AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This chapter has some slight spoilers for Torchwood: Children of Earth. There may be more occasional spoilers throughout the fic, too.

That's about it, I think. Just a quick warning, because I know some people have some serious issues with spoilers. My fiance refuses to watch anything after he's read or been told a spoiler, so I figured I'd try and save other people the pain of frustration and sudden, annoyed disinterest.

Enjoy! Remember, reviews are really great motivators and keep this author pretty happy.

A Surprise On Marial

After the emotional few days they'd had, Rose and the Doctor took a small break to find something new. The Doctor had given her a list of places to choose from that were all relatively safe, and then stood back and watched her take them there, only helping her out when she needed it. Which was much less often than he'd expected, and he was incredibly amazed by her power to learn and guess the right answers. She was leagues ahead of the pace he'd expected to go in teaching her the workings of the TARDIS - and the universe in general, for that matter - and he was proud of her. He knew it had nothing to do with his ability to teach.

She'd chosen a quiet planet with no people and only scenery named Marial. The skies were various shades of purple, and the grass was a nice golden color. They had large towers made of the land itself that changed color depending on who was looking at it at the moment, or if there were apples nearby.

The entire place was beautiful and vacant, and it was just the calming trip they needed.

Rose had opted for a dark red velvet bodysuit under a pair of shorts - which were high rise, of course - with some fishnets and her combat boots. She'd set her leather jacket on top of it, and wore a thick, black velvet choker on her neck.

All in all, the Doctor thought her outfit rather resembled something from Earth's 1980's, 1990's, or the revival of the style in around 2017, only a decade ahead of her time.

Her fashion choices were extremely interesting to the Doctor. Most times she wore clothes that were from different eras in Earth, including ones in her future, but sometimes she'd wear the odd alien piece, stating that she liked the weird pattern or shape of it.

Her most typical style was a mix between a sort of 1990's grunge and an ethereal princess, and while the Doctor loved seeing what she'd come up with next - as fashion had always been somewhat interesting to him, since it always interacted with society at the time - he was also generally confused by her decisions. He suspected that was part of the reason she dressed so inconsistently.

The pair walked out of the TARDIS, and he smiled when he heard Rose gasp at the sight in front of them. It really was beautiful. The sun - which shone a bright blue - was shining on everything as far as they could see, and the breeze sang a calming song to them, and smelled like pomegranates.

"It's beautiful, Doctor," Rose breathed, leaning down to touch the golden grass. She grinned. "It's so soft. It feels like wool."

The Doctor ran back into the TARDIS and grabbed a basket and a large blanket before running back out to her.

"A picnic?" She laughed happily. "God, I love picnics. Haven't had one in… years."

"Well, time to remedy that!" he smiled to himself, happy to see her smile so genuinely. She'd been understandably in a funk ever since they'd gone to visit her mother, and he'd finally found a good way to cheer her up.

They walked for about twenty minutes before they found a beautiful place to sit down. It was a clearing of grass on the edge of a large forest that Rose made the Doctor promise they could explore later.

They ate a lunch of sandwiches and fruit with juice and some brownies that the Doctor reluctantly admitted he'd baked. By the end of the meal, Rose seemed much lighter and happier, and the Doctor felt better, too.

When Rose stood and wandered around the clearing, gently picking a few flowers here and there, the Doctor's mind wandered again to the Dalek. He'd come to accept, with Rose's help, that there had been one Dalek left and it was finally over. But the Dalek had said things that had bothered the Doctor.

It had called Rose the goddess of time, and the abomination. It wasn't possible, and he knew it, but his mind was brought back to the tale of the goddess protecting time.

But that wasn't all the Dalek had said. He'd tried to ignore it, and Rose certainly hadn't brought it up, but the words were on his mind constantly.

"What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?"

Every time he repeated those words in his head, he got more frustrated. He couldn't love her. It wasn't possible. They'd only known each other for… well, he wasn't sure how long, but certainly no more than one earth year.

And yet, he knew that was plenty of time. And they had been through plenty, and it wasn't a shock that he could've fallen in love with her.

But he hadn't. He didn't do that. He didn't fall for his companions.

But she wasn't a companion, was she? She was… well, he didn't know what she was. She was just… his Rose.

He shook off the thoughts as Rose walked back over, a small bouquet of beautiful flowers in her hands, a mix of blues and pinks and yellows. "Can we explore the forest now?"

"Sure," he nodded, standing up and brushing himself off. He reached for her hand and she gave it happily, matching his pace as they moved toward the trees. It didn't take them long to reach the beautiful forest, and Rose skipped happily inside, the Doctor running after her.

The inside was just as beautiful as the outside of the forest, but there was something… odd.

"Doctor, do you hear that?" Rose asked, nearly whispering. He stopped to listen and realized what she was talking about. There was a faint whisper among the trees, something telepathic and decidedly… alive. He nodded and reached over to the trees, but touching them proved pointless quickly. Whatever was alive and very telepathic was probably not in plain sight.

"Didn't you say this place was empty of intelligent life?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Just plants and things."

"And are plants telepathic?"

"Only sometimes, and definitely not right now."

Rose smiled and continued on into the forest, and the Doctor followed, stamping down the part of him that wanted to run from the potential danger and hide in the TARDIS.

Rose was a good fifteen feet in front of him when a small hole in the ground, probably about the size of two bodies, caught his eye. It was covered very well in foliage and could easily have been missed, but he'd been looking closely for anything. He was about to mention it to Rose as he walked over to it, but two pairs of hands reached out of the hole and pulled him down, cutting off his sentence as the darkness of the underground overcame him.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Rose spun around quickly when a sudden feeling of surprise and dread and worry overcame her, and she knew it was from the Doctor. Just like she feared, he was nowhere to be seen behind her, and she couldn't tell where he'd have disappeared to as there was nothing but trees around that she could see. She ran back to about where she'd last seen him when she'd looked behind her, but she couldn't find anything, and she tried to ignore the panic as it rose in her chest.

The anxiety and panic at not knowing what to do was beginning to be to much when she heard a familiar sound and turned around, confused.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The Doctor turned around in the TARDIS, pushing buttons and pulling levers left and right, and he only slowed down when he felt his ship land. He didn't bother looking at the monitor - the last four trips had taken him to the right place, and he felt rather confident at that point.

He pulled on his jacket and ran out of the door, stopping short just before he ran straight into a tree. He moved to the side slightly and carefully pulled the door shut.

And then realized he was definitely not where he was supposed to be.

He vaguely recognized the planet. It wasn't one he'd gone to often. The last time he'd been was… maybe his fourth body, with Romana.

He'd meant to head to Woman Wept. It was the only place he felt close to Rose again, especially since he'd said goodbye.

He didn't want to be on Marial. It only reminded him of the list he'd made one day of the places he planned on taking Rose. He knew she'd love it, and it didn't feel right being there without her.

Still, when he tried to get back into the TARDIS, he found it locked. And when he pulled out his key to open it, the keyhole just… disappeared.

With a frustrated sigh, he kicked the door. "Let me in!" His foot throbbed, and he jumped on one foot as the pain lessened.

"Did you make her angry?" came a rather amused voice. A familiar voice. A… completely impossible voice.

He whipped around, his eyes wide. "Rose…"

"I didn't think I'd see you," she said, moving closer. She was moving closer! Her hand reached to his cheek, but she didn't touch him.

"You can't be here," he whispered.

"Neither can you," she laughed. "One I've never met, okay, fine. I don't know him yet. But you… I was so in love with you."

"Rose…"

She reached forward to touch his face and he let her, but she pulled back immediately, staring at her hand like it had betrayed her.

"Doctor?" she didn't look excited, or happy anymore. She looked… scared of him. "I can't… feel you." She tapped her head, and he blinked at her. She couldn't possibly mean…

He had to address the one thing that proved this was all fake. "Your eyes are golden."

"Yeah, you know that," she frowned, backing away slightly.

"Your eyes are golden and there's someone else in my head," he elaborated, not able to ignore the Time Lord presence in his mind.

"Doctor," Rose whispered, her eyes glittering with emotion. "When did you last see me?"

The Doctor hated his perfect memory, because he could easily see a crying Rose in his mind. "Bad Wolf Bay," he replied quietly.

Something close to fear filled her eyes, and he had a feeling it wasn't just because of the awful place.

"You shouldn't be here," she told him, her words not matching the new, longing tone to her voice. "This isn't possible."

"You should be trapped, in Pete's World," he told her. She nodded firmly, but the fear remained.

"I was."

"And you're back?" he frowned. "And on Marial?"

"Doctor, you shouldn't be here," she reached for his hand but didn't grab it, and he could see an awful storm of emotions fly across her face. "The timelines-,"

"What about the timelines?"

"You, this version with this memory of those events… you shouldn't exist," she winced as she said it and he froze.

"What does that mean?"

"I- well, some things happened, and I came back to this universe, but the TARDIS put me at the beginning of my time with you," she rubbed her face hard. "I've been… rewriting."

The Doctor thought about his time with Rose being erased or rewritten and he hated the idea. He was just about to tell her exactly that when she spoke again.

"But it's not just that, Doctor," she stepped carefully closer, obviously seeing the denial on his face and he stayed still, letting her grab his hands and move them slowly to her head. "Go on, touch my mind."

He hesitated, because that was something he hadn't even done when she was with him, but she gave him that look that he could never ignore and gently placed his fingers on her temples.

And then, barely a second later, gasped and dropped his hands to stare at her.

"What- but, how? That doesn't… I don't understand. That's impossible! You were human!"

Rose laughed lightly at his rambling. "Yes, I was."

"And now you're a Time Lady."

"Yes, I am."

"How?"

"Bad Wolf."

The Doctor paused. That actually made a lot of sense.

"But Doctor, you can't be here. Even… even if Canary Wharf still happens the way it did last time, everything is different now. Everything."

"What did you change, Rose?" he frowned. She shrugged slightly, looking away.

"I didn't really change anything that big. I just saved a few people, like Jabe and Sneed. Most of the changes came from you, and our… relationship. You got nosey, that's pretty much it."

"I got… nosey?" the Doctor frowned. It didn't seem like she meant about her time with him.

"Yeah, just about my past and stuff."

"Your time with me?" He didn't think there was anything important about her life before him that he didn't know. Right?

"Sure," she very obviously lied, looking around. "But I've kinda got a problem right now. We were having a picnic, and you… disappeared."

"So, you're with me. Is that the first one, or… this me?"

"Leather and big ears," she answered, smiling a little. "I loved you even then, did you know?"

The Doctor hadn't, and he wished more than anything he could just kiss her. "So, the Doctor disappeared. Wait, hold on, you were having a picnic with leather and big ears?"

Rose blushed and shrugged. "I think he was trying to make sure I'm not upset with him, or to cheer me up."

"Why?" the Doctor frowned. He knew he should focus on her issue, the missing Doctor, but he also knew he would have to leave once it was solved and he really just wanted to take her with him and run.

"He said something stupid at a really bad time and it upset me," she looked away, but he didn't miss the vulnerable fear and pain that lingered from the memory. He'd never seen her look vulnerable, not like that. Something significant had changed in her, and he wasn't sure what it was.

"Still, a picnic," he shook his head. "Must've been pretty bad."

"It was."

And that was all the Doctor needed to know that something really bad had happened. "Rose, are you okay?"

"'M fine," she still wouldn't look at him and he knew she was lying. Again.

Things had changed too much.

He made a split second decision and reached back to check if the TARDIS was unlocked. She was, but he could feel the extreme disapproval being screamed at him. He reached for Rose and she grabbed his hand automatically, just as she always had. She let him pull her inside, though she was hesitant and confused.

"Doctor, what-,"

He pulled the door shut behind her and quickly ran to throw the TARDIS into the vortex, essentially kidnapping Rose.

"Doctor!" There was clear protest in her voice, and he turned around to face her.

"Rose," he sighed, touching her cheek lightly. She leaned into the touch and his hearts skipped a beat. He'd missed her so much. He didn't care how wrong what he was doing was.

"You can't do this," she whispered. "We can't go back. I- I'm fixing it."

"You're changing it. Things are different." He looked into her beautiful golden eyes. "You're different."

"I'm… better," she said. She didn't explain what she meant, and the Doctor would've given anything to know. "We're closer like this, and things are different."

"You said he hurt you." he paused. "You looked scared."

She cringed. "It was… it was just a bad day. Jack gave me some pretty bad news. Just something from my life before I met you. It didn't really have anything to do with him, with you."

"I miss you."

She nodded, and he could see that same pain and longing as he had on Bad Wolf Bay. "I miss you, too, Doctor." He saw her pause before she stroked his cheek lightly. "And I love you."

"Rose-,"

"No, it's okay," she interrupted. He wanted so badly to say it back, to give them both what they wanted, but she stopped him. "It's okay. I know."

"What if I need to say it?"

"It'd only hurt more," she told him, and he knew it was from experience. "You could say it once, but never again."

"Maybe once is enough," he tried before changing tactics. "And it doesn't have to be just once. You could stay-,"

"No, I couldn't," she shook her head. He knew she was right but he didn't care. He was a time lord. They took care of and bent time when they wanted to. And this was all he wanted. "I have to keep going."

"I need you."

"No, you don't," Rose shook her head, laughing a slightly bitter laugh. "You never did."

"That's not true," he denied. Because she was very wrong about that. "When we met, I'd just come from the time war. You… helped me become the Doctor again."

"Anyone could've done that," she shrugged. "I was just there."

He was going to argue further, but she stopped him by nodding to the door, a silent request to go back. The Doctor felt a sort of possessive panic rise in him at the thought of her leaving again.

"I don't want to lose you," he whispered, and she turned around to look at him.

"You'll be fine without me. I mean, how long has it been?"

He shrugged. He'd travelled with Martha and finished the Year That Never Was, and then he was alone again. "Maybe two years."

"And you weren't alone, right? You shouldn't ever be alone."

"I had a friend," he nodded. "Martha."

"Good," she smiled, and she looked so genuinely glad that it hurt his hearts.

"I don't know how to leave you again, Rose," he said honestly. He wasn't sure he could.

"You know it has to happen this way. Besides, if what… you told me was true, then you should fade and that, losing me, won't have ever happened for anyone but me. Actually, I'm not sure why it hasn't already."

"It's probably the TARDIS," he shrugged. The answer made more sense the more he thought about it, and he nodded firmly. "She probably pulled herself here."

"Why?" Rose frowned, blinking. "I mean, I've been seeing plenty of people that I shouldn't know yet, but you…"

"Like you said, I won't exist for much longer," he told her, and he tried not to linger on that thought because it was really rather frightening. "So I imagine it was for you."

"For me?"

"So you could say goodbye."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The Doctor wasn't sure what was happening because it was dark and very quiet, and he couldn't tell when someone was near and when they weren't. But he knew one thing, and it was that Rose was far away, very far. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't like it.

It had been probably three hours since he'd been taken from the forest, and he'd only interacted with one of the people, who had tied him up and told him their chief would come soon. It was another two hours until anyone came in, and he blinked a few times, trying to catch sight of them.

They untied his arms and he stretched, trying to work out the painful kinks. "Hello! That's better."

"I apologize for my friends," they said, and he could tell they were still afraid of him. "They were only afraid. We've never had any… visitors before, and never any other mind speakers."

"That's alright," he nodded. "Everyone gets confused. You said you don't get anyone visiting?" He wondered exactly how far back in Marial's existence he'd put them. It had to have been pretty far, if these people hadn't ever noticed people popping by to look at the sights.

"Never," they confirmed. "It is quite unusual to find anyone on the Upper World, too."

"I'm not here to hurt you," he promised. He knew they were worried about that, it was obvious by the way they'd avoided him and kept him tied up. "My friend and I just wanted to look at the scenery in the Upper World."

"A friend?" he heard the confusion in their voice. "There was no one with you."

"There was," he assured them, frustration entering his voice. "But she's gone. Missing. Something happened to her. She's… far away."

"Oh," the person gasped. "Is she your bond mate?"

"What? I- no, we're not… we have a bond, but it's not exactly… like that."

"Do you love her?"

The Doctor hesitated, and that was apparently a good enough answer.

"You fear for her."

"She's… jeopardy friendly. Hard to keep her out of trouble."

"You should go and find her, should you not?"

The Doctor looked at them as best as he could. "You'd just let me go?"

"You are not here to hurt us," they said, and he could practically feel the shrug. "Why keep you hostage when your bond mate is in danger?"

"That is very kind of you," he sighed, relieved. He didn't feel like escaping capture today.

And so, about twenty minutes later, he found himself at the end of a tunnel with the same person he'd been talking to before. There was light filtering through the hole in the ground and he could see them better.

They looked vaguely humanoid, but rather… blue. It reminded him of someone he'd met once, a despicable man named Dorium, except significantly thinner and shorter. They had indentations in their skin in some odd pattern that reminded him vaguely of old Gallifreyan drawings, but a bit different.

He didn't waste time examining them, but rather thanked the person quickly and made his way out of the Under World, as they'd called it, and sprinted to the TARDIS.

He had to find Rose.

And maybe give her a strong lecture about wandering off.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Rose sighed as she sat on the jump seat, the Doctor sitting next to her. She thought she could probably fly the TARDIS back, but she also knew that if she pressed even one wrong button, she could punch a hole in the fabric of reality, and she really didn't want to do that.

Her hand fell into the Doctor's and she shivered at the familiarity, and how sad it made her. She'd missed this so much, and now that she had it, she had to leave.

"What happened in Pete's World?" the Doctor asked, staring at her closely. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her since he'd found her.

She shrugged. "I started working for Torchwood there. Dad ran it. Some stuff happened. I saved the world a few times, and some things went… some things went pretty wrong, too."

"Tell me about it," he requested, and she bit her lip. She wanted to. She wanted to tell him everything. Every single thought she'd had and every emotion she'd felt. All the good, and all the bad. And really, why shouldn't she? He wouldn't exist for much longer - a thought that broke her heart - so what was the problem?

Taking a deep breath in, she began. She told him about her first solo job, and he smiled brightly when she told him how she'd single handedly saved the world. She told him about Tony, and how she told him their stories, and his particular favorite was when they'd met Satan and killed him. She told him how happy her mum was, and how she was brighter than she'd ever seen the woman. After slight hesitation, she told him about her vacation, and the aliens that had attacked her mind. He'd paled and looked both terrified and absolutely furious. Once she finally calmed him down about that - and promised that she was okay now, reminding him how clean her mind was, regardless of the scars - she told him about the dreams she always had of him. She told him how she never stopped loving him. She told him about the aliens she'd saved and sent back home, and the ones that had occasionally saved her.

And then she told him about the 456. The aliens that came and controlled the children, and used them as drugs. She told him about John Frobisher and everything he'd done, leaving out how he'd died. She told him about the man, Clem, that had been killed by the aliens. And finally, she told him how they used Clem's death to find a way to rid themselves of the aliens. And as she explained it, he understood and paled as she told him that they'd used her mind instead of a child's, since she was telepathic and receiving the messages as well.

She stopped there, not wanting to tell him everything that had happened since she'd been back. He didn't need to know about Jimmy. He'd never asked, and she didn't need to tell.

It had been probably two hours by the time she finished telling him about her life after him, and she was surprised to find tears in his eyes when she finally looked up, not having been able to look at him as she described her death.

"Rose…" he reached out, his hand cupping her cheek. "I'm so sorry."

She shook her head slightly. "It's okay. Things are… different now, sure, but I'd like to think it's better."

"I loved my time with you," the Doctor said quietly, and she froze. She couldn't handle it if he said it. To hear the words, the response she'd longed for so long ago, and then lose him again… she knew it would be too much. "Rose, I-,"

"No," she interrupted. "Doctor, please."

"Don't you…?"

"I'll always love you, Doctor," she sighed, squeezing her eyes shut to rid herself of the tears building in her eyes. "But I don't know how I'd do this, keep going if you said it."

"Don't," he suggested. "Stay with me."

"You know I can't."

And he did. She could see it in his eyes. That painful understanding. The defeat as he really admitted to himself that she couldn't stay.

"I miss you," he told her for the second time that day.

She gave him a sad smile. Before she could respond, very abruptly, something slammed into the TARDIS - which was odd, considering they were in the vortex - and they fell out of the vortex and landed… somewhere.

Rose fell off the seat with impact, as did the Doctor. The pair picked themselves up and exchanged a shocked look before looking at the door and, just like they used to, they reached for each other's hand and headed for the door.

But halfway to the door, someone opened it. The Doctor blinked as it creaked open, and Rose gasped as she realized quickly who it was.

The Doctor - leather and big ears, her Doctor - walked in, his eyes dark.

"Doctor!" Rose gasped, staring at him. He stared directly at her and she could feel the intense worry and confusion coming from him.

"Rose."

She looked between the two Doctors in front of her and reluctantly dropped her Ten's hand. He looked heartbroken and furious with her current Doctor. She ignored his temper and ran over to her Doctor and wrapped her arms around him briefly before grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly.

I'm okay. I'm sorry.

"This is… your future self," she said, not technically lying.

"And he just felt the need to kidnap you?" the Doctor snapped, glaring at Ten.

"Maybe if you kept better watch on her," Ten hissed, matching the Doctor's dark glare.

"I am not a possession," Rose interrupted, glaring at both of them. "I am a capable person, and not your responsibility."

Both of them looked at her and she could tell they disagreed, thinking she was their responsibility, but she had bigger problems at the moment.

"The Doctor," she said, nodding at Ten. "was just fulfilling a time loop. Apparently, I told him that he came and took me away during this trip, so he did."

She could feel vague suspicion coming from her Doctor, but he nodded and seemed to believe it.

"So, are you the next one, then?"

Ten shrugged. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Rose glanced at Ten and felt a sudden wave of sadness. She almost wished this had never happened. She'd said goodbye to him a long time ago, and here he was, making things so much worse. The Doctor glanced at her, a confused frown on his face but she ignored it and moved back over to Ten, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Goodbye, Doctor."

"See you later, Rose," he replied, kissing her head softly, refusing to say goodbye as he always did. The whispered farewell wasn't heard by the Doctor, but he felt the melancholy attitude as the pair separated and Rose moved quickly back to her Doctor, slipping her hand into his.

Are you alright?

Always, Doctor.

With a quick wave, Rose left the TARDIS - the old one that she used to travel in with her old Doctor in her old timeline - and resisted the urge to look back, knowing it would only make everything worse.

The door closing behind them, Rose dropped her jacket on the railing and sat herself on the jump seat, waiting for the questions she expected.

But they didn't come as the Doctor threw the TARDIS into the vortex silently, and moved to sit next to her. He grabbed her hand gently and, instead of saying anything, offered silent support. It surprised her, but she greatly appreciated it and held on as she processed what had just happened and locked it all tightly behind some doors, just like the other memories the Doctor couldn't see.

It wasn't until she leaned her head onto his shoulder and closed her eyes that she spoke.

"Thank you."

The Doctor was quiet for another moment and she could tell he was trying to put his thoughts into words. "My curiosity shouldn't be satisfied if it makes you uncomfortable or upset."

Rose recognized the large change between the Doctor now and before, and she wondered if the bond had really clued him into how much his curious tendencies made her uncomfortable sometimes, especially considering the fact that he never let things go. She knew this was big progress in how emotionally aware he was and she couldn't put into words how much she appreciated it.

"Of course I want to know what happened," he admitted. "But I won't push. If you ever feel like telling me, or talking about it... " he trailed off, and she nodded a little, her head still on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Doctor."

He nodded silently, and she smiled softly.

She'd loved her Doctor before. And she hadn't wanted or tried to change him, but she knew that his lack of respect for her privacy was going to become a problem, and it seemed he'd realized that, too.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The Doctor sat in his study later that evening, after a dinner with Rose where he'd explained his earlier situation to her and expressed his wish to return the next day and check on them, since the planet didn't have any known life on it until then. She'd agreed, stating that she wanted to see more of the planet and collect more flowers, and gone off to bed soon after. He could still feel her sadness and longing, and shoved away the curiosity, his need for information, though the entire situation from earlier that day had been somewhat suspicious to him.

He'd come to understand that she was uncomfortable telling him things just because he wanted to know. Which was fair, honestly. She had a right to privacy, even though they were connected and he'd seen her memories. It was her mind and her life, and he didn't have any inherent rights to it.

He also realized that if they wanted to spend a long time together - travelling together, that is. Of course that's what he means - then he needed to trust her and back off and let her do her own thing. And it was extremely hard and frustrating, but the pure relief he'd felt from her earlier proved his theory, and he knew he had to continue. Her new relaxed state was enough to make him want to give her more space.

He had a habit of thinking of people as… less three dimensional than him, less whole, and he was beginning to see, because of Rose, that it was a problem. He logically knew and understood that the people he saw and met when he travelled were whole people with lives and loves and favorites and dislikes, but he had a tendency to disconnect from that to make it easier when he potentially lost them.

And he felt like maybe, that was a mistake. So, the next day when he was eating breakfast with a quiet Rose, he looked up at her.

"Rose," he said cautiously, unsure how to phrase his question. The tired woman looked up at him, her face previously buried in her teacup as she tried to wake up completely. "When we go places, and people die… you don't… what I mean to say is, you still connect with everyone you meet."

"Yeah," she nodded, not following.

The Doctor blinked at her. "Why?"

"Why… do I connect with the people we meet, even though they could die?" she gathered the question, and he nodded. She looked rather startled by it, but she straightened a little as she always did when having a conversation. "Because they're still people. It's not fair to treat them like they're already dead, you know? I want to at least give them enough respect to act like they're whole people, because they are."

"Even though it always hurts you," the Doctor added, and she shrugged a little.

"My temporary pain is nothing compared to someone acting like you're not quite… there, or whole, or worth it. Even if we just travelled to see these people die, I'd still do it, and I'd still treat them the same way, because everyone deserves a good death." She paused before correcting herself. "Most people deserve a good death."

Her words stuck with him through the day as they travelled back to Marial, landing in the forest this time, and close enough to the entrance to the Under World that they found it without much trouble. The Doctor told her about his time spent stuck on earth, working with UNIT and his friend Liz Shaw. He told her a few stories before they reached the destination, and the Doctor dropped himself in the hole first before helping her in gently.

They both pulled out their flashlights and glanced around quickly. It was empty and it didn't look like it had changed much, but Rose had quietly pointed out the startling quiet compared to the day before, when they'd heard the mental voices reaching out, a fact that had them both on edge.

They walked quietly through the corridor, and Rose nodded at the walls, stopping to shine her flashlight and look at something. When the Doctor looked at them, he saw what she was pointing at.

"That looks… like the marks on them," he frowned. "Same color as their skin, too."

Rose hummed quietly and moved on, the Doctor following after just a moment. They wandered around for awhile before they came to the same room they'd passed through before, which led to the rest of the area the Doctor had seen. They took a small look around and found nothing but a small ring on the floor, made of a silver looking material and twisted into a small knot at the top. Another glance around the floor revealed another, identical ring, and the Doctor's gut twisted as an idea came to mind.

"Oh, Rose… I don't think we should've come back."

"Should we leave?" she asked, sounding rather reluctant. He shook his head a little, pocketing the rings. He wanted to leave them somewhere else. Somewhere more respectful.

"No, let's make sure no one is left."

And so, after another half hour of wandering, they found themselves in a large, regal room. It looked vaguely like a sort of courtroom, and the Doctor wished he could've explored it… before. The chairs and tables around the room were made from a dark, polished wood, and the Doctor moved to the table at the center of the room, setting the rings on it. He closed his eyes as he allowed himself to feel the grief at the loss of these mysterious and kind people.

"I don't think we'll be finding anyone here," the Doctor told her quietly, and she nodded, following him silently to the door. The pair walked quietly and somewhat quickly through the halls, and Rose could feel the Doctor's nerves picking up as their flashlights flickered. He hit his and sonicked it, not bothering to slow down, but it didn't work. Fear flashed through him suddenly, and he silently grabbed her hand, pulling her along as he ran now.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Rose questioned, keeping pace with him. She'd been training like she had in Torchwood, and her body was slowly getting back to the way it was in Pete's World - something she was extremely grateful for. She figured she could probably fight her way out of most situations, and she could definitely run better now, especially with her improved lungs.

"I think I know what's killed these people," he answered her, running faster as his flashlight went out. Hers was still on, but flickering, and he knew they had to hurry. "They're vicious creatures that live in shadows. They're called the Vashta Nerada."

Rose stifle a gasp. She'd encountered some in Pete's World, but they'd been able to call the Shadow Proclamation to take care of them. Earth was a category eight, which meant that they could defend themselves and work with the space police. They usually avoided asking for help, but they'd had no way to get rid of the murderous shadows otherwise. "What do they do?"

"They eat the flesh off the victims," he explained. "The meat. Kills them instantly."

"That's awful," Rose muttered honestly. She'd watched Jake's wife and partner in the field be killed by the monsters, and she knew they were bad. She knew they had to get out of the darkness fast or they'd be next. "But if they only eat the meat, the flesh, why aren't there bones?"

"Some races don't have them," the Doctor shrugged. "The Slitheen didn't - made of pure calcium. I assume this race didn't, either."

They stopped talking after that and just ran as fast as they could, which got them to the exit in five minutes. The Doctor boosted Rose out before she helped pull him up, and the pair moved into sunlight and took a deep breath.

But only for a moment.

The Doctor's eyes widened as he stared at the Time Lady in front of him. "Rose, stay calm-,"

"Doctor…" she gasped, looking down at her feet. She counted her shadows, just like she'd learned to before. One, two, three… and four. "Is that… is that them?"

He hesitated before nodding slowly. "It'll be okay, we'll fix this."

"If they kill me, I won't have time to regenerate, will I?"

The Doctor stared at her, pain and regret in his eyes. He shook his head silently.

"It's okay," she said, but she was scared. Terrified. She had to fix it, all of it. She couldn't die now. She had to meet Jack, and she wanted to see the Doctor with the floppy hair and large, childish grin. She wanted to see her next Doctor, to travel with him and experience both old and new things. She couldn't die here.

The oddest thing happened, just as another shadow popped up. Someone zapped in on the vortex manipulator, similar to the way Jack had done in her mum's living room, and grabbed her by the waist. She got a quick glimpse of some large, blonde hair before they zapped back out and ended up… literally three feet away.

Rose stumbled away from the woman and looked frantically at the ground, grinning when she saw the shadows were gone, and she only had one now. She laughed brightly and gave the traveller a large hug. "River!" She backed up to look at the woman. "Thank you!"

"Of course, Sweetie," she winked, patting her back as she pulled out of the hug. Rose turned around as the Doctor got to her and grabbed her face, looking it over closely. Once he decided she was okay, he pulled her into a tight hug, and she felt his relief wash over both of them.

When the Doctor finally pulled away, he turned to River and frowned. "Who the hell are you?"

"Spoilers," she grinned.

"She's a friend," Rose explained. She didn't see the harm in giving some sort of explanation. It'd make things easier for the next time she saw her friend. "A time traveller. We met out of order, and we keep doing so."

River nodded. "I've got a book," she told them, holding up a journal that matched Jack's blue one. "It tells me where and when to be and what's happening."

"Why?" the Doctor frowned, looking between the girls. He could tell they hadn't known each other long, but Rose seemed to trust and like her, and he trusted her opinion. She hadn't been wrong yet.

Rose shrugged. "Dunno. She just started showing up and helping me."

The Doctor eyed the book River was tucking back into her pocket as Rose moved back over and hummed. "I should start writing this stuff down, yeah?"

River nodded. "You've got one to match us."

"Us?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, and River turned to him slightly, though her hand went to Rose's.

"Spoilers." She turned back to Rose. "Asteroid 839. Pick up five books. Two go to us, two get set aside for later, and one is for you."

Rose nodded seriously, and the Doctor tried not to pout at being left out. He figured it made sense that Rose had her own intricacies in her timeline if she was going to spend a long time with him, but he could tell that the two women had known each other for awhile and he wanted to know everything about it.

But he held his tongue as the pair grinned and spoke for a quick minute before River said goodbye and pressed some buttons on her vortex manipulator, leaving him alone with Rose once more.

Suddenly he felt extremely exposed on the surface of the planet, and he made his way to the TARDIS, checking only once to make sure she was following him. She was, humming quietly and bending over every once in awhile to pick the flowers she'd said she wanted. She was right - they were beautiful flowers. By the time they reached their ship, she had a full bouquet of reds and purples and blues and oranges, and he thought she had an amazing taste in flowers, having put together something wonderfully beautiful.

The pair entered the TARDIS, and the Doctor followed her to the galley to find a vase and water and, thanks to their ship, a packet of flower food. Once the flowers were taken care of, Rose looked at the Doctor.

"I'm not really ready for sleep," she said, and he knew she was feeling anxious, and very likely dissociating. He nodded firmly.

"Change into some pyjamas, have a bath, then meet me in the library," he offered. "I'll tell you some more stories."

She agreed, grateful, and the pair separated in the hall, Rose heading for her room, and the Doctor thinking on what to tell her as he tried to find the library that Rose had filled with the swimming pool.

She'd said they wouldn't lose it now, and he'd only laughed and requested that the books be kept a safe distance from the water.

Rose arrived in her room and turned on the hot water, only turning the cold water knob a little bit. She dumped in some instant bubbles that smelled like vanilla and cinnamon and helped relax her endlessly tense muscles. She sat in the bath for only a half hour before she pulled herself out reluctantly. She really did want to listen to the Doctor, after all. So she grabbed the pair of waiting pyjamas - a black ribbed tank top and a pair of red shorts that fit somewhat tightly, but were extremely comfortable. With her slippers on her feet and her favorite throw blanket wrapped around her, she made her way quietly through the halls of the TARDIS.

She was glad that the Doctor knew about River now. It would make things a lot easier. But she knew she'd be seeing Jack soon in London, and she was nervous about the new secrets that would be kept in the TARDIS. She and the Doctor had done so well in growing and becoming more and the Doctor was so much more emotionally open now, it surprised her. She didn't want the Doctor to see her obviously keeping secrets, but not be able to tell him what they were.

She shook off the thoughts as she entered the large library, and grinned at the sight of the pool in the middle of the large room, the books having been shifted to fit it. She spotted the Doctor easily. He was sitting at the opposite end of the pool, and about ten feet away from it, near a fireplace that hadn't been there before. There was a couch and a coffee table filled with tea and some of her favorite treats, and some that she knew were his. She knew before she could even see the cup that he'd be sipping a banana smoothie. They were his absolute favorite treats.

She made her way over quickly and plopped down next to him, his arm automatically coming to wrap around her shoulders. She gave him a soft smile.

"I wasn't that long, was I?"

He blinked. "Huh? Oh, no. I got halfway here and thought maybe we'd like some snacks if we were going to talk all night."

"Thank you," she sighed contentedly, picking up a cup of tea and sipping it. Perfect.

And that was how they spent the night. The Doctor told her about his fifth body, and the green he kept in his pocket during his travels. He told her about the girl, Tegan, who'd watched him regenerate into that body. He told her about their adventures, and how she'd left after preventing a Dalek invasion in 1980's London.

He told her about his friend Romana, and everything they went through together, having travelled together in his fourth body. He told her about meeting her again during the war, and how she'd been replaced by Rassilon, and how he wasn't actually entirely sure what had happened to her, but that he knew it was bad.

They talked until they got hungry, almost eleven hours later, and the pair finally left the library to get some food and start another day.

OoOoOoOoOoOo