He finds her sitting on the floor, her back up against the closet door. She is surrounded by stacks of dusty old books, some stacks towering even above his head. They are piled on top of one another haphazardly, ready to topple at any moment. She is sorting, creating smaller stacks out of the bigger ones, seemingly multiplying the books in the room. It cools her mind, the sorting. The job was perfect for her, it kept it in control. Sorting, stacking and organizing, it all kept her mind from wandering, kept her focused.

The Doctor allowed himself a pat on the back. He had done well, placing her with the Old Man. Up until this moment the Old Man had been the right choice, the best option. Today, though, everything had changed. He stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorway with all the nonchalance the moment didn't have. She hadn't looked up yet, that was how he knew. It wasn't her he'd be speaking to, not entirely.

"Come, Tessa, we have to go."

"Why?" Her voice was quiet and soft, yet imposing. It reverberated with of power, it was a voice he did not recognize.

"Because they're coming." She already knew this, he told her anyway.

"So?"

"Tessa," his voice became soft, he was appealing to the girl he knew was inside. The one with the blonde curls and happy green eyes. "The ones who killed your parents, they are coming for you. Now. As we speak they are rushing towards this place, ready to catch you. I don't aim to be here when they come, and neither should you."

"Why do they want me?" This thing had an ego, he realized. It wanted to be told.

"You have the vortex. All of time an' space, inside you. You are a time machine, in the blink of an eye you can do what you like. The energy inside you... You're likely one of the most powerful beings in the universe."

"More than a time lord?" She turns her head upwards to look at him. A shiver runs down his spine.

"Yes." He waits, silently urging the thing to leave, to let the real Tessa through. To let her have control again.

"If I am so powerful how can they capture me?" She asks.

"They don't mean to capture you, they mean to mislead you. And that's far worse." A young girl, barely seventeen, searching as all young people do before they grow old and learn to settle. To stop looking. Without her parent's love as guiding light, a constant. Oh, the irony. If it wasn't so sad it would be funny. Then again, he thinks, maybe it still is. She sees a smile crack his face, making it even lovelier than before. She smiles back, and like that, it leaves her.

"Doctor. It's been a long time." She blinks, still hazy, still not completely there.

"What is time?" He grins and she smiles back. Two souls who understand the complete incompetence and power of time.

"I always thought you'd come back. I remember..."

"What? What do you remember?" Not that night, no...

"My mother. She... loved you. Spoke of you often, as did my father."

"A good family, that family you had."

"Yes." She swallows. "You.. Brought me to granddad."

"I did. Here was the best place, he loved you so. He did well?"

"Yes. We must leave?"

"We must."

"Doctor... Sometimes, I can feel it. Sometimes..."

"Now isn't the time, Tessa. We have to go, now."

She blinks again, pushes books gently out of her way. He reaches his hand down and she grabs hold of it. It is a strong hand, a warm hand. Hers is soft and small in it, a hand that holds all of time and space.

When she sees it, she smiles. The blue box. She remembers it fondly, though not distinctly. She was so young when she rode in it. So young when it came to visit. The blue calms her, eases the panic in her fast-beating heart. Seeing it is like slipping on an old sweater after a long day in uncomfortable clothes. It has been a very long day.

Standing in front of the box is a young woman. She is blonde, dressed slightly oddly, and pretty. She looks at the two of them with concern. "This is what they're after?" the woman asks the Doctor, referring to Tessa. She has a thick, but not unpleasant accent. Tessa stops, wanting to go towards the box but unsure of the woman. The Doctor continues a few steps, then turns back to Tessa. "C'mon, then!" he urges. Then he turns back to the woman. "Did I not mention it was a who, not a what?" he asks, slightly guilty. "No, you didn't," the woman replies, giving him the look a mother gives a fibbing child. "Ah. Well. Introductions then. Tessa, this is my friend Rose Tyler. She's from London, England. Rose, this is Tessa. She holds all of time and space in the palm of those dainty little hands. And I'm the Doctor," he nods once, pleased with himself.

Rose sighs. "C'mon, then, Tessa. You look like a deer in the head lights, standin' there with those wide green eyes. Geez, Doctor, it's like you brought home a puppy."

It is not lost on Tessa that Rose calls the TARDIS 'home'. It is not lost on her how comfortable she is with the Doctor.

"One powerful puppy," the Doctor says, walking into the TARDIS.

"We haven't all day, you know!" He calls back out.

Rose walks forward, wraps her arm around Tessa's shoulder, and leads her into the TARDIS.

"Sorry about him, he's a little bonkers," Rose assures Tessa. Tessa nods.

"I think I used to think it was fun," she confides.

"So did I," Rose says, with a roll of her deep brown eyes.

Tessa is not surprised to see the big, open space inside the TARDIS or the odd decor. This is not lost on Rose.

"Where are we going?" Rose asks, leaning against the control board where the Doctor works furiously.

"Anywhere far away," he tells them, not even glancing up.

"Do I get to say goodbye?" Tessa asks softly.

The Doctor looks up, notices how small Tessa looks standing there in the wide opening of the TARDIS. He locks eyes with her.

"No," he tells her, his own voice matching the quietness of hers. "I'm afraid not."

Tessa nods once. "I didn't think so."

Rose looks at the poor girl with pity. Tessa is even younger than she was when she joined the Doctor.

"Who you gotta say goodbye to?" she asks. She knows it's none of her business, but she asks anyway. "I had to say goodbye to my mum. And my mate Mickey, we left him in 'nother dimension. Captain Jack, too, though he's still out there somewhere," Rose tells Tessa, trying to comfort the girl, her words coming out to fast as she tries to justify asking such a personal question in the first place.

Tessa looks around the TARDIS absentmindedly. "Oh, Captain Jack won't be a problem..." her voice sounds distant. Then she locks eyes with Rose. "My grandad," she tells her, as if she hadn't just spoken. "Only my grandad."

Rose is a little frightened by the weird habits of the new girl. Something feels... not right. Still, the poor thing had to leave her granddad behind. And not only that, she only had her granddad to leave behind.

"I'm sorry," Rose says genuinely. "It's not always goodbye forever."

"Yeah," Tessa shrugs. She doesn't want to think about it.

"Ah-ha!" The Doctor interrupts with impeccable, perhaps timed, timing. The TARDIS begins to make a whirring noise, and they disappear.