For a moment all the Doctor could do was stare at her. Somehow the one woman he loved above all others, the woman who was etched not only across his hearts, but his soul, returned. He didn't care that she said she didn't come back to him, a minor detail that could be sorted later. She looked exactly the same, only it'd been thirty-four years.

"No…no," he shook his head in disbelief. "That." Turned on the spot and began pacing, flinging his hands around exaggeratedly. "That isn't possible. It can't have been thirty-four years! That's….that's simply not possible."

Rose watched him. This new regeneration, though he wasn't new, but he was new to her, seemed very animated. She thought the last one was, but how wrong she'd been. She almost smiled…almost. If not for the urgency of her situation she might have.

"You can say that as many times as you like, but it doesn't change the facts," she replied.

Her voice brought him back to the reality of the situation. He turned back to her and closed the distance between them.

"You haven't aged."

She rolled her eyes.

"If all your going to do is stand there and point out the obvious I'd like my vortex manipulator back because you don't need me for that."

"What happened to you?" he asked, meaning more than the not aging. Her entire attitude was different. There was no awe in her eyes, no cheeky smile.

"I doesn't matter," she dismissed.

"Yes, it does. This matters! This is important!"

"I don't have time for this," she snapped, stepping around him and up to the console. "If you're not going to take me back," she flipped the lever for the time rotor, "then I will."

"What are you doing?" he demanded, crossing the room quickly.

When they traveled together he taught Rose enough about the console to give her an understanding of it and she helped him fly the TARDIS on occasion, but she never flew the TARDIS on her own.

She entered the coordinates for Torchwood. Torchwood? Why was she going to…at that moment the TARDIS pitched sideways.

"No! No, don't do this to me!" she yelled.

"What did you do?" he demanded.

"It's not me. It's…" she began, but was cut off as the TARDIS landed hard, throwing them both to the floor.

Rose hit the floor, but she was on her feet a moment later. The TARDIS wasn't going to let her go. She felt the presence demanding to know what was going on, same as the Doctor. Bullocks!

"I have to get back!" she insisted, staring at the time rotor.

The Doctor stood up, watching her. Rose seemed to be yelling at the…No. No. She couldn't be talking to his TARDIS. That just wasn't…but then Rose wasn't possible.

Thirty-four years and she hadn't aged a day. He pulled out his sonic and scanned her while she had a row with his ship, but at the noise she spun around and eyed him. He looked at the readings.

"That's-" he began.

"Not possible," she finished.

He looked at her. Rose. Rose Tyler. The woman he loved. He swallowed. What the hell happened to her?

"But you're-"

"Not entirely human, yeah, already got that."

"How?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does," he snapped, crossing the room.

She was being infuriating. Somehow she found her way back to his universe, changed, different, but did she try to find him? To ask for his help? No. She went running to Torchwood. To…

"Jack," he growled.

"What?" she asked, completely baffled.

What the hell did Jack have to do with anything? She needed to get out of there. To get away before he figured out what was going on and insisted on helping her locate Tony. Tony? The TARDIS asked. Rose sighed. Brilliant!

"You didn't come back for me," he snapped, glaring at her with fury she hadn't seen in a very long time. "You came back for him."

The Doctor never wanted to kill another man as much as he wanted to kill that immortal sod at that moment. There had always been something between Rose and Jack, but she claimed they were just friends. Obviously that changed.

Another laugh escaped her, but this one wasn't etched in bitterness. It was a genuine laugh.

"What?" he asked, but she continued until tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "Stop that!" Which only proved to make her laugh harder. "Shut up!"

"You think," she managed after a few minutes, but giggled and then paused, wiping the tears. "You think me and Jack…for a genius you really can be a bloody idiot."

"You said you didn't come back for me."

"I didn't," she replied, turning back to the console.

This was getting dangerous. He made her slip, made her forget for a brief moment the urgency of her situation, made her laugh. God. She hadn't laughed in years, not like that.

"Come on old girl," she coaxed, flipping the lever for the time rotor, but it flipped back of its own accord.

"What did you say?" the Doctor asked, closing the distance between them. Old girl. She said it and it was something she couldn't know. He hadn't called his TARDIS that in his previous regenerations. There was no way she could know.

"I said I didn't," she replied without turning around.

"No, after that."

She ignored him, but he wasn't about to let her hide things from him. Everything about her was important. He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. Gold flecks danced in her deep hazel eyes. They hadn't been there before. He shook that off, he could worry about that later.

"What did you say after that?" he insisted.

"Nothing," she lied, averting her eyes.

"You said old girl. You called my TARDIS old girl," he said.

She wasn't sure if she got the name from him or the TARDIS. It was one of them. She couldn't tell him that. If she did he'd…what? Probably want to run tests. Figure out exactly what she was, something she didn't even know, but there wasn't time. Even with Torchwood Jack hadn't been able to figure it out and she knew the sonic only confirmed that she was human plus something. She could see that in the Doctor's mind.

"So?" she asked.

"How did you know?" he demanded.

"How did I know what?" she inquired, feigning ignorance.

"I never called her that in front of you."

"You must have."

"No. No, I haven't."

Nope. She couldn't do this. It was much too dangerous. She tried to pull away, but he held her firmly.

"Let me go!"

"Not until I find out what happened."

"Good luck that," she snapped.

She wasn't going to tell him. Well, there was one way to find out. He hated doing it, but if she wouldn't tell him then there was really only one way for him to find out. He leaned closer.

Rose's eyes widened. What the hell did he think he was going to do? For a brief moment she thought he was going to kiss her, then she saw it. It was right there in his mind. Well, to hell with that. She put her hands on his chest and shoved him back. Hard.

The Doctor stumbled back, releasing her as she shoved him. Shoved him! Rose Tyler actually shoved him and not nicely either.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled.

"What the hell do I think I'm doing?" he yelled back. "You shoved me!"

"Stay out of my head you bloody wanker!"

"Bloody what?" he snapped, closing the distance between them as he glared at her. Wait. He blinked. Stay out of her head? How did she… "You knew. How did you…" but he knew. She'd been inside his mind. She heard his thoughts. "You're telepathic. How are you telepathic?"

Before she could answer he reached out and put his hand on her chest. On her chest! She smacked his hand, but he didn't move it, well, he did, but to the other side.

"Doctor! What the hell!" she yelled and then she pulled back and slapped him across the face.

His head snapped to the side as he felt, for the second time in his life and the first time in this body a Tyler slap.

"Ow!" he yelled, feeling his cheek. "You slap like your mum."

"Grope me again and you'll get more than that."

"Grope…?" He glanced at her and felt his cheeks flush. "I wasn't…I wouldn't…I…" he glanced at her chest and realized what he'd done. He felt his face flush more. "That…um…you only have one heart," he finished, as if that was some sort of defense.

Rose watched his face turn three different shades of red and again, almost laughed. She held it back, but couldn't stop the smile that formed. He'd been checking to see if she was like him, though she wasn't sure how that could happen, but then she wasn't…no, she knew how she became the way she was, she just didn't know what she was.

"You could've asked," she replied, still sporting the smile that for some reason made him bring out a goofy one.

She dropped her smile immediately. She couldn't let him do this, couldn't let him get to her. She gave him a chance all those years ago and he left.

"Yes. Well. Next time," he said and then his smile turned…cheeky? "So," he continued, slapping his hands together and giving her an excited look, complete with sparkling eyes, "you're telepathic and you can't age. What else?"

"I don't have time for this," she insisted.

"Yes, you've said that, but seeing as how the TARDIS isn't going to let you go anywhere you might as well answer my questions."

She stared at him a moment. He was right, well, about the TARDIS. She could feel the presence in her mind confirming that they weren't going anywhere until she got some answers. Brilliant!

"So, ready to answer my questions?" he asked.

Oh, this regeneration was really full of himself. Well, she could take him down a peg.

"Actually, Doctor," she began, eyeing him, "It's not your questions I need to answer." At that she opened her mind to the TARDIS and allowed her sister to see the truth.

Standard Disclaimer.

Thank you to all my brilliant readers!

Reviews are always welcome. :)