Sorry this took so long. I had another chapter all ready to go but it ended up having something happen that wouldn't make sense to put next. And I would have had to cut the Doctor's Wife and move Children of Earth until much later. Neither of which I wanted to do. So instead I'm pushing that chapter back just a bit to let a few more things unfold. Anyway enjoy.

The fire crackled and spit in the fireplace. Heat from it warmed the Doctor's face as the light played across his hardened features. He was brooding and he knew it. This body hadn't felt the need to brood, unlike his Ninth form. Hell, it hadn't even felt the need to be as sulky as his Tenth. All in all his Eleventh form had been incredibly happy. But today had been upsetting; he was in the midst of trying to figure out what was going on with Amelia and then today had happened.

Jenny had been back for a week and she had wanted to travel again, this time with her mum and dad. Sabrina had opted to join them with the idea of getting to know her sister better. Tony and Trisha still had lives in London and Amy and Rory had set off on yet another honeymoon trip. The TARDIS had been traveling through deep space when there had been a knock on the door.

Tentatively the Doctor made his way to the door. Opening it, a small white box flew inside.

"What's that?" Rose asked.

"Time Lord emergency messaging system." He giddily explained it to his girls. "In an emergency we wrap up our thoughts in psychic containers and send them through time and space. Anyway. There's a living Time Lord still out there! And it's one of the good ones."

Rose shook her head. "Love, there aren't any Time Lords left, except you, Jenny and Rory. This isn't from Rory, is it?"

He felt her momentary panic. "No, it's not from Rory, and you're right. No Time Lords left anywhere in the Universe. But the Universe isn't where we're going." He then tossed the cube to Sabrina. "See that snake? The mark of The Corsair. Fantastic bloke. He had that snake as a tattoo in every regeneration. Didn't feel like himself unless he had that tattoo. Or herself a couple of times. Oo hoo! She was a bad girl!"

He filled with a sudden joy and excitement. His children were going to meet more of his people. Jenny and Rory would have the opportunity to meet more of their own kind.

"Doctor, travel between Universes isn't possible without causing major damage," Rose said, bracing herself as the TARDIS rocked. "And the old girl has a bad feeling about this."

For a moment he had felt utter betrayal emanating from Rose. "Oh no! Rose, it's not like that, not at all. We can't travel across the Void between Universes. This is different, very, very different. Think of it like this. Traveling between here and Pete's World was like trying to knock down a very sturdy wall. Here all we're doing is going down the drain plug of the Universe. We just need to jettison some rooms for thrust."

After they had landed, the console room darkened and Rose screamed.

"What's happening?" Sabrina yelled, flying to her mum's side.

The Doctor came to stand next to Rose too. "The power, it's draining. Everything's draining. But it can't, that's... that's impossible."

"What is that?" Jenny asked.

"Her soul, the soul of the TARDIS—has just vanished. Where would it go?" Rose said, her voice barely audible as she rubbed her head. "We have to find her. To help her."

"Rose, are you alright?" The Doctor wrapped a protective arm around her waist.

"Just a headache and it's already starting to fade. I'll be fine, we need to go." Rose half drug him to the door. "Before we meet the same fate as your friend."

The four of them stepped out onto the stinking, craggy, debris strewn surface. "So, Dad, what kind of trouble is your friend in?" Jenny asked, nudging a bit of metal with her foot.

"He was in a bind," The Doctor said, keeping hold of Rose and taking readings of their surroundings. "A bit of a pickle. Sort of... distressed."

"It's alright if you don't know," Rose said, pulling away slightly and surveying everything for herself. "Why would there be Time Lords here? Look at this place."

"Take a whiff of this place," Sabrina said, pulling a face and plugging her nose. "It smells like armpits."

Jenny ran her fingers across the paneling of the TARDIS. "She's been drained of energy. What could do that?"

Rose shivered and the Doctor looked between her and the TARDIS. "This place is full of rift energy. She'll probably refuel just by being here."

"Not if her soul is missing," Rose muttered to herself.

"Now, this place. What do we think? Gravity's almost Earth normal." The Doctor threw a handful of dirt into the air. "Air's breathable. But, like Sabrina said, it smells like armpits."

"So all this stuff," Jenny gestured around her. "Did it fall down the plug hole too? Are we at the bottom of some Universal drainage trap?"

"Exactly!" The Doctor beamed at his daughter. His next thoughts were interrupted by yelling.

A tall woman with curly brown hair came bounding towards them. "Hey! Hey! You're my Thief! And my Wolf!"

Another woman slowly walked up behind her. "She's dangerous! Guard yourselves!"

"Look at the two you!" the first woman exclaimed, throwing her arms around the Doctor. "Goodbye! No. Not goodbye. What's the other one?" She kissed the Doctor full on the lips before pushing him away and doing the same to Rose. The Doctor wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

Rose laughed, her earlier trepidation gone. "Hello, the word you're looking for is hello," she said calmly, laying a hand on the other woman's arm.

"Thank you, my Wolf. You are always, were always, will always be so good with words," the curly haired woman said back with a smile.

The man, dressed in what looked to be an American Civil War uniform, stepped forward. "Welcome, strangers. Lovely. Sorry about the mad person."

The Doctor stared at the woman that his Rose now seemed to be incredibly fond of. "Why am I a thief? What have I stolen? And why do you keep calling Rose Wolf?"

"Me," she beamed. "You are going to steal me. You have stolen me. You are stealing me. Oh! Tenses are difficult, aren't they? And she is my Wolf, there is little more to it than that. Together we howl."

"You bet we do." Rose's smile split her face and she made a soft howling noise. Sabrina and Jenny continued to stare at all the newcomers in confusion, neither of them sure what was going on.

The older woman stepped forward again. "Oh. Oh, we are sorry, my dove. She's off her head. They call me Auntie. That's Idris." She pointed to Rose's new friend.

"I'm Uncle," the retro solider added." I'm everybody's uncle. Just keep back from this one. She bites!"

"Do I? Excellent!" Idris swiftly bit the Doctor on the neck. "Biting's excellent! It's like kissing. Only there's a winner."

"Oww!" the Doctor protested, pushing Idris off of him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm mmmm. I'm mmm... It's on the tip of my tongue. Wolf, help me." Idris looked back and forth between Rose and the Doctor. "I've just had a new idea about kissing. Come here, you!"

She dove at the Doctor but he batted her away. Auntie had yelled at her to stop. "All right," Idris huffed, turning to kiss Rose again.

"Best not, Old Girl, he's not much for sharing." Rose pulled her in for a hug instead.

"Oh, I like hugging. I never knew what he saw in it until now. Hugging is excellent." Idris turned to the Doctor. "Oh, but now you're angry. No, you're not. You will be angry. The little boxes will make you angry."

The Doctor had never been so confused in his life. And that was saying a lot. "Sorry? Little what? Boxes? Rose, is this making sense to you?"

"Not really," Rose said, moving closer to him. "Have you figured out who she is yet?"

Opening his mouth to speak, Idris cut him off. "Your chin is hilarious!" She grabbed his chin and moved his head side to side.

"Not quite as big as the ears, or the hair." Rose gently removed Idris' hand from the Doctor's face. "And I like his face just the way it is. Always have, always will."

"You're a bit shorter than I thought you'd be." Idris yanked Rose to her side in order to compare their heights. Squatting to eye level, Idris said, "Such a big presence in such a small package."

"Thanks," Rose laughed.

Suddenly Idris turned to Jenny. "It means 'the smell of dust after rain.'"

"What does?" Jenny said, leaning forward to examine the woman who seemed to know her parents.

"Petrichor."

Shaking her head, Jenny said, "But I didn't ask."

"Not yet, my sweet little Time Lord. But you will." Idris patted her cheek and turned to Sabrina. "Stalwart; marked by outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit. My other Thief and my Wolf chose you well, little Stalwart one. You and your sister."

"What is she talking about?" Jenny asked.

"Stalwart was Sabrina's last name before the adoption. Trisha's maiden name," Rose explained.

"But how did she know that?" the Doctor demanded of Rose. "And why do you act like you know her?"

"Because I do and so do you. You've known her for centuries." Rose said lightly. "Don't worry. You'll figure it out eventually."

"Idris," Auntie interrupted before the Doctor could speak again. "I think you should have a rest."

"Rest! Yes, yes. Good idea. I'll just... see if there's an off switch," Idris said just before collapsing. Rose was at her side in a flash.

"Is that it?" Uncle said, not looking the least bit upset. "She's dead now. So sad."

"No, she's still breathing." Rose was cradling her head. "We just need to get her home. Hold on, Old Girl, we're here."

Uncle looked annoyed. "Nephew, take Idris somewhere she cannot bite people, hm?"

"She's not going anywhere," Rose protested before looking up to see this nephew that Uncle was referring to. An Ood, well wasn't that just Ood.

The Doctor looked up to see the newest arrival walking towards them. He greeted Nephew and briefly explained the Ood to Jenny. Sabrina had grown up with Ood stories. Nephew's communication device had been damaged and Auntie explained that House had repaired him. House had repaired them all but apparently not the communicator. Not a problem though. The Doctor made quick work of fixing it.

The communicator lit up and voices filled the air. "If you are receiving this message, please help me. Send a signal to the High Council of the Time Lords of Gallifrey. Tell them that I am still alive! I don't know where I am, I'm— "

"Was that him? The Corsair?" Sabrina asked softly.

The Doctor shook his head. "No, no. It's picking up something else. But that's, that's not possible. That's, that's— Who else is here? Tell me! Show me! Show me!" He had rounded on the older woman.

"Just what you see. Just the four of us. And the House," Auntie finished lamely.

"The House. What's the House?" the Doctor pressed her.

"The House is all around you, my sweets. You are standing on him. This is the House. This world. Would you like to meet him?" Auntie asked.

The Doctor readily agreed and began to follow Auntie, Uncle and Nephew. Sabrina was stuck to his side. Rose and Jenny hung back to help Idris.

"Dad, what was the thing with the voices about?" Sabrina's voice was full of concern as she threaded her arm through his.

"Time Lords." He bit back a grin. "It's not just the Corsair. Somewhere close by there are lots and lots of Time Lords. Ones that survived."

Turning her head quickly, Sabrina shot her mother a concerned look. Rose smiled back sadly.

"I'm— I'm—." Idris began. "Big word. Sad word. Why is that word so sad? No. Will be sad. Will be sad. He will be sad when he finds them."

"It's a trap isn't it?" Rose asked softly and Jenny's eyes widened. "They used the message to lure us here. But what do they want?"

"They don't look all that threatening, Mum. There are only three of them. We could take them out if we needed to," Jenny added, keeping her voice low.

"Three of them and the House," Rose corrected. "I think it wants the TARDIS. It's why they took Idris out of it and put her in that body."

"My beautiful Wolf, you are brilliant," Idris beamed. "Now to get my Thief to believe who I am."

"Who are you?" Jenny asked.

"Time and Relative Dimension in Space, stuffed into a human form," Rose whispered back.

"What?"

"Shh, my young one." Idris brought her finger to her lips, silencing Jenny. "When he asks, go back to the ship with the Stalwart one and await my instructions."

Ahead of them, the Doctor was talking about sentient asteroids and Auntie was explaining the House provided for them. The deep voice of the House began to speak.

"And do my will. You are most welcome, travelers."

"So you're like a... sea urchin. Hard on the surface—that's the planet we're walking on. Big squashy ugly thing inside. That's you."

"That is correct, Time Lord," the voice boomed.

"Ah! So you've met Time Lords before." He was starting to tense, ever so slightly.

"Many travelers come through the rift. Like Auntie and Uncle and Nephew. I repair them when they break."

"So there are Time Lords here, then." His voice seemed to lack a bit of that enthusiasm he'd been bubbling with earlier.

"Not anymore. But there have been many TARDIS' on my back in days gone by." It was hard to get a reading on is a faceless lump of rock was something to fear. But it projected an aura of fear.

"Ah," the Doctor replied. "Well, there won't be any more after us. Last Time Lord. Last TARDIS."

"What?" Sabrina hissed but he just motioned for her to keep quiet. If this asteroid was looking for another Time Lord or another TARDIS, the Doctor wasn't just going to hand Rory and his ship over.

"A pity. Your people were so kind. Be here in safety, Doctor. Rest. Feed, if you will," House responded lamely.

"We're not actually gonna stay here, are we?" Sabrina asked.

"Well, it seems like a friendly planet. Literally." He gave her a pleasant but forced smile. "We have to save the Time Lords that are here."

"Yeah, I get it. What can I do?" Sabrina cast another glance to where her mum, Jenny and Idris were standing. "What can we do?"

Following her gaze, the Doctor turned to look at the Rose. She nodded and then jerked her head in the direction they had come. It still amazed him that they could communicate without words. Even without telepathy. "Take your sister and go back to the TARDIS." He dropped his voice to a barely audible whisper. "Please don't argue. I have a bad feeling about this."

Very rarely had her mum or dad ever asked her to stay behind because they felt it too dangerous, so when they did she reluctantly complied. "Jenny, I need your help with something. Dad forgot his screwdriver in the TARDIS. Let's go get it for him, yeah."

"Sure thing," Jenny said, moving away from her mum and Idris. "See you soon." Together she and Sabrina left.

Moving forward, the Doctor began to investigate. Pulling open a cabinet, he discovered it lined with boxes. Time Lord distress signal boxes. Gingerly, he picked one up in his hand. "Just admiring your Time Lord distress signal collection. Nice job. Brilliant job," he said off handedly to Auntie and Uncle. "Really thought I had some friends here. But this is what the Ood translator picked up. Cries for help from the long dead."

"Doctor," Rose said with a soft plea in her voice. She knew he would be angry, that he had every right to be angry. Hell, she was angry for him.

"How many Time Lords have you lured here the way you lured me? And what happened to them all?" His voice had hardened to steel as the two patchwork people tried to make their appeal. 'House repairs us when we break. House is kind." Anger bubbled in the pit of his stomach when he saw the tattoo on Auntie's arm. The Corsair, his friend, was merely used for spare parts. A storm was brewing in the depths of his soul and right now he wanted vengeance.

"You gave me hope and then you took it away." The Doctor's voice was raw. "That's enough to make anyone dangerous. God knows what it'll do to me. Basically, run!"

Not needing to be told twice, the pair ran away as fast as their mismatched body parts would take them. Still angry, the Doctor turned on Idris. "How did you know about the boxes? You said they'd make me angry. How did you know?"

"Ah, Thief, I see everything, all of time and space."

"Who are you?" He stepped forward in anger. Rose stepped between them, giving him a warning look.

"Hm. It's about time," Idris teased with a twinkle in her eye.

The Doctor's gaze traveled between the two women. "I don't understand. Who are you?"

Cocking her head to one side, Idris regarded him thoughtfully. "Do you really not know me? Just because they put me in here?"

"On the asteroid?" he asked lamely and Rose giggled.

"Not on the asteroid, stupid. In here." Idris squished her face. "They put me in here. I'm the... Oh, what do you call me? We travel. I go…" Opening her mouth she made the keening, grinding metal sound of the TARDIS.

"The TARDIS?" He looked at Rose to see if this was some elaborate prank. Rose simply nodded.

"Time and Relative Dimension in Space. Yes that's it." Idris smiled. "Names are funny. It's me. I'm the TARDIS."

"No, you're not!" the Doctor protested again. "You're a bitey mad lady. The TARDIS is up-and-downy stuff in a big blue box."

"Yes, that's me. A type 40 TARDIS. I was already a museum piece when you were young. And the first time you touched my console, you said—"

"I said you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever known." His eyes softened at the memory. Honestly, the TARDIS in human form shouldn't even register on his weirdness scale.

Reaching over, Idris grabbed his hand. "Then you stole me. And I stole you." Now she took Rose's hand. "And together we stole her."

"I came willingly," Rose said at the same time the Doctor spoke. "I borrowed you."

"Borrowing implies the eventual intention to return the thing that was taken. What makes you think I would ever give either of you back?"

"You're the TARDIS." The Doctor finally relented and he turned excitedly to Rose. "She's the TARDIS."

"Yes, she is," Rose agreed, squeezing his hand.

"My TARDIS?" the Doctor queried.

"My Doctor and my Rose." She hugged them both tightly. "I wish we could hug all the time. Hugging is fun. Although what the two of you get up to alone in your room looks…"

"You knew the entire time that she was the TARDIS?" The Doctor asked Rose, cutting off Idris.

"Course I knew," Rose said with a shrug. "She's a part of me and I'm a part of her. Regardless of what form she's in. I could just feel that it was her."

"Plus, you would have figured it out but you kept getting distracted," Idris added. "All the time, distracted by the shiny stuff. Attention span of a child, you have."

Rose could almost hear the gears turning in his mind. "But why? Why pull the living soul from a TARDIS and pop it in a tiny human head? What does it want you for?"

Shaking her head, Idris said, "Oh, it doesn't want me."

"Are you sure?" Rose questioned.

Idris' gaze went out of focus for a moment. "House eats TARDIS'."

For a minute Idris and the Doctor talked back and forth about what was going on. Together they figured out that House had removed the TARDIS matrix from the ship and put it in Idris so as to not blow up the Universe. Then with the matrix gone he could feed on the remaining artron energy.

A smile crept onto Rose's lips. How long before he realized that he was doing what he'd dreamed about for so long? Talking to his magnificent ship and having her talk back. His ship in a human's form…because a sentient asteroid wanted her dead.

Suddenly her heart skipped a beat and she ran toward the empty blue box. "We sent the girls to the ship," she yelled over her shoulder. "And House is about to eat them."

He was by her side in an instant, pulling at her hand as they sprinted to where they had sent Jenny and Sabrina. But it was too late. The blue police box was gone. Their daughters, along with the body of their beloved ship, were gone.