Once aboard the Tardis, Rose pulled Kentoral down the corridor, giving him a tour of the Time Ship. The Doctor stayed back in the console room, shoulders slumping as he heard them laughing. When they were out of earshot, he turned to the center console and began typing in sequences into the keyboard.

"Who is he? What is he?" The Doctor wondered aloud.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a hologram come to life and he turned to look, knowing he hadn't activated one. Before him stood the image of a dark haired woman in a rather distressed looking Victorian dress and shawl. The Doctor's brow furrowed as he stepped towards the image, eyeing it carefully. He doesn't remember creating this particular hologram.

The image looks at him impatiently, but speaks when his expression only becomes more confused. "This person is from your future. As for your previous questions….he's a demon. An incubus, specifically. That's what he is. As for who he is, that might be a longer answer, though not necessarily more complicated. What do you want to know?"

The Doctor stared, dumb-founded for a moment until her words sank in. "What?! He…he's a demon? An Incubus?! And he's after Rose!" He began to move toward the corridor to find the demon and remove him from the Tardis.

"To be fair," the image said behind him, "he's after both of you. But yes, Rose is his main focus. His reasons are…not evil. Not good for us. But not harmful to our Flower. He's a strange little creature…" The image cocked her head in thought, as if trying to figure something out. "He was human once."

The Doctor had so many questions running through his head now he didn't know where he wanted to start. No, he did have an idea, at least. Rose was his first priority. "You said whatever he had planned wasn't harmful to Rose. What does he want from her?"

Again the image tilted her head, eyes flitting back and forth, staring at nothing, until her head popped back upright. "Redemption."

Kentoral let himself be led by the hand down the corridor. The first door they came to was Rose's bedroom and he tried to hide his disappointment when she didn't invite him inside. Rather, she simply explained that she was showing him where it was in case he needed anything during the night and was unable to locate the Doctor.

"C'mon, I'll show ya the library. That's where we spend a lot of our time when we're not off travelin' and explorin'," she said as she pulled him further down the hall.

They came to a set of large engraved wood doors and Rose pushed them open. Inside was a rather impressive library. Shelves of books lined three and a half of the four walls. The fourth wall was mostly empty except for a large fireplace. Surrounding the fireplace was a sofa, two end tables and two overstuffed reading chairs that looked so soft he wanted to sink into them and rest his weary bones for a while. A coffee table sat in front of the sofa and a white bear-skin rug lay not far from the fireplace. At the sight of the last, another image of his wife plagued his mind, and a promise he had once made to her.

He turned his attention back to the shelves of books. Surely he could find something here to help him in his goals, couldn't he?

"I think I'm going to stay here for a bit, look for a book or two to read later. If that's ok." He smiled at her warmly so as not to alarm her.

"Yeah, ok. Are you lookin' for anything specific?"

"Oh, just some stuffy old books on religion. Quite boring, I assure you." He took a deep breath before continuing, "But I was studying it before. Just want to keep up."

"Wow…yeah, definitely boring," she laughs, "C'mon, I'll show you the religious section."

Rose leads Kentoral to the far corner of the library and pointed to four sections of shelving. "Every book the Doctor has on various religions are in those four shelves."

"Thank you," he said with a kind of gentle finality. It's not that he doesn't want her there with him, it's that he's afraid if she figures out what he's looking for and why, she'll tell this Doctor of hers. There was something about that man that told Kentoral that if anyone could stop him, it was the Doctor. There was something ancient and powerful he had detected in the other man. He also realized that this ship was at least semi-sentient and probing around in his mind. Kentoral quickly put up a mental block to keep her out.

"Welcome," Rose responded, but noted the finality of his 'thank you', even if he was trying to be nice about it. She turned to leave, making her way out of the library and down the corridor and back to the console room.

Once he heard the doors shut behind Rose, Kentoral began to search through all the books she had indicated. If he's being honest with himself, he isn't sure of what exactly he was looking for. He couldn't bring her back from the dead without severe consequences, nor could he make Rose fall in love with him without the same results. He thought for a moment while looking the collection of books over. Could he somehow reverse his condition without dying or sending his soul back to Hell?

It might be worth it to look. It was still no guarantee though, even if he could make himself human again. There was no way of knowing for sure he could seduce Rose into falling for him. But then, he suppose, he should figure out if it was her he really wanted before he tried. Still, there was something about her that made him want to be better than he was. And that meant, in his eyes, becoming human again. To remember what it means to be human…

He found a couple of books on demons, one had a rather large section on succubi/incubi, one on exorcisms from varying religions, one or two on curses and even a couple of witchcraft books containing spells. Kentoral found himself a bit shocked to find those. He did not see the Doctor as the kind to carry witchcraft books within his library. Gathering the books in his arms, he left the library to find his room.

Upon entering the room and closing the door behind him, the books slipped from Kentoral's hands. His eyes went wide and jaw slackened as he watched, almost helplessly, as images unfolded in the mirror before him.

I will never forget the moment when you looked into my eyes
When I touched your skin for the first time, I felt heaven in my hands

The first of these images where of himself and his, not yet, wife. They were young in this image, before they were married. It was also the night he first made love to her. The images were like moving pictures. He was literally watching it happen all over again.

So I tried to close my eyes
And I'm dreaming me away

The next set was when he proposed to her, down on one knee, practically begging her to leave home to be his and promising her forever. Of course, then he had a different concept of forever. He couldn't afford a proper engagement ring then, so he had given her a scrap of fabric with his clan's crest sewn onto it.

In my dreams you hold me tight
In my dreams you're always here

Two years later, they married in secret.

I never want to wake up again
Don't want to face reality

That night, he brought her home. He was happy. For the first time in a long time, he was truly happy. They were happy. Laughter filled the air and her delighted squeals as he chased her around their small cottage until he caught her. He made love to her all that night until she could barely walk. And every night since.

Almost three years to the day, she told him she was with child.

Once so far away from me
But you will always be in my dreams

She was in her fifth month when he had to leave, taking what crops they could spare into town to sell. He returned home two days later to find their home hand been over turned. He found her lying face down on their bed and he was terrified to roll her over to look at her.

Picking up something heavy from the surface next to him, Kentoral threw it at the mirror, shattering it. But not before he saw the image of his wife's dead eyes looking back at him.

A strangled cry of pain and anguish ripped from his throat as he fell to his knees. Shattering the mirror didn't stop his mind from reliving his next actions. He didn't bury her until the next day, unable to let go of her as he mourned her death.

After finally burying her the next day, in his grief, he had called to the Powers that be to aid him in seeking vengeance on his wife's murderers. Something answered him, but it wasn't at all what he had expected.

A moment later, there was a knock on his door. "Kentoral?" It was a woman's voice, soft and kind. His grief addled mind told him it was her, his wife, his Jasmine.

"Kentoral, are you alright?" she tried again, moving in front of him.

His eyes stung with the threat of tears and the lump that formed in his throat became too painful, but managed a sad smile as he looked up at her. Wrapping his arms around her tightly, he rested his head on her abdomen.

"Jasmine…Forgive me, my delicate flower," he whispered, "I never… I never meant for this to happen. Not any of it. Especially not what I've become. I'll find a way, somehow, for us to be together again, my love. If…if you'll still have me…"

"Kentoral, look at me," Rose pushed gently on his shoulders to get him to look up, "S'me, Rose."

He nods against her as if in agreement with her, but the words he speaks next would say different. "That's who you are now, an incarnation of my Jasmine. A different body, even if it looks the same, even a different mind, perhaps. But the same soul. I just have to help you remember your last life, to help you remember me." Kentoral stands to look her in the eyes, only to flinch away, stumbling a couple steps back from her.

Her eyes shone gold as she glared at him. Pissing off a goddess wasn't on his list of things to do, yet somehow he'd managed it. Just his luck, too. Maybe she'd show some mercy and make it a quick death…

"I am not yours, never was yours," she snarled, "I was made for the Doctor and only the Doctor. I won't let you take me from him." To his surprise, her tone softened then. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I can't give her back to you."

Tentatively, Kentoral took a step toward her. It's not exactly what he had hoped to hear, but at least she didn't appear to intend to kill him on the spot. Maybe, if he could placate her, she'd be willing to make him human again, to take the curse away. He took the next step toward her that would place him directly in front of her again and reached up to cup her face gently in his hands and bent his head down to capture her lips in his. He hoped the bold move wouldn't offend her further, even if it was only a chaste kiss.

"It is time," she says calmly.

The Doctor's head snaps up from where it's resting in his hands. He'd resigned to sitting on the jump seat to wait since the Tardis blocked him from going and finding Rose. Now the image is gone and so is the wall his ship put up to keep him here in the console room.

"Time? Time for what?!" he asks, not that he waits for an answer. Of course, with the image gone, there's no one there to give him one either, not a direct one anyway. Instead, he feels a mental tug from the Tardis, something he's more used to from her. Although, right now, he thinks he would prefer a more direct answer.

The Doctor didn't have far to go. His, quite frankly, magnificent Time ship had moved the door just on the other side of the corridor. He opened the door with a flourish and just in time to witness Kentoral lean forward and kiss Rose.

He kissed Rose?

He kissed Rose!

The Doctor's brow furrowed and eyes narrowed, glowering at his house guest who was even more unwelcome now than he had been moments before. He took a large step forward to pull the other man off Rose, but she held up her hand as Kentoral pulled back from her. A wave of reassurance from the Tardis followed immediately after. While it didn't exactly calm him, he took a steeling breath and allowed whatever was about to happen unfold.

Kentoral lowered himself to the floor, kneeling before her now like a supplicant before a goddess incarnate. Its then that the Doctor notices Rose's eyes are glowing golden.

"Rose?" the Doctor asks tentatively, worry evident in his voice.

"S'alright, my Thief, she's safe. She won't burn up this time," Idris told him from somewhere behind Kentoral.

Rose kneels in front of the other man, hooking a finger under his chin and lifting it to make him look at her. "There's something else you want. Something you've been searching for just as long."

Kentoral swallowed hard, almost certain of her answer already. "I want…I want to be human again. To end this curse. I've hurt people, even one's who didn't deserve it," he laughed bitterly to himself, "Especially people who didn't deserve it. Despite learning to control it. I still took something from them that can never be given back."

"You'll die," she told him plainly, though not unkindly.

He let out the breath he had been holding shakily and nodded. "I know. I think I've always known. And…I'm ready," he exhaled another breath harshly, "Yes. I'm ready."

"Let me," the image of Idris speaks, only the image is no longer of Idris, but a woman who looks very similar to Rose. All three occupants of the room turn to look and burning tears spring to Kentoral's eyes. The first real tears he's shed since losing his wife and child that fateful night.

"Jasmine?"…

"No," she answers, "Only an image of your dear wife. We still cannot give you back your wife and child, and…you'll still die in body. But, if you so choose, we can grant your soul Elysium."

Kentoral turns more fully to the image of his wife. "I…I don't deserve it. Not after everything I've done, the people I've hurt." He looks down at the floor in shame.

The image and Rose look around Kentoral at each other with knowing and conspiratorial smiles. It steps toward Kentoral and seems to solidify. The image holds out its hand to him. "Come with me."

Kentoral stands and lets himself believe as he takes her hand. It's a bit of an odd feeling, solid as it is and knowing she's just an image. He laced his fingers with hers and let her lead him out of the room and down the corridor.

The Doctor watched them carefully as he moved away from the door enough to let them through. But his attention quickly turned back to Rose, who was now standing next to him, and looked her over. Her eyes were still shining golden. "Rose?"

She lifted her hand to cup his face. "Not yet, Time Lord. Idris and I have to finish this first. Then you can have your Rose back." She let her hand drop to his shoulder and let it slid down his arm to take his hand and lead him down the corridor much as the image had led Kentoral.

"Idiris?"

"Yes. It's your ships name. Or…will be your ships name… Sorry, I always get that mixed up."

The four of them stood next to the console, the time router's blue-green glow cast strange shadows. Its light being the brightest in the room as the time ship had dimed most of the rest to conserve her energy. She would need quite a bit of it to do this.

Rose joined Kentoral and the image of his wife at the center front of the console. The Doctor, for his part, stood by the jump seat, doing his best not to pull Rose away from the console. He knew they were going to open the Heart of the Tardis and all he could think about is what happened the last time she had done so. He feared the same would happen this time, even though Bad Wolf was clearly already inside Rose. His protective instincts were on overdrive, though he knew she wouldn't take kindly to his interfering, Bad Wolf or not.

The two women joined hands, loosely encircling Kentoral. "Close your eyes and concentrate on what you want," the image told him.

Rose smiled up at him. "I think we can do more than just save your soul. You'll like the surprise waiting for you."

At first, Kentoral just closed his eyes as Idris had commanded, but then they snapped open and he looked at Rose. The meaning of her words reflected in her eyes. However, he did not get a chance to respond as the Heart of the Tardis opened, its golden light spilling forth toward Rose and Kentoral. The Doctor turned his eyes from it, despite not wanting to let Rose out of his sight.

To anyone who might have been looking, the light from the Heart of the Tardis wrapped itself around Kentoral, almost caressing him before finally enveloping him completely. It seemed to not touch either Rose or the image.

Kentoral blinked his eyes open in an attempt to adjust them to the brighter light he suddenly found himself surrounded by. He began to panic a bit when his eyes wouldn't adjust right away.

"Hush now, love," a woman said coming from beside him.

He knew that voice well. "Jasmine?" He reached out for her and felt her hand take hold of his.

"Aye, it's me love," she confirms and Kentoral sighs in relief as he feel her dab at his forehead with a cool cloth. Slowly his eyes adjust and he sits up to properly look at her.

What happened?" she asks worriedly. "Someone broke into the house. I didn't know what to do so I hid under the bed, hoping they'd take whatever they were looking for and leave. But then I felt pain, then nothing. There was literally nothing for the longest time and somehow when I woke up it was as if no one else had been here. And…the baby was here, asleep next to me. I put him down in his crib and came back in here to find you asleep on the bed. Kentoral, I don't remember giving birth!"

He pulled her to him, holding her close and never wanting to let her go. How was he going to explain everything to her? "I'll tell you later, I promise. Right now, I want to make love to my wife and get to know my child. In that order."

When it finally retreated back into the console, there was no trace of Kentoral at all.

Slowly the lights returned to normal and the Doctor opened his eyes again, seeking out Rose. She was still standing by the console, hand in hand with the image of Idris.

"My Thief worries for you Little Wolf. Go to him."

Rose turns toward the Doctor and smiles upon seeing him. He approaches her cautiously, seeing the golden light slowly leaving her eyes. She lifts her hands out to him.

"S'alight Doctor. Just me in here now."

The Doctor doesn't say anything, just pulls her into a tight embrace and kisses her temple. After a minute, she tries to pull back but he keeps his tight hold on her. She stops trying to break free and lets him hold her until he loosens up. When he finally does and they can properly look at each other, she sees something there he's never shown her before.

There's an odd storm in his eyes. Not the one he unleashes on those that make themselves his enemies. This is different. It's not cold or malicious, like the ice storm; the Oncoming Storm she's used to. This is warm, even a bit inviting. It makes her feel wanted and loved in a way she's never known before.

"May I kiss you?" he asks her tentatively.

Rose swallows thickly and nodded.

He lowers his head and slants his lips over hers. It's slow and gentle at first, if a bit awkward and sloppy. Soon they find a rhythm, mouths moving hungrily against each other as the Doctor begins to guide her backwards down the corridor to his room.

"Oh, Rose," he whispers against her lips, "I've wanted you for so long."