A/N: So, first of all, thanks for all the wonderful feedback on the last chapter. Second, this story doesn't hop right into series three. There are going to be at least 2 chapters before The Runaway Bride. Also, I see each episode of this story as an episode, so they're a bit lengthy. The exception is last chapter. That was just a scene that the writers forgot to put in. I'm sure they meant to. The thing about Rose getting trapped in a parallel world was just a deleted scene. Someone in the editing room goofed and has been fired because of his actions. Enjoy the chapter.

The Melting Planet

I'm woken by the Doctor, and the first thing I notice is that I'm in my room, although I have no memory of getting here. The second thing I notice is that my headache is gone.

"Where are we?" I ask the Doctor.

"Step outside; I'll show you," The Doctor grins.

I hop out of bed and leave through the Tardis door. The first thing I notice is that it's snowing. The snow is slowly falling in big, white, fluffy flakes. We've landed in a forest, and the trees all around us are bare, but they're not ugly. They are covered with snow. The Doctor steps beside me.

"Where are we?" I ask again.

"This is the planet Telusa," The Doctor answers. "It snows all year round."

"You'd think the snow would be much higher than this," I say, gesturing to the snow that just reaches my ankles.

"This planet is made of snow," The Doctor grins at my astonishment.

"It's beautiful," I moan, deciding not to question the physics of this planet any further.

The Doctor takes my hand, and we run through the trees, gleeful. At last, we collapse, breathless, on the ground. I shiver. After all, I am still in my thin blue sweater. The Doctor removes his coat and drapes it around my shoulders.

"I brought you here, Rose Tyler, because this planet is beautiful. A nice reprieve from Torchwood," The Doctor explains, like I need an explanation.

"I love it," I say, a smile lighting my face. The Doctor smiles back, and we just sit there, watching the snow float to the ground.

"Does this planet have any inhabitants?" I ask the Doctor suddenly, noticing how quiet the area around us is.

"Oh, yes," The Doctor replies, like it's obvious.

"Do they live in igloos?" I ask, half-joking.

"Yeah, they do," The Doctor replies briskly, rising to his feet.

I remain seated. "You're kidding."

"Nope. Come on, I'll show you."

Grinning, I rise, remaining enveloped in the Doctor's coat.

"So, basically, this planet is like a big snowball," I say as I trudge along behind the Doctor.

"Yep," He replies. "It would set the universal record for biggest snowball fight."

We laugh as we emerge from the last of the trees. In the clearing, there is a communion of (and I can't believe how ridiculous this sounds) igloos. I trail even further behind the Doctor as I take in the strange sight of the homes.

A girl in a brown jacket made of some sort of fur emerges from one of the igloos. She spots me, and her mouth parts slightly. She points at me, beckoning me towards her. I follow her curiously into her igloo home.

I'm surprised to find that it's rather cozy inside. Almost stifling, in fact. I take off my sweater, and I'm left in my black shirt. The Doctor's coat I drape over a coat.

The strange girl turns to me. Now that she's taken off her furs, I can see that she's rather pretty. She has a native look about her. Her hair is long, black, and shiny. Her eyes are dark as well. Apparently, Telusa doesn't get much sun; she's very pale.

"My name is Arianna," She tells me.

""I'm Rose," I say, looking around.

"I saw your machine on the monitor," Arianna points to a monitor similar to the Tardis monitor that is hanging on her wall. "Are you here to save us?" She asks me. Her voice cracks on the word "save."

"What do you mean, 'save us?'"

"Telusa is melting."

The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets. The real reason he had brought Rose here was because, yes, the planet was beautiful, but it was also in great danger. It was mauve, and he wasn't sure whether it was because of something on or within the planet, or maybe the planet itself was a danger.

There had to be someone to talk to. Somebody had to know what was going on. He approached the most grandiose igloo and knocked on the door. An aged man answered the door.

"Hello," The Doctor grinned.

"Who are you?" The man asked, peering at the Doctor through failing eyes. His voice, though, was strong and hid his age well.

"I'm the Doctor."

"What do you want?"

"Something's going on within Telusa, isn't there?" The Doctor asked, dropping his charming demeanour at once.

The man appeared to be sizing up the Doctor. At last, he invited him in.

"It began a couple of months ago," Arianna explains to me as she hands me a steaming cup of coffee. "Before, we'd find the occasional slush during the warm season. Now, there are whole lakes. The Elders try to keep it hidden. If word of it got out, people would panic. All affected areas are barricaded for 'construction,'" she makes the quotes sign with her fingers. "There is something evil inside Telusa, Rose. If we don't find it, then we'll drown."

I listen with concern. After Arianna stops talking, I venture to ask, "Has anyone ever ventured into these lakes?"

Arianna nods. "There were several people that were curious. Kids, scientists, explorers. They never returned."

"Take me there," I say, rising. I grab my sweater and put it on. If I'm going swimming, I don't want to be burdened by the Doctor's coat, heavy as it is.

Surprisingly, Arianna doesn't protest. Instead, she rises and says, "There is no protection against whatever's out there. Therefore, we must proceed with caution. I'll go first, and if anything happens to me, then find Ben."

Then she leaves through the doors, and I follow.

"About two months ago, a lake appeared approximately two kilos from this very spot," The old man (Ben, his name was) explained.

The Doctor understood that this was what had called him here. Someone or something was melting the planet.

"The water," Ben continued, "was warm, and the children loved it. They wanted to go swimming, and those that went never returned. Explorers who went searching for the kids disappeared, and then the scientists who searched for the explorers disappeared. The lake was deemed dangerous, and we barricaded it from the public."

"Do you have any clue what's down there?" The Doctor asked, unable to ask anything more pertinent.

"Arianna might know; she's the last scientist on Telusa. She's been trying to get us to let her down there, but we say no, unwilling to lose her, too," Ben replied.

"Well," The Doctor said, rising, "let's go talk to Arianna."

Ben led him to one of the igloos and knocked. There was no answer. "Arianna! It's Ben!" Still no answer. Ben opened to door. The igloo was empty.

The Doctor spotted his coat casually draped over a chair. It looked like Rose had popped in for a visit with this Arianna. "It looks like your Arianna met my Rose," He told Ben.

"Who's Rose?" Ben asked.

"My friend. She came here with me. She was lagging behind, so I thought I'd spare her the sordid details of our visit here. She's been through too much lately; I thought it best not to tell her," The Doctor said.

"Well, if this Rose met Arianna, then she knows all about the melting of the planet. Would you say your Rose was brave?" Ben asked.

"Very brave," The Doctor smiled fondly, remembering the events of the previous adventure. "Why?" He asked, suddenly suspicious.

Ben looked troubled. "It looks like Arianna's found a volunteer."

"Volunteer for what?" The Doctor demanded, concerned.

"They've gone to the lake."

I take off my boots and dive into the warm water. Arianna is ahead of me, as we had planned. I follow her into a dark cave. She swims upwards and I follow her. I pop my head out of the water, and a hand grabs me, covering my mouth. I try to scream, but the sound is muffled, and it's not like anybody can hear me. Arianna's not in my line of vision, but I can hear her struggling as well. I kick and scratch and bite, but it's no good. Something hits me (a rock, I'm assuming), and everything goes black.

The Doctor followed Ben at a run as he led him to the lake. Rose's boots are abandoned alongside a pair of brown boots the Doctor doesn't recognize. The Doctor strips himself of his trainers and dives in, not waiting to see if Ben is coming along with him.

He pops his head out into the middle of a cave. No one is in sight, and the Doctor hoists himself onto the rocky floor. Ben follows him. Although the Doctor was a Time Lord, it didn't mean he had super-vision. He could hardly see his hand in front of his face, so he pulled out the sonic screwdriver and was able to see by its blue light. There was a passage way at the end of the circular entrance. Filled with determination, the Doctor followed the path, followed closely by Ben.

I wake up. At least, I think I do. Everything is dark, even with my eyes open. I groan as I realize that my headache has returned. Sometimes, I think the Tardis exists to give me an aching head, and the Doctor exists to lead me into danger and then heroically save me. Or not. He's nowhere near me. He doesn't even know I'm here. I feel so stupid. An everyday thing for me.

"Rose?" It's Arianna. She's whispering, I can hardly hear her. Our captors must be nearby.

"Yes," I breathe back.

"We've got to get out of here," She says quietly.

Wow. I can tell why this girl's a scientist. She's so smart. I never would have thought of escape. Of course, I don't translate my irritated thoughts into words. Instead, I say, "But how?"

"My eyes are adjusting. There's a window just above me. I think I can lift you up. You can get help," Arianna says.

Ok, she also thinks up lousy escape plans. She obviously doesn't have my expertise at getting captured. "They'll just capture me and whoever I retrieve again. Perhaps they'll reward me by doubling security or something."

Arianna curses. She knows I'm right. Suddenly, a small voice says, "Arianna? Is that you?"

"Oh my god! Giselle! Is that you!?" Arianna demands, suddenly very alert and passionate.

"Yes, Ari. They're coming for me next!" Apparently, Giselle is one of the kids that swam down and never returned.

"What do you mean?" Arianna asks. I listen intently.

"We're fuel for their fire; they're melting Telusa," Giselle whispers.

I can't help but gasp. "Alright," I say, I think we should all get out of here. Now. Giselle," I turn to the general direction of the little girl's voice, "have you seen or heard anything that might help us escape?"

Giselle doesn't answer. "Giselle. She asked you a question," Arianna says.

"I shook my head!" Giselle said defiantly. "They go in and out of those doors over there. Once in a great while, they pop in and take one or two of us. I'm the only one left."

Allow me to borrow one of the Doctor's favorite phrases: fantastic.

The Doctor followed the light of his sonic screwdriver down the passage. A flickering light was at the end. From the direction of the light, a scream erupted. A pain-filled, terrified scream.

"Rose," He whispered, and he started off at a run, Ben on his heels.

I look up when I hear the scream. "Right, time to get out of here," I say resolutely.

I rise to my feet, but Giselle and Arianna are frozen. I'm forcibly reminded of the time when I had been in the Nineteenth Century with Queen Victoria and the werewolf. I had been the only one to even consider escaping. "Arianna, Giselle, let's go!" I exclaim.

Arianna starts and leaps to her feet. Giselle follows her example. The three of us begin to feel along the walls, hoping for some sort of trap door or hold with which to climb through. I find the door, but it's locked from the outside.

"We need something to break this door," I say. Feeling along the edge of the door, I'm surprised to discover that it's made of wood. I suspected stone; perhaps a boulder to go with the whole "cavemen" vibe.

"It's made of wood," I whisper quietly.

"Get out of the wa y," Giselle tells me. I do as she says. She's younger than me, but she's lived on this planet her whole life. Maybe she knows the secret of breaking down a door made from her trees.

Of course she does. Anybody knows that there's one way to get rid of anything in the way that happens to be wooden. Giselle lights a match, and the whole thing is alight in a matter of seconds. We stand well back, and then I come to the realization that fires burn; we need to put it out before it gets out of hand. Arianna realizes this fact at the same time I do, and we start to throw dirt from the ground onto the burning door. When the fire is lessened a bit (it's still present), I kick through the door. A burning ember falls on the sleeve of my sweater and sets it alight. I toss it off, and it's consumed.

The three of us run down the passage that lies behind the burning door. "Going somewhere?" A deep voice asks.

I quite literally skid to a halt as I come face to face with the ugliest man I have ever seen. My first instinct is to turn and run the other way; however, we have just cleverly cut off that direction of travel. I opt for my second option, which is to scream loudly, hoping someone will hear me. Or that I'll break the sound barrier.

The second scream, the Doctor recognized. It was Rose. He sped up his pace, and nearly knocked into a tall figure that just happened to be staring down at Rose and two other girls. Rose's face broke into a look of ecstatic relief.

"I'm too old for this," Ben panted as he reached the Doctor's side.

"I'll give you a choice," The Doctor tells the faceless enemy. "Leave this planet in peace; or…" Here he was at a loss of what to threaten him with. "I'll stop you," Was a bit redundant, in his opinion.

"Or burn," Rose suggested.

"It's coming this way," Arianna realized suddenly, looking behind them.

"We've got time," Ben said, although he probably had no idea what on Telusa Arianna was talking about. He faced the creature and demanded, "What are you doing to my planet?!"

"Telusa needs to be melted. We're water-creatures. Our own planet is dying, and Telusa is nothing but frozen water," He replied.

"Why don't you go play in an ocean then?!" Rose demanded. "Leave this planet alone!"

The creature scowled at her, but didn't answer. One who was close enough would notice that his skin was starting to bubble, as though he was boiling. Ben was close enough, and before the creature could stop him, he had handcuffed himself to him.

"Go. Now," Ben demanded.

"Ben," Arianna whispered, her tone hurt. "Don't do this!"

"Arianna," Ben said softly, "I'm too old for this sort of thing anymore. If it's the last thing I do, I will save Telusa. I'll save this beautiful planet, so that you can continue to live here."

Arianna was slowly shaking her head, her dark eyes filled with tears. "NO!" Giselle screamed. "Ben! There must be another way!"

"No, Giselle, there isn't," Ben looked to the Doctor. "Take them from this place, Doctor."

Even the Doctor, who was around death on an every day basis, looks reluctant. "I should be the one to stay," He said softly, although it's clear that he will not.

"It's not your planet, and you've got your friend back. You have to look after her," Ben said, smiling.

The Doctor glanced at Rose, who was watching the proceedings with her hand over her mouth.

"Come on," The Doctor took Rose's hand. Rose looked at him for a second before grabbing Arianna, who in turn grabbed Giselle's hand. The Doctor led the chain of girls at a run. They hadn't gone far before screams filled their ears. Then the screams died down.

Ben was dead, and he had saved Telusa with his death.

I never knew that man. Never talked to him. Yet, I'm crying over his death. Arianna and Giselle are crying too. Even the Doctor looks a bit upset. We cannot mourn the death of this stranger for long, however, as the fire is continuing to spread.

We continue to the water and dive in. I yelp with shock. It's cold.

"Let's go. It'll get worse as time goes on," The Doctor says. So we swim onwards, the water getting steadily colder. We emerge from the lake, and as we watch, the lake turns back to snow. Arianna and Giselle are sobbing on each other's shoulders over Ben. Neither minds the cold. I, however, am shivering violently. I had merely been wearing a thin black t-shirt beneath my sweater. The Doctor is behind me, and he drapes me, once again, in his ginormous coat.

I turn to him and smile slightly. He returns it with his usual toothy grin and embraces me. "You're going to give me a heart attack one day," he teases.

"That's why you have two," I tease back.

He mock scowls at me, and I grin back. "Are you ready to explore Telusa?" He asks me, and I nod.

"I'd love to see it…from the surface, this time."

Together, we set about to explore the planet made entirely of snow. There isn't a lake in sight.

A/N: Leave me feedback, et cetera et cetera. Ok, you know how I said at the beginning of the chapter, the chapters would be more like episodes? Well, the next chapter is a bit of an exception. It'll still be long, but there won't be a lot of adventure. Why, you may ask? Because, coming up: Return to the Powell Estate.