"Okay let's think this out," Rose spoke mostly to herself as there was no one around, but it was a small comfort anyways, to talk something through out loud. "Stuck in a hotel made to resemble something from the 80's on earth, with rooms full of your worst fear. Monster chasin' you, findin' you because of that fear? Perhaps it can smell fear, that's a bit terrifyin'. But we're all scared, so why does it choose the ones it does? What makes them so different from the rest of us? Why aren't I bein' chased right now? I'm a bit scared, separated from the group, wanderin' 'round a rubbish hotel that's growin' creepier by the minute." Rose stopped outside of a door without a number on it. Her fingers itched to open it but she purposefully strode on.

"Stay away from the doors," Rose reminded herself, mostly just to hear a bit of noise besides the hum of muzak that seemed to be crawling underneath her skin and making her whole body itchy. All together it was quite an unpleasant feeling and she was really wishing to run into someone. The Ponds, Rita, the Doctor- anyone really.

"Enough of that, you travelled alone for nearly two years, jumping from one dimension to the next, endin' up in foreign places, sometimes much scarier than this and you were always alone. This is no different." Except it was. Something was hunting them down, one by one, and putting their pictures up on a trophy wall with their worst nightmare written beneath their name. Rose wasn't even quite positive what her worst fear was. Being alone? Being stuck in a war zone again? Watching the people she loved die while she was helpless to do anything about it? Slowly being eaten and digested and thrown up only to have the whole thing repeated again by a Hemorrid from Torres IV?

Rose's hand was on a door knob, turning it slowly when she snapped back into herself. She let go of the door knob and jumped back, staring at the blank plaque on the door that should have had a room number on it. Did she not even warrant a number?

"Bit rude, that." Rose rolled her neck, trying to ignore the feeling of not being in control of her own body. She spun on her heel and walked briskly down the hall but it ended and she was left facing a door with no number. "Oi! Stop this right now, I'm not openin' the bloody door!" Rose spun around but she was faced with the numberless door once again. Her throat felt dry and her heart hammered within her chest as something crawled over her skin.

Right. Creepy ever-changing hallway that clearly wanted to her to go into that specific room aside, at least she wasn't in that dining area with the dummies. Now that had been truly awful.

"Lizzie Boden had an axe.

Gave her mother 40 whacks.

When she'd seen what she had done,

She gave her father 41.

1,2,3,4-"

Rose's words caught in her throat, barely a breath escaped her mouth when she realized what she had been singing. A slapping and crunching noise behind her drew her focus back to the door, her hand was on the knob again but she realized something too late. She was on the other side of the door, she had somehow entered the room and hadn't even been aware of it.

Praise him.

A noise came from behind her, something completely inhuman. A sound that made her skin crawl and her heart slam against her ribs.

"Yesterday, upon the stair

I met a man who wasn't there

He wasn't there again today

I wish, I wish he'd go away…"

A growl, closer to her. Something gasping for breath, was that her? No, it was always behind her. A struggling sound, muffled by something blocking the airway. Rose had heard a noise like that once, a gasping, rattling death noise that came from blood in the lungs and throat.

"When I came home last night at three

The man was waiting there for me

But when I looked around the hall

I couldn't see him there at all!"

Rose pressed her forehead against the fake wooden door, her hand clutching the door knob until it gave a groan in protest. Praise him. The death rattle grew in sound behind her, only accompanied by the soft growling that was ever coming closer.

"Go away, go away, don't you come back any more!

Go away, go away, and please don't slam the door

Last night I saw upon the stair

A little man who wasn't there."

Rose slid down to her knees, her hand still gripping the door knob as hot tears flowed down her cheeks. Scalding breath ghosted over the back of her neck as she whispered out the last two lines.

"He wasn't there again today

Oh, how I wish he'd go away."

Rose turned her head and met her nightmare. A scream tore out of her throat without any warning to her.

"Rose! Rose! Look at me Rose, it's not real, it can't hurt you!" Someone was pulling her out of the room, tugging her uncooperating body out into the hall but Rose couldn't look away. "Rose, concentrate on me, remember what the Doctor said? The things in the rooms aren't real, they can't hurt us if we don't let them."

But Rose couldn't look away from the hulking beast in front of her. It was a large wolf, or at least at some point it had been a wolf. It was missing chunks of black, mangy fur in places and it was a twisted, monsterous-looking thing now. Too misshapen to ever be compared to a real wolf. Something thick and black oozed from its muzzle, which was wet with blood of the thing, the person it had been consuming. Pitch black eyes stared at her with just one feeling- hatred. It wanted to consume Rose like it had consumed that person behind it, that one that was still alive, a mangled mess of something that's every living moment was pure hell.

"Rose!" The door was slammed shut before a face came in close to hers, taking up all available space.

Rose let out a strangled gasp, sucking in breath as she pushed away from the person and struggled to the other side of the hall, only stopping her frantic scrambling when her back hit the wall. She clamped her mouth shut on any words that wished to spill out without her consent and slammed her head back into the wall.

"Rose, stop, please stop." A gentle hand worked itself behind her head, cupping the back of her skull so she could no longer hit it against the wall without injuring him. "Deep breaths, that's right, you're going to be just fine."

"Rory," Rose was finally able to wheeze out, her eyes snapping open and meeting those of one Rory Williams. "Rory." Rose said again, more firmly this time. Rory removed his hand and scooted back to give her some room. "I'm okay- I-I-I just need a moment." Rose turned her face away and furiously scrubbed at her cheeks before pushing her thumbs into her eyes until she saw dots.

"You saved Rita," Rory finally spoke up. Rose turned her attention back to him, her eyes snagging on the door behind him for a moment, but only a moment.

"Oh that's brilliant of me, don't remember doin' that mind, but still, all the same." Rose was nearly proud of the lightness of her tone, as if she hadn't just had a meltdown moments prior. Rory even gave her a small, encouraging smile as he pushed to his feet and helped her up.

"It was after her, she must have gone into her own room at some point, but it changed direction at the last moment." Rory looked like he regretted the way this topic had gone but Rose only gave a small glance to the door behind him.

"Found something more interestin', fantastic." Rose rubbed her eyes, forcing certain words that wanted to escape her throat back down as she tucked her hair behind her ear and tried to find some semblance of balance within herself.

"What was that?" Rory asked, as if he couldn't help himself.

"A wolf." Rose answered honestly.

"That thing was a wolf?"

"It was a bad wolf," Rose would have laughed if she didn't feel like crying. Or laughing. Or screaming. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do, but she felt an all-consuming peace slide over her. Her head tilted to the side as she stared at the door, her door, her blank door with a monster inside. Like the monster inside herself and it was awake now. Awoken by fear and something trying to overtake her mind.

"You alright? Not wanting to worship anyone, are you?" Rory asked a bit worriedly.

"What did you just say?" Rose questioned back, something on the edge of her mind that was screaming at her to notice, but just then the Doctor came running around the corner and nearly crashed into her.

"Rose!" The Doctors arms wrapped around Rose, crushing her to him with surprising strength. Rose let herself sink into his embrace and felt that peace fog up her brain again. Praise him. Rose pushed away from the Doctor, shaking her head and looking around at everyone.

"A creature that wants you to worship it wouldn't pray on fear." Rose said, making the Doctor's happy smile slip away. "It's what that fear forces you to do. What do you do when you get scared? How are you not scared Rita, what have you done? The rest of us aren't scared because this is hardly the scariest situation any of us have been in, but you're a medical student from the middle 21st century. What do you hold onto when you get scared?"

"My faith." Rita answered, her eyes going a bit wide as she finally understood what was going on. "It's robbing me of my faith."

"No, it's takin' that faith and turnin' it towards itself." Rose amended. "Howard's faith was conspiracies."

"That external forces controlled the world. Joe had dice cufflinks and a chain with a horsehoe. He was a gambler. Gamblers believe in luck, an intangible force that helps them win or lose. Gibbis has rejected any personal autonomy and is waiting for the next batch of invaders to oppress him and tell him what to do. They all believe there's something guiding them, about to save them." The Doctor continued, pacing up and down the hall as he explained, catching on to Rose's theory. He was also doing quite a good job of distracting them all from the noises coming from the door without numbers.

"That's what it replaces. Every time someone was confronted with their most primal fear, they fell back on their most fundamental faith." Rose continued, speaking to the Doctor's back as his shoulders sagged.

"And all this time, I have been telling you to dig deep, find the thing that keeps you brave. I made you expose your faith, show them what they needed." The Doctor said softly, sounding deeply ashamed.

"But why us? Why are we here?" Rory asked, brows furrowed.

"It doesn't want you. That's why it kept showing you a way out. You're not religious or superstitious, so there's no faith for you to fall back on. It wants her." The Doctor pointed to Amy.

"Me?" Amy scoffed. "Why?"

"Your faith in me." The Doctor answered, sounding both in awe and ashamed. "That's what brought us here."

"But Rose has a room too," Amy countered.

"But why do they lose their faith before they die and start worshipping it?" Rory interrupted.

"It needs to convert the faith into a form it can consume. Faith is an energy, the specific emotional energy the creature needs to live, which is why, at the end of her note, Lucy said-"

"Praise him." Amy and Rose said at the same time.

"Exactly." The Doctor and Rory then exchanged a frantic look.

"No. Oh, please, no." Rory shook his head as footsteps slowly approached across the ceiling and the glass chandeliers rattled.

"Run!" The Doctor shouted and they took off down the hall. Rose could feel the pull of the creature but the Other inside her mind stretched and growled, clearing her mind for her as the Doctor and Rory dragged a struggling Amy into a room.

There was a small red headed little girl sitting on a suitcase and staring out the window. She gave a cursory glance over her shoulder at everyone in the room before looking back out the window. Amy fell to her knees, crying.

"Doctor, it's happening. It's changing me." Amy whispered. Rose fought with Rita even as her head felt like it would split from the fight raging on inside of her. Rita was struggling to get out of the room as Rory pressed himself up against the rattling door.

"It's changing my thoughts."

"I can't save you from this. There's nothing I can do to stop this." The Doctor whispered.

"What?"

"I stole your childhood, and now I've led you by the hand to your death. But the worst thing is, I knew. I knew this would happen. This is what always happens." The door slammed open and the minotaur pounded in. "Forget your faith in me. I took you with me because I was vain, because I wanted to be adored. Look at you. The glorious Pond. The girl who waited for me. I'm not a hero. I really am just a madman in a box. And it's time we saw each other as we really are."

The minotaur groaned and Rita slumped over in Rose's arms, passing out cold. It's huge head turned to Rose, letting out a mournful noise as Rose slowly lowered Rita to the ground.

"Amy Williams. It's time to stop waiting." The creature stumbled out of the room and Rose felt her feet following after him. Her mind was her own again even as the Other settled back in. Rose watched the creature collapse against the wall then slide down as the lights flickered off. Rose knelt down carefully by the minotaur as the Doctor knelt next to her.

"I severed the food supply, sacrificing her faith in me, gave you the space to die." The Doctor explained softly, caressing the creatures face, giving comfort where he could. The hotel around them peeled away, revealing the real interface of the place.

"What is it, a minotaur or an alien? Or an alien minotaur. That's not a question I thought I'd be asking this morning." Amy said as the Doctor stood up and walked over to her. Rose pressed her hand softly against the creatures chest and his hoofed hand rested over her hand.

"I mean, it's both. Actually, yeah, here we go." The Doctor walked over to the computer system in the room. "A distant cousin of the nimon. They descend on planets and set themselves up as Gods to be worshipped, which is fine, until the inhabitants get all secular and advanced enough to build bonkers prisons."

"Correction, prisons in space." Rory interjected, looking out at window with Rita, who was awake now and looking much more like herself. Rose touched the minotaur's face gently, it was like rough sewn leather beneath the pads of her fingers. He felt ancient, so very old and so very alone.

"Where are the guards?" Amy asked.

"No need for any. It's all automated. It drifts through space, snatching people with belief systems, and converts their faith into food for the creature." The Doctor answered.

"They didn't want just me, so you must believe in some god, or someone, or they'd have shown you the door, too. So what do Time Lords pray to?" Amy asked and Rose looked up to meet the Doctor's eyes.

"According to the in-flight recorder the program developed glitches. It got stuck on the same setting. The fears from the people before us weren't tidied away." The Doctor said instead of actually answering Amy with a straight answer for once.

"And you? What do you believe in?" Amy asked, turning towards Rose with her arms crossed against her chest.

"Myself." Rose answered honestly. "I've always had faith in myself, even at the worst of times I always believed I could get myself out of any situation I got into in the first place." A lot of that had to do with her dimensional travelling years, but even when she had been younger, growing up on the council estate you really had to depend on yourself for a lot of things. Rose had faith in her friends, she believed that given the chance the Doctor or Jack, or even Rory and Amy would help her out but she had faith in herself if they didn't come. But it was hard to believe in yourself when you had a monster living in the deepest parts of your mind.

"What's it saying?" Amy asked as the minotaur made a growling noise, turning towards Rose.

"An ancient creature drenched in the blood of the innocent, drifting in space, through an endless, shifting maze. For such a creature death would be a gift and accepted." Rose answered, even though the question had been aimed at the Doctor. The minotaur was looking at Rose with bright blue eyes and Rose had the feeling the minotaur wasn't just speaking about itself.

"Then sleep well." The Doctor said softly, though he was giving Rose an indecipherable look. "I wasn't talking about myself." The Doctor translated for the creature right before it slipped away.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW

Rose carefully studied the back of the Doctor. He was bent over the console, his head bowed and his whole countenance looked about three seconds from collapsing in on himself. She saw a lot of this Doctor's back, could tell what mood he was in by the shift of his shoulders or the straightness of his spine.

"Do you remember when your mum called us barmy, living this sort of life? Dangerous, she said, she hated it." The Doctor finally spoke up. Rose shifted uncomfortably before letting out a soft breath, reminding herself that her mum was alive and well, trapped away from her forever, but she had Pete and little Tony, who probably wasn't so little anymore.

"You told her that was just the bits in between." Rose answered around the lump in her throat. The Doctor turned then, finally facing her and it was his turn to study her face. Something must have given her away, that this was a hard subject for her, because he was suddenly striding over and pulling her into a tight hug.

"Doesn't seem to be just the bits in between now. Seems to be every bloody stop that I nearly lose one of you, if not all of you." The Doctor admitted softly against her temple. Rose slipped her arms underneath his jacket and gripped the back of his cotton shirt in a tight grasp.

"Not your fault, ya know." Rose's voice was muffled due to her face being buried in the Doctor's chest, and she felt the vibrations of a chuckle that didn't quite make it out of his mouth.

"Glorious Ponds, couldn't be the death of them, not me. I had to let them live their lives." The Doctor explained after a moment of silence. Rose inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and letting the Doctor's presence soothe away any lingering effect from the hell hotel.

"Is that why you dropped Rita off at home? Instead of askin' her to travel with us? She was really quite brilliant, think she would have liked to pop about the universe for a spell." Rose felt the Doctor's arms tighten around her, just for a moment, before he released her all together and stepped back.

"You Rose Tyler are just- brilliant." The Doctor hopped around the console, but he didn't press any levers, didn't send them flying off through space and time on another adventure. "This body has a habit of-"

"Mopin'?" Rose asked with a grin, following him around the console.

"Time Lords do not mope!" The Doctor exclaimed in mock offense.

"Time Lords might not have, but you do." Rose retorted back, earning her a stern look.

"Fine, for a lack of a better word, we'll call it moping. But you, brilliant, fantastic, lovely-" The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and spun her around, causing her to let out a breathless laugh. "Rose Tyler, you just won't let me do that."

"Mopin's rubbish, did my fair share of it, and all I really ever got was a headache. Something bad happens, you pull yourself up and you keep movin'." Rose tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, noting the long length of the strand. More time must have passed since she was living with Jack then she initially thought. "Where are we goin' next?"

"Nowhere. The TARDIS needs some maintenance, nothing too serious, just a couple things I've been- well, putting off for a while now. Could use a rest, yeah? Bit of peace and quiet." There was something on the Doctor's face, an emotion that Rose couldn't quite read, and she tilted her head, trying to understand why the Doctor seemed so hesitant about this.

"I'll make us a cuppa then, yeah?" Rose asked, because when in doubt, make tea. It must have been the right thing to say because the Doctor gave her a brilliant, albeit manic, grin. Rose returned it and strode off to the galley.

After the incident with the monster-wolf Rose didn't think she was up just yet for another adventure. She also didn't think she'd be getting a good night's rest anytime soon. Repairs with her other two Doctor's meant long hours spent in the TARDIS console room, with the Doctor telling her history of planets and people and things, while Rose listened with rapt attention, interrupting continually with questions.

Rose wasn't sure what repairs in the vortex meant with this Doctor though. He was even more secretive than her last three, including the half-Time Lord Doctor. Rose didn't think it was fair to make the Doctor be honest with her when she was hiding a couple things from him, but she thought maybe it was about time both of them talked a couple things through.

"Doctor, what happened with River?" Rose asked, deciding the best approach would just to be outright about it. She settled down on the floor by the Doctor's outstretched legs. The rest of him was inside the TARDIS console. Rose placed both mugs of tea to her right, so the Doctor wouldn't accidently hit them with his long limbs.

"Oh you know, she grew up with Amy and Rory, was actually Amy's best mate growing up, didn't show up to their wedding though. The Ponds were sick of waiting around, did something a bit silly to get my attention, and of course I couldn't resist an invitation-"

"Couldn't just, I don't know, pick up your mobile?" Rose asked, earning a tap of the Doctor's booted foot against her thigh.

"She pulled a gun out on me." The Doctor said.

"Of course she did," Rose said quickly, perhaps a bit too quickly because the Doctor's tinkering stopped while Rose rubbed her forehead. She really didn't mean to be so harsh about River, she really didn't, but she also didn't like the fact that the woman seemed to aim a gun at the Doctor quite often. "I thought you hated guns?"

"You carried a great, big giant one across dimensions!"

"Because of daleks, and I only threatened some stupid kids that were stealin' from a shop with it, just the once, wasn't gonna do anything with it." Rose grumped.

"Anyways," The Doctor tapped his foot against Rose's thigh again and she grabbed his ankle to keep him from doing it again. "She wanted to go kill Hitler." He paused, as if waiting for Rose to interrupt, but Rose wasn't going to touch that. "I told her a very clever lie about guns not workin' in the TARDIS."

"And let me guess, she fired the gun?" Rose asked, which was met by silence. For a moment at least.

"She shot my TARDIS, she shot the console." The Doctor said, sounding extremely offended. The TARDIS gave a soft whine, as if she were trying to speak her offense too. Rose reached up and touched the console. "We-kind of, just a bit- saved Hitler. Accidentally. Rory punched him though, and shoved him in a cupboard. Mels, Amy's best mate, she ended up getting shot, by Hitler. She regenerated."

"River can regenerate? So she's a proper Time Lord? Time Lady? Time- person?" Rose asked, causing the Doctor to push himself out from inside the console and give her a look.

"Do you want to hear this story or not?" The Doctor asked, a bit snippily, but Rose just grinned and slipped his cuppa closer to him. The Doctor sat up and took a hesitant sip, staring at her over the rim before taking a larger drink of it, smacking his lips rather rudely at the end. "She tried to shoot me, but I took the bullets out of the gun. Now don't look like that, it's not her fault, she was programmed to kill me. She uh- poisoned me. Went into the TARDIS to make a plan while Rory and Amy went after their newly regenerated daughter. You were there, not you exactly, emergency interface you, you were a bit rubbish. Couldn't regenerate, no cure- looked bit grim there. There was a robot worked by tiny people, did I mention that yet? Yes, well, they were there to kill Hitler, but we kind of- got in the way a bit. Then they identified Melody Pond, thought they'd get her instead for killing me. Learned The Silence isn't the species, it is a religious order or movement."

"Get back to the you dyin' by poison bit." Rose demanded, realizing she had a tight grip on his ankle still and she pulled her hand away to grab her mug.

"She used all her regenerative energy in one go, to save me. Worked out quite well, because here I am." The Doctor motioned grandly, nearly spilling the rest of his tea in the process.

"And that's all?" Rose asked, eye brows raised.

"No, of course not. When is that ever all? Got a message on the psychic paper, please save me from the monsters. I really meant to pick you up, who's better at saving people from monster than the big bad wolf?" The Doctor asked and Rose swallowed thickly, looking down at her mostly empty mug.

"Little kid calls for help across the universe; of course you go runnin' to help." Rose deflected.

So the Doctor told her about George, and how George's mum couldn't have kids, how it didn't add up. Then they got sucked into the cupboard. Anything that scared little George was put into the cupboard, and he created a whole world. He needed the acceptance of his dad, even though he wasn't from Earth, that's all he needed. Two people who wanted a child so badly, heard by a little alien orphan.

"All in a days work." Rose said with a grin as she cut out frayed wires and put new ones in their places. The Doctor was underneath the console, continually getting shocked and cursing in different languages.

"Speaking of day, you should get some rest. Been up for near a day now, and you humans-" The Doctor was just about to go on a rant about the wastefulness of sleeping, though he was always the one reminding her to rest. Rose stood up and stretched, she was exhausted, but she knew she wouldn't sleep well. Either way, she did need a shower.

"Yes, waste half our lives sleepin', I know I know." Rose made her way down the hall and to her bedroom.

Rose stripped out of her clothes and hopped into the shower. There were a lot of things she needed to tell the Doctor, but she had grown so use to keeping things close to herself that it was hard to talk anything out. That hadn't just started with the Doctor either, she had been doing it her entire life. Don't talk about her mums string of never ending boyfriends, don't talk about Jimmy Stone's infidelity, don't talk about how bored the relationship with Mickey Smith made her, don't talk about her feelings with the Doctor, don't talk about being from another universe, don't tell anyone your boyfriend is half an alien- on and on. It didn't help with Torchwood either, everything was secrecy there. She was constantly keeping up a string of lies.

Rose found herself listening to a ring tone as she held her mobile up to her ear.

"How's my favorite pair doing?" Jack's smooth voice questioned, immediately making the tightness in her chest loosen.

"We've just settled down for some repairs in the vortex." Rose answered, smiling as she lay back on her bed. She was in her dressing gown, hair still wet, but she didn't care. "How longs it been?"

"About two years." Jack chuckled at Rose's gasp. "I'm guessing it's been even longer for you, and don't start feeling bad Rose, you can't pick the time you call me. Time doesn't matter much to me anyways." Rose was standing in front of her mirror now, staring at her face, tilting it left and right as she pulled on a strand of hair. "But repairs, now that brings back some good memories with old blue eyes. Oh Rosie, he was good looking, now wasn't he? Didn't see it at first, couldn't understand why a girl that looked like you, full of energy and life, hung around with an old, jaded soldier, but it just took a bit of time to see it."

"Are you flirtin' with me, Jack Harkness?" Rose questioned, smiling despite the pit in her stomach.

"Always, sweetheart." Jack said sweetly, making both of them laugh. "You okay?"

"Jack, remember when that Palthazar critter spit up that toxic goo all over us? We had to get full medical exams to make sure it was out of our systems." Jack made a noncommittal noise and Rose felt her heart speed up. "Was there anything more in my exam? You told me I had a full bill of health, couldn't be a healthier person on the planet. I thought you were just teasin', but you weren't, were you?"

"No, Rosie, no I wasn't teasing, I was being truthful." Jack let out a soft sigh. "I meant to tell you, really, but things just kept popping up and then you were gone. It's not like it's bad, just- different."

"I'm not agin', am I?" Rose asked after a moment of silence.

"It's not that you're not aging, you are, but there's something inside of you that gets triggered when you're hurt and it's like pushing a big restart button. From as far as I could tell, you age, get wounded, and everything in your body gets pushed back to your early twenties." Jack explained as Rose ran light fingers over her cheek. "I don't really know anything more, sorry, I'll try and figure it out, but I'm not a doctor or a scientist, and I took your results away from the two that are."

"You trust Tosh and Owen though. Well, you trust Tosh, and despite being a prat, Owen is a doctor, he's not going to go around sharin' my medical records." Rose turned away from the mirror and leaned against the counter.

"No, probably not, I guess it's hard to share secrets when you're just so use to keeping them." Jack mused quietly and Rose sucked in a deep breath, before letting out a soft laugh. "You should talk to the Doc about this Rose, he'd probably know what's going on a lot better than me, but I'm guessing it's from the whole Bad Wolf episode you had. You loved me so you brought me back to life. Only makes sense as a being of infinite power you could extend your own life to match that of, say, the last of a race that has a habit of living a long time." Rose swallowed down the denial, Jack knew and it was safe to talk about it with him.

"I didn't- I didn't think of it that way. Bloody hell." Rose grumbled, running a hand over her face. Jack laughed in her ear, a happy sound.

"Go talk to him, I bet he's already noticed anyways."

"He's been a bit preoccupied lately."

"Rose, it's you, he's noticed." Jack deadpanned. "Give me a ring anytime." They said their goodbyes and Rose hung up.

Rose changed into some pink and green jim jam bottoms and a black vest before taking a deep breath and making her way back out to the console room. She wondered about the proper way to go about asking someone if they had noticed their travelling companion had turned immortal. She thought the best way was just to spit it out.

"Oh no, no, Rose Tyler, you go right back to your room and get some rest. You might think I haven't noticed, but I have, you haven't been getting enough sleep as it is and you can't go days without it, no matter how impressive you think you've gotten." The Doctor said, coming up the stairs to meet her before she could even step foot into the console room.

"I am impressive," Rose quipped back but the Doctor just gave her a stern look. "I'm not agin' right, am I?" The Doctor looked shocked and then he narrowed his eyes, wringing his hands out in front of him.

"Not for a human, no." The Doctor said slowly.

"That's why you won't let me use the nanogenes." Rose said suddenly. "Whenever I get hurt and go to the infirmary, you always yell out 'don't use the nanogenes Rose!' Yeah?"

"Oh- oh, yes, I guess I did do that. Clever girl, you are." The Doctor studied her face, his brow furrowed before he took a step closer and cupped her cheek. "You're going to be alright, Rose. It's not like every time you scrap a knee or get a paper cut you'll go back to being twenty again, and you are aging, albeit at a vastly slower rate than a normal girl from the 21st century should, but you've never been much for normalcy, have you?" Rose grinned a bit and leaned into his touch.

"Doctor, do you remember how I use to black out when I first got here?" Rose asked and watched the Doctor nod, though he looked distracted as he ran his thumb soothingly over the apple of her cheek. "After Idris- after the TARDIS put herself in my body, she moved me to a younger version of myself. It was when- when I came back for you, with the daleks. That was me, now. The TARDIS, she took my younger self and she tucked her into a deep place in my mind to keep me safe. I'm- oh god, I'm muckin' this all up." Rose shook her head and looked down.

"No, I understand. You had all of time in your little human head, but it wasn't all of the TARDIS, not like when she was stuck in Idris-form. She would have compressed you to death within an instant, that is why she took you out, and the only safe place was another version of yourself. So you remember what happened then, eh?" The Doctor gave her a bit of a grin and Rose hid her face behind her hands, laughing softly even as she felt her face burning.

"I kind of claimed you for my own, didn't I?" She peeked at him through her fingers to see his grin widen.

"Well, I kind of was yours, in that body- wasn't I?" They stared at each other in shock for an instant and the Doctor stuttered out a few words that sounded like a mixture of a couple different languages, like he had forgotten how to speak English. Rose pressed her hand against her mouth to keep her laughter inside.

"You kissed me!" Rose couldn't help teasing him, it seemed to be her default mode now. "You made a doctor joke and you kissed me, you are so rubbish, I can't believe I was dyin', burnin' from the inside out and you choose that moment to make a doctor joke!" The Doctor was bright red and he was trying to duck around her, but as tired as she was, she was still right quick and dodged in front of him, her fingers tickling his sides. "You are so full of it!"

"You love it!" The Doctor finally ducked around her, but he didn't run away as she expected, no, he retaliated with digging his fingers into her sides and she let out a peel of laughter as she tried to fold in on herself.

"Let me go, you barmy alien!" Rose squealed out, trying to twist out of his grasp, but he was surprisingly resilient.

"Admit it, Rose Tyler, admit that you love me!" The Doctor's fingers instantly stopped their slow torture and they both became still, except for Rose's gasping breathes. She knew this was one of those turning points, where things go could extremely awkward for them. She didn't want him to disappear into the confines of the TARDIS and then come out acting like everything was great, but she could tell he had distanced himself from her already. It looked like she had a long life ahead of her, and she wanted to spend it with him, whether he had any feelings towards her or not, and it wouldn't do to let him start pushing her away.

Rose used her rusty Torchwood training and hooked her foot behind the Doctor's leg and pulled. He went down with a thud and Rose sat on his back, beaming down at him.

"So how old am I really? I mean, in Earth years that is, not counting the whole aging backwards thing whenever I'm seriously injured. De-generatin'? That a thing? You told me before Jack was made immortal that by his time, humans had done a fairly good job at slowin' down the whole agin' thing anyways. Then we were bein' chased and got a little off subject." Rose looked down at the Doctor, his face turned to the side and giving her a proper glare, but he didn't shuck her off.

"You're 31 Rose," The Doctor answered, looking like he was about to go on a long winded speech, but Rose cut him off.

"I hit my 30 mark and you didn't think to tell me? That's a big year for humans, you know? You didn't even bother to get me a cake." Rose was not pouting, not even a bit, no matter what her face might look like.

"I took you to that party on Teldaga!" The Doctor said, sounding offended.

"You didn't tell me it was for my birthday." Rose shot back.

"I didn't, did I?" The Doctor shifted slightly and Rose moved to sit beside him, not on him. The Doctor flipped over and laid on his back, his arms pillowing his head as he looked up at the high vaulted ceiling of the TARDIS. "I am a bit rubbish, aren't I?"

"A bit," Rose sniffed, earning another glare. "Doctor, what was the kiss about? Because I asked Idris if she was goin' to kiss me to transfer herself to me, but she said that was a whole different story, and then I was in my younger selves body."

"Rose, you were dying." The Doctor sat up, suddenly looking serious. "Taking the time energy out of you wasn't a problem, but you would have still been dying and there was nothing in the universe that could have undone the damage your body had been put through." The Doctor swallowed several times, looking down at his hands as Rose tugged on her earring and tried to think things through.

"Takin' the time vortex inside yourself wouldn't have forced you to regenerate, would it?" Rose asked suddenly.

"No, I mean it could have, if I had held onto it, but it was only in me for a couple seconds, then back into the TARDIS, no harm done at all. Well, a little harm, a little bit of harm, but nothing that a sleeping coma couldn't cure." The Doctor looked at Rose as she thought everything through.

"I- I always thought you gave up your life for me, I knew that, but you did more than that, didn't you? It's like what River did for you, givin' up all her regenerations to sort you out. You could have continued on in that body if I wasn't so stupid." The Doctor moved forward and cupped her face between his cool hands, making her look at him.

"Rose, you saved me. There would have been no coming back from that situation, I couldn't press that button but the daleks would have killed me, no walking away from it. But you didn't just save me Rose, you saved the Earth, the entire universe, and you didn't even hesitate. I always hesitate, I always think of myself, selfish old man that I am, but not you, you never care about the consequences to yourself as long as you're helping others." The Doctor sounded a bit bitter by the end, but he didn't let her question him as he continued on. "But that- that wasn't even a choice for me Rose Tyler." He pressed a kiss to her forehead, so softly that Rose felt every ounce of worry leave her body.

"There's one more thing," Rose said hesitantly, earning a chuckle from the Doctor against her forehead as he shifted slightly, leaning to press his forehead to hers. "Oh shut up you. There's ah- something, there's- in my head Doctor." Rose tried.

"There's something in your head?" The Doctor asked, trying to piece together her broken sentences. Rose took a deep breath and moved back a bit, looking down and tracing her fingers over the Doctor's hand. She just kept waiting for the Other the stretch itself awake, but it stayed silent.

"I think it's left over from the Bad Wolf incident, I'm not sure though, it could be from a number of different things. I don't know why, but I'm pretty sure it's a bit of Bad Wolf left over, I think it's just been dormant until I crossed over between dimensions. I think it's the reason why the Silence never worked on me, they were- they were almost afraid of me. They couldn't get into my head because there was already something in there." Rose explained and had to forcibly clench her teeth together from continuing on her ramble.

"Are you afraid of it?" The Doctor asked softly. Rose nodded, a small jerk of her head, as if she was frightened that if she acknowledged it any longer it would wake up. "I could run some tests to, if you'd like, but I don't think she's anything to be afraid of Rose." Hazel eyes met green ones.

"How could you know that?" Rose wondered, causing a small smile to flit across the Doctor's young looking face.

"Because if she is a bit of the Bad Wolf, then she was created from you and the TARDIS. You love everyone you come into contact with, and the TARDIS would never do anything to harm you, so it only stands to reason that something created out of two entities with such strong feelings that the bit of Bad Wolf would be nothing but good also." The Doctor said reassuringly. Rose took a deep breath and thought that through, it sounded right. "Do you feel her right now?"

"Yes, but- I think she's sleepin'?" Rose bit her lip, because she wasn't all that sure.

"And when is she active?" The Doctor asked, his hand turning over so she could trace the inside of his palm now.

"When I'm in danger." Rose smiled a bit, causing the Doctor to smile back.

"I could do some tests, if you'd like, but I believe she's apart of you, just another aspect of Rose Tyler, defender of Earth." Rose's smile bloomed fully as she shifted forward for a proper hug. She misjudged the distance and they ended up sprawled out on the floor, laughing together. "Anything else then?" Rose made a noncommittal sound as she rested her head against the Doctor's chest, letting the double heartbeat start to lull her to sleep. "Rose?"

"Hmm?" Rose asked, not realizing she had closed her eyes.

"Are you falling asleep? You have a bed, a very good one, made from the…" Rose drifted off to sleep with the steady thrum of the Doctors double heartbeat, the comforting hum of the TARDIS, and that never ceasing gob of his.

It became lighter after that. The trouble did seem to be the bits in between from there. The Doctor even made her a little machine for her room, so she would know the passing of time by Earth-linear. Three months had passed since she had fallen asleep against him. She slept more than four and half hours for the first time in years, since her Doctor was wiped from existence. She had woken up in a make-shift bed in the corner of the console room, full of soft blankets and fluffy pillows. Rose didn't know if it was the Doctor who had done it or the TARDIS, but she thanked them both silently.

They would go out onto an adventure. They would come back, hours or sometimes days later, and Rose would pop off for a shower and change, make them both some food and then they would eat together. The Doctor would tinker and talk and Rose would gradually fall asleep, only to wake up in her bed.

They were on a small little planet for the Festum Luminum, or the Festival of Lights. The little planet of Delgado had three suns, giving it a never ending source of light. Except once a year when the surrounding planets blocked out the suns and the people of Delgado enjoyed twelve hours of darkness. It had been a terrifying time, the Doctor told Rose, until they realized it was a fantastic reason to throw a party.

So the towns people and tourists got together and thus came the Festum Luminum. Rose and the Doctor had been shuffled off into different huts, separating the men and woman was a part of the festivities. Rose was offered several dresses as they wove flowers that only bloomed one time a year. They were supposed to glow softly pink in her hair, and the simple white dress they put her in glowed at the hem.

Rose felt excitement bubbling up inside her. The last trip had been hard, the TARDIS had taken them into a war zone and even though they had helped accomplish a meeting for peace, it had taken a lot of scrubbing to get the silver blood out of her hair. Rose could tell the Doctor had felt particularly retched about that trip, and that's why he took her here. Nothing bad had ever happened during the Festival of Lights, the Doctor had assured her.

Everything slowly went dim and then dark. There was an excited hush that rippled through the crowd before a soft glow started up. Even within the hut, it was still beautiful. Each woman had braided their hair with flowers, or wound them around their necks, ankles, or wrists. Each dress had a different level of luminosity and soft globes tucked into the top of the hut gave off extra light.

Cora, a young woman that Rose had instantly befriend, popped up in front of her, glowing paint decorating her face and the skin not covered by her white shorts and shirt. She held up different paints and Rose picked a few before closing her eyes and letting the other woman paint her.

Flowers and paints and other bits and bobs that had different levels of luminosity were handed out to everyone before they all filed out of the hut. The men were waiting out in the field, all of them dressed down and free of any lights.

Rose watched the annual tradition ensue. Women greeted men with their glowing flowers or paints and the men bowed their heads, accepting the gifts with smiles and laughter. Rose walked through the crowd, handing out her items to those who hadn't been chosen yet.

Rose saw the Doctor nearly immediately. The people of this planet all stood around her height, about 5'5, and the men were built, but the Doctor was tall and willowy and the people of this planet had a great fascination with him. He was surrounded by a group of women, perhaps half a dozen, all vying to place their flower crown upon his head, or decorate his bared skin with their paint.

The Doctor's boots were gone and his pants were rolled up a couple inches above his ankles. His jacket, bow tie, and bracers were all removed, and his shirt had two buttons undone.

Rose grinned and rolled her eyes at the attention he garnered, but her own attention was pulled off to the side. A lone figure sat on a log, watching the festivities with a small smile. Rose remembered Romulus for a moment, and thought perhaps she should leave him be, but she shook that feeling off and walked over to him.

"Mind if I have a seat?" Rose asked before sitting down when he shook his head. The Doctor had informed her that while the people that inhabited this planet looked quite humanoid, they had significantly shorter life spans. While the boy only looked in his late teens, it meant he was closer to the middle of his life than she was. "Enjoyin' the festival?" Rose questioned, trying to follow his line of sight. There were a couple girls surrounding a rather fit looking bloke.

"Yeah, of course, I enjoy it every year." He sat up straighter and offered a hand. "Sorry, no manners as of late, my name is Hanes."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Rose." She took his hand and squeezed it gently, it was their version of a handshake. Rose then offered a softly glowing flower crown and Hanes smiled his thanks, but didn't put it on his head as he looked back at the group. The bloke had stood up straighter, and was watching Rose and Hanes. When he realized he was caught staring he gave a small wave. "You should go give it to him, he hasn't gotten a crown yet." Rose offered softly, glancing over to see Hanes duck his head.

"Oh- I- we- aren't- I can't-" Hanes looked flustered and suddenly Rose felt terrible.

"'m sorry, it's not really any of my business is it?" Rose quickly covered, earning a small smile from Hanes.

"No, it's fine, thank you, it's very kind of you- most people- thank you." Hanes shook his head, his cotton candy blue hair falling into his eyes. Rose chewed on the corner of her thumb before her eyes sought out the Doctor again of their own accord. "Are you and him-" Hanes motioned to the Doctor, who was dancing around with children on his feet. He had a whole hoard of them following him around, vying for their turn.

"No, at one point we were, I think, but I don't think he feels that way about me anymore." Rose rested her chin in her hand as she watched the Doctor. Then she thought of River Song. "We got separated for a bit, and he found someone else."

"That doesn't bother you?" Hanes asked in surprise, sounding like he was watching a new favorite show.

"A bit, sometimes more than a bit, sometimes not at all." Rose noted with wary amusement that it was easier to talk to a complete stranger about this, someone with no biased opinion. When she wanted advice she called Jack, but having an outside outlook was quite lovely on its own.

"You must be in love then," Hanes said with another smile. Rose looked over at him, but his eyes were on someone else again. The fit bloke with dark blue hair. That was another thing here, all the locals seemed to have a wide variety of blue hair. Rose briefly found herself wondering how she would look like with blue hair. "That's what my mum says anyways, that when you really love someone you just want them to be happy, even if it's not with you." Rose felt there was more behind that story, but she didn't push it.

"But it's nice when they are happy with you." Rose amended, earning a grin from Hanes. "Have you told him how you feel?"

"Have you told your giant how you feel?" Hanes countered, making Rose laugh. He did seem quite tall amongst the locals, though there were some tourist in the mix.

"A long time ago I did, he didn't say it back, and then he did- and it's all rather complicated." Rose groaned and rubbed her temples, this time making Hanes laugh.

"It's tradition here, that you set a proposal if you take the crown off your own head and offer it to them. If they take the crown they are wearing off and put it on you, then they have accepted your proposal. There is a binding ceremony, mostly for show, sometimes for real, that institutes as a promise for future marriage. If you and your partner wear the ribbon all the night, to the point that the first sun peaks around the planet, then you will be blessed with a long, happy life together."

"That's lovely." Rose and Hanes exchanged a few more words before the Doctor stumbled over to her and pulled her up for a dance.

"Save me," The Doctor whispered frantically in her ear as he gave a look around to the locals surrounding them.

"Oh you love it." Rose teased, but she began dancing with him anyways. He was grinning down at her, every once and a while jerking her in another direction or barely missing stepping on her barefoot, and a couple times elbowing her. Rose laughed good naturedly through the entire thing before pulling them to a stop. "Haven't given you anything yet, here." She pulled off her own flower crown and watched as the Doctor's smile dimmed before blooming fully again.

"Right-o! Oh, no, I will never use that word again, Rose, don't even let me use that word again, it's your duty to the universe to never let me utter that word again." The Doctor rambled as he took off his own flower crown and placed it atop his companions head before bowing down and letting Rose put her crown on top of his thick head of hair.

They dance, only taking small breaks to eat some of the local glowing fruit which tastes like a mixture of honey and strawberries and even though the Doctor makes faces at the sweetness of it all, Rose loves it. Then the Doctor pulls her back to the dancing area and is teaching how to dance properly, but his legs are too long and she's laughing too hard and they end up tangled up in each other's limbs more often than not.

Rose is half-apologizing, half-giggling about her elbow meeting the sensitive flesh of the Doctor's gut when he tried to dip her and she attempted to spin when they are suddenly pulled up onto a small raised platform. There are about half a dozen other couples on the stage, looking giddy and embarrassed and Rose raises her eye brows at the Doctor in question, but he just adjusts the flower crown on her head and pulls lightly on one of her braids.

Rose quickly discerns that it's the celebration that Hanes was talking about earlier. Each couple is tied to one another with a small, golden-glowing string, and they speak the ancient rites to each other. They are mostly promises that sound vaguely like wedding vows, though a bit more like Shakespeare had written them. Rose is covering her mouth as the Doctor speaks his part, his grin nearly making her burst with laughter as he tied the golden string around Rose's wrist.

The Doctor bent over, removing Rose's hand from her mouth as he continues speaking the rites. His lips brush against her forehead and Rose can't help the small, happy giggle that escapes her. She never considered herself much of a giggler, especially now that she was older, but this whole day had been absolutely wonderful. Rose had nearly forgotten what it was like, not having to run for her life, or having to figure out some Pond-related family drama. It wasn't that she didn't like the running for her life, or the more soap opera aspects of the Doctor's new life, but she had felt exhausted for so long. Running on nothing but fumes and will power.

The Doctor pressed a kiss against her cheek, then the other one, and Rose let out a small hum of happiness as she closed her eyes, trying to contain her laughter. It didn't help that she could feel the small shake of the Doctor's own body containing his own laughter, or hear the way his words caught over one another every once and a while, before he saved himself and continued speaking. If she opened her eyes she knew that she would see the small quirk of his lips, right there at the corner that belied of his own happiness.

And that's what Rose really needed too. Not just for herself to have this moment, but for the Doctor to get a small break too. She knew the responsibilities heaped upon the century old Time Lords shoulder. People believed he had a duty to show up and save everyone in a timely manner, and lately it seemed like he believed that too. So when he was too late or things did not go according to plan he took it hard, too hard. Rose wanted to yell at the universe, but she had never been one for yelling, and she knew it was pointless, so she had been on a secret mission to make the Doctor have moments like this. Moments where he could forget, at least for a little while, that he was the last of his kind, that he was an old soldier forced to continue to battle, that he was blamed and praised for things he wanted nothing to do with. Moments where he could just be a tourist, enjoying a promise-ritual on a planet with things that glowed.

The Doctor kissed the very tip of her nose, just a brush of his lips really, but she peeked open her eyes to see him beaming down at her. He looked so proud at her, though she hadn't done anything but stop herself from giggling like a 12 year old girl at an Nysync concert, but she couldn't help but return his smile.

"Your turn." The Doctor reminded her, holding up the loose end of the string.

"Oh, right!" Rose and the Doctor both laughed, leaning towards each other as Rose took the end of the string and tied it loosely around the Doctor's wrist, her fingers softly tracing over the skin found there. When Rose's hazel eyes met green ones there was a softness there that was absent a moment ago. Their manic grins tuned down to something smaller, but still powerful all the same.

Rose said the words that she heard repeated several times over by now, her fingers laced with the Doctor's. He bent down a fraction, and she stood up on her toes to gently touch her lips to his forehead. Her singular heart beat quicker inside a chest that somehow seemed to small as she felt something graze across her mind. She pressed light kisses to both of his cheeks, her throat constricting around unspoken words as she considered her next move. Before she could over think it, Rose leaned forward and pressed a light, chaste kiss to the Doctor's lips.

She leaned backed, her mouth forming words her brain had long ago stopped paying attention to so it could closer examine the curves and angles that made up her wonderfully alien's face, but the words got caught up, just for a moment when she pulled back and he leant forward, as if he wanted to continue on with the kiss.

Then the Doctor's eyes opened wide, and she could see that fantastically large brain of his kick into gear and start overanalyzing every little moment. Rose didn't need to merge with the TARDIS again to see how the future would play out. He would nearly immediately start pushing her away, perhaps drag the Ponds back on board, or more likely River Son to put some distance between the two of them. There would be heavy flirting, with everyone but her, and she would be hurt and he would feel horrible, but he would never apologize for it. And then there'd be another small tear in the fabric that connected them together.

Not this time, Rose thought as she leaned forward and instead of kissing his nose, gave it a little nip and grinned at him, his favorite tongue-in-teeth grin. The Doctor's eyes widened in surprise before he laughed in a way that settled deep in Rose's bones. A feeling of deep contentment surrounded her as she nudged him, finishing off the spoke rites.

Rose did not remark on how a small kiss had nearly sent him running while something akin to a marriage proposal did not. But Rose knew why, all their marriages really did not mean anything to the Doctor. She may remember every single one with sharp detail, well except for that one in Boztail, but there was a lot of alcoholic fruit going around and by the time she realized that the fruit was akin to alcohol, it had been too late. But they were just rituals to the Doctor, rituals that were fun to play along too, but that was not how his people were married, so it didn't mean anything to him, while it meant so much to Rose.

Rose admitted, as they danced around, laughing with each other, that she was as much in love with this Doctor as she was with his past selves. She thought about the 'curse of the Time Lords', watching everyone they loved wither and die around them while they were forced to remain young and move on. Rose couldn't help but think that maybe that was the universe evening out the odds, that the Time Lords had all that power that they couldn't have love too. So maybe this was the universes curse for her, to continually fall in love with a different man who was very much the same. She imagined it was because she had taken in the Time Vortex and used it so selfishly. To save the Doctor, yes, but also bringing Jack back alive, extending her own life, and making sure she could find her way back to the Doctor time and time again.

Rose pondered on that train of thought as they made their way back to the TARDIS, hand in hand with their wrists still bound by the softly glowing string.

"Doctor, do you actually believe that the Time Lords were cursed?" Rose asked, earning a surprised look from the Doctor. He opened his mouth, going to respond with the first thing that came to his mind, but then he closed it decisively and seemed to think on it.

"I was a bit dramatic in my last body, wasn't I?" The Doctor asked with a half grin, gently swinging their interlocked hands as he looked up at the stars. "The Time Lords might have been cursed, but it wasn't the curse I spoke of when we had met Sarah Jane." The Doctor still smiled at the mention of Sarah Jane, his face lighting up and Rose wondered about the other woman, about her son.

"Okay, spit it out already." Rose said with a sigh as she leaned against the console, purposefully putting herself in the Doctor's path. The shining string still connected them and she played with the thread lightly as she stared at him.

"Spit what out?" The Doctor asked, eye brows raised, a look of innocence on his face. Rose let out a snort, not believing that for one moment. "Rose- I, I've been putting something off for a while now."

"Which is?" Rose asked, taking a step closer, her fingers dropping the bit of string so she could lace her fingers with his. His body relaxed, just a bit, as he stared down at their entwined hands.

"My death."

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while, but here you go! I've had the darnest time writing the end of this chapter, but I do hope you enjoy it. Thank you for all the lovely, encouraging reviews!