Ulpa wrapped his fur-lined shawl further to his chest as the frosty winds of OBW-57 cut like blades against his orange-pink skin. The snow that tried to fall was turning to icicles in the air, creating a dangerous storm of tiny daggers all around, but it was the same every day and every night, and all that Ulpa had ever known, so he continued to stand his ground against the weather and watched the desolate landscape with tired eyes. This was his whole life; waiting for something to happen. His people were protectors of the bubble universe, sworn to guard it from any evil that may wish to steal the energy that lay within. So far, no such thing had happened, and he was a steady 3547 years old at this point. Still, this was his life's work, and when he finally retired at age 4000, he would leave his seed who would then take the role for themselves, and so on and so on for the rest of time. It wasn't a particularly thrilling job, but someone had to do it. Others like him were posted across the length of the rift, ready for a battle that likely would not come. Why would it? No one knew this place even existed.

Even with his shawl and spattering of white hair across his body, Ulpa shivered. If you were a human, you might say he looked like an overgrown naked mole-rat. His eyes were beady and black, his nose twitchy and pointed, and he had two large front teeth at the front of his overbite-jaw. This, however, was where the comparison ended. The rest of his body was humanoid and frankly disgusting to look at. He fondly remembered over a thousand years ago, when an exploration ship had happened his way, how the travellers on board had hollered and repulsed at the very sight of him. How hilarious it was! These things did not bother Ulpa. He was alone, and always alone, and if the sight of him sent curious folk away, then so be it.

He was chuckling to himself at the memory, when something moved on the horizon. Surely, nothing? He picked up his spy glass with a flick of his tongue, and took a closer look.

There was another being just ahead, walking calmly down the snow-desert with his hands in his pockets. He wore a pinstripe suit, long brown coat and white shoes – oh how remarkable that he didn't cower against the storm! He was approaching, though, and he was a stranger, so Ulpa quickly dropped from his position on his wooden tower and went across to greet this potential threat.

"No further, thank you!" He announced as they came within a few feet of one another, holding a clawed paw up to gesture. The madman before him stood still, raised his eyebrows and rocked a little on his feet. "That's right. What are you doing here and, uh, where is your ship?"

"Is this an outpost of the Bravo Whiskey region?" The man asked, ignoring Ulpa's line of questioning.

"Yes, it is, but you know that." Ulpa sighed in frustration. "I asked you where your ship is, Sir, and now I am suggesting you go back to it and fly away, thank you very much. There's a storm, can't you see?"

"I do see," The man nodded at the flurry that surrounded him. "But I'm not going anywhere."

The man was smiling, but only from his lips. His eyes looked dark and his tone was not friendly. Ulpa gulped a little, but did not move. "No, I'm sorry but you must leave."

"Don't you ever get lonely?" The man had thrust his hands back in his pockets now and was taking long, wonky strides to circle the small rat-like creature, leaning into his ear every now and then as he spoke. "I mean, you've been here your whole life, am I right? Must be a very lonely job. I've only heard of your people – Talpa, yeah? Never met one of you up close. You all live here, against the Tempestas-Bulla Chasm. Protecting it. I wonder why? It's just a rift, same as any other, no? Unless… I'm just guessing here, correct me if I'm wrong, but – perhaps there's something very valuable and ancient on the other side? Am I right? I'm right, aren't I?"

The man spoke so quickly, with such charm and ease that Ulpa almost forgot his place. "So, you've read some text books. It doesn't impress me, Sir. Please leave before I am forced to use this."

He then held up his only weapon, a long baton with a red, sticky substance on the sharpened end.

"Ah," The man grimaced and stopped pacing, but did not look afraid. "Talpa venom. You poke me with that stuff, I'm temporarily paralysed and you boot me off to the nearest star system."

"As I said," Ulpa moved towards him, weapon aimed. "You don't scare me."

"The thing is," The man started to pace again, now using his arms to address the space around him as though putting on a play. "If this thing your guarding is so important, why only one guard per station? And why only one weapon – something that has to be used up close to even work! And why not a deadly weapon? Surely, if this thing is soooooo in need of protection, you'd have an army?"

The man stopped, and it was only now that Ulpa had realised that he had circled his way towards the entrance of the rift. He was holding up a small device of his own now, and a sad look had spread across his face. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. But I have to do this." He pressed down on the device and an almighty screeching sound wailed across the air, forcing Ulpa to drop to his knees and hold his hands against his ears, which were in incredible pain. He tried to stand back up. It was no use, the noise was so deafening, yet it didn't seem to affect the perpetrator at all. "I tuned the frequency so only species of your level are affected. It isn't pleasant, but it won't kill you."

He then turned his attention back to the rift. "I know there is a bubble universe on the other side of this chasm. I know what's in there, too. I'm the Doctor. I'm the last of the Time Lords, and the thing you are protecting – well, technically, it's my property by right. Now, if I'm right, the rift has been stabilised enough that I can walk in and out without any issues, but the energy inside might be a problem. By my calculations, I have around 40 seconds before I start to burn up. 80 seconds before my skin melts."

The Doctor turned to Ulpa once again, expression unreadable. "You see, I know why only one of you guards each post. You're not too worried if someone comes along, they'll just die soon as they enter, right? And no one knows it's here anyway, this is just for show." His eyes were wet now. "I have to do this. You understand? It's my technology. I control space and time. Me! It's my responsibility alone. But I have to do this. I don't have a choice! If the TARDIS is ever going to make a trip to a parallel world without breaking apart or dying, then I can't use scavenged fuel anymore. I need the energy direct from the Eye of Harmony."

Ulpa tried to stop him, but it was too late. The Time Lord walked through the rift and into imminent danger.

But at least the noise finally stopped.

Somewhere, in another universe, Rose Tyler was slouched on a sofa in her lonely flat, watching TV and contemplating whether or not to order more Chinese food. Her bump was growing quickly and with it, all her energy was drained. She could barely stand these days. Life had been painful for the last two months since she'd last seen the Doctor, and though he'd declared he would find her again, he was nowhere to be seen. She knew it was impossible though, and to actually get to her would tear a hole in both universes, something he would never do. She was slowly coming to terms with the fact that she would indeed never see him again. She couldn't be angry at him. It didn't stop her feeling abandoned.

But it was like a grief, like he had died. She would find herself bursting into tears at random points in the day, so guttural and so agonising that she could only go to bed and lay in the darkness. Jackie had put it down to hormones and tried her best to soothe her poor daughter, but it was no use. Rose was depressed, lonely and now house-bound from the sheer lack of energy she was experiencing via pregnancy.

She'd missed all appointments, had zero scans. She was terrified that if the child had two hearts, that she'd be sectioned or something. So, although she was now five months in, no one knew the gender or even if the child was definitely healthy. It was all they could do to wait for the day it would finally arrive. The thought terrified her. Shouldn't she be excited? Happy?

With a sigh, Rose began to pick herself up from the sofa to turn the TV off, sick of watching the same old reruns and waiting for something to happen. But just as she was about to click the button on the remote, the screen began to flicker, bursting into static. And then… he was there.

The Doctor, on the screen. It looked like a mirror version, but it was him. He was searching with his eyes, but she could tell that he couldn't see her. His skin was bubbled and damaged, like an aggressive sun burn, and he was talking quickly, but there was no sound. Then, as fast as he had appeared, he was gone.

Rose felt her heart skip a beat. He was coming for her after all. Hang on, hadn't he said that sending messages required burning up suns? She bit her lip and whispered to herself.

"Doctor, what are you doing?"