If you came to me with a face I have not seen, with a name I have never heard, I would still know you. Even if centuries separated us, I would still feel you. Somewhere between the sand and the stardust, through every collapse and creation, there is a pulse that echoes of you and I.

Love is the only thing we take with us. It is the only thing we carry from one life to the next.

- Lang Leav

The Doctor glanced up as Rose entered the console room. She appeared to be breathing more normally. A small frown creased her face. The Doctor stood, stretched, and crossed over to her, taking her hand as he did so. It felt as natural as breathing. "What's wrong?"

She smiled at him, and squeezed his hand. "Nothing is wrong with the treatment you gave me for my ribs. But didn't you say that the TARDIS doesn't talk much?"

The hair on the back of his neck stood up. "Did she speak?"

Rose shrugged, trying to look unconcerned. But she still studied his face anxiously. "Yeah, she gave me directions and complained about your decorating. No biggie."

There was the sound of what might have been muffled laughter from the duct tape cocoon containing the Master. The Doctor couldn't help but smile at Rose. Then he sobered, just slightly. "Rose, in over a millennium of travelling, the TARDIS has never spoken to any of my human traveling companions, and only rarely to other Time Lords. That she's spoken to you…"

He trailed off, at a loss for words for the first time in this body. Rose looked at him, head tilted to one side. "Is that bad?"

The Doctor hesitated. "Not necessarily."

Abruptly Rose's gaze focused avidly on a spot across the room. She stifled a grin. "Is that a fishpond?"

The Doctor grinned at her. "It is."

Rose shifted her weight, looking thoughtful. "What'd you need a fishpond for?"

The Doctor smiled wryly. "The TARDIS installed it, and I think it's mostly to throw me in when I misbehave badly enough."

Rose snickered. "What the heck would you do to earn that?"

The Doctor swallowed, thinking of how he'd broken Ace's spirit in order to save her life. And wished he hadn't. The Doctor cast around for a distraction. And found one. Tugging Rose over to the console, the Doctor started setting the coordinates. He grinned at Rose. "How would you like to see my home planet, Gallifrey?"

Rose grinned back, bouncing up and down slightly. "Are you kidding? I'd love to! Seeing the Master get what he richly deserves is just a bonus."

The Doctor flipped the dematerialisation lever. "Very well."

Rose bit her lip. "Is this a good occasion for a dress?"

The Doctor laughed. "I think I'd be a tad conspicuous."

Rose was puzzled for a moment, then laughed and dug him in the ribs. "Not for you. For me. I don't think they'd like it if I showed up in my jimjams."

The Doctor dropped his gaze, realising for the first time that she was still wearing the old, paint-splattered t-shirt, and ratty flannel pyjama bottoms. He met her gaze again. "I think it would be an excellent idea to show you the wardrobe room." He held out his hand. Rose took it, smiling happily.

The wardrobe room was a massive circular room, painted in bronze and jewel tones. What it lacked in diameter, it more than made up for in sheer height. A spiral staircase sprouted in the middle of the room, stopping at regular intervals to branch out into glass-floored catwalks. Rose was more than a little awed by the size of it all. She glanced at the Doctor out of the corner of her eye. "Okay. So what do I wear, and how do I find it?"

The Doctor smiled slightly. "Is rather large, isn't it?"

Rose nodded, feeling amused. Who knew her life would come to this? Traveling aboard a sentient timeship with a distinct dislike for her partner's decorating choices, taking a rogue Time Lord to trial. The Doctor gestured up to what might have been the fourth or fifth level, though it was hard to tell. "Fifth level, the clothes marked 2005. You could go with evening wear, but I'd recommend something you can run in."

Rose pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Is it that likely for there to be trouble?"

An embarrassed smile played over the Doctor's lips, and he shrugged. "Unfortunately, my people have a reputation for being pompous and bitchy."

"Saw that, thanks." Rose muttered.

The Doctor gave her his best kicked puppy expression. Then he put on a look of quiet dignity. "As I was saying, I've been forced to regenerate, nearly executed, exiled, and put on mock trial."

Rose felt outraged. "Why?"

The Doctor smiled wryly. "Unfortunately, the Time Lords have a strict no-interference policy when it comes to time. And I quite regularly flout that policy. Saving people is my modus operandi."

Suddenly several things made sense to Rose. "You've saved Earth before, haven't you? Against the Time Lord's orders, no less. That's what our favourite bundle of duct tape and mind control meant when he said that the earth is precious to you."

The Doctor's eyes went a little distant, and Rose wondered if he was really a thousand years old. He acted so damn young sometimes, but other times, you could practically feel the weight of years. Then he pulled himself back to reality. "I have, many times." He cocked his head as if listening. "We've landed. I'll see you in a few minutes."

He strode off. Sore subject, much? Rose thought. Shaking her head, Rose headed up the stairs. Ten minutes later, Rose had selected an outfit that appealed to her, and dressed. Standing in front of the vanity, Rose wondered what she was going to do for makeup.

Traveling with the Doctor had certainly been an impulsive decision. One that didn't really allow time to pack. As if the TARDIS had read her mind, a makeup set shimmered into view in front of her. Grinning, Rose reached for it.

The Doctor was under the console, welding together two wires doubtless damaged by the Master, when he heard Rose's distinctive light tread. Exhaling a puff of dusty air, the Doctor carefully sat up. And nearly had to reattach his jaw when he saw Rose.

She wore a black leather jacket and a Union Jack t-shirt paired with dark jeans and boots. Her hair was brushed out and hung loose, catching the diffuse light of the TARDIS. The way her eyes caught and reflected the light like a galaxy of tiny stars; for just a second it reminded him of something he couldn't quite remember.

Another image was briefly superimposed over her, making the Doctor blink in surprise. He got a fleeting impression of golden flame, and another Rose with her eyes aflame. Then it was gone, along with the sense of preja vu.

Then it was just Rose, smiling at him nervously. Though the Doctor had to admit that she was never just Rose. He had a second realisation that although he wasn't normally susceptible to visual stimuli, she looked nice. Very nice. Rose turned in a slow circle as he tried not to stare. "What do you think? Am I decent?"

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Uhh." Nice, Doctor, he chided himself. Very articulate. "You look beautiful."

Rose smiled shyly at him, tongue poking out between her teeth. "Wasn't what I was asking, but I won't turn down a compliment, either."

The Doctor stood up, brushing a few stubborn motes of dust from his frock coat. "You're fine. Don't worry, Rose, you're not breaking any laws."

Abruptly, his smile widened. "If we have time, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

Curiosity lit a spark in Rose's eyes. "Who?"

"Leela of the Sevateem, my good friend and former traveling companion."

Rose favoured him with a cheeky grin. "I'd love to meet her! We can bond over your fashion choices."

Inwardly, the Doctor grinned. He clapped a hand over his mouth. "What travesties am I about to unleash on the surface of Gallifrey?"

Rose looked him up and down pointedly, and grinned. Still smiling, he picked up the duct tape wrapped bundle that was the Master, and offered Rose a hand. "It's not a good idea to keep the Lady President of Gallifrey waiting." Rose smiled, a bit anxiously, and accepted his hand.

The Doctor pushed open the doors, allowing a wash of pale light to enter the TARDIS. A wellspring of anxiety churned in the pit of her stomach. What if she messed this up? Rose had only been to one legal proceeding in her life, and that a domestic violence citation.

They stepped out, into a small, boxy room with pink-flecked walls and a glossy, greyish floor. It was empty, except for seven guards in elaborate robes and skullcaps, and a young-looking woman with dark hair in an elegant chignon. Her eyes immediately fixed on Rose, making Rose feel as if she was being x-rayed.

Rose didn't like it one bit. The Doctor none too gently dropped the Master on the floor, eliciting another round of muffled bitching. The Doctor bowed to the woman, who Rose figured was the Lady President.

He signaled that Rose should do the same, and belatedly, she did. "Might I present the President of the High Council of the Time Lords, Lady Flavia?"

Lady Flavia nodded regally, and flicked an imperious finger at the Master. "Unbind him."

Sonic screwdriver already in hand, the Doctor bent over the Master. A few moments later, the duct tape cocoon fell away, cut neatly in half. The Doctor straightened, and Rose noticed with a pang that his posture was stiff, and his face a blank mask. The Master got up, shrugging off the duct tape, and smirked. He addressed Lady Flavia. "Thank you for letting me out of there. The flirting was becoming unbearable."

Rose flushed. Bastard. A muscle twitched in the Doctor's jaw. The Lady President ran her gaze over them. A corner of her mouth twitched up. Rose got the impression that this was as close as she'd come to rib-busting laughter.

She turned around, walking toward the door. "Walk with me, Doctor. Bring your companion."

Lady Flavia touched her hand to a pad near the door, and the guillotine door slid open with a quiet hiss. At this point, two guards and the Master split off from their group, and went down a side hallway. They appeared to be heading for a dead end, which confused Rose, until the rest of their party clustered at the end of the hall.

Rose squeezed in next to the Doctor in an effort to avoid the Lady President. The woman still freaked her out somewhat. A blue light and a sensation like getting ripped apart and reassembled engulfed them, and they were gone.

When the transmat spat them out again, they were in a soaring room with a transparent ceiling. The stars were out in all their splendour. For just a second, they took the Doctor's breath away. A crowd gathered, directly blocking their path. They didn't look threatening, but the Doctor knew that could change in an instant.

He glanced over at Rose. She looked faintly green. The Doctor smiled at her, and squeezed her hand. She smiled back. The Time Lady shot them a faintly impatient glance, and moved forward, her guards moving ahead of her. Rose and the Doctor fell in behind her. The crowd jostled and fought them all along the way. The Doctor kept a watchful eye to his left, trusting Rose to watch out to his right.

A flurry of activity erupted on Rose's side. He heard Rose shout something, and then Lady Flavia was falling one way, a knife sticking out of her shoulder. A Gallifreyan in brown technician's robes fell the other, as if pushed. He scrambled to his feet, and disappeared into the crowd. Rose hovered anxiously by the injured Time Lady, patting the knife nervously as if contemplating pulling it out.

Then she was being dragged to her feet by two of the chancellery guards. They held her arms twisted behind her back in what had to be a very painful position. The Doctor lunged forward, battling against an irrational urge to attack the guards. "ROSE!"

Realising the futility of his actions, the Doctor stopped, furiously adjusting the cuffs on his coat. Rose hung limply in their grasp, not struggling. There was an incredible amount of trust in her gaze. And the Doctor couldn't do a damn thing to justify that trust. That was when Lady Flavia levered herself up with her good arm. "Drop her. She saved me. The assassin meant to sever my spinal cord and rupture both hearts."

One of the guards opened his mouth. "But my Lady, it is a dangerous alien!"

The Lady President levelled a glare on him fit to turn him to ice. "I said drop her!"

Two guards wilted simultaneously, and Rose hit the floor with a thud that made the Doctor wince. Rose was not phased, immediately getting to her feet, and running over to Lady Flavia. "Are you okay?"

Lady Flavia looked somewhat shocked at Rose's breach of protocol, but then she seemed to take the question at face value, and smiled wryly. "I believe the term you humans use is 'just peachy'."

The Doctor shook his head, smiling. Was there anyone Rose couldn't win over? Rose eyed the spreading stain in the Lady President's robe. "Can you stand? I think it'd be in your best interest to get some medical care before you regenerate."

The Time Lady shot the Doctor a startled look. Then she smiled at Rose. "Yes, thank you. That would be marvellous."

Rose helped her to her feet, and Lady Flavia glared around her at the crowd. "Kindly disperse before I have the lot of you arrested and put on trial."

Her icy tone made it known that she meant every word of the threat. Three beats of silence, and then a general stampede for the exits. The Time Lady and the human exchanged conspiratorial smiles.

The Doctor had the feeling that he'd just created the most dangerous partnership of the millennium. If the Doctor could guess, the Lady President was as smug as a cat in the cream. Rose shot him a grin. "Much better."

While Lady Flavia got her necessary medical attention, Rose and the Doctor were escorted to their quarters. Rose got the impression that the guards still mistrusted her. At least judging by the glares she'd been getting. Rose felt saddened and frustrated.

Done exploring the opulent but impersonal room, Rose flopped down on the four poster bed. She didn't notice the Doctor watching her with a soft smile. Abruptly, she sat up as a question occurred to her. "Why is there only one bed?"

The Doctor sat up from where he sprawled across the couch. An amused, slightly embarrassed smile played across his lips. "The Lady President thinks we're lovers. Normally that would be frowned upon. At one point in my youth, you could be executed for taking a human as a lover. But this is a much more progressive era. Now it's viewed with amused condescension."

The Doctor sounded slightly bitter. Three sharp raps on the door. The Doctor got up and opened the door. Lady Flavia stood there, resplendent in fresh robes. She stepped quickly over the doorstep, and seated herself in the chair across from the Doctor. She tipped her head meaningfully at Rose, and the Doctor looked mulish.

They stared at each other for a long moment, and the Doctor sighed. He looked at her apologetically. "Rose, would you mind waiting outside? We'll only be a minute." That stung, just a little. But Rose got up and left.

The moment when the door closed, Lady Flavia looked at him oddly. "Her timelines are… almost alarming." The Doctor tilted his head, frowning slightly. "How so? I can't see her timeline, but I hear that is normal for those whose timelines are intertwined."

The haunted look on the Lady President's face chilled his blood. "Her timeline is woven through all of time and space. Everything from the dark times to the very end of things, she has touched it, and shaped it."

The Doctor opened his mouth and shut it. "But she's human! Not even one of us could do that."

The Time Lady looked tired. "I don't know how she does it, did it, or will do it. What else out of the ordinary has she done?"

The Doctor carefully examined his fingers. "She threw off the Master's hypnosis twice. And the TARDIS spoke to her."

Lady Flavia frowned delicately. "That's certainly unusual. But the TARDIS could just like her, and she could be possessed of an unusually strong will."

The Doctor shook his head. "Your first point is plausible, but the second? We both know how overwhelmingly powerful Time Lord hypnosis is normally, but hyped up by the deathworm? A Time Lord or Lady would barely be able to break free."

Lady Flavia leaned forward, interest lighting up her eyes. "I heard about the ruckus on Skaro, of course, but not that. Tell me more."

The Doctor's lips quirked. "It was how I got involved with Rose. After the Master broke free of the stasis casket, I was forced to make an emergency landing in London, 2005. I was shot, about to regenerate, and that was when Rose found me…"

Rose sagged against the wall, trying not to feel slightly resentful. Hadn't she proved her worth when she'd fought off that assassin? Next to her, someone cleared their throat politely. Rose looked up. A Time Lady in an elaborate red gown stood there. She was the first Time Lord or Lady Rose had seen who wasn't precisely pretty. Her face was all sharp angles, but her blue eyes were of a deep turquoise so unusual that Rose had to resist the urge to stare. "Hello?" Rose said uncertainly.

The Time Lady smiled brightly, and it instantly sent alarm screaming up Rose's spine. "I am Lady Irida of the Inner Council of the Time Lords. You must be Rose Tyler."

Rose nodded, trying to hide her unease. She didn't want to make an enemy of this woman. "I am."

The woman laughed, and the sound tinkled like broken glass cascading out of a garbage truck. Pretty, shiny, and ready to slice you to ribbons should you approach it wrong. "You're so cute! Of course, any Time Lady or Lord would know who you are. Your timelines are so distinctive. What else can you do?"

Rose cast about for anything that might interest Lady Irida. She didn't think telling her that she could fold a stack of jumpers in thirty seconds would fly. "The TARDIS talks to me, and I threw off the Master's mind control. Twice."

Rose shrugged, trying to seem just the right amount of boring. "Other than that, not much."

A spark of avarice flitted across Lady Irida's features so fast Rose thought she might have imagined it. But it still had time to unsettle her. Like the answer to her prayers, the Doctor's muffled voice came from within their quarters. "Rose, you can come back in now."

Rose nodded as politely as she could, and edged back into the room. "It was nice talking to you." While thinking it was anything but. The whole time, the Time Lady watched Rose with those unsettling turquoise eyes.

Rose appeared in the doorway, looking slightly nervous and shaken. The Doctor remembered the last time she'd looked like that, and felt a thrill of fear. "Rose, is everything all right?"

Rose forced a grin, and picked her way over to sit down next to him. "I'm fine. There was just this Time Lady. Lady Irida, I think her name was."

The Doctor felt a flame of outrage growing between his hearts. "What did she say to you?" Both he and Lady Flavia said at the same time.

They looked at each other for a moment, surprise colouring the Doctor's expression, a knowing look on Lady Flavia's face. The Doctor turned his attention back to Rose. Rose seemed to be searching for the right words. "She called my timelines distinctive, and she asked what else I could do. So I told her."

The Doctor rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Why did you do that? It'll only attract attention of the wrong kind."

Rose glared at him. "She gave me the creeps! I didn't want to tick her off."

Lady Flavia settled the argument once and for all. "Rose is right. Lady Irida is potentially dangerous, and is currently under investigation. Don't leave her alone with Lady Irida."

The Doctor rubbed his eyes tiredly. Was the nothing that the universe did not see fit to complicate? Lady Flavia's eyes flicked meaningfully between Rose and the Doctor. "I will take my leave now. Get some rest. Especially you, Doctor. The complications of your regeneration could cause problems, otherwise."

She got up, smoothing down the front of her robes. Lady Flavia nodded to Rose. "Goodnight, Rose. That was a good thing you did."

Rose smiled at her. "We made a good team."

Lady Flavia smiled ever so slightly. "So we did."

She left. Rose smiled at the Doctor, but then her gaze focused on the opposite wall. "Why did someone write 'Bad Wolf' on the wall? In English, no less."

The Doctor stared at the spot she was indicating in confusion. Sure, someone had written Bad Wolf, but it was in circular Gallifreyan, not English. Unless… "Rose, remember the post it notes on the TARDIS console? What language were they in?"

Rose frowned. "At first they were just circles, but then you must've changed them, because they were in English."

The Doctor's mind raced. Why would the TARDIS translate Gallifreyan? It just didn't make sense. Nothing about Rose made sense. "The TARDIS is translating for you. The question is, why would she do that? She never translates Gallifreyan."

Rose shrugged. "Maybe she likes me."

The Doctor decided to let the mystery of a certain Rose Tyler go. "Maybe she does."

Rose yawned, and the Doctor could sympathise. "Come on, Rose Tyler. We'll only get about two hours sleep at this point, and that may be enough for me, but it isn't even close for you."

Patting him on the shoulder, Rose shucked off her boots and jacket, and crawled into the bed. A couple minutes later, Rose sat up, and glanced at the Doctor. "Are you seriously gonna sleep on the couch? C'mon, the bed's huge." The Doctor pulled off his shoes, and climbed in next to Rose.

She crept into the room, face muffled by several scarves. In the almost nonexistent light, two lumps were visible in the bed. The Rani swore silently. She had not counted on the darn dratted Doctor taking the girl as a lover. She spied long hair draped across the pillow of the nearest form. The Doctor didn't have long hair in his current body. So it had to be Rose Tyler. She had to be quick. Or they'd both wake up.

Darting in, the Rani pressed the chloroform-soaked rag to the unseen face of her victim. She slowly counted to three, waiting for something to happen. And then something did. 'Rose Tyler' burst out of bed, already swinging. The Rani took a punch to the face, and had her feet swept from under her in short order. Scrambling to her feet, the Rani bolted from the room. Clearly, the Doctor had regenerated. Why hadn't the prissy moron told her that?

The Doctor hadn't seen much, too much of his assailant's face had been covered by a scarf. But the eyes had been exposed. They were some pale colour, that might have been blue. Crawling back into bed beside Rose, the Doctor sniffed the rag. Chloroform.

A touch of worry and protective wrath grew inside of him. Someone had meant to take Rose. Had even procured human drugs. The Doctor threw the rag at the wall. The Doctor stayed awake, listening to Rose's slow, even breathing. He stayed that way for a long time.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Rose peeled open one eyelid. The Doctor gazed back at her, an amused smirk curling his lips. Rose groaned. It was too early for this. "What?"

The Doctor grinned, sliding off the bed. "The trial is in two hours. I thought you might want to eat something before the trial starts. And there's some things I need to tell you about last night."

Rose pulled the pillow over her head. "Like?"

Rose couldn't see his face, but his tone was a lot less serene than usual. "There was a kidnapping attempt last night. Someone mistook me for you."

Rose rolled out of bed, feet hitting the floor with a thump. "Okay. I'm awake. Mostly."

By the time they'd snuck past the chancellery guard, and were in the TARDIS, two steaming cups of tea and two plates of croissants were waiting for them. The Doctor slid a mug of tea and a plate towards Rose. They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes, until the Doctor drank his tea.

Setting his mug down, the Doctor inched his hand closer to Rose's untouched mug. Rose glared at him, but the corner of her lip twitched. "Stop right there, mate."

In one swift movement, the Doctor snatched up the mug of tea, and took a sip. "Hey! That's mine!" Rose said.

The Doctor grimaced. It was very bitter. But he still had to tease Rose. It was too fun. He grinned at her. "Don't you humans have a saying, 'possession is nine tenths of the law'?"

Rose grinned slyly at him. "We do." Quick as a bolt of lightning, Rose snatched up the Doctor's croissant, and took a bite out of it.