Return to Norway

Disclaimer: Now you listen since this will be the only time I do this. I do not own any aspect of Doctor Who and really anything else. Please enjoy and feel free to comment.

Rose Tyler didn't know what to think. She was grateful that the wind that had stayed quiet for the duration of her farewell to her most treasured friend. Now she was even more grateful when the wind suddenly whipped into life as her Mother, the human Doctor and she walked along the ocean shore toward the town of Dårlig Ulv Stranden. The wind's rushing noise drowned out any sound that either Jackie or the Doctor said. She could feel her blonde hair flying in all directions. She needed time to compose herself. It had been a rough couple of hours. And even though she was walking next to The Doctor, it was different now. He wasn't The Doctor that she loved and was separated from. He wasn't even the Doctor she fell in love with. Rose Tyler fell in love with a Time Lord not a man.

Jackie was walking, visibly fuming, ahead of where The Doctor and she were walking side by side. Rose looked out at the horizon of Bad Wolf Bay. The tide was out. It was out the last time she was here but this time instead of a dull grey sky it was a hopefully blue. The last time she was here her heart was ripped in two. The Doctor took half of her with him when he left. But here he was back, but not who he was before. This Doctor had the other part of her heart but it didn't fit back as well as she wanted to. She looked over to her right to look at The Doctor. He was looking out across the horizon like she had been. He was rubbing his chin with his right hand. His brows furrowed in concentration, like he was devising a plan. He hadn't changed. He still looked the same. He still had the same great hair and wore a suit. Compared to The Doctor she reunited with in her old world this Doctors eyes were much more wild. The Doctor that she reunited with eyes held much more warm and understanding. The Doctor's concentration broke when he saw that Rose was looking at him. He grinned and held out his hand to Rose. He had the same smile and hand though. She wrapped her fingers around his and they both trotted up to Jackie who had been cursing at the Norway wind since they had gotten there.

They walked up to the town and into the first welcoming café they saw. "I can't believe that man!" Jackie said sitting down at a table loudly. "Dragging us through hell and back and then leaving us in the middle of bloody Norway. Hell it took us forever to drive here in the first time we came here. Your lot is no good mister." She glared at the Doctor. "I don't even have a cell phone since jumping universes fries them up!" Rose couldn't help laughing. Her mother had definitely changed since they had encountered The Doctor. Talking about stepping through worlds was normal around the kitchen table now.

"Mum could you cause a little less of a scene," Rose said under her breath. Already some of the customers and staff were giving them funny looks. "We'll be okay I have the card." She bent down and pulled a small usb card out of a small wallet latched onto her ankle. She gave it to Jackie. "I guess you could try to ask an employee here if you could use the phone. I'll get us some coffee; I brought a few Euros with me." In her wallet she had a special card, made by Torchwood, that's contents could only be revealed if one had special codes. It worked as identification and a way to get money. The actual coin purse she had was special in that it replicated any money she had in it. So four Euros came out as 8 and 8 as 16. Jackie got up in a huff and walked up to the counter. The Doctor who had been relatively quiet until now turned to Rose.

"Norway's part of the Union?" he asked simply. "I thought they would never drop the Kroner… but a different world, different history."He looked around the room. Jackie was arguing with the woman at the cash register. It must've been near lunch since the Café was starting to become crowded. "I wonder if I've ever been here before the walls shut." He mused to himself. A young girl who looked like she was just out of high school came over and asked them in Norwegian what they wanted. After she was done speaking the Doctor started laughing. "This is incredible!" he said smiling. "I've never had to translate things by myself. The TARDIS has made me lazy!" Rose started giggling at the look on the poor waitresses face when the Doctor started ranting. This was the Doctor she knew. Excited for even the smallest of an adventure

"Doctor if you know Norwegian you should order us some coffee and lunch since I haven't eaten in a day and you need to too." She said, "Don't forget the human body dies if you don't feed it and you're skinny enough as it is."

"Alrighty," he said still grinning. He turned quickly to Rose and said excitingly, "I've never had to do this before. These are skills untested Rose." He turned back to the waitress who still looked like she didn't know quite what to do with the strange foreign man. To the waitress's disbelief The Doctor started ordering in perfect Norwegian. She had to scramble to write it down. Even in other languages The Doctor spoke at a furious pace. When he finished she nodded to them both and walked away seeming dazed confused. "Amazing, completely amazing," he said with a satisfied smile. "Though I don't think I got this region's accent quite right, I think I came across a bit Scottish."

"Sounded fine to me," Rose said. She should be used to being amazed by him. He then proceeded by turning around and speaking to a couple behind them in Norwegian. The TARDIS had the same effect on her once she was separated. She was able to understand languages easier but it soon wore off. He still seemed to become so happy at the smallest of discoveries. Rose remembered when she first met this Doctor. Before when The Doctor was on edge and troubled she still loved him. He was the man in the blue box who showed her the whole of universe in time. He was a man who would die for humanity and for her.

Then she met him again. He was so different. He was like an eager ball of energy that just wanted to experience everything, a tad rude at times but everyone has a flaw. She studied The Doctor sitting next to her. Even if he was human he was the same man she traveled with through the stars. He was the same man that burned up a sun to say goodbye to her. He also whispered the most endearing thing she could ever hope to hear from him ever. Even if he was slightly different she would try to love him again. She had to stop feeling that this Doctor was only a constellation prize. The Doctor finished his conversation with the couple to see Rose staring at him intently. He cradled her chin in his hand and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "What was that for?" Rose said shocked rubbing her hand where he had just kissed her. She could feel her cheeks starting to burn and she avoided The Doctor's stare embarrassed.

"Rose Tyler if you keep furrowing your brow it will stay like that." He said with a look of mirth in his eyes. "Do you suppose we should help Jackie out with the phone situation while we wait?" He said jerking his head toward what looked like to be a hopeless argument at the cashier stand.

"Mum's never been good at communicating to people that don't speak her language." Rose commented, "After you Doctor." Rose said getting up. It took the Doctor a little over a minute to explain to the employee why they needed to simply use the phone and that there would be no extra cost to the café for an international call. Thanks to The Doctor Rose was on the phone calling Pete Tyler on the private torchwood line. "Hello Pete." She said happily.

"Rose!" he exclaimed very loudly on the other line. "You're here? I mean here in our universe on earth? Is Jackie there? What about Mickey? Did you find the Doctor? You must've done something because the stars are all back it's like none of it ever happened. Where are you? Do you need a lift?" Rose held her head a bit away from the phone to protect her ears from Pete's loud volume.

"Yes Dad of course we're in this world, in Norway again actually." She said laughing.

"We're being who?"

"Mum," she started listing. She heard a sigh of relief escape from Pete on the other line "The Doctor and me." Pete paused adding up who he sent and who he got back. "Mickey's fine but he wanted to stay over in the other world this time." She said a bit sadly.

"Oh that's good he's alright then." Pete said. She knew Pete was disappointed. He was quite fond of Mickey. She could tell he wouldn't have argued if she wanted to be with him again. But that ship had already sailed. "And the Doctor?" he said surprised "How did that happen?"

"It's quite complicated Dad and we just need the codes to access the Norwegian accounts. We also need a room to stay at and you know we don't have IDs so you need to do it." She covered the mouthpiece with her hand and looked at the Doctor who was reading the specials blackboard. "Could you ask one of the workers for a pen and paper please?" She got the codes from Pete and handed the phone to her mother who had been dancing up and down eager to speak to her husband.

"Petey!" She said squeaking into the phone, "You should've seen it we were on the Dalek command ship and everything! They almost obliterated me with their giant bomb!" She continued to drone on about the things she had to face during her adventure her pitch going higher and higher. The Doctor and Rose quietly walked back to their table and ate their lunch. She handed her mom the wallet she had on her ankle and told her that they were going to the bank then to the hotel room. They walked out the Café and down the street arm-in-arm.

"We should grab some clothes after we go to the bank." Rose mused to herself. "I'm not sure if they'll have your sharp suits though." She said smiling.

"I know," he replied looking devastated, "I would've packed a couple if I'd had the time. They don't even mass produce them in this century! I'll either have to find them or have them made. I don't even like this suit that much." He said pulling his jacket a little ways from his body. "What do you think?" Rose bit her lip and looked away not wanting to tell him that she did not particularly enjoy that suit. "See I knew it! Donna's fashion sense must've rubbed off on me a little too much."

They went to the bank that was luckily open and were able to get enough money to buy clothes and food. Her money replicating pouch could do small change but that was only for emergencies. They used a blank Torchwood card to identify themselves. To a normal person and computer without the proper codes it looked just like a blank credit card. "Very nice," The Doctor said holding it up to the sunlight outside of the bank. He reached into his pocket and dug around for a few moments. "I forgot my glasses." He said looking a bit concerned. "Oh well," he shrugged and went back to admiring the card, "So this is a code five deadlock identification card. Torchwood must be well staffed here."

"We didn't want to carry any IDs in case well…" she said pausing, "if we died. I mean technically I'm dead in that world and it would look very strange if I showed up dead there now. Same with Mum and Mickey, but Mickey was never really dead over there I guess but he didn't feel like bringing his license with him." She said chuckling. "It's quite handy in a pinch. Mickey made them." She said remembering her close friend. She's lost him twice. She still loved him. He was part of her family.

"That boy was always a great tech support," The Doctor said giving it back to her. "I bet Jack's taking good care of him." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Rose," he said spotting something behind her. "Can we stop there real quickly?"She turned to see what he was looking at. It was a run-down looking electronics shop. "I just need to pick up a few supplies."

Leave it to the Doctor to be attracted to the weirdest things. She followed him into the dark shop. It had second had electronics covering all surfaces in the shop. There were old telephones hanging from the ceiling everywhere. A musty smell hung in the air even though Rose saw that it was kept very clean. She could see the Doctor kneeling down at the end of an aisle. He looked like he was sorting through a pile of old computer modems. He picked up an old Macintosh and gave it to Rose to hold onto. He continued to go through the store and pick up several cables, a radio, phone receiver, walkman and other things Rose couldn't identify. After they purchased The Doctor's supplies they continued down the street and started the walk back to the Hotel they were staying at.

While they were strolling up the street The Doctor was peeking into the bag giddily and Rose remarked, "You really can't go without one for a day then? I mean at Torchwood you would have everything you need."

"Rose Tyler," the Doctor said smiling over at her. "You know me well, but making a sonic screwdriver, though dangerous, is very fun and fun is what I do. How much fun would it be to let your father's lackeys make my screwdriver?"

"I figured you'd say that." She said. He spoke the same way as before. Also like before, she was unable to rip off the smile that crossed her face whenever she talked with him. She missed chatting, hearing him jabber on about things that didn't make sense. When they arrived at the Hotel Jackie was already there in the small lobby. She loudly chastised them for taking so long and wandering off. Rose rolled her eyes and explained to her that they needed to pick up some extra things. She checked them into the rooms, her sharing one with Jackie and The Doctor having his own, of course. The inn they were staying at was adorned with many sea articles. Rose jumped when she saw a stuffed seagull perched on the desk. The concierge looked confused when he needed identification she simply handed him the card and told him to swipe it. It automatically went through the system and booked the rooms. Still suspicious, the man behind the desk handed them their keys and said in shaky English "Welcome."

They went up the stairs to check out their rooms. When they went to their separate rooms Jackie mentioned something about in a couple of hours going and getting something to eat at one of the restaurants. The Doctor thoroughly ignored her and rushed to his room. Rose had to comfort the affronted Jackie by telling her that The Doctor had something to work on. Their room was like the rest of the hotel in that it was decked out in sea articles. The paintings in the room were all of boats and seagulls and much of the furniture was accented with ropes. Above each of their beds was a lifesaver. At least if there was a tsunami Rose and her mom would each have a flotation device. The TV only had three channels in English: BBC, CNN and MTV, none of which interested Rose in the least. Jackie was quite interested in the latest Destiny Child news on MTV; they never separated in this world.

She still felt wired. Jackie eventually dosed off, but Rose couldn't wind down. It hadn't just been an exciting few hours. She had been jumping from universe to universe for the last month. For the last few months she had devoted her very being to trying to find The Doctor.

When she said goodbye to the Doctor on the beach that no matter what it cost she would hear the rest of his sentence. She would hear what came at the end of "Rose Tyler I…" So she started working along with Torchwood with a renewed fervor. It was fun for a while but everyday at Torchwood was like only a peak into the world she once knew. She didn't want to salvage from alien life she wanted to be a part of it. They had started the dimension cannon so she could travel to the Doctor's universe if she ever needed him again. The progress had been initially slow but Torchwood had obtained technology that could replicate Rose's memory so the technicians could replicate TARDIS equipment. Rose's practical knowledge of alien life had put her in high demand at Torchwood. Mickey had even spent long hours teaching her about the technology they had been exploring. Soon the dimension cannon's blistering progress had slowed to a dull hum it was another project that had been passed over for more relevant ones.

It wasn't until she was in the observatory going over a star chart with the senior Astronomer when she noticed it. Chelonia had just disappeared. It was on their charts the day before and when they had done their scan the next day it was just gone. Lately many planets had been vanishing. One of their more excited interns had listed off over 30 planets that had disappeared for no reason. For many of the astronomers they just chopped it up to war. Rose wasn't so easily convinced. She had the feeling as if she had swallowed tacks. It was the same feeling when she saw evil in the universe. When she had seen the Cyberman helmet for the first time, when she stared down the eyestalk of a Dalek and when she faced the rabid Ood. She might've not had a degree from MIT in computer science but she had interned with the most traveled man in the entire universe. If the Doctor had taught her anything it was to trust her instincts.

They had followed all of the planets that had disappeared and went over all of their information on them. They had nothing in common except they had all disappeared. She was thinking that it would be time to stop analyzing information and start working on reaching the doctor when they received a message from Klum, a planet that had vanished three years ago. It was a distress signal sent from their government when it disappeared. Rose soon learned that it hadn't disappeared, it had been stolen. It had been stolen by the most feared race in the universe. Rose froze when at the end of the Klum government's distress call one of the most recognizable sounds resonated through the cold Torchwood observatory. A word that could bring civilizations to their end… Exterminate. On the other end she could hear the Klum people in the other room shriek in pain and terror. It only took one word from the Daleks to make up Rose's mind.

She hurried along the completion of the dimension cannon. Demanding that all resources be put to that since without the Doctor defense against the Daleks would be futile. It took some convincing but soon the only purpose of Torchwood was to send Rose back to the Doctor. It was completely and utterly worth it. When she teleported down the road from the TARDIS and she saw his unmistakable silhouette she couldn't stop smiling. At that moment when she started running toward him she understood all of the clichés. She understood why she had gone through hell for the last three years. It was for that moment. Any doubt that he had moved on and forgot her was erased. Any fear that he had changed was gone. For a split second when they were running toward each other she felt like The Doctor and Rose Tyler in the TARDIS would happen again.