A/N: Yes, I finally posted…

Disclaimer: Doctor Who = not owned by me in any way. Satisfied, lawyers?

Chapter One

The Doctor eyed the bundle of blankets in front of him. Somewhere in there, he was sure, was a very sleepy pink-and-yellow companion.

"Rose," he murmured, lightly shaking her form through the blankets.

He heard a low moan, coupled with something he could almost make out to be a death threat, and decided that the cold water could wait another day.

"Rose!" he yelled, an idea to jump on the bed forming, when her hand shot out from the covers and he tumbled onto it instead, converse and legs pulled out beneath him.

Her head peaked out from the top of the bedspread, her hazel eyes glaring at him.

He grinned. "Up then?"

"What time is it?" she answered groggily, still managing to fuse anger into her voice.

An impressive feat, the Doctor mused. "Time machine, Rose; time machine. It's any time you want!"

Groaning, she glanced over at the clock. "Then why on Earth did you wake me up at 6:30 AM?"

"It's boring without you…"

Deciding she would have been charmed had the bloody alien not woken her up at 6:30, she just continued with the glare.

"I was thinking while," continued the Doctor, ignoring it, "that maybe we would go to Felspoon, but nah, doesn't feel like a very good day for Felspoon, is it? But how do you feel about the island where dreams come true?"

"Island?"

That got her attention. He grinned widely at her. "Island."

"What kind of island?" she asked suspiciously.

"'What kind of island', you say!" the Doctor muttered indignantly. "The island where dreams come true—weell…"

"Spit it out."

"It's a good island," he was quick to respond. "Doesn't have a real name—has always been 'the island where dreams come true' since anyone can remember. I don't think the name holds any meaning…"

"And?"

"I've never been there."

"So?" she was surprised—a place he hadn't gone… how could she not be curious?

"I don't quite know what kind of island it is, then."

She let out a snort. "The Doctor doesn't know!"

"Hey!" he said, insulted, until she slipped him a small smile.

He flopped half-heartedly on her pillows. She groaned and tried tugging them out from under his head.

Propping himself up on his elbows, he stared at her, now triumphantly pulling the pillows back to her side of the bed.

She turned back to him, raising an eyebrow. It gave her… an almost rakish quality, the Doctor thought.

Blankets tangled around him, he looked silly, Rose reflected. But they were her blankets, and she was the one here with him, and that meant that silly was more than fine.

They didn't move. And slowly, he spoke.

"The island of dreams—would you like to go with me, Rose Tyler?"

And just as slowly, matching grins—almost Cheshire-like—spread across their faces.

"Do you even have to ask?"

He didn't answer, only once he had untangled the covers and gotten up, said with certain relish, "Up then?"

The Doctor didn't even have to wait for the pillow to hit him square in the face.


The first glance of the island reassured them that there were no rioting crowds or evil aliens taking over.

In fact, everything was calm—orderly, even.

They were on the edge of what looked like a medium sized beach town. Brightly colored houses were lined neatly in rows, with taller buildings scattered in the mix.

The scene looked normal—but Rose was sure that wasn't the right word for it. No, the right word was improved.

It looked like the future. Beach town, yes, but the buildings were sturdy yet charming to look at. People walked around in light summer clothes, a lot of them holding what looked like a type of evanesced cell phone.

Permanent residents or travelers like us? She wondered.

The Doctor opened the door, leaned outwards, mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, "Carrots," and closed the door.

After a minute, he walked out, locking the TARDIS door. "We're here."

"S'pose so," she said, glancing at him with a smile.

"31st century, spot on," the Doctor informed her. "They're going through a bit of a phase—everything is has been made to look like the 21st century—the height of style."

"Oh?"

"We fit right in," he said, grinning at her.

She looked at him, his long overcoat, pinstriped suit, and her own normal clothes. But despite how they looked, they were different. Time travelers, people who went around saving worlds.

"Nah," she told him. "We'll always stand out."

Grinning, he offered Rose his arm. "Shall we, then?"


"A hotel!"

"A hotel?"

"A hotel."

"A hotel?"

She frowned at him, and the Doctor stopped, laughing at her as he did.

"What's so important about that hotel?"

She looked at him, gaze wheedling. "We haven't seen much of the island… we could stay at the hotel for a couple days, like a mini-vacation of sorts."

"I'm—" he started.

"And we could skip visiting my mum for a bit."

A mention of Jackie, and suddenly the Doctor thought he'd much rather stay where they were.

It was an island, a nice calm island, and Rose Tyler. It didn't seem bad at all. Plus, they were bound to have bananas here, somewhere.

A few minutes later, they found themselves in the hotel lobby, signing in and paying for two connecting rooms.

Rose looked at the woman manning the desk. She had smiled at them nicely, teeth gleaming, and asked if she could help them, but hadn't introduced herself beyond that.

She looked to be in her late 30s, with dark hair and blue eyes. Her daughter, around 14, had come up to them during the exchange. They looked similar; the only difference being the daughter had dark eyes, and a quiet demeanor.

"Enjoy your stay!" the woman told them, smile broad.

The Doctor led Rose off, telling her of how the last hotel he had visited had been infested with life forms pretending to be light fixtures. Neither of them glanced back.

The woman at the desk turned to face her daughter. Her eyes were wide with delight.

"Guests, darling," she said gleefully. "We haven't had guests in such a long time!"

A/N: And here ends Chapter One. :) Took me long, but I had a perfectionist urge and found jelly stars to stick onto my window. Ahh…

Anyway, reviews and constructive criticism would be welcomed because I'm not too sure about what I'm doing. ;)