Rebecca and Martha had been waiting for her when she arrived. The cannon looked different to last night, and Rebecca told her she'd had a team working on it for a few hours. The two women explained to her the documented side effects of the past jumps in more detail.

"As far as I can tell, looking through the reports," Martha said, "It should feel a little like vertigo at first, but it'll get steadily worse."

Rose nodded. "Oh well," she said, with a tight smile, "Never thought it would be a picnic."

"Only for a few minutes," Martha clarified in a reassuring voice, "And then you should be alright, until you complete the cycle and jump back – unless, of course you find the right universe and cut off the cannon."

"That's what this is for," Rebecca said, holding out a wristband.

It reminded Rose of the vortex manipulator Jack used to wear. Briefly an image of him, grinning flirtatiously, filled her head: her friend, and, once-upon-a-time, almost more, who she knew had been murdered by the Daleks… Although she never did find out exactly what happened to him. Rose involuntarily shuddered.

"The cannon will automatically engage your jump back after an hour in our universe's time, it needs to be that long to cycle safely – unless, as I said, you press that button," Rebecca continued, pointing to a small black button on the wristband. "It'll trigger a temporary program shut down, and you'll be able to stay in the other universe. I've made the controls isomorphic, so no one else will be able to trap you anywhere you don't want to be."

"Isomorphic… that means they'll only respond to her, right?" Martha queried, and Rebecca nodded in confirmation.

"It's programmed with finger print recognition."

Martha turned back to Rose. "When you jump back it'll be all vertigo again," she said, "And then after that ten minutes or so of light nausea and some pretty draining muscle weakness - your body should repair itself quickly though, especially since you're quite healthy. But it'll take around four hours, and we'll have to wait at least six between jumps, I think."

"What happens if we don't?" Rose asked, voice slightly playful, testing the boundaries.

"You won't have time to recover properly. I mean, it won't kill you or anything, but it's probably not a good idea."

Rose bit the inside of her cheek thoughtfully, drumming a few fingers on her lip.

"Just because it won't kill you doesn't mean it won't hurt," Martha warned, noting her expression.

Rose gave a small laugh. "Right."

Rebecca passed Rose the wristband, strapping it on for her. Rose pulled the sleeve of her dark grey jacket over it, hiding it from view.

The pair walked over to the cannon, where Rebecca helped to secure her.

"We'll be waiting for you when you come back, Ma'am," she told her, clicking her into place in the seat.

Rose smiled at her thankfully, not sure what to expect, but knowing that seeing a friendly face afterwards could be a good thing.

Rebecca stepped back away from her and to Martha, and the two put on dark glasses.

Rose punched the buttons next to her in the way Rebecca had shown her, and the latter moved to the control desk to enter dimensional co-ordinates – the pathway for the first universe, although they both knew the chance of it being the right one were slim to none on the first go.

"Oh and remember," Rebecca said, pausing above the final button, "We think time will move differently in some worlds – you won't be aware of it there, but you might spend a lot longer, or a lot less there, in an hour here... I'm working on a way for you to monitor our time, but it'll take a whileth…"

"Don't worry, I've read the manual," Rose joked, trying to calm herself as much as the others.

Martha frowned slightly. "Be careful, Commander."

Rose Tyler gave a slightly exasperated smile. "Bit late for that," she laughed, as Rebecca pushed the final button, and then all she saw was white light.

She wasn't sure where she was, but she was sure she was running. A voice in her head, a memory, spoke clearly.

"The space between worlds, the nothingness…. Some people call it hell."

He was right. There was nothing. No light, no dark, no up, no down. Rose felt a deep, almost overwhelming anxiety beginning to well up in her stomach, as she struggled to find something, anything, to give her a sense of direction. Her legs kept working, although she wasn't sure where they were running. Was she even moving?

Then it was over.

She was still running, but now she was somewhere – she was aware of space and shapes and substance around her. Rose forced her feet to stop moving, almost falling over as she broke out of her run.

"Have to practice that," she muttered to herself. She looked around.

It was a street.

A London street. Williams street. She'd been here before. With Mickey – one of his friends used to live her, they went to a party here! Rose's heart raced. Could it be?

She looked up at the sky without thinking, and saw a dark mauve zeppelin flying slowly over head.

"Never mind that then," she thought sullenly, and then clutched her stomach, falling to the ground. Everything spun for a second, and she struggled to focus on the road.

She drew herself up slowly, remembering Martha's warnings about vertigo. Rose stood still for a minute, trying to let the uncomfortable feeling pass. Thankfully, after one hundred and eighty seconds (she counted), it slipped away. She exhaled, opening her eyes again.

Now that she was calmer she saw that it couldn't be her world, even without the zeppelin. It wasn't one particular thing, but many tiny differences – the way the letterboxes sat on the ground, the oddly shaped TV antennas, or the small star in the middle of the Union Jack that was hanging from a window…

Rose wondered for a moment what the star referenced, then began to walk down the street, not quite sure what to do now she knew it was the wrong world. She had an hour here, or at least, Martha and Rebecca had an hour without her, who knew the time difference.

She looked up at the stars again. It had amazed her, when she was first stranded in Pete's world, how different the stars were. Rose had never been an astrology enthusiast, at least not without the Doctor, but she could tell how much the stars had changed between Pete's universe and her own. These stars were different too.

"Still beautiful though," she thought. No matter what happened, the stars would always be beautiful. Rose looked at one, slightly blue star, as it twinkled enchantingly. Her mouth dropped open very slightly as her eyes locked on its flickering glow, and she wondered what it was like up close. Rose blinked. The star was gone.

She gasped.

"It's happening here," she said, swallowing.

The star next to it went black, and her breath hitched in anxiety. The next one went black too, and the next one, then three blinked away.

It stopped. Rose breathed out as the other stars stayed flickering, but felt sick as her eyes focused on the darkness where light had shone seconds before.

Suddenly a white light spun around her, enveloping her and hiding her surroundings from view, and she was running again.

Rose took in a deep, shuddering breath as Martha appeared in front of her, rushing to undo the belts holding her to the cannon. She put an arm around her as the room spun. Rose thought she might be sick.

"Easy, easy, I've got you," Martha soothed, helping her over to a waiting chair, and producing a glass of water.

Rose took a sip, and then world steadied again. She breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Blimey," she said softly.

"How long was it?" Rebecca said, appearing behind Martha.

"Only a few minutes, I think… But I saw it happen. Right there, right in front of me."

"What? What happened?"

"The stars. The stars went out."

Martha Jones sat on her couch with a heavy, but relief filled, exhale. Every time she got close to getting used to life with the Doctor, something crazy happened and made it all… well, crazy. She smirked a little at the thought. They had spent months in 1913 (months!), and then they had landed in her flat again, only a few days after her last visit home. "Time travel," she muttered.

"Here we are then!" said the Doctor, walking in from her kitchen with two mugs of tea. "Fresh brew!"

"Oh that's a nice change," Martha grinned, "You bringing me tea!"

The Doctor grimaced a little. "Sorry about that," he said, "I assumed it would make you my friend or something…"

"Well, I guess 1913 just wasn't ready for interracial travelling duos," Martha said taking her tea from him. "It is good to be home," she admitted.

The Doctor gave her a small, slightly apologetic smile, sitting cross-legged on the couch next to her.

Martha took a sip from her tea - then almost spat it out.

"How much sugar did you put in this?" she said, giving him a slightly shocked look.

"Oh that must be mine, sorry," he said, quickly switching the cups around, "I like it sweet."

"You're telling me… Ah, that's better," she took a happy drink from her own cup.

She picked up the remote absentmindedly and turned on the TV, not really paying attention to it.

"I do miss a bit of telly," she said, "just in the background, you know?"

She watched Harold Saxon shake hands with the prime minister for a second, smiling thoughtlessly (there was something very likeable about him), before flipping the channel onto what looked like music videos.

The Doctor gave her a look. "You could watch it on the console if you really wanted," he said.

"You have TV?"

"Yep, all the basic packages… I have a TV room, somewhere."

"Really? Even sports?"

"Yes, even sports," the Doctor rolled his eyes, "Mickey asked that too – why does everyone always want to know if I get the football?"

Martha shrugged. "Leo always watches it, I guess he's rubbing off on me... Who's Mickey?" she asked.

The Doctor sniffed, running a hand down his neck, looking away. Martha knew him well enough now to recognize these as the tell tale signs of him deciding whether or not to avoid a question, and she waited for the change of subject. To her surprise, he answered.

"Oh, an old friend of mine," he said. "Well, not that old… Old enough."

Encouraged by his response, Martha spoke again.

"Human?"

The Doctor gave her an amused smile. "Just as human as you are, Miss Jones."

"So, what, he travelled with you then?"

"For a while, yeah."

"Where was he from? I mean, I don't know, you're a time traveller! The 1900s? The 1800s? The… 5300s?"

The Doctor chuckled at her again. "Your time," he said.

"Right… So what's he doing now? Is he working for some, I don't know, big alien company?"

Something in his face changed, and she realised she'd asked the wrong question, even though he still looked perfectly calm.

"I don't know. He's gone," the Doctor said, looking down.

'That looks like the Rose face,' Martha thought, ignoring the small pang of jealousy the girl's name sparked in her, even within her own thoughts.

There was a pause, and he put his tea down.

"I should go and check that the Tardis is all right," he said, voice more casual now, moving off the couch and towards the door.

Martha sighed as he closed it behind him, not sure whether to feel more sorry for him or herself. She ended up picking him – just as she always did.

Rose took the anti-nausea pill gratefully, hoping that it might also take care of the slightly weak, limp feeling she had in her limbs

"It'll be gone soon," Lieutenant Jones assured her, and Rose gave a tight smile in response.

Rose rubbed her arms, which felt heavy and sore.

"Maybe you should go home - try and get some sleep," Martha said, noticing her motion, "All of the reports said the first jump is the hardest... I mean, they only did a few jumps, but still."

Rose went to protest, but frustratingly, yawned as she opened her mouth.

Martha laughed. "See?"

Rose couldn't help a small chuckle back. "Yeah, yeah," she said, pulling herself up with a groan.

Martha linked her arm through hers, and Rose gave her an appreciative look.

"Thanks," she said.

"You're welcome. I am the doctor."

'I wish,' Rose thought; then silently reprimanded herself – Martha was brilliant, even if she wasn't the person she craved, it wasn't right to dismiss her, even internally.

By the time they reached Rose's car she was walking without any help from Martha, not that she had needed that much to begin with, and she was feeling far less sick, if still a little weak.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Commander. Get as much sleep as you can."

"Who's the commanding officer again?" Rose teased.

"Hey, you wanted a casual workplace!"

Rose laughed. "You got me."

Martha smiled. "I'm glad you came back," she said.

"Me too," Rose replied warmly, almost meaning it.

She couldn't be bothered to have a shower when she got home, feeling too tired to even take off her clothes. Jackie had practically knocked her over with a hug when she walked in, and it had only served to push more energy out of her, as comforting as it was.

Rose crawled into bed, hoping her mind would shut down as quickly as her body, which she was finding hard to move. Martha had said the muscle weakness would be gone by the time she woke up, and hopefully she was right. Rose felt sick, but she knew it was from worry, not the cannon. She'd faced Daleks, Cybermen, all sorts of aliens, and ran back inside the Tardis with a grin on her face. But this wasn't a threat you could see, that you could bargain with or fight against with words or force. This was just… darkness. Rose decided to try and focus on her breathing, in and out, like her Mum had once taught her to do when she was younger, pushing aside the images of black skies. Slowly, she fell into a deep sleep, leaving the memory of that, now lost, blue star behind.

There was nothing, blackness, and then a dream swirled into shape.

The great wave towered over her head, frozen solid, like half of a beautiful archway. Rose smiled at it, feeling peaceful.

Woman Wept.

She had often visited this place in her dreams, before the Doctor was taken away from her, and it was wonderful to see it again.

She heard footsteps behind her and spun around, grinning. Sure enough, there he was.

The strong, leather-clad man stood in front of her, the tender smile he only wore for her on his face. She ran into his arms, taking him a little by surprise, wrapping hers around his waist and breathing in his smell as he held her close to him.

"I've missed you," she whispered.

"My wolf," he said, and Rose pulled back in surprise.

"What did you call me?"

"My wolf. As always."

Rose frowned, confused. That wasn't how the Doctor spoke, especially not her first one.

He stepped forward, taking her hands.

"I'm using an image from your mind," he said, "It takes more energy, but it's harder for him to detect."

Rose's mouth fell open a little. "Tardis?"

"Of course," came the reply.

"This is weird," said Rose slowly, not sure she believed him – or her, as the case might have been.

"After the Doctor almost destroyed our link I could not risk using my own images as surroundings," the ship explained in a Northern accent.

Rose's mind raced to their last meeting and she dropped the hands holding hers quickly, suddenly feeling angry.

"You didn't let him see me!" she said, almost shouting. "You blocked him out!"

"I had to," the Doctor-Tardis reminded her, "The link was fracturing. He himself regretted his actions."

"He did?" Rose said, voice softer.

Her companion nodded. It felt odd to miss a man who appeared to be standing right in front of her. Rose moved closer.

"I almost forgot," she said quietly.

"My wolf?"

"How beautiful you were – he was, like this." Rose ran her hand down his face softly, remembering how she had fallen in love with his first body. He hadn't been typically, Hollywood handsome, but he was so gorgeous. He glowed, even when he was this much closer to the war.

She realised who she was talking to, and stepped back quickly. "Sorry," she stuttered, "It's just… you look like him, and I thought I'd never see him again, yeah? I mean, not this him – or now either him, and I… sorry."

"There is no need to apologise."

A brief moment of comfortable silence passed, and Rose felt herself shiver slightly in the cold of the planet.

"How did you fix the link?" she asked.

"My Thief did not fly me for months. I used this time to build up my energy and restore our connection."

"What? Is he okay? What happened?" She said anxiously.

"Everything is as it should be," the Tardis said soothingly, and Rose nodded, still a little worried, but now more assured of his safety.

"He's still got someone with him?"

"Everything is as it should be."

Rose frowned. "You know, you're enigmatic an' all, but a bit of information would be nice."

The Tardis smiled the Doctor's smile. "He is with a friend."

"Good," Rose said, sounding relieved, even as mild jealousy stirred in her. Of course, she wanted to be called more than a friend…

"You have seen the darkness," the Tardis said.

"Yes," Rose replied quickly, "You have to tell the Doctor – you have to warn him. It was in another universe, it could be everywhere."

"No."

"What do you mean? He needs to know!"

"The timelines do not allow me too. It must be you, or they will unravel."

Rose frowned, but nodded. She'd learnt to accept the concept of correct timelines and fixed points and 'what must be,' even if she still didn't understand the point of a lot of it. Of course, she was still just a girl from the estates, no matter what her life was like now…

The Tardis seemed to sense her self-deprecation, and took her hand again.

"This is not just an image of the thief, my wolf," she said in the man's voice.

"What do you mean?"

"We have shared a connection for so long… When I used your image of him I had to combine my own, to make the link strong…"

Rose stayed silent, not understanding.

The Tardis continued. "I do not see the world in the same way you do, Rose Tyler," the Doctor's lips said, and Rose was surprised by the use of her name, "I see what could be and what will never be as clearly as what is, I hear thoughts as easily as I hear spoken word. I know my thief – his tomorrow and yesterday and his heart. He is a part of me as you are."

"So… you know how he'd react to things, is that what you mean?"

Her companion shook their head softly. "I know his heart," they repeated. "It is a part of me. It has been for a long time. He is here with me, my wolf, as you are with me still when you wake. And I can hear his mind in the next moment and in the last moment as much as I can in this moment, if not quite as clearly."

Rose bit her lip as she began to understand.

They spoke again. "This version of my thief is not lost, I can still hear his mind in mine now."

Rose's heart was suddenly in her throat, as the Tardis said words she thought were too impossible to be true.

"With your mind, I can become him. No… not truly, of course, his body would stay in the past, as it should, but his mind may come to yours, for a moment. Would that comfort you, sister?"

Rose went to say yes, wanting to almost desperately, but stopped as a thought hit her.

"But," she started, "he almost broke the link when he entered it before?"

"That was another present mind. This will be more of an echo, to use a phrase you may understand. And my thoughts will no longer be here. Two minds only. It will not hurt us."

She nodded, amazed and a little emotional at the prospect.

The Tardis closed her eyes, focusing in the same way she had when she allowed the Doctor to see Rose the last time. Then there seemed to be a shift in the air, and the man's demeanor changed, becoming more solid.

The Doctor opened his eyes. "Rose?"

Rose put a hand to her mouth, not sure whether she was going to cry or laugh.

"Rose, what's wrong?" The Doctor asked, voice full of tense concern, putting his hands on her shoulders.

She gave him a watery smile. "It's you," she said softly.

"'Course it's me!" He huffed with a crooked smile, but still looked worried. The Doctor glanced around.

"Where are we?" he said. "I mean, it looks like Woman Wept, but it feels like a telepathic visual link… sort of. How are you doing this?" He looked mildly impressed.

"It's not me," Rose laughed, "it's the Tardis."

"Ah," the Doctor said. "Why's she doing this then? She could always just wake us both up… I don't even need the sleep. Superior biology," he finished with a nod, crossing his arms.

Rose felt a few tears begin to leave her eyes and hastily wiped them away.

"I'm not with you," she said, "and you're not really here."

"What do you mean?"

"Where did we just go?" She asked him, hoping her voice was steady.

"Well, Woman Wept, actually," the Doctor said with a smirk, looking at the beautiful frozen wave.

"I love it here," said Rose.

"Me too," he said, automatically taking her hand.

"Woman Wept…" she counted through memories in her head. "That means I'm about three years, well, a little less, in front of you."

The Doctor looked at her for a moment, frowning. "Where are you?" he asked her.

"Can I tell you?" she said, remembering his lecture about 'too much knowledge.'

"The Tardis will wipe my memory after this, I'm sure" he said, looking more concerned then ever. "Rose, where are you? What's happened?"

"London," she said. He looked relieved, adjusting his leather jacket with a short exhalation, and Rose couldn't help but laugh (a little bitterly), tears welling up in her eyes.

"What?" he said.

"Not your London," she said, starting to cry properly now, "Not my London."

The Doctor held her face gently. "What do you mean?" he asked softly.

"'S parallel," she said, "'S a different universe. Locked off. No way out."

He looked at her for a moment; then dropped her face.

"Where am I?" He said, voice suddenly very tense.

Rose wiped her eyes, not that it made any difference. "In… in the other universe," she managed to say, before starting to sob.

He ran the few steps between them, pulling her into a tight hug and kissing her head, holding her so tightly they swayed a little.

"No," he said, "Time can be rewritten. I won't let it happen. Don't worry," he added gently, "It won't let it happen again, Rose."

She wrapped her arms around him, wishing that it could be true.

"You won't remember this," she reminded him, tears still falling down her cheeks.

"It doesn't matter," he said firmly, roughly.

He pulled away from her very slightly, touching her cheek again, and kissed her on the forehead.

"Rose… I would never… I could never…" He didn't finish the sentence.

She ran her fingers over his jacket, closing her eyes and remembering the familiar feeling.

"You change," she said, not opening her eyes, "you change and you're different, and I thought… I knew, I think, that you still… But you can't help it. You left me. Will leave me. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Doctor," she started crying again, and he pulled her back into his arms.

"Oh, Rose Tyler," he said, kissing her on the head again, "Never be sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I change into someone who can't protect you. Daft old man."

Rose didn't say anything, hoping that she would never wake up and he would never let go. She needed him. She needed to have the forever that she promised and then lost. Even if she had to spend her whole life in her bed… She almost laughed as she realized how ridiculous it was. But it was still true.

She moved out of his hug, and his arms dropped to her waist. Rose looked up into the blue eyes that she had fallen in love with. She'd forgotten how many little scars were etched in his face. How could she have done that?

In the future, for him, she would stumble over the words, but now she spoke them clearly, even though she was still crying.

"I love you," she said; tear tracks shining in the moonlight.

He looked at her. For half a second he seemed stunned, and then he looked at her with the sort of tenderness she hadn't really believed existed before this moment. He ran his thumb along her cheek.

"Humans," he said, half laughing, "You never know how fantastic you are."

She gave him a weak smile.

"Rose Tyler," the Doctor said, and Rose closed her eyes as she remembered the beach, scared time would run out again, "You saved my life."

She opened her eyes again.

"You made mine worth something," she said, voice breaking.

Before either one of them could register what was happening he pulled her to him, and his lips were on hers. Rose was still crying, and he seemed to move with a desperation, crashing gently against her, teeth grazing her bottom lip for a second, before moving firmly, longingly. Their kiss deepened, and his arms held her even closer to him.

They broke apart, and their eyes met again. "I love you," Rose said for the second time, and she wondered if she would ever run out of tears.

"I love you," she repeated, less coherently, and he was holding her tightly.

She didn't know how many times she said it, or if she spoke over him as he told her he was sorry, that he wouldn't let it happen, that he needed her. She didn't know if he interrupted her when he kissed her a second time, or if she was just thinking the words, but together they poured them into the kiss, and both seemed to decide to never let go.

Rose's body felt weak, and her knees sunk under her a little. The Doctor looked down at her in concern.

"What's wrong?"

"'S nothing," she said. "You're here."

He smiled at her. "I'm here," he said. "I won't leave you again."

Rose tried to smile back, but her eyes wouldn't stay open.

"I won't leave you," he repeated firmly, almost desperately, "I won't leave you."

She opened her eyes.

"No," she sobbed, "not again."

Martha had to keep her mouth from falling open when Rose walked in the next day. It had only been a few hours, really, but her Commander looked thinner than before, and somehow much harder.

"Are you alright?" she asked tentatively.

Rose met her eyes, for a moment Martha wasn't sure what she was going to do, and smiled.

"I'm going to find him," she said. "I'm going to find the Doctor, whatever it takes."

I'm very sorry for the late update! Hopefully the length and Nine's appearance made up for it! I hope everyone liked it, and please leave any feedback you have :)