Nathan slams his pack into the dirt and falls onto the ground. Sebastian had shoved him hard against a brick wall, and his shoulders are deeply bruised. He huddles against a large rock, wondering what to do next.

He'd been on sentry duty for eight days now, longer than anyone was allowed to be punished. He'd had few meals and little water, had barely slept, snatching a few minutes here and there when the sun was hot in the sky.

He'd missed the rebel attack.

He'd been asleep, hasn't seen the invasion of the rebel forces. Sebastian had called him blind, allowing so many men slip past his notice. They'd planted a bomb, destroyed half the platoon, and now, Father Eleazar was missing.

Nathan felt sick. It was all his fault.

Sebastian had nearly killed him, beating him in the face and throwing him against the stone wall in rage. One of the men had rested a hand on Sebastian's shoulder, and Sebastian had lowered his fist, smiling viciously.

Nathan had been exiled.

Two guards had dragged him by the arms into the wilderness, had abandoned him half a mile from the city. Nathan had been given a knife and a day's ration of water. The nearest city was a three day walk, and Nathan was already dehydrated and injured. He doesn't think he will survive the journey, not in the heat.

He curls into the ground and puts his head in his hands.

Zeke shows Rose the different areas of the camp as they pass by. There are sleeping rooms, a mess hall, even an underground garden. People mill about the cave, each going about their daily jobs. Some are cooking, others cleaning, and some tend the deer-like creatures with shiny black antlers. Rose is impressed. They seem to live well, for refugees.

The passage widens, and Rose sees a small women braiding a little girl's hair. Rose realizes that the girl is the first child she's seen in the refugee camp. She absently wonders why.

"Torren," Zeke calls.

The women ties the little girl's hair and pats her on the shoulder. "All done!" she says cheerfully, and the girl thanks her, skipping out of the passageway. The woman looks up.

Rose is surprised at how young she is, probably barely into her twenties. She is small, almost tiny, with long, brown hair that hangs down her back in a thick braid, but Rose is struck most by her eyes. They are large and alert, a starling shade of blue.

"This is Rose, from the north camp," Zeke says, extending his hand toward Rose. "She brings a message."

Torren's eyes flicker to Rose, and Rose feels as if she is laid bare under the piercing blue gaze. It is only a fleeting glance, but it is unsettling, and Rose flinches unconsciously. Torren is addressing Zeke now.

"Thank you, Zeke."

Zeke dips his head and takes his leave, giving Rose one last, friendly wave.

Torren turns to Rose, and her gaze is sharp, but not unkind. "You aren't from the north camp," she says. It is not an accusation, only a statement of fact.

Rose isn't sure what to say.

Torren notices. "It's okay, I understand. We don't often meet off-worlders, and we tend to greet visitors with suspicion."

Rose just blinks.

Torren smiles apologetically. "Sorry," she says kindly. "I suppose it's strange to have someone pick up your thoughts." She pauses, looking at Rose appraisingly. "You had a message?"

Rose shakes herself out of her stupor. "Yeah," she says slowly. "The bridge is out. Elliot is on the other side."

Torren's face pales slightly. "What happened?"she asks quickly, voice full of concern.

Rose tells her about what they'd found in the cavern, about the sabotaged bridge and the missing men.

Torren shakes her head. "We've seen nothing strange here, but I'll set guards at the front passage."

Rose nods. "What are we going to do about the bridge?"

Torren sighs and shakes her head. "I don't know," she admits reluctantly. "We can't leave them, but there is no other way to the surface, and we don't have the supplies to build a new bridge. Anyway," her shoulders drop, "I don't know how we would. That bridge has been there for generations." She drops to the floor and leans her head against the stone wall of the cave.
Rose joins her. "Now what?"

Torren sighs. "I don't know." She turns and looks at Rose, studies her intently. "You're familiar," she says finally.

Rose shrugs. "Never been here before," she says simply.

Torren shakes her head. "It's not that," she says slowly. The answer is right there, skirting around the edge of her consciousness, but when she reaches for it, it flits away. She shakes her head. "You aren't human," she says, focusing on that instead.

Rose furrows her brow. Before she can ask, Torren answers. "I'm sorry. I can't help it, you're projecting your thoughts," she says, embarrassed. "It's almost as if you're unfamiliar with your telepathy."

Rose's eyes widen. It hadn't occurred to her that she'd be telepathic now. She wonders if Torren had picked up on that.

Torren laughs. Apparently, she had. Rose wonders why the Doctor hadn't warned her about things like thought projection. It occurs to her that maybe, because he's human now, he isn't telepathic anymore. She isn't sure why the thought makes her so sad.

Torren is staring at her now, brow furrowed, eyes locked intently onto Rose's. "You love two men," Torren says, obviously confused. "The same man, but different."

Rose sighs heavily. That pretty much sums it up. "Yeah, tell me about it," she mutters. As if one Doctor wasn't confusing enough. Strangely, she isn't bothered by Torren picking through her thoughts. She realizes, startled, that she's relieved to have somebody as confused as she is.

Torren smiles gently at her. "We can talk about it, if you want," she offers, blue eyes somber and understanding.

Rose leans her head back against the wall. She thinks it might be nice to get it all out. She runs through the entire dilemma in her mind, realizes that she has no idea how to explain to Torren. "I don't even know where to start," she laughs, overwhelmed by the complexity of the situation.

Torren watches her. "You're scared," she says, after a moment.

"I'm sorry?" says Rose, leaning up and looking curiously at Torren.

"You're scared to tell the other. Why?"

Rose realizes in that moment, though it had never been a conscious thought, that she is scared. It had been much simpler with the human Doctor; there was something about them being equals, something about the fact that forever meant the same thing to them, that made it so much easier with him. She'd ignored the problem of the Time Lord, shoved it to the back of her mind, told herself that it would all work itself out- she loves them both. She remembers the Time Lord's reluctance to admit his feelings, his obvious discomfort at the prospect of settling down, his disdain for all things 'domestic.' He could never sit still, was always bouncing from one interest to the next. He lived exuberantly and loved fiercely, she knew, was a whirlwind of enthusiasm and passion and discovery, but Rose had never seen anything hold his attention for long. He'd never finished that sentence on Bad Wolf Bay. She knew, had always known, never needed the words, but there was something about the way that he would not admit it to himself, could not bring himself to speak it aloud, that shook her to the core. How would he react to being a father, to a child, the only other of his species, who would live as long as he would? Not the only other, Rose realizes suddenly. It has been difficult enough for him to accept a human's forever, mere decades, and even the , Rose hadn't been sure that he would stay interested for that long. She remembers Reinette, Lynda with a 'y,' Sarah Jane, old insecurities long-buried resurfacing with a vengeance. What would he think, knowing that she would be around for centuries, that they were irrevocably connected by one passionate night after a headed argument that had nearly broken them?

She loves him, has absolutely no doubts about what she wants or how she feels, aches at the thought of him alone in the TARDIS, but the fear, once acknowledged, gnaws at her hearts, and she shudders, wonders if she should just have him take her home to the other universe instead. Even her human Doctor had been slow to warm to the idea of Dex, though he'd assured her, multiple times, that he'd just been shell shocked.

She thinks of Dex, her gorgeous little boy, so very like his father, who'd grown up not even knowing his own species. She puts her head in her hands. She has to tell him. No matter how his rejection would hurt, she owes it to Dex, needs to give his father the chance to know how brilliant his little boy is.

Decision made, Rose shoves the conundrum to the back of her mind, locking out the swirling emotions that are muddling her thoughts. She realizes, suddenly, that if Torren can hear everything she was thinking, the Time Lord Doctor could, too.

Torren is staring at her wide-eyed.

Right, thinks Rose. That would not do. She needs some defenses. She will be completely honest, won't hide anything from him, but she doesn't want to go flooding him with all of her doubts and fears and insecurities. Rose gives Torren a winning smile. "Teach me to shield my thoughts?"