A/N - I'm not overly happy with this chapter and it took me way too long to write. It's pretty much a filler chapter, but I didn't want to rush straight into Smith and Jones. I felt like there were still some things Rose needed to sort through before she did all of that. Still! Smith and Jones starts next chapter, so that's something to look forward to!

Rose rolled onto her side in bed, curling up into a small ball. A soft sigh escaped her, and she hugged her pillow to her chest, burying her face into it. Sleep hadn't come easily, despite how tired she felt. Her mind was swimming with everything she'd learned; a new lifespan, never truly ageing? Bonding with the TARDIS had changed her irreversibly, hadn't it? It didn't change how she felt about staying with The Doctor or the choices she had made that had led her here, but… it was certainly something to think about.

A big life change.

"He wasn't very happy about it, was he?" Rose whispered aloud, and she heard a hum in response, though there was almost a sense of exasperation within the sound. Since she had returned, Rose had been able to understand the TARDIS more and more – and now she knew what had caused it, it did make sense.

"I know he'll get over it eventually, but I don't want him to just 'get over it', I want him to accept it, maybe even be happy that I can actually keep my promise," Rose continued, moving to sit up in bed, still hugging her pillow to her chest. Slowly, the lights thrummed to life, remaining dim as to not overwhelm Rose with brightness right away. The TARDIS flickered the lights by way of response, and Rose let out a long sigh.

"I s'pose you're right. I just need to give it time to sink in, for both of us." She agreed, dropping her pillow down onto the bed. She stood up, stretching her arms up over her head with a small grimace as she tried to work out the kinks in her tired muscles, and headed towards her en suite bathroom, ready to shower and start off the day.

Stars above, she really needed to start working out again. Now she was back in her younger body, she was really feeling just how much weaker it was. At Torchwood she went through a fair bit of training and though her running kept her in shape, she also had a gym routine. Was there a gym on the TARDIS? Something to ponder at least. One problem at a time.

Rose had a plan, of sorts. The Doctor would block out whatever memories he needed to for the both of them, and then she would go to her old flat and take some last momentos with her. The Doctor had told her in another life that she and Jackie were officially dead according to all public records, and that was how it should remain. People would come to empty out the flat eventually, and before that happened, Rose wanted to take what little she had been unable to grab to give to Jackie.

Rose stopped as she passed her vanity, pressing a kiss to her finger and lightly touching the picture of herself and Jackie she had taken for herself from the photo album. Today marked the day when things would really change, after all. The Doctor knew the truth, her mum was safe, and she had a new life to lead.

As she showered, she tried to let all of her tension and worry wash off of her body, and once she was dried and dressed, slipping on her now signature blue jacket and converse, her hair teased into light curls with the aid of her new alien hairdryer, she felt ready to take on whatever would come her way.

"There she is!" The Doctor's voice was cheerful as Rose headed into the console room, and she couldn't help but smile at the sound. "Finally rising up from her nest!"

"Shut up," Rose shot back at him, running over towards the console itself, flashing The Doctor a small grin. The Doctor returned it, flipping a few switches before letting out a little sigh, turning to face her properly.

"Sleep okay?" He asked, and there was a note of seriousness in his voice. Rose glanced up at him, offering him a smaller smile at the question.

"It was alrigh', bit restless, but I don't think i've had a completely restful sleep in like a year," she admitted, lightly wrapping one of her curls around her finger. She straightened up after a second, moving to clap her hands together with a bracing smile. "Anyway! We should probably take these memories away before the universe implodes or somethin'."

"Right! Yes, implosion is bad," The Doctor agreed, nodding his head once. He stepped forward, but didn't reach out for her temples right away. He simply watched her, a question in his eyes. He didn't speak for a few moments, before finally; "I'm sorry. For how I reacted when you told me. I took some time to really run over what you said, really dug into your test results to see what we were dealing with. I still don't know what happened to your original consciousness in your current body. Before the TARDIS pulled you back, you were just… Rose Tyler. What happened to her? I don't know, and that's what scares me."

Rose didn't reply for a moment, mulling over everything in her mind. The more she thought about it, about herself and her actions in this new timeline… she wasn't as mature as she had been in Pete's world. She was certainly more mature than she HAD been, but her moments of petulance hadn't vanished for good. Sometimes, she still felt as though she were nineteen years old in spirit.

"I think we sort of… became one?" Rose guessed, biting down on her bottom lip slightly. "M'not totally sure, but… she didn't just vanish when I got pulled in here. We're the same person, so we sort of got all… meshed together. She's still in here, but she's me, too. we're sort of.. more than we were before. It's weird."

"It's always weird on the TARDIS," The Doctor agreed, a wry smile on his face. The remaining tension that had been in his shoulders seemed to fade at her reassurances, however, and he let out a small breath, moving his fingers to her temples. Rose closed her eyes at his touch, and as she felt his presence at the edge of her mental barriers, she dropped them instantly, allowing him access. His mental presence was warm and curious and so very much like The Doctor, it was comforting. As such, she couldn't help but reach out to him with her own mind, and she let out a shuddering sigh as they connected.

The Doctor stilled for a moment, but slowly, he too relaxed, welcoming the touch, the brief respite from the emptiness inside of him. It was intoxicating, somehow, being so enveloped in Rose's mind, he almost didn't want to leave. No. No, he had to find her memories. He had to block them out. He pulled away from her mental caress for a moment, seeking out the memories he knew he would need to repress.

Rose seemed to understand his intent, and she reached out, guiding him to the correct section of her mind where she had been keeping those memories. He sifted through them carefully, making sure to not rush. He didn't want to block out the memories that she wanted to keep hold of, after all, just the things that could provide hints to the future.

Once he'd found everything he wanted to corral and block off, he created a room of sorts, storing all of them inside of it and locking them behind a mental door, only to be unlocked when Rose heard a single, specific phrase.

'The stars are going out' he whispered as he sealed the door shut. With that done, The Doctor pulled himself from Rose's mind with great difficulty, and he moved his fingers from her temples. Immediately, he wrapped his arms securely around her body instead as she suddenly slumped forward in his arms, having lost consciousness.

"I've got you, I've got you," The Doctor assured her quietly, moving to lift her up bridal style in his arms. She wouldn't be out of it for long, just long enough for him to wipe his own memories, really. He carefully sat Rose down in the captain's chair, his hand reaching out to gently brush some of her hair away from her face. He sighed after a moment, turning away from her and focusing his mind inwards. He had to locate the memories that Rose had shown him the night prior.

As he too locked out those new memories, he winced, opening up as his eyes as they were cleared from his mind. It was an uncomfortable feeling, but though he knew he had just wiped something from his mind, he couldn't remember what it was, exactly. It was something he wasn't supposed to know, at least.

He looked over at Rose as she began to stir and wake up, offering her a small, cheery grin. "Oh, she's up again! Rose Tyler, don't you spend enough time sleeping already?" He teased, and Rose wrinkled her nose slightly at him in response.

"Did it work?" She asked, pushing herself to sit up a little more comfortably, moving to rub at her temples with her fingertips gently.

The Doctor moved around the console, pressing a few buttons as he went, and cast her a brief look, one eyebrow rising upwards. "You tell me."

Rose was silent for a moment, a small frown on her face as she wracked her brain for some answers. What did she want to forget? She… couldn't remember. That was a good sign, wasn't it? She could still remember John, knew he was made from The Doctor somehow, but, she couldn't remember HOW, exactly…

"I dunno. I think it did," Rose finally decided, and pushed herself off of the chair, offering him a smile. "Anyway, there was something I wanted to ask you about. I was thinkin', my mum and I will be listed as dead since no-one can find us, yeah?" She guessed, and The Doctor glanced at her, giving her a small nod in response. "Well, I was wonderin' if I could go back to the flat, maybe some pick up some things before someone comes to clear it out."

"You don't need to be listed as dead," The Doctor pointed out, turning to lean against the console, his arms folding over his chest. "We could rent out the flat for a few months, you can keep your things there."

"Givin' me a chance to run away, are you Doctor? Somethin' to run back to?" Rose noted, and shook her head at him. "No, no, it's best it's done with. No good it jus' sittin' there gatherin' dust. I'd rather someone who needs a house is able to get one instead of it just sitting there empty."

"Are you sure?" The Doctor asked, observing her carefully, and Rose nodded her head once.

"Yeah. Yeah, jus' let 'em think we're gone. S'just better that way." She offered The Doctor a light smile. "You're stuck with me, like it or not."

"Like it or not?" The Doctor repeated, before he let out a dramatic, long suffering sigh. "Oh when you put it like that, I just get all giddy with excitement." He gave her a smile, however, a glint of amusement in his eyes. "Right then, Rose Tyler…. Allons-y!"

Rose let out a sigh as she sat down with a cup of tea in her hand, several boxes lying around her. She crossed her legs, sipping out of the mug and offering a smile to The Doctor who was dutifully packing some of the things she'd picked out to keep in a box.

The TARDIS stood directly in the living room, as neither of them had wanted to draw too much attention to themselves by carrying boxes outside of the flat. If Rose was supposed to be dead, it would do no good for her old friends to spot her packing things into a mysterious blue box, after all.

"I didn't realise we had so much stuff." Rose admitted, taking another small sip of her tea, setting it down on the coffee table after a moment. "I s'pose you live somewhere for long enough, you just end up keepin' all sorts of junk."

"We could just pack it all onto a spare room in the TARDIS, if you like. She's got plenty of them, and you wouldn't need to throw anything away, then." The Doctor suggested, applying some tape to the box he had finished packing.

Shaking her head slightly, Rose offered him a smile. "No, it's… I'm s'posed to be dead, yeah? Be a bit weird if they came in here and literally everything was missing. Besides, it'll only just sit and gather dust anyway." She lightly bit down on her thumb nail for a moment before picking up another photo album she had missed during her first quick attempt at finding things for her mother to take with her. She opened it up, smiling faintly at the sight of an image of herself and Mickey as young teenagers.

The Doctor watched her for a moment, silent and contemplative, before he tapped his fingers against the top of the box he had just sealed up. "Your brother – Tony, right? What's he like? Or – well, going to be like, I s'pose."

Rose looked up at him at that, surprised by the question. "You've seen my memories, yeah? You didn't wipe those ones from your head, did you?"

"No, I've still got them, but I got all of your memories in a kind of.. rush order. I could see he meant the world to you, though." The Doctor admitted, and Rose's expression softened even further.

"He did. Makes me wish I had a picture of him to keep with me, y'know? He was just such a good, sweet kid. Mum and dad spoiled him rotten, but it never made him selfish or unkind. He loved space, wanted to be an astronaut when he grew up." Rose let out a little laugh, and The Doctor couldn't help but smile with her.

"Did he?"

"Oh yeah, he loved hearing all of our stories, mine AND John's. He had more than me, of course, so he and Tony would always play 'Doctor'" Rose confessed, and The Doctor's eyebrows shot up. Rose shot him a small grin at his obvious curiosity at that. "Tony idolised John – you. He loved pretending to be The Doctor, and I would sometimes be his companion and John would always be some alien he had to fight. John made him his own sonic screwdriver, too. It was jus' a little thing… didn't have half of the settings yours does. I gave it to him for his seventh birthday. That was the day before I…" Rose trailed off for a moment. "Well, the day before I came back here, anyway. He was a good kid, y'know? I know he'll be a good kid without me and John there, too. He's got mum to tell him stories, and Mickey! He'll be fine, even without me."

"I'm sorry." The Doctor's words were sincere, and Rose glanced up at him before letting out a quiet sigh and shooting him a smile.

"Don't be. It was my choice, remember? You need to stop bein' sorry for things that I do. Tony's still gonna have a good life, and I've got my memories." She pushed herself up to stand, dusting off her pants and setting the photo album down on the coffee table. "C'mon, sooner we get this done, then we can go swannin' off to save planets like I know you're dyin' to do."

"Oh, read me like a book, you have," The Doctor sighed, but he stood up too, offering her a small smile in return. "There's not much left to do, honestly. Just your mum's room."

"Better get crackin' then." Rose clapped her hands together, picking up her mug and draining off the rest of her tea. The entire process felt emotionally draining, but the sooner that she could put it behind her, the better she would feel.

All in all, the process hadn't taken as long as she had expected it would. Had she still been doing this when she was twenty, she would have taken all of the time in the world, reminiscing and falling prey to her own emotions. As it were, she was mentally closer to thirty now, (despite the petulant streak from her younger half that she had inherited) and that gave her a more mindful approach of what she had to do.

So, as she loaded the last of the boxes into the TARDIS, Rose turned, staring at the flat she had grown up inside. Despite her pragmatic approach, she still felt a rush of nostalgia and a strange sense of sadness. This hadn't been her home for years, not really, and yet – leaving it behind was harder than she could ever have expected.

The Doctor stepped beside her, taking hold of her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze of comfort and reassurance. Rose returned the gesture, turning to give him a sad little smile in response. Neither of them spoke – they didn't need to say anything at all. Instead, they both turned, heading back inside of the TARDIS.

Rose closed the door behind her, taking one last look at the flat, before she pressed her forehead against the wood. She had the future to look forward to now, whatever that lay ahead of her and The Doctor, she would take it in her stride with ease.

"'Reckon we can get some chips?" She asked after a moment of silence, turning and walking over to the console with a smile. The Doctor watched her for a moment, his face a mask. Eventually, he moved, darting around the console with Rose in close pursuit, and a small grin appeared on his face.

"Well, we can't have you missing out on your favourite snack, can we? Might even grab some for myself!"

"Well in that case, you better be paying," Rose retorted, smirking at him as the TARDIS started to shake and whirr to life. She clutched onto the closest rail with a laugh as The Doctor wrinkled his nose at her.

"Oh, now who's being a tight-wad?" He shot back, and Rose's laughter only grew.

"Still you!"

As Rose tossed a chip into her mouth, she closed her eyes, savouring the taste for a moment. Chips on Pete's world really weren't the same as the greasy potato snacks she'd grown up with on her original version of her home planet. She sat with her legs slightly crossed with a bag of chips resting on the table between herself and The Doctor. Sharing, they'd decided, was probably the best option for them, though Rose couldn't resist one more dig at him owing her another meal.

"So where are we headed next, anyway?" She asked, once she'd swallowed, tilting her head to the side. The Doctor let out a soft and thoughtful hum at the question, stretching out his legs and leaning back in his chair.

"S'pose we could always just put the TARDIS controls on random and see where it takes us… or, well, we never did end up going to Barcelona, did we?" He mused, and Rose immediately lit up.

"What, the planet Barcelona? You're right, you keep sayin' you're gonna take me there, but you never do!" She agreed, and The Doctor shot her a grin.

"Oh, well, I'd hate to disappoint you again. Barcelona it is. – Dogs with no noses, here we come! Cats with no ears, too, actually. Plenty to look at while we're there." He glanced down at his hands for a moment, and something washed over his expression. It was curiousity, in a sense, and he lifted his hand up, moving it slowly through the hair, noticing how the hairs on the back of it stood to attention.

Static energy. Interesting.

He stood up without another word at that sudden realisation, heading for the door of the chip shop, leaving Rose looking after him in bewilderment, her mouth still full of chips. She swallowed quickly, wiping her hands down on a napkin, and quickly followed after him.

"Doctor! Doctor, wait!"

She was loathe to leave behind a meal unfinished, especially when she was enjoying it so much, but she wasn't going to let him just go running off without her. She moved out of the chippy, only to stumble to a stop as she almost ran directly into his back. He looked thoughtful, his hand raised up into the air, and he turned in a slow circle.

"D'you feel that? Static build-up," He told her, squinting slightly as he tried to pinpoint just where the source of it all was.

"Maybe there's a storm coming?" Rose guessed, but she highly doubted it. If The Doctor was bringing it up, It was likely there was some other reason for it.

"No, it's different. There's been no noticeable drop in atmospheric pressure lately, and look at the swell of the clouds. It's a bright, chilly but calm day in old London town, according to all the signs. The static electricity is building up steadily, but it's less concentrated here." The Doctor told her, still keeping his focus on the surrounding area.

"So where's it comin' from?" Rose asked, frowning slightly, and The Doctor's eyebrows shot upwards before he started to walk once more.

"Now that's the big question!" Rose fell into step beside him, trusting The Doctor's instincts to lead them wherever they would need to be. It didn't take too long, either. Now that he'd picked up on the collecting energy, he could feel it thrumming through his body the closer they got. His eyes roamed the surrounding landscape thoughtfully for a while, only to pause as he came upon the Royal Hope Hospital.

"There." His tone was certain as he gestured up to the hospital, and as Rose shot him a questioning look, he chose to explain. "Plasma coils. They're surrounding the hospital, which is.. a bit odd, honestly. What are plasma coils doing here?"

"What are plasma coils, exactly?" Rose asked, tilting her head to the side slightly. Now he'd pointed it out, she could feel the light tingle of electricity against her skin. It wasn't enough to be incredibly noticeable, but for The Doctor, it likely stood out as clear as day.

"An artificial collection of ionized gas which creates a field of electricity. They're used to build electric charge at either very low or very high pressures, normally. If someone wanted to generate electricity for some reason on Earth, they'd either use a plasma coil at this level, or head up into the mountains, I s'pose, where the pressure is higher." The Doctor let out a small sigh, shaking his head slightly. It seemed like something was going on in there, and he really SHOULD figure out what it was.

"I'd say they'd been building up for maybe two days or so? There's no telling what'll happen when they reach full charge." The Doctor's jaw worked for a moment, but he glanced at Rose with an unspoken question in his eyes. Rose lifted her eyebrows slightly at him, fighting back a small snort of amusement. Did he really think she'd pass up the chance to find out what was going on here?

"I think Barcelona's gonna have to wait, Doctor. I've got these sudden pains in my stomach." Rose told him, bending slightly and pressing her hands to her lower abdomen, twisting her expression into one of pain.

"Pains in your…? Rose, why didn't you say anything before?" The Doctor turned immediately at her words, evidently very concerned, all thoughts of plasma coils forgotten for the moment. Rose supposed she should be flattered he was so taken in by her acting skills. She must have improved over eight years, at least. She fought back a smile, but she gave him a very pointed look.

"Doctor."

"What? ...Oh." Realisation seemed to wash over The Doctor suddenly, and he straightened up, moving an arm around Rose in order to 'support' her. "Oh! Yes! Molto bene! I do believe you're right, Rose Tyler. We should check you In at the hospital right away, I think!"