Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. Do I wish I did? Yes. Do I? Sadly, no.

I also don't own "My Skin" by Natalie Merchant.

A/N: This is mostly wishful thinking and boredom. Leave me a review to tell me what you think, or even make suggestions as to what I should do with the plot (because there's not much of it).

Take a look at my body
Look at my hands
There's so much here
That I don't understand

Your face-saving promises
Whispered like prayers
I don't need them

I've been treated so wrong
I've been treated so long
As if I'm becoming untouchable

Contempt loves the silence
It thrives in the dark
With fine winding tendrils
That strangle the heart

They say that promises
Sweeten the blow
But I don't need them
No, I don't need them

I've been treated so wrong
I've been treated so long
As if I'm becoming untouchable

I'm a slow dying flower
Frost killing hour
The sweet turning sour
And untouchable

Rose was very familiar with the beach of Bad Wolf Bay. She knew a nearly invisible path that led up through the cliffs to a magnificent view. She knew where the tide pools were. She knew every inch of the sandy stretch, particularly the spot where the TARDIS had last been. Sometimes she thought she could see a faint imprint in the sand, a square one. She even heard the comforting noise of the TARDIS in her head, softly rasping like it was speaking to her. She knew it was her imagination, but sometimes she liked to think it really was the TARDIS. But no, her Doctor was gone. He was gone and she would never see him again.

Meta-crisis—fondly known as John Noble—had been brilliant. He'd died, at the ripe age of ninety-one. How Rose had loved him… it'd never been the same, she knew, but oh, she loved him dearly. And then he died, and she didn't.

The day on Bad Wolf Bay when the Doctor left her for a second time, John had promised her that he wouldn't do the same, and they'd lived together ever since. The relationship didn't move past hugging, hand-holding, and having adventures together, but Rose was happy. Sometimes, at night, he would come into her room with his head full of fear from nightmares; nightmares of worlds and wars that couldn't hurt him anymore but still scared him. She would sing to him, an old Gallifreyan lullaby that the Doctor sang to her when she'd been frightened by bad dreams.

They found out on their first Christmas together. Rose and John had been relaxing, watching the snow fall, when she'd been struck by paralyzing pain that had left her in a coma for a week. The doctors said that there was something wrong with her head. It wasn't a tumor, or decay, or anything they had ever seen. She went to Torchwood when she heard that and had them check. It took weeks, but they finally determined that it was a tiny bit of space and time lodged in her head, one that had been dormant until that moment. It was the Bad Wolf.

Rose's dreams were plagued by the creature, a shimmery-gold she-wolf with her brown eyes. It bothered her to no end that she couldn't decipher what it meant, but the Wolf seemed harmless. She didn't have any other headaches. She felt perfectly fine.

One day she was out hunting a Hoix (nasty creatures, very prone to violence) when she was badly wounded. It had looked like the end for her—she'd been lying in a massive pool of blood and her vision had started to go after only thirty seconds. She tried to cling to life for the sake of John, but she just couldn't. there was too much missing in her life, too many sounds and sights she thought were there, that should be there. She'd been about to let the darkness take hold when a golden light had surrounded her, and the Wolf howled in her mind.

It happened again and again. At first she thought it was a mere coincidence the first time, or a once-in-a-lifetime miracle. Then it happened while battling a band of evil pixies, fighting off a small group of cybermen, and defending Torchwood from Weevils. No matter what happened she didn't die, because Bad Wolf wouldn't let her. She didn't even change appearance.

Years slipped away, John aged, and he died. Her mum and dad passed before him, both old and happy. As for Tony, he was reaching his late thirties. He had a wife and two kids, one of them already college-bound.

As she sat on the cliff, watching over the beach, Rose knew what it felt like to be the Doctor. She'd known that she might have to watch her parents die, but John? No, it was inconceivable. He'd been so… so peaceful. He regretted that Rose would have to live on while he passed on, but he had been happy that she'd been there his whole life. It comforted Rose to know he'd died happily and quietly. It was something she feared her Doctor would never have.

Still, it was awful to feel so alone. Rose wasn't close with Tony's kids, mostly because she threw her time entirely into work once John had died. She knew that in theory she could bond with them, then befriend their kids, and their kid's kids, so she'd never have to be alone. The only problem was that she'd have to watch them grow up, thrive, and then die. The death was what disheartened her so much. She loved Tony, and he was growing old. Her little bug-eyed, cow-licked baby brother was turning into an old man and she knew she would have to watch him die. The worst part was that she couldn't even kill herself, the way she knew the Doctor could, during regeneration. No matter how badly she wanted it she would never be able to finally die.

The rocks underneath her legs dug in uncomfortably. "Look," she said softly, to no one in particular, "Everyone I love is gone or nearly gone. Please, I know that you want me alive, but…"

She'd come to this place, this wonderful place, to plead with the Wolf. She hoped that maybe the familiarity, the closeness to where the TARDIS had been might convince the Wolf.

"… I've lived too long. I haven't even lived as long as him and already it's been far too much. Please, just… can I die?"

It was odd, having spent her whole life surviving just to ask for death. The very idea of her life ending seemed ridiculous, since it'd never happened before. Rose could only hope that what the Wolf gave, the Wolf could take away.

There was a sudden rumble, and a piercing howl. Rose saw images flitting past her eyes; the Wolf pranced through her mind, touching things here and there with her nose. Memories burned brightly in her mind, fresh as the day they were made. The fire that licked through her mind became so very, very real, and she screamed.

Real and fake and present and past all melded into one single, eternal pain as Rose curled into a ball and cried for it to end.

DW~DW~DW~DW

"Oi! Stop touching that!"

Amy pouted as the Doctor slapped her hand away from a lever on the control panel. "You said I could fly it."

"No, that wasn't what I said, I said that you could watch me fly it and then maybe—just maybe—help. Helping means you only ouch what I tell you to and NOT anything else because we could crash." He exclaimed irritably, fanning smoke away as she dashed around to the other side of the control panel and twisted a knob. "And I did not tell you to touch anything yet!"

"Oh, you're in a mood today." Amy observed, leaning against the railing.

"I am not in a mood!"

Lately it had been like this wherever they went. Today they had stopped on four planets, the Doctor declaring that each one was Woman Wept as they stepped out, then realizing that it was anything but. What was odd was that he would walk back into the TARDIS and try again rather than exploring like he normally did. It was like he actually wanted to avoid trouble.

Amy sidled up to him as the TARDIS groaned to a halt. She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "Something is wrong and you won't tell me what."

"That's just it." He said, facing her. "Something is wrong, very, very wrong. I don't know what it is, just that I really don't like it and don't particularly want to discover it. I just… I just know that whatever it is, I'm really not going to like it."

Something in his tone warned Amy not to question him further. She nodded. "Okay. How about we go see where we've landed this time, yeah?"

He smiled, inclining his head slightly. "Thank you." he whispered.

"Yeah, anytime." She said. Raising her voice, she added, "Rory! We're leaving!"

"For real this time?"

"Yeah, hurry up!"

The planet they were on was uninhabited, as far as Amy could tell. They were on a huge stretch of beach that reached as far as she could see, flawlessly sparkling. It took her a minute to realize it was because there wasn't any trash on the ground, and no building nearby. The place was gorgeous. It looked like it'd been untouched for years.

"Oh, hello!" said the Doctor. "We made it! Amy, Rory, this is Woman Wept! Home to perfect beaches and some of the tallest waves you've ever seen. On a different part of the planet—the north—it's cold enough that they freeze, and you can walk right up to the top of each one! Imagine that! Fifty to one hundred feet, standing on a wave!"

Amy giggled at the Doctor's enthusiasm. "You don't say?"

"How do you climb a wave?" asked Rory. "Wouldn't they be too steep?"

Amy and the Doctor rolled their eyes at him, as if to say, "Honestly, Rory." before proceeding to run down the length of the beach, laughing. Rory took only a second before he was after them.

Whatever had been troubling the Doctor was seemingly gone. As they breathlessly fell to the ground, Rory joining Amy while the Doctor rolled a few feet away, Amy saw nothing but pleasure in his eyes. It was the happy, slightly maniacal, "I'm-really-five-years-old-at-heart" energy that he radiated when he was truly enjoying himself.

"This is nice, this is definitely nice." Rory said. He planted a quick kiss on Amy's cheek. Nevermind the waves, we'll stay right here. You can venture through the icy wave wilderness while we stay here."

Before the Doctor could reciprocate a shrill, pained scream echoed through the woods. It was so… inhuman. Amy could have sworn it sounded more like a wolf's howl than a person. "What was that?"

"Trouble." It was obvious that it was the very trouble the Doctor had been avoiding. "It's trouble that I'm certain we don't want to find."

"You, not wanting trouble? Rubbish." Rory said. "That sounded like a girl screaming. Shouldn't we try to save her?"

As much as he wanted to turn tail and run—a feeling he did not like in the least—the Doctor gave them a curt nod. "Yes, fine, but then we're on our way, understand? No getting involved. Just save her and leave."

The three clambered to their feet, brushing the sand off. "It came from that way." Amy pointed to the edge of the forest that apparently went on for miles along the beach. "Look… I can see something, right there. I think it's her."

They wasted no time in getting there, and as they neared the figure Amy saw it was a girl in her early twenties, with dyed blond hair. The way she was screaming—it was unearthly, and one of the few things that frightened Amy. What was worse was the expression on the Doctor's face.

"No, no, no no no no no." he mumbled, dropping to his knees next to her. "Oh, no, this was never supposed to happen, you can't just jump from one world to another as you please. Rose, oh Rose, how…" the words jumbled until it was nonsense that he was saying, trying to calm the girl's flailing arms so he could see what was hurting her. He scanned her with his sonic for a minute. Oddly enough, the sound seemed to calm her.

He sighed. "Rose… how did you do it?"

DW~DW~DW~DW

She couldn't se, couldn't move, couldn't breathe. She was probably still on the cliff, or maybe she'd fallen. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered because a searing pain was burning its way through her head and it wouldn't stop. It would never stop because the Wolf didn't have a way to kill her. She would be trapped and it was so much worse than what she'd had before.

She kept thinking there was talking near her. She couldn't hear it very well because someone was screaming (she suspected it was herself). The words didn't make sense but the voice was soothing her, and the pain in her skull lessened a fraction. She could even make out a buzzing, or a humming; it was definitely something sonic. Funny, in such a fiery world there was something sonic.

Suddenly she could feel her limbs again, but the feeling of acid washing through her mind was very much present. Now that her surroundings felt real the pain somehow became more real. It was like she'd been numb, dreaming, until the voice and the buzzing. A strangled cry escaped her lips, followed by many more.

As the blazes tore through her memories one particular face surfaced. It was of her new new Doctor, smiling at her in the way that made her know she meant the world to him. She wished more than anything that he could be there. "Doctor…" she whimpered, fists clenching sporadically at her side. "Doctor, please… please… it hurts."

Was that an answer? She could have sworn she heard an answer, but the words echoed in her skull and pounded against her temples like someone was repeatedly kicking her in the head but she wouldn't pass out. Her back arched and she thrashed, trying to get the noise away from her. There was shouting, too much shouting.

"Doctor!" she screamed. "I need you, please! Make it stop, make it stop!"

Rose knew she couldn't take it another second. She was ready to die and willing to do it at any price. Just as she was about to give up, the pain subsided.

Once she could think clearly, Rose realized that her eyes were shut tightly. It was like the attack at Christmas, only this had been far, far worse. During Christmas she'd passed out after only a minute, giving in to the numb darkness. It was better now, at least. Her head still pounded, but it was more like a hangover now rather than having her entire head explode over and over again.

There was that voice again, except now she could hear what it—no, he—was saying. "Amy, Rory, be very quiet." The man said. "Whatever's wrong seems to be sensitive to noises."

"Like a really bad hangover?" asked a Scottish woman. Rose almost smiled at the comment, it was exactly what she'd been thinking.

"Yes, yes, I suppose you could say that," said the man. His manner was abrupt and blustering. "Except it's much, much worse. It might be driving her mad."

There were a few soft, crunchy footsteps. Was she still on the beach? "She's not screaming any more." The woman said. "That's good, yeah?"

"Yes—well, no—well, yes—see, it's hard to tell. She could be comatose, or in so much pain that she's lost the ability to make a single sound." It was odd how upset the man sounded. In fact, his voice had familiarity to it. Rose wished that it was someone she knew.

"John…?" she said. Her voice was harsh and cracked from screaming. "Dad?" she knew it could be either one of them, but she knew the owner of the voice. "…Tony?"

"You reckon that's her family?" a different man asked.

"Yes, it is." The first man said. "Rose, can you open your eyes?"

She found that she could. They fluttered slightly, until she was blinking up at the face of a stranger. His floppy brown hair hung into his eyes, and he had a ridiculous red bow-tie on. The way his face lit up when he saw her eyes make her smile, despite the fact that she'd nearly died.

"Oh, good, you're awake, and you're okay!" his grin was just like a five-year-old's. Rose tilted her head to see two other people, a woman with vibrant red hair and a gangly man next to her with similarly-colored locks. They both were pleased to see how the first man was reacting.

"Ummm…" Rose propped herself up on her elbows. "Where am I? Is this…" she trailed off, pressing her hand to her forehead. "Oh, what's the name?"

"Where were you last time you were conscious?" asked the redheaded woman.

Rose moaned softly. "Um, sorry, I couldn't remember it for a minute. I think… I think I was in Dålig Ulv Stranden but I don't know how long ago. Is this it?"

"Did you say Dalek?" the woman asked. Her eyes held a panicky expression. She looked to the floppy-haired man. "Is this what you meant when you said you felt trouble coming?"

He shook his head. "No. Rose, you're not in Bad Wolf Bay anymore, you're on Woman Wept again."

"Again?" asked the second man and the woman.

"Again?" Rose yelped, sitting up and jerking away from the floppy-haired man. "How do you know that—?"

"Doctor, how do you know her?" the woman said, glaring furiously at him. "Is this like River Song again? 'Cause if it is I will kill you, and so will she!"

Rose had paled considerably. "D-Doctor?"

He nodded. "Rose, I know I look different, but it's me. Arms, legs, hair, everything. Even—" he smiled widely, "—teeth. Brand-new teeth."

Rose wasted no time in flinging her arms around him, a desperate sob escaping her lips. She waited so long for something like this to happen without ever thinking it would, and now it had! She buried her head in the crook of his neck. He smelled like he had before, but just a little bit different. He had his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, and one hand moved up to cradle the back of her head, twining through her hair.

When he turned to address his friends Rose still clung to him, head resting against his chest. "Amy, Rory, this is Rose." He said softly; reverently, almost.

"Ah." Amy said. "You two are quite cozy."

Realizing what she was doing, Rose reluctantly let go and brushed some sand off her shirt. "Hello."

"Hello." Said Rory. "How do you two know each other?"

Rose glanced at the Doctor and decided it would be better if she answered. "Well, I sued to travel with him when he looked different. I saw him regenerate, once." She watched the man his was with sad eyes. "You changed on me again."

"But I'm not a girl." The Doctor pointed out. "That's good, isn't it?"

"It's brilliant." Rose said. She laughed at his silly expression. "You look more like a kid now."

"I do not!"

"Regenerate?" asked Rory.

The Doctor managed to tear his gaze away from Rose. "Oh, yes, right. It's a very complicated things Timelords do to escape death. Basically, I change so that I look different and don't die."

"And how many times has that happened since I left?" Rose wasn't sure why she wanted to know. It might have been because she wanted to know how many people he'd been with and had the chance to love, or maybe it was because she wondered how long it had been for him, in this world.

"Once." He said. "I was… I didn't want to go. I was inured by radiation. I did it to save Donna's grandfather."

"Oh, Docor-Donna1" said Rose. "How is she? Where is she?"

"Her mind couldn't take the knowledge of a Timelord, so I had to erase all her memories of me. But nevermind that. I regenerated, right after I saw you."

"You what?"

He sighed. "January the first, 2005."

"Oh, mum came home so drunk the next day. There was a man, too, he'd had so much that day and he couldn't even remember the year… oh."

"After I saw you I finally let it happen, as much I didn't want to. Then I accidentally crashed the TARDIS into little Amelia Pond's backyard."

"Oh, and she travels with you now." Rose concluded. She smiled at Amy. "So how many time shave you been kidnapped, poisoned, and nearly died?"

Amy shrugged. "Who knows? Rory's died twice already, but I'm happy to say I haven't' had that happen to me yet."

"Oi!"

Amy kissed his cheek. "I'm glad that your stupid face is still with me."

Rose was finding it hard to absorb all the information at once. She was also dreading the questions that the Doctor would ask her, because she'd have to tell him about John and her family.

Oddly enough, he decided to hoist her to her feet instead. "We should go back to the TARDIS, so I can see what's wrong with you."

"Nothing's wrong with me." Rose snapped.

Rory said, "You were lying on the ground screaming like you were being tortured."

"Yeah. So?"

"Do you have any medical conditions?" he asked. She wondered if he was a real doctor.

She shook her head, swaying a little. She stuck out her tongue at the Doctor's "told-you-so" smirk. "No, nothing that I can think of. Just that big Bad Wolf running around in my head."

"The what?" the Doctor's face had gone from happy to dead serious in less than a second. "Bad Wolf is gone. I got rid of it, I absorbed the time vortex from you so that you wouldn't—"

"—die, I know. It didn't work. I was just sitting in Bad Wolf Bay, asking her if I could just please die already, when my mind lit on fire. I think maybe she got upset with me. Or maybe she brought me here."

He stopped her, face hovering inches from hers. "You asked her if you could die?"

"Yeah." She steeled herself for the inevitable.

"Why, why would you do that?"

"Because John died along with my mum and dad, so many years ago. Tony's nearly forty. Doctor, everyone I loved died. The Wolf wouldn't let me, and I was just trying to convince her that I had to."

He didn't speak to her after that. He just put his arms around her and led her to the TARDIS while Amy and Rory followed in a confused silence.

Once they were inside Rose stood there, gaping. "This isn't… I don't remember it being like this."

"What you've never been inside the TARDIS?" Amy asked incredulously. "Surprising, considering he loves showing it off. 'It's bigger on the inside' he says. 'It travels through space and time' he says."

"It is, and it does!" he whined like he was two.

"You changed it." Rose murmured. She patted the wall gently. "But she's still beautiful." The TARDIS hummed softly in response.

"Never mind that, you two can gossip later." He told her. "I have to take you to the med bay, now, and hope that Bad Wolf hasn't destroyed your mind as badly as I think she has."

A/N: Should I continue? I really have no more than a vague idea of what could happen, and then lots of Doctor/Rose fluffiness. Also, this was not spellchecked. If anyone wants to beta it I'd love that.