The Doctor's Wife

by DoctorVanGogh

The Doctor and the Ponds get thrown a little glowing box from the Corsair and quickly fly to the rescue, right outside the universe. Meanwhile in an alternate universe, Rose Tyler is finding a way home. After years of searching she's finally found it, all she needs to do is pop outside the universe and then slip back into her original. This is their story from there on.

10. Let's Kill Hitler (Part One)

Let's Kill Hitler

Rose was lying across the couch in the library with her feet hanging over the arm. Her head was in the Doctor's lap as he read from one of his various technical manuals. A fire was roaring in the massive fire place beside them.

Rose had always loved spending time with the Doctor in the library. After his regeneration into his pinstriped self, she had quickly realized that the library was a place the Doctor would never change in. He may have read something different, talked a bit more or a bit less. For the most part, though, they always sat in the same place. With her head in his lap as he read Dickens, and then Shakespeare. This Doctor seemed to not mind what he read at all. He had much broader tastes. Rose could have sworn she'd seen him reading a knitting magazine the other day.

Rose raised her eyebrows and tipped her head back to see the Doctor. His book was in the way. She frowned. They'd been much more relaxed after the business on Malivek. Something had happened that made the Doctor want to slow down in their search for River. They were still looking, but in a way that almost made it seem casual.

"I don't understand." Rose voiced her thoughts allowed. The Doctor hummed in response. His hand moved to her hair, fanned out across his thigh, and he ran a hand through it. "Wha' changed in the race to find River? You obviously still want to find her. Wha'd I miss?"

The Doctor closed his book and set it on the armrest beside him. He relaxed into the old couch, throwing one arm over the backend as he looked down at Rose. "Tim." He replied.

Rose's nose scrunched up. "Tim?" The Doctor smiled and tapped Rose's nose. Her frown smoothed into a soft grin.

"Yes, Tim. Wise man, Tim. He said that he was meant to be somewhere. That things that have already been established shouldn't change. Made me think of something River had told me once upon a time ago. Also made me realize something about myself."

Rose turned over and rested her head on her arm as she used the Doctor's thigh as her pillow. "Oh? An' wha's that then?"

"I'm a Time Lord who's been ignoring time." Rose raised an eyebrow. "I can feel it sometimes, where things are supposed to be. How things are supposed to happen. It's sort of like… like being pulled by a string in a certain direction."

"I know." The Doctor looked down at her, surprised. His surprise quickly gave way to a content smile.

"Of course you do." He said as he smoothed back her hair from her face. "How could you not? You're magnificent." Rose smiled at the praise. "So I took a peek at time. And I don't know when or how we see River again. But I know it wasn't the way we were going about it. I've still got the TARDIS tracking the solar system for the Silence. But until then, we're not going to run off and risk our lives on planets we know River probably isn't."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "We're not going to risk our lives?" She snorted and sat up. "Well that's it. I'm done. Take me home. This is far too boring for my tastes." She smiled her tongue in teeth smile.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "If I knew thats all it took to get rid of you, I would have done it ages ago."

Rose fake gasped and raised a hand to her heart. "You brute."

The Doctor smiled charmingly at Rose, his eyes dipped down to her lips. "Yes, well I've been known to be a dangerous fellow."

Rose raised her eyebrows, an amused smile on her face. She tried desperately not to laugh. Any of her other Doctor's saying that line? She'd believe it. But this Doctor, oh it was just hilarious. "Oh really? How dangerous?" She flirted back, deciding to play along.

The Doctor leaned forward, his eyes growing darker. "Very." He whispered.

Rose raised her fingers to the Doctor's chin as her nose grazed along his. "Good." She breathed. "Sounds a bit less boring."

"Hey! Look what I found!"

Rose and the Doctor jumped apart at the sound of Jack's loud entrance. They both blushed like teenagers and turned to the Captain. Jack paused in the doorway, a small smile on his face. "Am I interrupting?" The smile turned into a cheshire grin. "…Again?"

The Doctor's face darkened to a deeper red and his mood quickly followed suit. "What is it, Jack?" He snapped.

Jack shrugged off the biting tone and headed towards the couch Rose and the Doctor were on. He handed them a yellowed copy of the Leadworth Chronicle, a newspaper. On the front was a picture of the word 'Doctor' spelled out in a crop field. The title read 'Leadworth's Crop Circle', it was from Amy and Rory's time. Rose looked at it from upside down as the Doctor held it in his hands. She laughed. "Looks like someone wants to chat over a cuppa."

Jack inclined his head. "I'll say. Should we pop by, Doc?"

The Doctor nodded at Jack before frowning at the newspaper. "Why do they always think these things are because of aliens?" He questioned, presumably reading the article.

Rose rolled her eyes and plucked the paper from his hands. "Maybe because you're an alien and this is because of ya?" She quickly browsed the article herself.

The Doctor's jaw dropped, offended. "How is that my fault?"

Rose laughed. "Oh please, Doctor. You never answer your phone." Rose looked up from the article challengingly. "And ten quid says the Ponds'll mention it."

Jack gave the Doctor a serious look. "Don't take that bet."

The Doctor ignored him. "Deal."

"Such an idiot." Jack mumbled under his breath. The TARDIS lights flickered, in what Jack could only take as agreement. "Alright, let's go, love birds."

The trio filed into the TARDIS console room. Rose read off the coordinates and date as Jack and the Doctor worked together to fly the TARDIS. She swam easily through the vortex, bumping around less than Rose and Jack remembered the early adventures being. The deep groaning sounded and a bell reverberated throughout time and space.

"Come on, then!" The Doctor called as he grabbed his jacket from the jump seat.

Rose frowned at it. "What's that then?" The Doctor paused and looked at his long brown jacket, more of a trench coat than his usual attire. "Where's the tweed?"

Jack paused at the door of the TARDIS and glanced back curiously. The Doctor frowned down at his jacket. "I found it in the wardrobe. You don't like it?"

Rose shrugged. "'s different."

"Good different or bad different?"

It reminded her of his last body. "Jus' different." The entire conversation was reminding her of his past incarnation. The Doctor and Rose stared at each other for a moment longer. Rose smile softly and held out her hand. "Come on." She wiggled her fingers. A grin broke out across the Doctor's face and he swept up Rose's hand, kissing the knuckles, before leading her and Jack out of the TARDIS.

Rory and Amy were exiting a small car as they did. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at them. "Seriously?"

Rory shrugged. "Well, you never answer your phone."

The Doctor groaned and rolled his eyes heavenward as Rose jumped up and down, a bright smile on her face. Jack smirked behind them. The Doctor reached into his pocket and fished out ten quid. He grudgingly handed over the money.

Rory frowned at them disapprovingly. "Oi, what are you two betting on?"

Rose grinned smugly as she shoved the money into her pocket. "'s not bettin' if you know the outcome." The Doctor crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

Amy copied him and added a huff to the end. "You've had all summer. Have you found her? Have you found Melody?"

The Doctor stepped towards Amy then paused, he glanced at Rory. "Permission?"

Rory rolled his eyes but grudgingly agreed. "Granted." He walked past the two as they hugged and gave Rose a hug of her own. Before Rory could think better of it, he turned to Jack and got a smacking kiss. Jack smiled broadly at the unamused expression of the man. "It's good to see you too, Jack."

Rose laughed and handed over the newspaper to the male Pond. "Here, take a look at your infamous handiwork." Rory opened the paper and perused the article. "So how have you two been holdin' up?"

Rory paused and looked up sadly. "As well as to be expected I suppose…" He paused and glanced behind at the Doctor and Amy as they talked and back to Jack and Rose. "I think the hardest part for us is that she chose it. River chose to be raised by those psycho's, even when she had an option out of it. I just… It's hard to wrap that around your head."

Rose rubbed Rory's arm comfortingly. "Oh Rory… I know, but she had her reasons. There are things River knows, things she'll do, that we can't mess with."

Jack placed a hand on his friends back. "And if it's any consolation, she does some pretty amazing things. And she does it in the name of you and Amy."

Rory nodded sadly, his gaze drifting back down to the newspaper. He frowned. "Hang on. What's this bit?" Rose and Jack leaned forward to see what he was referring to. On the picture of the crop circle, a line had appeared, running through the middle of the entirety of it.

Amy and the Doctor stepped towards the group to take a look. "That wasn't us." Amy explained.

Rose's eyes glowed gold. She gasped. "Everyone move!" The group had but a moment before the sound of a car racing towards them was heard. Another moment and it shot out of the cornstalks and into the open circle. It skidded to a halt before the TARDIS, barely an inch away.

Rose peeked from around the Doctor's shoulder as he pressed her against the side of the TARDIS. A dark skinned woman with black hair and familiar clothes stepped out of the Corvette. Rose and the Doctor stepped away from the TARDIS. Jack waltzed around the other side and met them in front of the newcomer.

The young lady smiled flirtatiously at the group. She threw a smile over her shoulder to a shocked looking Rory and Amy before she commented, "You said he was funny. You never said he was hot."

Rory threw his hands into the air. "Mels!" He cried, at the same time Amy demanded, "What are you doing here?"

Mels rolled her eyes at Jack, Rose and the Doctor, as if sharing some private joke. She turned to the Ponds. "Following you. What do you think?"

Rory looked warily at the car she had been driving. "Er, where did you get the car?"

"It's mine." Police sirens sounded in the distance. "-ish."

Rose tugged on the Doctor's jacket sleeve. "Doctor." She whispered. "Who… is that?" Melody, Rose thought, was that Melody?

The Doctor nodded at Rose, thinking he caught her meaning but as always, completely missing it. "I'm on it." He stepped forward as Rory and Amy continued to scold this new, Mels person. "Sorry. Hello. Doctor not following this. Doctor very lost." He turned the Ponds. "You never said I was hot?" Rose rolled her eyes.

Mels smirked. "Not talking about you, you floppy haired git." Her eyes focused past him on Captain Jack Harkness. Jack didn't smile back.

The Doctor's mouth dropped. "Oi!"

Rose took his hand and patted it gently. "Don't worry dear," she whispered to him, "I think you're gorgeous."

"But not hot." The Doctor sulked.

Mels didn't seem to hear them. Her eyes landed on the TARDIS and lit up. "Is that the phone box? The bigger on the inside phone box?" Rose and the Doctor sent sharp looks to Amy and Rory, the latter of which shrugged helplessly. "Oh, time travel. That's just brilliant. Yeah, I've heard a lot about you too." She turned and smiled at the Doctor as he stepped away from Rose and leaned against the TARDIS. A slow smile crept across his face, curiosity and hope. "I'm their best mate." Mels' gaze drifted away from the Doctor to Jack. She couldn't stop the smirk that took over her face.

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder to see who Mels was looking at. He realized quickly who it was before making eye contact with a very quiet Rose. She had said very little since this new Mels had showed up. "Then why don't I know you?" The Doctor questioned as he turned back to Mels. And does Rose know? He vaguely wondered. "I danced with everyone at the wedding. The women were all brilliant. The men were a bit shy."

Mels rolled her eyes and stepped away from the TARDIS as sirens blared in the distance, quickly approaching. "I don't do weddings." Mels sighed. She glanced towards where the sirens were coming from. "And that's me out of time."

Jack's eyes widened a fraction of a second before Mels moved. He'd identified some piece of weaponry on her, probably a gun. He grabbed Rose around the waist and pulled her away as Mels pulled out her gun and aimed it at the Doctor.

"Mels!" Amy cried at the same time that Rory shouted, "For God's sake!"

"Doctor!" Rose shouted. She fought against Jack's hold but Jack didn't let go. He saw the Doctor's hand reach out to the two of them, gesturing for them to stand back. Rose jammed her elbow into Jack's stomach, Jack grunted but held fast. "Jack do something."

Mels shook her head and levelled a steely stare on the Doctor. "I need out of here, now." The Doctor's eyes flickered up as he heard the sound of a helicopter.

He glanced back over to Rose and Jack. Though he and his friend were both in the habit of constantly keeping Rose safe, he had to remember she was immortal. They both would be fine. The Doctor gestured welcomingly with his hands. "Anywhere in particular?"

A small grin formed on Mels' face, one that no one in the crop circle trusted. "Well, let's see. You've got a time machine, I've got a gun. What the hell. Let's kill Hitler."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh, is that all?"

Mels glared at Jack and swung the gun around to him and Rose, she opened her mouth to comment back before the Doctor jumped in front of her, hands raised. "Hey! Hey, hey hey. I never said we couldn't. Come on you and me, Mels. In the TARDIS. Let's go."

Mels kept her gun level with the Doctor's hearts. "Oh no dear, I'm thinking we can make this a family trip. Everyone in. Let's go." She gestured with her head towards the TARDIS. The Doctor slowly edged towards the TARDIS, he opened the door and let Mels walk past. Her jaw dropped.

Amy and Rory entered the TARDIS after, both worried and confused. Mels had always been a trouble maker, but this was just going too far. Jack and Rose hesitantly entered the TARDIS next and closed the door. They stepped up the stairs to the main console and stood by the Doctor who was silently glaring at Mels. His glare dropped the second her gaze landed on the trio.

"Now this is genius." She still had her gun raised, aimed lazily in the direction of the Doctor across the console from her.

The Doctor glanced nervously at the weapon. "You can put the gun down. Won't do much here, we're in a state of temporal grace that prevents any and all forms of mechanical violence." Mels pouted but lowered her gun.

"Well come one then!" She shouted. "Turn it on! Haven't got all day, have we?" Mels paused and considered that statement. "Well, time machine. So maybe we do?" She smirked.

Amy stepped toward her childhood friend nervously. "Mels please stop this. This is ridiculous, we're not going to kill Hitler." She glanced over at the Doctor as he began flying the TARDIS. A groan emanated from within the base of the ship and a piece of the time rotor began to move up and down as they flew through time and space. "Doctor? We're actually going to kill Hitler?"

The Doctor glanced nervously at Mels before continuing to pilot the TARDIS. "Well the newest companion gets to pick the ride." He moved around the console towards the armed woman. "But I must advise you Mels, we can't change history. What's happened has happened, we can't change that."

Mels rolled her eyes. "Oh rubbish, you're a time traveller, you can do whatever you want. Consequences be damned."

"Yes but you see we can't damn the consequences. Who knows what they'll be! We could destroy the world!" The Doctor gestured wildly, trying to get his point across.

Mels glared at him and pointed her gun at the time rotor. "No! I want to kill Hitler," her hand tightened on the gun, "and you're going to make it happen you old—" She pulled the trigger.

BANG.

Silence filled the console room for a fraction of a second before a loud scream ripped through the TARDIS. The Doctor's hearts plummeted and he spun around to the source of the sound. "ROSE!" He clumsily ran around the console as the TARDIS began to shake violently, smoke poured out of the time rotor where it was hit. The Doctor collapsed to the ground beside the injured Rose.

"MELS!" Rory shouted. "What have you done?"

"It's his fault!" Mels shouted childishly. The TARDIS groaned and shook as it fought to stay in flight.

"Jack!" The Doctor ordered. Jack nodded and jumped up to the console to help the TARDIS land safely. The Doctor stayed by Rose, desperately checking her over for blood. There was none. "Rose? Rose? Where did she get you? Where does it hurt." Rose opened her mouth to answer. Pain shot through her entire body, she grabbed the Doctor's shirt tightly, her back arched as fire shot down her spine. Her mouth opened but all that came out was wracking coughs and smoke. The Doctor's eyes widened. He looked behind himself at the smoke that was escaping from the time rotor and back to the same smoke that was leaving Rose's mouth.

They were connected.

"Landing incoming!" Jack hollered. Everyone grabbed hold of the TARDIS as she crashed landed. The Doctor grabbed the console with one hand and his other wrapped tightly around Rose's waist. The injured blonde in his arms clung desperately to his shirt. Rose didn't understand what was happening anymore, all she could comprehend was the pain of the TARDIS as it ripped its way through her body.

She screamed as the Doctor lifted her into his arms. He was hollering something, and more of the smoke she was coughing up was filling the room. Then he stumbled down the steps and they entered a place with much cleaner air. Rose gasped in a breath before coughing out more smoke.

"Rory!" The Doctor hollered as he lay Rose down.

"On it!" Rory raced over and checked on their fallen companion.

Amy followed him and gazed down at Rose's pale face worriedly. "Is she going to be alright?" Rory glanced up at his wife, an unsure look on his face. Amy sighed and crossed her arms. She looked around. "Where are we?"

The Doctor crouched by Rose, holding her hand as she coughed and struggled to breath. More of that smoke was coming out of her mouth, it wouldn't stop. She couldn't die, he thought desperately. But that wasn't true. If Rose couldn't die then she'd be a fixed point like Jack, and he'd feel it. She'd feel it too. There was something else going on with Rose, and whatever it was, apparently it had a weak spot. He shook his head and kissed her knuckles as he murmured comfortingly against the skin of her hand. Rose squeezed his hand.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor turned away from Rose for a moment and looked up at Amy. He saw the undisguised fear and worry. Not for Rose though, for him. She'd seen him when they'd been searching for Aphrodite's apple and Rose had gone missing. Amy knew what this was. The Doctor turned to Rory, crouching on the other side of Rose. He was tensed, his eyes wide as he stared at the Doctor.

He needed to be the Doctor. He needed to make them not worry. His eyes teared for a moment as he kissed Rose's hand once more, wishing with everything in his being that these were not her last moments. He gently placed her hand across her stomach and stood up. The Doctor again.

"We're in a room." He ground out. Mels moved to open the doors of the TARDIS and the Doctor sprang forward. He grabbed her gun and slammed the doors shut. "Do not go in there." Mels glared at him and glanced down at her gun in his hand. "Bad smoke. Don't breathe the bad, bad, smoke. Bad, deadly smoke because somebody shot my TARDIS!" His face turned red as he raged the last bit at her. Mels stepped back, somewhat chastised.

"Hey, Doc?" The Doctor turned to Jack. He was across the room in a bit of the rubble they'd caused when they crashed through the window. A man was lying next to him. "This guy looks…" The man's eyes opened. Jack's own widened when he realized what he was looking at. A Teselecta. He hadn't seen one of those in decades. "Never mind. He's fine."

Jack stood up and almost jumped when he realized the Doctor was behind him. He handed Jack the gun he'd taken from Mels. Jack looked down at it, surprised. "Handle it." The Doctor ground out. He'd tried. He'd done his best, but he hadn't even lasted a minute. The Doctor wanted to be the Doctor, but… They both turned to look at Rose.

"Consider it done." The Doctor nodded in thanks before quickly moving back to Rose and Rory. He asked for an update as he took Rose's hand again.

Jack glanced at Mels who was standing with the worrying Amy. Mels' eyes caught Jack's, she glanced down at her gun in his hand and smirked. Jack smiled back at her for the first time since they'd met. Then he turned towards the desk at the back of the room. He quietly unloaded the weapon and gently placed it in the fruit bowl sitting on the desk.

Someone groaned and began to get up from behind the desk. Jack's eyes widened. "Oh! Hey there buddy, didn't see you. Sorry about…" He glanced around the office. "There was a training exercise and you know how those can be." He smiled charmingly at the man, a smile that quickly slipped off his face.

Rory glanced up from where he was still crouched beside Rose. He couldn't see around Jack, but the room had gone ominously quiet. He leaned towards the Doctor. "Who…?" He whispered.
Amy took a step forward. "Is that? No, it can't be," she glanced over to the Doctor, "Doctor?"

Hitler pulled himself up and straightened out his uniform. "Thank you, whoever you are." He said in a distinctly German accent. "I think you have just saved my life." The Doctor's eyes widened. He glanced to Jack, who he'd put in charge, suddenly rethinking that decision. Jack had fought in the World Wars, the second one twice. He'd seen a lot of good men die because of this man.

"Believe me." Jack responded darkly. "It won't happen again."

Hitler didn't seem to take notice of the scathing tone. He stepped around his desk towards the TARDIS. He stopped when he saw Rose lying injured on the ground. "Oh! Someone must send for a doctor."

"I'm a nurse." Rory said at the same time the Doctor said, "I'm the Doctor."

"And I'm fine." Rose ground out. The Doctor, protesting quietly beside her, helped her up into a sitting position. Rose looked up at Hitler. She smiled. "Love a good tragedy." Rory rolled his eyes.

Hitler's eyes widened a bit. He nodded once, not wishing to think too long on the young woman's comment. He turned back to the TARDIS. "Good, then explain to me. What is this thing?" He stepped around blue box as he examined it, incredibly intrigued.

Amy rushed to Jack's side. She'd quickly grasped that the Doctor had put him in charge as he took care of Rose. "What did he mean, we saved his life?" She hissed. "We could not have just saved Hitler."

Jack spread his hands out and shrugged. "I'm not the one who brought us here. You're girlfriend wanted to play with time." Amy glared at him.

Rose winced as Rory and the Doctor helped her to stand. She let out a deep breath and coughed a bit. The Doctor rubbed her back. The pain was easing away quickly now. There was still a lot of damage, but Rose could feel the TARDIS repairing herself. She nodded at Rory and the Doctor and they cautiously let go of her. Rose blinked tiredly, but otherwise remained on her feet. Jack glanced towards them, his eyes meeting the Doctor's. They nodded at each other as a silent agreement passed between them. Mels was Jack's problem until Rose was 100%. Jack would have been angry if the Doctor had asked for something different.

"This box. What is it?" Hitler questioned.

The Doctor glared at the dictator. "It's a police telephone box from London, England." He stepped toward the man angrily. "That's right, Adolf. The British are coming." He allowed a small smile to grace his lips before suddenly everything hit the fan again.

"No!" Hitler shouted suddenly. He pointed past the Doctor to the man Jack had realized was a teselecta. "Stop him!" He pulled his gun out and the Doctor ducked as he shot.

The Ponds and Jack ducked as well. Rose's eyes glowed gold. She turned and pushed Mels out of the way as the bullets ricocheted around the room.

Rory raced towards Hitler and punched him across the face. He grabbed the gun off the floor and pointed at the dictator admonishingly. "Sit still, shut up."

"He was going to kill me." The nazi protested.

"Shut up, Hitler!"

The Doctor glared at him. He pointed towards a door. "Rory, take Hitler and put him in that cupboard over there. Now, do it."

Rory nodded. He grabbed Hitler by the arm and pulled him up before leading him towards the door that the Doctor had indicated. "Right. Putting Hitler in the cupboard. Cupboard, Hitler. Hitler, cupboard. Come on."

Jack glared at the teselecta as he stood emotionlessly. They were clearly in the early stages of the technology. It was really a wonder the Doctor hadn't caught on yet. The robot's eyes rolled back as he said, "Oh, I…" He fainted. Jack rolled his eyes. They had to be kidding.

Rory, who'd finished putting Hitler in the cupboard, came back around and raised his eyebrows at the man. "I think he just fainted."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Yes, that was a faint. A perfect faint."

"Mels?" Amy asked.

The group turned to Rose and Mels across the room. They were standing in front of one another. Both frozen. "Rose?" The Doctor asked worriedly. The two girls stumbled away from each other.

Mels smiled, there was something wrong with it. "Hitler." She rolled her eyes. "Lousy shot." Mels collapsed to the ground in the rubble of their crash. Jack and the Ponds raced towards her.

The Doctor moved towards Rose, who fell into his arms. "No, no, no, no, no. Rose?" Jack and Amy looked back at Rose, their eyes widened.

"What happened?" Amy shouted angrily.

Mels coughed then sucked in a deep breath. "She tried to save me." Rose's shaking hands moved away from her stomach to reveal the bullet wound. "Went through an' through."

"No! Rose?" The Doctor pushed her hair out of her pale face. She coughed up more smoke. "Oh you stupid…" He shook his head. "Don't die on me now. Don't. You. Dare."

Rory pushed his hand against the wound on Mels' side. "We've got to stop the bleeding." He glanced over his shoulder. "Rose too, Doctor." The Doctor didn't seem to hear him. He was whispering something to Rose who smiled briefly up at him, a tear streamed down her cheek.

Mels glanced at the two, her brow furrowed. "I used to dream about you." But the Doctor didn't hear her. Jack moved in front of her line of vision. He crouched down and smiled at her.

"Just hold on. Everything's going to be fine."

Mels' laughed weakly. "Oh god. You should hear the stories they have about you, Captain."

Jack smirked salaciously. "And they're all true."

Mels' eyes flickered past him to the Doctor. "When I was little, I was going to marry him."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "So was I." Amy and Rory rolled their eyes. "But you're so much better."

Mels coughed. "Is that your way of asking me to be your consolation prize?"

"You, Mels, are no consolation prize." He gave her a pointed look. He knew exactly who he was talking to.

Mel's eyes widened a bit. She smiled. "Shouldn't you ask my parents permission before you try to marry me?"

"I wouldn't have to look far, would I?"

Mels shook her head. "No. You wouldn't." Jack and Mels turned to look at the Ponds. Amy and Rory froze, they're mouths dropped open a fraction. A bright golden glow shone out from the gunshot wound on Mels stomach. She gasped as her body began to glow with the magic of regeneration.

Jack grabbed the Ponds' hands and pulled them away. "Stay back." He glanced over and saw the Doctor lift Rose into his arms to carry her further from Mels. He crouched back down by Hitler's desk and cradled Rose's body against the light that was Mels' budding regeneration.

Mels looked down at her hands. "Last time I did this, I ended up a toddler in the middle of New York." She smiled up at Jack. "I don't think you're going to want to wait that long for the wedding, do you?"

Amy tugged on Jack's hand. "What is happening?"

Jack sighed and turned to her. "Mels, Amy. Short for Melody?"

Amy shook her head. "Yeah, I named my daughter after her."

"You named your daughter after your daughter." Jack looked back to Mels. He'd recognized her the second he'd seen her in the cornfield. Just how much more complicated was River and his relationship going to get? "Talk about family reunions." He whispered to himself.

"It took me years to find you two. I'm so glad I did. And you see? It all worked out in the end, didn't it. You got to raise me after all." Rose and the Doctor looked up from their position on the floor beside Amy. They glared at Mels, neither in agreement with her words.

Rory pointed at the glowing woman. "But if she's Melody, that means that she's also…"

"Shut up, Dad." Mels cut in with a gasp. "I'm focusing on a dress size." Her head was thrown back with the force of the regeneration energy and Mels burst into golden light. The group shielded their eyes as her screams crashed around the room, the pitch changing as her vocal chords reassembled themselves. Jack ran across the room to the sitting area. He unloaded the gun there before racing back to the desk. He covered his eyes from the light, hoping he was doing this in a manner that the Doctor would approve of.

The light died away and in Mels' place stood River Song. Amy and Rory's mouths dropped.

River gasped and smiled. "Oh! Oh! Oh! Whoa! Right, let's see, then." Her hands ran hand her body to her hips and she swayed them suggestively. "Ooo, it's all going on down there, isn't it?" Just as quickly, her hands flew to her hair and she gasped. "The hair! Oh, the hair. It just doesn't stop, does it?" River ran towards a mirror by a seated area, she checked her teeth in the mirror, hands still in her hair. "Look at that. Everything changes. Oh, but I love it. I love it! I'm all sort of mature." River spun around and lifted a leg up on the chair. She smiled saucily at Captain Jack Harkness. "Hello, Benjamin." She greeted as she inconspicuously leaned back to reach for the gun there, left by Hitler.

Jack grinned salaciously. "Oh I'm no Benjamin, Mrs. Robinson."

River's eyes swept away from Jack and to the Doctor, cradling the dying Rose Tyler. "No." She whispered longingly. "I don't suppose you are." Her eyes brightened suddenly. She raced across the room to Jack and lightly pushed him into the desk. "A belt and suspenders, have a hard time keeping your pants on, Captain?" She nimbly reached behind him for the gun in the fruit bowl. At the same time, Jack spun the bowl around so she would grab a banana.

Jack winked at her. "You have no idea."

River pulled back. "Excuse me, you lot. I need to weigh myself." With those final words, River Song darted out of Hitler's office and into the side room.

"Jack." Amy whispered.

"Yes?"

"That's Melody?"

Rory shook his head. "That's River Song."

River popped her head back into the room. "Who's River Song?"

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Spoilers?"

River smiled. "Spoilers? What's spoilers? Hang on," she said, her hand on her rear, "just something I have to check." She darted out of the room again.

Jack stood up and turned to face the confused and queasy looking Ponds. "Alright, you need to understand that this isn't the River you know. She's younger than we've ever met her. She doesn't know anything we've done with her. She doesn't know who she'll become, that she even is River Song. Okay?" The Ponds nodded. Jack looked down at Rose and the Doctor. "How we doing?"

Rose sucked in a breath and nodded. "Shouldn't be long." Jack winced.

Amy frowned. "Long? Long 'til what?"

The Doctor tightened his grip on the blonde in his arms. "Until she dies." He ground out.

Rory moved to Rose's side instantly. He checked her over. "We can still save her. The bullet went straight through, and it looks like it missed any major organs. Otherwise you would have been gone awhile ago."

Jack frowned down at them. "I thought Rose couldn't die."

The Doctor shook his head. "She's not you Jack. She can die and I…" He paused as Rose raised a hand to his cheek. She wiped away a tear. "Rose was shot twice, once physically and the other when the TARDIS was. The two have a bond that we haven't found time to examine yet and… this might be too much."

Rose shook her head. "'s not." Her face was pale despite her words.

"You would die." He whispered.

"'m not dyin'. As long as you're breathin', 'm comin' back." The Doctor stroked back her hair from her damp forehead before he reverently placed a kiss there.

"Oh, that's magnificent!" Everyone looked up at the sound of River's exclamation. A moment later she appeared back at the door. "I'm going to wear lots of jodhpurs." She sighed and flicked her hair back as she strolled back into the centre of the room. "Well, now, enough of all that. Down to business." River planted her feet. "Move, dad." Rory turned to face her from his position beside Rose, in front of the Doctor. He opened his mouth to question her but was silence by the gun that River pulled out.

Rory scrambled away. "River!"

The Doctor dove forward and tried to cover as much of Rose's body as he could. River's eyes widened. "Do you have no feelings of self preservation at all?" The Doctor glared up at her.

River fired Hitler's gun. The Ponds shouted in surprise, but no bang filled the room, just a soft click from the unloaded gun. River smirked and dropped the gun. She turned to Jack. "You're playing games with my plans, Captain."

Jack nodded once. "I'm glad you noticed."

Rory stepped forwards. "Please, just stop this. Why are you doing this?"

"Because she was programmed to." At Rory's confused look, Jack continued. "The Silence raised her to kill the Doctor."

River shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm a psychopath. This is just Sunday tea." She nodded towards the discarded gun. "And that was just round one." River pulled out another weapon and aimed it at the Doctor. She frowned at the banana in her hand. Her dark eyes turned to the smirking Jack. "Maybe I should just get rid of you first."

Jack nodded. "Good luck with that, dear."

River dove for the teselecta's gun, she turned and fired at the Doctor, only to come up with two short clicks again. She turned and glared at Jack who triumphantly held up the clip.

Amy shook her head. "Stop this, you are not a psychopath. You are a Pond. Fight this." She looked to Jack, but he seemed to be on the side of doing nothing. She gave him a look, but he tightly shook his head.

River turned to the Doctor, hunched over his fallen companion like a common human. It was almost touching. She ground her jaw. A few moments ago she would have said it was heart wrenching. But with new regenerations — she looked to Jack — comes new faces… and new feelings attached. River was a completely different person now, but a piece of her…

River walked towards the Doctor and Rose. She knelt down before them. The Doctor was tense as he hunched over his blonde. "I am meant to kill you."

The Doctor's emotions were far too displaced to deal with River now. He'd wanted Jack to do it, and he had, up to a point. Whatever Jack had in mind, clearly the Doctor was meant to play some part. The Doctor glanced towards the Captain. Jack raised his eyebrows expectantly. The two could get a medal with how much they could convey in single glances. Jack wasn't so much worried about the Doctor as he was River. Jack was trying to save River. The Doctor mentally nodded, that was a mission he could get behind. "But you don't have to." The Doctor ground out to River.

River's eyes dropped down. She looked up at him from beneath her lashes, her face artfully contrite. "You're right. Maybe I can stop. But first… I need…" River leaned forward slowly. The Doctor leaned closer, expecting some sort of secret. River pecked the Doctor on the lips. She smiled and looked down at Rose. "She saved my life." The Doctor nodded, confused. River's eyes hardened. "Which is why I'll spare her." She stood and strode towards the windows. "Mum, Dad, Jack, don't follow me. And, yes, that is a warning."

The Doctor looked up at her from his spot on the floor. "No warning for us then?"

River smiled. "No need. She's almost dead, and soon you will be."

The Doctor gasped and jerked forward over top of Rose. Rose cried out as he leaned down on her injured body.

Amy and Rory rushed to their side. "Doctor, what's wrong?" Rory tried to push the Doctor's torso off of the crying Rose's.

Jack ran towards River. "What did you do?"

River eyed him. A flurry of something she'd only ever thought she felt for the Doctor passing through her heart yet again. "What I came here to do. Admittedly, it all went down very differently than I had planned. But in the end, it was never going to be a gun for the Doctor." River stepped forward and grabbed Jack's collar. She pulled him close and planted a heated kiss on his lips. "Or you."

A faraway lesson pushed its way into River's mind, one from the Silence. You kill everything you love. She must kill the Doctor, because she loves him. Her eyes searched Jack's. Another thing to add to the list. Before River could stop herself, she gave one last look to her parents. The one love she could never destroy, no matter the evil inside of her. They were her light. Before she could change her mind, River turned and jumped out of the window.

Jack leaped forward and looked down. River was standing at the bottom of a walkway. He sighed. His plan hadn't worked after all. When he turned back to the others, the Ponds had sorted Rose and the Doctor so that they were no longer hurting each other. Amy was propping the Doctor up in her lap.

Rory was pressing his hand against Rose's wound in vain. The blood had mostly stopped, but the Doctor's sudden collapse on top of Rose had started it up again. If anything, Rose would die from blood loss before anything else at this point."What's wrong with you? What's she done to you?" Rory questioned the Doctor.

Jack joined them as he swiped his tongue over his bottom lip. "Poison from the Judas tree." He raised his eyebrows. "Biblical."

Amy looked up, hopeful. "But you're fine right? So the Doctor will be too?"

Jack shook his head. "Once poisoned you become immune to it the second time. Only there's no cure, so it really doesn't matter. I was poisoned with it a century ago."

Amy's hope deflated. The Doctor nodded as he took in that information. "That's alright, that's fine. I'm fine. Well, no, I'm dying, but I've got a plan."

"What plan?"

"Not dying." The Doctor pulled himself up and out of Amy's lap to his feet. "See? Fine." He bent down beside Rose and checked her pulse. Her forehead and grown more damp and her breathing had shallowed.

Rory removed his bloody hands from Rose's side to let the Doctor take her in his arms again. He shakily stood up and leaned back against Hitler's desk. "Okay, what do we do? How do we help you?" The male Pond inquired.

The Doctor nodded to Jack who came forward and pulled the sonic from his jacket pocket. The Doctor nodded towards it. "Take that. The TARDIS can home in on it. Now, go. Get after her."

Amy shook her head. Not convinced and not ready to leave. "You said the smoke was deadly."

"No, no, the smoke's fine. The poison will kill me first. Now, get after River!"

Amy held her position. "I still don't understand, okay? She was in love with you, now suddenly she wants to kill you?"

The Doctor sighed. "Regeneration changes a person, Amy. New face, new rules." Amy's eyes flickered as she thought back all those years ago to when she first met the Doctor. New rules. New tastebuds.

"But she loved you. The River we met, the River we knew. Before we met Rose I thought she was in love with you." Amy glanced down at Rose worriedly. The blonde had her eyes open and they were much more focused than Amy thought they should be for a dying woman.

Rose shook her head. She patted the Doctor's arm and he gently let her stand. Her voice came out soft but steady. "River was obsessed with the Doctor. Bu' only to cling to her past, her childhood." She stumbled and the Doctor wrapped an arm around her waist. He held Rose close as they both slowly weakened as the seconds ticked by.

Rory frowned. "Why on earth would she want to cling to her childhood?" River had been raised by monsters. It wasn't something she'd likely want to remember.

"Not tha' one." Rose corrected. "The one with you two. Where she was raised by your side, you and Amy both. Those years are precious for River. Amy, you were obsessed with the Doctor as a child, tha' becomes her way of keeping close to happier days."

Amy looked back and forth between the two. "She never loved him?"

"Maybe." Rose shrugged lightly, a wince gracing her features as pain shot through her body at the movement. "But it's more likely tha' she jus' didn't want to lose you. You're her parents. You're precious to her. She spared me because I saved her, and because I'm dying anyways. But she tried to kill Jack, and has poisoned the Doctor. She never touched you or Rory."

Rory and Amy looked at each other. "What does that mean?"

"Tha' means you're it. You're the key to bringing her back. Because you may not have been able to raise her the way any of us wanted, but you still are the most important people in her life. You can bring her back. Only you."

The Ponds nodded and with one final look, ran out of the room. Jack stepped forward and kissed Rose's forehead. "Don't die." He whispered, the long held back tears in his eyes now.

Rose smiled softly at him. "When you get to them, don't give away too many of our secrets, yeah?"

Jack nodded. He stepped back and gave a formal salute to them both. His eyes watered and he shook his head. "This is far too reminiscent of centuries ago."

The Doctor snorted. "I hope it's exactly like centuries ago. If I remember correctly, Rose saved the day…again." The three of them shared one last smile before Jack ran out after the Ponds. The Doctor turned to Rose. "Finally that lots gone, now we can stop pretending." They sighed and sagged against each other as the pain of their injuries coursed through their bodies. The Doctor raised a hand and gently rubbed it against Rose's upper back. "Come on, dear. Let's see our TARDIS one final time, shall we?"

Rose hummed in response. The two carefully picked themselves up from the desk and stumbled towards the TARDIS. Rose held her palm against he wood, eyes closed. She waited a moment before she looked to the Doctor. She nodded. The Doctor opened the door and smiled when he found the room devoid of the poisonous smoke. "That's my girl."

He took Rose's hand and they climbed the staircase together. Their bones ached with each step, their muscles felt frozen in place. There wasn't much time. They collapsed at the top of the steps when they finally reached them. Rose rested her head against the Doctor's chest. "Now what?" She whispered. The pain in her abdomen had grown worse with their collapse, she pressed her hand against the front wound and hissed in pain.

"I need an interface. Voice interface. Come on, emergency." He looked down at Rose. "Has she got enough?" Instead of answering, Rose nodded minutely. Groaning in pain, the Doctor lifted himself into a sitting position. He leaned against the metal rail and positioned Rose against him. He pulled her hair out of her face again to get a better look at her. He didn't realize a person was capable of being so pale.

"Voice interface enabled."

The Doctor looked up to see a life size hologram of himself. He rolled his eyes. "Oh no, no, no, no, no. Give me someone I like." The hologram changed to Rose.

Rose smiled against the Doctor's shoulder. "Thanks, dear." She mumbled.

The Doctor popped a kiss on her head. "No problem. Now, how about someone who can help?" Rose didn't argue, which worried the Doctor the most. The Doctor gasped as a burst of pain shot through his nervous system. The hologram changed to Martha Jones. "Well," he gasped out, "she is a medical professional."

"I am a voice interface." Martha corrected.

Rose rolled her eyes. She pressed two fingers to her lips and kissed them in a fashion strikingly familiar to the TARDIS, when she'd been human and the Doctor had been building a console. Golden energy, the Time Vortex, glowed in Rose's eyes and around her fingers — just like it had with the TARDIS. Rose pointed her fingers towards the hologram and opened her hand. The Time Vortex swirled through the air like faerie dust before it danced around the hologram.

"Rose?" The Doctor looked down at her worriedly as she took in a shuddering breath. "Rose! What did you do?"

"Something very stupid."

The Doctor looked up at the hologram, now fully flesh. But it wasn't Martha Jones — it was the human TARDIS. "But…?"

She looked the exact same as she had on that day, that wonderfully horrific day. Her hair was black and curly, she had the same tattered victorian era dress and that beautiful smile. "Hello."

The Doctor's eyes watered. "Hello." His eyes broke from hers and he looked down at the unconscious woman in his arms. "Will she be alright?"

The TARDIS moved towards them and knelt down. She moved a hand over Rose's blonde locks comfortingly. "She'll be fine." Her eyes locked with the Doctors. "I promise." The Doctor nodded and looked back down at Rose. "It's you I'm worried about, my Thief."

The Doctor's hearts pulsated with their hurt and sorrow at that one word. "I'm going to die?"

The TARDIS' head popped up and she replied robotically. "Your system has been contaminated by the poison of the Judas tree. You will be dead in thirty two minutes." She blinked and looked at him sadly, this time she stroked back his hair. "I'm sorry."

The Doctor nodded. "That's alright. It's okay. I'll just regenerate."

The TARDIS clenched her jaw and physically fought against the voice interface's programming. Gently, she replied, "You can't regenerate. The poison has disabled it."

The Doctor winced. "Jack said there's no cure."

The TARDIS shook her head. "I'm sorry." She repeated.

The Doctor groaned and slammed his head against the metal pole behind him as a shot of pain burst through his nervous system. "Fine." He gasped out. "Anything for the pain then? I've got thirty one minutes."

The TARDIS raised her eyebrows. "Oh? And what are you going to do? Dress for a party?"

The Doctor's eyes lit up and he smiled. "Brilliant idea!" He looked down and nudged Rose awake. "Come on, dear. We've got a party to get to!"

Rose smiled up at him. "Oh?" She looked over to the TARDIS. "Hello, you."

The TARDIS smiled back and helped her Thief and her Wolf up and into the wardrobe room. She left them on some rather comfy chairs before she disappeared into the medical centre. She returned quickly with a needle. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her in silent question. "It'll help with the pain. If only for a bit." The TARDIS went to Rose's side and checked her breathing. "I'm afraid I haven't got any medicine for our Wolf. But that's for the best. The faster she fades, the more quickly she'll come back to us, and without the pain."

The Doctor nodded before inserting the needle into his arm. He gasped as what felt like adrenaline coursed through his veins. He jumped up. "Right!" He smiled at the TARDIS. "Wardrobe? Got any ideas?"

The TARDIS smiled, all teeth. "Plenty." She sashayed down one of the aisles of clothes and disappeared once again.

---

Wow, okay, so I had this ready awhile ago, but something was wrong. Stupid Safari.

Anyways! Thanks for reading! Hope you all had a Happy Holidays! Have a Happy New Year too!