"So..." The Doctor smirked as he walked around the console, turning knobs and flicking switches. "Planned to come with me all along?"

Rose shrugged, not at all embarrassed. "I had to hope. You were the only hope I really had. Couldn't keep goin' on as things were and you seemed a good bloke… if not a bit strange."

The Doctor's brow furrowed, not sure how to take the last bit.

"So where are we going?" Rose inquired.

"Nowhere just yet," the Doctor answered, stepping away from the console.

Rose narrowed her eyes, obviously skeptical. "Sure looked like this thing was traveling."

"Left Earth, yeah, but we haven't gone anywhere. We're in the time vortex, outside of time and space."

"And what are we doing here, then?" she asked in confusion.

"Just drifting. The time vortex is how the TARDIS travels. It's where all of time and space comes together. A swirling flow of time that connects all points of n-space, stabilizing the universe. Makes a convenient tunnel for the TARDIS to travel through, offering access to anywhere and anywhen we want to go," the Doctor explained. "But right now, I think the infirmary is our next destination. Time I got a proper look at you."

Rose's teasing grin was back. "Offering that examination, now?"

The Doctor made a show of rolling his eyes. "If you're going for stereotypes, I'm more the creepy scientist. But I'm hoping we can lose the stereotypes and I can just be the Doctor."

"I'm just playin'" she assured him. "If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't be here. So where's this sickbay at?"

Though Rose acted unaffected by everything, the Doctor could sense her uneasiness. He really couldn't blame her, considering all she'd been through. She claimed to trust him, but he worried how that might change when she learned he was partly to blame for her misfortunes. Guilt wouldn't make up for it and neither would solving the issue, but he accepted the responsibility.

"This ship is so weird," Rose commented, warily eyeing the walls as she followed the Doctor through the corridors.

"Oi, she may be different than other ships, but that doesn't make her weird. At least not in a bad way. Best ship in the universe, this."

"I'm not talkin' advanced technology. I mean it feels weird," Rose tried to explain. "Sort of like that feeling you get when you think someone's following you. There's nothin' else living on the ship, is there?"

She paused in their walk and stared at a door that the Doctor had just passed. It made her inexplicably anxious. Her heart sped up and her stomach felt ill just at the sight of it. The Doctor didn't fail to notice. After pulling in a deep breath, Rose hurried past it. It was the box room, the place she'd been locked and forgotten in when she was a baby. The Doctor had some explaining to do, but he had an awful lot of things he wanted explained to him, also.

"No one else here. No pets either," he told her. "Just you and me. And the TARDIS herself. That's probably what you're feeling. The TARDIS is alive and semi-sentient. Shouldn't make you uncomfortable though. She's pleasant and prides herself in being accommodating. She likes you already, I can tell. She already set up a room for you, close to the kitchen even."

"Hang on," Rose interrupted, shaking her head as she tried to grasp what he just said. "This ship is alive… and it's got feelings… and she makes up rooms on her own?"

"Yep," the Doctor answered with pride. "She moves rooms and corridors about sometimes though, so you've got to mind that."

"Yeah, weird," Rose declared. She was surprised again when they entered the medical room. With advanced as the ship was, she was expecting extravagant and high tech. Instead, the room looked much like her GP's exam room on Earth. It was slightly larger and in place of an uncomfortable exam table was a comfy, reclinable exam chair. The computer in the room looked more advanced than her doctor's, but even with three monitors, it hardly looked impressive. There was the standard sink and suspended cupboards, as well as a tall cabinet with a glass front, filled mostly with bottles of liquids and tablets and a few gadgets, but it all seemed so… normal.

"Have a seat then," the Doctor urged, gesturing to the exam chair. "I'll likely want a full, proper medical exam later, but for now, just a few simple tests. Any conditions or other points of interest I should know about?"

The Doctor moved about quickly, but casually. He wasn't rushing, only seemed to know just what he was looking for and didn't pause between tasks. His equipment did turn out to be advanced. The small clear sticker that he placed just below her clavicle instantly brought up her heart and respiration patterns on one of his monitors and a single drop of blood brought up an extensive list of test results.

"Er… I age slower," Rose reminded him. "It's hard to calculate my age because everywhere I went they had different lengths of years, but I did try calculating. I was small but walking and talking clearly when I arrived in the Malmooth Conglomeration and they decided I was 2 years old. I was there for the equivalent of 2 Earth years. So arriving at the Weaspin Market, I was about 4. I was there for 6 years so I was 10 when you met me in the market. Arriving on Rabsor at 10, I stayed for 5 years and arrived on Clavix at 15. You thought I couldn't be older than 15 Earth years old on Clavix, but I'm pretty sure I was 20 at the time. Add another 6 years on Earth would make me 26. I don't look 26, do I? They made up a birthdate when I got to Earth and I just celebrated my 19th birthday there."

"Yeah, I'd definitely say you age slower then. Anything else?"

"Um, I heal faster. Not like freakishly fast, but it definitely made doctors uncomfortable. About twice as fast? That's for a laceration. Also, I very rarely get sick."

The Doctor nodded in acknowledgement, but didn't seem as surprised as Rose had expected him to be.

"Oh, yeah," Rose piped up again. "Really weird, can't explain it, I understand people everywhere I go."

That definitely caught the Doctor's attention. He whipped around to face her, shocked and obviously concerned as he waited for her to explain further.

"I end up on different planets in different times and never have to learn a new language. I already know it. People would speak all sorts of languages in Weaspin Market and I could speak them all. Some of the shopkeepers would pull me over sometimes to translate. I started pretending I only understood 2 languages on Clavix and 1 on Earth. Didn't want to draw attention. I thought it was just another bit of the mystery… but you're giving me the impression that this might be something more?"

"Yeah… I can't explain how all this came about, but some answers explain others. That doesn't connect," the Doctor answered distractedly, looking over the test results again. He shook his head and sighed deeply. "I'm sure you're tired. I'll show you your room."

"But you said you had some answers," Rose protested. "That's what I've been waiting for."

"It's complicated." The Doctor's voice was flat and he moved to the door without waiting to see if she was following.

"Try me," Rose challenged, keeping right on his heels.

"Tomorrow."

"That's not-" Rose held back the rest of her argument, pinching her lips shut and clenching her fists in effort to hold back. She hardly knew the Doctor, but she understood his stubbornness already. He wasn't going to discuss this tonight no matter how much she argued. She might be angry, but it wasn't worth making him mad, too.

The Doctor led her to her room and very briefly introduced her to it. He didn't set foot inside, but pointed out the door to the ensuite and suggested she check the closet and chest of drawers for clothes. He was sure the TARDIS had picked some things that would suit her. He pointed out the direction of the kitchen and reminded her where the console room was as he'd likely be there when she woke up. Rose was distracted by her thoughts and only just registered his words, managing a small nod in the right places. It was only when he was ready to go that she addressed him properly again. Though she was still a bit irritated with him, her anger had mostly abated. She remembered just how much he was doing for her and sincerely told him, "Thank you."

The Doctor smiled warmly, though there was heaviness beneath. "Sleep well, Rose."


'Sleep well,' the Doctor had said. Rose thought there'd be little chance of that and she was right. Her mind was whirring as she replayed the events of the last two days, reflected on the more distant past, and tried to imagine what her future might hold. It was hard to guess with as little as the Doctor had told her. She was going to travel with him, but what did that mean exactly and how long would that be for? Where would she go when 'travelling' was over? Already, she was having a hard time considering a return to Earth, permanently anyway. And the Doctor himself – she really didn't know a thing about him. Her life had always been unpredictable, but this was just one surprise after another.

With her mind so active, sleep was far out of Rose's reach that night and so two hours after the Doctor had bid her goodnight, he found her sitting on the grating in the console room, leaning up against a coral strut and nursing a cup of tea.

"Thought I told you to get some sleep," he commented. It was not unkind, only curious as to why she was still awake.

"Didn't realize it was an order," Rose replied with a small smile. "I tried. It just didn't come."

"Too much thinking?"

Rose nodded and took another sip of tea.

"How long you been out here?"

"About 45 minutes. I went to make myself a cuppa just a few minutes ago though."

"You could have come to find me."

"Wouldn't know where to look. Wouldn't want to bother you anyway. You sent me to bed because you didn't want me around." It wasn't an accusation, just a statement. It hurt to be dismissed like that, but she realized that a bit of time to themselves after their crazy day was probably a good thing. "Something about this room, too," she continued. "It feels familiar. Comforting and unsettling at the same time. Intrigue pulled me here, I guess."

The Doctor felt unsettled then, too, but Rose didn't notice, staring up at the glowing column that extended up from the console.

"You said your ship was alive and I feel like I should have realized that from the start. Her… presence felt oppressive at first, but once you accept it… dunno… it's kind of a friendly, soothing hum. Still a bit of an itch, sort of a twinge that doesn't want to accept it, but I figure I'll get used to it."

The Doctor was quite obviously unsettled then, ready to escape the conversation again. "I can give you something to help you sleep, if you want."

Rose pulled her gaze from the time rotor then, trying to understand the Doctor's latest mood swing. But trying to understand him was exhausting and futile. Perhaps sleep would be a good thing. She really was exhausted and it was pretty clear that the Doctor still needed time.

"That would be great," she agreed.


A/N: I know it's a pretty short chapter, but more to come soon. I plan on posting a couple more chapters this week.