Author's Note: I'm afraid that this story might be terrible, but I am out of practice. I wanted to get this idea out of my head as quickly as possible, so my writing has suffered. I would appreciate reviews of any kind, so just let me know what you think. Thank you for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Doctor Who" or any associated characters, places, or themes.

Returning to You

by

Iconic Superheroes

Wake up, Doctor.

"Mmm…five more minutes."

Doctor, GET UP.

The Doctor jerked away at the TARDIS' insistence. "What is it, old girl?" he mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The Doctor didn't sleep very often, or very well, so he didn't appreciate being awakened prematurely.

We've arrived.

'Arrived?' he thought. "I didn't set an coordinates."

I did.

This was strange. The TARDIS rarely took them somewhere without the Doctor's knowledge. He shrugged. His trust in the TARDIS was implicit, so he figured she must have had a good reason to take them somewhere.

"Where are we, then?"

Go out and see.

'Curious.' The doctor got up and began to dress. He wasn't as excited about visiting an unknown place as he should be. It seemed that much of his excitement had disappeared along with Rose. 'Ah, Rose.' He thought. 'And it took a whole five minutes today. That's a new record. Yesterday it was only two minutes before I thought of her.'

Once his pinstriped jacket was in place the Doctor approached the doors. "Well, it'll be interesting anyway," he said, and pushed the doors open.

"Fantastic!" he whispered, taking in the scenery. His TARDIS was one smart girl. When he opened the doors he saw something he thought he'd never see again – the zeppelins of Earth II.

Emily Tyler was in a hurry. Her alarm had failed to ring at the proper time and now she was going to be late to university. She ran around her room gathering her books and was almost out the door before her mum stopped her.

"Emily, aren't you forgetting something?" she said, brushing her blond hair out of her eyes.

Emily's face went blank. "Er…I love you?"

Rose Tyler smiled slightly and shook her head. "You've forgotten to pick up the package from Mickey." Rose said, rolling her eyes at her daughter's forgetfulness.

Emily brightened. "Sorry Mum! I'll stop by Uncle Mickey's after class," she said, flinging her bag over her shoulder and kissing her mum on the cheek. "Bye!"

Rose smiled. "Bye, darling."

Once her daughter was gone Rose allowed her smile to drop. Today was the 18-year anniversary of Doomsday. 18 years since she had seen her Doctor. Rose made a cuppa and sat in front of the telly, planning on watching a good program. She had the day off, as everyone at work knew of the Doctor and what had happened. She'd only had a few sips of her tea when the telephone rang.

"'Ello?" she said, muting the TV.

"Rose, how are you? Been on any dates?"

"Mum!" Rose said, scowling. She hated it when Jackie pestered her about dates. Especially today.

"Well, I only want what's best for you," Jackie grumbled. Rose sighed. She knew that her mum only meant well, but she wasn't in the mood today. "I know. But you know what today is," she said, trying her hardest to sound nonchalant.

"I know, sweetheart," Jackie said softly. "How's Emily?"

"She's off at university. Gonna be late actually." Rose couldn't stop a grin.

Jackie laughed. "She reminds me of a certain someone," she said.

"Yeah, me," Rose replied.

"No, not you." There was a long silence. "Oh, Pete needs the phone," Jackie said. "Bye darling, I love you."

"Love you too, Mum."

Rose hung up. "Cheerful, that," she muttered, unmuting the telly.

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and looked around. He was definitely on the parallel Earth. The TARDIS had landed in the middle of a square, and there were tall buildings all around. A few young people were sitting on blankets and reading. "Right. Now where does Rose Tyler live?" The Doctor said, rubbing his hands together.

Emily was so very late. She had missed the bus thanks to her mum's delay, and was running through the courtyard of her university, hoping that the shortcut would get her to astronomy quicker. She ran into something.

"Oof!" she grunted, her bag falling and spilling everywhere. The person she ran into had a hold of her arms and was steadying her.

"Hello there!" he said cheerfully. "Perhaps you can help me find someone."

Emily scowled at him and bent down to pick up her things. He casually knelt to help her, chatting cheerfully the whole time. "You see, I have an old friend that I haven't seen in quite a while. Actually, we were a bit more than friends. In fact, we were lovers. Just the once though. And if she hadn't been trapped here we might have-" The Doctor only paused in his speech when he noticed that the girl who ran into him was gaping.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized. He held his hand out. "I'm the Doctor."

Emily stared at this strange man as he ranted about some woman. 'Well, could be a man he's going on about,' she thought snidely. He actually seemed somewhat familiar to her. Maybe it was his suit. She was wondering where this man had come from when he said the words she had been told about every night by her mother – 'I'm the Doctor.' Emily felt her mouth drop. Everyone at Torchwood knew about the Doctor, and Emily herself knew quite a bit about him and her mum's adventures together.

"You're the Doc…Doctor?" she choked. The Doctor grinned. "Do I know you?" he asked, taking a good look at the girl for the first time. She was about a head shorter than him and had dirty blond hair and brown eyes. She wore jeans and a Beatles t-shirt.

Emily got a grip on herself. "Well, no, but-"

"It's just as well. Many people know of me (a bit more than I'd like, but what can you do?). So, perhaps you can help. Do you know where Rose Tyler lives?"

Emily was somewhat annoyed that he had interrupted her. "I should hope so, considering."

The Doctor didn't like that answer – it was somewhat vague and he worried that something might have happened to Rose. "Considering? Considering what?"

Sticking her chin in the air, Emily said, "I should know considering that I'm her daughter."

The Doctor was floored. He hadn't expected that Rose would move on that quickly, but judging that this girl was in university it had been quite a bit longer for her than it had been for him. It had only been months since he had lost Rose, but apparently it had been longer on this side of the tear. He leaned against the TARDIS for support. 'She's moved on. She got married and had children,' he thought miserably. 'Well, judging from this girl's looks at least Mickey Smith isn't the father. One thing is going my way.'

Emily wanted to stay mad, but the fact that she was literally speaking to The Doctor was enough to excite her. "Is that the TARDIS?" she asked, gazing at his ship in awe.

The Doctor glanced at the girl – Rose's daughter – and couldn't help but grin. It seemed that she had inherited some of her mum's fascination with new things. "Yep, it is," he said. "I'm sorry, I never caught your name."

Emily, who had one hand on the TARDIS, glanced at him. "Oh. It's Emily," she said. The Doctor nodded. "That a pretty name."

"I'm glad you approve." When she saw the hurt on his face she elaborated, "No, sorry. I'm not being sarcastic – I mean it. Mum's told me so much about you. I'm really happy that I get to meet you." The Doctor smiled bigger than he had since Rose had gone. He was alarmed when Emily's face fell, however. "How did you get here? Mum said that if you could come you would've come for her before now."

He sighed. "I'm not really sure. This girl here," he patted the TARDIS, "did it for me. Exactly how long has it been since your mum and Jackie got trapped here?"

Emily squinted. "About 18 years I imagine. Well, since I was born."

This information surprised the Doctor. Apparently Rose hadn't wasted any time in forgetting him and moving on. "She really misses you, you know." Emily said, sizing the man up. She knew what he meant to her mum, and now that she was actually speaking with him she was glad to see that he measured up to her imagination.

"She would tell me about you every night before bed. She thinks I don't notice how sad she gets. Especially today."

"What's today?" The Doctor asked, secretly pleased that Rose cared enough to make sure her daughter knew of him.

"The anniversary of Doomsday," Emily said matter-of-factly.

Emily brightened. "She'll be so glad to see you! C'mon, let's go!" She grabbed the Doctor's hand and tried to head home. His feet stayed where they were, however. "What?" she said, letting him go and crossing her arms. "Don't you want to see Mum?"

The Doctor put his hands in his pockets and looked at his feet. "Of course, but for me it's only been a few months since…your mum's obviously moved on and created a family. I'm sure your dad wouldn't appreciate me showing up." He glanced up in time to see Emily's pained expression. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

She shook her head. "It's just, I've never known my dad. Mum won't even tell me his name. I get the impression that whatever happened between them is too painful for her to talk about. Frankly, I just assume that he was a jerk and left her high and dry."

The Doctor felt guilty that this news made him happy. He didn't want Rose to be sad, but the fact that she hadn't married did please him. "Oh."

Emily was glad that he didn't pretend he was sorry. She knew very well what kind of relationship he and her mum had- Rose had told her everything about that day on the beach, and had told her about every adventure she could remember. When the Doctor remained silent, Emily made an impatient noise. "Well? Are we going or not!"

The Doctor grinned and took her hand. "Lead the way." She returned the smile and led them toward the Tyler household.