Chapter 10

"You're saying Bad Wolf sent you. Why?"

Crazy Cann let out another giggle, "Hehehheheheheehehe!"

The Doctor found his patience wearing thin. He never met a mad Dalek before—wait! No! He had. He met Cann before. He met him back when he last seen Rose. Back when the stars were going out and Davros had died and Donna had to forget. How could he forget? Something wasn't right.

The Doctor turned to Cann and snapped his fingers to grab his attention. He shouted, "Cann, focus! You said Bad Wolf sent you, but for some reason my memory has been distorted and I didn't remember you. Yet, now I do. Why?"

"The goddess stretches out her hand and pulled you across walls. She wants you. She wants you near. Hehehe!"

"She pulled me across walls? She pulled the TARDIS across dimensions? Well, that sort of explains a lot. I just recently met a Rose Tyler from my past incarnation that will definitely live longer than my Rose ever will. But, the anemia—Oh, I have it! Temporal time wave and the turbulence! It was caused by universe hopping and wasn't entirely Viper's fault. I must have suffered some slight memory loss during the anomaly. Still, that doesn't explain you. What do you want?"

"The Lords of Time are hunting! They seek the Bad Wolf. They want her Doc-tor! Hehehehahahahaha!"

"…Lords of Time…Time Lords? But, that's impossible, all the Time Lords are dead. That doesn't make any sense."

Suddenly, Cann began to roll. He wheeled up to the Doctor and whispered, "Oh Hohoho, Doc-tor, you must return to her…"

Cann seemed satisfied that his message was delivered, or delivered as clearly as a crazed Dalek could make. He then backed away and gradually began to vibrate. He was beginning to make a temporal jump, but at the last minute he spoke.

"Good-bye, Doc-tor! Hehehehehe! May the stars be with you!"

And instantly, Cann was gone.

The Doctor was baffled by the message he heard. Both by the meaning and the choice of messenger vexed him to no end. He thought Bad Wolf was behind him and Time Lords were gone. It seemed bizarre. The Doctor paced the control and rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. Really? What was he supposed to do? He couldn't just hop on over to Pete's world like taking the bus. The walls were closed—or supposed to be closed since obvious he wasn't in his original universe anymore. This was Love's world and he didn't do the driving, Bad Wolf did. Even if he tried to hop out, he couldn't—at least not alone. He needed at least one other Time Lord to do that.

Then the Doctor stopped dead in his tracks.

"Yes! Of course! Another Time Lord! Rassilion, how thick was I? I just have to shimmy over to Love's world's Doctor and give old number Nine a ring."

The Ninth Doctor's TARDIS:

Once inside the Vortex, the leather-clad man grabbed one of Rose's hands and swung her around from the controls and pinned her back against the railing. He hugged her close and used his free hand to play along her spine.

"Well, Rose Tyler, shall I show you my moves?"

"Yeah, but first, can you say it again?"

The Doctor smiled brightly and pretended not to know what she meant. Instead, he lowered his head and gave Rose a quick playful kiss.

"What words do you mean?"

Rose gently pressed her forehead to his and said in a sensual voice, "You know exactly what I mean. Say it, and I promise to be very, very good."

"Really? I was hoping you'd be very, very bad. Naughty even."

"Doctor!"

The Doctor laughed and tiled his head to the side and lightly planted kisses along Rose's neck and quietly whispered, "I love you" against her skin. The words sent a shiver down her spine and she closed her eyes.

"I love you too."

When the words left her lips, it sent the Doctor's hearts racing.

He knew for certain he would never tire of hearing Rose Tyler say the words. He felt like the luckiest man in the universe. Rose Tyler loved him. He couldn't express to her how wonderful she made him feel. He felt more alive than he ever felt before.

Then, with a fiery passion, the leather-clad man captured Rose's lips in possessive kiss. He ran his hand into her beautiful hair and the other on the small of her back. He then sucked her bottom lip and licked the crease of her mouth with his tongue till at last she parted them and allowed him to taste her lush fragile substance.

Ring! Ring!

The sound of the TARDIS phone startled them from their kiss.

"That better not be your Mum!"

Ring! Ring!

"I don't think so. Mum usually calls me up on my cell."

"Then, who the bloody hell could that be?"

"Doctor?"

"Sorry, just—we were busy. And—"

Ring! Ring!

"Rassilion! Fine!"

The Doctor walked around the controls to get the phone and picked it up. He put the receiver to his ear and said in an all too cheery voice, "Hello. You've reached Henrick's department store, how may I help you?"

Rose giggled at the Doctor's phony answer to the call and followed him at the controls. She then stood behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist in a bear hug. The Doctor stole a glance at her over his shoulder, but continued to listen to the phone.

(10) "…Doctor?"

(9) "What? It's you! What do you want?"

Rose: "Who is it?"

(9) "It's me."

Rose: "What?"

(9) "It's me—pretty-boy me."

Rose: "Oh. What's he want?"

(9) "That's what I'm trying to ask. Now, pretty-boy, what do you want?"

(10) "Oh, well it isn't really fair to call me pretty is it? It's awfully rude. I thought you were going to call me Ten. Besides, I rather think of myself as handsomely brainy or usually dashing. Though, I have been called brown, but that is hardly descriptive. It's so blah and not very exciting an—"

(9) "Shut up! Alright, Ten, what do you want?"

(10) "Ah, yes. Well, I appear to be lost."

(9) "…Has your head gone soft?"

(10) "No, I mean I've lost my dimension. It turns out that temporal wave was more than just Viper. It was a temporal rift caused by a temporal entity. I was literally thrown out from my original universe and ended up here. If I could get another TARDIS to help initiate another temporal rift than I will be able to return, but I need—I need your help getting back."

(9) "Let me get this straight. You want me to put my TARDIS at risk so you can poke a hole in the fabric of reality so you can get back home?"

(10) "Yes! Exactly!"

(9) "I was right, you are a loon."