The TARDIS could sense the Doctor's obvious distress, and shut the doors, and automatically took off for the time vortex. The Doctor could only stand in front of the bathroom mirror, tugging at the ridiculously long, NOT GINGER curls in disbelief. This was a rare occurrence, for a time lord to change gender. The Doctor had barely believed in such a thing.

She walked back into the console room, clothes hanging off of her tiny frame in a comical sort of way, sighing as she went.

The Doctor didn't really care where the TARDIS was going right then. Humming around the vortex was just fine by her at the moment.

"What am I going to do, Sexy?" The Doctor asked the TARDIS, frustrated. The TARDIS made a noise that sounded like an amused, but comforting laugh. The hallway leading to the kitchen lit up briefly; the TARDIS was telling the Doctor to go figure out what she liked now. And the Doctor had that weird apple craving again…

Apples were absolute rubbish. Wine was still as nasty as ever, beans were bad, bread and butter were okay, but fish fingers and custard were still as heavenly as ever. If there was anything the Doctor could count on, it was fish fingers and custard.

The Doctor walked back out of the kitchen, still dressed in her old clothes. The sleeves were rolled up, but it didn't help much except to let her function.

She walked into the TARDIS wardrobe, trying to see if she could find something to wear, and unable to find anything. The TARDIS was aimed at the tastes of River and Amy, not her.

"Sexy, I'm going to take a bath. I'm trusting you to pick out my clothes this time," the Doctor said.

By the time the Doctor reached the nearest bathroom, the water was already running, and towels and hair products were lying out, ready for use. The TARDIS was clearly trying to make the transition as easy as possible, and the Doctor couldn't feel more grateful.

"Thank you, Sexy," the Doctor murmured as she pulled off the bloodstained clothing, flinging it to the floor. She sank into the bath water, the heat loosening the tension and stress inside. The time lord simply lay in the tub for a while, steam rising above the bubbly water, water soaking into her long hair.

After a while, she washed and conditioned her hair, listening to the relative silence of the TARDIS. All the Doctor could hear was the faint humming of the TARDIS as she glided through the time vortex, the plips of water, and her own twin heartbeats. But the silence was good. Just for a little bit.

After rinsing herself and her hair out, the Doctor finally pulled herself out of the tub, wrapping a towel around her body as she did. She was suddenly exhausted beyond belief, and forgot about seeing what the TARDIS had decided to clothe her in. The Doctor stumbled into her room, filled with pictures of companions and past incarnations, and other trinkets from all of the adventures. She fell onto the bed wearing only a towel, and fell asleep, not caring about anything at all.

The Doctor woke up sometime later, disoriented and confused. Her hair had dried, long and curly as when she had just regenerated. She sat up groggily, trying to think.

I'm the Doctor. I'm from Gallifrey, which is gone. The universe thinks I'm dead, except for three people. And now I'm a woman. Oh yeah. OH NO.

She looked down, suddenly remembering the regeneration, all grogginess leaving her. The Doctor sighed, and pulled the towel up around to cover her, and walked out into the hallway, heading again for the bathroom.

After combing her hair out, the Doctor went back to the wardrobe to find clothes. The TARDIS hadn't let her down, that was certain. Sexy had left her with a blue dress and short-sleeved overcoat, stockings, and red pumps. Apparently the TARDIS liked the whole "Alice" look, but really, the Doctor wasn't going to complain, and was fine with it.

As the Doctor finished putting it all on, the TARDIS suddenly chucked a hair ribbon at her at a rather high velocity, as if it was an afterthought. So, the Doctor went back to the bathroom to put it in her hair, grinning a little as she heard the TARDIS wheeze in approval.

She bounced back out into the console room, inspecting their course. It was set for Earth, year 1776. But the Doctor had never set a course…

She then remembered when she had the conversation with the TARDIS, had said. "I may not have always taken you where you wanted to go, but I've always taken you where you NEEDED to go." And for the Doctor, that was enough.

"Okay old girl, take me where I'm needed," the Doctor urged as she pulled some levers. The TARDIS began to accelerate, almost causing the Doctor to drop the psychic paper and sonic screwdriver as she pocketed them into her apron.

The Doctor pressed another button, sending the TARDIS to the peak of acceleration as it hurtled across time and exited the vortex, approaching Earth. The speed was exhilarating, and the Doctor needed the rush.

"Geronimo!"

The one thing the Doctor knew was important about this year as she stepped out of the TARDIS onto the streets of London was that this was the year that America proclaimed independence, leaving the English government devastated and furious. She scanned the streets, searching for something out of place, anything.

The Doctor cloaked the TARDIS to keep it from prying eyes, and then began to search around, walking along the cobble stone streets, casually inspecting the carriages and the people for anyone unusual.

But as she continued to wander and saw nothing, another individual watched her from afar, and rose from his lookout on a rooftop. Within a minute, he was back inside the building, and out onto the street again.

Nothing was going to keep the Master from carrying out his plans this time. Absolutely nothing.