The Doctor sensed the approach of someone a few seconds before John walked through the doorway to stand on the balcony next to him.

"Atlantis told me that you had a meeting about whether or not to trust me."

John sighed. "We found you on an uninhabited planet next to a 1950's police box that is apparently your time travelling ship, can you really blame us?"

The Doctor snorted. "Humans. You can be so short-sighted sometimes. I guess that's why you're my favourite race."

"You've met us before? Humans, I mean?"

"Oh, yeah. Sometimes I travel with- Well, I used to." He paused. "Rose, her name was."

"What happened to her?"

The Doctor looked away. "She's fine. She's with her family. Safe."

"You're lying."

He turned back to look at John.

"Doctor, we need to know that we can trust you. How are we meant to do that if you won't tell the truth?"

The Doctor sighed. "You have a point. She's alive, but trapped. In a parallel universe."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. She's safer now than she ever was with me."

Both men were silent for a minute.

"Were you… you know?" John asked.

"No. We weren't… together."

"Right."

That awkward silence again.

"Forgive me for asking, but why can't the other Time Lords help you get your ship? If they have TARDISes too, then surely you don't need us?"

The Doctor looked off into the distance. "No others. Just me."

"Just you? What happened?"

"There was a war. We lost."

"But you can travel in time, surely you could of prevented it?"

"It's hard to explain. Some points in time are fixed, and cannot be changed without causing irreparable damage to the timeline or worse, tearing apart the universe."

"Oh. I'm- I'm sorry-"

"Don't be," the Doctor cut in.

There was a pause.

"So what do you do? I mean, 903 years old, you must have a job or something," John said, changing the subject.

"I travel. Save the day here and there. Met Queen Victoria once. And a werewolf. In Scotland. Hell of a night."

"A werewolf?"

"Yep."

"So-"

"I know you've got guards following me," the Doctor butted in.

John sighed. "It's for your own safety as well as ours."

"It's really not necessary. I can protect myself, and I promise I won't run away."

"It's protocol."

"Never had much time for protocol. Or the military in general. Or fighting."

"I think I can guess why. A war, you said?"

"Didn't like it before then either. It's pointless."

"I have to say, I kind of agree with you."