[ID: Rose Tyler and River Song from Doctor Who. River is on the left hand side of the drawing, she is in a prayer position. Her hair is down. River is wearing a light blue top that has a wrap around for the neck, she also has a pink band wrapped around her right arm with see through pink fabric covering the upper portion of her arm. She is wearing long black pants, and brown boots. On her hands there are black gloves with silver studs on the bottom. She is looking up at where Rose is. There are multiple scars on her body, two on her back and one on her right arm. Rose is on the right hand side of the drawing, she is floating next to River in a sitting position, leaning forwards. Her hair is falling forwards, partially covering her top. There are tear tracks on her face. Rose is dressed in a pink hoodie with grey sweatpants. She also has indigo shoes on. Rose is looking down, meeting River's gaze. The background is of stone. Both River and the background are tinted blue. Rose is glowing. /End ID]
Riverrosetober 2023- Day 12, Prompt: Dimension Hopping
Rose braced herself, she hated the feel of slinging through the dimensions. It was unpleasant. But no more unpleasant than being in Pete's World, where everything crawled over her skin. Where her very being there felt wrong.
She had brought it up to Mickey and Jackie once. But the two of them had said that they didn't feel like that at all, that them being there felt no different from the Universe they're originally from.
Rose had taken that knowledge, and jotted it down. And then, each and every time she felt wrong she noted it. Trying to figure out what exactly was making her feel this way.
Later, after being dropped back on that god damned beach. After getting back to the Tyler Mansion, it wasn't home. It never could be home, home was the Powell Estate where she'd grown up with Jackie. With the neighbors baby sitting her when her mum had a client.
This place wasn't home. Linearly she'd only been her five years, less time then when she'd been on the TARDIS. And yet, the sentient ship was still more home then this place.
Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she was selfish for wanting to leave, but she didn't think so. Not when breathing air felt like poison, and somedays it became harder to move, to exist. Because deep inside she could tell, could feel that she was not supposed to exist here. Rose Marion Tyler was not supposed to exist in this world.
Jackie and Mickey were fine, well. Just Jackie now she supposed. But maybe that was just because they had had alternate versions here who died. And them being here, they filled up the space that had been vacated.
But there hadn't been another Rose. And the Timelords hadn't existed here. Maybe that's why she could tell the Doctor was struggling as well. Because she was too. Because the longer they were there the more they faded, in a sense.
Both of their breathing becoming labored as the days passed by, but despite this they still got married. Maybe, just maybe they could learn to deal with it. With the little one on the way, maybe Mia if it was a girl. The Doctor suggested Alistair if it was a boy.
Yet the days kept on going by, and neither of them were getting better. Eventually after the two of them had compiled all the research it seemed they found the reason why. They were not supposed to exist within this universe. Within their original universe hey were fine, because they were born there. But here, without another version of either of them. It withered at them.
They had to back.
The Doctor was especially insistent on Rose going back, because she's pregnant and they don't know what consequences there would be to a child being born in this universe when the parents weren't from there.
Rose breathed.
The slingshot feeling never got better, but this was fine because they still had the coordinates for her universe. They could send her back. Her and the baby, and if she felt fine in the universe she landed in. It was the right one.
And it was, despite her stumbling she breathed properly for the first time in years. For the first time since she was 22 Rose breathed. Without any labor, without any difficulty.
She cried in relief, hitting the coms button, "We did it- it's the correct one!"
Over the coms she could hear cheering, but she could also hear her mum crying. It broke her heart, in a few minutes they would cut the connection. And she would never see her family again.
"Goodbye, Mum. Pete."
"Oh, Rose. Sweetheart I love you."
"... love you too."
She could hear Jackie's crying increase, "Goodbye, sweetheart."
The line went silent.
Carefully Rose took the device off as she looked around. "Time to go."
But where? She pulled out her mobile, 2015. Donna, maybe? Well, only one way to find out.
Part of the way through her walk Rose fell. It took her longer then she'd liked to get her breath back, and when she did there was a woman holding her hand out. Looking at her Rose swore her heart nearly came to a stop.
River Song.
"Need a hand?"
Silently Rose took the proffered hand.
Maybe it was a few hours later, maybe it was days later. But however much time had passed Rose felt comfortable. She was laying down, her head on River's lap and they were just talking.
Rose wasn't sure how long it'd been since she had just talked with someone. Because it felt good to talk to someone who knew the Doctor like she did. Her mum was great but she'd never fully get what Rose was talking about, what she meant. And Mickey, gods. He had never truly gotten along with the Doctor, and her husband was the Doctor.
This was just... nice.
Being able to lay her head on someone's lap, on a comfortable couch. With the person running their fingers through Rose's hair as the two just talked. The TV on in the background serving as static noise.
For the first time in a while Rose felt safe. She felt happy as she leaned into River's touch as she told Rose all about her incarnation of the Doctor. The one she had married. And in turn Rose told River about hers.
And eventually it just became the norm. She learned the house they were staying in belonged to her parents, she learned so many little quirks about River.
Rose's mind drifted to one day when River had woken her up, a joy glimmering in her eyes as she pressed Rose to get dressed quicker. She had taken her to UNIT, and together the two of them plus UNIT worked on getting Rose re-established as a living person. Which was slightly difficult considering she'd legally been dead for around 8 or 9 years.
But in the eyes of the law she existed again.
River had been with Rose when she gave birth, she had stayed by her side the entire time. She'd stayed with Rose through everything. And she was there when the babe was handed over, the nurse saying 'it's a girl, congratulations. what'll her name be?'
She was there when Rose said the name she had picked out, "Mia Jacqueline Tyler."
And she had been the other person to sign the birth certificate. As far as the law was concerned Mia Tyler was the daughter of Rose Tyler and River Song.
The thought made a happy smile spread across Rose's face. She was a mum, and she wasn't alone.
Together they raised Mia, being provided funding by UNIT when they were having difficulties. About the time that Mia was 8 they finally noticed that Rose didn't appear to be aging as quickly as she should. Que being examined by UNIT doctors. One of which happened to be Martha Jones-Smith.
Rose had a family again. She had River as her- she wasn't sure, they lived together, were raising Mia together, went out alone sometimes. But, what were they? Then she had Mia, her beautiful baby. Mickey as her closest remain to Jackie, Martha who quickly became like a sister to Rose. And Martha and Mickey's kids who referred to her as 'Aunt Rose'.
She was happy.
Another two years down the line Rose had gotten sick and tired of her and River's dance so she'd gotten down on one knee and asked River to marry her.
Maybe she wasn't at the Powell Estate, or on the TARDIS. But she was home.
With her wife, her daughter. The closet thing she had to siblings, nieces and nephews. Reconnected with old friends who were so relieved she was alive.
