Rose faked a coughing fit as another doctor walked past the open front of her own little section of the hospital, throwing her a pitying look as she walked past. It took all her willpower not to roll her eyes. Of all the Doctor's ideas, this one had to be the most ridiculous. Faking some ridiculously weird reason for hospitalization.

A group of what sounded like, based on their conversations, medical students were just outside Rose's curtain. Even with the front curtain of the three curtains around her open, she couldn't see them. She could, however, hear them opening another curtain, most likely the Doctor's. Her suspicions were confirmed when the one in charge started talking.

"Now then, Mister Smith, a very good morning to you. How are you today?"

"Oh, not so bad. Still a bit, you know, blah."

"John Smith, admitted yesterday with severe abdominal pains. Jones, why don't you see what you can find? Amaze me."

Rose rolled her eyes this time. This guy was as arrogant as they came.

"That wasn't very clever, running around outside, was it?"

Rose froze. As far as she'd known, the Doctor had been inside the hospital all morning. Unless Martha had seen either a past or future version of the Doctor.

"Sorry?"

"On Chancellor Street this morning? You came up to me and took your tie off."

"Really? What did I do that for?"

"I don't know. You just did."

"Not me. I was here, in bed. Ask the nurses."

"Well, that's weird, cause it looked like you. Have you got a brother?"

"No, not anymore. Just me."

Rose winced as he mentioned yet another dead family member she hadn't known about. She should start keeping track.

"As time passes and I grow ever more infirm and weary, Miss Jones."

Okay, this guy wasn't just arrogant. He was an asshole, too.

"Sorry. Right."

Neither the man in charge nor the Jones woman said anything again for a few seconds, and Rose had no idea what they were doing. And she hated not knowing.

"I weep for future generations. Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?"

Oh. Martha had been using a stethoscope on the Doctor. Which meant she now knew about his binary heart system. Oh God, if the group came over to her bed, the Doctor would be bound to find out about her own binary heart system.

"Er, I don't know. Stomach cramps?"

"That is a symptom, not a diagnosis. And you rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patient's chart."

Rose sobadly wanted to slug whoever this guy was.

"That happened to me this morning."

"I had the same thing on the door handle."

"And me, on the lift."

"That's only to be expected. There's a thunderstorm moving in and lightning is a form of static electricity, as was first proven by... anyone?"

Both Rose and the Doctor spoke at the same time, Rose harboring much more of a bored, 'no duh' tone.

"Benjamin Franklin."

Rose's side curtain was pushed open, and she gave the man who she presumed to be the aforementioned asshole, since he was holding the clipboard, a flat look.

"Any science noob could tell you that."

"Well, my students are apparently not among those 'noobs', since you two were the only two to answer."

"My mate, Ben. That was a day and a half. I got rope burns of that kite, and then I got soaked."

Rose whipped her head around to face the Doctor, giving him a panicked, 'what the hell are you doing' look. Why on Gallifrey would he be mentioning a time travel expedition of theirs in front of regular humans?

"...Quite."

"And then I got electrocuted."

Rose kept staring at the Doctor, clenching her fists.

"Ahem... Mr. Smith. What are you talking about? You must be talking about someone else, correct?"

Rose stressed every syllable, death glaring at the Doctor.

"Um... Moving on. I think perhaps a visit from psychiatric. For both of them, maybe."

Rose swung her head to face the other man again, a shocked look on her face.

"What?! What did I do to deserve a visit from psyhicatric?! Just because this IDIOT started spouting bullshit doesn't mean you should punish mefor it!"

"Now, now, Miss Tyler. Perhaps you're right. Maybe psychiatric isn't what you need."

The man turned to one of the students behind him, whispering something in his ear that sounded suspiciously like 'Emotional management. Immediately'.

"Right! Let's move on! Next we have..."

The group moved away, the woman who must've been Miss Jones giving the Doctor one last curious glance before shifting her gaze to Rose. The blonde shrugged before directing her attention back to glaring at the Doctor. The brunet only smirked at her.

Rose waited until the entire group was around the corner before she jumped out of her bed, all but stomping over to the Doctor's bed.

"Okay, just what are you playing at? You idiot! Why would you be talking about our-"

Rose stopped mid-sentence as another doctor walked past, giving them a strange look before continuing past them.

"Our... traveling to ordinary people? You deserve this visit from psychiatric!"

"All part of the plan, Rose. Now- ...is that rain going up?"

Rose turned to look out the window, narrowing her eyes when she saw that the Doctor was, in fact, correct. The rain wasn't falling; it was rising.

"So... this is what we're investigating?"

"Seems so. Come on; let's go take a look around. Oh, but first..."

The Doctor trailed off, and Rose was too enamored by the rain outside to pay him any attention.

"Hey, Doctor-"

Rose turned around to face the Doctor again almost a minute later, letting out a strangled gasp when she found him to be naked from the waist up. She immediately turned around again, heat rushing to her head. She could feel herself blushing.

"Hey, not a bad image..."

"Tempus,kindly shut up."

"I'm just saying, for being so thin, he's kind of, but only slightly, muscular, isn't he?"

"Tempus. Seriously."

"Right, sorry. I forgot you wanted to, in the words of your dear friend Shareen, 'jump that'."

Rose gasped out loud, drawing the Doctor's attention to her.

"Sorry. Just thought of something. Nothing important."

Rose drew all three of the curtains around her hospital bed, pulling her hospital gown up and over her head, grabbing her stack of clothes off of the side table and slipping into her dark wash skinny jeans. She pulled whatever shirt she had grabbed out of her closet - this time, it was a plain red t-shirt - over her head and put on her brown bomber jacket and flat ankle boots.

"It's alright now, everyone back to bed, we've got an emergency but we'll sort it out. Don't worry."

Rose pulled her side curtain back slightly to look over at the Doctor. He was doing the same, mouthing 'Jones' to her. Rose nodded, quietly sliding past her curtain to stand next to the Doctor.

"You know, I'm actually surprised that more people haven't panicked. Obviously a lot of people have, but some people are astonishingly calm."

"And that's a good thing, right?"

"Oh, absolutely! Now let's see what's going on."

The two crept closer to the edge of the 'hallway' between their two curtains, peering around the corner to see the Jones woman with another medical student from the group by the window. Jones was reaching to open the window.

"Don't! We'll lose all the air."

"But they're not exactly air tight. If the air was going to get sucked out it would have happened straight away, but it didn't. So how come?"

The Doctor let out a low whistle, causing the two women to look back at them.

"Excellent observation, Miss Jones."

"Very good point. Brilliant, in fact. What was your name?"

"Martha."

Rose stepped forward first, the Doctor right behind her.

"And it was Jones, wasn't it? I'm Rose Tyler. Doctor?"

The Doctor moved forward to stand next to Rose, straightening his tie.

"Well, then, Martha Jones. The question is, how are we still breathing?"

The woman next to Martha frowned.

"We can't be."

"Obviously we are, so don't waste my time. Martha, what have we got? Is there a balcony on this floor, or a veranda, or..."

"By the patients' lounge, yeah."

"Fancy going out?"

Rose frowned slightly at the Doctor's wording, but kept her mouth shut. Jealousy gnawed at her gut, but she brushed it off. She had no reason to be jealous of this stranger.

"Okay."

"We might die."

Martha grinned, shrugging.

"We might not."

Rose laughed, hitting the Doctor's arm. Jealousy or not, this 'Martha' would be a wonderful addition to their little entourage. Things had been slightly empty since Donna had left.

"Oh, she's perfect! Please tell me she's coming with us when we leave. She'll be wonderful!"

"I'll think about it. Now, let's go check out that balcony! Oh, but not her. She'd hold us up."

Rose rolled her eyes, moving towards the other woman.

"Rude! Sorry about that. He has no filter. None. And you are?"

"Julia Swales."

"Nice to meet you, Julia! I really am sorry, but we can't take you along. Firstly because the hospital needs all the medical personnel they can helping patients. Secondly because... Okay, sorry. There really isn't another way to put this. But the Doctor is right; you really wouldn't be the best to bring with us."

"Oh, don't apologize! I understand. I didn't even want to open the window. I'm obviously not cut out for this kind of thing. You're right, anyway. The hospital needs as many people as possible helping the patients. I'll make myself useful that way. Good luck, Martha!"

Julia ran out of the room, seemingly calm and collected. But Rose could see her hands shaking as she left. Rightfully so.

"Allons-y, then!"

-D-O-C-T-O-R—W-H-O-

Rose was the first to the doors, and she immediately swung them open, taking a deep breath. She grinned when she could breath normally.

"Well, we've got air! That's good! But how?"

"Just be glad it does."

"Oh, I am! But don't tell me you're not curious about how? I mean, I understand that the TARDIS has a force field, but is this the same thing or something different?"

Martha walked up behind Rose and the Doctor, her mouth agape.

"Martha?"

"I've got a party tonight. It's my brother's twenty-first. My mother's going to be really, really..."

Rose winced, nodding in understanding.

"Trust me, I get it. My mum's really strict about those things, too. She would kill me if I had a brother and I missed his birthday. But it's not your fault. So for right now, we should worry about how to get back home."

Martha nodded, moving closer to the edge of the balcony. She griped the railing, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Sure?"

"Yeah."

"Want to go back in?"

Martha scoffed, looking back at the Doctor.

"No way. I mean, we could die any minute, but all the same, it's beautiful."

"Do you think?"

"How many people want to go to the moon? And here we are."

"Okay, we've really got to take you with us. You're wonderful. Life threatening situation - and on the moon, nonetheless - and you're talking about the beauty of it all!"

"You don't think it's beautiful?"

"Oh, I absolutely do! But this is regular thing for me, this life threatening stuff. But you're cool as a cucumber. And it's amazing. You're so, so brave."

"Thank you, Rose. So, what do you think happened?"

"What do you think?"

"Extraterrestrial. It's got to be. I don't know, a few years ago that would've sounded mad, but these days? That spaceship flying into Big Ben, Christmas, those Cybermen things. I had a cousin. Adeola. She worked at Canary Wharf. She never came home."

"I'm sorry. We were there. I think we saw her. She was among the deceased, product of the earpieces that controlled the staff and killed them. We-we were the ones that stopped it. But we weren't fast enough. No one would believe us, that the ghosts were dangerous. And by the time they did believe, it was too late."

Martha nodded, tears collecting in her eyes. Rose gave her a one armed hug, a sad smile on her face.

"I promise you, Mister Smith and Rose Tyler, we will find a way out. If we can travel to the moon, then we can travel back. There's got to be a way."

"It's not Smith. That's not my real name."

"Who are you, then?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"Me too, if I can pass my exams. What is it then, Doctor Smith?"

"Just the Doctor."

Martha turned to look at the Doctor.

"How do you mean, just the Doctor?"

"Just the Doctor."

"What, people call you the Doctor?"

Rose laughed, drawing Martha's attention back over to her.

"Yeah. Crazy isn't it? But no one alive knows his real name. So everyone just calls him the Doctor."

"Well, I'm not. As far as I'm concerned, you've got to earn that title."

Rose glanced at the Doctor for confirmation, but he just shrugged. Do what you want.

"He's more than earned it. Like I said, he and I were the two people who stopped the Cyberman and Dalek invasion. Every invasion you've heard of. Big Ben spaceship used as a diversion for the Slitheen invasion of the British government? The Doctor, myself, and Harriet Jones stopped it. Christmas with the Sycorax? The three of us again. Even the things you've never heard of as alien invasions. The living mannequins? The Doctor and I. Just this past Christmas, when the Empress of a spider race was trying to reproduce her race and consume the Earth? The Doctor and I, and a woman named Donna. A doctor helps people. A doctor savespeople. Just because he's not a doctor of medicine doesn't mean he's not a doctor."

Both Martha and the Doctor were dead silent by the end of Rose's speech. She suddenly felt nervous, wringing her hands in front of her.

"Sorry. Did I say too much?"

The Doctor opened and closed his mouth a few times, gaping like a fish. Martha was simply dead silent, unmoving.

"...Rose Tyler, you are the most remarkable person I've ever met in my entire life. And you know what a huge compliment that is for me."

Rose blushed. His compliments had even more of an effect on her now. She twisted her ring around her finger, needing something to fiddle with.

"T-Thank you. Anyway, let's figure this out."

"Right. Let's have a look. You're right, Rose, there must be some sort of..."

The Doctor threw something at the space beyond them, and it bounced off a barrier several hundred feet in front of them, covering the whole hospital.

"...forcefield keeping the air in."

"But if that's like a bubble sealing us in, that means this is the only air we've got. What happens when it runs out."

"How many people in this hospital?"

"I don't know. A thousand?"

"One thousand people suffocating."

Rose looked back inside the hospital, where a mother was sitting beside her young daughter, both of them staring nervously at the three people standing on the balcony.

"Why would anyone do something that horrible?"

"Head's up! Ask them yourself."

Rose reluctantly pulled her eyes from the two people inside the patient lounge, staring at the three large spaceships landing in front of the hospital. Hundreds of what Rose presumed to be aliens stepped out from them, forming rows upon rows of them.

"Aliens. What else? Doctor, what are they?"

"Judoon."

-D-O-C-T-O-R—W-H-O-

Rose and the Doctor ran through the hospital a few paces ahead of Martha, running to get to the main lobby in time to see what would happen. The three of them skidded to a stop at the door leading to the stairs going down to the lobby.

"Now what?"

"Slowly. We don't know what they're here for; we can't let them see us yet."

They crept out the door, crouching behind some of the potted plants placed against the railing. The Doctor put his finger to his lips, and the two women nodded, watching the Judoon intently.

"Blos so folt do no cro blo cos so ro."

"Um... Tempus?"

"Hang on, Rose. It'll take a second for me to figure out how to translate for you. The TARDIS doesn't translate the language of the Judoon."

Rose held back a gasp as the Judoons draw their weapons, albeit not pointing them at anyone.

"Er, we are citizens of planet Earth. We welcome you in peace."

The Judoon who had spoken pushed the man against the wall, shining a blue light that reminded Rose somewhat of the Sonic Screwdriver into the man's mouth.

"Please don't hurt me. I was just trying to help. I'm sorry, don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me."

The Judoon turned the light off, plugging the device into his armor.

"Language assimilated. Designation Earth English. You will be catalogued."

The same Judoon shined the light over the man's head again for a moment before nodding.

"Category: human."

The Judoon marked an 'x' on the man's hand before letting him go.

"Catalogue all suspects."

The Judoon began marking the others in the room, and Rose grabbed the Doctor's hand.

"Doctor. What do we do?"

"Oh, look down there, you've got a little shop. I like a little shop."

"Doctor, please."

"Yeah, never mind the shop! What are Judoon?"

"They're like police. Well, police for hire. They're more like interplanetary thugs."

"And they brought us to the moon?"

"Neutral territory. According to galactic law, they've got no jurisdiction over the Earth, and they isolated it. That rain, lightning? That was them, using an H2O scoop."

"What are you on about, galactic law? Where'd you get that from? If they're police, are we under arrest? Are we trespassing on the moon or something?"

"No, but I like that. Good thinking. No, I wish it were that simple. They're making a catalogue. That means they're after something nonhuman, which is very bad news for me."

"Yeah, obviously. Now, we need to get out of here. Immediately. We can't let them catalog you!"

Or me.

"Why?"

Both Rose and the Doctor looked at Martha like she'd just asked why the Earth was round, Rose raising her eyebrow at the young medical student.

"...Oh, you're kidding me. Don't be ridiculous. Stop looking at me like that, both of you!"

"Come on then. Rose is right; we can't risk staying here. We need to hide. And investigate at the same time. No idea how we're going to do that."

The Doctor crept back over to the door, his hand still holding Rose's. She crawled along right behind him, and the three of them slipped back into the patient section of the hospital. They immediately took off running, ducking into a nearby stairwell.

"Where are we going?!"

"Up. As far as we can. Where can we find access to the records?"

"Adminstration office, fourth floor, east side. Not very high up, but it's the only place to access records."

"Right. Fourth floor, then."

The trio burst out of the stairwell door on the fourth floor, sprinting past dozens of patients, some panicking, some calm. One lady tried to grab Rose's foot, desperate for answers, but she slipped out of her grasp, throwing a quick apology at the woman as they ran past.

"Down the hallway, two rights from now! End of that hallway!"

They turned the corner, picking up speed before reaching the admin office, which was thankfully already open. The Doctor opened the door, ushering Rose inside.

"I'm going to go watch for the Judoon. You two can take care of this, right?"

"Alright. Stay safe and out of trouble, Martha. Let me know once they get to the third floor, if you can."

She nodded before running back down the hallway and turning the corner. The Doctor shut the door, debating locking it before deciding to leave it open. He sat down at the computer, immediately pulling out his Sonic Screwdriver and using it on the monitor.

"Rose, see if you can find anything in the file cabinets. I doubt there would be anything, but we might as well check."

Rose crossed the room to the four towers of file cabinets, throwing open each drawer and slamming it shut when she found nothing. She got through all of them in only a few minutes, cursing when she found nothing.

"Anything on the computer?"

"Not that I can access. I don't know why."

Martha burst into the room, breathing unsteadily.

"They're reached the third floor. ...What's that thing?"

"Sonic Screwdriver."

"Well, if you're not going to answer me properly."

"No, really. It's a screwdriver, and it's sonic. Look."

The Doctor turned the Sonic Screwdriver on again, Martha frowning at the humming blue light.

"What else have you got, a laser spanner?"

"I did, but it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst, cheeky woman. Oh, this computer! The Judoon must have locked it down. Judson platoon upon the moon."

Rose laughed, resting her arms on the top of the monitor as she looked at the Doctor.

"We were just traveling past. I swear, we were just wandering. We weren't looking for trouble."

"Oh, please. If anyone is ever looking for trouble, it's you, Doctor."

"Alright, but we weren't looking to causeany trouble. Honestly, we weren't, but I noticed these plasma coils around the hospital, and that lightning, that's a plasma coil. Been building up for two days now, so we checked in. I thought something was going on inside. It turns out the plasma viols were the Judoon up above."

"But what were they looking for?"

"Like the Doctor said before, they're looking for something nonhuman."

"Like you, apparently."

"Like him, yes. But not him. There's something else here, something that's been able to assimilate with the other patients. But what?"

"And that, Rose, is why we're here. To find out what it could be."

"Haven't they got a photo?"

"Well, might be a shape-changer."

"Whatever it is, can't you just leave the Judoon to find it?"

"If they declare the hospital guilty of harboring a fugitive, they'll sentence it to execution."

"All of us?!"

"Oh, yes. If I can find this thing first... Oh! You see, they're thick! Judoon are thick! They are completely thick! They wiped the records. Oh, that's clever."

"Why would they do that? Wouldn't that make it easier for them to find the alien?"

"Precisely! Which is why they're thick! They didn't even think that they could use the records to their benefit!"

"What are we looking for?"

"I don't know. Say, any patient admitted in the past week with unusual symptoms. Maybe there's back-up."

"Just keep working. I'll go ask Mister Stoker. He might know."

Rose pushed herself away from the computer, walking around the desk.

"I can go with you."

The Doctor frowned, catching Rose's arm as she went by.

"No, absolutely not. Martha knows this hospital, but you have no idea where you're going. We can't risk you falling behind and getting lost. The Judoon could catch you. I don't want to put you in any more danger than needed."

"But-!"

"No."

Rose sighed, dropping her arm to her side when the Doctor let go of it. Martha left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Fine. I'll stay here. Doing nothing."

"You're my emotional support. Besides, you should be happy for even a few seconds of down time, with all the running we do."

"But that's just it! I'm used to action now! I don't like doing nothing."

Rose pulled another office chair up to the side of the desk, collapsing into it and resting her chin on the edge of the desk.

"Well, there's nothing I can't do about that right now. Maybe... Ha! Here's the back-up!"

Rose peered over at the computer screen, shaking her head at the blur of colors and coding flying across the screen.

"And... restored! Come on, let's go get Martha. That'll be something to do."

Rose shot up out of her chair, starting towards the door without another word. Opening the door, the two of them looked back down the hallway before looking at each other for confirmation. Then, they started sprinting down the hallway, turning the corner and nearly running into Martha.

"Oh! You're already on your way back."

"I've restored the back-up."

"Good. But I found her."

"You did what?"

There was a loud thump as a door hit the floor, a man in a motorcycle helmet and all leather exits the room.

"Run!"

The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand before running down the hallway, nearly dragging her along before she could catch up to his speed. They ran back into the stairwell, starting down. A shape near one of the lower doors caught Rose's eye, and she pulled the Doctor to a stop, Martha nearly plowing the both of them down.

"Judoon. Going up!"

They double back up a half flight, running past the open door to another floor. They ran down the hallway before the Doctor pulled Rose inside the Radiology room, Martha following behind them. The two women ran behind the radiation screen, Rose immediately standing in front of the control panel. The Doctor used the Sonic Screwdriver on the door, and the man in leather started trying to break it open.

"Martha. When I say now, press the button."

Martha stood next to Rose, her hands hovering over the different buttons.

"But I don't know which one."

Grabbing the Operator's Manual from the shelf, Rose flipped through it, her eyes darting over the pages. Thank God for the Time Lords' weird ability to read things by just looking at the page.

"Then find out!"

"Martha, it's the big yellow one!"

"Are you sure?"

The man broke the door down and started charging into the room. The Doctor immediately turned the x-ray machine towards it.

"Now!"

Rose slammed her hand down on the yellow button, completely ignoring Martha. The radiation turned on, and the man in leather started convulsing before glowing with radiation energy. Martha looked away, but Rose stared at the two men beyond the radiation screen. She could see the Doctor's skeleton from behind the screen. She couldn't imagine how he was feeling.

Suddenly, the light stopped, and the man dropped dead. Rose dashed around Martha, completely ignoring the raven-haired woman's cries of protest. The blonde pounced on the Doctor, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"That was amazing! What did you do?"

"Increased the radiation by five thousand percent. Killed him dead."

Rose frowned, stepping down to the ground again and letting go of the Doctor. He turned to face her.

"But isn't that going to kill you?"

"Nah, it's only roentgen radiation. We used to play with roentgen bricks in the nursery. It's safe of you to come out, Martha. I've absorbed it all. All I need to do it expel it. If I concentrate, I can shake the radiation out of my body and into one spot. It's in my left shoe. Here we go, here we go."

Rose backed up, Martha joining her after making sure the radiation was truly off. The blonde laughed, watching the Doctor hop about on one foot.

"Easy does it. Out, out, out, out, out. Out, out. Ah, ah, ah ah! It is, it is, it is, it is, it is hot. Hold on..."

The Doctor hops around for a little bit longer, thrashing his left leg about before yanking his shoe off and throwing it in the bin.

"Done."

Contrary to Rose's delighted expression, Martha just looked weirded out.

"You're completely mad."

"...You're right. I look daft with one shoe."

"No, that's not what she was- Oh, whatever."

Rose stopped talking mid-sentence as the Doctor took his other shoe off.

"There we are. Barefoot on the moon."

Rose laughed, turning to look at the slab they had killed.

"So, what are we doing with Nine-meets-Motorcyclist over here?"

"Oh, very funny. Yeah, I know I wore a lot of leather back in my ninth regeneration. We don't need to mention that again. That was a horrible fashion choice."

Rose shrugged, mumbling under her breath.

"I thought Ten-in-leather was kind-of sexy."

Martha and the Doctor turned to stare at Rose, the blonde not having realized she was actually talking out loud.

"What? What's-... Oh God. Did I just say that out loud?"

Rose started blushing again before she quickly walked over to the x-ray machine. She didn't notice the Doctor's smirk as his eyes followed her across the room.

"Anyway, ignoring that... Hopefully the TARDIS makes Sonic Screwdrivers."

"Yeah, she does. Why?"

Rose carefully moved the fried Sonic Screwdriver little by little before pulling it out completely, holding it out to the Doctor. He took it from her, a disappointed look on his face.

"But it was that woman, Miss Finnegan. It was working for her, just like a servant."

"My Sonic Screwdriver."

"She was one of the patients, but..."

"Oh, no. My Sonic Screwdriver."

"She had a straw like some kind of vampire."

"I loved my Sonic Screwdriver."

"Um... Doctor?"

The Doctor sighed, finally reacting to Martha's words. He threw the Sonic Screwdriver away in the bin, visibly cringing as he did so.

"Sorry. ...You called me Doctor."

"Anyway? Miss Finnegan is the alien. She was drinking Mister Stoker's blood."

"Funny time to take a snack. You'd think she'd be hiding. Unless... No. Yes, that's it. Wait a minute. Yes! Shape-changer. Internal shape-changer. She wasn't drinking blood, she was assimilating it. If she can assimilate Mister Stoker's blood, mimic the biology, she'll register as human. We've got to find her and show the Judoon. Come on!"

They ran out of the room and down the hallway, nearly rounding the corner before the Doctor pulled all three of them behind a water dispenser. Rose was crouching in front of them, dread filling her. The other man in leather coming down the hallway was going to see her. She wasn't far enough out of view.

"He's going to see me!"

The Doctor shook his head, yanking Rose backwards. She nearly yelped in surprise as she fell back, the Doctor grabbing her upper arms and picking her up, setting her on his lap.

"There."

"You're thin, and I'm probably too heavy for you to-"

"Hush. You aren't. Now quit complaining and be quiet."

Rose nodded, staying completely silent until the man went by.

"You know what I don't understand? What was that?"

"Oh, humans. We're stuck on the moon running out of air with Judoon and a bloodsucking criminal, you're asking what these things are that we're supposed to either avoid or kill before it kills us? Come on."

Rose stood up, stepping forward to get out of the Doctor's way before stretching.

"I like that. Humans. I'm still not convinced you're an alien."

"And it was a slab, by the way. A slave drone of sorts. She-"

The trio rounded the corner, only to walk right into two Judoon. Rose couldn't say anything before one of the Judoon grabbed her arm and held a blue light to her forehead. The other Judoon did the same to the Doctor, and both Judoon spoke at the same time.

"Non-human."

Rose backed up, grabbing Martha's wrist.

"Oh my God. Neither of you are human."

The Doctor's eyes went wide, and he stared at Rose. Great. So much for keeping it from him.

"And again."

The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand, and the three of them ran down the hallway, Rose's grip on Martha's wrist forcing the woman to keep pace with them through in spite of her aching legs.

They ran around the corner and up the stairs, the Judoon's blast just barely missing them. Exiting onto another floor, the trio stopped running, catching their breath. Rose noticed the 'x' on a nearby patient's hand and sighed in relief.

"They've done this floor."

"Good! Come on, then. The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already. If we're lucky."

"Which, surprisingly enough, we usually are in this type of situation."

"...What was that about you not being human back there?"

Rose laughed nervously.

"Must've been a malfunction. Maybe from hanging around you so much. Or maybe a little bit of leftover stuff from the Vortex from when I looked into the Heart."

Lie.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything more. Martha started walking around, approaching Julia when she saw her. Rose followed close behind her.

"How much oxygen is there?"

"Not enough for all these people. We're going to run out."

Rose put a hand on Martha's shoulder, a worried expression on her face.

"How are you feeling? Are you alright?"

Martha laughed, brushing Rose's hand off of her shoulder.

"I'm running on adrenaline."

"Welcome to my world!"

The two women laughed, the Doctor only looking at them in bewilderment. Rose tilted her head, as if to ask him what he was concerned about.

"We're in a life-threatening situation in which over 1000 people could die, and you're just joking around?"

"I'm sorry, what do you do on a regular basis?"

The Doctor froze for a minute before nodding and sighing.

"Touché, Rose Tyler. Touché."

"Anyway, what about the Judoon? How can they breathe?"

"Nah, great bug lung reserves. It won't slow them down. Where's Mister Stoker's office?"

Martha gestured down the hallway, starting to walk towards their destination.

"It's this way."

The trio rushed down the hallway, bursting into Mister Stoker's office. Florence was gone.

"She's gone. She was here."

The Doctor knelt down next to Mister Stoker's corpse, examining it.

"Drained him dry. Every last drop. I was right. She's a plasmavore."

"Wait, but does she need to consume blood every so often? Or does it just stay in her system?"

The Doctor looked back at Rose, his expression pained. That was all she needed.

"Then we need to find her before she claims another victim to assimilate."

"But what's she doing here on Earth?"

"Hiding. On the run. Like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro. What's she doing now? She's still not safe. The Judoon could execute us all."

The Doctor stood up, starting for the door.

"Come on."

"Wait a minute."

Martha approached Mister Stoker's body, crouching down and closing his eyelids before standing back up again.

"Alright. Now let's go."

They left the room, Rose hanging in the very back, a very paces behind the other two.

"Tempus? Any idea where she might be?"

"Um... I don't... Wait. That sign."

Rose glanced around, her eyes catching on the 'MRI' sign. She grinned, glancing at Martha and the Doctor before sneaking past them while they were facing the other way. She took a deep breath before masking her face in a panicked look and bursting into the MRI room. An older lady was behind the radiation screen, but her other slab was nowhere to be found.

"Have you seen them?! There are these-these... rhinos! Rhinos with guns and little scanners! But-but they're walking and talking like people! I came here with my boyfriend; we were both admitted with high grade fevers! But I don't know where he is, and these-these rhinos are everywhere! Why are we on the moon?! I just want to go home for my brother's birthday party! It's tonight, and mum will kill me if I'm late!"

Rose was putting so much effort into her volume and words she had actually started to cry by the end of her freaking out. Florence just stared at her for a moment before giving her a pitying look.

"Oh, sweetie. Sorry you had to come in here. Now you can't leave. Hold her."

Rose didn't even have time to react before the other slab had grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms behind her back. She went slack, putting up no fight at all.

"Oh, you're an agreeable lady, aren't you?"

"W-What's happening?! Who are you?!"

Florence ignored Rose, approaching the MRI machine, which was making a whirring noise.

"Um, that, that big machine? Is it supposed to be making that noise?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"I went to med school for a few months before dropping out. I know a few things. Isn't that a, um, magnetic resonance imaging thing? Kinda like a huge magnet? That's actually why I dropped out; I failed magnetics GCSE."

"The magnetic setting is now increased to fifty thousand Tesla."

"Oh, isn't that a bit strong? What is it supposed to be at, five-ish Tesla?"

"It'll send out a magnetic pulse that'll fry the brain stems of every living thing within two hundred and fifty thousand miles. Except for me, safe in this room."

"Wait, wait. Doesn't that include the Earth, too?"

"Only the side facing the moon. The other half will survive. Call it my little gift."

"...That sounds wonderful."

Florence looked at Rose in alarm.

"What?"

"I mean, really. Earth is heading towards overpopulation, anyway. Sending out that kind of a magnetic pulse... Well, I think that's brilliant."

Florence looked at Rose with wariness in her eyes. Rose tried to make herself look and sound as genuine as possible.

"With everyone else dead, you'll be free to run away, right? The coward, sentencing a mass murder, with only yourself safe. And I really do mean only yourself."

Florence looked at Rose with confusion for a moment before the Doctor burst into the room.

"Have you seen them?! There are these things. These great big-"

The Doctor fell silent when he saw Rose, who only rolled her eyes at him.

"Great job, Einstein. I was handling this just fine myself, thank you very much. Anyway... She's building up radiation, setting the machine to fifty thousand Tesla. Planning on killing the side of the Earth closest to the moon. I guess that means we won't make my brother's party this evening, right, my wonderful boyfriend?"

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at Rose's last sentence, but stayed quiet, much to Rose's relief.

"Who are you two?! Oh, no matter. You'll be dead in a moment, anyway."

"So those rhinos, they're looking for you, correct?"

"Yes, but I'm hidden. So don't worry about going to tattle on me if you ever get out of there."

"Right. Maybe that's why they're increasing their scans."

Florence froze, turning back to face Rose and the Doctor.

"They're doing what?"

"Big chief rhino boy, he said, no sign of a non-human, we must increase our scans up to setting two?"

"Then I must assimilate again."

"What does that mean?"

"I must appear to be human."

"Well, you're welcome to come home and meet my girlfriend's family, right, darling?"

Rose nodded, trying to make her expression seem as innocent as possible.

"Of course. You could join us for my brother's party. We're having cake!"

"But why should I have cake? I've got my little straw."

The Doctor grinned in a carefree way as Florence started approaching the two of them, straw in hand.

"Oh, that's nice. Milkshake? I like banana."

"You're quite the funny man. And yet, I think, laughing on purpose at the darkness. I think it's time you found some peace. Or maybe..."

Florence turned to Rose, who stared straight at her, unmoving.

"Maybe the little blonde girl should be the my snack. You're certainly a pretty thing. I bet you would taste delicious... Oh, but let's start with the boy. The girl will have to wait. She can watch her boyfriend suffer."

Rose started to panic internally as Florence got closer to the Doctor with her blood-sucking straw and her creepily sweet smile.

"Tempus! What the hell do I do?!"

"Don't ask me! Why would I know more than you do about this situation!?"

Rose huffed, dread growing inside of her like a cancer. Florence had already started drinking the Doctor's blood, and he was getting paler by the second.

The door flew open as the Judoon entered, causing Rose to sigh in relief. The Judoon were much preferable to a plasmavore. Florence immediately hid her straw back in her bag, and the slab dropped the Doctor, who had gone completely limp.

Oh God, no. Please no.

"Now see what you've done? This poor man just died of fright."

One of the Judoon held his light to the Doctor's forehead. Rose prayed for a positive answer.

She didn't get one.

"Confirmation. Deceased."

It was like the world had stopped turning. Rose saw what she assumed was Martha run into the room; she wasn't sure. Her vision had become a mess of blurred colors. All she could hear was garbled yelling, unidentifiable words going in one ear and out the other.

Deceased.

Deceased.

Deceased.

Nothing registered in Rose's mind. Not Martha, shaking Rose and trying to bring her back. Not Florence, who was playing her game of innocence. Not the Judoon, who were still standing in the room, doing nothing. Rose was numb. She hadn't felt like this since the Ninth Doctor had been eaten by the reaper.

Then, one word got through to Rose. Just one.

Lethal.

Suddenly, Rose was back in gear, her vision clear and her brain processing again. Her instinct to protect the people in this hospital was much higher than her instinct to grieve.

"Well, do something! Stop it!"

"Our jurisdiction has ended. Judoon will evacuate."

"Like hell you will."

Both the Judoon and Martha turned to look at Rose, the medical student shocked by Rose's sudden mental presence again.

"Article 78, Section 19 of Galactic Law. Any life threatening issues caused by a convict while the ones responsible for said convict are present, if the death toll is prospect of over 1,000, will be considered a felon."

"You're not going anywhere, not yet. According to Article 78, Section 19 of Galactic Law, you are... legally obliged to resolve any life threatening issues caused by a convict while in your presence, if the death toll could be higher than 1,000. This hospital alone accounts for higher than 1,000 possible deaths. Unless you want your bosses in the Shadow Proclamation to strip you of your authority, you will resolve this issue. And I will be more than happy to make sure that you do."

The Judoon stared at Rose, but the blonde just stared right back. There was no way she was letting them leave.

"...You have strong will. What are you?"

"My name is Rose Tyler, and I am a human-turned-Time-Lady by result of my status as the host body of the eldest of the three Goddesses of Gallifrey. I can stop time in my wake, and if need be, I can freeze you here until you decide to cooperate. So we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice."

"...Okay. What do we need to do?"

"I doubt you have any oxygen tanks hidden in your armor, so I suggest you help the staff distribute what few they have. And you are expected to send us back to Earth. And, if possible, replenish our oxygen bubble."

"...We will return to our ships and refill the bubble with oxygen. Upon returning, we will also send you back to Earth."

"Thank you. That's all I'm asking. Now..."

Rose took a deep breath before continuing, tears forming in her eyes. Her voice broke as she spoke.

"Are you certain he's dead?"

"Confirmed analysis: deceased. We do not lie."

"Alright. Thank you. ...You may return to your ship. But keep in mind you are still being watched, and you must follow galactic law."

The Judoon nodded before leaving the room. Rose immediately ran over to the controls, trying to find the right buttons to shut off the machine.

"I'm going to try CPR. He supposedly dead, but it's worth the try!"

Martha ran over to the Doctor, starting chest compressions.

"Two hearts, Martha!"

Martha paused for a moment before nodding and resuming compressions, but on both hearts. Meanwhile, Rose gave up on trying to find the right buttons and just headed for the cables, yanking them apart. Oxygen was running out fast, and they had to stop this. At least with the machine shut down, not as many people would die.

Suddenly, the air cleared up, and Rose could breath normally again. Gasping for breath, she yanked apart the last two cables, and the machine shut down.

"Rose?"

The blonde froze, closing her eyes and taking another deep breath before turning around to face the Doctor, who was looking straight at Rose and giving her a carefree smile.

"Y-You idiot! I thought you were actually dead! They said you were dead!"

"Yeah, sorry about that. Obviously I wasn't, really."

"Obviously not!"

The Doctor let out a nervous laugh, Rose glaring daggers at him.

"To be fair, Doctor, she was scared half to death. She was all but gone to the world. She wouldn't respond to my shouting, shaking her, anything."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, looking at Rose.

"Really?"

"Well, to be fair, you have died before. When you got eaten by the reaper? ...I haven't been this scared since then. I thought you were gone. I thought I was alone. Doctor, you're all I have left. This wasn't like last time, when I had mum and dad and everyone else there when you left. I can't get to them anymore, Doctor. All I have is you. And I don't want to lose you."

The Doctor pulled Rose into a hug as the blonde started to cry. She buried her face in his chest, wrapping her arms around him. Martha stood awkwardly by the door, shifting her weight between her feet as she waited for the two of them to break apart. They did a minute later, Rose immediately feeling bad.

"Sorry, Martha. I wasn't even thinking."

"Relax. You thought he was dead; I couldn't care less if you want to hug and cry. Anyway, we should probably-"

The Doctor held up a hand, interrupting Martha.

"Why is the air back to normal? Full oxygen."

"The Judoon refilled it."

"Now why would they do that?"

Martha's eyes lit up, and she clung to the Doctor's arm.

"Oh, Doctor! You should've seen it! Rose was amazing! She said something about some... some law or something-"

"Article 78, Section 19 of Galactic Law"

"Yeah, right! Anyway, she said that, and that they were legally required to help because of that article, and they actually did!"

The Doctor looked over at Rose, awe clear as day across his face.

"You told them off using Galactic Law? How do you even know Galactic Law?"

"I don't know. Probably something I picked up from your blathering."

Before the Doctor could say anything else, Rose gasped, hitting his arm. She was looking out the window, at the rising rain around them.

"They actually are sending us back! Oh, you wonderful Judoon!"

"They were probably scared stiff of you, Rose!"

The two women laughed as the rain rose around them, both of them happy to be returning to Earth.

"It's raining, Rose. It's raining on the moon."

"That it is, Doctor. I bet this's never happened before. Rain on the moon. Oh, mum would've loved to see this. It's a natural phenomenon!"

The Doctor laughed, taking Rose's hand and squeezing it.

"After we're done here, I think I want to go to a rain forest. Yep, a rain forest. Maybe the Amazon."

"Alright, rain forest it is."

"You're just going to agree? Without argument?"

"Well, you did just think I was dead. It's the least I can do."

Rose gave the Doctor a flat look. He simply gave her another carefree smile before all but dragging her out of the room, Martha right behind them.

-D-O-C-T-O-R-W-H-O-

"But we have to go back! Martha would be perfect!"

The Doctor sighed, trying to avoid looking at Rose and her puppy dog eyes.

"Please, Doctor? You said it yourself; she's wonderful for this job!"

"Rose, no means no!"

"...Really it doesn't. Not in your world, anyway."

"...Alright. Come on, then. Let's go get Martha."

Rose squealed, hugging the Doctor from behind.

"Thank you! Now, Allons-y!"

"Hey! My catchphrase!"

"Not anymore!"

Rose grabbed the handbrake, releasing it before flipping the lever to send them to Martha.

"Woah, woah! Why are you releasing the handbrake?!"

"Because I was playing around with the controls, and I figured out that the only reason the TARDIS makes this horrible noise is because you leave the handbrake on!"

"But I like that noise! And you have just as much fun as I do falling over when we land!"

"...We're here."

Rose started towards the doors, the Doctor grumbling as he followed behind her.

"How would anyone know we'd landed? The TARDIS isn't doing anything. Everything is calm on the inside. I don't like it."

Rose ignored him, throwing open the doors and stepping out into the alleyway they had parked in.

"Down the way, turn the corner. They should be coming out soon."

The duo walked up to the edge of the alleyway, turning to the right down the sidewalk. Sure enough, Martha and her family were exiting a building, arguing.

"...I'm entirely innocent! Tell her, babe."

"And then she has a go at Martha, practically accused her of making the whole thing up."

Raising her eyebrows, Rose stepped forward, ready to budge into the conversation. The Doctor grabbed her arm, but she shook him off.

"'Oh, I've been to the moon!' As if. They were drugged. It said so on the news!"

Rose didn't let anyone get another word in, stomping across the street.

"Now listen here, whoever you are! ...What is your name, blondie?"

"Oh, like you're one to call someone blondie! And my name's Annalise."

"Rose. I'm a... friend of Martha's, and I won't let you talk to her like that!"

Martha approached Rose, her hands held out in a sign of peace.

"Rose, it's fine. I don't mind. Just leave it."

"I will not! Tell me, then, Annalise. How is it that everyone in the hospital was apparently drugged - which, mind you, is over 1,000 people -, but the entire city saw the suddenly empty spot where the hospital should have been? Tell me that, Annalise."

Annalise floundered about like a fish out of water, opening and closing her mouth with no sound coming out. The woman who Rose assumed to be Martha's mother laughed, evidently happy that Rose had put this lady in her place.

"I thought so. Next time, you might want to think before you speak."

Martha's mum butted in again, her pointer finger in the air.

"And that means with your brain, not your tits, honey."

Annalise huffed, storming over to a nearby car.

"I'm never talking to your family again!"

Martha's mum grinned, her hands clasped in front of her.

"Oh, stay. Have a night out with Clive."

'Clive' frowned, hesitating on whether or not to follow Annalise.

"Don't you dare. I'm putting my foot down."

He followed her.

"This is me, putting my foot down!"

"Doing it for the last twenty-five years!"

"Please."

"Clive, stop, now!"

Martha's mum chased after Clive, Martha's sister right behind her. Martha's brother followed suit.

"Mum, don't. I..."

Their voices faded away, and Rose nodded decisively before grabbing Martha's wrist and pulling her back across the street to the Doctor.

"What are you doing?!"

Rose stopped, looking back at Martha with a hurt expression on her face.

"I-I thought you'd want to come with us. To see the stars, to see the universe."

"You want me. To come with you. On a trip. Into space?!"

"Well, yeah. But as many trips as you'd like. Not just one."

Martha dropped her look of elation, suddenly deflated.

"But I can't. I've got exams. I've got things to do. I have to go into town first thing and pay the rent. I've got my family going mad."

Rose put an arm around Martha's shoulder, guiding her out of the street and back towards the TARDIS.

"If it helps, we travel in time, as well. Although that leaves a bit to be desired; you won't end up at the exact minute you want to go back, maybe not even the same hour. But hey, you'll probably come back in the same year, at least!"

"That was one time!"

"Yeah, and my mum almost got you arrested for that one time. And it was one more time than necessary."

"...So you're telling me that if I want to go to, I don't know... meet Julius Caeser, you can make it happen?"

"Yeah."

"...Get out of here."

"No, really. We can."

"Come on now, that's going too far."

The two women stopped about ten feet from the TARDIS, the Doctor continuing up to the doors.

"I'll prove it."

The Doctor stepped inside the TARDIS, closing the doors behind him. Then, it started to dematerialize, the same whirring noise that Rose both hated and loved filling the air.

"Ugh! That Doctor. I release the parking brake, so what does he do? Leaves it in park again. Why?"

Martha ignored Rose, reaching her hand into the space where the TARDIS had disappeared from before stepping back again, slack jawed.

"You get used to it. ...Three, two, one..."

The TARDIS started to materialize again, and when it landed, the Doctor stepped outside again, his tie in his hand.

"Told you."

"No, but, that was this morning! Did you...? Oh my God. You can travel in time. But hold on. If you could see me this morning, why didn't you tell me not to go in to work?"

"Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden. Except for cheap tricks."

Rose laughed, rolling her eyes. She knew full well he didn't follow that rule. At least, not all the time.

"And that's your spaceship?"

Rose laid her hand on Martha's shoulder, gently pushing her towards the TARDIS.

"It's called the TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimension In Space."

Martha nodded, running her hand along the outside of the TARDIS.

"Your spaceship's made of wood. There's not much room. We'd be a bit... intimate."

Rose laughed, opening one of the doors and stepping halfway inside. She stopped, beckoning for Martha to follow her. The raven-haired girl looked inside for a moment before jolting back and doing laps around the outside of the TARDIS.

"But it's just a box. But it's huge."

Martha reentered the TARDIS, the Doctor right behind her. He closed the doors before shedding his coat and throwing it over the railing in its usual spot.

"How does it do that? It's wood. It's like a box with a room just rammed in. It's bigger on the inside."

The Doctor faked confusion, strolling over to the controls and brushing his hand over them.

"Is it? I hadn't noticed. Right then, let's get going."

"But is there a crew? Like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?"

The Doctor shook his head, gesturing to Rose.

"Just her and me, traveling the universe."

"By yourselves? That's awfully lonely."

"We have each other. Besides, sometimes I have guests. I mean, some friends, traveling alongside. Yes, I do have friends."

Rose feigned offense, her palm against her collarbone.

"What does that make me, then, Doctor? If I'm not your friend?"

"You already know. My best friend. My companion. My... fantastic Rose."

A warm, sweet feeling engulfed Rose at the mention of the Ninth Doctor's familiar nickname for her. She beamed.

"You're not becoming a regular, by the way. Rose is my only regular companion. You're just along for the ride. You're not replacing her."

Martha raised her eyebrows, leaning against the railing.

"Never said I was. Besides, I don't want to be a third wheel for long."

Rose flushed at Martha's statement, but the Doctor seemed unfazed.

"Just one trip to say thanks. You get one trip, then back home. I'd rather it just be Rose and I. That's how it's always been."

"Doctor! Don't be such a grump! Martha, you're welcome to stay for as many trips as you like. Just ignore him."

The Doctor made a noise of indignation, but Rose ignored him, nodding decisively.

"You're the one that kissed me, Doctor. You shouldn't be the one telling me to leave."

Rose whipped her head around to face the Doctor, a horrible feeling of jealously and betrayal nesting in her gut.

"What?"

Even Rose could hear the heartbreak in her own voice. The Doctor obviously could, because he cringed, then hurriedly explained.

"That was a genetic transfer. Nothing more."

"And if you will wear a tight suit."

"Now, don't!"

"And then travel all the way across the universe just to ask me on a date."

"Stop it."

Rose pointed at the Doctor, faking anger.

"So that was a date!"

"No, it was not!"

Rose and Martha laughed, fist-bumping each other.

"For the record? I'm not remotely interested. I only go for humans."

The Doctor nodded, heading back over to the controls.

"Good. Well, then. Close down the gravitic anomaliser, fire up the helmic regulator."

Rose reached past the Doctor, releasing the hand brake with a smile.

"And release the parking brake."

The Doctor pouted, but didn't touch the brake again. Rose turned away to grin at Martha, not noticing when the Doctor set the parking brake again.

"Ready, Martha Jones?"

"No."

"Good. Off we go."

The TARDIS jolted, and Rose nearly fell over before placing her hands in a death grip on the edge of the console. Martha did the same.

"Doctor! What is it with you and that parking brake?! For god's sake, just leave it off! Especially for newcomers!"

"No, I don't mind."

The TARDIS jolted again, Martha and Rose slamming into each other.

"Sorry! Blimey, it's a bit bumpy."

Rose rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop from smiling when the Doctor let go of the console with one hand to salute Martha.

"Welcome aboard, Miss Jones."

"It's my pleasure, Mister Smith and Miss Tyler."

Rose snorted, closing her eyes and tuning in to the familiarity of the TARDIS bumping and spinning around her.

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