Victoria was terrified of approaching the subject. She had given it a lot of thought when she had been stuck in World War II London, yet in the moment she had no clue what to say. 'Hey guys, I'ved decided that maybe I'll be happier in a different body even though I might not care about either of you any more.' No, she couldn't and wouldn't say that.

She hadn't said a single word about it to the Doctor or Rose, the whole time the pair just chatting happily. Victoria could see the wear and tear on her friends' faces, and she knew that any moment Rose was going to say that she was heading to bed and her plan would be saved ruined.

She also knew that both of her friends were worried about her since she barely said anything since getting back on the TARDIS. The Doctor would ask her privately once Rose left, and Rose would ask the next morning in hopes of not intruding on Victoria and her thoughts.

So, when the blonde turned towards Victoria with a tired grin, she wasn't sure whether she wanted to sag in relief or defeat. The latter won out.

"Wait!" Victoria called out just as her best friend was about to disappear down a hallway. The girl stopped immediately, having been expecting the reaction from Victoria.

Victoria tried to calm herself, pinching her thumb slightly as she repeated the mantra 'now or never' over again.

"What's up?" Rose asked, clumsily placing her hands in her pocket even though Victoria knew it was meant to be casual.

The Doctor looked up from the console and shared a concerned look with Rose as she walked back to the console.

Victoria struggled with her words, having too much she needed to say to the Doctor. Almost all of it needed to be said in private, but she didn't want to bother Rose while sleeping either.

"I think I'm ready to open my watch," she blurted before wincing, not having meant for it to come out like that.

Rose smiled sadly at her friend, proud that she was no longer letting that fear rule over her, but also sad because she knew her friend would be a different person after this. "I'll leave you two to talk for a moment. I'll be just down the hall when you're ready."

Victoria flashed Rose an appreciative glance as she left but her focus never faltered from the Doctor. The Doctor was looking at her with an almost unreadable expression, but she knew him well enough to know that he was in shock. She could tell by his eyes, which had widened ever so slightly, and there was an underlying look of happiness in them.

He loved Victoria, there was no doubt about that, and he would continue to love her until she died. But he couldn't contain his happiness at being united with another Time Lord. "You know, I had silently wished that you would tell me to open my watch earlier. And there's crushing regret I felt for not doing when I thought you had died. I don't think I could have lived with myself without opening my watch. I've been ready for a while, I think."

"And then, just when I'm thinking that I can do it when we get back, Ida tells me that you fell and that you wanted me to know that you love me. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with myself afterwards."

The Doctor stared at her, slightly frozen in what she figured to be surprise. Victoria reached out and grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"I'm going to open my watch tonight, because I want to, and I want you and Rose there to support me. And when I stop being Victoria, I want you to think about her one more time before moving on. I'm not worth the pain."

"Vie-"

"I'm serious. I hope that whoever is inside loves you like I do, but if I don't, don't spend the rest of your life thinking wistfully about me. And trust me, I'll know if you do," she tried to joke at the end, but all she got was her body being pulled into a bone crushing hug.

"No matter what, I just want you to know that you're amazing. Absolutely fantastic," he kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Victoria Harkness-Jones."

"I love you too, Theta."

The Docor kept his arms wrapped around her for who knows how long, in reality only ten minutes, before she pulled back with a newfound resolve. "I'm ready."

As the walked out of the room to get Rose, Victoria stood up and walked around the console, dragging her fingers lightly across the many buttons and switches. Victoria could hear the sound of their footsteps as they approached her. Rose slowly stopped in front of her with her arms crossed against her chest, almost as if she were hugging herself.

"It's not really goodbye if I'll be seeing you in a few minutes," Rose said with a smile, happiness warming her as Victoria let out a hearty laugh.

"You're not wrong," she said, pulling the blonde into a tight hug. "Thank you, for your encouragement. You might not know, or maybe you do, but you helped me get here. So thank you."

"Of course. I'll always be there for my best friend, no matter what," Rose pulled away from the hug to gift Victoria with her famous smile.

Victoria walked over to the Doctor and pulled him into a small kiss. "Thank you, Theta," she whispered to him, out of Rose's hearing range. She took a few steps away from him as Rose came to stand with the Doctor, grabbing his hand tightly as they watched their friend take calming breaths.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her watch, running her thumb over the intricate designs that were engraved in the lid. She closed her eyes, surprised to hear a gentle voice greet her in her head. "Open me, please. Please, open the watch and allow me to show you the past. There is so much to learn, my dear, and I can show you it all. There is no need to be scared."

"Doctor, what's she doin'?" Rose asked quietly, watching as Victoria stood there, holding the watch tightly.

"Whoever's inside the watch is speaking to her," he explained softly, watching as Victoria smiled at the voice in her head. "And whoever it is, I think she's good."

"Go on, open me," the voice encouraged Victoria gently. Nodding her head slightly, Victoria pushed the latch opening down, allowing the lid to fly open.

Gold tendrils of light began flowing from the watch towards Victoria, who was staring at the watch in awe. The room filled with golden light, so bright that both Rose and the Doctor had to cover their eyes.

The Doctor, however, slowly dropped his hand as he looked at Victoria in disbelief. When the golden light dissipated, she dropped the watch on the floor and looked around the TARDIS before her gaze landed on the pair by the console. "... Rian?" the Doctor breathed out, letting go of Rose's hand and slowly approaching the redhead. She smiled at him, rushing to meet him. She threw her arms around his neck, and he happily embraced the girl.

"I thought you were dead…," he said into her neck, closing his eyes as he felt her mind reach out to his, nearly crying, having forgotten the feeling of another Time Lord in his mind.

Rian grinned at him, hugging him tightly.

"It… it's a long story, one that perhaps is better suited to take place in private," she spoke to him telepathically, glancing over at Rose who was watching the pair with uncertainty..

"Rose!" Rian called out, walking over to the blonde and pulling her into a hug.

"V-Victoria?" she asked hesitantly, unsure of what to call her friends, worried that she would insult her.

"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head apologetically. "I should have introduced myself properly. My name is the Historian, but please, call me Rian. It has a better ring to it, don't you think?"

Rose blinked at the girl, slightly disoriented by the noticeable personality change in her friend. She was very polite for one thing, that she could already tell. "I take it you knew the Doctor?" she asked, glancing over at the Doctor.

"When Time Lords were eight years old, they left their family to go to the Academy. But as part of our initiation, we had to look into the Untempered Schism which allowed us to look into the time vortex. You either ran, became inspired, or went mad. Both of us," Rian said, sharing a grin with the Doctor. "Ran as far away as we possibly could. It was then that we met each other, and we became best friends."

"Did you know that when we were younger, the Doctor would -" Rian began to tell Rose, but was cut off by the Doctor placing his hand on her shoulder. "You still know how to talk someone's ear off," he told her jokingly.

"Why don't we let Rose go to bed, it's been a long day for all of us," he suggested, and Rose nodded.

"Tomorrow, maybe we could just sit and get to know each other better?" Rose offered, and Rian smiled at her brightly.

"Oh, that'd be great. There are so many stories from when we were younger that I think you'd love. I can't wait to tell you them," Rian told her, grinning as the Doctor sent her a look.

Rose smiled weakly, beginning to feel the effects of the last day hit her. "Good night, Doctor, Vic- Rian." She left the console room, fighting back tears the whole way to her room.

- Page Break -

"What do you think?" Rian asked, twirling around for the Doctor. Soon after Rose had gone to bed, Rian had decided that Victoria's style was not for her and decided to pick a more fitting outfit.

She was wearing a white, lacy camisole tucked into a blue plaid skirt with a light blue cardigan. She did, however, decide to keep the blue converse she had worn before. The Doctor watched Rian with a grin. The moment Rian walked back into the console room, he understood how her previous outfit felt wrong. The ensemble she had put together worked well with her new personality, he could already tell.

"You look wonderful," he told her truthfully. She walked up to him and placed her arm through his. "Thank you, Theta. I know we have a lot to talk about, but…"

"You need time, Samara. We'll talk when you're ready," he said, shaking his head slightly.

Rian smiled gratefully up at the Doctor before noticing her pocket watch from the corner of her eye. She picked it up gently and looked it over before slipping it into her pocket alongside her sonic screwdriver.

Still holding onto his arm, the pair walked up to the door. Rian glanced up at the Doctor with a grin. "Well, Rian, are you ready?"

She nudged him the shoulder playfully at his question. "Am I ready? The question is really… are you?" she asked, pushing the door open and pulling the Doctor out into a new adventure.