Born of Fire (Doctor Who AU)

Chapter 12 Hope: Such a Little Thing

,

Everything from the presidential palace to the government Commons building lay at the foot of Torchwood Tower and Rose had a perfect view. She stood at the expansive window of Pete's office inside the mirrored steel and glass building. Torchwood Tower stood like a pinnacle over the city. She liked knowing that she could see the tourists snapping pictures of the tallest glass building in Europe while all they could see was their transport's reflection. Now that the walls between the universes had closed, she wondered if this Earth would stop mimicking every development of its twin. At least, she hoped so, then maybe the constant ache for her London would go away. Now that the tail of the ship had passed, she made faces at whatever idiot was still snapping pictures.

Part of her was a little offended that Danial was returning for a conference and not for her, but then, in all likelihood, he didn't know that she was even home, And that was her fault. She still felt guilty over their last conversation. Instead of snapping at him, she could have explained that she felt they were taking advantage. But she didn't. To make matters worse, guilt had kept her from returning his calls. The easy excuse was her mission, but she could receive calls no matter where she went. No, she was ashamed and ... confused, so damn confused.

The night at Crystals' flooded back. They'd had so much fun making progress toward a real relationship. But then a damn alien crashed, and he fell over cables whacking his head and then -- it was over. She'd spent the last few weeks trying to understand why, and why she felt so angry -- all the time.

Heels clicking against the tiled floor, shifting her attention from London's landscape to the middle-aged, well-dressed woman walking in. She smiled at Pete's secretary. "Where is he?" Rose asked quietly.

"On his way up the lift, Miss Tyler. He should be here any second," she answered as she dropped a stack of papers on his desk.

"Thanks," Rose said, sounding as exhausted as she felt. Rose traced a finger across her mother's picture. It would kill her if I found a way to go home.

"Hey," Pete called from the door.

"Hi, Dad."

"You must be waxing nostalgic."

Rose laughed. "Why?"

"You only call me dad when you are homesick. What's going on?"

"Just thinking. Daniel will be here soon." 

"Helicopter is about thirty minutes out," Pete confirmed. "How are you feeling about him coming back?"

Rose glanced away, crossed her arms and nodded. "I don't know how I feel. Part of me wants to hug him while the other part wants to smack him into next week for leaving."

Pete flashed a sympathetic smile. "I want you to consider something.Say Daniel stayed in London -- would you have bypassed a single mission knowing that Marcus would not give him permission for field duty? "

"No, I -- no. But why, Pete? No one tells me why Marcus grounded him. Something happened, and no one, not even Mum, tells me what! I go to the Ukraine and come back to find him in Scotland!"

"First of all, we did tell you why. Daniel has issues with his metabolism that make field duty untenable. If his blood sugar crashes whilst he's crawling through some wreckage or battling some alien, he could get seriously hurt, or cause someone trying to rescue him to get hurt. How do you think that would affect him. Second of all; almost from day one, e told you that he wanted to teach. He likes it. I don't know why, but he does. From what I've seen and heard, he is actually very good, so good that the council fast-tracked his license."

"That's -- wonderful, just wonderful, but he still owes you. You're paying him to consult for Torchwood." She winced. She sounded petulant even to her own ears.