-Chibi!Pheonix walks in- ...Yeah. The Captain's running around her house, squeeing her head off like the psychotic caffeinated fan-girl she is. Apparently, she just found out that Donna and Simm!Master are due to return in the "special" episodes next year. Jenny's also coming back, Ace is rumored to, and one of her DVDs came in the mail today. She's feeling pretty good at the moment. I guess I better tell you that Captain Rika doesn't own Doctor Who.

...Aaand she just ran into a wall covered in wet paint. -snicker-

The Doctor grinned from his position next to the controls, happy that Rose had decided to come. Not happy. Elated. Ecstatic. Giddy...well, maybe not giddy. He hadn't been giddy since...had he ever been giddy? He shook the thought away and turned back to her. But he was happy. He surprised himself when he decided to come back and ask again. How many times had he done that? ...Once. For the young woman in front of him. His earlier thought about him getting old returned again, and the voice in at the back of his head (still sounding like his Fourth self) started tutting.

Rose grinned back at the Doctor as she walked over to the console, taking a better look around the large room. An earlier thought returned to Rose as the Doctor began flicking switches and pressing buttons, bouncing around the controls with a smile so wide it was threatening to break his face in two. Was he really an alien? Was this really a spaceship that traveled in time? It traveled, that was fairly obvious, but in time? And what about him? He seemed human enough, a little on the eccentric side maybe, but alien?

"You're staring," he suddenly said, pulling a switch upwards as the room gave a slight shudder. Rose leaned against the nearest pillar, grabbing it to keep herself standing.

"What?" she asked, not quite hearing what he had said. The Doctor walked a little closer and leaned in close to her ear.

"I said, 'You're staring'," he repeated softly before turning his attention back towards the various controls. Rose bit her lip, thinking about what she would say.

"When you say alien," she started, not really believing that she was about to ask him this, "How alien are you? You seem normal to me." The Doctor laughed loudly, the lights in the room brightening as his laughter echoed in the room.

"Normal? Me? That's the first time in my life that I've heard that!"

"I mean human. You look human to me," she said as the Doctor continued laughing. He stopped after a moment and shrugged.

"I just look human on the outside," he said to her, casually typing in coordinates into the main controls. Rose raised an eyebrow.

"So...you're alien on the inside?"

"Yep. Two hearts, the works," he said airily, as if he were commenting on the weather. Rose simply stared at him.

"Two hearts? Yeah right," she scoffed once she found her voice. His eyebrows knitted together.

"I do!" he insisted. Rose blinked at him.

"Is this another 'I'm half human' thing?" she asked. The Doctor shook his head, slowly walking over to stand before her. His hearts began pounding in his chest. Why were they doing that? Was he nervous of her reaction? If so, why? He opened his mouth to say something, but the words died on his tongue as his mouth refused to cooperate with him. He simply sighed softly as he took her hand and placed it on the left side of his chest. He slid her hand across to the right side, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as her eyes widened.

He let go of her hand and it fell to her side, watching her as he anxiously awaited her reaction. Once again, he wondered why he was feeling the way he was. Was it because he had been alone since the War? He'd never really been able to stand loneliness, so was this the result of being alone for so long and then meeting someone? ...He could hear one of his older incarnations tutting at his behavior.

Rose felt the blood rush to her head, actually taking in what she had felt beneath her fingers. She could still feel the second heart beating away like a samba underneath her fingertips as if it were still there. He really as an alien. A real, proper alien. And he was staring at her. Say something! Anything!, her mind yelled at her.

"Your hands are cold."

The Doctor laughed and patted Rose on the shoulder, once again elated that she was taking everything in stride. He turned and stood next to the controls, another grin breaking onto his face. Should he choose where to take her first, or should he let her decide? He decided to let her choose.

"Right Miss Tyler, first trip in time! Where would you like to go? Backwards or forwards?" he asked, fingers poised over the controls, ready and itching to type some coordinates in. Rose shrugged.

"Forwards," she answered. The Doctor pressed a few buttons, his green eyes twinkling. He glanced at her.

"How far?" Another shrug.

"One hundred years," she answered. One hundred was a nice round number, she figured. A nice round number for time-traveling. The Doctor pulled a lever and turned a knob, his smile fading a bit. The engines lurched into action, stopping after a few seconds of grinding.

"There you go, step outside those doors and it's the twenty-second century," he sighed, as if he had been there boundless times before. Rose blinked at him. That quick?

"You're kidding." she stated plainly. The Doctor shrugged, scratching his nose thoughtfully.

"It's really a bit boring. Would you like to go further?" he asked with a smile. Rose shrugged.

"Fine by me!"

More button pressing, and, once again, the engines grinded to life and then quieted. The Doctor jerked his head towards the door.

"Ten thousand years in the future. New Roman Empire. How about that?"

"You think you're so impressive," Rose said, her tongue poking between her teeth as she teased her new friend. The Doctor frowned.

"I am so impressive!" he said, affronted. Rose laughed, egging him on.

"You wish!" The Doctor pursed his lips and stomped his foot at her.

"Right!" he sniffed. "You asked for it!"

He jumped around the controls, pressing buttons and flicking a dozen switches. The engines moaned to life again, throwing the pair of them around a bit before stopping. The Doctor smirked. The TARDIS obviously didn't like the rapid takeoffs, and was telling them so. Rose pulled herself to her feet, looking around the still room.

"Where are we?" she asked, glancing at the doors. The Doctor waved his arm at the doors. Rose smiled excitedly.

"What's out there?" He gestured at the doors again. Rose slowly walked towards the doors, turning to look at the smiling Doctor, and then walked outside.