumper, and leather jacket. He was leaning against the Tardis arms folded across his chest, and sporting a small smile as he looked at Rose.

"How long have I been gone?" she asked him. For the first time that the Doctor could recall he had taken one of his friends home for a visit. Rose had asked to check in on her Mum, said she was feeling guilty about just leaving her without a word. Next thing the Doctor knew he was setting a course for London, England, Earth, 2005.

"About 12 hours," the Doctor said.

Rose laughed at that, in incredulous wonder. She'd been off traveling with this incredible man- Time Lord- for weeks, a month according to him. Now here she was back on Earth, back 'home', and she'd only been away 12 hours?

Watching the girl in front of him laugh at the world in wonder, the Doctor couldn't help but respond in kind. The longer she was with him, the more he did that. He found it amazing that his wounds were slowly starting to heal with Rose's very presence. He was able to smile and laugh genuinely again. He had once thought it impossible to get up in the morning. Now, he looked forward to it! All thanks to this one human woman.

"Right, I won't be long. I just want to go and see my mum," Rose said as she started to head to Bucknall House, on the Powell Estate. "Maybe grab a few of my own things before we leave again."

Rose's voice pulled the Doctor out of his head. "What are you gonna tell her?"

"I don't know," Rose said, "That I've been to the year 5 billion, visited the planet Endor where I accidentally helped start a small revolution? And all in what, 12 hours, you said?" Rose tried the words on for size.

The Doctor wasn't certain at first if she was serious or not. Her tone was so serious, she could have been. He doubted that would have gone over very well. Finally realizing that she was, in fact, joking, he chuckled.

"No, I'll just tell her I spent the night at Shareen's. See ya later!" she called as she headed off to the home she had known all her life. "Oh, and try and stay out of trouble while I'm visiting mum, right?" she called back to him.

He gave her a mock-offended look. "Rose, I've been looking after myself for centuries, honest. I can manage without you for a few hours."

"I'll believe that when I see it. Really, with all the trouble you manage to get into, what did you do without me?"

"I don't know," he muttered to himself. Rose had turned back around by then and was walking toward one of the buildings on the Powell Estate.

As she ran off to number 48 Bucknall House, the Doctor was just wandering around looking for something to pass the time. He soon noticed several posters up on the walls around him. He didn't know why, but they caught his eye, and that was rarely good. So he went over for a closer look. It was a missing poster- for Rose Tyler. Oh, no, the Tardis had landed 12 months after he had met Rose. He'd have a word with his ship later. First, he had to get to Rose to warn her of the Tardis's miss-landing.

DWDWDW

It took the Doctor and Rose a long time to calm the abrasive woman down. He had hardly forgotten his last visit to their flat, when she had propositioned him. This time she slapped him and proceeded to accuse him of kidnapping or at least manipulating Rose. He let Rose do all the talking after that. She knew her mother better, knew better what might calm her down.

Finally, Rose and the Doctor escaped the stifling flat and to the roof of the building. Rose was sitting on the top with her arms around her knees which were drawn up to her chest. The Doctor stood leaning against the ledge she sat on in his casual posture- arms crossed over his chest.

"I can't tell her. I can't even begin," Rose said. "She's never going to forgive me. And I missed a year? Was it good?" She turned to the Doctor, who had been brooding that Rose might leave after the fuss her mum had made. He didn't want her to leave. He also didn't want himself to want her to stay.

"Middling."

"You're so useless."

"Well, if it's this much trouble, are you going to stay here, now?" he asked in a tough voice, trying to hide the fear behind his question. He should have known better- Rose already knew how to read him very well. He didn't know how, but she did. She could see the vulnerability he was hiding. Even if she hadn't, she had no plans to stay on Earth.

"I wasn't planning on it," she said somewhat timidly, slightly afraid he might not want her. "But I can't do that to her again though."

Reassured, the Doctor felt his hearts lift and was able to answer glibly, "Well, she's not coming with us."

Rose burst out laughing at his remark, just trying to picture that. No, Jackie Tyler was not meant for space-and-time travel. It only took a second for the Doctor to join her in laughing. He didn't have to know Jackie any better than the twice they had met to understand the joke. Besides Rose's laughter was cause enough for him to laugh.

"No chance," she agreed.

"I don't do… parents," he said, stopping himself from saying that he didn't do families. 'Why didn't I just say I don't do families? What's wrong with telling her that? Why did I change it to parents,' the Doctor asked himself, puzzled by his own response. He failed to come to a conclusion before Rose spoke again.

"I just have the one, my dad passed away when I was a baby," Rose said quietly.

Deciding now wasn't the time to ask her about her dad, the Doctor amended his statement. "Fine, then, I don't do mothers." He added mentally that he doubted a father would react better. Fathers were known to be very protective of their daughters.

"She slapped you!" Rose's mood seemed to remain chipper despite the previous mention of the depressing subject.

"Nine hundred years of time and space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother."

"Your face!" Rose teased.

"It hurt!" he cried, placing his hand where his cheek had been slapped as if it was still smarting.

"You big baby," Rose said. "And, Doctor, you're much too wise to lie about your age. You passed a thousand some decades ago, didn't ya?"

He scowled her. "It's not polite to bring up a person's age, Rose. So, I've been traveling for 900 years. Still makes it 900 years of time and space."

"How do you keep looking so young?" she asked him.

"Time Lord trick; I might tell you about it eventually. It's a bit of a sensitive subject," he dodged the question again. Not wanting to deal with the subject of regeneration right now.

"Everything's a 'Time Lord trick' with you," Rose reminded him.

She sighed, jumped down off the ledge and onto the Doctor's level, and looked out onto the horizon. "Every conversation with you just goes mental. There's no one else I can talk to. I've seen all that stuff out there, the size of it, and I can't say a word. Aliens and spaceships and things … and I'm the only one on planet Earth who knows they exist."

The Doctor had been considering for some time now letting Rose know more about the others who had traveled with him. Which in itself was weird, he never let any other companion know so much about the others he had traveled with in the past. But somehow he already knew Rose was special. She was becoming more special to him every day. He had shown her his 'lost friends corridor', but they hadn't spoken of it since. But now she had just alluded to being the only one on Earth who knew about aliens, and he decided that it was time to let her know that she wasn't alone. That she was not the only human who had traveled by TARDIS.

"You're not," he said quietly.

"I'm not, what?" she asked, turning around to look at him.

"The only one on Earth who knows about aliens and all that."

"I know you know all about that. I meant other humans who could relate."

"I didn't mean me," he told her. He looked her directly in Rose's eyes trying to determine if there was any trace of hurt in them.

He had never talked about his past before to anyone else, he was always running from it. Rose was the first person he had ever slowed down for, the first person who seemed to understand him. He didn't want to hurt her by telling her she wasn't the first. She may not be the first, but she was special. Well, they all were, but Rose was even more special for reasons he didn't quite believe or trust yet.

"I've been coming to Earth for centuries, Rose. I was young, only around four hundred the first time I came and I was, at the time, not impressed with you lot," he gave her a sheepish smile. "But that was just the first of many visits. I came back a little over a century later and stayed for quite a while. By the time I left I had two stowaways on my ship. Ian and Barbara were just the first two humans to travel with me, though. I took them home after a couple of years; they were from the 1960s so you could probably find them today.

"There is also Polly and Ben, and of course my good friends Sir Alistair, Sarah Smith, and Jo Grant. There have been others, scattered across time, but those are the ones who traveled with me the longest, or knew me best at the time, and are from the late Twentieth century so they should be around on Earth in this time."

Rose smiled softly at him. "I figured there had to have been others before me; I mean you showed me that corridor- where all their old rooms are kept. I wondered about them, but didn't want to push. Why did they leave?" she wondered aloud, not really expecting an answer.

"Well, some left because this life became too much for them, and they got out while they still could. Others left because they found something else they wanted more- love, for example. I admit there were some who were left behind for one reason or another; and there were some, not many, but a few, that died," his voice had gone very quiet by the time he finished.

"Over five hundred years of meeting and losing friends? That must have been hard."

"Back before the War I always had the rest of the time lords in my mind, to sooth me when things got really tough. However much I disliked my people, they were always there, reminding me I wasn't really alone…"

"That must have been distracting," she said, hoping to lighten the mood.

He smiled at her ever so slightly, appreciating her effort, "No, it was more like white noise. Couldn't hear any one person unless I concentrated on their 'voice', and they mine. They just filled my mind, but with them gone, it's so. . . quiet in here," he tapped his temple.

Rose could hear the pain in his voice as he spoke. She went over and gave him a tight hug, hoping to drive away whatever loneliness she possibly could with her physical presence, since she had no mental presence to give him. He put his arms around her, resting his head on hers.

D*W

The next second a deafening horn sounded from up above and the two of them were ducking to avoid the spaceship that was clearly crashing above them. The Doctor had crouched down quickly pulling Rose down with him, cradling her to his chest. His hand was on her head as he didn't want her to bang it on the concrete- 'Humans have such fragile bodies,' he thought. Rose was still clinging to him, but twisted in his arms to get a look at the ship as well.

The two of them watched from their crouched positions the ship continue its descent, apparently neither taking any notice of their more friendly position. The ship continued over London, it crashed into the side of the Big Ben, destroying part of the majestic Clock Tower before it finally crashed into the Thames River.

Rose spoke up, "Well, it's pretty noisy outside, at least," she joked.

He turned his manic grin at her, the one he often wore these days right before all the excitement began. He was truly becoming happy. He had a wonderful friend who was right clever, a historic moment happening right in front of his very eyes, and an adventure to distract him from his grief. What more could a wounded soldier ask for?

He laughed and grabbed Rose's hand. The two of them, in the routine they had already established, ran down the stairs and made their way to where the ship had crashed. Or rather, they made their way to where the streets had already been blocked off by the military. There was a traffic jam going back for miles and angry people were getting out of their cars and complaining.

"It's blocked off," the Doctor commented, noting the UNIT uniforms. He decided that despite his credentials, it was probably better to stay away from UNIT at this time. If things got bad enough, he'd let them know he was here, but he didn't need to butt in right now.

"We're miles from the centre," Rose commented. "The scene must be gridlocked. The whole of London must be closing down."

"I know. I can't believe I'm here to see this. This is fantastic!"

"Did you know this was gonna happen?" she asked suspiciously, looking up at the Doctor.

"Nope."

"Do you recognize the ship?"

"Nope," he said again, grin just getting wider.

"Do you know why it crashed?"

"Nope."

"Oh, I'm so glad I've got you," Rose teased.

"I bet you are. This is why I travel, Rose, to see history happening right in front of us."

Rose, who was as eager about the moment as her Doctor, began to be frustrated by the lack of seeing. "Well, let's go and see it," she said, "Never mind the traffic, we've got the Tardis."

"Hmm- Better not- they've already got one spaceship in the middle of London, I don't want to shove another one on top of it, especially not one that UNIT would recognize," he told her.

"Who's UNIT?" Rose asked.

"Those military guys over there. I've worked with them before but it's been a long time. They wouldn't recognize me anymore and I don't want to deal with that right now. So the Tardis stays where it is," he told her.

She looked into his eyes judging his emotions, and then nodded firmly agreeing with him. "So, History's happening and we're stuck here." she said with distaste. It was frustrating not being able to see the action when it's right in front of you.

"Yes, we are," the Doctor said, still cheerful.

"We could always do what everybody else does," she said after a moment. When he gave her a questioning look she continued, "We could watch it on TV." Rose had a hard time deciding if he was more pouting or confused at her remark. She told him that if he was adamant the Tardis was not going to the spaceship, the best way to learn about what the military discovered at the crash site was the TV. It would be some information, though slightly censored it was better than nothing. So she dragged him back to her mum's to watch the situation develop on the news stations.

The two of them sat and watched the news coming in on the alien ship and about the alien body found on the ship, while the Tyler living room got more and more crowded. Friends and neighbors piled in and talked about who was seeing who and the price of gas or apples at the market. 'What is with these humans?', the Doctor thought. 'A spaceship crashes and they talk about the most inane things!'

Finally he couldn't take it anymore and snuck out of the flat. As he stepped outside he stopped and looked out at the stars. He knew Rose would follow in a minute, and he would wait so he could tell her where he was going. It was late enough now that he could risk taking the Tardis over to the hospital at least.

Sure enough the door opened again barely 10 seconds after he had closed it. "And where do you think you're going?" Rose asked.

"Nowhere," he tried, just to see if it would work. "It's, uh, just a bit human in there for me. History just happened, and they're talking about where you can buy dodgy top-up cards for half-price. I'm off for a wander, that's all." He didn't expect her to buy his excuse at all. He'd have been disappointed if she did.

"Right, there's a spaceship on the Thames, and you're just 'wandering',"

"Nothing to do with me. It's not an invasion. That was a genuine crash landing. Angle of decent, color of smoke, everything- it's perfect."

"So …"

"So maybe this is it- First Contact. The day mankind officially comes into contact with an alien race. I'm not interfering, 'cause you've got to handle this on your own. That's when the Human race finally grows up. Just this morning you were all tiny and small and made of clay. Now you can expand!" He laughed.

"You don't need me, go and celebrate history. Spend some time with your mum."

"Why don't I believe you?" she asked.

He was proud that she had seen through him and finally dropped his overly cheerful facade and sighed. "Because you somehow know me too well, Rose Tyler. How did that happen? No, I'm gonna go check out the alien body they found, and it'll be easier to do that on my own this time. Now, I mean it Rose. I know these guys. It'll be fairly easy for me to get in and out on my own possibly without even being seen, but it won't work if you're with me. I just want to double check on just who "crashed" into the Thames."

"And what about all that stuff you just said?" She looked at him suspiciously.

"Well it's partly true, but that crash was just a bit too perfect for me. So I want to check it out, and make sure someone isn't causing trouble."

"And why would it be a problem if I came along? You always get into trouble on your own, Doctor," Rose argued.

"Cause I used to work for them, so if I'm found it won't take too long for me to talk my way out of it. Worst come to worst, I can have them call Alistair who along with a few other things can help confirm I am who I say I am. But it would take even longer if I have someone with me. So please."

Rose considered a minute. Then, remembering the scene her mother had made, decided it might be best if she didn't disappear again so soon and have her mother call the Royal army on him while he was trying to solve alien problems on Earth. "Alright. I don't like you going alone, 'cause you always find trouble. But if you say you can get in and out quicker by yourself then go ahead. Just be careful, okay?" she pleaded

"I will, now go spend some time with your mum," The Doctor repeated. He felt a sudden desire to kiss her forehead, but ignored it. It wasn't appropriate. Rose smiled at him and waved him off as she headed back inside her flat.

D * W

The Doctor made his way back downstairs and to the alley where his Tardis was parked. Inside he quickly set the coordinates to Albion Hospital where the news reports had said they had taken the supposed alien body to. The quickest way to find out who he was dealing with was to get a look at the alien. That crash was far too perfect, drew far too much attention.

When the Doctor finally landed and he made his way to the Tardis door, he found himself reaching out his hand, waiting for Rose to slide hers into it- before he remembered he left her at home. He kicked himself at the lonely feeling that crept into his hearts at that. Was he already so used to her presence that he felt bereaved without it? She had barely been with him a month, surely he was not dependent on her? He had been on his own for years- he was not dependent on any person for anything. He only needed his Tardis, right?

But he knew he was fooling himself. Rose's hand fit perfectly in his and he missed it now that it was not here. 'Well, then, best to hurry up and investigate this alien so I can get back to Rose,' he thought.

He walked out of the Tardis into a cramped cupboard. He made his way out, around the carts and to the door. He soniced it open, only to find a room full of UNIT soldiers that naturally, did not recognize him. After a stunned moment all the soldiers grabbed their guns and aimed them at him. He did not move, nor did his raise his hands in surrender.

A moment later a scream came from down the hall. The Doctor quickly took charge. "Defense plan Delta. Come on, move, move!" He shouted to the soldiers as he ran in the direction the scream had come from. The soldiers, acting on military instinct, followed the orders he gave.

Down the hall he found a medical examination room. Crouched in a corner was a woman, a doctor; obviously the doctor who had been called in to examine the alien body. She was terrified and holding what appeared to be a gun.

"It's alive!" she cried.

The Doctor quickly turned back to the soldiers. "Spread out. Tell the perimeter it's a lockdown."

"My God, it's still alive," whimpered the frantic woman.

The Doctor made his way over to her, and crouched in front of her hoping to calm her down. Noting the guards hadn't moved he shouted, "Do it!" This time they ran to do as he said.

"I swear it was dead," the woman said.

"Coma, shock, hibernation, anything. What does it look like?" the Doctor said.

A noise from behind him distracted them before she had a chance to answer. "It's still here."

He was glad that it hadn't run off, that he would still have the chance to see it, stop it himself if need be. Remembering Rose's words to be cautious, he stood up and went to get the UNIT soldier still at the door. He motioned for the man to follow after him, which he did.

The Doctor moved forward to face the creature, while the soldier knelt down and took aim in case it was hostile. The female doctor had remained where they had found her. The Doctor dropped to the floor and crawled forward to get a look at the alien creature. The creature poked his head out from behind a cabinet where it had hidden.

It appeared to be a pig, only more 'humanoid', as a human would phrase it. "Hello," he said. The creature ran away, clearly scared out of his mind, squealing like a- well, like a pig.

"Don't shoot!" the Doctor cried, when he heard the gun cocking. The man obviously didn't know any better, which made it all the worse. What had happened to UNIT in the last 25 years? They used to be better than that. He never would have worked with them if they always reached for their guns first. You don't shoot someone that is running in terror.

The creature ran out of the room and down the hall. The Doctor got up and ran after him, trying his best not to frighten it further. Unfortunately, it ran right at a group of soldiers. The soldiers not knowing what they were facing and fearing a threat, shot it, before the Doctor had caught up to warn them it wasn't necessary.

"What did you do that for? It was scared!" the Doctor said, angry at the man who had unthinkingly shot the defenseless creature. He walked over and knelt by the creature. "It was scared," he repeated looking at the shooter. The man looked a little lost, a little sorry. 'Maybe next time he'll think before he acts.' the Doctor thought. He did his best to comfort the creature as he died.

After it had breathed its last, the Doctor picked it up and took it back to the exam room to take a second look at it, and the scans the other doctor had run. As he suspected, the creature was not an alien. It was an ordinary Earth pig, with brains shoved inside the poor creature's head. Some aliens had come to Earth and faked an alien crash. He didn't know why, not yet.

"I just assumed that's what aliens looked like," the human doctor said. "But you're saying it's an ordinary pig, from Earth?"

"More like a mermaid. Victorian showmen used to draw the crowds by taking the skull of a cat, gluing it to a fish and calling it a mermaid. Now someone's taken a pig opened up its brain, stuck bits on. Then they strapped it in that ship, made it dive-bomb- it must have been terrified. They've taken this animal and turned it into a joke."

"So it's a fake, a pretend, like the mermaid. But the technology augmenting its brain- it's like nothing on Earth. It's alien. Aliens are faking aliens. Why would they do that?" she asked. But the Doctor was no longer beside her. He had left for his Tardis while she was preoccupied. Moments later a strange wind swept the corridors of the hospital as the Tardis and the Doctor left its halls.

DWDWDW

AN: Don't worry, the next chapter is already done! I'll post it in a week or 2.

*Rose's line from the show was altered for personal ethics. I cannot use her original line for any reason.

I have made my own estimates on The Doctor's ages. I tried to name old companions who are better known, from about this era, and still alive in 2006.