Hi! This is only my second fic on here so please forgive any errors as I haven't got a beta. New fic, as I said so any ConCrit is gratefully recieved as well as reviews. Thanks! (BTW for anyone who's wondering chapter 22 of Soul Songs will be up late on Monday night as I'm a bit busy on Sunday) Thanks, please read and review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing you might know of. Nothing at all...

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Unanswered Questions

Down the dirt grass trail towards a river deep in the depths of the TARDIS, Rose Tyler walked. The trickling of the water made her ears prick up, vibrations running through her skin like they were a part of her. Beyond everything but the clouds Rose existed. Stuck in her head; thinking so much that it made her brain hurt again. They'd been happening on and off, her headaches. One time she awoke with a splitting pain across her skull, a burning heat right through the centre. She'd wondered for a second if someone hadn't snuck onto the TARDIS and buried an axe in her head. The next time it happened, she'd thought an axe through her head would've hurt less. She didn't tell him. The Doctor, the new Doctor. Rose's world had been turned upside down by his change. She missed him – the old him – too much for words. So she kept to herself, convinced herself every day that he was the same man, the same person.

Except that he wasn't; he was completely different. No longer did the Doctor flash darkness her way. He was lighter, cheekier and game for a laugh. She wondered what had happened to the burden he carried. Everything worried her. Did he still like her? Would they be friends, as close as before? Would he still protect her from everything she feared? Could she still trust him with her life? Would she still love him?

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"Rose! Are you in here?" The Doctor called out into the fake sunlight of the TARDIS gardens. He missed Rose, if he was being honest with himself. Someone to laugh with, someone to just be happy with once again. He knew she was having a hard time coming to terms with the new him, every companion of his did…but something inside him thought that Rose was taking it harder than any of the others had. He walked down the bare path by a small river he didn't remember being there, calling out again, softer. "Rose?" He walked down a hill carefully in his converses.

As the Doctor came to the base of the hill, he saw her. Her back was to him. Rose's arms were spread eagled behind her, supporting her weight as she gazed up into the sun-lit sky, humming a quiet tune to herself. He stayed silent and watched her, enraptured by the mere sight of her. Everything about her seemed to exude a deep-seated sadness; it was furrowed deep within her, past anyone's reach. The Doctor gazed at her, awed by the gold shining in her shoulder length hair. It even seemed to graze her skin.

She turned around slowly, frowning at him, "You do know of course, that it's rude to stare."

A smile broke out across his face slowly, "I know. I said I was rude."

"And not ginger." She added, turning back to gaze up at the sky.

He paused to watch her for a few moments before sitting next to her at the base of the hill, wet grass dampening his trousers slightly. He sighed, "Rose…"

"Hmm?" She still stared at the sky, eyes focusing on a point far from her reach.

"D'you… I mean d'you…"

She turned to look at him now, eyes gazing across him. "D'you what?"

"D'you wanna go somewhere, a nice somewhere I mean. Well that's kind of obvious, I don't really want to take you to a bad somewhere, what kind of tour guide would I be then? You wouldn't imagine the things I've done. By accident I mean, not on purpose. You know once I..."

Rose cut off his ramblings, "Yeah, Doctor, that'd be great, thanks."

He looked at her worryingly as she stared at the sky once again. "Right. Then. I'll just…set the co-ordinates. See you in a minute, yeah?" He got no reply.

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Rose stayed still for five more minutes, staring off into nowhere, realising she had no answers to her questions as she wandered slowly back to the control room. Her feet padded heavily on the corridor floors. She was wallowing in self pity and she knew it. She forced a smile on her face as she saw the Doctor bounding about like a giddy schoolboy around the console. She vaguely wondered if he had ever been this giddy, even when he was a schoolboy. The thought made her smile inside for a second, a spilt second where she knew him again. He whirled around, pulling levers, flicking switches, pushing buttons, taking them anywhere and everywhere. As the TARDIS finally lurched into action, she grabbed the edge of the console and held on, the Doctor turning to stare at her, grinning like a maniac. Some habits never die, then, she thought to herself, smiling internally again.

The TARDIS stopped abruptly and she nearly lost her balance. Grinning, the Doctor got up off the floor where he'd fell. "We're here!"

His grinned seemed infectious and Rose found herself grinning inanely at him. "And where exactly is here then Doctor?"

He watched her eyes as he talked. "Here is Paris, 3010."

As the Doctor expected, Rose's eyes lit up. "Paris! Really Paris? Not on another world? Paris, France?"

His grin got wider as he saw the one plastered on her face finally reach her deep brown eyes. "Yep, this is Paris, France, Earth, the Universe, all of time and space."

She narrowed her eyes. "I don't have to change, do I?"

"Not unless you're planning on going to a fancy dress party, Rose."

She grinned at the Doctor, eyes bristling. "Fantastic!" She didn't notice him flinch as she turned and headed toward the TARDIS door.

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Following Rose, he shut the wooden door behind him then turned to look at Rose. Her face was one painted with awe. He stared at her and he wondered if this incarnation had a penchant for voyeurism. He shook it off and tore his eyes from her, turning them towards the view in front of him. They'd landed on top of a building, ten storeys high, above a beautiful bustling city. People, human and alien, were rushing around below them, some chatting with each other briefly before parting. Couples holding hands, children running round chasing each other. Rose smiled as she watched a green skinned little boy kicking around a hovering ball with a human boy, dark hair just about visible to her eyes.

He watched the same boys for a few moments, "Things don't always change, Rose. Some things stay constant." He looked back at her, his words starting to seep into her mind, her brain processing them.

"Some things don't change, Doctor. Some things." She smiled sadly for a spilt second then scanned the roof. "And there're still fire escapes! Come on, then, I wanna see the markets!"

"I knew I should've taken you some place where you couldn't spend all my money!"

Rose laughed as she climbed down the ladder. A laugh he knew was forced, however real it sounded.

Reaching the bottom, she held out a hand for him to take as he jumped the last step. He took it willingly and held on as they walked hand in hand towards the market place. Rose inhaled and smelled everything, all her senses working overtime. She smelled the Doctor next to her, unfamiliar, smelling of old spice aftershave, cinnamon and the same old engine oil aroma she was used to. Rose found that she missed the smell of battered leather. She heard the accented voices of locals, unfamiliar accents of aliens pushing past them. She felt the air in her lungs, cleaner, brighter than she'd thought it would be. This was what she needed, a break from the questioning, from the self pity hole she'd dug herself into over the past week. It was as it should be again. The Doctor and Rose. Partners in crime. But as she turned her head, a wave of disappointment flooded over her icy cold. The face she longed to see, blue eyes and big ears was gone. Just this stranger with brown doe eyes, big brown ruffled hair and a forced smile across his face. Rose suddenly felt suffocated by his presence, tearing her hand away from his she started to walk across to the market stall surrounded by people. She smiled her voice shaky as she turned back to him, a bewildered look on his face. "Tell you what, I'll go search the stalls, go window shopping without the windows and you can go exploring."

He stared at her retreating back. "Rose…"

"I'll meet you back at the TARDIS in two hours! See ya later, Doctor!" Once again she didn't see the flash of hurt cross his face as she disappeared into the crowd.

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A/N: please do tell me what you think, I am going somewhere a bit different with it, I promise. Romance and fluff included!