I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. What you think is the best for me is not necessarily what I know is best for me. It doesn't matter if you're my mother, or my parallel universe father, or even some however many centuries old alien from another universe. I am the only one who knows what it is I want. I know sometimes I've screwed up, or my wants have changed, but on this, on this I am right and I know it, with every fibre of my being I know it.

But there isn't time. There isn't time to say all that. We have a time machine: a time and space machine, but there isn't time. So, all I say as I leave them standing there watching me in horror is, "I'm sorry!" and several cursed mutterings about getting the device to work, and of course, the passing hope that I don't whack myself straight into the void he was trying to build, but finally I feel that strange tingling blip and my head is all screwy for a moment and then...

"I sent you away for a reason!" he has that look. The one where you want to check and make sure you didn't just dribble all over yourself. The how dare you do something I didn't plan on. Really knowing me by now you'd think he would, but there we go. Doesn't know me. Doesn't matter what Mum said earlier either, about me turning like him, or becoming unrecognizable. Or. Don't think about Mum. You're never going to see her again...don't think about that! What did I just tell you? Work to be done.

"Isn't this a case of not best time to be arguing about this, big evil to defeat. Yell at me later. I -told- you I wasn't going anywhere, why the hell do you keep trying to push me away when you really need me?"

There's a pause. He gets that disgruntled look instead, the one that sorta goes hmm...the stupid monkey might have a point and my big gagillion year old brain didn't think of it, then he sighs, "Fine, okay. We'll talk about it later. Over there. It needs to be set to 634."

"That's more like it." I move to the computer he pointed out, and scan it. There's that moment, the usually expected WTF this makes NO sense, and then I see where I'm supposed to go, certainly takes over. I can hear the voice, going, 'Yes, that's it. There. 6-3-4. Click. Save. Move to the next one. That has to be 5-2-7...' I hesitate. How do I...did I?

"Time's a-wasting!" He says, then a pause, "What are you staring like that for? Didn't you just lecture me about--"

"Five-Two-Seven?"

"Five-Two-Seven-Five-Nine," he nods, "That's the back-up phase, if things don't work the way they should. A just in case. It's a program line that will turn off power to the whole buildi..." he looks at me.

"And I knew that how?"

He pulls the 3D glasses off and puts them in his pocket, "Never mind. Take this." He scurries over and hands me what looks like a giant clamp, with a vacuum seal on the back, "Stick it to the wall over there, and hold on tight. I doubt you want to get sucked into the void with a million daleks and hundreds of thousands of cybermen."

"I don't know. Interesting vacation."

He gives me a look.

"I was kidding! God, you do that all the time." Clamp. Red button, right. I let go. Huh. It does stick. Doesn't look like even an earthquake could shift it. Whole building could collapse and it'd still be there sticking to the wall. Anyway...

"You can hold it?"

"Going to have to, aren't I?"

So, we turn, and we pull the levers down. You'd think some institute as advanced as ruddy Torchwood would have buttons or some kind of computer program, not just levers, or even some kind of void-cleanser, that would have been good. Pull, pull, lock, grab. The sensation of being sucked towards the void is...special. Weightlessness, but...not. Goosebumps over my entire body. Add to that the wanting to duck every time a metal monster flies passed, and disappears. I guess they'll kill each other in the void. That's okay, right?

I thought I...

I suppose it's better that way. It was just the Daleks right then and there at the Station. The emperor was obliterated. I'll have to ask him about these. I mean, they had names. That didn't seem like a Dalek thing. I think I saw it briefly then, I mean I could see everything, everywhere. EVERYTHING. It makes my brain feel like liquid to try and even remembr it. If he hadn't. If I had stayed that way...I remember my uncle who had the stroke. It would have been worse than that. Well, maybe not. I would have actually been dead.

If I went into the void...I think about turning my head to look at it, but I don't want to see. I don't want to think about the billions of Cybermen and Daleks who are about to go through that thing, or about anything else that's to do with the void. My family. Mickey. None of it. Mum will be happy with Pete. I know she's going to be mad, and upset and hurt, but Pete is with her, and as much as she bitched about him when he was first there, there is that connection. When I met him I could feel it. The same as when I actually met Dad.

"Hold! On! Tight!" he yells, "Keep! Hold!"

"You TOO!"

It's easier said than done. I'm so scared. My hands are sweating. I can feel my grip slipping, and the lever doesn't look that much better.
I could almost swear that it's moving...crap, that can't be good...I'm about to yell my observation when the building announces for me that the power is going and the vortex is going to close too soon if the power doesn't get restored. I wonder again why the heck they didn't just give the whole system a touch pad or computer station rather than these stupid levers. There's nothing for it but to try and inch my way over, because I'm definitely closer to it than the Doctor, and unless he manifests some alien ability to move things with his mind the only option.
I start to edge around, and try to stretch out. It's gotta be the hardest thing I've ever done, and with the Doctor that happens pretty much regularly. I mean, we have the vortex or void or whatever it is behind trying with the strength of about ten thousand men to pull me the opposite direction, but at least that'll make it easier to pull the lever because that's the way it has to go.

Just out of reach of my finger tips...just a little further, just a little. Got it!

Of course, now completely off the wall-hold, with sweaty hands, and nrrrrr...this is going to be interesting. Hopefully it doesn't have to go on for much longer. Hopefully. Please? I can't see a clock or a countdown from here, and there's no way to tell with the steady stream of silver and bronze whipping past us if that's getting slower, or winding up.

Just take it one second at a time. One second at a time.

Fingers slipping. Crap.

"Rose!"

"I'm okay! Not going anywhere!" I try to pull forward a bit, yeah...thousands of men pulling in the opposite direction, like that's going to happen. I'm strong from gymnastics and some of the other stuff we've had to do over the past couple of years, but not that strong. I doubt even a cyberman could do this. The lever would probably break then and I'd go spinning into the void anyway...hm. Crap. There's this one little tiny part of me that's being really tempted to point out how this would not have happened if I hadn't decided to come back here, but then what would the Doctor have done? If this happened while he was by himself there'd be no one here to fix it and the Cybermen and Daleks would still be here...

"Rose, hold on!" I can see him reaching towards me, reaching, but there's a chasm between us, a chasm and a vortex and the entire universe almost and then...