Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. All rights go to the BBC. I also do not own this idea. It was a nice Tumblr prompt that I expanded upon. So... rights to that roseisreturning on Tumblr, too.

Clara was getting very tired of the TARDIS's attitude. She had traveled in the TARDIS for quite a while now, but the old machine still didn't seem to like her. The box seemed very good at holding a grudge.

She had been trying to find the library for what seemed like an hour now. She knew the directions most of the time, but most of the time, the Doctor was walking around with her. When it was just Clara, the TARDIS seemed to like to play around with her.

With a huff, Clara turned to the right and found herself back in the control room. The silver all around reflected the glow of the large glowing cylinder in the centre of the control panel. She remembered something that the Doctor had done once when he needed help with something.

"Voice interface?" she asked more than said.

Nothing seemed to happen. She grumbled and turned around to walk back down the corridor but halted with a squeak.

In front of her was a young blonde woman, definitely not over thirty. She was pretty. Her hair reached her shoulders, framing her heart shaped face. Her brown eyes warm like chocolate seemed to look as if she was gazing with sentiment at someone. They held feeling. Her pink lips were full and were in a straight, neutral line. She wore a dark purple leather jacket over a pink t-shirt, with black leggings and combat boots. This woman was definitely familiar. Clara was sure she'd seen her somewhere but knew she hadn't met her. Clara remembered everyone she met in her intergalactic travels.

"Who... who are you?" Clara stuttered.

"The TARDIS Voice Visual Interface," the woman replied. She was English. Clara knew that much. She spoke with a Cockney accent: Londoner. She was monotone however. "I am programmed to select the image of a person valued by the current foremost inhabitant of the TARDIS."

The Doctor. This young woman meant something to Clara's old grounchy Doctor? She found that kind of hard to believe. This man barely let anyone in. Well, this incarnation barely did, at least. Unless the Doctor knew this woman a long time ago. Before he regenerated. Maybe with was the Amelia Pond that he muttered about every so often. No, not Amelia. The Doctor said that Amelia was ginger and Scottish.

"Were you... was she... a real person once?" Clara asked.

"Rose Tyler is still living," the woman responded immediately.

Clara seemed to freeze. Rose. She now knew why this woman looked so familiar. Sometimes Clara would wake up in the middle of the night and attempt to walk to the kitchen to make herself a cuppa when she would hear the distant cries from the Doctor about a rose. But not just any rose, Clara now realized. Rose Tyler. This woman meant more than anything to him. She had seen photos as well. She had happened upon a photo of this blonde woman with an older blonde woman, who Clara now guessed was her mum, and a tall man in a brown pinstriped suit with sticky-upy hair.

Clara wasn't so focused on the bathroom anymore as she was on this mystery woman, Rose Tyler.

"Show me the records of Rose Tyler," Clara said.

"Access denied," the Interface sounded after a moment.

"Why?"

"These records are locked by the current inhabitant of the TARDIS," the blonde replied.

Why?, Clara asked herself. If this woman meant so much, why would he close off the records? Had she hurt him in some way or another? What had she done?

"Clara?" an old Scottish voice echoed from behind her.

She turned and saw the Doctor, in all his glory. A tall very old man with a very stylish black costume.

"Yeah?" Clara squeaked.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his gaze not so much fixed on her as it was on the woman standing behind her.

"Looking for the bathroom."

The Doctor nodded, though he seemed distracted. He passed by Clara and went to face the Interface. His whole face and demeanor seemed to soften as he gazed at her like a lovesick puppy. He was in love. But what happened to Rose Tyler?

"TARDIS Voice Interface dismissed," he managed and for a moment, Clara thought she saw the Interface crack a smile before disappearing. "I'll show you where the bathroom is."

As they left the room, Clara shot a glance back to where the blonde had once stood before turning to gaze back to the Doctor, who seemed caught off guard.

"Doctor," Clara said slowly. "Who was Rose Tyler?"

He was silent for a minute.

"Is," he corrected her. "And she's an old friend."