I do not own Doctor Who

Bad Wolf poked her lettuce with her chopsticks like a curious child. When she realized everyone was staring at her, she gave a quick smile and turned to Jenny. 'You told me humans pick at their foods a lot,' she whispered loudly. 'Am I dragging it a bit to long?'

'Yeah, a bit.' Jenny nodded.

Bad Wolf snatched up a leaf and ate it, savoring the taste. 'Oh, I haven't eaten in so long. How long exactly? I'll say, two thousand years? Wait-I'm supposed to compliment the cook, right? Well, who's the cook?'

Jackie raised a hand.

Bad Wolf grinned widely at her, baring her white teeth like a werewolf. 'Your cooking of lettuce is very stunning!'

Jackie's lips twitched into what almost looked like a smile. 'You're-you're welcome.'

Mickey took a sip from his glass of water. 'Hey, can I ask, what's with your clothes? Bad Wolf? I mean, not to be rude but no one really dresses up with a tie and a tie-dyed shirt.'

Jenny almost choked on water. She put her glass down, stifling a laugh. 'Sorry,' she muttered through a smile.

'Is it actually that funny?' Bad Wolf wondered aloud. 'I just assumed this is what all humans wear. Look-civilian humans like loose party clothes and leader humans wear ties and jewelry. If I wear both-KAPOW!'

Mickey looked confused. 'You punch everyone in the face?'

Bad Wolf raised an eyebrow. 'No! I blend in as a human better.'

Mickey nodded, doing a bad job at covering up his confusion. 'Uh huh, okay. That makes sense, I guess.'

Jenny giggled. 'Dinnertimes for humans don't usually last forever, BW. You might want to start eating.'

Bad Wolf began scarfing down food, oblivious to the looks everyone but Jenny were giving her. Rose looked away as thoughts assaulted her mind. Bad Wolf's behavior, all confident and remarkably...unique, it was so much like the Doctor. She even talked like him. Fast, never seeming to pause to take a breath, and smart. Incredibly smart. It was ironic to see him in someone who looked exactly like herself like he'd rubbed off on her.

She missed the Doctor so much.

Rose laid on her bed wide awake, her hands tucked under her head. She couldn't seem to fall asleep no matter how long the seconds seemed to tick by. She thought all that crying and grief she had experienced today would've tired her out. She guessed it was Bad Wolf and Jenny's arrival that wouldn't allow her body to relax and drift away to sleep.

A voice made her jump.

'Can't sleep, right?'

Rose sat bolt upright in her bed. 'What are you-?'

'Oh, am I supposed to knock first?' Bad Wolf walked towards the door and knocked it from the inside. 'Don't worry, I just teleported my atoms to here. I noticed you weren't sleeping. Everyone's supposed to be sleeping at night. Right? Jenny does that all the time. So, why aren't you asleep?'

Rose sighed. 'I don't know, I just couldn't. What are you doing up so late? Don't you need to sleep, too?'

Bad Wolf shrugged. 'I'm a form of pure energy. I don't really need to sleep. I could, but I'm not.'

There was silence between them.

'I could read your thoughts tonight,' Bad Wolf suddenly said. 'At dinner. About the Doctor and me.'

Rose looked down at her hands, even though it was dark, she could make out the callouses on her palms from when she'd gripped the lever, heaving it in place to prevent the Cybermen from making a comeback, desperately clinging onto it as the Void threatened to pull her in.

A shudder vibrated through her body as the memory tugged at her composure. Rose exhaled deeply. 'You did, huh?' she whispered.

Bad Wolf hesitated before saying, 'You want to talk about it?'

Rose remembered all the times she and the Doctor were together. The first time they'd met, she thought he looked like a cheeky motormouth genius who ran around like a sciencey-detective who blew up stuff and liked running around. When she got to know him better, she knew her first view on him was definitely correct. He absolutely ran around blowing stuff up while talking mad science and sassy jokes.

And Rose loved every bit of it.

Even when he'd regenerated, he was still the same to her. Happy-go-lucky, charismatic, and larger than life. "Some things are worth having your heart broken," Sarah-Jane Smith had said one time. But some things weren't. Rose wanted more than anything to be back with the Doctor.

'I'm sorry.' Bad Wolf's voice startled her out of the thoughts dragging her into despair.

Rose wanted to feel offended, instead a feeling of wanting to open up to Bad Wolf overwhelmed her emotions. She sighed. 'You could hear my thoughts again, right?'

'Yes. I shouldn't do that, should I?'

'No, it's fine. Just don't do it again...thanks.' Rose laid down.

'For what?'

'Being a reminder of everything we did-the Doctor and I,' Rose whispered. 'Even with him gone, I know there's still a part of him here. Somewhere. And even though it hurts to see you because you're so much like him, it's like you're him.' She broke off, laughing sadly. 'Sorry, that sounded too honest, didn't it?'

'No, it's fine. But I am him.' Bad Wolf's words jerked curiosity into Rose. 'Well, not that I'm related to him like I am to you, well, actually, when you looked into the Time Vortex and became my temporary host some of you got into me, just some of your subconsciousness. But me, I'm a section of power. And me, individually, all my interactions with people are him. So I guess he has-how do you say it? Rubbed off on me.'

Rose was silent for a second before bursting into laughter. Laughing for the first time since she'd gotten trapped in the parallel world. Bad Wolf was so much like the Doctor, though she missed him so much it hurt, Bad Wolf was like the connection to him but not his disappearance from her. She reminded Rose of all the amazing times they'd spend together, all the times Rose's eyes were opened to the enduring life right in front of her.

Bad Wolf didn't understand why Rose found it funny but laughed with her.

Soon, the entire house was awake.

Thanks for reading!