[01] We've been forever yet we've only just begun

[iwasherefirst]

They've already got the technology. They just haven't figured out how to track him yet. It takes Rose months and more jumps than she cares to count. Sometimes she thinks she's going to be pulled apart at the seams with all the jumping back and forth through time. They warn her that the odds are against her. They tell her she's only got this one planet to work with and he's got an entire Universe plus timelines they can't ever access. She tells them she'll take her chances.

When she ends up in San Francisco 1999, the equipment malfunctions. The jacket won't work and she's so frustrated, so tired so bereft that she almost cries right there in the middle of the wharf. Instead she pulls it together like he would and finds a place to sleep for a little while. Once she's had some rest it's time for fish and chips. They're almost as good as home and they go a long way toward making her feel better.

Right then. Might as well do some research while she's here. See if she can find out if he's been here recently. If he's scheduled to show up anytime soon. Library then a call into UNIT. Despite having a plan, she doesn't act on it. She'll wander a bit more, navigate her way through the people on the wharf and enjoy the day. She's never been to San Francisco in any time.

Comments

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Can't," he says. "I'm still in contact with UNIT in another timeline. Can't walk into myself, might cause a catastrophic collision. That, and my younger selves are always asking me for money."

He slips his key into the lock and pushes on the door. It doesn't budge. Another push, and then it finally creaks open. The room itself is cramped, with hideous orange carpeting and bright pink walls. The television, the coffee maker, and everything with wires in the room apart from a single lamp has been stripped and cannibalized for the Doctor's latest gadgets.

"Home sweet home," he says. "For now."

[iam-thebadwolf.livejournal.com]

The room gets a good long look before she turns back to him and nods. "Alright then. Guess it's up to me to get the right sort of papers and then a job. Rose Tyler, shop girl."

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"You don't have to get a job," the Doctor says. "I've got some money left over from when I worked at UNIT. A few thousand American dollars. It's enough."

Of course it's enough. It'll have to be enough for him to survive at least the next year on. He hopes. How far does a few thousand American dollars stretch?

[iam-thebadwolf.livejournal.com]

She doesn't want to tell him that American dollars in their time were worth less than British pounds and a few thousand British pounds wouldn't have stretched that far. Instead she nods.

"You worked at UNIT?" Subject change! Much better than truth.