The Nature Of A Rose

Spoilers: Doomsday, and every episode up to Human Nature/Family Of Blood

Warning: AU; unbetaed, adult situations in later chapters, and please don't forget that this contains teacher-student-romance

Characters: Doctor aka John Smith; Rose Tyler, the maid Jenny, Joan Redfern, Charlotte Jenkins (soon to be Latimer- yes, Timothy's mother because I needed someone psychic), her brother(nameless for the moment), a.o.

Chapter 1: Onwards From Doomsday

Flashback (never started with one before, so this should be intresting)

Two months after the Torchwood incident, the TARDIS could be found orbiting a supernova. As she waited for the Doctor to form the link that would allow her one last, most likely tearful goodbye with her family and friends, the young woman stood in the doorway to watch the dying of the star outside. It was a beautiful mesh of colours, different shades of blue and green, of yellow and white and pink and purple glorifying this rare event. She shuddered a bit when she thought that this was their doing. Well, technically, the Doctor had done it- had killed that beautiful star- but he'd only done it because she'd asked him to.

If not in words, then with her silent grief.

"Rose?" he asked as he approached her carefully. A hand came to rest upon her shoulder, and she squeezed it. "It's time."

She nodded, sniffing. Then the brunette followed the Doctor around the console. To stop dyeing (spelling?) her hair had been sort of a statement. A first step towards a new beginning. New begiining to a life without her family. Or the family she could've had, if she'd listened to the Doctor. He had wanted to give her that, a family, when he'd sent her away that day at Canary Wharf. She had come back, telling him that she'd made her choice not to leave him so long ago already, and she'd meant it. She wasn't going to leave him, she didn't regret her choice but it still hurt to lose her mum- and Mickey, again.

"Ready?" the Doctor's smooth voice asked her.

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

After another deep breath, she stepped on the spot her Time Lord was indicating her. Immediately, the TARDIS faded into the background, even the incessant whirring sound of the ship's engines were muted. Instead, Rose found herself on a windy beach, the salty smell of the sea reaching her nose. At the other end she was able to make out a jeep, Mickey and her not-quite-dad waiting infront of it. Pete's arms were crossed as he leaned back against the side of the car but Mickey's gaze was longing as if he wanted to talk to her.

Rose smiled at him before scanning the beach for the person she really wanted to talk to.

The brunette found her mother only a few feet away, slowly moving towards her as if she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. Rose could imagine how her mother must've thought that she was slowly going insane. The Doctor had told her that he had been calling out to Jackie telepathically for the past few months. If it had been anyone else's voice, Jackie would've probably gone to see a psichiatric first thing in the morning. However, she had met the Doctor and had witnessed with her own eyes what he was capable of, so she'd decided to follow the voice in her dreams.

"Rose?" her mother asked, uncertain.

"Hi, mum."

"You look like a ghost," her mother stated, frowning.

Rose turned around to the Doctor who mouthed an apology, and did something with his sonic screwdriver.

"Better?" Rose wanted to know, since she couldn't see her holographic form.

Her mother approached her, reaching out a hand.

"Can I…?"

Rose shook her head, the first tears resurfacing to plague her.

"I'm just a hologram. You can't touch me," the brunette choked.

"Why not come through properly?"

"The Doctor said that travelling between the universes is still impossible. They would collapse against each other."

"Figures that Himself would say something like that…" her mother muttered darkly. "Where is he, then? This alien git you chose over your family."

"Mum…" Rose implored. She couldn't handle this, if her mother was going to make it harder than it was already.

"I'm here, Jackie," the Doctor interrupted her, laying his hand on her shoulder once more.

"YOU!" Jackie Tyler barked with the full authority of a mother, and Rose could feel the Doctor shiver against her due to their close proximity. "You better take good care of my little girl, you hear me?! Or I'll tear open the Void, or whatever, with my bare hands, so I can find you to give you the worst slap of your life!"

"And you know what the scary part is?" the Doctor asked in a half-mock. "I actually believe that you would."

"Oi! Tell Himself that he better not get cheeky with me," Rose's mother told her.

The brunette relayed the message with a smile as the Doctor disappeared once more into the background, reassuring Jackie that he'd take care of Rose. That same smile, small to begin with, fell from her face instantly when her mother asked how long thy had got. Giving her mother the truthful answer- just under two minutes now- almost killed her. Especially as it was followed by an awkward silence.

"Where has the gap come out?"

"Darlig Ulv Stranden."

"Dalek?"

"Dalig…We're in Norway... It's translates as Bad Wolf Bay."

"So, have you settled in?" Rose finally asked, although it was definitely not the right moment for smalltalk.

"Yeah, since there's already been a Jackie Tyler- who was reported dead- I'm back working as a hairdresser, while my new identity is created."

"…uhm…"

"Oh, don't be stupid!" her mother then half laughed at her silly expression. "Pete and I renewed our vows after I was surprisingly discovered in a hospital in Scotland. With amnesia, but alive."

"Oh…right. Good. That's…good. Wonderful. Fantastic even."

"Told you, you sound like him." This time Jackie's voice was almost sad.

"Yeah…I guess…"

"So, what about you? What are you two up to?" her mother asked a moment later.

This had been the question she'd dreaded the most from the moment when the Doctor had told her that it was possible to contact her mum one more time. What were they up to? How could a question so simple, have an answer so decidedly un-simple?! Sure, there was a simple answer. Keep on travelling, like they always had. Never settle down, never stop having adventures. Fortunately and unfortunately, that was not the whole truth. Rose had wondered whether or not to tell her mum about how her relationship with the Doctor had progressed (yes, Jackie had never believed them to be 'just friends' but now that it was official, her mother would actually be right in thinking that there was something), not to mention the little extra bit that looking into the heart of the TARDIS was slowly changing her to be genetically closer to the Doctor (it would take several years until she grew her second heart and respiratory bypass-system, but still…).

'But this is my last chance,' a little voice in Rose spoke up. 'My last chance to tell my mother how happy I am. I can't miss it.' Just as she was about to answer, she felt the Doctor's strong arms slip around her waist possessively, and no further explanation was needed. The expression on her mother's face seemed to slip back and forth between anger and acceptance but she still held her finger up warningly towards the Doctor.

The pinstriped Time Lord just grinned.

"Well, I guess it was to be expected. My daughter loved you even when you were all big ears and leather," Jackie finally relented. "But what about your side of the medal? 'Cause I'm not having some ancient alien git rob this craddle if he's just playing with my little girl's feelings!"

"Quite right too," the Doctor amended. "And if this is my last chance to tell you, Jackie, your daughter is my-"

The connection broke off.

End of Flashback

It had been about six months since that horrible day on some random- Bad Wolf Bay, yah, randon! Ha!- beach in an alternative universe. Rose and the Doctor had had quite a few adventures since then. First of all, seconds after the connection to her mother broke, a red-haired bride had just popped up in the TARDIS. Something which the Doctor claimed to be impossible, ergo it was just a little bit unlikely. Once they'd saved Donna- as the bride's name turned out to be- from being thrown down to the centre of the Earth to become the wake-up snack of some giant red spiders, they'd stumbled upon a hospital full of plasmacoils. Teaming up with a local medical student called Martha Jones- the Doctor really had a knack for picking up pretty girls- they'd saved the day the second time that week. As a thanks, they had taken their new friend on a trip to meet Shakespeare that ended in saving the world a third time. After dropping Martha off back home with the promise of visiting every now and again- and maybe a few more trips in the future- they'd set off to New Earth, first getting into trouble, then out of it. Afterwards they found out that their old friends from the Cult of Skaro were still out and about, had almost fallen into a living sun, and then they were forced to stop some idiot human scientist, Martha had called to warn them about.

But this, Rose decided, was by all means the worst.

Reliving every one of their adventures since the Torchwood incident as she followed the housemaid to her room, Rose wondered not for the first time why she had ever agreed to this in the first place. This adventure, not travelling with the Doctor. She wouldn't have missed that for the world. Of all the stupid ideas her Time Lord had had- and don't fool yourselves, there have been quite a few- this was possibly the single, daftest one she'd ever even just heard about.

And here she'd thought it couldn't get worse after he licked the hand of that planet's princess, because it was yellow as a banana…

'Figures,' the brunette thought. 'For someone so brilliant, he isn't half thick sometimes…'

"This is your room, Miss Tyler," the housemaid, Jenny if she remembered correctly, told her. "Your roommate is Miss Jenkins."

"Only Miss Jenkins?" she asked, not believing that she didn't have to share with four or five of the other girls.

"There aren't many students, Miss, so there is enough room," Jenny answered, not looking her in the eye. "Only the family and the female staff have accsess to the dormitories. On occasion, the headmaster can grant someone permissionto-"

"What about the teachers?" Rose interrupted. It was rude, but she really didn't need a lecture. She wasn't in the mood.

"Of course not!" Jenny almost shrieked, shocked by her question. On an afterthought, she added: "Miss."

"Alright," Rose sighed. This made everything more complicated. "Thank you, Jenny."

She gave Jenny a few coins, at which the maid stared in wonder. Apparently, no one had ever bothered to reward her for her kind assistance. Ignoring the wide-eyed housemaid, Rose opened the door to the small room. There wasn't much furniture from what she could see. Two simple beds, a wardrobe, a desk and a chair. Another sigh left her lips. This would be her home for the next three months or so. Queen's College in London, 1887.

'Well,' she thought. 'I guess it could be worse.'

"Hello!" a soft voice greeted her. Once she had turned, Rose could see that it belonged to a young girl with dark eyes and light brown hair. "You must be the new arrival. I'm Charlotte Jenkins… soon to be Latimer."

"You're…?" Rose couldn't help but wonder aloud.

"Engaged? Yes," she responded kindly, not minding the rudeness. "So, what are you called?"

"Rose!" the brunette blurted. "Uhm… Rose Tyler."

"Nice to meet you, Rose, Rose Tyler," the younger girl said, offering her hand.

"The pleasure is all mine, Charlotte Jenkins, soon to be Latimer," Rose chuckled as she grabbed hold of the girl's hand to shake it. Just as their skin touched, something odd happened. There was some sort of electricity passing between them, and by the odd look on Charlotte's face, she could feel it too.

End of chapter 1!

A/N: Alright, this is the beginning of my latest Doctor Who fanfic. Now it's official, I'm obsessed! ;)

For all Doctor/Rose-Lovers: My fanfic "Does Your Mother Know?" is a very different JE 'fix it'. I would be happy to hear/read your thoughts on it. (it's rated M to be safe)