He couldn't see her time line. The Doctor, while trying to get a reading on the Nestene with the arm of the mannequin he dismembered, had let his mind wander.

Rose.

There was an absolute certainty about her that made it impossible to see anything, with the exception of one, single strand: they don't encounter one another again, and she goes on living an utterly normal life for an extremely short time. And yet, if they crossed paths one more time… he didn't know, couldn't know.

The TARDIS hummed in an oddly calming way which only made him more confused.

"I'm not precisely worried, you know." He said to the column in the middle. The TARDIS hummed again. "Of course I would focus on that! I can't see her future, I couldn't give her any assurance or hints of what's to come for her."

The TARDIS gave a low sort of groan, and he looked at the center of his time ship aghast.

"Why in the name Rassilon would I have asked her to come along? I understand that she is special, I don't need time sense to see that. But it's not like it was before, I'm not going to take someone away from home when they don't have to be." He glared when the TARDIS replied.

"Don't 'tut' at me. I need to find Gallifrey, I can't do that with a companion, human or otherwise." He sighed. "And while I try to find home, I still need to clean up the mess they made. I don't need to expose anyone to that."

The ship grumbled.

"I'm aware that Rose was exposed to it already. Twice. But that doesn't mean she need continue to be."

He ignored the ship when she grumbled at him again. While the arm was still aiding his search for the Nestene Consciousness, he turned his attention to his other scans.

Nothing for Gallifrey popped up yet, but still he stared for a time at the screen hoping for even the slightest, little blip.

Home, though he hadn't thought about it that way in a long time. He may have referred to it as such, but deep down it never felt like it. He was always banished for one thing or another, or praised for it. But never once was it accepted. Romana came close, but never fully. The 12 and he had a sort of strange understanding when they weren't utterly mad, but he could never truly call her friend. There was no understanding between them.

He wondered if, had those twelve survived, would the remaining Time Lords finally welcome him? Try to understand him? He couldn't see it happening, but… well, they would be there. That distant idea of home even if he never went back.

He couldn't take someone away from theirs, not while it stood, not while there was a chance for them to be there. And even then, he wasn't sure he wanted the company of others just yet.

And yet…

Rose.

She was so spunky! The cheek on her, the curiosity. At first, she reminded him of Lucie, but the more time he spent with Rose, the more he realized the differences. Lucie was bold and brave, but also brash. Rose seemed kinder, and he had a feeling she had a big heart that was heavily guarded. She flicked his ascot, teasing him, and did so after her life was put in danger. Yet, she carried on as though it were nothing new.

And she made a fantastic cup of tea. Not that that really mattered, but it was a point he had to give her credit on.

Eventually, the scanner running the data on the arm beeped, and he went to investigate. Sighing heavily, he read the screen.

"Inconclusive. More data needed. Well, that's annoying, how am I going to get more data when I blew up the rest of the- Oh! Hello, what's this? A new reading? Just the one this time, though. Well," He looked up at the Time Rotor. "It's been a while since I've had pizza. I suppose it's as good as any to investigate. What do you say, Old Girl? Care for a slice?" He ignored the groaning groan of the time ship against his mind, smirking just a touch as he flipped levers and turned knobs, getting them as close to the newest reading as possible.

~DW~

Perhaps being led out to a shed in the back garden of a strange man's house wasn't the smartest idea, but Rose followed Clive out nonetheless.

After helping her mother clean up the remains of the old coffee table, Rose steeled herself and went over to Mickey's so that she could use his computer and attempt to look up the Doctor and find out who he was. What she had found was a conspiracy website from a local man. She tried to do a bit more digging on her own, but when nothing else came up, she took out her mobile.

A phone call later, and Mickey was driving her to meet the bloke while protesting it the whole time. She reassured him constantly, promising that it was fine. A real estate bloke with a family (proven by a recently sent photo) may be a nutter at worse, but likely not into kidnapping women by luring them to his home. Sure, he still could be a murderer, but the chances were slim.

Upon meeting, Clive appeared exactly as he presented himself: a goofy nerd with an obsession that his wife tolerated, and his sons rolled their eyes at. It was when he mentioned that everything was in his shed in the back did she start looking about to make sure there was a good view of sad shed from the house. And, of course, that she had her keys on her for a make-shift weapon if need be.

Clive unlocked the shed, waved her in first. "A lot of stuff's quite sensitive." He explained as Rose took in the world map covered in various colored pins. On the side was a color-coded list indicating a time period dating back to the 1500s. There were various print outs posted all over the walls, and a computer on a corner shelf currently turned off. "I couldn't just send it to you. Government might intercept it, you see."

"Why you say that?" Rose asked, watching as Clive retrieved a banker box off a shelf.

"Been proof he works for them, or as much proof as you can call anything you find."

"What, like Bond or something?" Rose asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as Clive took the lid off the box and started to separate papers into stacks.

"In a way, I guess. See, thing is, if you dig enough, keep a lively mind, this Doctor keeps cropping up all over the place. Political diaries, conspiracy theories, even ghost stories. No first name, no last name, just 'the Doctor'. And the title doesn't just seem to belong to one man or one generation. I keep finding different men throughout history that carry the title, except the same face will pop up in different eras, so it must by a title passed down from father and son as well. See?"

He took out some photos, most blurry and hard to actually see. Rose shuffled through them, taking in the different profiles, and how there didn't seem to be one that matched the man she'd met.

That was until she came across a photo of a glitzy party and in behind the smiling couples was the Doctor. He was dressed a bit different, much more outlandish than the eccentric, steam-punk meets Victorian that she knew. He also looked younger, more care-free, and on his arm was a red-head who looked like she belonged at such an event.

"That one was taken December 31st, 1999." Clive pointed out. "But there are more of him," he added, handing Rose various photos of differing quality. Some it was very obviously the same man she had met, others it was more difficult to tell.

"He never seems to be with the same people twice, this particular 'Doctor'. Those that have a name associated with them, a time and place and family, they almost never return. Or they refuse to talk. It's like he's too dangerous to mention, so many of them try to just … forget him. Or they don't survive an encounter with him in order to remember." He looked at Rose gravely. "If you've met the Doctor, Rose, it's safe to say that something terrible is going to happen. And if I were you, I would let those you love know. Because if there is one thing I believe I know for sure, it's that this Doctor is the most dangerous one to know."

"Right," Rose said, nodding once and handing the photos back to Clive. She turned to leave, but Clive caught her arm.

"Be careful, Rose. Those who call themselves 'Doctor' do not seem of this world. They could be immortal, or an alien. But if he's singled you out, then God help you."

Rose nodded more slowly, thankful as Clive let go of her wrist. She moved as calmly and smoothly to the door as she could, not looking back while she struggled to even out her breathing. Her heart hammered in her chest as she made her way out the shed and through the back garden, trying not to run to Mickey's beetle as Clive's son was in the front garden.

Not of this world? Dangerous? Well, the latter made sense, as she did meet the bloke when he was aiming to blow up her job. And then again when he was attacked by a plastic dummy arm in her home. But he also saved her life twice, which was something a truly dangerous person wouldn't do. Would they? She doubted that anyone who was as careless with life as Clive made him out to be would have bothered with a rescue of any sort.

Not of this world? That was unsettling, especially as his enchanting words from earlier in the day repeated on loop in her mind. He could feel the turn of the Earth, the way it moved through space. He spoke of things that seemed right out of those cheesy sci-fi movies as though they were just as common as corgis and parrots who spoke.

Had she been singled out by him? She didn't think it was intentional on his part if she somehow were. He made no move to follow her home the night before, and seemed genuinely surprised to find her on the other side of the door in the morning. Which, well, she did say where she lived. Not the building specifically, but still. No, he didn't single her out, couldn't have.

"So, return home, live your life, know that it has been a pleasure."

There was a finality in those words, as though he didn't think he would see her again.

She moved around to the passenger seat, plopped in, and let out a sigh of relief both in being in a safe space once more, and with the knowledge that she likely wasn't doomed to some terrible fate for meeting a supposedly dangerous being.

"Alright, Clive was a nutter. Off his head, complete online conspiracy freak. You win." She said on a breath, not looking at Mickey as she allowed her heart and mind to settle as much as she could. She closed her eyes, and behind her lids she saw that charming smile, the warmth and sadness in his eyes as he said farewell.

"What're we gonna do tonight?" Rose asked in an attempt to distract herself. "I fancy a pizza."

"Pizzaaaa. P-p-p-pizza." Mickey stuttered. Rose cracked her eye open a fraction to peek at him. Something was off about him, though she couldn't put her finger on what.

"Or Chinese?" She suggested.

"Pizza!" Mickey reaffirmed.

"Alright then." Rose said as Mickey started the car. The car jerked, swerved a bit, and Rose's eyes shot open. "Oi, Micks, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, Babe, sugar, darling." He replied in quick succession.

She eyed him over again, wondering to herself if he'd had such pore-free skin as of late and she simply hadn't noticed. Or did he accidentally use some of her moisturizer that might've been left at his by mistake. He was shiny like….

A knot began to form in the pit of her stomach as a weariness set over her.

"If you've met the Doctor, Rose, it's safe to say that something terrible is going to happen."

Clive's words of warning whirled in Rose's mind, but she refused to believe them. She turned her head away from Mickey, promptly ignoring the eerie way he wouldn't stop smiling as though he was attempting to flirt, or how he looked very much like he was made of plastic.

~DW~

"Do you think I should try the hospital?" Rose asked Mickey after they had been settled at the restaurant and ordered.

He didn't talk the whole way there, and it took as long for her to work up the courage to deal with the fact that her boyfriend might be plastic now. Was that possible? She supposed if dummies coming to life was possible, then so was… but did that mean Mickey was dead, or just possessed? She knew could hold his hand to find out, remembering the Doctor squeezing hers and her mums to find out if they had a skeleton, but Mickey hadn't offered and she didn't dare find out.

At least not that way.

Sitting in a public place helped a bit. It was unnerving that there was a match on and he was still staring at her, but he also hadn't made a move that seemed threatening either. Rose had started talking tentatively at first, hoping that maybe normal, banal conversation would give her suspicions a direction to go in. Maybe something she'd say would tip the scales.

Eventually, all the random subjects somehow led her to her job prospects.

"Suki said they had a few jobs going in the canteen. Or maybe I could do my A levels?" She considered, more to herself than the ever staring Mickey. "Could do college, become a secretary. Not much better, mind, but still better than dishing out chips or working at the butchers. I dunno."

"So, where did you meet this Doctor?" Mickey suddenly asked, smile never wavering. "Because I reckon it started back at the shop, am I right? He had something to do with that?"

Heat rose in Rose's cheeks, and she looked away, wrapping a lock of hair around her finger. "No," She replied softly.

"Come on." Mickey prodded.

"Sorta," Rose said, starting to grow nervous.

"What was he doing there?" Mickey asked.

"I dunno, Micks, and I'm not going on about him. Talk about him much more and I might end up like that nutter Clive, thinking he's a government agent or a sign the world's ending." She said, laughing nervously.

"But you can trust me, sweetheart! Babe, sugar, darling sugar." Mickey replied, and the hairs on the back of Rose's neck rose. "You can tell me anything. Tell me about the Doctor and what he's planning, and I can help you, Rose. Because that's all I really wanna do, sweetheart, babe, sugar, sweetheart."

"Okay, What's wrong with you?" Rose asked, her hand crept toward her butter knife. She once learned from Keisha that if she put enough force behind it, she could still do damage to an attacker. She also added up the number of times she used one to stab open a package when it was being difficult. She doubted that if the Mickey before her was plastic like she was suspecting, another dummy, that she could get it with cutlery, but it was all she had.

"Champagne?" A male voice inquired, and a sense of safe halted her finger walk to the utensil. She stiffened, not daring to look up lest it just be the waiter.

"We didn't order any champagne." Mickey replied without looking away from her. He went to reach for her, but Rose drew her hand away promptly. He didn't seem to notice. "Where's the Doctor?"

"Miss, your champagne?" The waiter asked.

She looked up, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of the Doctor shaking the bottle with a slight up turn of his lips. "Didn't order any." She said, not quite believing he was there.

"No? Such a shame, you two looked like you were about to celebrate something."

"Look, we didn't order it," Mickey said, and Rose glanced back over to see that he had finally pulled his eyes away from her. Unfortunately, he appeared darkly giddy at the sight of the Doctor. "Gotcha."

"Are you sure about that?" The Doctor asked, pointing the corked end of the bottle and twisted the wire away from neck.

The cork launched off, hitting Mickey squarely in the forehead. Rose launched to her feet as the cork disappeared, Mickey's head rippling like a water bed, and then his jaw worked like he was moving something about in his mouth. He spit out the cork, getting to his feet, teeth bared in a vicious way. "Anyway." He said casually, lifting his hand as though he was about to karate chop the table. On its way down, his hand turned into a block of plastic, turning the table to splinters.

Rose yelped, jumping back behind the Doctor just as he launched forward and grabbed the dummy Mickey's head. There was a struggle as the Doctor twisted and pulled, bracing his foot against the thing's chest.

As the Doctor fought with whatever the thing was that replaced her boyfriend, Rose ran to the nearest wall and pulled the fire alarm just as screams erupted from the other dinners.

"Everyone out, now!" She called to them, though she really didn't need to. At the moment the Doctor removed the head of the thing, people were already scrambling to leave. The restaurant was emptied quickly, leaving the Doctor holding the head of the thing while the body moved about smashing things with little balance or wherewithal.

Tucking the head to his side, the Doctor ran toward her and grabbed her hand with his free one. "Run," He said as he gave her a tug and led her through the now empty kitchens.

They burst through into an alley, in behind the restaurant and the Doctor let go of Rose's hand to close the door and remove his cylinder thingy from his jacket. Keeping the door closed with his hip, he pointed the red tip at the lock and it hummed.

Whatever he was doing, Rose somehow doubted it would hold. She ran to the gates and yanked, only to note the chains and padlocks a bit too late.

"Open the gate! Use the tube thing!" Rose called to him, gesturing to their only means of escape.

The Doctor smirked as he walked calmly toward a blue police box much like the one he entered earlier in the day. "What? This?" He said, wiggling the thing between his fingers before looking at it with slight fondness. "It's a sonic screwdriver."

"Use it!" Rose begged.

"Oh, I have a much better escape plan than running through there." The Doctor said as he tucked the screwdriver thing inside his coat. "The Auton will catch up to you if you try to run. Come in here with me, we'll be safe."

A smash on the restaurant door drew Rose's attention for a moment, and the thick, heavy metal now barring large dents in it.

"We can't hide inside a wooden box! You saw what it did to the tables in there." Rose panicked, gesturing to the door that was starting to come apart.

"It's not really wooden, I promise. It's the safest place in the universe. Now," he said as he unlocked the door and waved her in. "Come on, I'll explain more when we're inside."

He entered the box, and Rose looked between it and the door now coming off the hinges.

Taking a leap of faith, Rose ran inside the Police box.

She stopped breathing nearly immediately. The interior was gleaming and white, metal, and much, much larger than it should be. What's more, she spotted corridors that obviously led to other places. It was impossible, utterly impossible. She'd hit her head, or maybe she was actually still in Clive's shed, drugged and dreaming of all the nonsense he said.

But even then, he never mentioned this, and she could never dream it up.

Rose promptly ran back out.

Circling the police box, she felt the four walls, trying to make sense of what was going on and why it was not at all what it should have been inside.

"Those who call themselves 'Doctor' do not seem of this world. They could be immortal, or an alien."

Clive's words echoed in her head as her heart launched and stayed in her throat. She looked up at the big, blue box, trying to reconcile it with all she learned, when the sound of the door to the restaurant giving way cut through it all. Rose promptly ran back inside, slamming the door shut and leaning against it a moment.

"It's gonna follow us." She panicked.

"I promise you, the assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get through, and they tried, believe me. Now, if you'll hold on for just another moment longer, I will explain everything." He said as he focused on connecting the fake head of Mickey to something on the shiny, metal control panel he stood before. After a few moments, he grinned a bit. "There we are. The arm I got from you this morning turned out to be too simple. But the head is perfect, and with it, I can trace the signal back to the original source." He straightened up, moving around the controls to stand in front of her, keeping the distance of the ramp between them. "Now, I'm sure you have questions. Where would you like to start?"

"Umm…" Rose said, blinking a few times. "The inside's bigger than the outside?"

"Yes, it is. Technically the inside is another dimension. This, my ship, is called the TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimension in Space." He replied.

"Space? Ship?" Rose shook her head a bit. "It's alien."

"Yes." He replied, hands clasped behind his back.

"Are you an alien?" Rose asked.

"I suppose to you, I am, yes. I'm known as a Time Lord." He replied with a shy grin. "I hope that's alright."

"Yeah," Rose said, moving closer to him. Her eyes shifted to the head of Mickey on the console. "Did they kill him? The … otones?"

"Autons," The Doctor corrected gently, moving toward the head again. "And no, I doubt very much that they would have killed him. A bit like the Zygons in that it's helpful for them to keep the original alive." He said as he started punching buttons on the controls, and staring at a screen with a crease in his brow.

"Is it … is it a bad sign that he's melting?" Rose asked, pointing to the now soft and collapsing head.

The Doctor looked to her first, the crease in the brow still there, before looking down and seeing the features of Mickey's face swiftly softening and becoming goo.

"No! No, stop, I'm not, I didn't … no, no, no!" He pulled on his curls before frantically moving around the controls. "Hold on to the rail, Rose, it's going to get bumpy. I'm trying to …." He grunted as he pushed on a lever that seemed to stick. "Trace the signal before it fades …."

The column in the middle of the controls started to bob up and down as the grinding noise she heard earlier in the day filled the room and sent goosebumps over Rose's skin. Her lips upturned involuntarily in a strange rush of excitement.

The floor shook slightly, and the room went silent as the Doctor hung his head.

"I got close, but not close enough. I still need to track down the signal."

"How do you mean?" Rose asked as he stepped away from the controls, taking her elbow gently as he passed her and leading her back through the door.

When they stepped outside, the smell of the Thames hit Rose's nose, making it wrinkle involuntarily. She glanced around, seeing the London eye not far away, wondering briefly how they managed to emerge not only so far from where they started, but also where it was oddly quiet.

"We moved." She said, looking up at the Doctor with surprise. "Does it fly?"

"Not really. More disappears and reappears."

"What about the headless thing? Is it still on the loose?" She asked, chewing her lip.

"No, it would have melted with the head. At this rate we should be more worried that the Autons know, and thereby try and duplicate your boyfriend again."

"Why? Why would they do that?" Rose asked.

The Doctor tilted his head in thought. "I would think they would believe if they managed to fool you, then they could do the same to others who may know him. Your family, his, anyone they think might have had an encounter with me. If they destroy me, nothing will be left to stop them from taking over the planet."

"But why? What's it got against us?"

"Nothing at all. Autons are more of a foot solider for the Nestene Consciousness. It simply loves a polluted planet, and unfortunately for you lot, this era of Earth's history is the worst for it. I imagine once its food stores were destroyed in the …." He stopped, and a flash of something darted across the Doctor's eyes. For a moment, he looked very old, very tired, and very lonely. "Well, when they were destroyed, the Nestene had no other choice but to hunt for another one."

"So how are you going to stop them?" Rose asked. "'Cause you blew up my job and the arm was still able to hunt ya down. Ripped the head off the other one, and it chased after us still. Gotta be a permanent solution, yeah?"

"Oh, there is." The Doctor replied, reaching into his jacket and searching. "You see, the Autons aren't just foot soldiers, they are controlled by the Nestene Consciousness. It's mother and father all in one. Produces the Autons and creates the connection needed to have them move about. But it's plastic in liquid form, so all I need is this." He said, showing Rose a vial of blue liquid.

"Which is?" Rose asked.

"Anti-plastic. I plan to use it as more of a threat, encourage them to move along, but if they don't…." He said as he pocketed the vial once again.

"So … how do you find it?" Rose asked as the Doctor's eyes grew sad and distant again.

"Well, it would be under the transmitter, I imagine. The consciousness would want to control every piece of plastic on the planet, not just the ones it creates itself. That's how the shop dummies got involved, I imagine. But the transmitter may not be easy to find."

"What would it look like?" Rose asked.

"Round and massive. Something near the heart of the city, and not far from where we currently are."

Rose looked over his shoulder and stared at the London eye. He frowned, and looked at her, then over his shoulder. "What?" He asked, looking over his shoulder and back at her. Then his eyes lit up and he turned his whole body around to see it. "Of course. Of course!" He smacked his forehead. "Why build something when you can utilize what's already in place! Of course!" He spun back around, his face filled with boyish excitement, making him look so very young. "Come with me! Come see this through to the end of me, Rose." He said, clasping her hands in his.

"Those that have a name associated with them, a time and place and family, they almost never return."

Rose could hear Clive's warning in her head, but her heart, maybe even her soul if she believed such things, were screaming to go with him. He shifted his grip on one of her hands, clasping it in a hold as he shifted his body as if he meant to run at a drop of a hat.

Her heart started racing, and her smile grew.

"Let's go." She said, causing his smile to grow before he launched into a run and pulled her along with him.

It was terribly cliché, even to Rose's mind, but it felt as though pieces were falling into place as they raced over the bridge to the London eye, laughing like school children the whole way. Her hand fit perfectly in his cool one, their strides matched even if she seemed to be a bit more winded than he was. In that moment, it was like Rose had found the friend she'd sought out her whole life and could never find.

"Right," he said as they came to a stop in front of the eye. "I can't imagine anywhere else the transmitter could be, but I don't see anything that would indicate the Consciousness is around. Perhaps it's underground, but where would we get in?"

Rose let go of his hand and peered over the side of the stone wall where the bridge rail connected. She spotted the manhole cover and grinned.

"How about there?" She asked, pointing to it as the Doctor came up beside her.

"Looks good to me," He said, glancing about and finding the entry to the staircase leading down to it. "Come along." He said, taking her hand once again and leading her down.

When they got down, the Doctor let go of her hand to kneel down by the cover. He examined it with narrow eyes, as though sizing up a foe.

"You want some-" Rose stopped as the Doctor lifted up the cover as though it were nothing. Proper strong, then, not just lean. Then again, alien. Maybe he was considered weak for a Time Lord.

The Doctor set the cover aside and peered down inside. Instead of pitch black like she was expecting, a red glow met Rose's eyes. Light smoke billowed up, the scent of burnt plastic accompanying it.

"Bit ominous." Rose joked nervously.

"Can see how you humans would think that." The Doctor smirked. He offered her his hand once again, helping her down to the ladder as only a gentleman would. She didn't have the heart to tell him she could have managed on her own.

He followed her down, and once they were on solid ground again, he took the lead once more, though this time he didn't hold her hand int he process. The Doctor approached a door, looked over his shoulder to ensure Rose was near, and pulled it open slowly.

Reaching back, he waited for Rose's hand to slide into his once more before leading her through the door and into a vast chamber that reminded Rose of old gang movies. She imagined there had been a few movies filmed down here before it was taken over by a plastic army. There was even a vat of something that reminded Rose of molten lava she'd see in volcano films, but in a container similar to where the mafia bosses would always try and drown the snitches and the prisoners.

"That's the Nestene Consciousness." The Doctor said, pointing to the vat.

Rose frowned. "That?" She pointed, and he nodded. "How are you gonna reason with that to move along?"

"Politely." He replied, letting go of her hand and heading down the nearby stairs to get a bit closer. He approached the railing, drawing the attention of the shop dummy soldiers, but didn't seem to be bothered. In fact, his entire stance shifted in a blink, and it seemed the dashing regency hero was gone. In his place stood a warrior, the Doctor using his full height to make himself seem bigger. His shoulders were squared in a way that made them seem wider, his body taut with authority. "I seek an audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract in accordance to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation." The Doctor's voice was unwavering, powerful, with an edge of danger that eluded to what sort of trouble one would get in with the Doctor around. He was breathtaking and terrifying at once.

There was a gurgle from from the thing below, breaking Roses entrancement. She glanced down, seeing the liquid move.

"Thank you." The Doctor said with a slight tilt of his head. "May I have permission to approach?"

"Rose!" She heard a harsh whisper, and she whipped her head to the side to find Mickey crouched in a corner.

"Mickey," She breathed, darting toward him. She felt the Doctor's eyes on her as she knelt down by her shaking boyfriend. "You stink." She said, wrinkling her nose at the combined odor of sweat and plastic.

"That thing down there, the liquid. It can talk, Rose."

"Yes, and if you don't mind, I am attempting to have a conversation with it." The Doctor said to Mickey before turning back to the vat. "If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of warped, shunt technology ravaged in the Time War. So, if you would kindly use it one more time and leave the planet before I call in reinforcements…."

The vat gurgled and moved again.

"Oh, no, this is an invasion. You can't tell me you have a constitutional right to be here." The Doctor countered.

The plastic in the vat formed something like a wave, the gurgles more of a hiss.

"I believe I was speaking, so kindly listen and wait your turn to speak. Your being here will stunt the development of the planet and its people. Not to mention that being a level five planet, you would have had to seek permission to be …."

"Doctor!" Rose called out as she noticed two shop dummies emerging from the shadows behind him.

He wasn't quick enough as one grabbed both the Doctor's arms and held them behind his back while the other searched his person. It pulled the vial of anti-plastic from inside his jacket, and Rose's heart dropped to her stomach.

"I wasn't going to use that, not unless I had to." The Doctor attempted to reassure. He was met by more angry gurgles. "I was not going to attack you, honestly. I wanted to help." More gurgles, and doors behind him opened, revealing the TARDIS.

Panic began to grip Rose, her chest heaving as her eyes shifted constantly between the Doctor and his ship.

"Yes, that is my ship. But I swear, I didn't fight in the war, not in that way…."

There was a loud, gurgling roar before the room vibrated and pulses of something like electricity began to flow from the vat.

"What's it doing?" Rose called to the Doctor, her near-hyperventilation as fear mounted causing her voice to shriek.

"It identified the TARDIS as superior technology, and knowing what I am, it's terrified. It's going to start the invasion. You need to get out of here, Rose, now."

Mickey clamored past her, darting for freedom with Rose following a little more reluctantly behind him. She kept looking back at the Doctor as he struggled to get free. There had to be something she could do. He'd saved her twice after all.

As Mickey made up the stairs heading toward the exit, chunk of the ceiling fell and crushed the steps just beyond the TARDIS.

"Stairs are gone!" Mickey panicked.

"Try the doors," She shouted, jumping back into motion. When Mickey did nothing but look around in a panic, she darted to the time ship yanked on the door. They wouldn't budge, though she supposed they wouldn't for anyone but the Doctor.

"Over there." Mickey pointed. "There's a way over there." He went to head for whatever escaped he seemed to notice, but Rose paused.

The Doctor was still struggling, but while he couldn't quite get his grip free from his plastic captures, she noticed they didn't move. Rose eyed the chains hanging from the ceiling, noted the ax on the wall nearby. It was suicidal, this plan formulating in her head. But what other choice did she have? She was likely going to die if she simply stood by and did nothing. She was probably going to die if she managed to escape. Hell, there was every possibility that she would die just trying to do what came to mind, but at least this way,everyone else had a shot.

"Come on, Rose! Just leave him!" She heard Mickey call as she grabbed the ax. "There's nothing you can do."

And how often was she told that in her life? That there was nothing she could do. Because of her upbringing. Because of her lack of education. Because she wasn't meant for anything further.

"I've got no A levels." She said as she huffed the ax onto her shoulder. "No job." She put her whole weight into the swing as she hacked the chain away. "No future." She grabbed the chain and climbed up on the railing.

"Tell you what I have got, thought. Jericho Junior School under 7s gymnastic team. I go the bronze."

She took a leap and swung.

Her feet collided with the Auton holding the anti-plastic, sending it toppling over the rail and right into the vat below just as the Doctor managed to toss the one holding him over his shoulders. Whether it landed in the vat or not, Rose wasn't sure. As she swung back toward him, the Doctor plucked her off the chain and hugged her tightly.

"Amazing. You're amazing." He laughed. "But we're in trouble. The Nestene isn't stable, and the anti-plastic will make it worse. We need to head to the TARDIS." He turned, clutching her hand and heading up to his ship.

"Mickey," Rose called, seeing he didn't get far in his escape plan after all. He nervously ran back toward her.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

Rose merely grinned, waving him to follow her and the Doctor inside.

"Holy shit!" Mickey exclaimed as he stepped inside the TARDIS behind her, and Rose waited by the doors for him to move a couple feet in further before closing them shut.

Mickey's legs seemed to give out, and he collapsed on the floor, clutching the railing.

"Well, I have to admit that that's a first-time reaction." The Doctor mused. "Now, let's see. I believe I found you … ah, yes, right here." He said, turning some knobs and flicking some switched before throwing a big one. That wonderful, grinding noise filled the room again, the column bobbing along. It seemed like no time at all before it shuddered to a stop. "This should be you." The Doctor said, waving to the doors.

Mickey was up on his feet and outside before Rose could turn around and follow.

Sure enough, she found herself on the estates, the same alley she'd followed him to earlier in the day. Mickey stumbled out, half crawling backward until he was against a graffiti covered wall.

In the distance, police and ambulance sirens mixed with indignant and panicked cries as people tried to figure out what was going on.

Rose took out her mobile, ringing her mother to ensure she was alright in the chaos.

"Rose!" Her mother answered immediately. "Rose, don't go out of the house! It's not safe."

"Already was, Mum, I'm okay." She replied with a light laugh.

"There were all these things, Rose. And they were shooting, and …."

"Buy, mum." Rose replied, hanging up before Jackie could keep her on her mobile all night. She turned to Mickey, taking a couple steps toward him. "A fat lot of good you were." She teased.

He merely whimpered, looking from her to the TARDIS.

Rose turned, seeing the Doctor leaning elegantly in the doorway. "You weren't much better, ya know." She smiled at him, tongue between her teeth, peeking out the corner of her mouth.

His smile stretched. "No, I suppose I wasn't. But you have to admit, I wasn't doing too badly."

"Suppose not. Though you would be dead if it wasn't for me." Rose said, head held high.

"We all would be." He said, shifting so he stood with one hand outside the ship, hands dropping to his side before one lifted slightly toward her, palm out. "So, come with me. Don't think I didn't hear that little pep talk you gave yourself before you risked your life to save mine. Come with me, see the universe."

"Don't!" Mickey said, grabbing on to her leg. "He's an alien. He's a thing."

"Needless to say, I won't be taking him."

Rose looked down at Mickey clinging to her leg, then back up to the Doctor. "Is it always this dangerous?" She asked.

He seemed to consider his answer, narrowing his eyes and looking at his feet thoughtfully. His hand dropped to his side, fingers lightly rapping against his coat.

"Tonight, I righted a wrong set in motion because of events beyond our control. Events that should never have happened in such a devastating capacity. There are more out there. More things that need to be fixed, and I could use someone at my side while I do it. And not just through the Universe, but through time as well. We'd be traveling into the future, and back in the past. On Earth and on other planets. It's dangerous, yes." He looked up once more, meeting her eyes dead on. "But something tells me you aren't afraid of the danger." He replied, hand lifting a bit higher than before. "Would you like to make a difference with me, Rose?"

She looked down at Mickey again, seeing him shake his head vehemently.

He didn't want her to go, didn't want her to take a risk. He wanted her there, coming by his place for a snog and a shag, to eat bagged lunches by the fountain in the square and heading out to the pub for a match in the evenings. Her mum would want her to work at the butchers, or the chippy, where she would be close to home until she would eventually move in with Mickey.

A simple, quiet life.

Every day like the one before.

Rose looked to the Doctor, seeing the uncertainty in his eyes after her taking so long to reply. There was a hurt there, as well as an acceptance, like it wasn't the first time he'd been told no. His hand began to droop, palm turning back toward his body.

And she suddenly wanted to snatch it, to grip it tight and never let go. Yes, he was dangerous. Yes, he was alien. Yes, she would risk her life more with him than she ever would here on the estates. But dammit, she would live. The Universe, all of time and space, she could see it with him. She could make a difference. She could be better.

Rose turned to Mickey, smiling sadly. "Thanks," she said, kissing his head.

"For what?" he asked as he let go of her leg and got to his feet in confusion.

"Exactly," She replied, squeezing his arm briefly before turning back to the Doctor.

His eyes lit up with hope, and her sad smile changed to one of excitement before she launched herself toward him. He stepped aside, allowing her to run inside and through the open door. He closed the doors, and turned to look at her thoughtfully.

"What's your last name, Rose?" he asked.

"Tyler." She replied, frowning a bit.

He grinned. "Well, then, Rose Tyler. Welcome aboard." He charged up the ramp, past her, chuckling lightly as she giggled. He practically danced around the console in the middle, flicking this and turning that, before pushing the big lever that made the noise that seemed to lift her soul.

Adventure in the great, wide somewhere. Space. Time.

She was ready, and Rose Tyler swore she would never look back.