Disclaimer: Doctor Who is not mine. Woe is me.

This story could be sort of a prequel to one of my other stories, 'The Doctor Is Dead', but equally it works just as well on its own. Features Rose and the 10th Doctor.

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The Bond

Rose and the Doctor returned to the TARDIS, laden with carrier bags full of food. They had stopped in 2012 London to go shopping, as the kitchen cupboards had recently begun looking rather empty. Rose had a wide grin on her face, for she was looking forward to diving into the celebrity gossip magazines she had piled into the shopping trolley. The Doctor had rolled his eyes, but had to admit that the magazines were a very easy way to keep Rose entertained while he was endlessly tinkering with the TARDIS.

Rose looked around the TARDIS happily as she pushed the doors closed behind them. Before picking up the grocery bags again, she brushed her hand against the wall.

"We're back," she said out loud on an impulse, rather stating the obvious.

"Welcome back", she heard a voice in her heard that made her jump. She frowned and quickly headed to the kitchen after the Doctor.

Once all the bags were unpacked, the Doctor had offered a guilty grin to Rose and slunk off towards the engine room with a gleam in his eyes and the sonic screwdriver poised for some tinkering. It had been Rose's turn to roll her eyes and she then made herself comfortable in a lounge with a fireplace. Sitting by the roaring flames, with a cup of tea and a pile of magazines on her lap, she was at perfect ease. She ran her hand over the glossy cover at the top of the pile, but did not open it.

"TARDIS?" She instead asked out loud.

"Yes?" Came an immediate reply.

"I didn't know... I mean, I didn't realise you could talk back to me." Rose stammered, awed by her revelation.

"You looked into my heart," the ship explained calmly. "You became I and I became you."

"And a part of that connection stayed behind?" Rose was beginning to understand.

"We are bonded for life," the ship confirmed. What remained unsaid was that the bond was for the duration of Rose's life, not the time machine's.

"Do you mind?" Rose asked, suddenly worried that her actions had caused an imposition.

"Rose, you are the most beloved of his companions. That part of us is one pleases me greatly." Indeed, the TARDIS's constant humming had taken on a joyous note. They sat for a while in a comfortable silence.

"What was he like?" Rose asked cautiously. "Before I met him, that is."

"He was full of rage and grief and confusion. His soul was tarnished and his path obscured by darkness. Now his hearts beat strong and his stride is true. He has become pure once more and that he was willing to step closer to final death for you is a testament to how much good you have done to him."

Rose blushed but felt enormously proud. She had noticed a change in the Doctor over time, but she had never realised just how profound an effect she had had on the Time Lord. Rose grinned at the empty room, which was really not empty at all, as the TARDIS was everywhere around her.

"So I can talk to you whenever I like?" Rose checked.

"Whenever you wish," the TARDIS said and it seemed to Rose like the ship was smiling.

"Awesome!"

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When the Doctor came to find Rose many hours later, he found her perched on a sofa, the stack of magazines on her lap greatly reduced. As he entered the room, she was poring over one of them and reading out select bits to the TARDIS. Much to his surprise, the ship was humming with pleasure and judging from Rose's giggles, offering her opinion on the gossip. The Doctor felt a bang of jealousy as the bond that had so clearly formed between his ship and his companion, but could not help smiling at their happiness.