When she opened the door to the flat, the scent of brewing tea and dryer sheets met her head on. It smelled like home - no the TARDIS, but her mother's flat in the Powell Estate. And, as she looked inside, it also looked like home. She expected her mum to come walking out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel, and opening her arms for a hug.
"Oh, God, Mum," she mumbled, her heart twisting over inside her chest. She missed her mum as much as she missed her Doctor -- only when she thought of Mum, it wasn't with the same anger and resentment that she felt when she thought of her Doctor.
"Rose?" She heard her name, and it seemed to be coming from overhead. She closed the door firmly and broke out into a jog down the hall. "Matt!" she called. From inside one of the rooms, she heard a loud thud as if an occupant had thrown something at the wall as she passed. And, when she reached the end of the hall and looked out the window, she understood why: It was night. Of course it was night. She knew that already; she'd seen it. With a sound of disgust, Rose tore up the stairwell at the end of the hall and stepped up onto the next floor.
And there he was.
Rose beamed - flat out grinned. "Hey," she said, hurrying down the hallway. "Do you have a set of keys, too?"