Something was sliding under her shoulders, lifting her from the ground… or was she floating up, toward the light? Rose blinked. The light was gone—at least the brighter, bluer one. Now she saw the glow cast by the ceiling fixtures just a few meters above her.

The Doctor was gently easing her up from the floor, cradling her shoulders in his arm.

"You okay?" he asked, his blue eyes seeming to bore into her.

She nodded. "I think so. What happened?"

He grinned. "Setting 367 altered the lights so that the ultraviolet was predominant. Mogronons can't stand that wavelength, and the instant you switched the screwdriver on they ran for the doors. Clever idea."

His brief, self-congratulatory smugness left him as he helped her to stand, still watching her carefully. However, now his eyes flicked to the interior of the room, too.

"We need to get out of here, though. They'll be back, I'm sure, to clean up any loose ends—"

Rose coughed and rubbed at her throat. "You mean us?"

He nodded. "Yep."

Rose took a few tentative steps. Her entire body ached, and her head and back were close to throbbing. But she needed to see that her mother was unharmed. She placed a hand on the door frame and leaned inside.

Jackie stood immobile near the back wall. She was staring straight ahead, eyes unfocused and unseeing.

"Oh God, Mum!" Rose cried, hurrying forward to envelop her mother in her arms. "Are you all right?"

The Doctor placed a hand on her shoulder. "We need to take her away. Now, Rose."

"But look what they've done to her—"

"She can walk. You just need to lead her." He took Rose's arm and placed it around Jackie's back, then he looped his own over the older woman's shoulders. "Come on."

They manoeuvred Jackie out of the warehouse then into the alleyway. She did not resist their efforts to move her. Indeed, she walked along easily at their sides with unfaltering steps, but she did not respond to Rose's attempts to talk to her.

"Should we take her to the hospital?" Rose asked the Doctor worriedly.

He shook his head. "They wouldn't be able to do anything for her." He was looking around, his eyes scanning the area and the sky. After a few moments he smiled tightly then said, "Come on. Let's take her home."

If the truth were told, the walk back to Jackie's flat was more difficult for Rose than for her mother. The young woman stumbled along, valiantly fighting off her exhaustion and pain. The Doctor was aware of her efforts, and he kept watch for a taxi, but none drove by.

Finally the large complex came into view, and the Time Lord urged the two women ahead. Rose had trouble with the stairs; her feet seemed to get caught between the steps. Still, she persevered, managing to make it to the top without losing her grip on her mother. Once inside the flat, she and the Doctor led Jackie to the sofa and eased her down.

Rose had needed to concentrate all her efforts on just walking, just staying on her feet. After her initial inquiry to the Doctor she had remained silent. Now, however, she took Jackie's face in her hands and leaned over her.

"Mum?" she asked, "can you hear me?"

Jackie continued to stare straight ahead.

Rose turned back to the Doctor. "What's wrong with her?"

He had withdrawn the sonic screwdriver and now gently moved Rose aside. Taking Jackie's chin in his hand, he concentrated the small instrument on her eyes. After a few seconds he said, "She'll be all right."

Rose gripped her mother's hand. "But what did they do to her?"

"They attempted to erase all traces of themselves from her memory. That part worked; she probably won't remember anything about the last twelve hours or so. The new disk made the erasure process more powerful than they usually manage, though, so her brain's a bit scrambled right now."

"Scrambled? What do you mean?"

"It's sort of like when a computer malfunctions an' the bits from the files get all mixed up. Sometimes you just need to turn it off then reboot it an' everything goes back to normal. She's shut down right now—her mind is resting until it can put everything back together again."

"How long will it take?"

"Probably about twelve hours or so. She should be fine when she wakes up in the morning."

"So what can we do for her in the meantime?"

He grabbed a pillow from the floor and set it behind Jackie then eased her back to lie down on the couch, lifting her legs and settling them on the cushions. Rose watched as he placed his hand over her forehead, ring finger on one temple and thumb against the other.

"She just needs to sleep," he said, and Jackie closed her eyes.

"That's it? That's all you're going to do?"

The Doctor turned back to Rose, who still stood fretfully at Jackie's side. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "She's going to be all right. I promise."

Rose looked back down at her slumbering mother. Jackie's expression was peaceful, and she appeared relaxed. Rose carefully tucked a blanket around her then sank down and rested a palm over her cheek.

After a minute or so, the Doctor took Rose's elbow and urged her up. "Come on," he said.

"Where?"

"Back to the TARDIS."

"No, I'm going to stay with her until she wakes up."

His eyes ran over her battered and bedraggled body, from head to toe. "I can sort you out in no time. You'd be gone less than an hour."

Rose shook her head resolutely. "She needs me."

"And when she wakes?"

"If she's really all right, I'll come back with you."

He did not respond to this. With a glance at the door, Rose added, "An' besides, what if they come back? You said they'd want to finish the job. They know she lives here."

"They're gone. I saw their ship take off as we were walking back."

"You sure?"

He nodded. "Yep. S'pose the light trick drove them off. Guess they really didn't want to face that again—awfully uncomfortable for them."

Finally reassured that the danger had passed, Rose permitted herself to take a deep breath. Suddenly she was utterly and completely exhausted. Her knees felt like jelly, and her hand tightened around the Doctor's arm.

He looked down at her. "Come on, then," he said, already leading her away.

"No, Doctor, I have to stay—"

"Here. I know. You're just going to lie down for a while. I'll keep an eye on her."

Reluctant as she was to leave her mother's side, with each second Rose's body was growing more insistent that she heed the Time Lord's advice. She permitted him to take her to her bedroom, where she had to use every last ounce of her strength to keep from falling onto the bed. Instead, she sat down slowly, deliberately, keeping her movements steady until she lowered her head to the pile of pillows. In a very few seconds she had slipped into deep slumber.

The Doctor stood watching Rose for some time. Finally he left her room to return several minutes later with bowl of warm water, a flannel, and a towel. She was sleeping soundly, and she did not stir as he carefully removed her jacket. He set the garment aside then touched the bruises forming on her throat with his fingertips. The Mogronon had held her tightly, and he was surprised that she hadn't suffered any serious injury from the thug's attempts. Softly he ran his fingers over her neck. Her face twitched once as he touched a particularly tender spot, but she did not wake.

He slid his hand down between her head and the pillows to feel about her skull, frowning at the bump he found over the parietal bone. It was on the same side as the abrasions on her cheek; he thought that she must have hit her head when she was knocked to the ground by the explosion. A surge of anger rushed through him, and he allowed it to simmer for a few seconds before pushing it back down beneath the surface.

He turned his attention to her face, wiping away the soot then gently bathing the abrasions with warm water. Rose began to rouse; he saw her eyelids moving and immediately sensed the subtle change in her breathing and heart rate.

"Sleep, Rose," he murmured, placing a hand over her forehead just as he had done for Jackie. She sighed almost inaudibly then sank back into slumber.

She did not feel the tiny tingling from the sonic screwdriver as the Doctor healed the deep scrapes on her cheek, the lump on her head, and the bruises on her neck. She was not aware of his movements as he eased her onto her side then lifted her shirt to examine the abrasions and bruises on her shoulders and back. He quickly healed each wound then lowered the shirt back into place.

He was slipping the instrument back into his pocket when he noticed again the ragged scrape on her knee. He cleaned away the blood then repaired the torn flesh. Satisfied that she was in no danger and would rest comfortably now, he pulled a blanket from the foot of the bed and tucked it around her.

Before leaving the room, he bent to kiss her forehead lightly, whispering, "Sweet dreams, Rose, only sweet dreams."

When Rose awoke, she smelled coffee immediately. She felt groggy and disorientated at first, but memories of the day's events returned as soon as she realized that she was in her own bedroom in her mother's flat.

She sat up quickly, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and standing abruptly. Dizziness lapped at her senses, trying to wash over her, but she took a deep breath and pushed it away. Still, she required a moment to stand by the door, hand on the frame, to steady herself fully.

When she stepped out into the living room, she found the Doctor sitting in a chair next to the couch. He was reading a book, a look of bemusement upon his face.

"How is she?" Rose asked, hurrying toward Jackie, who still lay sleeping on the couch.

The Doctor looked up at her with the beginnings of a smile, then abruptly frowned. "You all right?" he asked.

"Little sore, that's all." She was bending over her mother.

"She's okay, Rose. I've been watching her. She'll come out of it in an hour or so."

Rose straightened, and the dizziness sprang back at her. She blinked and tottered back a step. The Time Lord's strong hands caught her shoulders, and he moved around to stand in front of her. He lifted her chin with his thumb, resting his fingers against her neck.

"Maybe I was keeping an eye on the wrong Tyler," he said. "You feelin' dizzy?"

"A little," she admitted.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I have just the thing for that."

He led her to the kitchen, where she saw that he had taken a carton of eggs and a block of Irish cheddar from the refrigerator. They waited on the counter next to a large frying pan. He pulled out a chair for her, and Rose sat.

"You haven't eaten anything in nearly twenty-four hours," he said with a shake of his head. "You humans aren't very good at keeping your metabolisms going without at least a bit of sustenance."

He set a mug of coffee and a glass of orange juice in front of her then turned to the stove, where he busied himself with the eggs.

"Drink the juice first," he advised. "It'll get your blood sugar back up."

After draining the glass, Rose poured some milk into the coffee then took a sip. The dizziness was abating already.

"How long did I sleep?" she asked. It was still dark outside, so she couldn't tell what time it was.

"Eleven hours," he replied, and she thought she caught a hint of concern in his voice.

She ran a hand through her tangled hair, already anticipating the shower she would take as soon as she had eaten. As she smoothed a few tendrils away from her face, she touched her cheek, then patted at it curiously. She reached for a spoon and peered at her distorted reflection in it.

"It was all scraped up before," she said, wondering if her memories were still cloudy.

"Hmm?" He turned around, holding a plate of scrambled eggs. He handed it to her.

"My face," she began. "I thought I scraped it during the explosion." She was still touching the newly healed skin.

He shrugged and smiled without a hint of humility.

"You did this?" she asked in surprise. "How?"

"I've got a few tricks up my sleeve," he replied. He nodded at the plate. "Now eat."

Rose was famished, and she gladly complied. When she had finished, partially spurred on by the Doctor's short harangue about the historical inaccuracies of the gothic romance novel he'd been reading she stood. The muscles in her legs and back protested their recent abuse with sharp twinges of pain, and she couldn't prevent the grimace that swept across her face.

"Sore?" he asked.

She nodded. "Guess a shower'll help."

"Sorry I couldn't do much about that. If you'd come back to the TARDIS, I could've—"

"'S okay," Rose interjected. "I'm fine. I jus' wanna get cleaned up before Mum wakes."

He waved a dismissive hand. "Get to it, then."

Rose felt much better when she emerged from her room twenty minutes later. She was dressed in clean clothes and running a comb through her hair. The Doctor had taken his place in the chair near the couch again.

"She's going to wake up soon, right?" she asked.

He glanced up and nodded. "Yep. Any minute now."

"How can you tell that?"

"Eye movement, breathing," he responded succinctly, as though she would understand what he meant.

Rose moved to the couch and sat down. Jackie's eyelids fluttered then opened. She blinked at her daughter.

"Rose?" she asked. "Darling, you're home." She sat up to embrace the young woman.

"Yeah," Rose replied. "Jus' for a little while."

Jackie pulled back and looked around, frowning when she saw the Doctor's smiling face. "When did you get here?" she asked.

"Just in the nick of time," the Doctor said.

Rose looked back at him quizzically.

"You fell and hit your head," he told Jackie. "We got here just after it happened. You've been out for quite a while."

Jackie reached up to feel about her crown. "Fell? I don't remember that—"

"You sure?" he queried, bending down to look directly into her the eyes. "Seemed like you'd got up on a stool to reach into the cabinet above the sink."

Jackie frowned, considering this. "I—oh, yes, I think I do remember that."

"How's your head feelin'?" he asked.

"Little sore."

"Yeah." He straightened and took a step back.

"How long was I out?"

"Quite a while, Mum," Rose replied, taking her hand. "It's night now."

"Night?" Jackie repeated. "So I was unconscious for what, nine or ten hours?" She rubbed at her head, scowling. "Did I go tohospital?"

Rose glanced up at the Time Lord. "No," she said quickly, "the Doctor took care of you right here."

"But I might have concussion or brain damage—" Jackie protested.

"Nope, no such luck," the Doctor said, ignoring Rose's glare.

"You sure?" the older woman asked.

Rose looked back at her mother. She hated to lie, but she needed to protect her mother from the truth. "The Doctor brought some equipment from the TARDIS. He checked you over an' made sure you were okay."

"Checked me over?" Jackie fingered the top button of her blouse.

"Just your head, Jackie," he said with good-natured exasperation.

Jackie took a few seconds to process all the information then pressed a kiss to Rose's forehead. "Well, I'm glad you're back."

"Yeah," Rose replied, "me too. Are you hungry? The Doctor's made eggs."

"He can cook?" Her eyebrow shot up.

"He can do a lot of things," the Time Lord retorted, retreating to the kitchen.

"So how are you, darling?" Jackie asked, taking Rose's face in her hands. "You look a little tired."

Rose smiled. "No, I'm fine, Mum, really fine."

Shortly after dawn, the Doctor and Rose returned to the TARDIS. Breakfast with Jackie had been about as much time with the woman as the Doctor could tolerate, and, although he told Rose that he could come back for her later in the day, she remembered all too well the panic she'd felt when she found the TARDIS gone some twelve hours earlier. She decided immediately to accompany him. Jackie protested, of course, but Rose promised to return soon and to call her in the meantime.

Rose found the familiar hum of the engines comforting. She felt safe inside the time ship, safer than anywhere else. Funny how once, a long time ago, it was her room at home that seemed the safest place of all…

"Got your phone?" the Doctor asked as he activated the time rotor.

She patted at her hip pocket. "Yeah."

He nodded. "Wouldn't want you to lose it again." His tone contained just a hint of admonishment.

"I won't." She ambled over to the console to stand beside him, watching his hands meander over the controls. "Where're we goin'?" she asked.

He glanced at her but did not look her fully in the face. "Somewhere peaceful."

"Peaceful? We've never tried that before."

"It's time."

"Yeah? An' why's that?"

"Because," he lifted his head, "I want to show you something nice."

"I can handle the other stuff," she began, defensiveness creeping into her voice.

"I know you can. But you shouldn't have to, at least not all the time."

Rose was frowning now, crossing her arms over her chest. "You still think the dream I had was because of all the bad things I've seen."

He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Actually, no, I don't. I think that, at some level, you knew that your mother was in danger. Even though you weren't consciously aware of it, you probably knew that the Mogronon had taken your phone. Your subconscious made the connection between that and your mother."

Rose's expression showed her surprise. "I dunno," she said dubiously.

He tapped her forehead gently. "I do. An' I see now that there's a lot going on in this head of yours, Rose Tyler."

She blinked, thinking that his words were a compliment but unsure quite how. "Thanks, I think."

He fiddled with a few more switches, then Rose felt the TARDIS materialize. The Doctor took her hand with a grin and walked with her to the door. With a flourish, he swept his hand out at the vista before them.

"The stuff of dreams," he said, and he led Rose outside.