The Doctor finally decided to stay at the mountain house, in spite of the incident with the teenaged photographer, claiming that she was right-if they left now, the others had already won. That night, Alba waited until he was softly snoring beside her to creep out of the bed and tiptoe down the hall to the linen closet. Carefully, she shoved the blankets out of the way and retrieved the baby book from the spot she'd hidden it in earlier. She sat down on the floor and folded her legs underneath of her before cracking the book open.

The writing was somewhat difficult to read, having only moonlight to go by, but she brought the book closer to her face and squinted at it until the letters arranged themselves into something that made sense, the Doctor's real name.

"James John McCrimmon," she read out loud, her voice soft in the semi-darkness. So that was the Doctor's name, not John Smith. Seeing it on paper gave her a weird tingle. She was discovering the Doctor's history, bit by bit, without his knowledge. She thumbed through the book, skimming over the details of Susanna's first steps, first words, and other important milestones. Peppered throughout the book were photographs, mostly just of the baby by herself, but some of her with her parents as well. Alba stared at these photos in fascination, scrutinizing the face of the blonde woman who'd been the Doctor's wife. The resemblance to herself was so striking, it was uncanny. No wonder he sometimes looked at her like he was seeing a ghost. The family in the pictures looked happy, and Alba felt a pang of sadness for everything the tortured man currently sleeping in the bedroom had lost.

Still, in spite of everything she had learned about the Doctor, his life was mostly a secret to her. She was morbidly curious about the details of the accident that had claimed his wife and daughter's lives, but she didn't suppose it was anything he'd be revealing to her in the near future. Wishing she had Jack to talk to about everything that had happened that day, she slid the baby book back into its hiding place and crept back down the hall, back to the bedroom. The Doctor was sprawled across the bed like a pretzel, muttering in his dreams. Carefully, she squeezed into the bed next to him and stared up at the canopy, willing sleep to come.

When Alba awoke, the light of the twin suns was streaming through the window, and the bed was empty, save for herself. She got up and padded out into the hallway, following the sound and smell of sizzling bacon to the kitchen. The Doctor was stationed in front of the stove, whistling softly to himself. Alba cleared her gently, so as not to startle him.

"Oh, you're awake," he said, turning towards her with the spatula held in his hands. "I was going to bring you breakfast in bed."

"That's sweet of you, but isn't that supposed to be my job?" she teased him, taking a seat at the dining room table.

"I got hungry and you were still asleep. How do you take your eggs?" he asked her.

"Over easy, please," she answered.

"Your wish is my command," he replied, waving the spatula theatrically. Alba laughed, and poured herself a cup of coffee.

"So what's on your agenda today?" she asked, sipping her coffee slowly.

"Well after breakfast, you have a dancing lesson and I have business to attend to. I doubt you're familiar with the dances of Gallifrey, and you'll have to learn before the wedding," he said matter-of-factly. "Have you ever been ballroom dancing before?"

"Can't say that I have," she replied. "Is it complicated?"

"A little, and that's why you're taking lessons," he elaborated, scooping the bacon from the skillet and setting it on a plate to drain. "Toast?"

"You can't have dippy eggs without toast," she laughed.

"Well you could, but it wouldn't be the same," he replied, slipping a couple slices of bread into the toaster oven.

A few minutes later, the Doctor slipped two steaming plates onto the table and took a seat next to her. Hungrily, they both tucked into the food in relative silence. Alba hadn't realized just how hungry she'd been until the eggs and bacon were right in front of her. After breakfast, she helped him clear the dishes and made herself a second cup of coffee.

"So what am I going to wear to this dancing lesson anyway? I don't have any real clothes here," Alba said.

"I have some of my wife's old clothes here. She was about your size," he replied soberly. Alba watched him carefully after this admission, to see if the mention of his wife would lead anywhere, but the closed expression on his face told her it wouldn't. She had to wonder though if he had an ulterior motive for putting her in Romana's old clothing.

"Well, I guess I better get dressed then," she replied, unsure of what else to say. She followed the Doctor back to the bedroom, where he took her to a large closet hidden in an alcove behind the bed. Some clothes was an understatement, as it looked to her like most of the closet was full of women's clothing. She was surprised that he didn't have the clothes boxed up or in storage-they hung like ghosts, almost as if they were waiting for their owner to return for them. She wondered how long this house had sat unused before their arrival.

She chose a short, dark blue A-line dress out of the closet and made to remove her nightgown. The Doctor watched her as she changed, his face impassive. She wondered again who he was really seeing as he watched her get dressed. She selected a pair of nude high heels to wear with the dress, and then did a little spin.

"What do you think?" she asked.

He gave her an appreciative glance, but she saw in his eyes the conflict he was feeling. "I think you look lovely. That dress fits like it was made for you."

"You're sure you can't come with me to the dancing lesson?" she asked, pouting.

"Not this one, maybe next time. You'll have a couple lessons before the wedding," he replied. "Jack will be there, though."

Her heart leapt at the thought of seeing the man who was her only friend in the world at present. "Is Jack the teacher?"

"No, he'll be standing in for me as your partner. And I swear, if he gets handsy with you…" the Doctor warned.

"I think he knows you well enough not to risk getting 'handsy', Doctor," Alba said with a laugh. She thought of Jack's reaction the night she had thrown herself at him, how he'd almost seemed frightened by the idea of trespassing on the Doctor's so-called 'property'.

"Well if you're ready then, I'll take you," he said, offering her his arm. "No blindfolds or headphones, either. You already know where we are now...no point in trying to obscure it from you."

Alba let out a sigh of relief as she let the Doctor lead her down the hall.. "Well thank you for that."

They cut through the kitchen and back into the pantry where they'd first emerged. He lead her back into the dark tunnel with an apologetic look. "The garage is through here."

Alba clutched him tightly as they wove their way through the darkness, finally exiting into a cavernous room with several hover cars in it. All of the cars looked expensive, certainly nicer than the cheap things her mates had driven. The Doctor lead her to a sleek black hover car in the corner of the room and opened the door for her. After they were both buckled in, he pressed a remote control clipped to the visor and the ceiling above them rumbled open to reveal the sky. Alba was excited at the prospect of seeing more of Gallifrey, and she clung close to the window of the car, looking down and outwards as the landscape unfurled below them. The ride to the lesson took about thirty minutes, and brought them into a large city, built up with skyscrapers. The Doctor parked the car and brought Alba into the ornate building where her lesson was to be held. Inside the dance studio, she was relieved to find Jack was already waiting. She waited until after the Doctor had left to run up to the other man and give him a hug.

"I'm so happy to see you," she gushed. "It's been a crazy couple of days."

"Why, what happened? Is everything okay?" Jack asked, concern lacing his voice.

"I don't know. There was a photographer spying on us and the Doctor sort of lost it on him, almost strangled the kid. And…," but she hesitated, wondering if she could trust Jack with her discovery of the baby book. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Who else would you tell your secrets to?" Jack teased. "You can talk to me. I won't run back to the Doctor with the information."

"Well," she said, chewing on her lower lip. "I found something. It was a baby book. It had pictures and a birth certificate in it. So I know the Doctor's real name now, but he doesn't know it. And I know now just how much alike me and his wife look...it's a little creepy, honestly. I'm wearing her clothes right now, to boot.".

Jack regarded her seriously. "I wouldn't tell him you found it. He'd probably be upset."

"Well no shit, Sherlock. That's why I'm telling you and not him. Before we went to the mountain house, he kept calling me Romana. I wonder about him...if he's not trying to turn me into her, if he's not losing it," Alba worried.

"Honey, I hate to break it to you, but I think the Doctor lost it years ago, when his wife and daughter died. He hasn't been the same since. But you do look so much like Romana...hopefully it was just a Freudian slip. You just need to be patient with him, that's all,," Jack lamented.

"I have been patient. I'm still being patient, considering everything he's put me through already. I told him I'd stay as long as he needed me to. But I have to wonder how long he plans on keeping me in the dark about stuff as basic as his name and his job. He hardly tells me anything, and that's frustrating. All I get from him are little nuggets of information here and there, but it's like pulling teeth to get them," Alba complained. "He finally did tell me where we are, but I still almost can't believe it."

"Just give it time, Rosie. The Doctor has grown quite fond of you since you've been here, you just have to trust that if he's been telling you little things here and there that he'll continue to do so. He's probably gauging how much he can trust you still, just as I'm sure you've done to him. The Doctor is a complex man, always has been," Jack said gently, rubbing Alba's shoulders.

At that moment, the dance instructor finally made his appearance, and their conversation halted as a result. The instructor introduced himself as Nurmeen, and without hesitating began leading Jack and Alba through the steps to the dance. Alba tried to pay attention, but her mind was elsewhere and the instructor could tell.

"Come on, stay with it, girl!" Nurmeen encouraged.

"I'm trying, I'm trying," Alba grumbled back at him.

Jack was a natural at dancing though, and he lead them easily through the different steps. As he gripped her waist though, she couldn't help but wish it were the Doctor she was dancing with instead, and immediately felt guilty for the thought. Jack was a fine dance partner, and she supposed it'd be easier to learn with him then with having the added distraction of the emotional dancing that would have been necessary with the Doctor.

By the time the lesson ended, Alba was exhausted. The dancing was more difficult and strenuous than she might have imagined, and it left her feeling drained. She still didn't quite grasp all the moves, though she was starting to get the gist of it. The Doctor had returned near the end of the lesson, and stood waiting for them against the wall.

"How'd it go?" he asked, smiling at Alba as she approached him.

"Okay, I guess. Let's just say it's a good thing I have three more weeks to get it down pat," Alba sighed breathlessly.

The Doctor laughed. "You'll do fine. You're a clever girl, I bet you're a faster learner than you think."

"If you say so," Alba said, flapping her hand dismissively.

"She did beautifully," Jack said, coming up behind them. "She's just being overly critical of herself."

"Stop it," Alba blushed.

"Never," Jack replied, wagging his tongue at her.

The three of them left the dance studio together in a cheerful mood. Nurmeen watched them go, and when he was sure they had left, he picked up his phone.

"Hello, Harry? I think you'll want to hear this."