Not This Time

Chapter 7

Rose's POV

"So this is you're house" says The Doctor, looking around my small  kitchen.

"Yep" I say nervously. Dylan isn't home from work yet and I really want the doctor to be gone by the time he is. It would be super awkward if she met my boyfriend.

"It's a nice place you've got here" says Dan kindly.

"Thanks" I say. I'm quite anxious about this whole situation, it feels weird that The Doctor is standing in my kitchen. I tried so hard to build this normal life for myself and now she's come along and ruined it.

Yaz sits down on my sofa. Her face and legs are bandaged and stitched up but I still can't stand to look at her. This strange girl who seems to have a crush on The Doctor. Can't say I blame her to be honest.

"How long are we staying here for Doc?" asks Dan. The doctor scratches her head "I don't know, we have to take Rose back with us anyway"

My breath catches in my throath. She still cares about me after all this time. She hasn't replaced me with new companions. She still wants me.

Dan and Yaz must be able to see the blush creeping up my cheek but they don't say anything about it.

"I have a life here, Doctor" I say, as much as I would love to leave my mundane boyfriend behind and start a new life with the mysterious time lord from my past, I have to be realistic.

The Doctor looks sadly at me "I understand" she says. My heart tears open seeing her look so heartbroken. Despite myself I feel a flurry of happiness that she cares about me that much.

I think of Dylan. I think of my boring nine to five job, I think of doing the laundry and loading the dishwasher day after day.

I think of our cat, Marmalade and our second hand car. I think of the beautiful card Dylan drew for me for my birthday last year. And then I think of my adventures with The Doctor.

Dan and Yaz look at me expectantly, as if willing me to come with them.

"Travelling with The Doctor can be terrifying at times but it's also amazing. I definitely don't regret it" Dan says sincerely.

"Don't pressure her guys" says The Doctor "she doesn't have to come with me if she doesn't want to"

The Doctor is trying to smile reassuringly but I can see the cracks forming in her mask. I can see the pain in her eyes and the lines on her forehead that she tries to hide from everyone else.

I glance up at the clock. Dan gets home from his job at the supermarket at six o'clock, it's five now.

Suddenly I remember. Holy shit I'm suppossed to be in work right now, what if my boss gives my job to Kayla?

"Are you okay Rose?" Dan asks me "you look stressed"

I want to yell at him that of course I'm stressed. There's three strangers in my kitchen and one of them is an alien, and my husband comes home in an hour.

But I don't say anything like that. Instead I say "Lets just have a cup of tea and talk"

The Doctor perks up at this. She loves tea more than people, I think. Or time lords in her case.

God, I keep forgetting she's not human, she looks so much like a regular woman. But she's anything but ordinary, I remind myself. That's what I love about her.

"Make sure to leave the bag in" she says. I smile. She's definitely my Doctor.

I make tea for Yaz and Dan and The Doctor and set it down on the table.

"Cheers" says Dan, slurping his tea slightly.

"It's amazing to think that all this happened because Dan spilled tea on the TARDIS's main control panel" says Yaz.

The Doctor bursts out laughing. I laugh too, feeling lighter than I have in a while.

"What happened to 'don't touch my precious TARDIS'?" I ask mischieviously.

"I'm more easy going these days" The Doctor says. She does look more relaxed than she did when I was travelling with her, less burdened.

We all sip our tea in silence for a while.

"So how exactly did you get here?" I ask just to break the silence.

Yaz rolls her eyes "It's a long story"

She tells me about how the TARDIS broke down and they got pulled into a picket dimension and how The Doctor didn't want anyone to leave the TARDIS but she went out anyway.

That explains why the TARDIS was in such bad condition when I saw it and also the many cuts on Yaz's arms and face from the pieces of metal that fell on her when the TARDIS malfunctioned.

"It's all my fault" says Yaz sadly "if I hadn't pulled that lever then none of this would have happened"

She stops quickly, realizing her mistake.

"I don't mean it's bad that we came here and met you just the fact that the TARDIS is so badly damaged" she gabbles nervously.

The Doctor puts her hand on Yaz's "It's fine, we all make mistakes"

Worry clouds Dan's face suddenly "Do you think the TARDIS is in good enough shape for us to get back to our own dimension?"

The Doctor laughs "Of course! The TARDIS has survived a lot worse than this, she's very resilient"

"But we will have to leave this dimension very soon" she adds.

Suddenly it hits me like a tonne of bricks. I can't stall for time anymore, I have to make a decision soon. My throath feels thick with nerves. I feel like I'm being torn in two.

Yaz, Dan and The Doctor look at me with urgency in their eyes. I need to decide between my life with Dylan and my life with The Doctor.

I wipe my sweaty palms furiously on my jeans. I have to choose between two universes.

I look at the three strange people sitting around my table. I think of all the dangerous, lethal situations I could get into with The Doctor and her companions and I think of the safety of my life with Dylan. All at once the answer is crystal clear to me.

"I want to come with you"