A/N: I watched a youtube video of David Tennant being bloody hilarious … Part of this was born of that. Other than that. Still fluff, but moving toward something.

~~oooOOOooo~~

The storm had raged late into the evening with high winds, heavy rain, bright blue flashes of lightning and heavy rumbling crashes of thunder. The old Stone and wood home shielded the sounds of the wind and thunder from the occupants nestled warmly within. The corrugated tin and copper roof caught each rain droplet loudly, providing the Eleventh Doctor and his companion team with a brilliant symphony of tinkering song, punctuated by the percussion of the thunder outside.

Like anything that came from the constellation of Kasterborous, it was a beautiful display. The young married couple of Amy and Rory nestled a romantic cuddle against each other on the padded seat of the bay window to watch the lightning dancing across the lake, and the glitter of the silver leaves lining the old home. River Song and the Doctor remained on the floor in front of the fire, sipping on vintage wine procured from the cellar, and spoke of the escapades of a young Doctor running through the Summer property.

Amy had offered some concern about the couple outside in the TARDIS, but had been quickly assured that the machines outside were far more equipped to deal with a heavy storm than the home was, so she was not to worry. She couldn't help slight concern, however, and let her eyes wander toward both machines more than once. Late into the evening she could have sworn to have seen both Rose and the Doctor dancing romantically in the rain, holding each other, sharing tender kisses, but put that image down to supreme tiredness. She fell asleep against her husband shortly thereafter. She awoke in the deep cushions of the Bay window wrapped around Rory, and covered in a thick fluffy blanket.

The Doctor stood beside the slowly stirring couple with a mug of tea in his hand and his eyes looking out into the bright morning sunshine.

"Good morning, Amy," he offered lightly. "Sleep well?"

She slapped her lips together to try and wet her dry tongue and the roof of her mouth, and held her hand out in request to take a sip of his tea. He obliged, and she took a tentative taste, a deeper sip, and then handed it back. "Normally I don't like storms," she admitted on a croaking and still sleepy voice. "But last night. That was something else. Gorgeous."

"It was," he agreed as he drew back on his tea and kept his eyes on the two TARDIS machines.

She noticed his intense stare and pulled herself from the seat to pad her socked feet on the wooden floor. "What's the time?"

"In Earth equivalent, about eight-thirty in the morning." Another draw on his tea. "The days are slightly shorter here – about twenty hours instead of the twenty-four that you're familiar with."

"Ten of day, ten of night?"

He shook his head. "Thirteen hours of sunlight. One for Dusk, one for Dawn, Four hours of night." He shrugged. "On average."

"Perfect for Time Lords that don't sleep, I guess." She tipped her shoulder to the TARDIS. "Any sign of them, yet?"

He nodded. "They went for a walk a couple of hours ago. The Doctor wanted to take Rose into town to pick up something at the bakery for breakfast."

She gasped. "It's a two-hour trip?"

The Doctor gave a laugh. "No. It's only a twenty minute walk." He passed her an amused glance. "But what's one thing you know about me?"

"That a ten minute trip for supplies can typically take up to a whole day to complete." She rolled her eyes with a smile and bobbed her head lightly from side to side. "Distracted by this, want to look at that. And, oh! Look at this brilliant piece of alien stuff whose origin absolutely must be much more closely investigated…"

"Exactly," he said with amused softness as he dipped his head down closer to her ear. "And as he and I are essentially the same man, we can assume that he's been distracted by something."

"Or he's conducting a very thorough history lesson and is boring her senseless as he describes just what planet the dust on the brick wall is from and the most brilliant industrial processes that were required to fashion this dust into a strong and sturdy building brick."

"Are you saying that I bore you, Amelia Pond?"

"Oh," she sang lightly. "You do have your less interesting moments."

His face lengthened in mild hurt as he followed Amy to the door that led to the front patio. He leaned his forearms on the railing beside her and cradled his mug between both hands. He closed his eyes with a serene smile as the warm winds kissed at the side of his face and tousled his hair. "Why haven't I been back here," he asked Amy with rhetoric softness. "I've always loved it here. I've always felt safe here."

"Memories," she suggested with equal softness. "You're always running, Doctor. Running. Running. Coming here means that you stop for a while."

"And when I stop running…"

"You start thinking. Remembering. Feeling."

He let out a long breath and slid his eyes in her direction. "You know me so well. So intricately. So deeply that I find it terrifying at times, Amy Pond."

She nudged him with her shoulder. "I'm your best friend," she teased cautiously. "I'm supposed to know you."

He took her hand and squeezed it tightly. "That knowledge is power. You can hurt me deeply, so please don't."

She looked up the dusty road, where the pair of Doctor and Rose walked hand in hand toward the home. "Did she hurt you?"

He followed her gaze and spared a moment to watch the couple walk and laugh together in the distance. "No. Rose didn't hurt me. I hurt me. I forgot who I was. I ignored centuries of conditioning, of instinct. I ignored my better judgment and fell in love."

"It happens to the best of us," she offered. "It's really something you can't fight against. It just happens." She nodded her chin to the lake, where River Song was taking a swim. "And sometimes you should stop fighting it and let it happen."

He looked to the lake. "Perhaps."

They both watched quietly as Rose and the Doctor shared a joke on the path. The Doctor Ten dropped his head backward and dipped his knees in a deep and open-mouthed laugh as Rose broke away from him and clutched at her belly in her own laughter.

"He looks like a happy fellow,' Amy offered. "Was that you back then, too?"

"Are you suggesting I'm a miserable old man now?"

"Nope," she said with a smile and a nudge against his shoulder with hers. "But he seems a little lighter than you are."

"That man." He indicated Ten with a nod of his head. "Was the most unstable of all my regenerations. Highly volatile. He can switch his mood and personality inside a second. Bright and cheery one moment, and in full storm mode the next second without warning. She." He flicked his hand in Rose's direction. "Rose's presence held him in check. She didn't know it, and certainly wasn't actively trying to, but she was like medication to him." He blew out a breath. "She grounded him. When he lost her, well."

"When you lost her," she corrected. "It had to be tough."

"It was. Until Donna." He smiled. "Donna is something to be seen," he said with bright remembrance. "I think you'd like her." He gave her a teasing stare. "There's something about you fiery ginger girls that know how to keep a Time Lord honest."

"I'd be offended if I didn't completely agree with you." She tilted her head at the pair nearing the gate. "What is he doing?"

The Doctor's eyes widened for a second as he watched his brother sucking on the stalk of a flower as he dropped to pluck another from the path and hand it to Rose in urging. He then chuckled in amusement. "Oh. This will be entertaining."

"Why's that?"

"Oh. Just watch."

He thumbed at his nose in amusement to watch Rose follow her Doctor's direction and lick at the stalk with heavy caution. Immediately, she recoiled with a disgusted look on her face. Ten hovered his face, wearing a thrilled expression, as the disgust on Rose's face quickly changed to delight, and she snatched the flower from him to suck on its stalk. Both Rose and the Doctor stood facing each other with a five-petal brilliant red flower hanging out from their lips like a baby's pacifier.

And then they started to giggle goofily.

"Oh-kay," Amy breathed long. "Is that like a Time Lord mushroom trip or somethin'?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Closer to being drunk than on a trip," he assured. "That flower is native to Mount Cadon on Gallifrey. Students at the Prydonian Chapter of the Academy chew on the end of the stalk when they want to relax after a hard day of study."

"Time Lords in training on drugs," she mused. "Well that explains the whole how do I fly this thing and get to the right time and date I want quandary on the TARDIS. You were high for the whole time at University! College students are the same on any planet, aren't they?"

"No. It's not a drug," he countered with a laugh. "It's got an enzyme in the sap has an effect on Time Lords very similar to alcohol on humans. Granted," he admitted. "It's slightly more potent that your Earth-produced beverages, but the effect is very short less than a minute once you stop tasting the sap, and it has no ill after effect. Non addicting." He watched the pair on the ground with amusement. "It's really no more harmful to a Time Lord than a night out at the bar is to a Human."

"A night out on the town isn't always harmless."

Amy paused and giggled into her hand as Rose took the flower from her mouth and walked a staggered gait toward her Doctor. Rose was all chuckles as she rolled up onto her toes and poked the stem of the flower into the Doctor's spiked hair. She pulled the one from his mouth, and tucked it behind his ear.

"Oh how very dignified," Amy giggled. Her giggle increased to a hearty laugh as Rose stepped backward to take a photograph with her phone of the flower-powered Doctor. Ten performed a couple of typical effeminate model poses, but then pursed his lips in teenage duck-face style and leaned his chest forward and pressed his hands against the lapel of his jacket as though he was a well-endowed woman pushing her breasts together for that perfect cleavage shot. When he held that pose and licked seductively at his lips, Rose exploded in laughter. She stomped her feet in brilliant glee as she walked a tight circle around herself and had her head held high as she struggled to breathe in her amusement.

"I want a copy of that picture," Amy called from the deck.

Rose and Ten looked up to the deck with smiled spread wide across their cheeks. Ten held up a box held together with red ribbon. "Mornin'. Sleep well, Ms. Pond? Look. I got breakfast. Best bakery in Kasterborous!"

"What took you so long," Eleven charged with mock annoyance. "A Time Lord could starve waiting for you to get your act together."

"Well you've got legs and two heartbeats," he countered with a cheeky wink. "You could always fix yourself something."

Eleven snatched the box from his brother and passed it to Amy. "But I was given the promise of Fresh bread and Bagels." He looked at his watch. "Two hours ago."

"Oh," Ten countered excitedly as he pulled a glittering stone from his jacket pocket and held it up to show Eleven. "But look what Rose found in the Market. It's an Eruvien deep lake nursery pod. Petrified, of course. But isn't it beautiful?"

Eleven slipped on his glasses and took the prize from Ten's hand. "That's very lovely," he commented as he held it to the light. Impressed though he was, he couldn't help but dip his head with mild concern. "This's thousands of years old." He looked up sharply. "Where did Rose find this? In the market?"

"Yes," Ten answered with a grin as he rocked on his feet. He lowered his head in an excited, yet conspiratorial manner. "So I had to look into it, didn't I? Find out where it came from. See if there are any more."

Rose rolled her eyes, took the box from Ten and flicked her head to the doorway. "C'mon, Amy. Let's you 'n me go play good housewives and fix the lads some breakfast and tea, shall we?"

"They can make it themselves," she challenged with a brattish look toward her Doctor.

"I've already heard all this. At. Great. Length," Rose warned in a friendly tone with a point to the current object of the Doctors' desire. "Of course you're welcome to the lecture a'la Docteurs if you wish."

"Coming," Amy yelped. She grabbed Rose's hand and tugged. "Breakfast for our men. Yes. We can do that."

The two Doctors merely raised their eyes to the girls as they hightailed it off the deck. Ten pursed his lips and raised his brows. "Do you ever get the feeling that…" He frowned. "Well. You know." His eyes moved back to his brother. "That sometimes the girls aren't as excited about things as we are?"

"Oh absolutely not," He answered. "How can they not be completely fascinated by things like this. And this. Is. Very. Beautiful," Eleven breathed with his eyes still caught on the pod. They shifted to Ten. "We have to return this to the Eruvien Royal Family."

"Yeah," Ten agreed as he scratched his sideburn. "Gonna leave that one to you. Rose and me, we have some important things to deal with after we're done here."

Eleven stuffed the pod into his pocket and leaned his forearm on the railing. "I have been meaning to ask you about why we're all here." He looked to the lake, where River Song was still swimming. "And why you'd specifically ask for her to come along."

"Because we need Time Lords that we can trust." He swallowed and looked slightly uncomfortable as he continued. "Rose. Well I trust her with my life."

"She now holds our greatest secret, so I would hope so."

"Which," Ten continued. "Leads me to River." He smiled thinly. "She holds the same secret, which means you trust her – or you will at some point. I will guess it means that you will also love her," he shrugged. "If you don't already, of course. Trust her, I mean."

"To be perfectly honest with you, Brother. I don't know if I do."

"Well that was unexpected," Ten murmured with genuine shock. "Do you mind sharing just why?"

"I don't know."

A flat and simple response.

Ten drummed his fingers on the railing. "So we don't trust her?"

"Well on one hand I do," Eleven muttered with a wave of his hand. "But on the other hand I don't know."

"Oh-kay," Ten said on a long breath. "If I was to entrust the care of my Rose Tyler to River Song, would she be safe?"

"Why would you want to do that, and yes. Rose would be very well protected." His brows dropped low, as did his head. "What is on your mind? What are we doing?"

"Something for our Mother," Ten answered flatly. "When I left Torchwood, she made a very specific request."

"Which tone of voice did she use?"

"That tone of voice."

"The one that holds a suggestion, mild humour perhaps, but that undercurrent of command with a side order of unspoken threat of severe reprimand if you don't do what it is that she jokingly asked you to do?"

"That would be the one."

"Oh Rassilon, we're in trouble." He rubbed his hands together and rocked his head lightly from side to side as he considered things. "What does she need?"

"Our father," Ten answered simply. She is in exile on Pete's world on Rassilon's command – her crime, I add, I would like an explanation for."

"Long story. Involved the Master, Time Lords, Gallifrey, Rassilon, Mother, my regeneration."

"Oh," Ten sang with a big smile. "Sounds like my day yesterday. Well, but without the Master and Gallifrey, but I had Bad Wolf and Borusa in their place."

"My day. Far worse."

"Are we really going to have another pissing contest?"

"Pissing, Doctor? Very Uncouth of you." He toyed with his now empty mug. "Now. Before your wife phones our Mother to intervene once more. Share with me your plan to retrieve our father."

Ten adopted the same level of lean on his elbows against the railing as his brother. "We have to get into Mount Cadon."

"No," Eleven snapped quickly.

"The information on Dad's whereabouts and how we're going to get to him are in there."

Eleven pursed his lips and nodded. He kept his head low and raised his eyes to his brother. "So. What you're saying is that you want you and me to go back in time to a living Gallifrey and walk the halls of our alma mater and hope that we aren't recognized by any of the cadets or professors so we can steal the information required to break our father out of prison." He blew out a breath. "Because our Mother asked us to."

"Yes." Ten then uncomfortably curled his lip and cleared his throat. "Of course, you and I would be instantly recognized as rather infamous members of the alumni."

"Well. Yes."

Ten nodded and pulled at his ear. "And only Time Lords can attend the Academy." He pressed his fist into the side of his mouth, forcing him to talk around it. "We do know two other Time Lords."

"Are you insane?"

"I believe I have a certificate to that effect somewhere."

"You're actually willing to allow Rose to step on the hallowed grounds of the Cadon Campus. You? You?"

He nodded. "Yes. Rose and River." He rolled his eyes. "Oh come on. It's just the Academy. I'm not sending them to Council Chambers or Arcadia."

Eleven rubbed at his chin. "Yes. Well. They would make quite a combination against the pretentious Prydonian Chapter cadets." He grinned a smile as floppy as his hair. "And you'd want to miss seeing that?"

"He's nameless you know."

"I know he is."

"This is the only way we can find him. We have to take the risk."

"All because Mother said so." He punched lightly at his forehead. Again. Again. Again. Finally he raised his head and shrugged. "Well. What choice do we have? Which is worse, really? Having to answer to the Council of Lords and risk a lifetime exile to Trenzalore or deny our Mother?"

"Dad's in prison for asking that same question."

"And getting the same answer."