Thanks to my Beta batistaangel15 shes great. And trust me she can tell you I need a beta. lol.

Thanks to all who have reviewed and faved the story or are following it. I meant to post this yesterday but Between watching Jessica Jones which I mean come on evil David=Hot David ok hes hot all the time but still wow. and getting my kid ready for a couple of days at her dads and then finding myself with a house to myself for the first time since may. I put it off to enjoy the rare silence that has fallen but I am posting it now.

Please leave a review I love to read your thoughts.

Allons-y


The Doctor watched Rose as she walked over to Amelia and tapped her on the shoulder, letting the little girl know she was in the clear to uncover her ears and stop humming. She also threw her a wink before grabbing her hand and making their way out of the room.

It took him a moment for his brain to catch up on what had just happened. What had just happened? Rose had kissed him hard and then slapped him even harder, and then kissed him again. It was all in the span of a few seconds before she proceeded by threatening him with a talk of who he had been kissing when she was not around. That worried him slightly. The look in her eyes had held hurt, such hurt that it pained him. Yet she still had given him a kiss on the cheek afterwards.

Women—Earth women, namely Rose—were a complete and utter bafflement to him. He could get her to talk about her feelings and could read her well enough without having her speak a syllable but he would never understand her completely. She was a puzzle he would never have all the pieces to. For a man as brilliant as he was, it was frustrating but he would have to learn to deal with it. He lifted a hand to press against his cheek, trying to hold the kiss there a second longer before taking a deep breath and walking out to search for the girls.

He headed down the stairs into the hall only to come to a stop. Something felt off, like he was missing something. But what? It was like it was there and yet it was not. He shrugged his shoulders. Must not have been that important at the moment. It would come to him sooner or later. After all he was the king of making things up as he went along and he was brilliant at it, he had to admit.

Following the sounds of voices the Doctor found himself approaching the kitchen but, instead of entering the room, he stepped out of sight to the side and listened. Surreptitiously he inched over to have a peek at what the girls were doing. They were rummaging around in the freezer before Rose pulled out a box of fish fingers and popped them in the oven. A bowl of custard sat in the center of the table and he pulled a face. Fish fingers and custard? In what universe did those two go together? Both girls were setting up the table with napkins and he just stood there watching.

At that point he felt he should probably make his presence known and join them but he stopped himself when they began to talk amongst themselves. It was a different experience for Rose since the ones ones she chose to spoke to since she was sent back were him, Mickey, and Jack—all men. It has been a long time since she talked to another girl. Perhaps she would be a little more open if she had a chat with Amelia. So, remaining in his hidden position, he stood outside the door with his back pressed against the wall and pondered the issue with Prisoner Zero while tuning in to what the girls were talking about.

"Amelia," Rose spoke as they took seat a at the table. "Where are you mum and dad? If they were here we would have woken them up by now." She looked over at the clock on the wall. "It's half past eleven."

The little girl gave her a level look, almost as if she were an adult herself. "I don't have a mum and dad," she replied. "Just an aunt, and she's rubbish. She doesn't want me here anymore than I want to be here. So she's out and I'm not afraid, if that's what you're after. At least not any more now that the Doctor fixed the crack in the wall.

Rose watched her carefully with raised brows. This child was way too grown up for her age. Having no family around was tough. She knew that all too well herself right now. "Well, at least you have an aunt," she finally responded. "You've got someone, even if she's rubbish. I don't have any family at all." She paused, hearing the thick wistfulness and sorrow in her own voice. "They're all gone now."

"What happened to them, did they die?" Amelia asked. "My parents died. One day they were here, the next they were gone, and so was my brother."

"I had a brother too," Rose said softly. "His name was Tony. I miss him a lot. He's about the same age as you. He's with my mum and dad. They're not dead though, I just can't ever see them again. They don't even know what happened to me." She felt her insides tightening up with guilt but she kept it to herself, though she did feel the slight wetness coming to her eyes. "I'm sorry about your parents and brother. I know it sucks."

Amelia sighed. "Yeah, it does"

The oven made a ding, breaking up the conversation. Rose stood up and made her way over to get the fish fingers out, discreetly wiping her eyes dry with the back of her hand. The Doctor would be coming in the room any minute, and the last thing she wanted was for him to see the tears ready to drip down her face. She took the fish fingers out and placed them on the table to cool before gathering plates from the cabinet.

Outside the kitchen the Doctor took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead. Rose had discussed her brother with the young child, and like he thought they shared the pain as one who had never had and lost a sibling could do. He was glad that she had at least mentioned it to someone. It would make the topic easier to touch upon later on. He glanced at Rose in the corner of his eye before finally entering. She had a fish finger in her hand and started dipping it into the custard. He pulled another face.

"Pretty peculiar combination," he said.

"It's not so bad," Rose told him, biting into it.

"And you call me gross for my jam fetish. Honestly, fish and custard? That's the nastiest thing I could think of next to pears."

He helped himself by walking over to the counter and digging through a bowl of fruit. He grasped his prize by tossing it in the air and catching it while he turned around to face the girls at the table.

"Now, a banana dipped in custard," he said, peeling off the peel, "is one of the best things in the world." He dipped the fruit in the custard and chowed down, eating three in rapid succession. Once he finished his last bite he brushed his hands off and resumed. "Now then, about Prisoner Zero. I figured out what I was missing."

"What?" Rose asked.

"See, we thought he had slipped through when we closed the gap, but he's been here for a couple of weeks because Amelia's been hearing the guard's voice in that time. He's just very good at hide and seek. Amelia, how many rooms are on this floor?"

"Five," the ginger girl replied.

He turned to Rose. "How many did you count, Rose?"

"Five," she stated simply.

"That's what was missing—there's six."

"What are you talking about?" Amelia asked incredulously. "I live here, I would know how many rooms are in here."

"But you wouldn't notice the one in the corner of your eye now, would you?" the Doctor said.

"Doctor, what d'you mean?" Rose asked.

"Out there in the hall is another room. One that can go right by you without a thought, without a glance. But if you were to look out and look around, look where you never want to out of the corner of your eye, you'll see it."

"So that's where this Prisoner Zero's at?"

He hummed in affirmation. "And we're gonna send it back to prison, right where it belongs. Just have to send a signal to the confinement and BAM! He should be out of your house in a flash, Amelia. Then Rose and I will be off and back out to the stars while you'll be off to bed with a lovely new adventure to fill your dreams."

"What do we do about the prisoner then?" Rose asked.

He took out his sonic and studied it. "The guards have a ship right above this town, I can sense their signal. If I press a button they'll detect an alien life force and come to get me. Then we will show them the door and they will get Mr. Zero and put him back where he belongs. Amelia," he added, tossing the screwdriver at the little girl, who caught it with ease. "Let's play a little game of press the button. Just aim it at me and press it."

The girl did as directed with a huge smile on her face. The Doctor glanced over at Rose and saw her smiling as well. The ship from up above placed the house under a bright beam of light, blinding them a bit. Both the Doctor and Rose watched the amazement on Amelia's face when her idea of what the world was had enlarged when guards swarmed the house and entered the sixth room. About two minutes later it was all over as Prisoner Zero was led out in handcuffs. Other officers came over the the three of them and shook each of their hands, thanking them for their duty. Next thing they knew the house was silent once again.

"How the silence does fall?" the Doctor said with a happy grin. He turned to the little girl. "And now, Amelia, it's time to bid you goodbye. We typically don't even stay this long but well… just this once I thought it would be fine."

"I want to see the stars," Amelia said, her voice wistful and full of longing. "Can I come?"

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck. This is tricky, he thought. He never took children onto the TARDIS, it was one of his rules. They needed to grow and to learn and he could teach them on his ship, but the whole 'growing up' thing was a bit tricky. Not to mention the parents' or carer's reactions. After all Rose had been a grown woman when he had screwed up landing a year ahead of where he had meant to take her back to and her mum had slapped him. A child was a whole different cricket game. She still had an aunt and, even if she did not think the aunt wanted her, he knew she did. It was just an adjustment period.

He glanced at Rose and saw the same wondrous look that was reflected in the young girl's eyes in her own. She had been young once and dreamt of the stars. He knew that from the first time when they had travelled together. He reached out and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, lingering just a second longer than normal before kneeling in front of the girl.

"Amelia," he said gently. "I am going to do something for you that I never do. I am going to give you one quick trip and then you have to come back here and grow up. And, maybe one day if you're lucky, and were lucky we will come back and take you on adventures. You will just have to wait a few more years. Can you do that Amelia? Can you wait?" He watched her and she slowly nodded. "Okay then. Come on, Amelia Pond. Rose, it's time for another trip."


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