Thank you to all my fabulous & brilliant reviewers – this chapter is dedicated to you and my wonderful beta reader Don't-blink-Doctor-Rose - quick note here, this chapter is still under review by my beta... I just was desperate for people's reviews. Shame on me. Sorry! As promised, a faster turnaround. Unfortunately, last week my computer crashed and it took me nearly a week to have everything back in working order, but hopefully this week I'll manage another chapter! Anyway, thank you, everyone, for your support. I have put the responses to your reviews at the bottom of the chapter!

The flashback this time will be split over two chapters, sorry about that. It somehow got longer and longer until we were at 13k and then I just had to cut it off... hopefully a nice cliffhanger!

I would love to hear from everyone again, so please, please review!

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Amber eyes flitted across the large, dank room, analysing the people around her. Everyone here had a weapon pointed at her and while some of the weapons were clearly alien, others were man-made – everything from machine guns to small handguns and two of the people closest to her even held a sword and a… machete?

For just a moment, Rose allowed herself to close her eyes, to swallow the pain and horror that had inevitably risen up when she had spotted the small girl she'd followed among these people – except now she wasn't the small, helpless, innocent child. No, because now she, too, was pointing a gun at her. Her tiny hinds were firm around the gun, no signs of trembling, and the hard set of her mouth, the braced position, left no doubt that the child was far too practiced in handling the weapon. In their dark moments, both Jack and the Doctor had mentioned these things, almost in passing, but it still broke her heart. What had to happen to a society to view it as acceptable to rob children of their innocence, to teach them to shoot, to kill? At an age where they hadn't yet had time to develop their own moral compass and relied on adult guidance, only to be taught that they had to stand up for themselves, protect themselves, that they wouldn't survive if they didn't shoot first.

Her heart in her throat, Rose looked at everyone around her again and, for the first time, she noticed the exhaustion lining their faces, the scars, the thin and muscular frames that came from too little food and too much running, the eyes that were too hard, too dulled in their emotion and in that very moment she realised that no one in this room would blink an eye at killing her; not a single one would pause, not even the little girl.

Each and every person in this room had killed before and it had chipped away at them, at their soul and they had hidden the core of themselves, of who they were, deep inside, away from the horrors and the pain. She had seen it before, a lifetime ago, in Max first, when she had been too young to truly understand and then again in him, in her Doctor. But never this, never so many, never in a child; yet they all were resigned to it, to their life and to this war.

She didn't know what had happened, but Rose knew that this was not something that had happened recently; many months, probably years and maybe even decades had passed that had changed these people.

"Hope, did you find anything?"

A tall, black man in the midst of the group was now finally discernible as the leader of the group as he spoke up. The little girl nodded quickly, but her eyes were still on Rose, as was her weapon.

"Yeah, two blocks down south, enough food for a fortnight."

The man stepped out of the group, the people around him accommodating for him subconsciously without ever taking their eyes or weapons off her. His large hand quickly patted the little girl's head.

"Good work, Hope. Go."

The girl had lit up at the praise and with a quick nod, Hope had lowered her weapon and secured it, before disappearing from Rose's view. Once she was completely out of her sight, the blonde looked up, only to find the cool eyes of the leader on her.

"So, Sarah-Jane, what were you doing up there?"

Rose opened her mouth and then floundered. She had no idea what had happened to her planet, to this dimension. She had only been in this world for five minutes; there was no way to know who was fighting whom or what was going on. Any story she concocted could get her killed if she so much as said the wrong thing or moved the wrong way. Her hesitation, every moment she didn't actually answer the question, only made them more suspicious about her and, as a result, more nervous. She didn't need her experiences with the Doctor to tell her that making the person holding a gun nervous was never a good idea.

"I, uh… I can't remember," worrying her bottom lip with her teeth in anxiety, she held the gaze of the man in front of her. She had only ever been a passable liar at best and this time, her life depended on whether or not they bought her story.

The man stepped closer, blue eyes cold and hard. After a moment of holding her gaze, his eyes dropped, scanning her, analysing her clothes, her stance; but Rose didn't know what he was looking for. Without asking for her permission, he took her hand into his, lifting it up and closer to him to inspect the back of it before turning it over and she watched as his large finger traced over the inside of her palm. The man frowned and then his eyes were drawn to her face and her hair. His hands lifted a few strands up, his frown growing more pronounced the closer he looked at her. She remained still under his scrutiny, well aware that any move could be interpreted as a threat and get her killed; still, she was curious as to what he saw when he looked at her.

"This is not possible. You- You are not possible."

For the first time she could see something like curiosity awaken in the eyes of some of the people around her. Heart racing, hands clammy, Rose focused back on the leader, hoping that this was good for her.

"What do you mean?"

He snorted.

"You have no weapon on you, your hands are clean apart from the dirt you got from holding Hope's hand and your calluses speak of manual labour, not holding weapons. There are no cuts, no bruises; you look like you just had a bath. That in itself is incredible considering our location, but, more than that, your hair; it's coloured and I would say it looked like a job done by a stylist - except there has been no such thing for almost a decade. On top of that your clothes are immaculate, clean even and not ripped, torn or burnt."

Her eyes had automatically looked at her hands as he pointed them out, at her clothes and for the first time she saw what they had to see in her and realised just how lucky she was they hadn't shot her at first sight without ever listening to her. Every single person in this room had tangled, matted hair, dirt and smoke on their face and hands and their clothes were discoloured, ragged, showing signs of age and telling the tales of the harrowing life on the run their owners had. Yet here she was, perfectly manicured, clean and neatly dressed; something which, from their expression, they hadn't seen in a very, very long time.

"So you see, you, Sarah-Jane, are impossible. And if you truly have no memory, than you may be either incredibly valuable to us or a traitor…"

The leader of the group paused for a moment, eyes studying her intently. It was rare that she met people who could study her as well as she could study them; most people got by with very little people skills. This man, obviously, was an exception to that rule. His eyes were like Jack's; she could see the lightning-fast mind behind them seeing, analysing and processing everything he saw, had seen about her, everything he heard, the way she'd talked and assessing her on that basis.

"Well," his next action astounded her, especially considering her assumption that they were in a war and she had successfully come across as indubitably suspicious by just appearance alone. Yet, he remained unperturbed, easily ignoring everyone's incredulous and angry stares when he handed her his gun, "go on, check the clip."

Baffled, Rose stared at the metal thing in her hand. She'd seen them in movies and TV shows and in a couple of the places she'd travelled with the Doctor. But she'd never used one. Perplexed she lifted the gun carefully in the air, hoping that somehow his words would make more sense if she just looked at this … thing from another angle. There was the trigger and, not wanting to accidentally shoot it, she steered well clear of handling it near there, though she couldn't hide her unease at holding the barrel. Any yet she couldn't see anything like what he'd suggest… what the hell was a clip? Rose swallowed hard, realising that unless she was willing to experiment with what she could only presume was a live gun, she'd have to give in.

"I-," her voice cracked slightly, the threat of dying looming with ever increasing intensity over her head. "I don't know." She heard a disbelieving "What?" from the crowd and flushed slightly.

"Well, I'll be damned." Another appraising glance from the leader and finally he shook his head. "My name's Anthony, Tony for short. I am gonna give you the benefit of the doubt, rare as it is these days. You didn't even know how to hold the gun and every kid knows that. Muscle memory isn't affected by memory loss, as far as I know, so either you really don't know what a clip is or the fact that I just took it out of this gun."

To demonstrate, he took out the magazine and showed her the clip before reinserting it back into the handle of the gun. Rose cringed slightly, but Tony holstered it calmly, gesturing for everyone else to follow suit. They followed his order and accepted his judgment without argument.

"Don't even think about double-crossing us or you won't be alive for very long."

Rose swallowed but nodded obediently, acknowledging the warning. Tony nodded curtly, before the frown fell and gave way to a smile.

"We don't have much and we're moving again in a week at the latest, but what we do have, we'll share. You are welcome to come with us, but we will expect you to do your fair share. Ron and Jess over there are our weapons experts. Both can help you kit out and teach you what you need to know to survive…" He paused and for a moment, he looked truly regretful. "We can't wait any longer and if you fall behind, we'll leave you behind. No second chances."

The words echoed familiarly in her ears, once spoken by a newly regenerated Doctor, and Rose nodded resolutely, decision already made. She could see why Tony had been made the leader of this ragtag group. He was harsh but fair, honest and giving praise when needed but ready to make quick judgment calls where needed. Rose couldn't help but wonder what he had been like before whatever had fallen over this world took place.

Almost automatically she looked at the two people Tony had pointed out to her as weapons expert. Jess was tall for a woman, almost as tall as Tony, and her height made her seem gaunt. Rose knew differently; she recognised the wiry strength held in her body, the tone of the muscles, the effortless nature with which she lifted Hope out of the way – all things she'd seen the Doctor do. Not bulky muscles, but rather stamina and muscles developed and formed for strength. Her hair was cropped short, presumably so it didn't get in the way when fighting. Ron, on the other hand, was smaller than Rose even and of a more stocky build. But the scar running half-way down his face, the hard set of his jaw and the cold look in his eyes told her clearly that this was a very dangerous man.

"Right then," Tony said, clapping her on the shoulder hard enough to make her stumble and merely grinning under her glare, "let me introduce you to the rest of our team."

Smiling, she nodded, but allowed herself a small glance sideways at her wrist and a lump formed in her throat; after so many short jumps, she'd allowed herself to live in the delusion that maybe she would get lucky and not have to stay anywhere for a long time again. But her watch's first numbers clearly displayed 005. Five years – five long years in what seemed to be a war torn planet. Her chances of survival were probably slim at best, especially if she was already attracting this much attention just by having coloured hair.

Swallowing her rising desperation, suppressing her emotions, she smiled at the people she was introduced to. Everyone was still slightly in disbelief over her memory loss, but no one was any less than accepting about her new place in their midst.

It took her several weeks to build up enough trust for people to open up to her. She never asked specifically but as everyone shared their stories, Rose slowly stared to piece what had happened, together.

An alien spaceship had been sighted, eight years ago. Someone in the US had collected any alien specimen and weapons they were able to get their hands over years – which made her wonder about Adam and van Statten for just a moment - and, whilst the world was still unsure if this was something to be feared or a peaceful first contact, he shot down the spaceship with one of those very weapons he'd collected. The alien ship was severely damaged in the process, but as it turned out, it had never been a threat to Earth. It was an envoy from the Shadow Proclamation, sent to categorise Earth. They were upgraded and longer had the protection they had previously been under as a level 5 planet, even if they hadn't ever known about it.

Their downfall was swift. No one knew how to deal with the variety of aliens that came to barter, to buy, to steal. Earth was wide open and many died in a series of invasions before one of the politicians, unknowingly, signed away a third of the planet's population to the slave trade and another third to experiments. The rest were expendable. He thought he was protecting everyone; instead, hell broke loose. The alien race fended over any other invaders, but it also terrorised the inhabitants, stealing entire population of cities or countries at will.

Needless to say, Chaos broke out. People ran, but no one knew where to; there was no safe place. In the end, groups, much like the one she was now part of, had formed themselves all around the planet. Always running, never stopping for more than a week anywhere before moving on again. Food was scarce as there were no farmers, no flour mills, nothing to supply them and people lived off the fruit and vegetables found in the land and animals whenever they could be found.

Cars, motorbikes, trains, none of them were running as there was no oil, no gas and no electricity, meaning everyone was on foot or, for some groups, on bicycles.

Rose wished that she could say that, two months in, her group had remained the same, but already five had fallen and three new people had joined. Some had been shot, others taken, some simply never returned from their scouting missions and were therefore declared lost and the group moved on. At first, she had been horrified that people would just turn from their friends, would simply leave them to the alien's mercy, leave them behind, but slowly she grew to understand the sheer helplessness of the situation, the futility in fighting when even a win would only mean being taken over by a different alien race. The hopelessness written on everyone's face finally started to make sense. Still her watch kept ticking down, slowly.

Already, Rose had gained a scar on her leg from an explosion but she had learned her lesson a long time ago; the dimension traveller hadn't stopped, had just kept running, kept pushing herself past the pain, past the blackness creeping in on her, the blackout that threatened her survival and kept pace with the group. The moment Tony called for camp, she collapsed to her own embarrassment, but he had just patted her on the shoulder, a silent acknowledgment of her efforts and for the first time she had felt not only as part of the group but actually felt as though she'd accomplished something.

And, as more months passed, Rose learned to recognise the signs in people, learned to understand who would be the next one to go because they wouldn't be fighting as hard, wouldn't run as fast, wouldn't keep on going despite the pain, because they had given up. There was bleakness to their eyes, a desperation carrying on in their every word and something in their behaviour that told everyone that they simply didn't care anymore, that they had given up. But, more telling than anything were the nightmares. They were in a war; your body couldn't survive handling reality and nightmares at once, so your body shut down anything but the most essential… except for those who had given up, those who didn't care anymore.

As soon as their behaviour became visible, the group let go of them; not alienating exactly, nor leaving them behind, but rather cutting off their own emotional ties so the loss wouldn't be as harsh, not as traumatising. But Rose refused, she refused to let them go without a fight, refused to let these people die alone and so she fought for them, fought against them, tried to incite anger, hate, love, remorse, any emotion was better than none. Everyone just smiled tiredly at her effort but had given up trying to tell her just how fruitless a mission it was. And she refused to accept what everyone was telling her, what the future victims themselves were telling her.

And with every person she lost, with every new person that disappeared never to be seen again, another part of her broke, another part of her went with them, because to her, they had been her friends.

Sam, old, wise, Sam, had attempted to tell her, time and again, that it would destroy her as much as it had them, if she allowed them this close to her. She stubbornly ignored him; she knew he wasn't wrong but she still had a purpose, something she would never give up fighting for and so what if it hurt? No one deserved to be forgotten.

Tears had long since stopped coming. There wasn't enough liquid for all their exertion on a daily basis already and the stress was at an all-time high all the time. You just learned to deal with it, to concentrate on the next task only and not think about what might be happening to the friends you'd lost.

The glances to her watch had become fewer and farther in between as time went on; instead of a reminder of her Doctor, a way of returning to him, it became a sign of betrayal, of abandoning these people, of something that seemed to unattainably far away; despite what she told herself, despite the encouraging words she told people, Rose doubted she would make it that long. She was too prone to taking risks, too often doubling back for members of their group that were lagging behind, pushing and pulling, cajoling them until they were once again at the same pace as the rest. But she couldn't stop fighting for every single person she met, couldn't stop risking everything just to have them live another day, so yes, she knew that even though she wouldn't give up, her time here was more limited than even her watch was showing her.

Sarah-Jane was a name she'd long since gotten used to and accepted as her own even though at first she'd ignored people when they called her. Somehow, some way, she'd managed to survive two years; a large part of that success could be directly attributed to Tony and Sam. Hope, the clever seven-year-old girl, had also become a great friend and one of the few to have survived. Sam was a grizzly, old man who had joined them just over a year ago. His fitness belied his age, easily outpacing the younger members and he once confided in her that he'd been part of the Secret Service. Having seen him in action, Rose was inclined to believe him.

Jack had once been her teacher, teaching her how to fight dirty, but she'd never gotten into it this much. Now, however, it had become a way of life. When she had been with the Doctor, she'd still had the luxury of refusing guns, of taking the moral high road, of somehow scraping by, time and again, with just finesse, a lot of fast talking and, occasionally, charms. Now, however, none of that would help her. He wasn't here and she just had to make it back to him. There was no other choice, not in this climate; it wasn't something that could be fixed by just one human.

So she learned. And like anything she set her mind to, she excelled. Rose wasn't just a good shooter, she was an excellent one. Nowhere near as good as the experts, but better than quite a few other members of the team who had a lot more experience than her. The dull, throbbing pain in her heart only worsened every time she received praise for, as she saw it, being a good killer. What would the Doctor think if he saw her now?

The sword came easiest to her, however, her gymnastic skills a surprising asset as she learned to evade, feint and to kill. Sam taught her hand to hand fighting, taught her how fight dirty and, more importantly, how to win when you were outgunned, outclassed and outnumbered. Rose was a diligent student; her survival had more than once only been assured by the numerous tricks Sam had taught her.

Of course, Sam was teaching everyone who wanted to learn so Rose was not the only one, but she had bonded with the old man during the first few weeks, saw the affection barely hidden by his gruff exterior and harsh tone. In many ways, he reminded her of her first Doctor only Sam was much more open about his past. He told her, in one of the many cold, harsh nights out in the open, about his wife, the love of his life, and how she had been taken from him, taken as a slave before he had even understood she wasn't in his arms anymore. So with very little research and just a threadbare plan, Sam had volunteered to be a slave as well; something so reckless and daring, so foolish it reminded her of the many rescues the Doctor had pulled off.

Except this one had no happy ending. She'd known that before he'd ever told her; it was written in his face, in his eyes; the grief, the pain, the loss. Months; that's how long she was alone in their hands, facing god-knows-what. By the time he'd found her, it was too late. He saw it in her too, Sam had confessed, with a bitter laugh; that idealism, that hope, the desperate yearning where you didn't dare contemplate all the ways in which it could all go wrong. He, too, had thought that even if they were slaves, no matter what pain, what horrors they had to endure, he and his wife together could face whatever fate they had to… together.

And then, after months of pain and humiliation, of having empathy literally beaten out of him, he saw her. For just a fleeting moment, he'd been relieved; he'd thought it was all worth it. But those few months had been too long, the experience too harsh, and Sam refused to say more than that they had broken her in ways he found he had no words to describe. The woman he loved was gone and though her body was still alive, all that she was, had been extinguished; her memories and emotions, her brilliant mind, all of it, gone. Yet, despite that instant understanding, that intuitive comprehension when there had been no spark of recognition, of relief in her eyes, he hadn't been able to leave her. For nearly a year he stayed at her side, easing her workload, attempting to make her remember, to feel again.

But when she betrayed his plan of their escape to the aliens, he finally had to accept what he had known all along. The woman he loved was dead and he had lost everything with her. For a couple of months after his punishment, he had remained as a slave, remained subdued until he woke up one morning with the startling realization that his life wasn't over. He had lost her, but he was still alive and he could still help others, so at least they didn't have to experience what he had to. He managed his escape a week later and joined their group two years later.

Tony and she were the only ones Sam had entrusted with his story and Rose felt bad, even more so every time he called her by her fake name, when she was unable to respond in kind. And then, one day, Sam just took her aside and told her, point blank, that he knew most of what she told him was a lie and that it was okay, because more than words, her actions spoke of what a person she was. Rose didn't have to confide in him, didn't have to tell him anything but he'd be there for her if she ever wanted someone she could trust in absolutely. She had no words to express her gratitude for his unconditional acceptance and understanding.

Many moaned about him, but Rose had understood him rather quickly; she had met too many people like him, for her not to. So, when Sam started to push her harder in her training than everyone else, when he pushed her to the very brink of exhaustion, she knew that it was nothing but a sign of his affection for her. It wasn't something he'd ever said out loud to her, but the only reason for him to push her this hard was, because above everyone else, he didn't want her to die, he wanted to ensure her survival by teaching her as much as he could, as quickly as possible; because it was the only way he could be sure he had done everything he could to help her fight for survival.

Rose wouldn't be so cliché as to say he became her adopted father figure and she his daughter he never had; but they were family, the only family they had. Sam, Tony and Hope had become her family in this world. Every day here, she lived and breathed and fought for them, because she understood that as much as she missed her family in her own world and as much as she wanted to return to her Doctor, for now she was here and her family here needed her.

Her days were filled with running, endless running and too little food. It was funny how easily you forgot the way an empty stomach made you feel ill and queasy, the way it hurt and the way your emotions ran havoc. And it was surprising to realise just how much further you could push yourself, how much further you can go if you have to, if you really want to. Every time Rose was sure she couldn't face even just one more step, she'd somehow manage to still run for an hour and help set up for the night. But more than that, you realised just what you could be pushed to do for yourself, for the ones you love, if you were pushed hard enough.

The guns weren't for the aliens; they were all but useless on their armours, no, rather it was for the other humans. There were few supplies and even less food and while, unfortunately, some humans had lost their morals and were taking and killing as they pleased or even dealing with the aliens, some were just like their own group, fighting for survival except they would assault other groups for their food and their supplies.

Rose had lost count of how often she had felt the hot spray of blood on her face, how often she had been forced to use her weapons to defend herself or others, all she knew was that it could have been worse by far. But that didn't help with her guilt or her pain, it didn't help soothe her sorrow or lessen the acute loss she felt with every life she took and the intimate understanding just how she had started to embody everything her Doctor hated, everything he held in contempt.

Every now and then there would be rumors reaching them of a lot of supplies or food having been found in one direction or another; Tony always made sure to lead their group away from that place, knowing it would only lead to slaughter. It was also the reason some had left their group, preferring to take their chance rather than extend their suffering. Sam always scoffed at them.

In the end, it wasn't aliens that were her downfall, but rather it was humans.

Another group had attempted to assault them at night but Tony always had at least three people standing guard; one survived long enough to alert their group. Unfortunately, they were outnumbered and Tony called for a retreat before long, abandoning the food supplies they had gathered and hopefully satisfying the others; except they had fired off another round of warning shots to ensure they stayed away before leaving them alone.

The moment the man had lifted up his rifle and aimed, Rose knew that he was aiming to the left of the group; at roughly the same spot where Hope was. At seven years old, she was still much smaller than most children Rose was used to as her body lacked the nutrition and nutrients to go through a growth spurt; but now she was kneeling as well, having found some carrots in the ground for the group to eat. Unfortunately that also meant she was pretty much invisible to the man aiming the rifle, especially considering the sky was only showing the barest hint of light yet and how far away they were from him.

She knew a shout would automatically make Hope run, but there was only a 50/50 chance she would go into the right direction. But there was another option, of course – no one else was close, no one but her. Heart in her throat, pulse skyrocketing, her feet moved before she even had time to contemplate the repercussions. She reached Hope in record time, telling her the code word which was only known to Jess, Tony, Sam and her; a codeword which told Hope to not fight the person grabbing her.

"Because the beast said so."

Of course it was a play on Beauty and the Beast; they periodically changed the codeword, to ensure that even if someone happened to overhear it, they wouldn't be able to use it in time to abduct Hope. Last fortnight's password had been "Don't lose your shoe," in a play on Cinderella. Hope really enjoyed the passwords as she always got to hear the fairytale slowly recounted to hear over the course of two weeks, and, dependant on safe the group was that week, even part re-enactments.

The girl obeyed beautifully by allowing her muscles to relax as she was picked up before slinging her tiny arms around Rose's neck and wrapping her legs around her waist. She then buried her head against her chest, while the blonde dimension traveller turned on her heels, hearing the loud echo of the shots being fired behind her and attempted to launch them both away and out of range, knowing that no matter what, the moment she heard the shots, it had been too late.

They didn't quite make it out of range. It was oddly difficult to register the gunshot; rather all she felt at first was the impact, something that launched her sideways midair. Hope scurried out of her arms and Rose felt relieved that the gunshot must have not gone through her and into the little girl, a saving grace at least. She never noticed the small trail of blood running down the side of Hope's face, a scar on her temple that would forever be a sign of the person who had saved her.

It was hard to hold onto a single thought, Rose noted absently, her brain kept jumping all over; and it was surprisingly difficult to stand. Her head felt fuzzy and she couldn't concentrate on even moving in a straight line; all she knew was that if she didn't keep up with the rest of the group, she'd be left behind.

"…Rose? Rose, what's wrong?"

Sam's concerned face was in front of her but she couldn't muster the strength to tell him that she didn't know. Her tummy felt odd and her legs were shaking. Another step forward and finally her legs fully gave way and she landed in Sam's arms. She heard him swallow and his desperate whisper, "Please, no…", even as he gently allowed her body to lie down.

Rose wanted to tell him it was okay, but she couldn't. It wasn't. His world was as far from okay as she had ever seen and her family would slowly disappear in theirs. The Doctor would save his own dimension, but probably not in time for a great many of the others, and most likely not in time for her mum and dad, for Mickey and Jake… they would just disappear. Because she failed. Because she couldn't find the right dimension quickly enough. Because she couldn't accept that sometimes one person, even a child, had to die for the greater good, that sometimes she couldn't save everyone and that this time she had made the wrong choice and because of her, everyone would die.

One lonely tear ran down her face, the first in a long time and she looked up at the old man bent over her, desperately trying to stop the blood flow. Rose hadn't looked, hadn't dared to look, but she knew beyond a doubt that she was dying. She could feel it, the potential futures around her disappearing with every gasping breath she took.

"Run," she tried to tell him, wanting Sam to be with Tony and Hope, not to watch her die, "there's nothing you can do. Run. Live another day."

Sam's hand was soft on her cheek, his eyes sad and tired, a moment where he allowed her to see just how much her death would affect him.

"You're just a child yourself," he finally said, knowing just how futile a statement it was. Neither war nor death ever paid attention to the age of its victims. Life wasn't fair; Sam and most people on this planet had learned that by now. Sam shook his head, a small smile on his lips as he looked at her. "A valiant child, admittedly, but a child still. Goodbye, Sarah-Jane. It's been a pleasure."

She could almost feel him drawing together his strength, his eyes going towards the group who was, for once, pausing a few hundred meters away. Pulling on everything she had, she pushed him onward, ignoring the agony that spread through her as she almost automatically tightened her stomach muscles. Only once he'd taken two hesitant steps away from her, did she allow her eyes to close. Her throat was tight and the pain too much; she had no way of expressing this kind of agony. Screaming felt like it was too much of an effort.

Her heart pounded oddly loud in her ears and Rose found herself trying to tell it to quiet down. Then, miraculously, it did. And with it, the rushing sound faded, the world became slow and the threads of time seemed to come to the fore as everything else faded away. Another gasp, her body forced upwards despite the agony as it desperately tried to gasp for breath not understanding that her heart was pumping too slowly, that the precious oxygen she needed was leaving her along with all the blood slowly pouring out of her, drawn by gravity more than a frantically pumping heart by now. So weak, like all strength had left and the feeling of needing to lie down; except she was already lying. Even just moving her fingers seemed to much of an effort and yet she desperately wanted to hold her necklace once more, wanted to remember the way the Doctor had called her Arkytior, the way he'd held her, but it was all fading so fast. All that remained were the words of the Beast, echoing in her head even past the point where everything else had faded.

"The valiant child, who will die in battle so very soon."

Then, finally, her heart stopped. And for a moment, just one second, time stood still and the world paused for breath.

Then a pulse spread through the area as Rose's timeline snapped taunt, threatening to tear away from its strand except it couldn't as she was irrevocably tied to another dimension, another universe, where a Tardis had once saved her life by breathing into her with all the power of her heart, the very essence of that universe's time vortex. An echo, a golden light, flooded down her time stream, reaching out to this vortex and forcing it to obey. This time the pulse spread out physically from Rose's body, a wind blowing from her body with alarming force as time was forcibly rewound, her body changing back to the moment when the Tardis had taken her body into her inner self to restore her to life. Everyone in the vicinity, including her group, started to come out, trying to find out if they needed to run. Slowly, Rose's body began to glow golden, the colour of time itself, as every particle of her body started to resonate with this universe's time vortex before it fought back; the golden glow of the artron energy, the huon particles woven into her body, slowly receded. Still, the vortex energy had been sufficient, even if it hadn't been the right dimension.

And then everything came back to life in that same instant, timelines across the entire universe spinning out of control as everything rewrote itself in an instant, as millions and billions of potential timelines disappeared only to be replaced by even more new potential timelines, as the entire universe changed when a ripple raced through it, set points in time fading to potential futures and new set points taking their place; only very few species were even aware of the change but every planet soon had their eye trained on one planet, one remarkable planet that had all but fallen by the wayside in the annals of history so far, recognizing that whatever change were to take place; this was where it would be originating from even if only few would ever know that someone named Sarah Jane had initiated it all, but the words "Bad Wolf" were known by all, had written themselves across galaxies and planets, translated into every tongue, every language, for just an instant the entire universe knew that name and soon a new religion had been born, a new goddess found. The goddess of time.

The next instant, the words were gone and on one tiny planet in a distant galaxy, a planet that had been taken over almost completely, one tiny human gasped in her first breath all over again. Rose Tyler had defied every law, every prophecy, every rule of the universe and come back to life.

Over her two years in this world, her natural hair colour had grown back, the blonde only visible at the ends now; but when Rose's eyes shot open and her mouth opened to desperately gasp in the air, it had returned to being blonde. Her body had returned, at least visually, to her twenty-year-old self, with only minimal muscles and too thin from her time alone on the ship. Her scars had disappeared, as had the stomach wound.

Surprised and not a little taken aback, Rose sat up, touching her tummy and finding that, despite the blood on her shirt, her skin was smooth below it except for the scar from the clockwork robot, more pronounced than it had been for a long time. She could feel it, the pressure from this universe's vortex, trying to erase her existence; luckily it was only mild pain at the moment, something easy to bear and even ignore. It took another moment before Rose became aware that Tony and Sam were a few feet from her, staring at her in both wonder and silent accusation. She didn't know what to say, what to do; she couldn't explain this without explaining a lot more, including the fact that she had lied to them for a long time now.

"I-… What? I mean- You-… What?"

Rose stood up, her legs shaky, staring at both men, knowing her reply would sound unbelievable.

"I.. don't know. I'm sorry."

'You… You don't know?" Tony repeated, incredulously, clearly seeing through her admittedly rather pathetic attempt to lie to them; she wanted to tell them, wanted them to know – she didn't want to have to lie to them anymore.. "You glow golden, come back to life and you're telling me you don't know?"

Other people started peaking out of their hiding places, all staring and her entire group was starting to get anxious

"We'll talk later," Sam promised her, a hard glare on his face, "now, run!"

Her younger body didn't have the muscles or stamina her older one had; not to mention that she was too thin and had too little energy. Either way, it was remarkably difficult to keep up and when they found a hiding place – which, for around twenty people was a bit difficult to find – she was shaking and gasping for air, nearly collapsing from the strain.

In the end, she had to tell them a shortened version of her story. She told them about him, about her Doctor, about running and saving Earth and other planets together, over and over again. And she told them about the Judoon, the funny way the talked, reciting the only words she had ever learned in their language: 'Sol 3 is a Level 5 planet' and about how the system was meant to work, even if it wasn't flawless.

Rose didn't understand why, when her tale was so fantastical, when all the aliens they had ever encountered had been so antithetical to what she was describing, why they believed her at all. What she didn't realise was that the pain was written across her face, as was her love, didn't realise that these men had, for the first time, seen her smile that special way she did when talking about the Doctor, part teasing, part affection and mostly, looking genuinely happy. But she continued, telling them about the stars going out and about the fact that there was only one person that could help. And then she told them about Bad Wolf in a shortened version, fudging the details slightly, telling them that the Doctor's machine had temporarily used her body and that this may be what caused her to come back to life.

Of course she had only entrusted Sam and Tony with her story, though Rose had her suspicions about Hope listening in. Her heart eased when the two men simply accepted her, asking how much longer she was going to be staying with them.

"About three years, I think," Rose said, looking at her wristwatch, her automatic countdown linked to Pete's world. Then she did a double take and stared at her watch silently for a moment, before correcting herself. "Actually, sorry, it's only four months now."

Apparently, Rose thought, still staring at the countdown, feeling more than a little confused, dying reset or advanced the time she spent in another dimension.

Unfortunately, it took but a day before the aliens made an offer, an offer of sanctuary on another planet, if people turned her in. That same day, Sam, her and Tony left the group behind, knowing that staying any longer would only be a temptation, a risk they couldn't take. But it also meant leaving Hope behind; theirs was too dangerous a journey to have a child with them and put her life even more at risk than it already was. They all regretted it, they all felt horrible for leaving her behind, but they trusted Jess to take care of her. She was level-headed, strong and she would fight hard and dirty to protect Hope; in the end, it was the best choice, no matter how much it felt like they were abandoning her.

From that day on, they ran, hiding, and, being a much smaller group, it was so much easier to find hiding spots, to go by undetected.

Barely three weeks later, however, the aliens upped the ante.

If Rose – they called her Bad Wolf – was handed into them, they would set Earth free. Hiding became that much harder but they still managed to scrape by for another fortnight, until a new offer was made.

Earth, free, all slaves returned and the alien's protection in return for Bad Wolf. That same night, Tony had led her away, saying he wanted to talk to her in peace. It had happened before, so she hadn't been suspicious until an hour had passed. The moment he turned, the moment her eyes met his, she saw the genuine regret in his, the sorrow and the pain and, in that moment, she understood. He was trading her; and worst of all, she understood. Tony had been in charge of his group for five years – he had watched as countless people died or gave up, watched as the world around him changed and if all he had to do, to get it all to stop, was to sacrifice one person, no matter how close she was to him, then it was a fair trade.

And she did, understand, that is. But that didn't mean she didn't fight but in the end, she couldn't bring herself to go all out against a friend, and it was her downfall. Tony subdued her easily and when she next woke up, she had already been traded. She didn't need to look to know that the aliens had broken their word. They may very well leave Earth alone for the time being, but in three months, when she would inevitably disappear, she doubted they would be as kind.

For nearly three months she remained their captive, alternatively interrogated and tortured, the aliens attempting to find out what weapon she used… all the while the vortex kept growing stronger, pressing down on her, attempting to erase her, leaving her in constant pain; a sensation too familiar for comfort. But she found out quickly that at least Tony hadn't told them she died – or could die and come back. The aliens never pushed her that far.

Of course the aliens had attempted to take her necklace, to take her watch, but neither gave way to Rose's immense relief. After two and a half months, she was almost relieved when they broke her fingers or dislocated the shoulder; no matter how horrendous that pain was, the pain of the vortex tearing at her very being was exponentially worse and the acute pain elsewhere, allowed her body a momentary relief of having actual physical pain that could be dealt with somewhere it could focus on, rather than having every single part of her in pain.

Three days left before she'd be pulled back and it was getting hard to concentrate. Rose knew she couldn't leave everything as it was, couldn't leave Sam and Hope behind without help, couldn't abandon Tony, despite his actions in the end; and she was in a unique position of having access to most of the ship because, as much as they wanted her in pain, they didn't want her dead, so she was in the medical facility, which, she knew, was directly adjacent to the piloting section. Apart from her time in the Tardis or when Bad Wolf was fully in control, Rose had never consciously called on whatever power she had; she was too afraid of what she could do, what she had done. She'd erased an entire race. She'd committed genocide. And yet… she didn't have much time and there was little else she could do now.

But she'd given them a chance, had given them her ultimatum in interrogation a week ago, had told them to run, to leave Earth and never come back.

They had laughed.

And god, she wished she didn't have to do this, wished she didn't have to find out if she really could do this at will.

But there was no choice.

No choice at all; not if it meant hell for everyone else because of only a thousand aliens. She would bear the guilt, the self-hatred, if at least it meant they were safe. Sam didn't deserve any more pain and Hope should have the chance to experience life normally; go to school, find friends, have a boyfriend… Tony deserved his chance of returning to a normal life, of not having to send people to their death; he deserved his peace and a quiet life.

So, really, if it came down to it, no matter how much she hated it, her decision was already made. Their lives for her friends and four billion others.

Of course they didn't back down. They never did, if they didn't know for sure your weapons were superior; and, as far as they were concerned, she was in their control.

Only hours left now. A deep breath, ignoring the dull drumbeat echoing in her head from the pain, and Rose recalled the feeling of being Bad Wolf, of having the power of time at your fingertips.

Breathe out.

The tingling started and the humming noise, the usually nearly inaudible melody that accompanied each time vortex, suddenly became deafening.

Breathe in.

The melody had different crescendo, a different beat and twist to it than she was used to and yet in some places it resonated all-to familiarly; her muscles stiffened.

Breathe out.

The time vortex's pressure on her increased with ever single beat of her heart, with every pull on time, on activating Bad Wolf in her, the strength of this world's time vortex rose against her, trying to crush her like a little insect.

Breathe in.

But she wasn't just Bad Wolf; she was Rose Tyler – and down on this small planet, she had formed a brand-new family and there was no way she was abandoning them to their fate. So she stubbornly fought against it, recalling that ability to change the world to her every whim, that power, that burning feeling in her heart.

Breathe out.

It was done.

The world around her had turned golden and she knew that her eyes were glowing by now. Every single thing around her time attached to it and it was all there for her to see, for her to control.

The door opened.

She didn't give them a second chance; they had been given a week and still refused.

"You are tiny," her voice echoed and with a blink of her eyes, she dissolved them. Their screams echoed in her head before giving way to complete silence.

Rose saw the slaves and with a minor thought, they were returned to their home planets, not all of which were Earth.

Time was fleeting and it was running down to mere seconds now. With a thought, the rescue pod was planted on Earth and the ship dissolved.

"This is Bad Wolf." Rose's voice, still laced with her power, echoed all over Earth, ensuring she reached every single person on it, her words translated into every language. "I have returned your freedom to you. I am no longer able to protect you, but remember that aliens, people from other planets, are just as good and just as evil as humans. One of your own betrayed me. I have forgiven him. Everyone has their reasons, no matter how flawed. Earth is yours. Reclaim it."

Rose hoped her words would reach them. She let go of the power, disbursing it and feeling the pull of the dimension cannon, realised if she had only been a second longer, Torchwood would have gotten a full view of glowing-Rose, as Mickey had dubbed it – apparently 'Bad Wolf' was too bad-ass, and she was still simply Rose; he just couldn't call her that.

What Rose didn't know, was that the space pod had been found and they had discovered how to use it. A decade later, Hope, a teenager by now, went off into space and she found the Judoon and recited the words she had heard over a decade ago, that she had memorized every night.

Hope was the reason Earth once again became classified as a level five planet, she was the reason, humanity could slowly rebuild themselves and learn to advance on their own and though she never told anyone, she remembered Sarah-Jane and knew that she was Bad Wolf, she remembered the woman who had saved her, the scar on her temple a permanent reminder etched into her skin of the woman who had taught her to stand up for herself, for humanity, even when faced with talking, threatening space-rhinoceroses.

And through her, another legend spread, a legend of Bad Wolf, but not of a goddess, but rather a human with the power of one.

Rose had no way of hiding it this time. When she arrived in Torchwood, she was bruised and bloody, her clothing torn, ripped and faded almost beyond recognition, her hair was matted and tangled and she hadn't had a shower in over a month. No one would believe that it had only been three hours.

Luckily, only the scientists, her dad, Mickey and Jake were present, so at least it wouldn't reach the politicians. It was time to come clean – or, at least, partly clean.

She ended up having to tell them about the time differences and about her inability to age. Rose refused to burden them even more by telling them she couldn't die. Pete ended up punching the wall, face set and dark in a way that reminded her of her Doctor's darker side; Mickey simply hunched over, no doubt understanding more than everyone else what this was doing to her, and was devastated on her behalf; Jake pulled her forward, into his arms and for just a moment, Rose allowed herself a respite, of not having to be brave. In the end everyone agreed that her mum couldn't know; Jackie would have found a way to stop Rose from ever using the dimension cannon again, come hell or high water but her inability to age made her unfortunately the perfect and only candidate for the travel.

The project was paused for three days, while the scientists worked tirelessly to modify her watch and the dimension cannon, hoping to build in at least one failsafe. Unfortunately, they were unable to find one but one of the scientists asked Rose to research for them in the other dimensions she landed in, in the hope that they may have alternative theories and ideas that could aid them both with modifications and accuracy.

Over time and during her travels, Rose started to understand more and more about dimensions, about physics, black holes and stars. She started to understand that she couldn't leave a universe until the walls started thinning. Once the wall between the dimensions started to wear down under the pressure, the stars would start to go out. Once that happened, she had only a few hours left before the dimension cannon was able to recall her. And her death and immediate resurrection would inevitably, forcibly change the timelines and with the new pressure, jump-start the thinning of the walls, allowing for an earlier return. The dimension cannon effectively had no way of communicating with the watch until the walls started to thin enough for them to connect. That was also the reason why she couldn't travel into other universes from her current one or be recalled earlier.

But slowly Rose learned to use the time effectively. They had no time at home to research; but she had all the time in the world. She learned to take the identity of dead people and slipped into various professions in an attempt to sustain herself with nothing else to use. She had become a police officer out of part-boredom and partly due to a craving for some adventure – or, as the Doctor would have called it, jeopardy-friendliness – and then a mortician at St. Bart's morgue, hoping to somehow discover how she was different from everyone else; other times she took less glamorous jobs and focused on research – secretary, bakery assistant, assistant teacher… and yeah, okay, so she'd mainly become an assistant teacher to prove to herself – and the Doctor – that she could.

Sometimes she met aliens, both friendly and not and sometimes she died. Other times she blew her cover and had to run and hide, living on the street and in homeless shelters in an attempt to escape attention and evade authorities. Occasionally she met people she'd heard of or read about but every travel to a new dimension became a new adventure, a new experience, something to help her grow and help her learn.

Rose met the weeping angels who sent her back to 1960's and learned that no, unfortunately it is not possible to die from boredom; car accidents, however, can kill and be surprisingly painful. Universes she was only in for a short time anyway, she used as practice to learn more about what she could do with her control over time.

The legend of Bad Wolf spread like wildfire through most of the universes she lived in, legends of a new goddess that had appeared out of nowhere. Few had any accurate images of her, most only seeing the name appear and making up their own stories to explain what they couldn't understand, forming religions around her.

She made do and learned to enjoy her lives, having little choice other than to accept her situation as best as she could. She made new friends and it hurt, having to leave them behind, but Rose had tried – and failed, spectacularly so – at isolating herself. It wasn't in her nature and she didn't want it. In the end, it was worth it; she'd rather accept all the pain in the world if it meant she had friends in the meantime to help her through.

But then, shortly before she found the right dimension, she landed in a world which had no UK, a world where aliens had long since usurped humanity and taken over.

"Up for an adventure?"

It had only been a few weeks since Mickey had elected to stay behind in another dimension and her Doctor had been treading on eggshells around her, following her every whim and landing her in the most boring place, not a single adventure or life threatening situation in sight.

Rose had moaned about this to Sarah Jane, the only person who could understand what she meant – her mother was more likely to skin the Doctor for ever letting her get in danger in the first place – who had laughed, loudly, at her predicament, before teasing her. Sarah Jane and her had become good friends – both understood the Doctor better than most people, both had a love, a thirst for adventure and Sarah Jane had seen what Rose had done to herself while waiting for her Doctor.

Despite the difference in age, they were kindred spirits and understood each other, especially when it came to travelling.

When the Doctor finally asked her, she was torn between hitting him and jumping for joy.

"God, yes! Please! If we land in one more spa I won't be held responsible if I happen to invite mum along on our next trip; after all, it's so very safe isn't it?"

As predicted, her Doctor shuddered and his lips twisted downwards – she knew that he loved her mum, just as much as Jackie loved him, even if both would rather die than admit to it – but it was still fun to see how much he hated seeing her for prolonged periods of time. Rose still didn't quite know what happened at Christmas or why her Doctor now insisted on a monthly visit to her mum, though she had taken to teasing him about it being 'that time of the month' which, inevitably, left them both grinning and teasing each other like fools – or, well, the very best of friends.

Finally, he grinned, hand held out towards her enticingly, fingers wriggling. She laughed and intertwined their hands, following him as he led her out of the Tardis and onto a new planet.

"Well, I've always been curious about what happened here. These people are called Abalons, they look sort of Time Lord – or human-like – except they're a bit blue," she laughed, seeing one of the aforementioned Abalons walk past her and realizing that they were, rather literally, blue.

"So, what happened? Rebellion, a coup? Invasion? What?"

She poked him, and her Doctor grinned, his hand messing with his hair – which he thought made him look sexy and she frequently asserted made him look like a mad scientist; a very sexy mad scientist, but she always kept that second part quiet – before his smile turned into a frown and he admitted, "Well, that's the mystery of the millennium – Ooh, Millennium mystery mysteriously made… mmhhh… need another m-word…"

The blonde rolled her eyes, absently noting that the Abalons kept staring at them, before trying to get her Doctor back on track and find out what he had been trying to say before he got distracted by one of his favourites – alliteration.

"You were saying something about a mystery, Doctor?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, mystery. Right," he squeezed her hand before waving his other around them, making her eyes follow him, trying to discern what he was pointing out to her.

"Well, what do you see?"

Grinning slightly – of course, the Doctor always had to be clever and show off – she teased him, "You think you're so impressive!"

"Oy! I am so impressive! … Now, the real question is," he gave her a sultry grin, brown eyes glinting with excitement in a way that always made her heart skip a beat, "are you, Dame Rose?"

Her eyes narrowed at his challenge and for the first time, she took a closer look at the planet. Purple grass, paths made of stones, and blue aliens with webbed feet and fingers. Clothing varied from very few to a lot; there seemed to be no societal rules in place in that regard because no one took a second look at the ones who were mostly naked nor at the ones who were dressed for the deepest winter. Their feet were webbed as were their hands and there seemed to always be water – be it the stream at the side of the path or the fountain in the middle of the square. But, upon a second glance around, she finally noticed what he meant – though by that time, she was starting to get nervous of the glances she and the Doctor received as well as the excited chatter that had started up. Noticing that he had tensed but made no move otherwise, Rose allowed herself to relax, tongue teasingly poking out between her lips in a move that never failed to divert her Doctor's attention, before speaking up.

"Well, for all the people here, you can't hear or see a single child or baby."

His face lit up as it always did when she played his game and picked up on the clues he wanted her to – or on new ones he hadn't noticed.

"Brilliant! You, Dame Rose, are mighty impressive," the next moment his face fell into a mask of disgust. "Urgh – mighty, never saying that again!"

Rose laughed, bumping her shoulder against his, before suggesting, "What about 'Mighty Mickey Mouse'?" The moment he paused to actually think over her joking suggestion, Rose laughed out loud, amber eyes sparkling only slowly reduced to sniggering when the Doctor started pouting.

"So, c'mmon, my mightily impressive Sir Doctor, where are the kids?"

Having refound his cheer at being able to impress her, he adjusted his tie, winking at her confidently.

"Well, that's the mystery, isn't it? Abalonians just disappeared, died out as far as history is concerned… but why? They are perfectly capable of reproduction but there are no children anywhere? Are they stolen? Or is something else here?"

Rose pouted.

"What, that's the big mystery? That doesn't sound dangerous! Or life threatening… I was hoping for something with a bit more… jeopardy."

He snorted, "I bet you were, never met someone as jeopardy-friendly as you."

For a short moment, she thought it was almost cruel, but when she looked up, he looked more fondly exasperated than anything and the affection shining in his eyes was enough to make her blush and look away.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his head slightly, before explaining why he'd taken them here.

"I just thought, with Mickey… Well, I thought maybe a slow start?"

In that moment, Rose finally understood. Her Doctor didn't know how to help her, how to help her over never seeing a friend she'd had since childhood, an ex-boyfriend, again. It was obvious now that she thought about it; he had seen her cry and mourn and fight with her mum about Mickey's decision, but he didn't know how to make it better – and that's what he needed to do, as far as he was concerned. He always had to make it better; he didn't understand that simply being with him, having his support, helped more than anything. Remembering a time not too long ago, when he'd fetched her flowers and chocolate because of what he'd heard or read she should be wanting, Rose suddenly realised where this idea of spa planets and non-adventurous excursions was coming from.

Pulling her hand out of his, she came to a stop, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Bewildered, the Doctor turned around and looked at her which nearly made her laugh again.

"C'mmon, gimme."

Eyebrows furrowed, looking truly puzzled for all his intellect, the Doctor came closer to her, "give you what?"

Rose rolled her eyes, stretched her hands out and shook her head slightly.

"Come now, I know you have a book or magazine hidden somewhere in those pockets of yours that told you it was a good idea to stop the adventuring and go to one spa after another-"

"Well, you didn't seem to like the first one, so-" he defended, now looking flustered.

Rose barely suppressed a grin. If she started smiling now, she'd never get to see whatever book or magazine he'd gleaned that advice from and she was really, really curious to see which magazine he'd read.

"Sarah Jane," he finally admitted, avoiding eye contact.

Rose's eyes widened and she stared at him blankly for a moment, remembering the many moments where she'd complained to Sarah Jane about the lack of danger, and only now realizing just how well they'd both been played. Revenge, she suspected at the Doctor for Aberdeen and at her for dropping off Mickey unannounced and only keeping in touch afterwards. Then she burst into laughter, leaning against the Doctor for support.

"Oh, very well played," Rose finally said, once she'd stopped laughing, her hand automatically grasping and intertwining with the Doctor's, "I kept complaining to her about the lack of adventure and all this time, she was playing us both. Clever! Oh Doctor, I really like her! It's a shame she didn't want to travel with us…"

He clicked his tongue in realization at what Sarah-Jane had done before chuckling lightly. Rose pulled him along, intent on getting to the temple at the centre of the city, curious to see what was inside.

"So, we're agreed then? Back to running for our lives after this?"

Her Doctor grinned mischievously, "Well, we could always leave the running to other people… you are too jeopardy-friendly already."

"Who? Me? Well, tell you what, if we manage this entire mystery without being in danger even once, I'll let you pick our next destination again and I'll go along without moaning once, even if it is another boring, non-adventurous place."

Truth be told, Rose had to admit that even though she missed the adventure and the running, the excitement and the adrenaline rush – not to mention the post-adventure hugs – she did still enjoy seeing new planets, new civilizations and learning about them, even without the danger involved. But there was no way she was admitting to that.

"Deal!"

Grinning widely at one another, they made their way up to the temple. Almost automatically the two separated, with Rose looking at the left side of the temple and the Doctor inspecting the right side.

A moment later she heard him draw in a sharp breath and a murmured "Uh-oh." By the time she turned around, he was already at her side, her hand securely in his – but not intertwined, rather just holding her firmly; the same grip he always had when they needed to run.

"Danger?" She teased, tongue poking out, even though her entire body was tensed and ready to run at moment's notice.

"Yep, let's- oh, that's not good, that's really, really not good…"

Curious, she followed his gaze and her eyes widened upon seeing the large congregation just outside the temple doors, awaiting them. The Doctor in the meantime was absently using his right hand to brush through his hair, attempting to think of another way out, despite the fact that the temple was on a manmade hill with only one way in and out – the way they had come in and the way the crowd lay.

Finally, determined, he grabbed her hand and pulled her out, keeping her behind him, before giving the people around his best smile.

"Ha, well, what do you know. Got lost on the way to the Nyyrvn galaxy- should've taken a left and took a right instead. Well, we'll just be on our way then!"

Of course this sort of diversion almost never worked and, as predicted, their ranks closed around them. Then, to Rose's surprise, they all sank into a bow before them. The Doctor grimaced and rubbed his eyes, but didn't stop the elderly man coming up to her, watching on as he called her a goddess.

The blonde flushed, now recognising the admiration in everyone's eyes, stepping instinctively closer to the Doctor.

"Doctor…?"

"Well," he explained, tone reluctant as if she was dragging the words out of him, "they have a prophecy about a fair-skinned woman with golden hair and-"

"A celebration in her honour!" the old man shouted, interrupting the Doctor and causing the crowd to roar up in a massive cheer. Rose, flushed and eyes sparkling, was pulled away by one of the women to "get ready," before the Doctor could interfere.

"C'mmon, you always have all the fun! A party for me! How often does that happen?"

"NO! Rose, this isn't- They aren't-"

The blonde didn't hear but simply waved, a bright grin on her face before chattering happily away to the blue women who were now taking her towards the palace. Grumbling to himself, the Doctor turned back around, returning to the temple to study their prophecy in an attempt to figure out how to save his companion who had, once again, run away without listening to him.

He really should think about picking more obedient companions; his life would be so much easier. His lips twitched involuntarily, as he admitted silently to himself, that it would also be so much duller.

They had put her in a dark purple top which left her stomach bare and a long, dark purple skirt which, as it was only made of one, thin, layer, fluttered easily around her.

She smiled widely at the other woman around her, refusing to show her continued surprise at their behaviour. They hadn't known what she talked about when she had teased them about the butt of the man guarding them – so she had tried other body parts, thinking maybe it was just cultural difference or conservatism. Except they hadn't so much as blushed but rather continued to look at her, truly befuddled, when she tried to expand on her earlier statement – to the point where Rose started to blush with embarrassment, realising just how odd she must sound to them.

Finally, they led her away to the big hall she'd first arrived in, which was now brightly decorated. It was kind of fun to be at the head of the table and treated with such reverence; it was like another part her and the Doctor were playing. Come to think of it – where was he? She'd presumed that he was being dressed as she was, but he was nowhere to be seen; and, among a race of blue people, he would have been remarkably easy to spot.

"My companion," she started in a whisper, to the woman next to her, "where is he?"

The woman shook her head, her eyes steadfast on the old man who had first called her a goddess.

"Let the feast begin – the feast in honour of our goddess, who has come to save us all."

Rose barely heard his words, her ears long since attuned to hearing one man even among this crowd – and that's exactly the voice she heard, just beyond the door. A moment later, both doors flew open, bouncing off the wall with a loud crash that held everyone's attention – and through them strode, confidently, her Doctor, his beloved jacket billowing around him.

"Your goddess is my WIFE! Now let me in!"

Rose, who had just taken a sip of the delicious red wine they had poured her, startled and only barely managed to swallow the liquid, coughing loudly before regaining her composure. She had long since learned to go along with whatever harebrained scheme the Doctor had concocted at that moment, and it wasn't the first time she'd been his 'wife'.

"Ah, my darling," Rose said in affected higher class accent which only had the Doctor shaking his head mildly, clearly asking her not to continue mangling accents. She almost pouted, but instead stood up and walked towards him, easily hooking her arm through his.

"There you are, dear. We were about to start the festivities without you."

The Doctor shook his head.

"Well, we're married, as you can see," he said, patting her hand in the crook of his elbow, "so, I'm afraid we need to leave."

The old man stood up again.

"We will have a wedding ceremony arranged for tomorrow afternoon."

The Doctor frowned. "She's my wife- we're already married."

There was a steely glint in the old man's eyes as he stepped forward.

"And it would be an honour for the goddess to be married according to our traditions," he asserted firmly, "unless there is a reason not to undergo a second wedding ceremony?"

She could feel the moment he changed, the moment every muscle in her Doctor's body tensed and the darkness came closer to the surface, his glare causing several people to instinctively step away. Smiling widely, she stepped slightly in front of her Doctor, knowing he'd let her take the lead, trusting her judgment even if he didn't know what her plan was.

"Now, now, my honeybear here," she crooned, just barely suppressing her grin, loving the ability to call him ridiculous nicknames every chance she got, "and I, we would be delighted to have a second ceremony, wouldn't we?"

"Yes," she could hear the forced nature of the words as he pressed them out through tightly gritted teeth, "we would."

The old man relaxed as did everyone else. On their way to the head of the table, she quickly whispered to the Doctor, asking if running after dinner was okay or if they needed to make a dash for it now.

"After dinner, though we might not make it until after the wedding..." His voice was curt but Rose knew it wasn't due to temper, rather it was focus. He was currently calculating and analysing every route, every risk, his mind far away as he mechanically ate.

Wondering silently why they had to run – and why he had pretended to be her husband – Rose settled down at the head of the table, eyes automatically scanning the crowd and looking for any signs of why they were running.

By the end of the night, she still hadn't found anything and had only become more exhausted as the evening progressed. Finally, they were allowed to retire and shown to their chambers – two floors up and at the back of the castle.

"Oh, this isn't good." Her Doctor's voice reached her the moment the door closed behind the guard she had practically lead out of the room; everyone seemed suspicious of her Doctor's intentions and loathed to leave her alone with him. "This is really, really not good."

Coming to the window beside him, Rose realised what he was talking about. They were in a large tower and, as everything in this city, there was water just below – but not a river or anything deep, rather a small stream. The walls of the castle were flat and didn't lend themselves to climbing not to mention that there were iron bars in front of their window – thin and beautifully decorated, to be sure, but still iron bars which didn't allow them any easy way of escaping.

"Well, my hair's not long enough for that climb, Doctor," Rose joked and elicited the desired reaction from him; a smile.

"C'mmon," she continued, encouraged, "all we have to do is say yes and we're free to run."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," he prophesised darkly and Rose sighed, not sure how to cheer him up.

"So, what do they want anyway?"

"Does it matter?" He asked rhetorically, screwdriver between his teeth as he tapped the various walls, listening intently to the sounds, before scanning the bars again and the frame around it, looking for a way out.

"Sure," Rose said, shrugging lightly as she hopped on top of the bed. "Maybe we can just find a way to give them what they want-"

She stopped abruptly, the Doctor in front of her, face set in a dark frown, brown eyes fathomless and only showing cold, unforgiving fury, his entire frame tense, every muscle ready for a fight.

"No. I won't allow it – I won't let them. Never, Rose, do you understand? Never!"

Temporarily speechless, she stared at him; he was clearly enraged and passionate and obviously looking for an answer from her. She'd never been frightened of him; not in the throes of nightmares and not now, when she was the only one who could be the potential recipient of his anger.

"Okay," she soothed, "I understand. We won't give in."

He searched her eyes for another moment, looking for the support and acknowledgment she'd given him verbally, before turning back to searching the room, body still tense, like a tightly wound spring ready to snap.

Rose sighed. There was no way he would be coming to bed any time soon. She knew this facet of him too well – he needed time to himself, time to brood and think and stew before he'd be able to relax. If she interfered, he'd just bury it inside and inevitably would be winding up the locals tomorrow – which never ended up well. Alone to bed it was.

Suppressing another sigh, realising she still didn't even know why they were getting married – or running – Rose made her way to the bathroom to get clean and comfortable before going to sleep. Her mind still kept trying to get onto the very, very dangerous thought of marrying the man she loved, but she knew that if she allowed her feelings to get away, tomorrow would be incredibly painful. It would just have to be another charade, another part they played – something they said, but didn't mean. It would be alright, Rose reassured herself, refusing to allow any other thoughts to surface.

TO BE CONTINUED...

The flashback will, of course, continue in the next chapter. I didn't realise it would take this long to write that flashback out! Phew! Sorry, had to split it and I thought this was the perfect moment! Wonder if anyone can guess how Rose is meant to save them. Left a couple of clues – and don't worry, I'll make sure to leave you in tears (from laughter) once you find out! Well, hopefully anyway.

Bad Wolf Jen

Yay – thanks for both reviews. I'm always glad to have someone new on board. I'm glad you're enjoying it and I do hope you'll continue reading – and reviewing. Have fun!

MuppetKatie

Yay, I'm glad you enjoyed the flashback. I really liked the dynamic between the three, but wasn't sure how well I'd be able to portray Jack and I wanted to do him justice so I ended up cutting it short. I hope you enjoyed the explanation about the dimension cannon in this chapter. If it doesn't make sense, let me know.

Cecilehem

Naughty! Skipping to the end and reading my response first! Yep, I can well believe that would be somewhat confusing. I'm so glad you enjoyed the flashback. I'm always worried about getting the characters too much ... well, out of character. I do enjoy describing it and I'm glad you're saying it was good enough to actually picture it! Thanks so much – that's a great compliment :) Sorry, took a bit longer but in my defence, I was ready to put my foot through my laptop after it kept crashing for four days in a row – thank my beta for cheering me up enough to look up another solution :) Yep, got impatient again. I was originally going to describe the scene with the angels in detail and landing in the past; in the end, I just wanted to skip ahead and thought it doesn't deserve that big a mention. Countdown – one more chapter, then the reunion with the Doctor. Well, first Donna then the Doctor, but close enough, eh? Kidding! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter – would love to hear your thoughts on what you think may be the reason for the Doctor wanting to run... :)

Darkwolfberlin

Yay, thanks for your comment. Du kannst mir auch gern auf Deutsch schreiben. Meine Muttersprache ist deutsch und wenn es fuer dich einfacher ist, habe ich damit kein Problem! Just in case you don't speak German, I'll put my response in English. I'm afraid I've never watched the series Torchwood, so all I know about Gwen is that short snipped in DW. Jimmy Stone will not be making an appearance, I'm afraid, other than in retrospective mention by Rose or other people, but brilliant idea :) I have to say, I also didn't like how Martha threw herself at the Doctor all the time. She will be dealt with, but by the end, she'll be on Rose's side (you'll see in much, much later chapters). I can't comment on the Dalek – I'd be giving away valuable plot. All I can say, is that's all will be as it must. I have thought about it and I know there's a demand for it, but I don't think I'll ever write Doctor/Rose sex explicitly; I can't. I also don't think and don't want them to have had intercourse before. There's too much unsaid, too much between them for that to just have taken place. Nah – well, not yet. I do like Susan but I have to confess, I don't remember any of the earlier episodes. Actually, I haven't watched most of them, which is a shame. You have some brilliant ideas. I know Jenny will be part of my story, but I am not sure yet how much she will actually feature. The Triple helix was one of the early concepts in Doctor Who, a prominent theory before anything had actually been confirmed. The idea was that the triple helix was there due to the time travel, i.e. because you travelled back in your own timeline, you had this third strand. A quadruple one would unfortunately not make much sense given that background, but I will tell you that Rose is definitely not pure human anymore... Time will tell the rest :) I do hope you'll continue to review and, as I said, du kannst mir auch gern auf Deutsch deine Kommentare schicken falls dir das leichter faellt. Thanks again!

Kylaia78

Yay, thanks for the review. I do hope to get another chapter out this week. I'm so glad you're enjoying it and I would love to hear more from you. So glad you're enjoying Rose's character; I think she's brilliant too! Hope to hear from you again!

eleanoralovesananias

Oh wow! Thank you so very much! I do hope you didn't actually die and that this qualifies as soon :) I'm flattered to see that you are in love with my story – very flattered, actually. And I'm so glad you think I developed Rose's character further beyond the series rather than just making her OOC! The Doctor will be okay, eventually, he'll have Rose, after all, how could he not be? But there will be hard times, unfortunately. And I thank you for reviewing. It really is a pleasure to write for readers/reviewers like you and so very encouraging. I'll have another chapter out later this week, I hope, so you won't have to wait too long. But I'd love to hear your thoughts again and to know whether you enjoyed the latest chapter.

SusantheRedhead

Yay, you didn't have to wait too long, I hope! Thanks for the review! Let me know what you think of the latest chapter.

AppleGrass15

Thanks for the lovely and long review! Long reviews are the best! Thank you!

Ha! And you thought my last cliffhanger was cruel. Well, what do you think of this one ;) Yay, I'm glad you thought I portrayed Jack and Rose's relationship well. I'm never sure if I'll be able to do the character justice, especially if they only appear in a few episodes, so everyone has their own take of the 'true character'. So yay, thanks! Lol, I know what you mean. I read reviews, like yours, with you mentioning your sister looking at you oddly when you get excited and laugh out loud – which makes my partner inevitably give me weird side-glances! So definitely know what you mean. Of course Rose gets back to the Doctor but probably not as quickly as you imagined. I realise that doesn't make much sense, but in 2-3 chapters, it will – and you'll probably be just about ready to bash my head in, but hey :) The Tardis and Rose will definitely always be close; I think their relationship will always be pitched between maternal and sisterly, at times one more than the other. Anyway, I'd love to have another long review from you and I'd love to hear your thoughts on my cliffhanger *evil laugh*

The Clever Doctor

Yay, thank you so much for saying that! I do love Nine and Rose (and Ten/Rose and Eleven/Rose and any Doctor/Rose, to be honest). We'll see things from the Doctor's perspective as well in a bit. Not the next chapter, but I think the one after. Maybe next if the word count's not high enough (which, at the moment, I doubt will happen, but who knows *lol*, Who indeed?) Eleven and Rose are a good couple, I think and it should be fun. I hope you liked the flashback where she told ten he looked good with a bowtie :) I wanted her to be the inspiration for the reincarnation as much as the first one – you'll see later more in how. Would love to hear your thoughts on when her and the Doctor should meet – where in the story arch. It has to be before he marries River. And I probably just gave away more than I should've, so sssh! Yay, I'm glad you enjoyed the part where she destroyed her own connections to her memories. I thought it was rather significant in showing just how far she's willing to go and it was so much fun – if very emotional – writing that part. Yay, Mickey was more developed after I received a review on how one-sided he was in the first chapter, so I'm always glad to hear that it worked out well! I would really love to have another review from you and hear your thoughts – feel free to PM me anytime as well.

SassyFrassKerr

That was cool timing with your review – anyway, thanks for your review on this chapter as well. Do love Ice Age – first one especially, though I have to say this is one of the few where all the sequels are pretty good! Yeah, I agree. I think Jack was a brilliant edition to the team. Would have loved to have the ninth Doctor for longer, but having heard why he resigned and how anyone not main-cast was treated, I can understand and even applaud his decision. But yeah, I loved them too. Yay, glad you liked the cover story. It just occurred to me as I was writing it, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. Anyway, hope you enjoy the latest chapter as well. Please review again! Thank you!

hervampricfacade

Lol! I'll honestly admit this is the first time that it's been phrased quite this way. Thank you! I do hope you enjoy the new chapter and it provides adequate nourishment. Please leave me another review, I'm always happy to know that people are still reading.

mouse mirage

Hi! Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you're enjoying the fanfic and I do hope the new chapter lived up to your expectations! I would love to have another review from you on this chapter! Thank you :)