Sorry about the break. I know I have mentioned enough times the struggle that I have had to go through to get on the computer, and then I got a job. Now I have a laptop, I can update whenever I have the time and inspiration.

I am so confused as to where this is going right now. I had a break for so long that I forgot what I was going to do next.

I think that a beta would be a good idea, if anyone was interested.

So... where were we up to?

Rose woke up to the soft humming of the TARDIS. She sat up to see that she was in the infirmary and groaned. She lay back down. Her head was throbbing and she just wanted to go back to sleep.

"Doctor!" She called out, resisting the temptation to close her eyes and relax until she was lost to the conscious world once more. Almost immediately she saw him appear in the doorway. She smiled when she saw him and tried to sit up again, but winced and lay down. He was at her side in an instant, looking worried at her condition.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Well... I don't think anything much really happened. I woke up in the morning and you... kept sleeping. In fact, you just wouldn't get up at all." Typical Doctor, avoiding the question.

"So what happened?" She repeated firmly, indicating she wanted a bit more information.

"As far as I can tell, you had an easier change than me." He was purposely being cryptic, and it would have annoyed Rose if she didn't remember that this was why she had so badly wanted to be around him once more.

"So I'm what... different now?" Her muddled brain was slowly working out what his words meant. She felt like she hadn't had enough rest and just wanted to give up on keeping her eyes open, but she wanted to know what he was talking about.

"I'm not sure. You should know."

"Well, I'm sore." Rose had said it without thinking. The last thing she wanted to cause him was more worry, but she had done it with three words.

"How sore?" He asked, looking concerned.

"Its getting worse I think." Rose wanted to shut her mouth, but knew logically that it was probably best that he knew. "When I first woke I wasn't in so much pain. Now..." she moaned loudly, making The Doctor jump.

"What can I do?" He asked.

"Take me back to our own universe. Can you do that yet?"

"Yes. I'll get to it." He nodded enthusiastically and started to move out of the room when Rose called out to him.

"Oi! You've gotta take me with you. There's no way I'm staying in here while you jolt around the poor TARDIS."

"No, I guess not." The Doctor admitted, stepping back into the room and taking Rose's arm as she flung it out to him and sat herself up. When she was sitting, she stopped and took some deep breaths. The Doctor frowned but said nothing. He then lifted his companion into his arms. He walked along slowly as she stifled yelps of pain for the benefit of his nerves.

Her change wasn't the same as his had been.

He was kind of hoping that it would have just happened while she was sleeping. She had slept long enough, after all. She had been asleep for a few days now while he had figured out how to get back to his own universe.

It had been a long, boring couple of days without Rose around. It was strange how used to her he had gotten. He almost felt like she had never left.

It was as if when Rose wasn't around, nothing held the excitement it did when she was there. Usually wandering aimlessly through the TARDIS and thinking was stimulating, but without Rose it was dull. He tried tinkering with the TARDIS, but even that got boring. When he had finally figured out how to get back, he felt proud. It wasn't an easy fix. The TARDIS had done a fancy bit of flying to get them there in the first place, but now she was too weak to do it all herself.

While The Doctor had been lost in his anxious thoughts about his two favourite girls, Rose had gone silent. He looked down at her, expecting and hoping to see her asleep in his arms. But as he looked down at her, he saw her staring back up at him, her eyes filled with the pain she was obviously trying to hide from him. When her eyes flashed gold, he almost dropped his precious load.

"What?" She asked.

"Oh. It was... nothing." The Doctor had considered telling her for only a split second.

"Something obviously startled you." Rose pointed out.

"I just had a revelation on how to get back is all." He told her. He hadn't avoided the question and it wasn't an obvious lie. Big points for that. He was just about to take Rose back, so she'd never catch him out on that one. The last thing he wanted to do was worry her with tales of the Bad Wolf at that particular moment in time.

After walking for what seemed like hours (the TARDIS was obviously not working right in the parallel universe) they got to the console room and The Doctor placed Rose carefully on the chair he had tucked away in a corner for just this purpose - not that he wanted injured companions on his ship, though. He stepped back and looked at her all sprawled out on it. She wasn't moving a muscle and had her eyes open and fixed on him.

"You know, that's a little unnerving." He commented, breaking the silence between them. There was no sound but the slight humming of the TARDIS as she seemed to process the words.

"Sorry. You're the only thing I can focus on right now." She explained.

"Well." The Doctor stated, putting his hands together and turning to face the consol. I guess it is time we got out of here then. Time to get back to the universe where the heart is." He turned back to face Rose. "But you should know that once we get there, you are most likely going to... well... change."

"Didn't you just say I already have changed?"

"I did think that before, but now..." He trailed off. "Just be prepared, okay? I would ask you if you maybe wanted to stay, but I know what the answer will be, so there's really no point."

"I think I can deal with that." Rose gave him a small smile.

"Well then. One, two, three. Here we go Rose." He banged a button on the console a little harder than he probably should have and pulled a lever towards himself, checking the readouts on the screen.

The TARDIS gave a terrible shudder and seemed to turn onto its side, sending The Doctor careening into the far wall as if it was the floor. The chair with Rose on it slid towards him, but didn't make it before the TARDIS tilted the other way, throwing Rose out into the opposite wall. She cried out in pain and The Doctor struggled his way over to her as the TARDIS straightened itself out and started to give a loud metallic clang that was frightening, as if someone was trying to get inside.

She was obviously not young enough to push herself through the fabric between with the ease she used to. The Doctor saw Rose hit her head and he was thrown to the other side, banging his hip on the consol. He grabbed onto something and held on, hoping that Rose would be okay as he watched her bounce around and waited for his chance to help her.

And while I should be working, here I was writing you all some fanfiction. Someday I might have to do the work I get paid for – or maybe I should get paid for doing this work.

Well, anyways, as always, review. Love you all. Thanks for sticking around. There'll be more as it comes to me.

Mikkifavo