Rose sighed. It had been at least two hours since the scientists had left her, and there was no sign of them returning any time soon. They'd checked her vitals, took four more vials of her blood, and then left without any explanation or estimation on when they'd be back.

She hadn't broken the psychic connection between herself and the Doctor, and she could feel his mind whirring away. She tried to hone in on his thoughts, but they were spinning so fast that all she succeeded in getting out of it was a headache. Every so often, his thoughts would be interrupted by something and he would stop and check in with her cautiously. Once they had established that it was really her, his mind would pick up right where it left off and her headache intensified.

She had finally found out that he was still locked in the police box. It had been at least six hours now, probably more like 8, and she could feel him growing more and more restless and reckless. Neither of them knew why they hadn't come for him, yet; they were pretty sure that the Time Agency didn't have their own personal stash of Time Lords to study. No, there was something about Rose that they thought was more important than the last Time Lord – not that they necessarily knew that the Doctor was the last one.

Rose sighed again, just as the door banged open. She jumped, or at least jolted, since that was all the movement she could manage in tight restraints.

"Finally," Rose snapped, as she sent out her thoughts to the Doctor. Immediately, she felt his presence in her mind as he integrated himself into her senses, so he could see and hear what she did.

A short man slid into view, and dropped a chart onto the counter across from her. Oh, that's not fair, the Doctor complained. He's ginger. Why's he get to be ginger after one try, and I don't after 10?

Rose fought off a grin. Shut it. I didn't call you over here so you could complain about life's unfairness.

Rose cocked her head at the man. "Well, you're new. What happened to the last three? My blood too complicated for them?" He didn't answer. "What's your name? Mind you, the last three were very rude. Didn't even introduce themselves."

The man crossed his arms over his chest. "Miss Tyler, you aren't in a position to be making demands."

"Oh, really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "'Cause it seems to me that you need me to answer some questions. If you wanted more blood or more tests done, you would just do it." She grinned humorlessly. "Well, I'm not telling you anything until you tell me your name, what you've found out about me, and what you're doing to my friend. Oh, and a bathroom break would be nice. Chance to stretch my legs. I've been lying around here for hours, you know," she added snippily.

Rose could feel the Doctor grinning, approval radiating from him. Rose Tyler, have I mentioned that I love you?

I learned from the best, she answered, grinning back.

The man studied her with narrowed eyes, giving her a look that unnerved her. Is it a requirement for all these workers to be exceedingly creepy? she asked.

Absolutely.

Finally, he asked, "And if I agree to tell you, you'll answer our questions?"

Rose smiled innocently. "I can try. I probably won't know more than you do, though," she warned him.

He studied her a bit longer, then took a deep breath. "I'm Dr. Kevin Levry. I'm heading up our alien research projects. We've found nothing out about you other than what we already know: that your DNA is spliced with another unknown DNA type, and we've no idea what it's doing there. As for the alien, he's under observation. We're running some tests on him. But don't worry, he hasn't been harmed. At least not physically."

Rose scowled. "Physically? What have you been doing to him?"

He waved his hand dismissively in front of her. "Just running some tests on changes in heart rate and brain wave patterns. Nothing to be worried about."

I'm fine, the Doctor reassured her for what must have been the millionth time. Rose could feel his curiosity rising, though. Must have some sensors in the walls of this thing, he mumbled to himself. Rose could picture him feeling around the walls of the police box, his mouth frowning slightly, and she smiled. She felt the Doctor's mind whirring in the back of hers, mumbling possible ways he could utilize the sensors in the walls.

She turned her attention back to the man in front of her as the Doctor began testing his theories. "So, Kevin, what about that bathroom break?"

"Someone's on their way to escort you. . . ." he answered distractedly, grabbing her chart and flipping through the pages. "Now, Miss Tyler, your parents were both human. We've tested their blood, and nothing unnatural comes up."

"Where did you get their blood?" Rose asked suspiciously.

Kevin ignored her. "DNA tests confirm that they are, in fact, your biological parents. So." He looked up at her over the chart. "There's no reason why you should have anything other than human DNA. It is completely, genetically impossible." He stared at her, as if waiting for her to give him a complete explanation, but Rose just stared back pointedly. He sighed, and began referencing the chart again. "Have you come into contact with any unfamiliar species within the last year?"

She scoffed in disbelief. The obvious answer was, of course. She was travelling around time and space with an alien, for God's sake. What did he think they did? Just stuck to Earth and humans? She raised her eyebrows. "Um, what do you think?"

He glanced up at her. He was about to open his mouth to ask her a follow-up question when there was a knock at the door. He sighed impatiently. "Enter."

Rose twisted her head back to see Jack stride in. He glanced down at her, his mouth thinning at the sight of her tied up, but that was the only sign of recognition he allowed. "I was told you wanted to see me, sir," he reported, all business.

"Yes, I'm going to need you to escort Miss Tyler to the restroom."

"Of course," he said.

Kevin flicked a switch on the side of the table and the restraints retracted. Rose sat up, stretching out her arms and legs and curving her back with a sigh. She slid off the table, bouncing a bit on the balls of her feet. Jack grasped her shoulder and pushed her in front of him, guiding her out the door.

Any luck? she called to the Doctor.

None so far, he answered distantly. She could still feel his mind spinning, considering all the possibilities. Maybe if I redirect the current. . . . He fell into a silent concentration.

Rose glanced back behind her. "No gun?" she asked mildly.

Jack smiled humorlessly. "Sorry sweetheart, but you're less threatening than you think you are."

"Maybe. . . ." She glanced around. The hallway was deserted. She spun around, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning her weight on her right leg. "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

She rolled her eyes. "Turn us in. You gave me your word that you wouldn't."

He raised his eyebrows. "You were the one who decided to trust me."

She looked up into his eyes, so different from the eyes she used to see, yet somehow exactly the same. She could feel the man he could be, hidden somewhere deep down inside, could feel him oozing out between the walls this Jack had built to contain him. And if she looked, really looked, she could see him trying to break free in those eyes. "That's because I know you're trustworthy."

He sighed, and looked away, uncomfortable under her scrutiny. "Look, Rose, you're right. I didn't turn you in." He gestured up to the ceiling. "There are cameras everywhere and you guys did a terrible job avoiding them."

She glanced up where he had pointed and, sure enough, there were three cameras in close proximity to each other, pointed in different directions. "You could have warned us about them."

"No. I kept my word. I never said I would do anything more to help you."

Rose nodded, looking down at the floor. "Well. . . . Thank you, then. For not turning us in."

Jack didn't say anything, glancing around uncomfortably. "Yeah," he finally said, pushing her back around. "Come on. Bathroom's right down the hall."

They walked the rest of the way in silence. When they reached the bathroom door, Rose turned around shyly, looking up at him. Suddenly, she flung her arms around him, then pulled back, grinning. "Thanks again," she said. She backed into the bathroom, leaving Jack staring after her blankly.

The door swung shut behind her and she locked it, leaning against it and sighing. She held up the gun she had filched from him, eyeing it. It was definitely the same sonic blaster he'd had when they'd first met, the square-nosed gun they'd used to escape the hoard of gas-masked victims. She grinned mischievously. "Sorry, Jack," she huffed, pointing the gun at the wall next to the sink. "But I'm getting out of here."


The Doctor was concentrating furiously on the sonicing he was doing to the walls of the police box. He barely registered Rose's mind formulating a plan of escape, and certainly took no notice as she implemented it. His attention was focused solely on redirecting the current of the wiring in the police box. His eyebrows furrowed as he managed to find a wire that ran straight across the deadlock seal. He laughed in triumph as he switched the sonic screwdriver on. There was a shower of sparks, and the lock clicked open.

He opened the door a crack, peering out. From what he could see, there was only one man outside guarding him. The Doctor crept out, tiptoeing as quietly as he could towards the guard.

That is, until a flash of movement caught his eye. He froze, turning his face to see Rose gesturing frantically up at the ceiling. The Doctor looked up, his eyes taking in the plethora of cameras attached to the ceiling. Take care of them, she said.

I can't, he answered. Not without him hearing.

Rose cocked her head and grinned. Don't you worry about him, she said. Immediately her entire demeanor changed, and she sauntered over to the guard. She twirled her hair on one of her fingers, her eyes widening in mock innocence and a small smile creeping across her lips.

The Doctor shook his head, chuckling silently to himself. As Rose took care of the guard, he pointed the sonic screwdriver up at the ceiling. One by one, the cameras sparked, shutting down. It only took him a few minutes to hit all of them. Done, he said, catching Rose's eyes over the guard's shoulder.

She nodded slightly, and turned her gaze back to the guard. She lightly began pushing on his chest and he moved back willingly. The Doctor slid out of the way as Rose gave him a final push into the police box. The guard tripped over the lip of wood at the entrance, landing sprawled inside, a dazed look on his face. She smiled sweetly as he stared up at her in confusion. "Sorry," she simpered, then slammed the door shut.

The Doctor quickly reset the deadlock seal as he heard the guard scramble to the door, his dismayed cries echoing out. The Doctor turned to Rose, grinning widely. "You're brilliant, you are," he said proudly, sweeping her into a tight hug.

Rose's eyes sparkled as she pulled back, her smile matching his own. "Right. Time for that later, yeah?" She brandished the sonic blaster. "We've got to find the TARDIS."


Finding the TARDIS proved much easier said than done. The Doctor had tried to find it using the sonic screwdriver, but something was scrambling the detecting mechanism – well, that was the gist of what the Doctor had tried to explain, anyway. They had settled on the grass – actual Earth grass, this time – outside the complex, after making sure there were no cameras anywhere. After all, as Rose had pointed out, there wasn't much point in wandering about the tunnels without any idea of where they were going only to be caught – again – because of the cameras.

Rose picked at the grass glumly. "Can't you feel her? Your connected to her, aren't you?"

"Well, yes," he sighed. "I can feel her. I know she's here. Somewhere. But the connection isn't nearly strong enough to be able to sense where she is." He leaned his back against the wall, then twisted his neck to look down at her. "What about you?" he began cautiously. "You've got the Time Vortex in you; you're practically related. Can you find her?" His eyes studied her as she rolled her eyes.

"Don't you think if I could. . . . Wait." She frowned, her brow furrowing. "What did you just say?"

He stared at her blankly. "Can you find her. . . ?" he repeated slowly, his tone confused.

"No before that."

"You've got the Time Vortex in you?"

"After that," she said, rolling her eyes and waving her hand dramatically.

". . . You're practically related?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, sitting up, suddenly alert. "I always thought it was kind of strange. But I suppose it makes sense, what with the Time Vortex being part of both of us, right, Doctor?" She didn't wait for an answer. "I mean, after Satellite 5 everything just sort of . . . clicked, yeah? There was just something about being on the TARDIS that felt right. Well, more right than it already had. I mean, perfect. Like I was complete. And I thought it was you, and the adventures, and the travelling. But I was wrong. It's not any of that. It's her." Rose stopped breathlessly, staring wide-eyed at the Doctor.

He shook his head, baffled. "I have no idea what you're going on about."

She smiled smugly. "Annoying, isn't it?" Rose leaned forward, taking his hands in her own. "The TARDIS, Doctor." Her eyes shown brightly, flecks of gold reflecting through the rich brown. "I can find her."


"Well, at least we found her. . . ." Rose muttered to the Doctor, eyeing the dozen or so guns that were pointed in their direction and were blocking their way to the TARDIS.

The Doctor's mouth twitched, as if he couldn't decide whether to smile at that or reprimand her. Instead he settled for cocking his head to the side and reaching his hand into his pocket for his sonic screwdriver. Immediately, he heard the sound of a dozen guns being cocked and he smiled. "Just getting out a pen," he lied, shaking the screwdriver at them. "I like to take notes when I get captured," he explained. "That way, I can keep track of all the laws I've broken."

Rose rolled her eyes, then said, "Well, you're obviously not going to shoot us or you would've already. You might as well let us be on our way."

"Oh, Rose, correction," the Doctor said before anyone else could respond. "They're obviously not going to shoot you. Me, though, they couldn't care less about."

"What d'you mean?" she asked.

"Your alien is quite right, Miss Tyler," a voice said. As the speaker stepped in front of the soldiers he'd been hidden behind, Rose was surprised to see it was Dr. Kevin Levry. "He's expendable. You, on the other hand, are not."

Rose scoffed, rolling her eyes again. "That's ridiculous. If you knew anything, you wouldn't be saying that."

"Oh, we know quite a bit, Miss Tyler. There are tales of the man called the Doctor going back as far as humans have been able to record history. We've discovered cave paintings of his TARDIS. He's mentioned in a number of religious works, including the Christian Bible. Of course, at that time he went by a different name and was known by all as a great teacher. He was there during the discovery of the New World, the French Revolution, both world wars, Pompeii. From what we can tell, he caused the great fire of London in 1666."

"Well, that's not fair," the Doctor interjected. "Strictly speaking, it wasn't my fault. I was trying to stop this Malterian from killing Thomas Farriner, but they have this nasty habit of bursting into flame when they're defeated. One thing led to another, and there you have it. In all fairness, the Malterian was trying to take over the entire planet, so. . . ." The Doctor drifted off as everyone stared at him. He grinned cheekily. "Pompeii, though, eh? Haven't done that one yet. Although, not one I'm particularly looking forward to. . . ." He frowned in consideration.

Kevin's lips thinned and he turned back to Rose, seemingly ignoring the Doctor. "We want nothing to do with him. Death and destruction follow in his wake, Miss Tyler, a lesson I'm sure you must have learned by now."

"Actually," Rose stated, "more often than not when we turn up, the death and destruction have already started and we end up stopping it."

"Be that as it may," Kevin said, "he is still disposable. You are not."

"Right." Rose crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. "Well, if you dispose of him, you're not getting anything from me. In fact, you might as well let us go," Rose said, shrugging her shoulders. "'Cause you're not getting anything from me either way."

Silence fell as Rose and Kevin glared at each other, only to be broken by an enormous explosion somewhere in the distance. Rose grasped at the Doctor as the ground shook, and another explosion rang out, closer this time. Dust rained down from the ceiling, coating Rose and the Doctor.

Captain Jack's voice rang out through the communicators the soldiers were wearing. "Emergency. Attention all personnel, this is an emergency. Code 14. Requesting backup in hanger 37B. I repeat: Code 14. Send backup to hanger 37B immediately."

Kevin's face paled. He pushed at several of the soldiers, hustling them out the door. "You heard the man. Report immediately. Two of you stay and keep an eye on the subjects. I'll be back as soon as I can." He bustled out of the room, barely glancing at Rose and the Doctor.

The Doctor grinned at the two remaining guards. "So, Code 14. What's that, then?"

They ignored him, pointing their guns directly at his chest. "Shut your mouth," the one on the left ordered. "We will shoot if – "

Suddenly, a shot rang out and he dropped to the ground, unconscious, followed quickly by his partner.

The Doctor leapt to their sides, checking their pulses as Jack strode into the room, his gun pointed at the two unconscious men. "Don't worry, just a tranquilizer," he said, waving it at the Doctor's furrowed brows before holstering it. "Now, you two better get out of here before they come back. It won't take them long to figure out I faked those explosions."

"You're . . . helping us escape?" Rose asked, sidling up to stand at the Doctor's side as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Why?" the Doctor asked suspiciously.

"Honestly?" Jack raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I just feel like . . . we're connected somehow. Like somehow this needs to happen." He looked at the door as a shout echoed from down the hall. "But we don't have time for this!" he yelled. He ran over to the door and shut it, leaning his weight against it.

The Doctor was there in an instant, his sonic screwdriver whirring as he locked the door. "There," he said, stepping away. "That should keep them out for a bit." Jack hesitantly stepped away from the door, only to have his hand grasped firmly by the Doctor. "Thank you, Jack. You're a good man. And don't you ever forget that." He dropped his hand and flew over to the TARDIS, key already in hand.

Rose flung her arms around Jack, who stood very still, quite taken aback. "Thank you," she said, pulling away and smiling widely. "Oh!" she gasped, suddenly remembering the sonic blaster sticking out of her back pocket. "Here. Sorry I took it." She held out the blaster, smiling shyly.

"Rose!" the Doctor called impatiently. She glanced back to see that the door to the TARDIS was sitting open.

"That's okay. You keep it." Jack pushed the blaster back towards her, curling her fingers around it. "It's barely even useful. Those extra features really drain the battery."

Rose shook her head. "Trust me," she said, forcefully placing the blaster in his hand. "It'll end up being more useful than you might think one of these days." She grinned knowingly, and gave him one last hug and a kiss on the cheek, just as there was a loud bang on the door and more shouts out in the hallway.

She raced over to the TARDIS, pausing in the doorway for one last look. Just then, the door broke through and dozens of soldiers piled into the room, surrounding Jack, who sank to his knees, his hands on his head. Rose cried out, and made to run to him, but strong arms pulled her back, shutting the TARDIS doors behind her. "NO!" she screeched, fighting against the Doctor's grip, but he pulled her away from the door.

"Rose, calm down," he whispered into her ear. He twisted her around in his arms to face him and pulled her close in a tight hug.

"No," she sobbed into his shoulder. "He helped us, and they're going to kill him for it. How can you let them do that? He's our friend."

The Doctor sighed, rubbing Rose's back soothingly. "Rose, you know just as well as I do that they aren't going to kill him."

Rose froze, realization striking her. "Then. . . . That means. . . ."

She pulled out of the Doctor's arms and ran to the console, pulling the video screen down to eye level. The Doctor silently slid in next to her, his hand resting on the small of her back. He reluctantly turned the screen on and fixed it onto the chaos outside.

Jack stood with his back to the screen, surrounded by dozens of soldiers, their guns all directed at him. His head was held up proudly as he stared defiantly at a man outside the circle surrounding him.

A voice boomed out of the screen as the man opened his mouth to speak. "Jack Harkness, you are hereby charged with and found guilty of aiding the escape of two high-priority subjects. You are stripped of your rank and status and will be exiled to any planet and time of your choice." The man paused and his mouth thinned into a grimace. "You know the punishment for traitors, but in light of your exemplary record up until now and your feats, we will remove only two years of your memories, and you will be able to choose two items to bring with you as you leave the Agency."

Rose held up a shaking hand to the screen, pressing her fingers lightly on Jack's figure. "It was our fault," she murmured, looking up at the Doctor. "He lost his memories because of us." The Doctor silently switched off the screen and looked away. "It was our fault. . . ." she repeated distantly.

The Doctor meandered around the console, seemingly absorbed by the routine of setting coordinates and flying the TARDIS. Rose's eyes tracked his movements, but she registered nothing. Her eyes were glazed over and detached. When the TARDIS began to lurch, as it normally did, she automatically grasped the edge of the console to steady herself, but her face showed no indication that she was aware of her surroundings.

Eventually, the TARDIS stilled, and still Rose stood frozen, her eyes distant and sad. The Doctor slowly approached her, sliding his hands up her arms and pulling her in to his chest. Rose didn't react at first, but after a few moments her hands wrapped around the Doctor's waist and she buried her face in his chest, her body shaking with silent sobs.