a/n: Written for the following prompt from pinkliliflower:

Prompt-Rose is reunited with 11. The doctor introduces her Amy/Rory. Turns out that Rory and Rose know each other very well!

Well, I suspect this isn't exactly what she was hoping for, but I hope you all enjoy it.

Out of Order

Chapter 1-Ancient Rome

Time twists and turns, that's what her first Doctor had said. You could be born in the twentieth century and die in the nineteenth. And after all the time traveling Rose had done, first with her first Doctor, and then with her second, she was used to the idea that she could end up anywhere, in any place, planet or moon, ship or space station, or any time, forwards five billion years or backwards a million. But despite all the traveling she had done, she had never met a fellow time traveler other than with the Doctor. Or at least she had thought she hadn't. And when she actually did meet one, she didn't realize it.

The first time they met was in ancient Rome. Well, it was the first time for her, not the first time for him as she found out later. Still, it was weird for two people from the twenty-first century to meet in the first, or was it the second, but that was time travel for you.

She was hiding in a Roman shrine dedicated to the goddess Fortuna waiting for the Doctor to arrive, well, a slightly earlier Doctor than the one hiding in the TARDIS in an alcove at the back of the shrine. She had to give a phial to the earlier Doctor without him knowing it was her giving it to him so he could go save her and then she could save him and then he could give her the phial so she could give it to his earlier self… Arrg! Although it was not at all unusual for her life these days, actually kind of par for the course when traveling in the TARDIS with the Doctor, it was definitely enough to give her a headache, and she'd be really, really glad when this was all over.

As she crouched behind the statue, she noticed the soldier straight away. Most of the worshippers wore togas or long, flowing dresses but he stood out. He appeared to be a typical Roman soldier, wearing what even Rose recognized as a uniform, although she didn't know enough about the era to recognize what rank he was. He was tall and thin—but not as thin as the Doctor—with sandy brown hair trimmed short and a large nose almost classically Roman in shape. But other than his garb there was something a bit different about him. Perhaps it was the healthy glow to his skin. Roman soldiers weren't paid much, but they ate well and got plenty of exercise so were healthier than the general populous—assuming they hadn't been severely wounded at one time or another—but he seemed healthier still, with no pock marks or scars marring any of his exposed skin.

And his teeth were straight and white. That was a bit unusual in and of itself. She doubted they had much in the way of dental care in ancient Rome. So all in all he seemed… different than the others somehow, beyond the uniform.

He was carrying a bouquet of flowers, evidently a gift for the goddess, but he hung back until the bulk of worshippers had left and the room was mostly empty. He then stepped forward, laid it at the feet of the statue and then backed off to a respectful distance.

He stood there for a moment, head bowed and hands clasped together which was very unlike how the other worshippers had stood. They had been respectful, yes, but none of them had bowed their heads that way. If it wasn't for the uniform, he would have looked like he was praying in a church.

She peeked around the statue again, trying to see the entrance to the shrine. The Doctor would be there any second now, and she was really hoping that the Roman soldier wouldn't prevent her from doing what she had to do.

The Doctor hadn't mentioned anyone being in the shrine when he got there. And that meant the soldier had to leave.

His voice suddenly broke through her thoughts.

"O Goddess Fortuna," he said in a sing-song sort of way, "I have traveled far over land and sea to beseech you. Please aid me in my mission. The road will be long and hard, but I must not fail at my task to protect the fair Amelia."

He lowered his head again and fell silent.

Rose stared at him and gritted her teeth. Damn, he still wasn't leaving.

And then, without raising his head, he peeked up at the statue.

"Please?" he asked.

She blinked. He sounded so earnest, so heartbroken. But it was the please that got to her.

He continued to stand there as if awaiting a response. But of course a statue couldn't respond.

"Pretty please?"

Rose's stomach clenched nervously. Would his being there prevent the earlier Doctor from even approaching the statue? She couldn't risk it. She had to hurry him along.

"Yeah," she said.

He jumped and looked around wildly, looking almost terrified, and she wondered if she should have said anything after all. Then he turned back and stared wide-eyed at the statue's face. Then his eyes narrowed.

"Yeah?" he asked. "Yeah, what?"

"Yeah, I'll help," she said.

The soldier cocked his head. "You don't sound much like a goddess," he said.

Oops. Gotta fix this somehow and get him outa here before the Doctor comes back.

"But I am," she told him, trying to sound as goddess-like as possible. "I, the goddess Fortuna, will aid you in your task. But only if you return to it straight away."

"Really?" His voice shot up half an octave.

"Yes, really," she told him, an impatient tone creeping into her voice.

"Oh. Oh, good," he said, sounding at once pleased and still somewhat disbelieving. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She paused, but he didn't move. "But I can't aid you in your task unless you return to it," she said pointedly.

"Oh, yeah, right," he said. "I'll just go, shall I?" He gestured towards the entrance of the shrine.

Rose spotted the Doctor in the doorway. He was here! And that meant this Roman soldier had to leave right now.

"Go on!" she hissed. "Get outa here and back to your task or mission or whatever the hell it is. Or I won't help you after all!"

His jaw dropped. Then with a tiny squeak he turned and fled, stumbling a bit and nearly knocking over the Doctor in his rush to leave. And then she didn't see him again for a few more weeks. Or millennia, depending how you wanted to look at it.