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Chapter 17 - Platform One

Pepper sat on the floor in Rose and the Doctor's suite. Arles lay on a blanket between her legs and kicked. She smiled down at him and held his hands. "You are such a calm guy. You remind me of your father. Always so happy."

Ress pointed at all three of the children, Genie, Tony and Soler, who were sitting at the bar eating their lunch. "You three need to eat. You are all far too skinny."

Tony Tyler looked back at Soler and rolled his eyes.

Rose walked back down the hall. "The stars are moving. Are we moving? Are the guys back?"

Pepper looked up at the large window in the sitting room. Sure enough, the stars moved past at a high rate of speed. "I guess they are."

Rose shook her head. "No. Something isn't right. John feels…."

The door opened and the Doctor walked in with Jack. Rose's mouth fell open, "Jack?!"

He laughed and rushed to embrace her. He picked her up off her feet and spun her around. The Doctor groaned and rolled his eyes as he sat her down.

Tony and Genie both jumped off of their stools and ran to meet him. They wrapped their arms around him when he knelt down in the floor.

Tony gasped, "Jack!"

"I didn't know you would be here!" Genie said.

Jack looked back at both of their faces. "Gosh. I've missed this. Were you two ever this small?" He kissed both of their faces.

Tony pointed at Soler, "This is our new friend. This is-"

"Soler of Chaomlean! It is my deepest pleasure to meet you, sir. I am Captain Jack Harkness and will always be your humble servant." He bowed to him.

Soler looked confused, "Umm. Thank you, sir."

Jack looked around the room. "Hello, Ress."

She smiled, "Jack."

He smiled at Pepper, "And Pepper….uh….well, what is it? I can't remember. I don't want to get my ass kicked."

She looked shocked, "Pepper Potts, Jack. Where did you come from?"

"Wow. And Arles! My gosh!" He rushed over and picked up the baby. "You still owe me money, man. You aren't getting out of that damn bet this easy."

The Doctor walked over to Rose and put her arm around her.

"Is this our Jack?"

The Doctor nodded as he bit his top lip. "Future Jack."

Jack held Arles in his arms, "Yes. I had to come back and warn the guys about a storm that overpowered them before."

Pepper's eyes got huge. "What? Are they okay?"

The Doctor waved his hand, "They are fine. He got here just in time. He's managed to plot a course that will take us around it, too." He nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at Rose. "It's going to take a bit longer to get home, so…we probably need to ring Jackie and tell her we can't make it to dinner."

"I'm sure you are so broken up about it." Rose teased him.

He smiled, "I won't be able to sleep for days."

Rose rolled her eyes. "I'll handle it."

Jack chuckled and mocked what was probably the Doctor's voice, "Had just gotten her back together when that damn storm blew in and tore us apart. See, you're going to have to find another story to tell too much now that I've stopped that from happening. You've drove us crazy for centuries with that shit."

Rose sighed in relief. "I'm grateful. That sounds terrifying."

The Doctor put his hands on his hips and looked back at Pepper. "It's alright. Seriously. Jack, you're frightening the mortals."

Jack handed Arles back to Pepper. Took off his long jacket and tossed it on the sofa. He pointed at Ress. "I need to talk to the tall people, Ress. If you don't mind."

She smiled warmly. "Not at all, Jack. Come along, children! To the playroom with you."

Tony Tyler and Genie groaned as Ress walked over and took Arles from Pepper. Soler knelt down beside of Pepper. "What should I do?"

She smiled warmly at him and took his hand. "Go play with the other children. When I know what's happening, I'll let you know. Don't worry about anything. You're safe. Alright?"

He considered for a moment. "Is Tony safe?"

The Doctor knelt down next to him. "Tony is safe. I promise you. I'll ring him in a bit so you can speak to him. Would that be alright?"

Soler nodded. The Doctor pat his shoulder as he walked out of the door with Ress, rather reluctantly. As soon as the door slid shut, Jack asked, "He's not been here long then, huh?"

The Doctor sat down on the sofa, "I hesitate to ask if you know how long he will be with us."

Jack teased, "Spoilers. But, put him on your Christmas lists for a while."

Pepper nodded, "That tells me what I needed to know. Does he ever…..well….."

"Relax? Yeah. In time. It will come. He's just still getting to know everyone. Tony is brilliant. I'll say that. Shocked the hell out of me. Wow."

Pepper smiled, "That, I would like to hear more about."

The Doctor groaned, "No spoilers. Jack."

Jack nodded, "Right, sorry."

Rose sat on the arm of the sofa and Pepper sat down next to the Doctor. Rose noticed Jack's clothing. He wore dark blue, demin like cargo pants with a jumper over a black oxford. "What are you wearing? You didn't leave with this?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Well, of course I did. You think I can change clothes in the vortex?"

The Doctor propped his feet up, "He's wearing a uniform of an Oflichi Soldier. He's about 300 years ahead of us. Are they are war yet?"

Jack shook his head. "Nope. Thanks to Rose. Doesn't look like there's going to be one. Well done."

Rose rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "I really just don't even want the details of that."

"I do!" The Doctor insisted.

Jack pointed at him warningly. "Spoilers."

Pepper looked confused. "Okay. Stop. What?"

The Doctor rubbed his hands on his jeans and stood up. "Quite right! Yes. Jack I'll make some tea, and you can explain to the ladies."

Rose held out her hand, "Pepper. Jack is a time traveler."

Pepper grinned, "Oh, no he's….you're serious."

Rose nodded her head. "Yes."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Okay. This has been the strangest week of my life. Why not? Go ahead, Jack."

Jack nodded. "Sounds good. Alright. I remembered that I had left this time to go sort out Shakespeare."

Pepper looked confused, "Shakespeare?"

Rose quickly held her hand out. "Stop! You aren't supposed to talk about that-" She looked back at the Doctor who was making tea. "Right?"

He nodded his head. "It's been changed. He can talk about it. Yes. Shakespeare has been sorted. Continue, Jack."

Jack nodded, "Alright. Well, you, Rose, suggested that I start keeping a diary. I went back and looked at it and decided that I wanted to revisit this time. See the children when they were all so small."

She grinned at him and teased, "When John and I were still being disguising."

He rolled his eyes. "Like that ever changed. Please."

She looked back at the Doctor, who winked at her. "That's good news."

He continued, "Well, I was looking over somethings and found that this was the point I had to return to. To save Tony, Legate, Logan and Lance first-"

Pepper looked frightened, "Why? What happened to them?"

He pointed her, "It doesn't now. They are all on their way to…where Doctor?"

He didn't look up from making tea. "Photoria. They are going to wait out the storm with Lenox. Legate's brother."

Pepper shook her head. "But, they are alright?"

"They will be fine. I also have to warn Jake about some stuff-"

"That won't be too easy. He's proper pissed at you." The Doctor insisted.

"About what?"

"I have no idea. But, he had kicked your ass out right before you left."

"Shit. I do remember that. Jake is such a damn diva."

The Doctor laughed under his breath.

Rose rubbed her face in disbelief. "Baby. If you don't hurry up with that tea-"

"Coming. Yes, Dear." The Doctor rushed over with a tray of tea that he had made with four cups. He sat it down on the table in front of the sofa and explained to Pepper. "Try a cup. It's how English people deal with stress."

Rose corrected him, "It is how we deal with everything."

Pepper exhaled as she made herself a cup, "I'll try it. Can't hurt."

Jack held his hand out to the Doctor. "Hand me yours for a bit."

The Doctor looked confused and handed him his empty cup. "You sent me with this message, Doc'. The TARDIS is dying. If you have any hope of saving her, you have to get started immediately after we land."

The Doctor looked shocked and jumped up from where he sat. "Girls, I'm going to get some whiskey. Want a glass?"

Pepper sat down her tea glass. "I'll take one. Jesus, Jack! I think you just gave him a heart attack. And I have no idea what you are talking about."

He came back in the room with some of the Damn Whiskey. In his shock, he hadn't even got glasses. He poured some of the whiskey in the teacup he held and handed the bottle to Pepper. He took a long drink, and nodded his head. "TARDIS is dying, huh? That's all I said? She should be grown in your time-"

"She is. And she can pop between Dimensions. She's a beauty." Jack smiled proudly.

The Doctor looked back at Rose. She pointed at him, "You said you wasn't going to-"

"Baby. I didn't do anything-"

"You have too! You have all of that damn research of mine. You keep talking about-"

He quickly sat his drink down, rushed to where she sat on the sofa, grabbed her face and snogged her.

Pepper shook her head. "That would have to be a hell of a kiss, John. She seems pissed."

Jack bit his lip. "Maybe I should just stick to the high points. I forgot about that. Sorry, Doc'."

Rose and the Doctor broke apart. Rose had a dreamy look on her face. The Doctor looked in her eyes. "Sweetheart, please forgive me. But, you can't get angry like that. You can't control it."

Rose's eyes rolled back in her head. The Doctor sat down quickly and guided her head into his lap as she fell unconscious on the sofa. He sighed and looked back at Pepper. "It was a hell of a kiss. I'm really good at that."

"Clearly!" Pepper insisted.

He ran his hand through his hair and pointed at Jack. "She can't control that right now."

Jack held up his hands, "I am very sorry, man. I'm used to her from my time. I'll be more cautious."

The Doctor nodded and ran his fingers through her hair. "It's alright." He said quietly.

Pepper shook her head. "Hang on a minute, you are from 300 years in the future? Rose and the Doctor are there? How is that even possible?"

The Doctor bit his lip. "Ummm….. well…."

Jack looked back at the Doctor. "I'm letting you handle this. I have no idea what she knows at this point."

The Doctor took a deep breath. "I'm not from Earth. You know that."

She nodded, "Yes. But Rose is."

"Rose is different. She had something happen to her to extend her lifespan."

"Did you do something to her?"

Jack rubbed his face. "I remember this. Pepper. She doesn't like to talk about this at this point. She's just coming to terms with it because it just recently happened. It would be best not to mention it to her."

Pepper shook her head. "This entire thing is crazy."

The Doctor smiled, "Tony has some mad friends, huh?"

"Well, you keep things interesting. That's for sure."

Jack pointed at her. "Maybe we shouldn't talk in front of her."

Pepper sat down her cup and pointed at both of them forcefully. "Now you listen to me. The both of you. I don't care where you are from, or what has happened to whom. But, do not treat me like an idiot or I'll kick both of your asses. Having breasts does not lower ones' IQ."

Jack smiled at her. "Oh, I've missed this."

The Doctor rose his eyebrows at her. "My apologies. Damn. Ginger women."

Jack chuckled as Pepper smacked the Doctor in the shoulder. "I mean it, John."

He held up both of his hands. "Yes, ma'am. Damn. I'm worried about my mate."

Pepper picked back up her whiskey in the tea cup. "As you should be."

"Is he aware of this temper?"

She sipped the whiskey and rolled her eyes at him.

Jack grinned, "Well, you didn't think it was just ….well, nevermind."

Pepper rose her eyebrows threateningly. "Wise move there, Jack."

The Doctor ran his fingers through Rose's hair as she lay unconscious in his lap. "Damn. The TARDIS is dying. Why 300 years from now?"

"Something about you accelerated her growth. It made her unstable."

He groaned, "Damn it. Rose said that would happen. I'll have to slow it down."

Jack dug around in his pocket and brought out a piece of paper. "When I told you I wanted to come back, fix this mess with Jake and everything, you gave me this." He handed it to him.

The Doctor looked at the paper with notes from himself. He nodded his head. "Well. This is helpful."

Pepper smiled, "This could be the strangest thing I've ever witnessed."

The Doctor smiled back at her. "Oh, I get that a lot. Pete and Jackie?"

Jack covered his face. "Let me think…..yes. They are good. Well, have they bought the place in Greece yet?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yes. They just haven't gone-"

"They need to move there. Immediately. I'll have a word with Pete. And Lewis-"

The Doctor put on his glasses and read over a list of notes he had written to himself.

Jack pointed at him, "I was told that I can explain those instructions if I need do."

The Doctor shook his head, "They are all rather clear. Although, I don't know if I agree with this one about Lewis. Director? Now? He's already second guessing himself as a Primus."

Jack pointed at the Doctor. "Check the back of your paper, mate."

The Doctor flipped the paper over. In his handwriting he saw notes. One had a circle drew around it. "Lewis needs to take the position as Director immediately."

The Doctor sighed. "Well, I'm not going to argue with myself. I'm sure there's a good reason. Why have I stopped getting reminders?"

Jack laughed. "I forgot you did that. Rose called it cheating."

"Reminders?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah. Whenever I needed to do something, I had sent myself a reminder back in time."

Pepper looked impressed. "That's really clever."

He nodded, "I thought so. Why, Jack?"

Jack shook his head. "I don't know. Have you been making notes?"

The Doctor groaned. "Damn it. It's always the simple things I miss. Notes. I can't remember exactly when to add it because I didn't write it down."

Jack nodded. "As the good doctor Helga would say, 'Make das notes'."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "And you know about that. Damn it. Really?"

He laughed, "Relax. She told me about it when she was teasing you about something else."

The Doctor groaned.

Friday spoke, "There is a call for Pepper Potts, Doctor."

The Doctor looked at her, "Want us to-"

"Put it on the screen in here please, Jarvis. Sorry. Friday. Oh this is strange." She sipped the whiskey from her tea cup.

Tony Stark appeared on the telly's screen. Lance sat next to him. "Hey! So, John has you drinking tea, huh?"

She sipped the whiskey, "He says it's the British way of calming my nerves. Are you safe?"

Tony smiled, "Yeah. We're alright. I was calling to make sure you guys are safe."

The Doctor nodded, "Yes. Jack got here right in time. It will take us a bit longer to get home, but we'll be able to avoid the storm. You are headed to Photoria?"

Tony nodded, "Yes. Legate says its six hours to Lenox, or three days stuck in the ships. I like the ship, but three days is a bit much."

Pepper asked, "How long will you be there?"

Lance and Tony looked at one another. "Pepper, I'm not going to be able to get back for at least four days. Maybe five."

Lance quickly added. "But! This was the safest option."

She sighed. "Damn. Well. As long as you are safe."

"John. I need to ask you-"

"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on them both. Just look out for that bee."

Tony nodded. "Yes. That damn bee. Tell Sparky to keep his bracelet on. You shouldn't have any more accidents with it. It has a pattern scrambler in it too, so he can go back to New York if that's alright."

Pepper nodded, "It's fine."

Lance asked, "Arles and Lewis?"

The Doctor smiled. "We're all safe here. Don't worry about anything. I'll let you know when we get home in about…nine hours. Check in with us when you can."

Lance nodded, "Pepper. We've ran Tony's phone through the ship, but I'm not sure how it will pick up there. If he doesn't answer, don't fear the worse."

She smiled and sipped her whiskey. "Thank you, Lance."

Tony kissed his hand and waved bye as the screen went blank.

The Doctor looked back at Jack. "Take my phone and ring Tony back. Let Soler talk to him in case he doesn't have reception on Photoria."

Pepper drank the remainder of her whiskey. "John, that's really good. And hand me that phone. I'll do it. Although, I have no idea where this playroom is."

Jack laughed, "First trip out. Sorry, I had forgotten about that. I'll show you."

The Doctor propped his feet up on the table. Jack turned back to him, "And good luck with Rose when wakes up."

He propped his hand on his fist. "I'm in over my head with this woman. At least I have time to plan an explanation now."

"Have Lewis help you with that. It will give him something to think about."

He nodded, "Right."

"I'll help with the children. You just sit there with her to keep her asleep."

"Thanks, Jack."

Jack smiled and pat his shoulder. "Damn, it's good to be back! Ma'am Pepper. I'll escort you to the children." He offered his arm to her.

The Doctor rubbed his eyes, "Stop it."

Jack threw his head back and laughed.

The Doctor heard the door hiss shut behind him. He looked down at Rose's peaceful sleeping face. He could feel she was still angry, shocked and felt betrayed.

"Ugh. Right. I suppose I should go ahead and get this over with."

He laid his hand on her cheek and entered her dream.

XxxxxxXxxxxxxXxxxxx

Rose was back on the space station, Platform One. She sat on the floor of a room and watched the Earth burn through the window. She was so cross, but couldn't remember completely why.

She heard his Northern accent. "Mind if I join you?"

She turned around and saw him, as he had looked when he had taken her to Platform One. He wore his familiar black leather jacket and had the close hair cut.

"I'm really angry with you and I can't remember why."

He sat down next to her. "Yeah. That's why I've came to talk to you. You're dreaming."

She looked back at him, "Why do you look like you used to?"

He looked at himself. "I don't know. Maybe you were dreaming of me before I got here. Platform One after all. I looked like this when we went there."

She smiled, "Our first date."

He closed his eyes tightly, "I really don't know what I was thinking. This could have been the worst."

"The Werewolf was probably the worst." She insisted.

"That was an accident."

She giggled at him. They sat and watched the Earth burn together in silence for a while.

Finally Rose spoke. "You are blocking the memory of why I should be angry."

"I am." He admitted.

"Why?"

"I need to explain. I promise you will remember all of this, and the reason why, once you wake up. I won't block it or anything."

She smiled at him.

"What?"

"It's just so strange to hear your voice when you spoke like this."

He smiled at her, "And you have always had that lovely, sweet voice." He leaned in and kissed her lips quickly.

She turned and looked at him. "Baby. This must be really something bad."

"Why do you say that?"

"I'm not an idiot. 'Ape' as you would say."

He shook his head. "I've not said that in a long time."

"Baby. What have you done?"

He sighed and rubbed his face. "Rose. The Bad Wolf is something that lives inside of you. It's not something you can control now. If you get angry…." At a loss for what to say, he held out his hand.

"She appears."

He nodded, "Yes. And I couldn't let that happen. You were sitting next to Pepper and I felt you grow angry at me. I had to stop it, so, I put you to sleep. I'm sitting on the sofa with you now, keeping you sleeping until we get home."

She nodded, "So, we're on the ship. Okay, I remember that now."

He nodded. "Yes. The Bad Wolf has been on the ship before, but not when she was angry. I'm not sure what would happen. We only just avoided a powerful storm that would have tore the ship apart."

She sighed, "Okay. Well, that I agree with. I don't want Pepper to see me….as that. She doesn't know anything about it. I just…."

"Do you think she won't understand?"

"Baby, I don't understand. How will she?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah. You're right."

"You haven't told her, have you?"

He shook his head. "No. We kept it very….simple explanation. Jack did a rather good job of redirecting the conversation. The whiskey helped."

She giggled, "Whiskey. Yes. Pepper can drink. You have been warned. Do not go head to head with her. Trust me."

"Irish, huh?"

She smiled, "Completely. Either that, or that's how she's dealt with Tony for all of these years."

He smiled and turned to hold her hands in his. She looked up at him. "This is so strange."

"It's still me. You can see that, can't you?"

She smiled, "I can. But, I see you still as this man. Especially, when you are complaining about-"

He groaned and turned back to look at the Earth, "Oh, I don't complain. You make it sound like I'm a…." Realizing he was complaining, he looked back at her.

She smiled and raised her eyebrows. "And you were saying?"

He groaned and covered his face with both of his hands. "Ugh. Rose. I have to talk to you about this. And you are going to proper pissed."

"Are you sure this is a good idea then?"

He waved his hand. "You're asleep. You'll be fine."

"You don't know that!"

"I am keeping you asleep. You'll be-"

"If I get angry, she's going to show up. Doesn't she show up in your dreams?"

He thought and nodded, "Yes. But this is your dream. She's never overtaken that."

Rose thought and nodded her head. "You're right. Alright. What have you done?"

"I have kept something from you. A lot if I'm confessing to things I worry you will find out about." He quickly turned to her and raised his finger to make a point. "But, I had my reasons."

She looked annoyed at him. "Your reasons. Which are: 1. I'm The Doctor. 2. I know more about everything. 3. I know what's best for everyone involved."

He nodded, "Exactly. Yes."

She groaned, "Baby. That's not what makes me angry."

"No?"

"No. It's you treating me like a child. That's exactly what you would do with Genie. Just, don't tell her something she might need to know because it makes it harder for you to get what you want."

"What do I want from Genie?"

"The same thing you want from me. For us to be happy. Pretend that life is all sunshine and roses."

He sighed, "Yeah. I suppose you are right."

She sat back and leaned on her hands. "So. Out with it. I've built a wall to cushion the blow."

He groaned. "Well, there have been attempts on your life. Lance has prevented the most recent attempt while I was gone."

She nodded, "Alright. That makes sense. He suddenly gets a promotion, and you can't get satisfied. They must have gotten close."

He nodded and rubbed his hands together, "The Bad Wolf stopped it. They evaporated."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He looked back at her in surprise. She didn't seem cross at all. "I know you don't like to talk about that. I didn't want to upset you."

"And that's what upsets me. Do you see that? I need to know what's happening."

He nodded, "You're right. Yes. I see what you are saying."

"But, do you understand?"

He nodded, "I do. But, do you see why-"

"You felt you couldn't tell me." She sighed. "You need to feel like you can tell me stuff. Especially something like that."

He rubbed his hands together nervously and bit his lip. "You're right. I just don't…."

"Want to upset me. Baby."

"It's not that I don't want to upset you, it's just that you can't get angry-"

"But, I'm going to get angry! Keeping stuff from me is only going to postpone it."

"Rose, surely you see the problem."

She sighed, "Damn it. I do. What else is going on?"

He nodded, "Yes. Jake is pegged you for the next Head of Security at Torchwood."

She looked at the Earth burn and smiled, "Yeah. I know."

He looked surprised back at her. "How do you know-"

"He came over while you were gone and we talked about it."

He smiled, "Really? And you didn't think to talk to me about this?"

She pointed at him, "And do you see how that feels? Sucks, doesn't it?"

He groaned, "Damn it, Rose. You really knew about this, all of this time?"

She bit her lip and nodded her head. "Oh yes, I did."

He sat up, "You know, Baby. We need to work on our communication."

She grinned and nodded, "Yes, we do. You can't keep your clothes on, though."

He pointed at himself, "Me? So we're blaming me for this?"

She looked back at him.

He nodded, "Yeah, it's me. I'll fully admit that."

She smiled, "Like a randy teenager. Damn. In the closet. In the shower. The locker room at the football pitch. In the cupboard on the yacht. I didn't even know we could fit in there."

He chuckled, "I just wanted to see if we could."

"You heard Dad pop in. That's why we went in there."

He rubbed his face. "Oh yes. And it was lovely. Completely worth the hook in my back."

She giggled.

He looked back at her, "What did you tell Jake?"

"I told him that I was flattered by the offer, but didn't feel safe doing it. It would be too predictable to others, where I would be. Too exposed. He agreed and confessed he feels as if he's taken on too much. I told him that you had felt the same way and that was one of the reasons you resigned. He feels as if he has to completely, rebuild it, all on his own. It's overwhelming to even think about. What with Dad basically out of the picture."

He sighed and nodded. "I haven't considered his position, but that makes sense. Pete is stepping down. He's been talking to me about it. He wants to retire. And manage two companies."

Rose smiled.

"And you know what the third thing is that he wouldn't tell me about."

She smiled and looked back at him. "I really can't tell you about that right now. I promise you'll find out soon enough though."

He groaned. "You know, this is a hell of a chat."

She laughed and looked back at him. "Yes, it is. See what happens when you keep your clothes on?"

"Well, I'm this guy now-"

She shook her head. "Same man. Absolutely, the same man."

He rolled his neck back in surprise. "So, that wouldn't turn you off?"

She smiled, "No."

He raised his eye brows in surprise. "I'm not sure how I feel about that."

She laughed at him and turned back to watch the Earth burning through the window. "I'm really not extremely cross. You haven't told me yet what you need to."

He turned to her and took her hands in his. "You're right. I brought your research up to the ship, to keep it safe. That's what I told you."

"But."

"But, I was honestly looking it to try to figure out how you made that cannon."

"So, you can put it on the TARDIS when it grows up. I'm right aren't I?"

He nodded. "Yes."

She groaned and covered her face.

"Rose. I'm sorry. I should have told you from the very beginning-"

"How can I make you understand that that's just something I don't want you to do?" She started to cry. "You can be so…."

He nodded, "I know. Thick. Yes."

She wiped her tears and pointed at him forcefully. "Shut up." She closed her eyes tightly and continued to cry silently.

"Rose-"

She wouldn't look at him. She put her finger over his lips as she seemed to compose herself. He spoke out of the side of his mouth. "Right."

She took a deep breath.

"Rose. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to make you cry-"

"Just shut up." She told him as she wiped her eyes.

He watched her as he sat in silence.

After a few minutes, she had calmed down and looked back at him. "Alright. There are things you don't like to talk about, just as there are things I would prefer not to ever think about again. You know of the things that happened to be while I've been here-"

"Baby, I'm so sorry."

"Those things are not your fault. You know that. I will never blame you for them. And I will never blame you for the things that happened while I was traveling between dimensions, looking for you. I've never told anyone about those."

He rubbed his chin, confused at her confession. Hadn't she told the psychologist everything? He had the files all in his office of what had been said. "But, you said you went to see Genie's Mum when-"

She shook her head. "I told her a watered down story. I couldn't tell her what really happened in a lot of cases. Dad was sitting right there. It felt like I would destroy him to really hear what had happened. He didn't want me to go and was always a step away from pulling the plug on the entire thing."

He was shocked. "Rose. You need to talk about that-"

She pointed at him and shook her head. "No. I don't. I simply refuse to even think about it. And don't go….digging in my head….looking for it. I don't want to expose my children, you or even my worst enemy to what I've seen and been through there."

He threw his hands up. "But, this is just not what you had told me before!"

She turned and pointed at him. "You're right. I didn't. Just like you kept this from me."

He crossed his arms and nodded. "Well. Huh."

She looked away and sighed. He scratched his head to compose his thoughts. He looked back at her and saw her wipe another tear from her eye. He stood up and walked in front of her. Kneeling down between her legs, he looked up at her face. Grabbing her hand, he used his own to wipe the tears from her face. "Rose, I'm so sorry. I'm the one who has promised to wipe the tears from your eyes when you cry, and I haven't done it. What's worse, is I am the one that put them there."

"I should have told you-"

He shook his head. "No. You don't have to. That's not like this. I really should have told you. You asked me….no….begged me not to do this. And I just charged on and did it anyway."

"Why? Do you want to leave?"

"No! You're here. My family is here. Rose, I have a family, again. I'm not leaving that."

She started to cry again and dropped her head.

"That's it. You feel like I want to return. Don't you?"

She shook her head.

"Rose. Can we stop lying to one another?" He wiped the tears from her face.

She bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders. She seemed unable to form words. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "Shhhh….. Sweetheart, I'm not going anywhere." She noticed his accent had faded. She pushed him away from her to see her Doctor's shocked look. "Baby. I promise. You know I'll never leave you."

She smiled through her tears. "It's you."

They held one another tightly. His head in her lap as he knelt in front of her. The world continued to burn behind them.

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