Thanks for all the reviews. This story is getting a bit random to be honest... not my greatest work. But am nearly at the end now, just got one and a half chapters left to write.

The TARDIS finally came to a shuddering halt.

"So much for being tired," I muttered as I picked myself up off the floor. "You're getting too clever by half. So. Where are we?" No reply. "This isn't the time to start being enigmatic!" Still nothing. I sighed. "Okay, I'll go and look for myself."

I opened the door and stepped out into… a dark damp basement. Oh how had it come to this? I wandered around the immediate area.

"Nice. Lovely day trip. Erm… excuse me for asking this, forgive me if I sound rude or – god forbid – unintelligent but… why?"

There were boxes all around filled with clothes and things. It was strange; this was just some basement in… well, somewhere, definitely somewhere… but it felt familiar. It felt like I'd been here before, in a dream or something. The smell, the acoustics as my foosteps fell on the concrete floor… this wasn't me imagining it. I had been here before. But when?

I headed down the corridor in front of me. There was some noise at the end of it, and some light too. This was all getting far too familiar for comfort. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end and shivers were running down my spine.

There was a voice in the room on the other side of those doors. It was muffled and indistinct, but getting louder. I could taste panic in the air coming under the door, fear and sweat and… I knew it, I knew that smell and taste. This was stupid though… why would the TARDIS bring me somewhere I'd been before? Especially if…

It all flashed through my mind as the voice finally broke through the door. The girl, her blonde hair tumbling down her back. The mannequins, alive, alien, being controlled. The doors, bursting through. Our hands, coming together, clasping onto each other though we had no idea who the other was. Her eyes meeting mine, a burst of understanding and… yes, recognition. And the word, the word that had started all of this.

"Run!"

And I did. Why on earth had she brought me here? She knew it was a stupid idea, that putting me in this position with another me just on the other side of a door was not a good plan. If he… if I saw me… it could change everything, not just this moment and what followed, but what had gone before and… well, everything. So I ran back down the corridor, not daring to turn around and look back. As I rounded a corner, I heard the doors burst open and footsteps. My footsteps. Her footsteps.

I launched myself back into the TARDIS and began trying to get us out of here.

"What were you thinking?" I demanded, as she kicked into action. "That was not a good idea, really not a good idea! Come on, let's get out of here!"

She obliged for once and I sank down onto the floor in relief. That had been too close, far too close. I didn't even really understand why she'd done it. She'd taken me back to the moment I'd met Rose, the first time she'd put her hand into mine. She'd done it without asking, without even thinking. She hadn't pulled away or demanded answers. She'd just trusted me to save her.

"What are you trying to say?" I asked. "That she's too trusting? That she believes in me? I know all this. It doesn't change the fact that… well, you're being unfair to her. Me and her… it can't happen."

And yet it already had. That's what she was saying. Me and Rose had happened the moment our hands met that first time. As we'd run down that corridor, she'd given herself to me. Her life had been in my hands, to do with what I wanted. There was no use fighting it now; it was already there, in everything we said and did, and always had been.

I made my way back to the flat quietly. The TARDIS had landed herself softly and as silently as she could. The mood was subdued in the control room and I needed to get out. I reached the flat door and moved my hand to ring the doorbell. Before I'd even pressed it the door was thrown open.

"About time too!" Jackie grabbed my arm and dragged me inside with surprising force for a woman of her size. She was the only woman able to put me off guard, and I didn't even to resist. "Where the hell have you been?" She didn't wait for an answer. "There's something wrong with Rose."

My hearts beat out of time. "What?" I demanded. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's dreaming or something," Jackie was dragging me into Rose's room. "Only she won't wake up and she keeps crying out."

Rose was tangled up in her duvet as usual, but her face was contorted. Tears rolled down her face and she tossed and turned, her lips moving slightly, murmuring inaudible sounds.

"I've tried waking her up, she won't," Jackie said again, her voice slightly shaky. "What is it, Doctor?" She looked up at me, and then back at Rose.

"Oh Rose," I said softly.

"What? What is it?"

"It's just a dream." I shrugged it off. "She's fine, she's just… dreaming." I moved to sit on the edge of her bed. "Honestly, it's fine. Can you put the kettle on?"

"What?" Jackie screeched. "You want me to do what?"

"She'll be awake in a minute. I'm sure she'd like a cup of tea when she wakes up." I looked up from Rose to Jackie. "Go on, she's fine."

I hadn't realised that the TARDIS could reach so far. Rose seemed to be suffering even more now. My poor Rose. This had to stop. This wasn't fair on her. I hoped the TARDIS had taken the hint and would stop now. If not… I didn't know what to do.

Rose suddenly spoke and it was all I needed to confirm all my worst fears. Her voice was ragged, out of breath, but perfectly clear. "Doctor!" she said, suddenly grabbing at my hand. As our hands touched, the dream seemed to end. Her eyes shot open and the first thing she saw was my face.