The Doctor shook his head. He was feeling a bit disorientated, he didn't know why. He looked at Rose. She was the first human he had picked up in a long time. She was vibrant in a way no other could be it seemed, at least that he could remember. Regeneration amnesia tended to leave some things out if he wasn't careful. He staggered to the console, and Rose caught him before he fell on it.
"What's wrong Doctor?" She asked.
"I don't know. It has something to do with regeneration amnesia. Someone I promised… someone I knew is in trouble." He said.
Rose looked at him, feeling a pang of jealousy. She tried to shove it away, he helped many people in his life, she had no reason, or right to get upset. He had lived longer than anyone or thing she had ever heard of
"Do you know who it is?" She asked.
The Doctor was looking beyond Rose, as if he was seeing something inside himself. A look of embarrassment and shock crossed his face.
"It's only been that long in her life? My, I have been getting old." He said.
"What's goin on Doctor? Who is this 'her'?" Rose asked.
"A girl that got into an accident earlier this summer. In your timeline on earth anyway. I promised to look in on her every once in a while, but… there was a bit of amnesia. It's only been a few months since I last visited her, in a linear sense, and took one of her friends with me. He died on my world." The Doctor said.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. He was close to her, helped her after she saved him from an eternal life in purgatory. I took him to my world in my fifth regeneration. He lived in my home there, and fought along side my people during the Time War. They accepted him since he was a more advanced form of humanity. He's here with me now, helping out when I need it. He just let me know she's in trouble." The Doctor said.
"Well what are we waiting for then? Gotta help the earth and all that." Rose said.
He nodded and grinned.
"Fantastic." He said, bringing the TARDIS in for a landing.
They opened the door to the TARDIS as the last explosion shook the hotel room the two young people were in. He pulled Rose to the ground to avoid debris that was flying through the air. After it seemed like things had quieted down, they stood up, dusting themselves off. They peered around the settling dust, not seeing anything right away. Rose looked at the Doctor her eyebrow raised.
"Don't look at me, this is the right coordinates. Don't go blaming the TARDIS if we can't find anything." He said.
"I didn't say anything about the TARDIS." Rose said with a coy smile, walking into the room.
"Oi! We may be too late." He said softly.
"Doctor! Over here!" Rose shouted, hearing something.
He moved closer as Rose began to throw debris around. He ducked as some of it came towards his head. He began to help her move things and soon they were looking at Adam and Ari. The Doctor kneeled and checked the young man, his new eyes not recognizing the young girl next to the young man. Rose kneeled to check on the girl, and gasped, almost falling over.
"What the bloody hell?" She said.
"What's wrong Rose?" The Doctor said, helping the semi conscious young man to his feet.
"I dunno. She's got like… long fingernails, her ears…" Rose stammered.
"Earth women like their nails long I thought." The Doctor said.
"Not like this Doctor." Rose said.
The Doctor frowned; making sure Adam was able to get into the TARDIS on his own. He hurried over to where Rose was standing, looking down at the girl. The building started to shake again, and he bent down, picking the girl up and hurrying towards the TARDIS. Rose was puzzled when he hurried off past the console room. She helped Adam follow the Doctor. After dozens of turns and being sure she was lost, the Doctor stopped in a room that looked so similar to the consol room, she was sure they had just gone in a huge circle. The lights came on and she was dazzled by the white room.
"What's this then?" She asked.
"The secondary control room. It's what she's used to. And right now, she's going to need familiarity." The Doctor said.
"Why's that?" Rose asked, helping Adam sit in a chair.
"Well, I've changed a few times since I last saw her. I made a promise I didn't go through with." He said.
"She gonna beat you up then? I'd like to see that." She replied smiling.
"The worst part of it is what is happening to her now. SHE'S changing now. I almost didn't recognize her. She's got so much more power that… my regeneration amnesia… but this isn't normal." The Doctor said.
"Is…she alright?" Adam asked.
"She'll be fine. I must say, you are rather lucky young man." The Doctor said.
"Why do you say that?" Adam said, kneeling by Ari.
"She cares for you, very much." The Doctor said.
"Yes, she tried to tell me."
"Do you share her feelings?" Rose asked, leaning against the console.
"Yes."
"Good. She's going to need you a lot more now." The Doctor said.
"What's wrong with her?" Adam asked, as Ari moaned in pain.
"She's metamorphosing." The Doctor said, both Rose and Adam looked at him. He coughed and smiled slightly. "She's changing. That and I'm sure the injuries sustained in those explosions didn't help much with the pain."
"We noticed that Doctor, but into what?" Rose asked.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say a feral, a cat woman." The Doctor said, pressing buttons and moving switches. "And not like the one in that horrible and cheesy American movie."
The room pitched, and Rose stumbled into a pile with the other two. The room righted itself and the Doctor ran around the console again, pressing buttons.
"Sorry. Haven't used this console room in a while." He said.
"Thanks Doctor." Rose said, dusting herself off.
"Will she be… herself?" Adam asked.
"She's the same person if that's what you mean." The Doctor said.
"Just because she's changing doesn't mean she'll be different. I thought Europeans had moved beyond that these days." Rose said.
"It's not that. Most of the times when people change drastically, a part of them changes into someone else." Adam said. "I don't care what she looks like."
Rose smiled as she watched him crawl towards the girl, he was obviously still disorientated from the blow to his head as well as traveling in the TARDIS. He brushed her hair out of her face, wincing at the blood coming from her forehead. Rose frowned, and disappeared for a moment. The Doctor was about ready to go look for her when she came back with a bowl and a warm cloth she stuck her tongue out at the Doctor as she walked past him. She sat next to Adam and Ari and began to clean the blood from her face. He took the rag from her as she looked up at the Doctor.
"What about earth?" She asked.
"We'll get back to that soon enough. I'm sure that they've stopped now anyways." The Doctor said.
"Who are 'they'?" Rose asked.
"I don't know. The only one I knew that was after this girl was… an old friend. After Gallifrey was destroyed, and he died, I thought she would be safe, when I remembered her. She lives much more linear than I have. Though now, that will change I suppose." He said, starting to mumble.
"Doctor, you're rambling again." Rose said.
"Yes. Well, I know that no Time Lord is after her. Who these people are, I don't know. What is worse is I don't know HOW they came to learn of her." The Doctor said.
"What are you talking about? She hasn't mentioned anything like that to me." Adam said.
"How much of her life are you aware of?" The Doctor asked, turning to him.
"She was abandoned in America. She's mostly been a 'ward of the state' as she said. I know basic things, her birthday, and her favorite color." Adam said.
"Did she ever tell you about her religion?" The Doctor asked.
"Yes, it wasn't mainstream, she had a 'coven'" He replied.
"Well, she believed she could do what you would call magick. And she's very good at it. She used the elements of fire and water to defeat one of my kind. And she's since gained much more power. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was far more advanced than any of my people." The Doctor said. "In the fact that she's not biased against you lot."
Both Rose and Adam looked at him in disbelief, but he ignored it. He was making sure the TARDIS could fly on its own. Rose stood up to help the Doctor pilot the TARDIS, and Adam remained sitting next to Ari.
"He's right Adam." She said softly, moving. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything, whenever I told someone else I thought cared for me, they always got away as fast as they could. No matter what, they always left me. In my heart, I knew I could tell you, but I was so scared that you would leave me too. You were different than everyone else."
Adam looked down at her, smiling slightly. The Doctor kneeled by him, and the girls. He smiled.
"It's good to see you again, Lady Hawk." He said.
"You lied to me." She said. Rose could see the sadness, a sadness that was painful. She knew the girl was strong, but a part of her was still so fragile.