Author's Note: Hello everyone! Just want to apologize for how long this took to get up (I just started my first started my first year of University and everything's been a bit hectic.) Besides, I had a hell of a time coming up with a title.

Anyway, on with the show. Here's the story you've all been waiting for: the reunion story. Enjoy!

Timeline:Takes place about two years after the last chapter in 'The Christmas Drabbles'. Rose has been in the alternate reality for eight years.

/-/-

Words of the Mind

It's exactly how he remembered it. Bigger even. More alive.

The three campuses are staring right at him, waiting for him to march in and learn. Modern buildings- state of the art from the inside- are hanging in the background. His mum thinks they look cute. He just can't wait to see what the computer mainframe can do.

And the labs! He just barely got to glimpse them and he already knows he can finally put dozens of theories into practice.

"You're sure this is what you want to do?" She's so concerned for him, his mum. He just smiles at her. He might be seven, but he knows a good thing when he sees it. And that's what this place is: his dream school. What more could he ask for? "You know that your grandfather is more than happy to keep hiring tutors until you're a little bit older."

She's only reminded him of that three hundred thousand times, fifty thousand of those during the zeppelin flight here. "Mum, we talked about this. I don't like those tutors; they're boring. Besides these kids are just like me."

"Jon, they're not just like you." There's that voice again. That tired, harassed voice that tells him she doesn't really want to talk about how different he really is. It's hard for her to talk about it, he knows that, but at the same time he wants it to be as normal for everyone else as it is for him.

"Okay, okay. So they're smart just like me."

"Which is great. But you have to be-"

"You have to be careful." He's heard that one before. "I know, Mum."

"I know you know that, Jon, but I also know you and I know what happens when you get excited and start rambling. Any number of things can come out."

"I won't tell anyone about my father or my two hearts," he's done that before and all it's ever gotten him is laughed at, "-or about time travel and the TARDIS," which he has spoken about in detail on a purely scientific note but no one he's met has ever been able to follow him. "If I get hurt, I've got your mobile number, granddad's mobile number, and the number for Torchwood. I'm supposed to call them first. I know."

"I know. I just worry."

"I'm ready."

"I'm not."

He laughs a little at her, knowing that she's not ready to let him leave her so soon, but he's ready. He's long past ready to get out and live life on his own. Ready to talk with people who can keep up with him.

His door's opened and he's bounding up the steps to the Alfred Sanford Union before Rose can even realize that he's gone. She gets out slower, taking her time to watch as Jon stares up at this glorious piece of architecture that will now become his home for the next few months.

"Come on!" He's beaming up at his mum, excitement keeping the nerves he should be feeling at bay, as he grabs her hand. "Let's go find my room."

/-/-

"Hello."

It's a possibly Scottish voice that startles Jon into turning around. He'd seen that the other side of the room was already decorated and organized and all it was missing was a person to occupy it. He'd been waiting, nervously, to meet this person and here he is.

The boy's older than he is. Twelve or thirteen. He's much taller, hitting a growth spurt that's making his limbs thin and gangly. But at least his lanky body matches his thin face. Even his short cropped blonde hair makes his eyes stand out and his cheeks look higher. One might even say he looks fit, for a pre-teen anyway.

"Hey." It's probably the most awkward greeting Jon's ever been a part of so he does the only thing he can think of, which is to drop the book in his hand onto his bed and extend his right hand. "I'm Jon Tyler."

There's a bit of hesitation as the boy takes his hand, but his shake is firm. "David McDonald. Pleasure." That's all he says before walking around Jon and collapsing onto his bed on the right side of the room. Jon watches him lose interest in him; his shoulders slump and his turns back to the pile of things on his bed. "How old are you?"

David's watching him suddenly, hands under his head and legs crossed. He's definitely Scottish.

"Just turned seven."

"Seven, really? Damn." He springs up, his legs dangling off the high bed, before he says, "Thirteen, meself."

He moves a lot, that's his first impression of his newest roommate. David's pacing behind him, moving from his desk to his closet to his bed back to his desk. Even as he moves to occupy his feet, he's talking. "So far this place looks like it's going to be a good school. I've been to a bunch- all boring. You know what I mean?"

"Not really." He turns. David's got something in his hands- a paperweight model of something- and he's rolling it from hand to hand.

"This your first school?"

"Yeah. My granddad got me a bunch of tutors before."

"Yeah. Tried that too. Tutors, public schools, high class schools for gifted kids. None of them were fast enough or challenging enough."

"Oh, yeah, I noticed that with my tutors. I just did a lot of extra reading to keep occupied."

"Hmm." David tosses the paperweight onto his bed. "Tyler, you said?"

"Yeah." He shrugs, looking over at David. He's pretty sure already that this is the tone he's either going to learn to love or hate. It's the tone that says I've been working on something even as I've been talking to you.

"Like, the Tylers? Pete Tyler, the Head of Torchwood?"

His granddad's a great guy but nothing to get worked up over. "Yeah, that's my granddad."

"You're Rose Tyler's son? Geez, your family's famous." Yeah, here it comes. He knows it well; been on the receiving end of some tabloid fan one too many times. "So, does that mean you're loaded?"

David's leaning against his dresser now, arms crossed and smirk wide. Jon doesn't bother answering him.

"All right, whatever… So what are you studying here?"

"Physics and Calculus. You?"

"Chemistry. Like Physics but Maths isn't my strongest subject."

He laughs at that. "So what does that mean? You get As instead of A pluses."

David laughs back. He knows he's right, that no one comes to this school with a subject they're bad at. "Yeah something like that."

David's looking at his dresser now, twisting around to be able to pick up one of the picture frames Jon just set up there. "That your dad?"

He knows it is without having to look at the picture, but he does anyway. He stands a little straighter and gets up on his tiptoes to see over the wooden frame. "Yeah."

"Never hear about him, though. Tylers are famous and he's-"

He's not supposed to talk about him and he doesn't want to. He doesn't want David knowing anything about this man that he loves so much and yet has never met. He doesn't want to let anyone know that there's this big gaping hole that just can't be plugged by anything but his father.

"Sorry. Anyway." David's moving again, heading for the door this time even as he turns around to look at Jon. "I was thinking about getting something to eat. You wanna come?"

He forces a smile to his face and turns to see David. "Yeah, sure."

"Do you know where the canteen is?"

"Yeah. Memorized the map. Didn't you?"

"Haven't gotten around to it yet."

/-/-

Overall, it wasn't a bad first day. The school was nice, which he knew before he got there. His room could do with a bit more light but otherwise was fine. The bed was nice, bouncy and comfortable. His roommate- well, he's talkative and moves a lot… which means they're pretty much just like each other.

Yeah, Jon liked David. He was nice and really smart- not that he would be there if he wasn't.

It's the middle of the night and for the first time all day Jon's missing home. He misses having a room that he can spend all night tinkering in or reading with his light on. He's bored but he doesn't really think it's fair to disturb David's necessary sleeping patterns. At least not on the first night.

Which means he'll have to think through his latest theorems. It won't be hard to remember what he's come up with. Well, there is that one about his theory of temporal isolation that's been giving him some trouble-

But then he feels something. Something he had never noticed before. A tickling, maybe is the right word. It's like someone got into his head and is assaulting his brain with a feather. He tries to scratch it away or massage it away or something but nothing works. And then-

"Oh god!"

Suddenly his brain feels like it's on fire. It's like an unused muscle that has been battered and strained and it hurts more than he's even experienced before.

"Jon! Jon, wake up! What's wrong? Wake up!"

"What- oh. What was that?"

"I dunno. You just started moaning and clutching your head. You all right?"

"No!" It hurt. That's all he knows. Pain burns down his back.

"I'm gonna go get the nurse."

"No, don't!" No, he can't. He can't bring himself to remember why it's so important at that moment, but he knows it is and that's why his hand shoots out and grabs David's hand. "No, I'm fine."

"Let go!"

"I'm fine. Go back to bed."

"Whatever. Be sick, I don't care. Just don't puke in the room."

All his enzymes and hormones are stable. His hearts are beating; circulation is just fine. Lungs are working; plenty of oxygen. No foreign compounds that he can detect. It's not an allergic reaction.

What was that?

/-/-