One would think that a Time Lord would have endless patience, and maybe he had at one point, but this tenth body of his did not. Getting to feel Rose's mind through a parallel connection was something he had never thought possible. He had hoped to be able to experience a mild mental connection with her, using his own telepathy as a conduit. But if she really did have her own capabilities, they could achieve so much more connecting in tandem. The depth of their intimacy could grow exponentially. The Doctor couldn't wait. If Rose weren't currently in the Tardis, he might have even considered using it to fast forward to that evening, when she was ready to try.

He wasn't sure how far they would be able to go into each other's minds. Frankly, he was terrified of bearing his entire soul to her, if she indeed had the necessary abilities to access it. He had too many dark places in the corners of his memories that he wasn't ready to share; Afraid that his complicated past might frighten her away. But the likelihood that her human mind would be able to handle that strong of a connection was minimal. So, he ignored that flicker of concern, and focused on his excitement. His Rose was telepathic! Brilliant! Besides, they wouldn't go that far on this first attempt.

That evening, the two of them sat on his bed to try the experiment. They faced one another with their legs crossed, knees barely touching. Rose was brave and beautiful as always, in her tee shirt and jeans. It was incredible how she could face the unknown without trepidation, putting complete trust in him. She really was a rare creature, so disarming too. He cared about her so much it hurt.

"This will feel strange at first, but it's alright to lean on the presence of the Tardis for mental support if you need it. She is here to help facilitate this." Rose nodded and smiled. Could she be as thrilled as he was? He couldn't tell. "You are going to have to open your mind... Willingly accept me in, for this to work."

"I'm ready, Doctor. I trust you."

"I trust you too." Smiling back at her, he realized that he really did trust her not to hurt him. It was a level of confidence that he rarely felt with another person. "Close your eyes, relax... I want you to clear your mind as much as you can... Now I want you to envision your safe place. The place you would go as a child, where nothing could ever get to you. The place you went when you were scared or upset... For me, it was a little nook in one of the libraries in Arcadia, that no one else seemed to know about. I would curl up in the corner there and read for hours."

The Doctor straightened his sleeves and slowly leaned toward his meditating companion. Gently, he placed his fingers on her temples and brushed against her mind. She didn't flinch, interesting. He closed his own eyes and put a bit more pressure on the walls of her consciousness. Rose began to tense up a little, and she shifted her sitting position.

"Are you still doing alright? Try to keep calm, I won't hurt you."

"Yes... I know you would never hurt me." She whispered. The Doctor sincerely hoped that he never would.

"Remember... Safe place... I will join you there momentarily..."

Exhaling softly, Rose relented access to her mind. The Doctor found himself in a very familiar location. Cream colored walls, plush wool carpet, a dark wood bureau and bed adorned with a fluffy pink duvet... He and Rose were seated on the bed in much the same way that they were physically seated on his...

One of Rose's eyes opened for a second before closing tight again. "Did it work?"

"You tell me... Were you imagining your own room aboard the Tardis?"

She opened her eyes and looked around, taking in the comfortable surroundings. "Yes."

"I was expecting to find myself under the stairs of the Estates, or in Jackie's closet on top of her shoes, or something."

"I... I never really had a safe place growing up. Things were always changing. One week I would be staying with my grandparents while mum ran off somewhere... The next, I would spend with Mickey because mum couldn't get out of bed... The next week, my mum would hold me tight on the sofa while she cried and watched soap operas... She's better now, but she was fighting severe depression when I was a kid... The Tardis is really the first consistent safe place I've had."

"I'm sorry Rose... I didn't know."

"S'ok, my childhood wasn't bad or anything...It was just a bit unorthodox... I knew my mum loved me, which is more than some could say. So many people have it worse than I ever did..."

"Thank you for sharing with me, all the same."

"If you're going to be snooping around my mind, you'll know all my secrets soon enough anyway, yeah?"

"Oh, that reminds me. If there is anything you don't want me to see, just imagine putting those memories into a room with a locked door. I promise, I won't try to force access to those areas... I know this process can feel a bit invasive." It might feel invasive and uncomfortable for her, but he was reveling in the love and appreciation surrounding him in her mind... It was addictive.

"Locked rooms, got it."

"Now, I'm going to walk around a little to see if we can either figure out why you are telepathic, or at least how telepathic you are."

"Ok."

"Since you imagined us in the Tardis, we may as well build upon the analogy... Outside the door to this room, I want you to imagine the console room. Except instead of various systems to facilitate travel in time and space, visualize that the systems represent the inner workings of your mind. The center console of your thoughts... A bit vague I know but does that make sense?"

"I think so, but I'm not really sure how my mind works exactly."

"It's an age old problem, trying to comprehend your brain using your brain... That's ok... Just try your best. If this doesn't give us what we need, we can always try something else."

The Doctor walked to the door of the bedroom and it opened for him. The next area was indeed the console room, but decorated in a way that spoke of Rose. The roundels on the walls were transformed into large white flowers. The grating on the floor was woven like a basket, and swooped up to form the base of the center console. Thankfully the time rotor was not an obnoxious pink, but instead pulsed with silvery sparkles. Above them, the ceiling was open to a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. Most surprisingly of all, however, was the organization she displayed. There was very little clutter anywhere.

He set to work, investigating the various switches and button on the console. Rose had labeled them all eloquently. If only his real console was this organized. The issue turned out to be that everything was too organized. He had expected to find some insecurity or anatomy that pointed to the cause of her telepathy, but nothing seemed out of place. The Doctor wasn't even sure if his mind was this tidy, then again, he had several centuries of baggage as opposed to her twenty years.

Looking back toward the doorway, the Doctor saw Rose admiring her own creation. "This is incredible." She sighed.

"You're an incredible person Rose Tyler... But unfortunately, I don't think we are going to find what we are looking for in here... Can you imagine instead, a hallway filled with doors... Each door leading to a part of you. Remember to keep the private ones locked."

Rose turned and wandered down a newly formed corridor at the back of the 'console room', the Doctor followed. The walls of the hallway were a strange wood paneling system. The wood grain was golden and smelled of time. He began to wonder how much Bad Wolf had affected her mind. Could this be her doing? Did Bad Wolf give Rose telepathy?

Before the Doctor had a chance to poke his head into any of the doors, he noticed that one of the wall panels had 'Bad Wolf' spray painted on it in thick red letters. He walked up close to the wall and touched the paint. The panel creaked open to reveal a secret room.

"Rose, I think this might be what we're looking for!" He glanced back down the hall where she had been walking a moment ago, but she had vanished. "I know you can still hear me, Rose. I am going to investigate this area alright?"

There was no answer, but the Doctor didn't feel any resistance. He stepped inside the room, and the wall panel closed behind him. It was pitch black.

"Rose?"

Somewhere in the room a match was struck and a candle lit. "We have been expecting you Doctor, son of Gallifrey, last of the Time Lords."

"Rose, is that you?"

"There is no Rose, only Zuul."

"Right, yeah... And I am the keymaster. I swear Rose, if this is some kind of joke..."

"Odd, the one that you call Rose left us that phrase believing that it would alleviate some of your stress in this situation. Instead, we see that it has only agitated you further. It has failed to achieve its desired effect." The candle bearer approached him, and he was able to make out that it was Rose, or at least some version of Rose. Her eyes were golden and distant.

"So if I am not talking to Rose, or Zuul… Can I presume that I am speaking to Bad Wolf?"

"Once we were called Bad Wolf."

"You shouldn't be here. I extracted you from Rose's mind."

"Our active presence was erased; We are merely an echo… An echo left behind to convey a message."

"Does Rose know you are here?"

"No, we were cut off from the rest of her consciousness when you removed the Time Vortex."

"Alright then, I'll take the bait… Tell me your message."

"When the Vortex possessed us, we were given a vision of all time lines… for all beings… past, present, and future. However, the part of us that was Rose, wept when she glimpsed her own time lines."

"Why did she weep?"

"The timelines intertwined with your own came to an abrupt, frayed ending. While it was not a fixed point in time, all versions of her life that included you came to that same conclusion."

"What end? What conclusion?" This had to have been a mistake... Maybe a trick created by some nemesis; something planted in her subconscious to upset him. By the beast? No, the beast probably wouldn't have seen Ghostbusters. By the Master?

"That information has not been preserved in this echo. What we do know, is that Bad Wolf heard her plea and created a semi-stable paradox in an effort to circumvent that otherwise inevitable ending."

The Doctor was still suspicious. He would never let Rose die, if he still had air in his lungs. The time lines could have easily changed again since this echo was isolated. They change constantly. Even Bad Wolf couldn't know everything for sure, could she? "What is the paradox?"

"We do not have that information. The message we were meant to convey is simply this: the paradox has not yet been completed. It is up to you to finish it. In the same manner in which you give so many others the choice for their future, so a choice has been given to you… This silver box contains the missing piece of the paradox. If you wish to continue your life with Rose, open it. If the sanctity of undisrupted time is what you desire more, leave it closed. Rose will know nothing of this box or your decision, should you make one… Bad Wolf left it up to you."

The silvery box helped illuminate some of the darkness of the room, but he still could not make out any walls. The simple six sided vessel presented to him was no bigger than a box of tea. It was plain, except for the light it was casting. There were no apparent clues as to its contents.

"Huh… Clever." He couldn't let himself cave in that easily to his emotions, every paradox comes at a price. He still needed more data in order to make an informed decision. "Wait, do you know what caused her to become telepathic?"

"That information has not been preserved… only the choice remains."

Maybe he could try coersion to gain information. "Rose would have known that I would never intentionally alter the course of time."

"Your choice has been made then?"

"Whoa, hang on! I didn't say that!" On the off chance that Bad Wolf really had planted this paradox, he wasn't ready to discard it just yet. "I've always loved a good mystery box… You can either have this fabulous car, or trade it all for what's in the mystery box! … How stable is semi-stable anyway? Let me guess, that information has not been preserved…"

"We do not understand your response."

"Yeesh, I see why Rose gave you that joke… No fun whatsoever, you are."

"Find us again when you have made your decision, Time Lord."