Rose walked in, carrying two mugs of hot chocolate. The R. Doctor was working on a circle of metal, with wires sticking out of it. Every once in a while, when he pressed two wires together, a spark would come out. He was always working nowadays. Rose had learned enough from Torchwood to know that he was building a ship. He wanted so badly to travel again, and she was right alongside him.

Of course, strictly speaking he had never traveled before, but only remembered doing so. But those memories were enough to make him pine for the stars.

"Cocoa break." said Rose. "Come on, even human/Time Lord hybrids need rest-" But the mug had already been whipped from her hand. The R. Doctor chugged it down.

"Delicious!" he said. "Fantastic! Brilliant, even! Molto bene! The things you humans come up with. Dessert that serves a dual purpose of pleasing the tastebuds and warming the body-"

One, thought Rose. Two...three.

"Ow." moaned the R. Doctor, rubbing his throat. "Hot."

"That's why most humans prefer to drink it slowly."

"Most humans are normal beings with all the curiosity of your average walnut."

Rose shrugged. "True."

Suddenly the wirey circle started blurting out black smoke at such a pace that soon the entire room was submerged in the stuff.

"Out, out, out!" the R. Doctor yelled.

"You don't have to tell me thrice." she said. They ran out of the room. He slammed the door shut behind them.

"I've got to have that piece." he said, running his finger through his hair and messing it up completely. "Without that piece, the rest of them are useless."

"You could get yourself killed." Rose said. She realized how melodramatic she sounded. Apparently so did the R. Doctor, 'cause he turned to her with the air of a knight going into battle.

"Courage, my dear." he said. "But in case you're correct...one last kiss?"

In an imitation of ladies of old, she swooned into his arms, and they snogged.

"Farewell, my lady." he said. Then he puffed up his chest, and charged into the room. There was a loud clang of metal.

"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!" he said in one breath. There were more clanks of metal, a triumphant cry of "Ha!", and he burst out again. There were smears of grease on his face. He held the metal circle aloft. It had ceased spurting smoke, and was now making a sound like a dying cow.

"Take a lot more than that to get the best of me!" he cried. "I just need to get one more bolt on that flange down there, and it's ready for travel!"

"And where will we go then?"

He took her hand, and pulled her close. "Anywhere."