Chapter Two: Months Out of Time

Rose leaned over the sink, breathing heavily through her mouth, then nose, then mouth again; as she tried to find a way of breathing that didn't set off the nausea that was currently rolling through her stomach like a great, putrid wave. She was determined that she would not throw up today. The Doctor was already giving her odd looks, asking if she was all right; she wasn't going to play up to his fears. Humans got sick, that was just the natural course of things. She'd gotten the flu while visiting that school. Or a cold. Just a stomach thing that would blow over soon enough.

The Doctor did not need to be worrying about her, fussing around like a mother hen. She would be fine.

And that was what she would keep telling him until he either believed her, or the sickness passed and the point was no longer valid.

The feeling passed just as quickly as it had come on her. Rose looked up into the mirror over the sink, wiping at her face. She looked pink and splotchy, like she'd been crying instead of standing over the sink trying to keep her lunch in her stomach. This was just great. They were supposed to be leaving any minute now to go exploring Earth of the 54th century and she could hardly stand up straight.

Maybe it was time to just admit to the Doctor that she was sick and needed to stay in bed for the day. It would mean missing out on their latest field trip, but that was okay by her.

'Course, then she'd have to put up with his mothering. Worse than her own mother, he was.

At least… he was now.

She shut her eyes, banishing the wave of sadness that passed through her. It had taken her all through the Sycorax attempted invasion and then the month they had spent afterwards on Earth to accept that he still the same old Doctor; in a completely new and different way. The dreams had helped, she could admit even if it made her sound a bit loony. They had started right after the Doctor's regeneration, during those few fitful moments that she had been able to grab sleep during the events that followed and then their resting period on Earth. Dreams of someone holding her, caressing her. Dreams where she understood it all so clearly and didn't blame the Doctor for what had happened. She had woken up from each dream feeling more at peace with the new Doctor, more able to accept him for what he was.

A Time Lord. Eternal, or as close to it as anything she had met during these travels. He must have talked to her about his people a lot more since the regeneration – though she couldn't remember when or where he had done so – because she had learned more with him than she had during the entire time she'd spent with the previous incarnation.

She had discovered, too, that she still loved him. Still wanted to be with him to the bitter end; which was what it would be, according to Sarah Jane. A bitter end that was filled with loneliness for both her and the Doctor. He had said he wouldn't leave her. No, not her, were his exact words – but what did that really mean?

"That I'll have t'choose," she whispered to her reflection. He wouldn't make her leave, it would be on her head to make the choice to end their time together, when she felt that it was right for her to move on and get on with her life.

When she felt that it was right to leave him.

Rose shook her head and splashed a bit of water on her face. As if that was ever going to happen. He was a big part of her life, didn't he realize that?

She took a deep breath experimentally, surprised to find that the nausea had vanished completely for the time being. Good. There was a 54th century world out there to explore and she didn't want to miss a second of it.

The Doctor was waiting by the console for her, staring down at it as if he expected some universal truth about the world to be revealed if he just looked hard enough. Maybe it would – who was she to question the mysteries that wormed their way through his head on a daily basis. Least he wasn't caressing the TARDIS or making lovey noises to it. The corner of her mouth twitched upwards, remembering laughing with Sarah Jane about just that. What would the Doctor think if he knew that they had been laughing about that?

"Ready to go?" he looked up at her, his ever present smile appearing.

"Yeah. You got our trouble all planned out?"

His grin got a bit wider at that. "Us get into trouble? Whatever gave you that idea?"

Rose snorted. Whatever, indeed.

For once, there was no hidden motive to their visit. No event to witness or personality to garner a meeting with. The Doctor had just thought she might like to see where their old friend Captain Jack had come from and spend a relaxing day just exploring. He watched Rose closely as they wandered through crowded city streets, ducking in and out of the shops they passed along the way. She had seemed tired lately… and a little off, though he could not quite put his finger on what was wrong. Just a little sick, she had said. Caught something while back on Earth that last time, from the kids in that school. That's what she was claiming and it was certainly plausible. Human children were not known for being the most sanitary of creatures. In fact, 'runny-nosed little carriers of disease' was one rather rude description that ran through his head.

Questioning Rose about her health had led only to a stern glare from her and a snappish comment that she could look after herself and did he mind laying off a bit? It was just a bug, she said.

So he would leave it. For now. But he was watching her, nonetheless; making sure that she wasn't overexerting herself and covering it with grins and interesting facts about the city they were touring. Watching and looking for any sign that she was worse off than she was admitting.

He had promised Jackie he would look after Rose – and that was what he was going to do; whether Rose liked it or not. Just… if he could do it without riling Rose up, the more the better.

"That's where the Rebellion of 5297 started, yeah?"

The Doctor's head snapped to the side so quickly to look at her that he winced in pain. "What was that?"

"Right there, at the base of that statue – that's where it started? The Rebellion?" Rose pointed to a spot a few blocks down the street.

He nodded, swallowing hard. Confusion was washing through him. "It is…yes," not that he had expected her to know that, "You've been reading up on those things?"

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "And when would I have time for reading, with this mad life? You mentioned it to me sometime, I think. Before we left the TARDIS."

But he hadn't – hadn't mentioned a thing about the 54th century and this particular city other than to warn her to not pay no mind if they quite by chance ran into Jack Harkness; to act as if she didn't know him so as not to play merry havoc with the time line and bring the world crashing down around them all.

He had not uttered a single word about the history of the city. Certainly not the bloody story of the Rebellion that had taken place here toward the end of the 53rd century – a rebellion amongst the lower class that had ended in the deaths of thousands before all was said and done. Of all the stories he could have told her about this city and the people that lived in it in the past – such as where and how the Time Agency had been founded - that was not one of the ones he would have chosen. It was a horrible affair that had very little impact in the overall grand scheme of history.

So where had she gotten that piece of information from, then?

"What's wrong?" Rose tugged on his arm.

The Doctor smiled down at her. "Nothing at all. Just thinking about where we can visit next."

"S'more shopping would be just brilliant," she grinned cheekily.

"Huge surprise, there."

He held his peace until she was inside the next shop. Taking a place next to the rack of clothing Rose was looking through, the Doctor shoved his hands into his pockets and gave her an impudent grin. "Since you were paying such great attention to my little history lesson – anything else you remember about this city?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Didn't realize that I was gonna be quizzed, else I'd have taken notes." Turning back to the clothing rack, she shrugged. "Something about a building at the center of town having once been used for some sort of trials."

The Trials of Time. Another incident he was very sure he had never mentioned to her, even off-handedly. Not because it was graphically violent like the Rebellion; just because it was so bloody boring. Not the sort of thing Rose would have been interested in at all.

For the next ten minutes, as she searched through the racks for some bit of fashion that suited her ever fluid tastes, the Doctor pulled fact after fact out of her. Each one more shocking and confusing than the last and none of it making any sense.

"… it's the same spot where the leader of the Cyclins will land in about two hundred years, to initiate the Treaty of New Britain…"

There it was – a fact that she could not possibly have known. The past, yes. The TARDIS would have put books within her reach about the past of wherever they were visiting. But not the future. Never the future. The future was yet to be written, for her.

He studied her carefully as she continued to ramble on, sparing her a smile or two when she would turn his way for thoughts on the items she held up to herself for his opinion; including one shirt that he was sure was no more than a few well-placed bits of cloth that wouldn't cover her nearly well enough for his tastes. If he hadn't been so caught up in his own thoughts and observations, he would have said anything to make her put it back on the rack, even. However, the shirt was the least of his worries.

There was only one explanation for this sudden influx of knowledge, but he could see no sign of it in the way she was acting. Because, if Rose Tyler still had the time vortex whirling away inside of her, she'd be dying. The girl that stood in front of him was fit and in the prime of life, not about to burn from the inside out.

So what was this about, then?

END CH-2