With Rose and the Doctor both attempting to avoid their inevitable return to Coal Hill School and the many questions still surrounding it, they slipped easily back into their routine of distracting themselves from the pressing matters at hand by throwing themselves into any disaster or crisis they could find.

Still, they stayed close to Earth in an attempt to at least appear as though they weren't running from their problems. They ended up in the middle of Bristol, where they were forced to hunt down a group of aliens from another dimension that were slowly picking people off of a council estate. The aliens' dimensional meddling also meant that the Doctor and Rose had lost the function of their time ship. The Doctor was ended up trapped inside of a rapidly-shrinking TARDIS while Rose was left on her own to track down the source of the mystery.

"This is weird," Rose stated definitively as the Doctor carefully passed her his sonic screwdriver and psychic paper through the single, small opening that was left between them. "Wait, does this mean I'm you now?"

"No, it does not. So don't get any ideas!"

It had been a while since Rose had been forced to face an alien threat alone. With her bondmate tucked tight against her side and his thoughts humming just inside of her mind, it was difficult not to get a little into character.

You're enjoying this way too much, the Doctor groaned as she led her new companion, Rigsy, on a search through the missing peoples' apartments.

And he is not your new companion, by the way, he continued insistently. You are not bringing him back on the TARDIS with you.

So you're going to be giving me marks, now, are you? Rose asked irritatedly. It's not the first time we've worked apart, you know. I know what I'm doing.

Just ... be careful, the Doctor replied nervously. I don't like not being able to be there with you.

Rose wordlessly reassured him that everything was going to be fine while at the same time expressing her own remorse at not being able to have the Doctor's comforting presence constantly at her side.

However, her confidence at being able to handle the situation faltered somewhat when the TARDIS's song suddenly faded into silence on a weak, defeated whimper. She could feel the Doctor's desperation as reality began to collapse all around him. After that, it was simply a matter of Rose using their enemies' powers against them - a trick that she was proud to admit that she had learned from the Doctor over the years.

When they were finally reunited at long last, Rose could feel the dark turn to the Doctor's thoughts as he glared after the three remaining people who they had managed to save and silently recounted all of the ones that they hadn't.

"You saved the whole world, Doctor," Rose reminded him quietly. "Again. It wasn't just them - it was all of us."

"I didn't do anything," the Doctor insisted begrudgingly. He flashed Rose a small, humorless smile as he turned back to face her. "You did." You were brilliant, he added silently as he slowly met her gaze.

Learned from the best, Rose reminded him with a wide, satisfied smile.

No, the Doctor replied quietly. No, Rose Tyler - no one has ever had to teach you that. You've always been brilliant.

Rose could feel her heart fluttering at his words, but she rolled her eyes teasingly in his direction. Flatterer, she muttered wryly.

The Doctor responded with one of her favorite wide, boyish grins that did nothing at all to help regulate Rose's erratic pulse. He took her hand in his and led them both back into the TARDIS without another word so that they could seek out their next distraction.


When the Doctor and Rose landed again, it soon became quite clear that the TARDIS was refusing to allow them to outrun their problems any longer. A young girl in a Coal Hill uniform promptly greeted them and welcomed them into an impossibly thickly-forested Trafalgar Square.

"Are you the Doctor and Ms. Oswald? I came here looking for Ms. Oswald and her Doctor. Mr. Pink told me to," the young girl declared resolutely.

"Mr. Pink?" the Doctor repeated incredulously. His eyes immediately narrowed into a suspicious glare as he glanced from the girl, to the surrounding trees, and back again.

"Are you lost, dear?" Rose asked, bending down close to the child and attempting a slightly softer approach. "Could you tell us your name?"

"I'm Maebh," the young girl replied brightly. "You are Ms. Oswald, aren't you? I thought that Mr. Pink was looking for you, but it wasn't him. It was just in my head."

"Maebh!" They all glanced up in unison when Mr. Pink himself suddenly burst through the foliage just ahead of them. A small group of children were following in his wake and staring up at the TARDIS with wide, curious eyes.

"Clara?" Danny added in quiet disbelief. He immediately seemed to forget about his lost pupil and narrowed his eyes instead on Rose and the Doctor.

"Danny!" Rose greeted him as brightly as she could, though her smile felt strained as she straightened once more to face him. "What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask the same of you! Where have you been?" Rose's smile suddenly felt even more forced as she nervously noted the group of children around them whispering scandalously and the Doctor's deep, poisonous glare that he was leveling on the two of them. Danny stepped closer to her and continued agitatedly, "What happened to you, Clara? You said you'd be right back to explain, and then you just ... disappeared for weeks! We all thought that something had happened to you!"

"Sorry, Danny - really I am. Time just ... got away from me," Rose muttered lamely. She was unable to directly meet his eye as she awkwardly lied to him. Even if she could properly explain where she and the Doctor had disappeared to, she wasn't about to divulge any information about the date on the Orient Express that she had shared with her husband in private. She was too ashamed to admit that the two of them had been avoiding Danny and Coal Hill ever since.

"When are you going to stop lying to me?" Danny demanded, rolling his eyes at her and throwing his hands in the air in frustration. "Clara, we were really, really worried! We called the police and everything, but they weren't any help."

"Danny, I'm sorry," Rose repeated earnestly, meeting his gaze evenly so that he would know that she wasn't lying this time. "That's the truth. But right now, we need to figure out what's going on here, don't you think?"

She had spent over a century with the Doctor, but all of a sudden Rose was nineteen again and having to explain to her mum why she had mysteriously disappeared for an entire year with no phone call or explanation as to where she had gotten off to. Rose had thought that when she left her remaining family behind in the parallel universe that she was done with having to constantly come up with these silly explanations and excuses, but it seemed that they simply came hand-in-hand with being a part of the Doctor's life.

Danny glanced warily over Rose's shoulder and his expression darkened as his gaze landed on the Doctor, who was still glaring at the two of them from beneath those severe brows of his with a menacing scowl twisting his features. "Don't know what you two think you can do about all of this," Danny murmured under his breath. He raised his gaze to glance pointedly at the thick foliage that was currently creating a thick green canopy over their heads.

"Luckily, I've got something for that." Rose grinned widely as she slowly backed up towards where the Doctor was still glowering at Danny with his arms crossed tight across his chest. "Everyone, this is the Doctor," Rose announced loudly, quickly attracting the attention of the small group of children who were hovering loosely around them, "and he's going to sort everything out. Isn't that right, Doctor? It's what he does."

The Doctor finally seemed to shake himself out of his dark mood as he warily eyed the trees growing up all around them. "Well," he replied matter-of-factly, "having looked at things, I think, probably, the answer to that is no."

"He always says that," Rose assured the children confidently. "He's really clever."

"Doesn't look very clever, Miss ..." one of the children muttered suspiciously as they watched the Doctor begin to dart from tree to tree and start carefully inspecting the bark and branches. Rose winced as they watched him reach out and taste one of them with his tongue.

"Yes, I agree," Danny piped up pointedly. "I think we should leave all of this for the professionals to deal with. Meanwhile, we need to focus on getting all of these kids home."

"Don't worry. It's a thing he does," Rose assured them all breezily, "he pretends he's not interested, and then he has an idea. He's playing for time."

"'Time' ..." the Doctor repeated thoughtfully. He turned back to Rose and fixed a wide, unfocused gaze on her as his thoughts ran off ahead of him and skirted across the many dangerous possibilities that lay before them. "Interesting."

"See?" Rose insisted, flashing the entire group a bright, winning smile. "Clever kicking in."

However, the realization that the Doctor quickly landed on did nothing at all to reassure any of them, and they quickly discovered that they were in for far more than they had bargained for in their fight against the trees.


The Doctor and Rose stood high above her home planet and watched in silent awe as a giant ball of fire consumed the great, green orb below. It harmlessly engulfed the entire planet for a few moments before it burned up and quickly dissipated back into nothingness once more.

I'm so sorry, Rose, the Doctor muttered bitterly. They watched the oceans and land masses slowly begin to resurface through the green haze as the protective layer of foliage began to dissolve and fade away. How many times have I made you watch your planet burn?

Rose stepped forward and took his nearest hand firmly in both of her own, her fingers clenching his tightly. "It's your planet too, Doctor," she reminded him quietly. And as long as it still needs saving, I plan to be there to help you.

She could feel the Doctor's thoughts flicker for just the barest fraction of a second back to Gallifrey, but he forcefully cut the thought off as he drew her close and buried his nose in her hair. He drowned his concerns in the soft familiarity of her scent instead. He pressed a light kiss to the skin of her temple and silently filled her mind to overflowing with a deep sensation of love and gratitude.

"Do you think you'll ever try and go back?" Rose asked curiously as she continued to stare down at the tiny world that she had once called home. She didn't need to speak the name of Gallifrey out loud for the Doctor to immediately understand the point to her question. He had expressed an interest in attempting to find his time-locked planet back before he had regenerated, but Rose had never been certain as to his true thoughts on the matter. Did he even want to go back? Could he go back? Would he ever be able to face all of the people and problems that he had buried and left behind there?

"Nah, there's a reason that I left, you know," the Doctor reminded her casually, "it's terribly boring."

But their two minds were one through their telepathic bond, and Rose felt the Doctor's pain as her own as he thought back to the many terrifying possibilities that surrounded his home planet. Not only was he too ashamed of his own cowardice to attempt to return and face his problems head-on, but he was also reluctant to drag Rose back into the war and conflict that continued to surround his home. In fact, he was quite intent on keeping her as far away from Gallifrey as possible. No amount of nostalgia or homesickness would ever be enough to make him change his mind about that.

Besides, the Doctor reminded her, pointedly steering their combined, steadily-darkening thoughts into a more cheerful direction, I already have all the home I'll ever need right here.

He squeezed her fingers to emphasize his point as they both took one last look at planet below. Rose leaned her head affectionately against his shoulder.

"We still have to go back down there, you know," Rose reminded him quietly. "We're not done yet."

"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked, confused. "Trees gone, solar flares over, Earth saved. Did I forget something?"

"Danny," Rose explained simply. "I think he's owed a few explanations, Doctor. I mean, we did just ditch him the last time. We can't do that again."

"No?"

"No," Rose insisted. "Don't worry, you don't have to come. Not unless you want to, anyway. But I need to tell him goodbye, at least. I owe him that much."

I'll take you back and drop you off. The Doctor sighed heavily in resignation as he slowly led her back into the TARDIS and closed the doors behind him. But I am not going to try and explain myself to that pudding brain.

Ah, Doctor - just as humble and forgiving as ever, Rose muttered wryly as he finally dropped her hand and circled around the console before her. "Pudding brain" isn't any better than "ape", by the way, she added pointedly. Aren't we past these silly little nicknames?

Well, you certainly know how to pick them ... the Doctor responded moodily. He began flipping levers and pushing buttons to program their return journey to the earth below.

Well, I picked you didn't I? Rose reminded him pointedly.

"Oi!" the Doctor protested, his gaze rising to glare at her from across the console. I picked you, he insisted silently.

"Whatever you say, dear," Rose murmured appeasingly. "Whatever you say."