Every time something is in italics, it means the Doctor or Rose is communicating telepathically.

When they all woke, they were lying on the ground of the old people's home. But they were the only ones there; not that they had noticed.

Again, Rose screamed. "Sorry."

"Why do you keep screaming?" Rory asked, a touch offensively.

Rose shrugged. "Habit." She missed the Doctor's face sadden once more as he watched her stand up.

"This is bad," the Doctor quickly said, jumping up. "This is very, very bad."

And then the Dream Lord walked in, wearing a suit and tie. Rose stumbled backwards upon seeing it. She'd seen that entire get up before. Many times. It was one of James' favorites. And one of hers. Suddenly, she began to question if all of this being her dream wasn't as crazy of an idea, after all.

"Look at this x-ray," The Dream Lord started and he held out a sheet of- well- x-rays, of a brain. "Your brain is completely see-through," he joked. No one was amused, except the Dream Lord. "But then, I've always been able to see through you, Doctor."

"Always," Amy stepped forwards. "What do you mean, always?"

"You've changed your outfit," Rory stated, slowly.

"So have you," the Dream Lord defended himself. Then he turned to Rose. "What do you think?" He grabbed the base of his tie and gracefully ran his hand down the length of it. "Always liked a man in a suit." It wasn't a question, but it came out rudely, if not accusingly. Rose stayed silent, her jaw clammed tightly shut as she continued to refuse to look at him.

Slowly, the Doctor began to back away and sat down on a chair, crossing his legs, and looking the Dream Lord up and down as he continued talking.

"Now then, the prognosis is this… if you die in the dream, you wake up in reality, healthy recovery in next to no time. Ask me what happens if you die in reality."

"You die," Rose growled, her voice harsh and low. She stood back by a table, looking in the direction of the wall, but rather than looking at it, it seemed more like she was looking through it. But no one looked at her, though they all heard her.

"That's why it's called reality," the Dream Lord continued, unconcerned.

"Have you met the Doctor before?" Amy was getting very angry. Rory thought it could be the pregnancy hormones, but he, himself, was getting very angry, too. "Do you know him?" She turned to look at the Doctor. "Doctor, does he?"

Before the Doctor could respond, the Dream Lord went on, "Now, don't get jealous. He's been around, our boy." He directed his gaze towards Rose, but again everyone kept their eye on the Dream Lord, faced away from Rose. And again, he was the only one to notice the gold in her eyes. He smiled. "Hasn't he, Wolf Tyler?" He turned back to Amy and Rory. "But never mind that, you've got a world to choose." Then he walked towards the Doctor, putting one hand in his suit pocket, like he (and James) used to do. This only upset Rose more and she grabbed onto the ledge of the table behind her so tightly, that her knuckles turned white. "One reality was always too much for you, Doctor. Maybe that's why you left part of yourself in another. Take two and call me in the morning." He smiled, raising one hand to his ear and mouth to imitate a telephone before disappearing.

"Okay, I don't like him," Rory complained

"Who is he?" demanded Amy as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't know," The Doctor responded dully. "It's a big universe."

"Why is he doing this?"

"Maybe because he has no physical form. That gets you down after a while. So, he's taking it out on folk like us who can touch and eat and feel." He looked down at the unfinished jumper he was still wearing and stood up to take it off.

"What does he mean, 'deadly danger' though?" Rory asked nervously. "Nothing deadly has ever happened here." He started turning, looking about the room. "I mean, a bit of natural wastage, obviously." And then his gaze focused on Rose. She was still starring at the wall, hands clutched to the table. To him, she only looked like she was concentrating on her thoughts, which, in a way, she sort of was. "Those things the Dream Lord said about you-" Rory started.

"Leave it." The Doctor cut him off.

"Yeah.. Yeah, y'know what, Doctor? We deserve some actual answers," chimed in Amy.

"They do-" Rose finally looked away from the wall and to the Doctor, but she still kept her hands on the table. She tried to side with the Ponds, although she wasn't sure she wanted to. She wasn't sure what she wanted. Except.. no.

"No, Rose Tyler, they don't. Because once we wake up- and I mean really wake up- you'll be gone again and it won't…" Both their faces dropped completely, emotionless masks gone entirely.

"Matter?" It wasn't really a question.

"You have.. your mother, Pete, Tony.. the meta-crisis me-"

"James. That's what he was called."

"Sorry, not to interrupt, but you still haven't said what a meta-crisis is," Rory interjected.

"And what do you mean 'was?'" Judging on the sadness in Rose's voice, Amy knew she shouldn't have asked, but she needed some answers.

"Come on, Doctor, it's time you started explaining things." Rory was becoming very angry now.

"No, it's really not. 'Both worlds a deadly danger' ring any bells, Ponds? We need to decide which world is…" The stopped for a moment, looking about the room. He had finally taken notice to the lack of retired elderly. "They've all gone. They've.. all.. gone." And with that, he took off running out of the building. Everyone followed.

"Why does he keep calling us Ponds?" Rory muttered to himself.

By the time the Doctor got outside, school children were being led by their teacher up a set of stairs to a supposed castle.

Then Rory burst out the door. "Why would they leave?"

"And what did you mean about Mrs. Poggit's nice old lady act?" Amy added as she walked out next.

Rose stayed silent as she walked out, but she closed the door loudly behind her. No one flinched.

"One of my tawdry quicks — sniffing out things that aren't what they seem." The Doctor turned to the Ponds and Rose.

"And then licking it," Rose chimed in, but her voice was entirely flat.

"Oi. So come on." He smiled and clapped his hands. "Let's think. The mechanics of this reality split we're stuck in. Time asleep exactly matches time in our dream world." He was flailing his arms all about and pointing to and fro at his companions. "Unlike in conventional dreams-" The Doctor turns mid sentence and walks off.

"And we're all dreaming the same dream at the same time," Rory concluded.

The Doctor turned and walked back to them. "Yes, sort of communal trance — very rare, very complicated." His arms flailed about again. "I'm sure there's a dream giveaway tell, but my mind isn't working because.." He started raising his voice, getting angry, and Rose could feel it in the back of her mind. "This.. village.. IS.. SO.. DULL!"

"DOCTOR!" Rose yelled into his mind- Wait. WAIT. Shit, shit, OH.. SHIT. Rose thought to herself.

The Doctor froze on the spot and starred at Rose, both their eyes wide as saucers. "You shouldn't be able to do that. How are you able to do that? ... I'm definitely dreaming, aren't I?"

"I didn't mean to. I've been trying not to, all of my walls were up but.. not all of yours were." She was just so used to mentally stopping James and vise versa.

"Doctor, are you alright?" Amy asked, but the Doctor could only nod in response, keeping his eyes fixated on Rose.

"Rose."

When she didn't respond, he kept his eyes on her, but spoke to Amy and Rory. "Ponds, go look around for any danger. Don't ask, just do it. Please." They hesitated, but eventually Rory pulled Amy away.

"Rose," he was practically begging.

"I, uh, me and James — we were married. The human way and the, uh.. The.. The Gallifreyan way. We… Bonded.. Still had the Time Lord brain of him, but wasn't sure if he.. If he could.. And he.. at least he said.. he said that he had a low level telepathic connection to you. Don't explain it much, said he didn't want it to upset me.. Said I might be able to connect with you if somehow I ever saw you again. He, um, he would dream.. About you. The connection — all the worst times you had, they'd be projected into his dreams-"

"And all of his were projected into mine I thought they were just dreams, nightmares, coincidences, my mind playing tricks." Rose could tell how much earnest and sadness filled him.

"He saw what happened before you regenerated. So much pain and you still made sure the last person you saw was me. Both their eyes were starting to shine with unshed tears.

"I thought I was dying."

"I know."

"Why did he think you'd be able to communicate with me? Wait, no, why did he think you'd be compatible enough to bond with him?"

"It's.. It's a long story. And we don't have a lot of time. I'm so sorry, Doctor."

They stopped their telepathic conversation abruptly as off in the distance, Amy started screaming.

"AMY!" the Doctor yelled out to her, as he and Rose ran over.

"It's coming!" Amy yelled, bending forward and clutching her stomach.

"No, it's not! Really, Amy, it's not!" Rose tried to comfort her. She knew it was only a contraction, she'd helped her mother give birth to Tony. And then..

"How would you know, you're not a bloody doctor!" Amy yelled, accusingly.

"I just do. Now breathe and squeeze my hands as tightly as you need until the pain stops," Rose calmly directed the ginger, pushing past the two panicking doctors, and holding her hands out to Amy, who grabbed them and squeezed tighter than Rose expected the young woman to. "Blimey, you're strong." Rose laughed uncomfortably. "Now just breathe really deep a few times."

Amy did as told until eventually, the pain subsided and she lightened her grip on Rose's hands as she evened out her breathing.

"What?" The Doctor exclaimed. What? The Doctor also attempted to ask telepathically, although he was still very skeptical and uncomfortable with it. But by the gods, did it feel- well, it felt like Rose; all warm and embracing.

Rose rolled her eyes.

"This is my life now and it just turned you white as a sheet, so don't you call again. Ever. Okay?" Amy said lowly as she eyed the Doctor.

"Sorry," was all he could manage.

"Yeah." Amy walked away, releasing Rose's hands, but eyeing her to try to tell her to follow. And so she did. Once they got to a swing set, away from the Doctor and Rory, Amy turned to Rose and apologized. "Sorry. For yelling. At you. And thanks."

"Yeah, don't mention it." Rose said, keeping her eyes on the ground as she swung herself back and forth on her heels, her face masked emotionlessly.

They sat quietly until the Doctor came up behind Rose, grabbing her swing and steadying her, while Rory put his hands on Amy's shoulders.

"Now," the Doctor began. "We all know there's an elephant in the room-"

"I have to be this size, I'm having a baby." Amy crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the Doctor before looking away.

"No, no, the hormones seem real, but no." The Doctor leaned back, swinging Rose forwards a bit, and looked at the back of Rory's head. "Is nobody going to mention Rory's ponytail," he tried to change the subject and lessen Amy's anger.

Rose swung herself back on her heels and purposefully bumped herself into the Doctor. Rude. She mentally chastised, not feeling much like talking aloud at the moment.

"Oof!" The Doctor made a grunting sound as he pulled on swing to try to steady himself. "Oh, come on. You two-" he looked between Rose and Amy. "-hold him down, I'll cut it off." The three of them smiled at that, even Rose, despite herself.

"This from the man in the bowtie?" Rory dejected, offended.

"I like his bowtie," Rose said at the same time that the Doctor said, "Bowties are cool."

Rose smiled to herself, but the Doctor looked down and tried to smile at her. He patted her shoulders and gave them a quick squeeze before letting go and walking around and ahead of the swing set as he spotted Mrs. Poggit standing on the staircase that they had watched the school children walk up only minutes ago.

"I don't know about you, but I wouldn't hire Mrs. Poggit as a babysitter." He said, as everyone walked over to him, also eyeing Mrs. Poggit. "What is she doing? What does she want?" He asked no one in particular.

And then the birds.

"Oh, no. Here we go."

More screaming came from Rose, but this time, her hand had already covered her mouth before she awoke.

"You really need to stop doing that," Rory sighed.

"Sorry."

"It's really cold. You got any warm clothes?" Amy asked the Doctor.

"What does it matter if we're cold? We have to know what she's up to." The Doctor started to flail his arms in Amy's face, but Rose came up behind him and grabbed his hands, pulling them down to his sides. She held them there until she could physically and mentally feel him settle. Once she let go, he lifted his hands up to cover his face and closed his eyes. "Sorry, sorry, um…"

"C'mon, I'll show you." Rose started walking off, but the Doctor grabbed her arm.

"The TARDIS has changed since the last time you were really here, whatever you're looking for may not be where you think it is."

"Then this will give me a chance to explore a little," she responded, flatly. "Besides, if I get lost, I'm sure I'll find my way back to you eventually." Rose pulled her arm from the Doctor's grip, leaving him speechless, and she walked off with Amy and Rory in tow.

"So how do you keep doing that? And how exactly do you know the Doctor? Obviously neither of you wants to talk about this 'meta-crisis' thing, but can you at least tell us something?" asked Rory, a bit impatiently, but trying not to sound too rude.

"Used to work at a shop when I was nineteen. Lived with my mum at a council estate in London.

"One day at work, I went down to the basement to give this coworker some money that a bunch of us pitched in to get lotto tickets. But I couldn't find him, started walking around.

"Suddenly these plastic window-shop dummies started moving; thought it was some stupid college kids. I yelled at them but they wouldn't stop, kept getting closer to me. Then someone grabbed my hand. I looked over and it was this man with big ears and a big nose and a leather jacket. He was smiling at me. Told me to run. So I did. Then he blew up my job. Saved my life, though. Next day I saved his. Ran with him for almost three years."

Rose was trying not to add any emotions to her words as she continued through the TARDIS. Once she finished, she reached the small little bunker with boxes of blankets she remembered from all those years ago. She remember everything about the TARDIS. How could anyone ever forget? But she remember this little area of storage. She and Jack would sometimes hide the Doctor's jacket there when he was being a right proper git. It was always easier to find than any specific room, and too ordinary and dull for the Doctor to suspect or consider.

Clearing her throat, she dug through one of the boxes until she found what used to be her favorite fuzzy pink blanket. She faced Amy and Rory, "Right, well, take what you need. Every box should have a blanket or something." Then she headed up the stairs, back to the console.

Amy and Rory stared at each other until they were sure Rose was far enough away.

"Wow," Amy whispered.

"Yeah," Rory replied.

"Guess we better get to it then." And with that, Amy turned towards the boxes and rummaged through some blankets.

Both Amy and Rory were quiet for a few moments until Rory decided to voice his opinion. "I want the other life. You know, where we're happy and settled and-" He swayed and playfully punched Amy in the side. "Let's have a baby."

Amy smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes, and she turned to Rory. "But don't you wonder if that life is real, then why would we give up all this? Why would anyone?"

"Because we're going to freeze to death."

"The Doctor will fix it," Amy insisted, throwing a blanket at Rory.

"Or I don't know, maybe something with Rose."

"What about Rose?"

"Well, that's exactly it. I don't know."

"Rory.."

"Okay… Because we're going to get married." He stretched the word and put the blanket over Amy's shoulders, playfully, and snuggled her up in it. They both laughed.

"We can still get married someday."

Rory let go of the blanket and backed away, his face dropping, "You don't want to anymore." He turned away from Amy, not wanted her to see how upset he is. "I thought you had chosen me, not him."

"You are always so insecure."

"You ran off with another man." Rory chanced a look at Amy.

"Not in that way."

"It was the night before our wedding," He nearly snarled.

"We're in a time machine. It could be the night before our wedding for as long as we want."

Rory shrugged, sadness and despair filling up every ounce of his being, "We have to grow up eventually."

"Hmm." Amy picked up another blanket before starting her walk up the stairs. "Says who?"

"You're right," The Doctor stated as he heard Rose make it to the console, but he doesn't look up from what he was doing.

"How's that?"

"You always find your way back to me."

"Eventually."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

Silence.

"I still don't know how you keep managing that. The universe is rarely that kind to me." He lifted the thing he was working on, pretending to put a great amount of concentration into it, but it was already done. Rose was used to the Doctor and James doing this often.

"You were right, too." At that, the Doctor did look up at Rose, his brows furrowed. "He needed me. But I think.. so did you." The Doctor's brows softened out, along with the rest of his face. He looked as sad as he did the last time she say him; this him.

"Yes I do." It was barely above a whisper, but Rose heard it loud and clear. And now it was Rose's turn to look miserable.

"Doctor." She caressed his mind with her own, and he closed his eyes. Rose took this time to look at him, really look at him, for the first time. He looked so much younger than she'd ever seen him. And yet so much older, as well. It hurt. She hurt. And she could tell that so did he. She remembered how he would often talk about all that he had seen and done, all the grief and despair he held inside. Sometimes James would say that with her, he could almost forgive himself. All of his selves.

"Did he really say that?" the Doctor inquired, opening his eyes to see that he's startled Rose.

"I.. I didn't mean for you to see that."

The Doctor sniffed. "I used to feel like that. When you were still here. It makes sense that he would tell you. Probably takes every chance he can, seeing as he has the chance to be with you."

"He didn't have much of a choice. Neither did I."

"Rose."

"Not that I wasn't grateful. I was. I am."

"You keep using past tense."

"What's that, then?" Amy asked as she and Rory got to the top of the stairs, pointing to the object in the Doctor's hands.

With one last look at Rose, he looked over at Amy, then Rory. He stepped towards Rory and handed him the contraption. "Rory, wind. Amy, could you attach this," He handed her the end of a long wire that hung from the bottom of the thing in Rory's hands. "To the monitor, please?"

"I was promised amazing worlds. Instead, I get duct central heating and a.. weird.. kitchen.. windup.. device," Rory wallows, furrowing his brows at the object.

"It's a generator. Get winding," the Doctor ordered.

"Ah, not enough," Amy complained.

"Rory, wind!" the Doctor whined.

"Why is the Dream Lord picking on you?" Rory asked. "Why us?"

A sharp buzzing noise came from behind the group, and they all turned to find the source. One of the circles windows of the TARDIS, previously pitch black, admitted an imagine of the TARDIS' surroundings.

"Well, that's new," Rose quipped.

"New Doctor, new TARDIS," The Doctor responded, quietly.

"Where are we?" Amy asked.

"We're in trouble."

"What is that?" Rory asked, pointed towards a glowing icy blue ball outside the circular window.

"A star. A cold star." The Doctor took off running towards the TARDIS doors. He opened them, only for a bright, blinding light to emit into the TARDIS. Everyone covered their eyes until the Doctor closed the doors. "That's why we're freezing. It's not a heating malfunction. We're drifting towards a cold sun. There's our deadly danger for this version of reality."

"So this must be the dream," Amy decided as the Doctor finally closed the doors. "There is no such thing as a cold star. Star's burn."

"So is this one, it's just burning cold."

"Is that possible?"

The Doctor whined and ran up the stairs, flailing his arms around evermore, raising his voice. "I can't know everything. Why does everybody expect me to always.." He trailed off, stretching out the last word as he pointed an accusing finger right into Amy's face. But before Amy could get too angry and do something rash, Rose took his hand in one of hers. He growled a little, but eventually turned his own hand over to hold onto hers as he plopped himself down on a chair and crossed his legs while using his free hand to rub his face.

"How do you keep doing that?" Amy wondered aloud, but no one paid her much mind.

"Okay, this is something you haven't seen before, so does that mean this is the dream?" Rory asked.

"I don't.." The Doctor's frustration flared again and Rose could feel it- the dull sharpness in the back of her mind, so she ran her thumb over his thumb and mentally tried to soothe him. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "I don't know, Rory. But there it is," he started softly, but his voice began to raise as he continued. Yet he keeps the pace of his words steady. "And I'd say we've got about-" he looked down at his watch- watch? a Time Lord wearing a watch. Well, even James wore a watch, but that was only because Tony made Pete buy it for him for Christmas one year. Then again, didn't her first Doctor wear a watch? Maybe? Yes? Blimey, how time flies.- "Fourteen minutes until we crash into it." He pointed at Rory before releasing Rose's hand and standing up to bound towards the console. "But that's not a problem."

"Because you know how to get us out of this?" Rory questioned, half hopefully and half disbelievingly.

"Because we'll have frozen to death by then," the Doctor responded as he put the ear pieces of a stethoscope into his ears.

"Where in the world did you pull those out of?" Amy asked, eyebrows raised. "And what are we going to do?"

"Stay calm. Don't get sucked into it. Because this just might be the battle that we have to lose."

"Ah, this is so you, isn't it?" Rory shook his head because that was not a question, but an accusing statement.

"What?" The Doctor asks, calmly.

"Huh! What? A weird new star, fourteen minutes left to live, and only one man to save the day? Huh?" The Doctor shifts his jaw around as he looks to and fro from Rory, Amy, Rose, then back at Rory. "I just wanted a nice village and a family."

"Rory, it could be so much worse. You can trust me on that." Rose tried to reassure Rory, but the words sounded far from that to even Rose, herself.

Rory turned on her. "Yeah, and how would you know?"

"Because I've been there," She nearly spit out.

"Oh, dear, Doctor." From behind the Doctor, the Dream Lord appeared, and the Doctor turned to face him. "Dissent in the ranks. There was an old Doctor from Gallifrey who ended up throwing his life away. He let down his friends and—"

But then the birds.

"Oh, no. We've run out of time. Don't spend too long there or you'll, um… catch your death here."