The Doctor felt like his hearts had plummeted. If it had been the simple matter of Rose not recognizing who he was because he had regenerated, well he knew deep down that she would simply accept the new him. Granted, she had taken his regeneration from his ninth self to his tenth self a bit badly, but he had hardly prepped her for such an event. But she had matured and seen so much since then. Surely she would accept him now, new face and all, wouldn't she?

But for her not to remember their whole time together, well, that was heartbreaking. She had always been his Rose, and now she didn't even know him. Wait, she didn't even know who she was.

He glanced over her quickly. There didn't seem to be any outer signs of trauma. No visible head wounds that he could see. He's have to do some thorough medical exams of her.

"What do you mean you don't know who you are? What do you remember?" he asked in a low voice.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing," she whispered, still clutching his wrist.

He stared into her eyes, wracking his superior brain as to what had happened? Questions were running through his head and he would not be getting any answers from her. Not until he helped her regain her memories.

"Doctor, who is she?" Amy asked from behind him.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw the three of them staring at them. Amy was holding Rory's hand, her eyes wide. Rory was studying them silently. Rory was unusually observant and had the uncanny ability to sense what was going on. It wouldn't take him long to put two and two together and make sense of the puzzle of Rose. River had a neutral expression on her face, waiting for the answer to the question that Amy had asked. He had never talked about Rose to River.

He glanced back down at Rose. She was staring at them with wide eyes. How terrifying this must all be for her, he thought. He gently took her hand from his wrist and helped her to stand up, never letting go of her hand. And secretly he was thrilled at how perfectly her hand still fit in his.

"Right, yes, introductions. Rose, meet The Legs, The Nose and…"

"Don't even say it," River cut him off sharply, glaring at him pointedly.

"Is that my name? Rose?" Rose asked.

He looked down at her and smiled tenderly. He lifted his hand and pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. He was relieved when she didn't flinch away, just stared at him curiously.

"Yes, you're my…you're Rose Tyler." He mentally slapped himself for his blunder. She's not yours, you idiot! She's now with the metacrisis…wait, what happened to him? he thought.

Rose looked at him for a moment and then grinned that lovely tongue in teeth grin she always seemed to reserve for him. He felt his own grin turning goofy. She hadn't even been here five minutes and he was already turning to putty in her hands.

"And who is Rose Tyler?" River asked, her voice having quite a sharp edge to it.

He tore his gaze from Rose and looked over at River. She was pointedly glaring at their entwined hands and then she looked up, arching an eyebrow. He swallowed hard.

"She's, uh, she's a former companion," he stuttered.

"Really? You've never mentioned her," River retorted coolly.

The doctor felt his temper rising. "And you tell me everything, don't you, River?" he snapped.

She pursed her lips but said nothing more. An awkward silence fell upon the group.

Finally Rory, the ever logical one, decided to get the conversation back on track. "How did she manage to get in the TARDIS?"

"No idea," the Doctor replied, sighing and running his free hand over his face.

"She's right there. Why don't you just ask her?" Amy asked.

"She can't remember anything. Right now all she knows is her name."

"So amnesia?" asked Rory.

"Not sure. I'll know more when I run some tests," the Doctor said, starting to pull Rose towards the corridor. She stumbled after him, a bewildered expression on her face.

"Wait. What kind of tests?" she asked.

He stopped and turned around to face her, almost pulling her flush against him, but he managed to control himself and keep a little space between them. "Don't worry. It's nothing that will hurt, I promise. I would never do anything to hurt you, Rose." He said her name like a prayer and he inwardly cursed himself for sounding so sappy.

"Do you two need a moment?" Amy asked sarcastically. She was no fool and she could obviously see that the Doctor had deep feelings for this woman. And if she could see it then so could River. And as tough as River was, Amy knew that when it came to the Doctor she could be easily hurt. And as her mother, she would not tolerate her daughter being hurt.

"Yes! Now you three go off and do whatever it is you do. I have some very important tests to run," the Doctor huffed, pointing a long finger at them.

Amy blinked in surprise at his brusqueness. She was about to open her mouth to protest and put the Doctor in his place when Rory spoke up. "Come on, Amy. The sooner he runs those tests and finds out what's wrong, the sooner the…situation can be resolved."

Amy shut her mouth but narrowed her eyes at the Doctor. She didn't like the 'situation' one bit, but she knew that the Doctor was dead set on his task and the stubborn fool would not be swayed. She turned and stormed away, Rory following close behind her but not before he gave the Doctor a meaningful glance.

River stood there, stubbornly refusing to do what the Doctor told her. He stared at her and she stared right back, not even blinking. The Doctor shrugged and turned, pulling Rose with him towards the Med Bay. River didn't follow but he knew that this was the tipping point and there was no mending what had just been broken between them. But at the moment he didn't care. He had Rose back.

Yes, but what is the point of having her back if there's nothing left of her former self? he asked himself. He shook his head. No, he would fix this. He would find out what happened.

But what then? Yes indeed. What would happen once her memories were restored? Surely her family and the metacrisis were waiting for her? He just didn't know, but he was going to find out.