AN: I do deeply apologise for holding that back so long, especially considering I'm now writing chapter 13. So very sorry about that. I promise chapter 10 this week, and hopefully chapter 11 as well. Can't promise that one, though. Still haven't gotten the Clara grief outta my system :(

Chapter 9:

"Remind me again, why are we here?" Rose asked as she looked at the books in one of the library shelves, searching for something she could read. Most of the books were translated to English by the TARDIS, except for everything Gallifreyan. Those were the shelves the Doctor was now going through eagerly, looking for an apparently specific book.

"Perception filter plus unknown language – doesn't leave many options." She wasn't sure if he was replying to her or talking to himself, but then he added, "If I'm right, there should be a book about these people around here somewhere. It would probably give us a tiny bit more information than we already have."

Picking up a book of tales from the early days of the Earth – her time, give or take, as the book was written in the 50th century – she mumbled, "Right."

He glanced at her. "Don't you want to know how it happened?"

"Of course I do…" She sat down, her fingers playing with the pages. "But it feels so useless. And we've been here for two hours! Shouldn't we try to remember what happened?"

"If we don't know what they are, we don't know how to bypass whatever they did to our memories," He pointed out. "Besides, I know it's here somewhere! Where did I leave it the last time around?" He scratched his head, looking at the bookshelves.

"With your mess, it could be anywhere by now," She mumbled.

He pouted. "That is not fair! If you'd have had a billion minds inside yours, you wouldn't have been able to find anything either."

"Or maybe that's because David's being more of a grown up than you are," She mumbled in response, not intending him to hear it.

But he did. "You do sound like your mother."

She looked up at him immediately. "Maybe I wouldn't if you weren't such a five-year-old!" She retorted, her voice louder now.

"Oh, yeah?" His voice turned louder as well. "Well, that didn't seem to bother you when you were travelling with me! Or is it just the effect of being around Jackie every day for five years?"

She glared at him. Opening her mouth to respond, she suddenly noticed one of the books behind him was glowing slightly. She stared at it silently, her eyes travelling between the Doctor's eyes and the book without saying a word.

"What?" He seemed somewhat confused, not having heard her response.

"The…" She tilted her head towards the book. He looked around, not noticing anything specific, before focusing on her again. "The book… it's glowing."

He turned around again. This time he immediately noticed the book and pulled it out excitedly before hurrying back to her side. She looked at him silently as he sat down next to her on the same couch, opening it. Then, as if he was just realising something, he turned his head to look at her, looking somewhat hesitant.

"What are we doing?" She asked quietly, knowing he was thinking the exact same question in that moment.

"I don't know," He admitted quietly. He hesitated again before closing the book and placing it on a table nearby. Turning back to her, he gently took her hands with his, his brown eyes meeting her brown-looking ones. "Rose… I probably should have told you that before Torchwood, before I regenerated, even, but I…" He took a deep breath, "I love you.

"I always did. You were absolutely fantastic, absolutely brilliant, from the very first moment I saw you, and whatever happens now, whatever we find out… you always will be my wonderful Rose." Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision, but looking down, he didn't notice. "I don't know why we've been fighting so much since you came back here, but whatever the reason is, I won't give up on this – on you – again. And if I have to shut up sometimes to make it work-" She laughed though her tears and he smiled, "Then I will." Looking up at her, he suddenly noticed her tears. "Oh, Rose," He whispered, "Don't cry."

"I love you too," She whispered before releasing herself. Her hands gently cupped his cheeks, her fingers touching his sideburns and hair. "And the Daleks be damned, I won't let them force us apart again." With these words she kissed him, pulling him even closer to her.

His hands climbed up to her back as he returned the kiss, both passionately and softly. When she pulled back in a desperate need of air, he reluctantly let go of her lips and gently trailed down her neck, his tongue tasting her skin as he moved. Her fingers played with his hair, going through it over and over again before using it to pull him back up to her to for another kiss. Eventually, remembering they had David on board, he pulled away from her, one of his hands releasing her back and cupping her cheek.

"You've matured," He said quietly as he suddenly noticed she was almost lying on the couch. "I think I'm just not used to it yet. I still see you as the nineteen-year-old who first followed me to the TARDIS, but you're so much more than that now, aren't you?" Releasing her altogether, he added, "I keep forgetting how fast things change for you humans. And with everything you've experienced…"

"David?" She asked quietly.

"Amongst other things." He helped her sit up next to him. "Joan couldn't understand how I could forget to mention falling in love, because for a Time Lord, falling in love is something that lasts forever, but the same way, I couldn't understand how much you've changed, because I keep forgetting how fast humans change."

"I think you probably have as much to learn about humans as we have about the Time Lords," She said softly.

He nodded. "Probably."

"So what are we going to do with this..." She gestured around them, "thing?"

"Learn how to handle it," He replied simply. His hand going through his hair, he added, "It's been a long time since I've loved someone. Over a hundred years." He turned quiet as he remembered his Gallifreyan family. "And with everything that's been happening to us, I think it just makes everything worse." He hesitated for a moment before adding, "I'm not sure why you love me… but I still intend to make you as happy as I can."

The look in her eyes softened. "You really don't see it, do you?"

"See what?" He replied, frowning.

"How amazing you are." Her hand took his, her fingers curling around his. "It feels like I've known you for so long now, even though it's only been a few years. I know you. And even though I know you despised yourself after the Time War… you were still just as wonderful back then, when I'd just met you."

He looked at her quietly for a long moment, his eyes meeting hers and refusing to let go. "I told you he needed you, didn't I?" He asked eventually.

She smiled. "Yeah."

"Tell me about him," He requested, surprising her. "Was he a good father to David? Was he a good husband to you?"

"Are you sure you want to hear it?" She asked softly, knowing how difficult it was for him.

He nodded. "I hate it," He admitted. "Knowing I left you there with him even though all I wanted was to take you with me and never let you go again. But if he made you happy…" He finished, leaving the sentence hanging.

"He was you," She said simply. "Very much you. He accepted the idea of moving on faster than I did," She admitted, smiling slightly. "A lot faster than I did, probably. I think… a part of me always hoped I'd see you again. Especially when…" He squeezed her hand gently, showing silent support. "I could have sworn he was you sometimes, but other times...

"I kept hoping he might regenerate so he wouldn't die, but he knew he couldn't. He was surprised he'd even lasted as long as he did." She frowned. "Like he knew something was wrong even beforehand."

He frowned. "How long ago did he die?"

"A couple of weeks, I think." She looked away, attempting to hide the tears in her eyes.

The Doctor didn't even notice. He was too focused on the new questions that came up. "Then how did you get here?"

"He told David to take the TARDIS and bring me and himself on board." Her voice was quiet. "He knew something about David, but he never told me." Her fingers found the letter he wrote to her in her pocket and pulled it out. "He said he wasn't sure," She added, handing him the letter after a moment's hesitation.

That he did notice. "Are you sure you want me to read it?" He asked softly, his free hand gently cupping her cheek again. Noticing her tears, he gently swept away the ones that managed to escape her eyes. "I don't have to see it to understand."

She nodded, attempting to look away. He kept her head steady, not letting her escape his gaze. "Maybe… you'll see something I missed."

"Okay." He opened the folded paper and quickly scanned the words, reading as fast as only a Time Lord could. To her surprise, he kept staring at the letter for a long moment afterwards. "The Bad Wolf?" He mumbled, apparently more to himself than to her. "Why did he write Bad Wolf? Why not Rose Tyler?" He looked up, his fingers drumming on the letter. "Why Bad Wolf? What am I missing here?"

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact I looked into the heart of the TARDIS," She mumbled, leaning against him as she felt tiredness washing over her.

"Yes, but what?" He got up and started walking back and forth in front of the couch. She lay down on the couch, listening to the sound of his voice. "How can the TARDIS even recognise your genes? It's a piece of my TARDIS, and I'm sure she knows you, but to the level of your genes? And why say Bad Wolf?"

"If she talks to me, why shouldn't it know my genes?"

He stopped in front of her. "She's talking to you?" He asked, surprised.

"Sure."

He frowned again as he kneeled in front of her. "Rose, is there something else you didn't tell me about you and the TARDIS?"

She shook her head, her eyes closed. "I don't think so."

He looked at her intently for another long moment before getting back up and returning to his pacing. "None of it makes sense. It's like I have pieces of information and I can't find how to connect them. Think, you thick old man!" He mumbled to himself. "I know I've got almost everything I need; why can't I figure it out?"

"Not s'pposed to," She mumbled.

"What?" He stopped, looking at her.

"Nevermindthat," She mumbled, barely conscious, her words all mixing until they sounded like one.

He kneeled in front of her again. "Rose, what did you mean by that?" His tone was quiet and serious and his eyes dug into her closed ones, hoping she'd open her eyes and look at him.

"Nothin'." She yawned, her eyes still shut.

"What are you talking about?" She didn't reply, and he gently touched her shoulder. "Rose, what are you talking about? What do you mean by 'not supposed to'?"

But she was already asleep. He stared at her for another moment before sighing and picking her up. There was something about her that didn't make sense, but he couldn't quite figure it out and it drove him insane. Feeling her moving in his arms, he gently pressed his lips against her forehead and whispered, "It's alright, Rose. I'm right here."

She relaxed in his arms, resting her head against his chest. He shivered slightly as she did, enjoying the new feeling of her being pressed against him. When he reached her room, he reluctantly let go of her, placing her on her bed and covering her with her blanket the best he could. He pressed another kiss to her forehead and then returned to the library, his mind reeling once again.

When Rose woke up, she was surprised to find herself in her old room, lying in her bed. For a heartbeat she wondered whether she'd dreamed the past six years, but hearing David's laughter from outside, she knew she didn't. Still in the same sweatpants and jacket from the day before, she got up and turned to find her son and the Doctor.

She found them both in the kitchen, the Doctor attempting – somewhat unsuccessfully – to make pancakes as David watched him, laughing loudly every time another pancake found its way to the floor or to the ceiling. The Doctor pouted every time that happened and mumbled that something was wrong and it wasn't his fault.

As he finally managed to catch a pancake and turned around to give it to David, he noticed her. His eyes turned softer and he smiled. "Good morning," He said softly, his eyes traveling over her, making sure she's alright.

"Good morning," She replied, returning him a smile. "And good morning to you too," She added as she hugged David, who immediately hugged her back.

"Good morning, mum," He said quietly, happiness in his voice.

"How did you sleep?" She asked as she let go of him and sat down next to him.

"Good." He pointed at the Doctor, who was back to making pancakes. "Dad can't make pancakes," He said, giggling.

"Oi!" The Doctor protested immediately, turning to look at them and missing another pancake in the process. Rose burst out laughing. "I can make brilliant pancakes!" Rose raised her eyebrows, glancing at the pancake on the floor. He blushed slightly. "It's just that I need to remember how," He mumbled, turning around to make another one.

"While he's trying to remember, do you want me to get you something to eat?" She asked their son once she managed to calm herself.

He shook his head. "I want pancakes!"

The Doctor glared at her through his reflection on one of the metal cooking gear hanging from one of the cabinets. She chuckled and joined him by the gas, helping him capture the pancake he'd just thrown up. He pouted. "I could do it myself, you know."

She glanced at the floor. "Yes, I can tell," She replied, trying to hide her amused smile.

He pouted again but then kissed her gently and somewhat hesitantly, as if he still wasn't sure it was okay. She responded to his kiss willingly, silently telling him it was exactly what she wanted. He cupped her cheek, his thumb gently caressing it. When he pulled back – to David's demand of pancakes – she rested her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes. His free hand wrapped around her waist, holding her close to him.

"After you fell asleep I managed to find out a bit more about these creatures," He told her quietly as he kept cooking. "I've found a few books referencing to them, but thanks to that devil there," He tilted his head towards David and she chuckled quietly again, "I didn't finish reading everything."

"Can I help?"

"Of course you can."

She smiled. "Have you found anything useful?"

"A bit. I saw- HA!" He cut himself off, startling her and causing her to move away and open her eyes. She then looked at him questioningly as she saw nothing happened, trying to calm the beatings of her heart. He smiled sheepishly and glanced at David's plate, on which a pancake rested, positioned perfectly in the middle. She started laughing as David cheered and turned to eat. "I told you I could make it," He mumbled, pulling her back closer to him.

"If you could do it without giving me a heart attack, that'd be wonderful," She said, smiling again.

He blushed slightly. "Sorry."

She gently kissed his cheek and then whispered, "I'll go to the library, okay?"

"Sure." He kissed her once again, his tongue playing with hers, before asking, "Do you want something to eat?"

She shook her head. "But bring David with you," She added as she walked away. "He loves books."

"Okey dokey." He shook his head, looking unbelievably serious all of a sudden. "I'm not saying that again. Ever. Not a chance."

She burst out laughing as she left, leaving him pouting – but then chucking – behind her.