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Return of the Bad Wolf

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Rose Tyler has been summoned to Bad Wolf Bay by the voice of the Doctor. They followed his voice for 100s of miles, across the water and finally, he was standing in front of her.  He promised he would find a way to get her back and for her to return in exactly one year in that world's time and he would have found a way for them to be together.  Will he keep his promise?




Rose Tyler has been summoned to Bad Wolf Bay by the voice of the Doctor.  They followed his voice for 100s of miles, across the water and finally, he was standing in front of her.  He promised he would find a way to get her back and for her to return in exactly one year in that world's time and he would have found a way for them to be together.  Will he keep his promise?

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Ever wondered how Rose knew to travel to Bad Wolf Bay?

Rose thought her life was over with the endless nights of crying until his voice called out to her and it sounded so real, like he was in her bedroom on board the Tardis, calling her name but every night, she woke up covered in sweat and tears and she was still in her new home, the Tyler mansion on what the Doctor nicknamed 'Pete's world'.

What Rose didn't realise was the Doctor was burning up several suns trying to get the message through and getting no response.  He had found a tiny crack in the universe to send her his projection and she never turned up.  His monitor was fixed on the exact spot he could get through to, all it needed was the love of his previous and current lives to show up.  The time was getting less, at this rate he'd end up only having a few minutes to tell her all the things he loved about her and most importantly – he was working on a way to get her back.

If he knew for a fact the Tardis would work over there, he would have risked it but no amount of tweaking and tinkering the last few months he had done his best to persuade the old girl to co-operate and he knew she wanted to, the ship missed Rose as much as he did.   He had never been so lonely and empty as he had been in his existence.  Rose had made him better, he knew it and he had never even told her. She deserved to know and she also deserved to know how he had changed her and hoped she would realise what was happening to her.

Rose didn't know the effects of 'Bad Wolf' and she would have been excited and terrified at the same time but the Doctor needed time to let her get used to her new abilities and to work on a plan to bring her back and he was bringing her back.  Rose had been prepared to sacrifice her life with her mother and possible father to stay with him, the least he could do was not to let himself regenerate again so he was working on that as well.

Suddenly, he had an idea to get her attention and it take no extra power, he had been trying forever but about a week in Rose's actual time since she thought he was calling to her in her dreams.

He stood in front of the monitor, he dare not shift the co-ordinates in case he had got the timeframe wrong and Rose was not in the Tyler mansion and he had no idea how long it had been for her which was now about six months.  He pointed his sonic screwdriver to open the connection again that would carry his voice to his love and instead of 'Rose' he called out 'Bad Wolf'.

Rose shot up in bed just after midnight, seven months since that fateful day she had let go of that lever and been taken to so-called safety.   She hurried to Pete and Jackie's room, her mother was four months pregnant so she wasn't sleeping much anyway and Rose dragged them both downstairs to tell them about her dreams.

''Mum, Pete, I've been having these dreams that felt so real, about the Doctor and I know you think I'm mad and I should get on with my life but earlier, he called me again and he's got a message for me, to go find him.   Can we leave tonight?''

Jackie and Pete looked at each other, they would do anything to see her being happy again.  It was Pete who spoke.

''Well I guess we'd better go get ready, we'll take my old jeep, the Lexus won't do so well if we have a long journey.''

While the two women were packing what the needed, Pete called Mickey so he could share the driving as the voice in her latest dream told her to drive as far as they could on land then cross the water to a place Rose would recognise the name of.

They drove all night, all day and went as far as possible to a ferry across the water to Norway and Rose still had no clue where they were going until they got off at their destination and Rose asked a dock worker if there was such a place with bad wolf in it, suddenly realising what she was meant to be looking for.  It was just after ten as Pete drove them onto the beach, about as close as he dare go judging by the tide and Rose leapt out onto the wet sands and looked around.

She walked to the water's edge, the rest of them staying back.

''Oh Pete, I hope she hasn't really been dreaming all of this, she's in a bad enough state as she is, I'm really worried about her.  I want us to think carefully about maybe putting her in a health resort for a few weeks, to calm her down and help her relax with all the spas and things, what do you think?''

Pete looked at his wife.  ''Yeah Jaks, that's an excellent idea but getting Rose to agree is a totally different matter, maybe you could offer to go with her?''

''Yeah Jackie, the two of you, Rose would go for that, a girls week away and it would do you good as well, take some of your worry about Rose away,'' Mickey agreed.

Jackie nodded. ''Ok, I'll talk to her when we get back if you make all the arrangements Pete.''

Pete kissed her forehead. ''I'll leave it to you love.''

Rose was looking around when suddenly, she turned and there was the ghostly figure of the Doctor, smiling.

''Rose, you came!  You clever girl, I knew you would work it out but we haven't got much time, I've been trying for so long.''

''Are you still in the Tardis?''

''I've burned up half a dozen suns to say goodbye to you but this isn't goodbye Rose.''

''Then what is it? Why can't you come through properly, you look like a ghost.''

''The two worlds would fracture if I did and we'd have less time if I enhance the transmission but listen carefully Rose, I want you to promise me, in one years time in this world, you'll come back to this very spot and I will have found a way to bring you back but you will have to leave everything behind, there will no return.  Can you do that Rose?''

Her eyes were full of tears and love for this man in front of her.

''Yes Doctor, I can do that.  I love you.''

''Quite right and I love you too Rose Tyler.  You are going to experience some more changes Rose, use them, it will help you return to me when the time comes for me to return, the transmission will end soon but I promise you Rose, I've not given up but your end of it is important, you'll know.''

His image was starting to fade, he also had tears in his eyes but this wasn't a goodbye, it was a temporary parting and he would be back, somehow.

''I love you too Doctor and whatever it takes, I'll do it.  One year exactly and you'd better be here to take me away.''

''Oh I will Rose Tyler, you can bet on that, it might just not be in a conventional way.  Bye then.''

''Bye.''

Then he was gone.   Jackie saw what had happened and ran to her daughter as she turned from where he should have been standing but there was only one set of footprints, of course.  He was standing in the Tardis, steam pouring out of the console and tears pouring down his cheeks but this was not a goodbye, this was work to do and he was staying in the vortex no matter what until this was finished because he was getting Rose back, he had promised and this was one he wasn't going to break.

That was until he was running around the console and came face to face with a redhead in her wedding dress.   Two days and one giant red spider safely disposed of later, he was back in the time vortex but it had given him a very good idea to get Rose back.

Rose and the rest of them made their way back to London, wondering what he had meant by some more changes.  She was aware something had happened to her back on Satellite Five, before he had changed into the gorgeous man he had become but he had never explained exactly what changes had been made to her.

What Rose wasn't aware of was the fact some remnants of the time vortex, the Doctor had been unable to take out of her and since her little trip through into this world she was in now, twice, it had enhanced the remains and she wasn't aware of what was going on inside her head.  The Doctor had known though, he knew it would never harm her permanently, he had taken most of it but he had somehow known not to take it all out, that one day she would need it.  He knew he had been right to do so.

After he had left Donna at home though, things had spiralled out of control, as they did and he'd met Martha Jones, medical student and he'd had to spurn her advances, despite him telling her repeatedly he was in love with Rose and Martha taking no notice and not believing the woman was real.  After being captured by The Master, his age-old enemy he thought had long gone and meeting Jack again, getting the hand back he'd lost in a sword fight, he found himself on his own again, hoping he'd not lost track of time, well the time in Rose's adopted world.

Time was different on Pete's world, he had known that but exactly one year after she had been called to Bad Wolf Bay, Rose was standing there from first light and had to be practically dragged off by her mother, who'd had to reluctantly leave her baby son at home with his nanny.  Rose had been devastated as her mother led her to the car to take them back to the hotel as it began to get dark.

''Mum, I can't leave, he promised me he'd come back.  Remember when he changed? It did something to me, I made him change when I got back to him, he said whatever it was, it would also change me and I feel a stronger connection now, I know he's gonna come back.''

''Well he might but we can't stay here all night, just come back and we'll return in the morning.  Look at all that times he used to bring you back late?''

''I know Mum but he won't let me down, he said he was gonna find a way and he will.''

The next morning, at first light, packing some food and drinks, they drove back to the beach but Pete was having his doubts about this as Rose walked off towards the shoreline.

''I'm sorry Jackie but after tomorrow, if he doesn't turn up, we're going to have to insist she comes back with us.''

''You know she won't.   She'll at least want to stay in the town, he'll be able to contact her if he does land or finds a way and what if she does go?  We won't get to say goodbye.''

''Face it Jackie, she's here to stay, she's just being led on because she wants to believe he'll come back.  I'll take you back to the hotel then I'll return and stay with her, she'll be ok for half an hour.''

''What if she goes while we're gone?  I can't Pete, I have to wait with her.''

''Then I'm staying.  At least sit in the car.''

Rose was unaware what they were discussing, walking over to a large rock and sitting down, trying to listen for any noise that indicated the Tardis was about to land and the Doctor's voice in her head.  It was getting dark again as she wearily made her way back to the car.  She knew Pete would insist they left tomorrow if nothing happened but she couldn't leave, not now.

All the while, the Doctor was working out his plan but as usual, he got distracted, colliding with a space-liner and preventing the Earth being blown up, again and he knew it was over a year in Rose's time but she wouldn't give up, she was clever, she would know he'd got delayed.  Rose finally gave up and went home reluctantly, having stayed in the nearest town for a week but no contact with the Doctor had made her realise, something was preventing him from getting through, something beyond his control.

So getting back to London, she reached an agreement with Pete, the Vitex jet would be on standby if she was contacted and she and Pete would be in Norway in a matter of hours and a helicopter to take them to the beach.  It was the best she could do, the Doctor would just have to wait for her.  Another year passed, Rose and Pete went on their own back to Norway, Jackie couldn't bear to go and watch Rose walk away from that beach again, it was heart-wrenching for both her and Pete but Pete had to be strong for all of them.

During that year, the Doctor had met the mysterious redhead again, Donna and at least she hadn't had designs on him, unlike Martha and Donna had said the woman must have been mad to have fancied him, knowing that he still missed Rose.  Then they discovered that the walls of reality were breaking down and this was his chance, to finally go get his Rose back but it wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.  Rose was sent back to work with Torchwood, Pete clearing her for duty, her mother said she needed to take her mind off things.

Somehow or other, their world was not affected by what was going on in her original world but Rose was having these strange feelings, that something was going on and she tried to explain it to Pete.

''Rose, we would have detected something, if there had been any disturbances but there's been no such reports, I just wish I had something to tell you.  What makes you think something's happening though?''

''I don't know, it's just these feelings and maybe that's what's been stopping the Doctor getting through?  I know something happened or he would have been here.''

''Well if it's something bad then thank goodness you're still here, maybe he knows that and wants to keep you out of danger, think about it.''

Rose didn't want to think about it.  Why would he have left some remnants of the time vortex in her if she couldn't make use of it?  Maybe it was so small an amount that was so insignificant it was only enough to have the feelings she had been getting but whatever the reason he'd left it there, he'd had a reason she couldn't work out.

The Doctor had known something was going on, the warnings had been there and soon, he discovered it was his old enemies, the Daleks and their creator, Davros but with the help of his old companions, they had got on board the Dalek ship and inadvertently, he had gained a clone, a duplicate of himself which had given him an idea but his clone had all but wiped out the Daleks and for that, he couldn't forgive his twin.  So once they had towed the Earth back to its orbit, there was still enough time to finally get back to Rose but of course, he found out he was two years too late.

Rose had finally decided that was it, she was making no more annual trips to Norway, it was too much, they had settled for the jet on standby and that was final but late one afternoon, in her office at Torchwood tower, a feeling came over her – he was here!   She hurried to Pete's office and told him.

''Are you sure Rose?  I'll have a helicopter on standby when we arrive, I'll just call your mother.  Can you contact him?''

''I can try, I used to be able to call the Tardis phone, I never thought.''

She had long since memorised the number of the phone contained within the Doctor's ship.  It was Donna who heard it ringing, staring open-mouthed as the two identical Doctors were arguing over what the Doctor in brown was telling his twin.

''You have to stay here, Rose will find you, she needs you, she's waited far too long for me to come back to her, she'll just be angry with me.''

''You mean you can't face her.  You could have come here, when the walls started breaking down but no, you had to go and see what was going on first, never mind the woman you love, who's been waiting all this time for you.  What makes you think she wants your twin?''

''Because you can stay with her, I'll regenerate again and maybe this time, she won't want me any more.  You two can have a life together and that's good enough for me.''

His twin was about to retaliate when Donna shouted to them and the Doctor in brown heard the ringing of the phone.

''Oi, you two spacemen, the phone's ringing, it might be your girlfriend finding out what took you so long getting here.  Who's gonna be the one to explain it to her?  I wouldn't be in either of you two's shoes when you answer.''

The Doctor in brown crossed over, Rose was about to hang up when a voice answered her.

''Rose.''

''Doctor!   It's really you.  Where are you, in Norway?''

''Rose, yes, I'm here, on the beach.  How soon can you get here?  I'm sorry, I can't stay for long, the walls of reality broke down but they are closing, fast, a matter of minutes by the warnings the Tardis is giving me but listen.   I can't stay here but when you get here, I've arranged a surprise for you.   Something happened and all will be explained to you when you get here and Rose, I love you, remember that.''

''What do you mean Doctor?  Why can't you wait for me?  You promised me.''

''I know and I'm so sorry but just come to Norway, you'll see what I mean, I promise. I'm sorry it took so long but you'll understand.  I have to go now but get here as soon as you can, you won't be disappointed.''

''Doctor, what do you mean?  You say you can't stay, why should I come up there if you're not gonna be there?''

''You have to trust me Rose.  If I tell you, it will spoil it.  Just remember, no matter how many times I regenerate, I'll always love you and I'm leaving you something to remember me by, that you'll never forget me, how I am now.  Goodbye, Rose Tyler, you were brilliant.''

''Doctor, just wait.''  The phone had already gone dead.  Pete looked at her.

''Come on Rose, the jet's waiting.  Do you need to take anything with you?''

"No, I don't understand what he was talking about.  He said he couldn't stay yet he still wants me to go up there, he says something is waiting for me and to hurry. What's all that about?''

''We'll find out Rose, we can be there in a few hours, let's go.  Jake's coming with us, in case there's any kind of trouble but he'll stay out of the way.  He's waiting in the car to take us to the airport.''

When the Doctor had ended the call, he looked at his twin, the Tardis giving him another warning he didn't have much time left.

''You know what you have to do.  Look after her, she's precious to both of us and I'm entrusting her to your care.  Tell her I love her but she knows I'll change again, you'll stay the same and you can love her for both of us.  Here, take my sonic screwdriver and the psychic paper and take this, it's a piece of Tardis coral and you can grow another one, Rose will be able to speed up the process, she still had a part of the time vortex in her, she'll know what to do.  Goodbye, brother, I don't blame you for what you did, you were right, the Daleks were still dangerous even without the reality bomb and no doubt Davros escaped and he'll start again but it's safe here, the walls will close again as soon as I've gone.''

The other Doctor took the items and headed for the door, Donna coming over to give him a hug.

''Look after yourself spaceman and tell Rose you love her.''

Both Doctors shook hands and the duplicate stepped out onto the wet sand and as soon as the doors closed, he heard the sound of the Tardis before he could turn around, them escaping this world before they were just as stuck as he was.  Donna had slipped a mobile phone into his pocket, he felt it and got it out, using the sonic to get 'Universal Roaming' and hoped he could remember Rose's number, if she still had the same one of course, which he somehow doubted, this being the wrong universe.  He just had to cross over to a large rock and hope no-one came along and thought he was completely crazy.

Rose hadn't even called her mother, Jackie would have tried to talk her out of it, she knew that much.   She and Pete sat opposite each other in the small jet, Rose just having a cup of tea, she was too apprehensive to eat the food offered to her by the hostess.

''Try to eat something Rose,'' Pete tried to encourage her.

''How can I?   What can he mean by there will be something waiting for me?  It had better not be another stupid projection or a hologram of him, I've had enough of that.  Three years I've been waiting and was he gonna call me and tell me he was on that beach?  No.  I had to call him.''

''Maybe he'd just arrived Rose and he was going to call you.  Maybe whatever it is, he was arranging it and besides that, he knew you'd be able to sense him.  Don't be so mad at him love.''

''He told me he loved me, he won't be there when we arrive, he will have just left me something, a message or whatever, I know that.  Even if I'd stayed up there, I may not have got there in time if I hadn't been camping out on the beach.  It's my own stupid fault for getting myself dragged back to London, I've blown any chance of ever seeing him again, he said goodbye to me Dad.''

''I'm sorry Rose, I really am. I know what it meant to you, to be with him again but he told you this time and you really don't know what to expect when you get there, let's just wait and see what it is, yeah?  Maybe it's a way to enable you to get back to him?''

''Maybe but why would he say he would love me no matter how many times he regenerates, if he wasn't gonna change soon and I'd never see him like that again?  It was that face, that version of him I loved but how will I feel if I do get back and he's changed?''

Rose sat back and tried to close her eyes, it was announced they would be landing soon and she would find out why he had been so mysterious but she had to prepare herself for the worse, he had just left her a message, maybe written in the sand or ironically on a piece of paper stuffed inside a bottle.  Once landed, they transferred to the waiting helicopter, the pilot being already given instructions where they were going and him giving assurances there would be no problem landing as long as the tide was out.  Rose put on the headphones and they lifted off for the short journey.

Jake had kept his distance from Rose, he knew his friend was upset at the thought of never seeing the Doctor again, it had kept her going all this time and now she was in for a bitter disappointment once she reached their destination.  He had listened to her conversation with Pete and chosen not to say anything, this time he was there purely for hers and Pete's safety since they didn't know exactly what awaited them.

The duplicate Doctor was staring at the mobile phone, trust Donna not to leave him the charger, he'd used some of the battery looking up Rose Tyler and had smiled to himself, she had done well, her mother had married Pete and had a young son and Rose was well in at Torchwood, though he still despised the place but Pete Tyler being in charge, he figured it wasn't as bad as it had been.  He had been waiting for ages, his senses still trying to adjust to the differences in time.  He dreaded to think how long Rose had been here, it had been far too long in his judgement, thinking back what he could have done differently to get back for her.

He just hoped when she finally arrived, she would forgive him and accept him, he couldn't deceive her by saying he was the original.  He couldn't do that do her and if she didn't accept him for what he was, then he would ask for a ride back to civilisation and get on with his new life, without Rose.  He didn't even want to think about that, she had kept him going all this time.  It would have been easy to give in to Martha's advances but it wasn't fair on Rose, never allowing himself to admit how he'd felt about her.

Well there was nothing left to get in the way now, he wouldn't have to live on that long after her, he wouldn't change, he had one shot, to tell Rose he loved her properly and see if she would spend forever with him.   There was only one way to find out and in the distance, he could hear what sounded like a helicopter, it made sense Pete would come with her, she wouldn't come alone all this way.  The sound got louder and just over the other side of the beach, in the distance he could make out the shape of the machine.  He got up, not knowing how she was going to react if she saw him out of the window but the helicopter set down a good few hundred yards away.

He began to move, he could see the door slide open and a small figure got out, he could tell it was Rose, it could only be her.   She was ducking her head beneath the rotator blades and facing away from him but as she turned around, Pete could see the look on her face and stared in the direction she was looking.  Still with her head down, she came away from under the blades, still trying to see the figure up ahead, just coming around the curve in the beach, the Doctor being at an advantage.

Rose had ducked under the blades and looked ahead, just making out they were not alone and turned back to look at Pete and Jake, Pete nodded forward in the direction of the figure now approaching the helicopter as Rose had cleared the blades.  Then the realisation came over her, despite the figure getting closer was wearing a blue suit, an almost Tardis blue suit, it could only be him but how, if he'd said goodbye to her just a few hours ago and there was no sign of the ship.

The Doctor could hardly contain himself, doing his best not to break into a run as Rose approached him, thinking it best to stay where he was now or she wouldn't hear him for the noise behind her.

''Doctor?''

''Hello Rose, how have you been?''

They were now face to face, Rose turning to wave to Pete still in the rear of the helicopter but seeing Jake step out, deciding whether to join her or get in the front if there was going to be an extra passenger.

''But you said goodbye to me, why are you still here?  And what's with the blue suit?''  Close up, it didn't look the same shade as the Tardis after all.

''It's a long story but I told you, or rather he told you there would be something waiting for you, it was me.  It's a long story but something happened, another me was created, I'm it, a twin or clone or duplicate, however you want to describe it.  He had to drop me here and go back before the walls closed again.  You brought Pete with you and is that Jake?''

''Yeah, just in case, we didn't know what to expect.  So he couldn't stay?''

''Nope, I'm sorry Rose, I know you've come all this way, thinking somehow he would be waiting for you, you must be disappointed.''

Rose shook her head.  ''Who says I'm disappointed?   How can you even think that? You're still him, aren't you?  You still remember me and you stayed behind, to let me find you.  I know what he meant now, that when I got here, you'd be here.  He said he loved me, before he hung up.''

''Yes he does and it goes for both of us.  I'm him Rose, in every way except I've just got the one life, there'll be no regeneration for me, I'm half human, when I was created, I merged with a human woman called Donna and she was brilliant, I picked up some of her traits but essentially, I'm still the same, same memories, same habits.''

As if to demonstrate, he raked his fingers through his hair and put his hand behind his head.  Rose smiled.

''Well don't just stand there, Doctor, I've waited all this time for you to hug me again.''

The Doctor held his arms out and she stepped into them, putting her arms around him.

''I missed you Rose, you have no idea how hard I worked to get back to you but you know me, I just kept on finding trouble.''

''I wouldn't expect anything less from you and you call me jeopardy friendly.  Come on then, or are you waiting for the Tardis to come back?''

The Doctor smiled and kissed the top of her head.   ''Before we go anywhere, I am slightly different.  I've only got one heart, one life but I want to make it clear Rose, I'm not totally like him.  I have no guilt, no burden that he had but I did something bad, I almost wiped out the Daleks again.''

''So what's new?  I wiped them out once but they still keep coming back.  Don't feel so bad about it but is that why he left you here, as some sort of punishment?''

''Not entirely, he knew he couldn't part you from your mother, he knew if he took you back you would never see her again and when I was created, it gave him the solution to the problem and now, well here I am.  I'm all yours, if you want?''

''Let's talk about this when we get back to London, yeah?  Best mind my mother though, you know what she's like and explaining you is gonna take some doing.''

''So you accept me then?''

''Don’t be daft, why did you think I wouldn't accept you?''

''I don't know but he left me with this, he said you'd know how to grow it.''

''Is that a piece of the Tardis?  I'm sure we can find a corner of Torchwood where it won't be disturbed.''

''I'm not sure he meant that.  Don't you see Rose?   I'm not a full Timelord any more but you, you still have the time vortex in your head.''

Rose realised what he was implying.  ''Bad Wolf, I can aid the growing of a new Tardis, one that will work in this universe.  This is why it got left in me but how did he know?''

''He's the Doctor Rose, how else?  Just one thing, before we fly off, I know he said it on the phone but you deserve to hear it in person and you've waited long enough.  I love you and so did he and he regrets not being here to tell you himself but I can say it for both of us.  You Rose, you're the connection, from the original Tardis to the new one, don't you see?''

''Yeah, it makes sense now.  The part of the original time vortex in me will be part of the new Tardis.''

Rose pulled away from him then put her arms around his neck.

''Rose, remember when you were possessed by Cassandra?''  Rose nodded.  ''Want to try it for real?''

After they kissed, the new Doctor took her hand and they walked back to the helicopter.  He knew his twin had done the right thing, leaving him with Rose.  She had got her Doctor back, albeit a new version, the Doctor mark II but he knew she still loved him.  As they flew off back on the jet to take them to London, they held hands and Pete smiled to himself.   Jackie would be pleased Rose had finally got him back but would have a few choice words to say to him first no doubt but he expected the Doctor, or as now Rose had explained quickly to him and Jake, the duplicate Doctor, they were going to be stuck with him and so did Rose.

There was no question about it, the Doctor and Rose were back together and a whole new host of adventures were waiting for them, not in the least the biggest adventure they had ever faced as they eventually married six months later, an extravagant wedding in the grounds of the Tyler mansion, the social event of the year and the new Tardis growing nicely tucked away in the Doctor's new lab in the basement of Torchwood tower.

The end!