HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Merry Christmas! And Happy New Year! (soon to be, ehem). You just gotta love holidays, don't you? All those surprises... all those gifts... (hints hints). Anyway. Well... nevermind. Look below.

P.s. I hereby announce that I'll not post new chapters until I'm sure I'm content with what I have written. I love this story way too much to ruin it by rushed writing. And that's the last excuse I'm going to make.

And that was the moment when he was sure, no, in fact, he was absolutely certain that crossing his own timeline (even if only to check the disturbance in it) was a bad idea.

He really shouldn't have ignored the nagging feeling in his gut that the timeline was looking way too dangerously familiar. After all, it was not like he had been reliving those moments for the past months to keep himself sane. But he guessed that's how far rational mind could go. It was no match for a desperate hunger for a mere glimpse, for an echo of a voice.

He supposed it was both; universe's hidden blessing and a twisted way of humoring him, just one last time. Showing him what he could never have again. Mind you, he never actually did. He was a master if anything at pushing away everything that crept too close to his steel made shields. Still, when he lost it, he lost it all. The hope, the contentment, the simple joy of living each day.

It was even harder for him to bare when he had to admit to himself that she looked even more beautiful than he remembered. And he remembered her in absolute detail.

The universe was a bloody sick place.

That's what it was. Or else it wouldn't send him to relive everything he knew he could never really move on from.

He heaved a sigh.

Rose looking at him, waiting expectantly for answers and his mouth just felt dry.

He couldn't believe he was reckless enough to put the timeline in jeopardy by getting caught. And wasn't that the irony of his life that the most jeopardy friendly person he had met was standing not two feet away from him.

Only it couldn't stop there now, could it?

If Rose spotting him wasn't nerve-wrecking enough he had to then hear his own voice, a corner away, calling out for his pink and yellow human.

Great. His day of bringing the universe to destruction was eagerly leaning to the "destruction" side by each passing second.

He took in her nervous smile, her teeth biting her lower lip, where his attention drifted off (and that just added to one more regrets of his, of why did he never comment on that? She, after all, had a very well structured, pink mouth, which should have been have analysed more thoroughly. Of course, that's just one more thing he never done or ever have a chance for).

Her voice brought him back to the surface. Dear Rassilon, that type of thoughts would only assist him in self torture.

"So, a future version, I take it, yeh?" she asked with a small mischievous smile with undeniable curiosity in her voice.

He later blamed it as being one of the main factors why he did what he did. After all, a man could only take that much. And thus, when he heard another calling of her name, he panicked.

It crept upon him so unexpectedly that he barely registered it happening. All he could think of was that She's going to be taken away from me again and so, all rational mind out of the window, he grabbed for her hand, entwining their fingers together (the feeling of it increasing his blood pressure by a few tens) and made a mad run for it.

He might have noticed a slight hesitation in his companion's steps more, if it took more than a second but since it didn't...

He started breathing again only after the blood in his brain cleared a few minutes later. And that only happened when he registered that the TARDIS was already mid-flight in the vortex (if his hand on the console was any indication) and what he could hardly believe, one Rose Tyler standing in the flesh still by the doors.

She didn't appear to be uneasy, bothered or panicking but he did a pretty good job of that himself for both of them. "Rose..." he started in a thick voice. God, what was he supposed to say? Sorry? Sorry for... oh, Rassilon, had he really finally reached the deep dark end and actually managed to kidnap the one person he cherished most in the entire universe? Not that he never thought of a scenario where he would whisk her away from her wedding with some faceless bloke, but still. This, wasn't it.

He rubbed his palms harshly against his face. He had to get a bloody grip on himself. He was a Time Lord, not some helplessly heartbroken man (and he refused to think that he could be both; heartbroken and a Time Lord, obviously he was acting anything but a Time Lord).

He swallowed a lump in his throat and braced himself. He had to take her back.

He was already opening his mouth, when Rose beat him to it. "It's a bit dark in here." She looked around thoughtfully. "Still the same, mind, just feels a bit... darker," she whispered softly. Her hand came in contact with the organic strut and at once lights flickered above their heads, illuminating the console room in a familiar warm gold. She beamed at the sight. "Good to see you too, old girl." She patted the TARDIS lovingly.

If breathing was a problem before, it wasn't now. He simply stopped breathing altogether while watching the scene. It was true, the TARDIS was a lot darker nowadays. He didn't specifically ask for it but he felt it fit the atmosphere. It was TARDIS' own way of grieving. Much like his change in wardrobe.

But seeing it all come out alive was like a punch in a gut. How was he supposed to let her go now? How?

While he was battling himself internally, mentally, heck, universally even, it appeared his pink and yellow human had a whole other set of thoughts in regards of the situation at hand.

"So, how about a short trip?"

No, he was not kidding, his hearts really skipped close to his throat. "Wh-what?" he sputtered, hardly believing his ears.

She bit her lip in what appeared to be an anxious excitement. "Just you and me. Across the universe for old times sake. What d'you say?"

He just stared at her. Was she serious? Yes, the look on her face appeared to be telling him so, but...

His shoulders slumped in a sigh. Oh, Rose...if she only knew how much he desperately wanted it...

"Rose... I... that was not..." conscious. It was purely instinctual. Something his Time Lord self was not proud to admit. Even to himself.

"Well whatever it was, I'm here now, yeh? So let's just make the most of it."

And on that note he really thought Time Lords must be the weakest of species, because as far as restrain went (and he could certainly boast about it) it all seemed to evaporate in the warm pools of hazel eyes. He swallowed once again and turned towards the console, casually flipping switches.

"So, where do you want to go?" His voice sounded hoarse even to his own ears. He cleared his throat but he doubted it helped.

"There'll be time for that later. Now I think there's something else that needs attention."

He lifted his eyes from the controls, studying Rose. "Rose, what-" He didn't finish that sentence, when two warm arms enveloped him in a firm hug. He went stock still. His senses were on override.

The familiar scent, the touch. Oh, mostly the touch, which was proving to drive him insane right now.

He felt a hand brush soothing circles around his back and he had to stop himself from crying out.

"Just let it go, all right? Whatever it is, it doesn't matter now. Just you and me," she whispered in his neck, sending intense amount of shivers down his body. "Just let it go."

He closed his eyes tightly, trembling from within and the soft "Doctor" was the last straw.

He wrapped his arms around her like he knew they would fit from instinct and buried his face in her hair. "Rose..." he whispered in a broken voice and tightened his grip on her.

"Shh... I'm here. I'm right here."

He let himself be lulled by her comforting words as they stood wrapped in each other.

If only he could believe it would last.

On the other side of the universe, namely, down on Earth, long, hurried steps passed determinedly down the roads of celebrating London. His Janis Joplin coat was flipping to his sides as he went.

His other self must be insane, that's the only explanation he could think of on why he would be so reckless and cross his own timeline. Him crossing was probably the cause why they drifted off the radar in the first place.

If it didn't have any long-lasting repercussions, he would be tossing his other incarnation into a supernova this very moment.

Didn't he know how dangerous it was? And if crossing his timeline wasn't enough he just had to take Rose with him. Although, having in mind this was Rose Tyler here, she probably went along with it just fine or maybe even encouraged the idea.

She was really gonna be the death of him some day. Oh, that's right. She already was...

But that was not the point! The point was, him himself should know better. Should have known better than to take a person from their own timeline and expect nothing bad to come out of it... Bad...

He suddenly blanched, stopping in his tracks. Was that... was that the reason he took her? Because he had to? Because he had to take her away before something happened to her?

Rassilon, did they fail again?

He closed his eyes tightly shut. He was not going down that road. Not just yet. He had enough of those thoughts to last him a lifetime and he was not wasting another second. He opened his eyes and continued his trip towards the TARDIS.

He was getting his Rose back. Other things could wait for their time.

After what seemed a lifetime, the pair inside the TARDIS started disentangling themselves, granted, reluctantly, but they couldn't stay wrapped in each other forever. Even if the idea did sound not that surprisingly appealing to him.

His arms brushed against her shoulders as he locked his gaze to hers. No, having her here could be nothing else but a blessing. She might have been imprinted in his life deeply since the very first word he said to her but she stayed in his hearts by his own choice.

He didn't want to let her go.

He brushed his thumb against her rosy cheek and felt his hearts constrict. There was a time when a simple touch like this was allowed daily (something he didn't take advantage of nearly enough), now it was like a momentary salvation to a starving man.

He swallowed tightly and let his hand drop to his side. He took a step back from her. It was the only way he could start breathing again.

For everything they've been through, the situation seemed to put them both in a somewhat awkward place. They smiled shyly at each other.

His hand came in contact with the back of his neck as he inhaled deeply. "So... err..."

Rose grinned silently at him. "So, hello, then."

He froze momentary in place, looking at her and then burst out laughing, finally feeling at ease. "Hello." He beamed right at her, standing in his full height.

She had her tongue between her teeth smile on her face and he could barely restrain himself. Everything about her seemed more radiant than ever. She was just everything... more than he remembered.

He blamed it on longing.

"So," she began again in a more casual voice. "Since we're past the awkward phase, should we go on with that trip?" She went to rest her left hip against the console, her fingers playing with the buttons. His eyes followed her movements until he caught her knowing smile and averted them.

"Oh, sure," he replied off-handedly. "Of course!" He shook his head as if to shake himself out of it and bounced on his heels. It felt odd, having that light energy in his body again. But the change was a good one, so he indulged himself in it. "All the universe is at your doors. Anything you'd like to see?"

She grinned at him more, if that was possible. All he knew, the smile was infectious and he found himself smiling more than he had ever done in the past months of his so called living. "I was thinking..."

The Doctor closed the doors of the TARDIS behind himself as he came out of it with his hands full of a cylinder-like and bleeping controller device.

He could excuse himself later why he named it the "TARDIS hijacking device", but one had to agree, it served its purpose. He could have done it the manual way, search for the TARDIS inside the TARDIS, but that took way too much time and he just happened to have the needed ingredient for his "TARDIS hijacking device" to work. The residual energy of another TARDIS.

He bent down, placing the device's tip towards the place. He pressed a button and watched how the device started sucking in the surrounding air, getting the so needed residual energy of the TARDIS.

"There you are!" he exclaimed in delight.

Then there was a short beep and it stopped. He supposed that was as much as he could get. He stood up and continued back the road while working manually on analyzing the particles.

It was on around 49% when the device puffed in smoke, blinking on a red alert bulb. "Oh, come on. Don't put this on me now!" He shook the device a few times in frustration when it fell on the ground with a loud crashing sound.

The Doctor nowhere in sight.

Loud laughter echoed deeply inside the TARDIS walls as the pair inside the console room could hardly come in for air.

"Huff, I still think we should go to Barcelona!" She had a happy grin on her face as she swung around in the jump seat.

"The dogs with no noses," the Doctor commented casually, desperately trying to conceal his grin.

"Exactly! How long do I have to wait for you to finally take me there?"

He turned to look at her mischievously. "Or I could always go and get you one noseless dog as a Christmas present." He winked at her.

Rose laughed out loud, her head falling backwards. "Get out of here."

"I'm serious, I could-" the Doctor turned back on the controls and stilled his laughter. Rose stopped herself, biting on her lower lip as she saw a shadow pass down the Doctor's features. She straightened up on her seat.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

The Doctor's forehead formed a well known worry line as he studied the readings on the monitor.

"Doctor?"

Well, at least he knew one thing. There would be no noses missing on this part of their trip. He inhaled deeply. "There's a disturbance in a timeline."

Rose blinked, uneasy feeling passing down her body. "What?"

"And it's coming from your timeline," he whispered in a low voice, finally giving her a look.

She knit her brows together. "Is that because I'm here? 'Cos I went with you?"

"No!" he quickly assured her. "It appeared after we left, as a separate event. Different from a previous distress signal too," he muttered while flicking a few switches.

"Previous?" Rose came to stand on his right side, looking at him questioningly.

"Yeh," the Doctor agreed, though, still refusing to look at her. "That's how I crossed yours. I got a signal that something was wrong in my timeline. So I went to check it out."

"Okay... and did you learn what was it?"

He inhaled through his nose. "Yes and no."

"Meaning?"

"That's that for now," he dismissed the topic casually and pointed on the screen. "See that? It works as a model matter of my timeline. And that-" He pointed on a small dot in a single line. "Is a model for me. Now if everything was fine it would be moving steadily or jumping even, in some cases, but now it's blinking."

"And that's bad, yeh?"

"It could be. Because for one, it's the timeline entwined with yours, and for another, I'm not doing anything. And that only leaves one possible explanation..." He looked up at her, waiting for her to catch on. Her eyes widened.

"Oh, my God. The Doctor! The other...um, my Doctor. He's in danger, isn't he?"

"It's likely," he breathed gravely. "Hold on. We're gonna land."

He pressed the last lever down and the TARDIS shuddered.

A very determined Rose Tyler stepped outside the TARDIS and at once started scanning the area for any clues. The Doctor only smiled wistfully behind her. He then turned around to inspect his surroundings. Though, he shouldn't have been surprised when in a few moments he heard a call of his name.

"Doctor? I think I found something."

He turned to look and saw Rose crouched down near some glass, plastic and other elements bits of pieces. He skipped into a jog until he reached her and with a last hop crouched down beside her. He pulled his glasses out of his pocket and took one piece for a better look.

Rose had another piece in her hand and turned it over. "D'you know what that is?"

"Of course..." the Doctor muttered under his breath. Rose glanced at him.

"Well, then?"

"Of course it would be it," the Doctor repeated again and Rose was now sure that neither was meant for her. She sighed, gathering her patience.

"Doctor?" she asked once more. This time the Doctor looked up at her, saw her questioning eyes, darted his own back on the device then to her again and caught on. "Oh! Right. Right. What this is." He tossed the object in hand carelessly. "It's something from a TARDIS. Meant for the TARDIS."

Rose blinked a few times. "Wh-what?"

"It's a bit of a word play, yeh." He nodded in his silent agreement.

"Doctor..." Rose breathed in a warning.

"Right, yes. This is supposed to work as a... well, a "TARDIS hijacking" device to be precise." He narrowed his eye in distaste. What was he thinking thinking up such a name?

"A "TARDIS hijacking" device," Rose repeated in monotone.

"Yep," the Doctor popped the "p".

After a few moments he heard a snigger coming from her side. He glanced up.

"What?"

She shook her head at him with a smile playing on her lips. "No, nothing. 's just... very original."

"Oi!"

"Sorry." She pressed her knuckles against her lips to stifle her laughter but her whole body was still shaking.

The Doctor furrowed his brows, clearly starting to get insulted. "Stop it!"

Although, he supposed, he could forgive her, for the sole smile she gave him next. He stopped a moment only to look at her radiant smile, body shaking from mirth. Something which used to be normal on a daily basis for him, and now only a stolen moment he would treasure in his hearts when the real world caught up with him. He smiled warmly at her.

"Oh, you big baby," she chuckled once more and reached out to ruffle his hair lovingly. He stiffened, later cursing himself for not being able to control his body reactions because at once Rose's smile diminished and her hand stilled. It was retreating, when the Doctor caught up with it, and stilled her movements. His hand locked around her wrist.

She bit her lower lip nervously as he watched her with what he knew was intensity enough to make anybody squirm but she only stared back. His own emotions transparent in her eyes.

He wanted, needed and dare he finally say to himself... loved her as much as another being could love another. Maybe even more. All the things that were forbidden for him for as long as he could remember, she evoked in him.

And that was why he was still holding onto her hand. Still not breaking the dangerously intense eye-contact and was raising his other hand to brush a strand from her face.

He moistened his lips, opening them to say... he was not sure what would have came out of them if a loud cry from one of the houses wouldn't have broken the spell between the two.

"Chloe! Baby, please, stop this!"

Rose's head at once turned towards the sound and with a quick "That's her", she stood up and dashed towards the distress call. He could hardly believe that it took him a second to catch up with what was happening. The paralyzing feeling of loss of her touch was proving to be too much of a distraction. He shook his head and sprinted down the road.

What was he doing? No matter how many regrets he might be having, this was not the place or the time to right them. He had his time. And he wasted it brilliantly.

Now he was paying the price for his actions.

When he caught up, Rose was already in front of the house, ready for action. "Come on," she urged him and was beginning to walk forward when she done an abrupt stop, the Doctor nearly colliding with her.

"Rose?" he asked her softly.

She shook her head. "Right. Wait, you can't come inside."

"Why not?"

"Well, she already has a Doctor captured, doesn't she?" She looked at him with a small smile. His eyebrows rose up.

"Oh." He blinked a few times. "Right."

Her shoulders slumped a bit, seemingly frustrated with herself. "Well, nevermind that. I'll go up on my own." She took a deep breath and started to go when a gentle hand stopped her. She looked up at the Doctor who had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Doctor?"

"I'll go with you."

"But..."

"No, I actually think it might be a good idea."

She narrowed her eyes. "How d'you mean?"

"Well, think about it. She's always sure of what she had captured, and now, having me at her own porch would put her off balance. Make her restless and maybe buy us some time to get the Doctor back."

She looked him up and down warily. "You think that's wise?"

He grinned side-ways at her. "Maybe. Maybe not. No idea. But that's the fun part, isn't it?" He then turned to her and extended his hand to wiggle his fingers in an invitation. A beaming smile spread across her face as she accepted his offered hand and they both linked their fingers.

When a ring on the door was not enough, the Doctor rapped on the letter box to get attention from Chloe's mother, Trish. Finally after what seemed forever, the doors opened.

Both, the Doctor and Rose, gave her friendly smiles in greeting.

"Hello!" the Doctor began casually. "I'm the Doctor and this is Rose. Can we see your daughter?"

The woman looked them up and down suspiciously. "No! You can't."

The Doctor smiled even more, nonplussed in the least. "Okay! Bye."

They walked away in silence, waiting - and sure enough -

"Why?" Trisha's voice rang out.

As if they have been practicing it for years, the pair turned in unison.

"Why do you want to see Chloe?"

"Well... there's some interesting stuff going on in this street, and I just thought-" He turned to look at Rose. "Well, we thought - that she might like to give us a hand."

Rose waved a hand dismissively. "Sorry to bother you."

"Yeeah, sorry," the Doctor agreed with a smile. "We'll let you get on with things... On your own. Bye again!"

They turned and started walking away again, but Trish didn't close the door. And after a few moments...

"Wait!" she called out, almost in desperation.

The Doctor and Rose turned again. The expression on Trish's face was helpless, vulnerable, even more so than they remembered last time, if that was possible.

"Can you help her?"

But the Doctor only smiled at her. "Yes, I can."

And only after he went inside, urging Rose to go first, did his brain start to register that they have never discussed the plan this time round, yet Rose knew how to act it out all the same.

His mind was still reeling from his latest thought, when Trish took his attention. "I'm sorry that she can't meet you here. I think it's better if you come with me upstairs."

Rose looked the woman up and down and noticed large bags under her eyes. She seemed more tired than ever. Her eyes narrowed a bit in thought, but then she looked to meet the Doctor's eyes who only shrugged.

"Oh, that's all right. Never refuse a bit of a work out."

The pair followed her upstairs. They were lead towards what they knew to be Chloe's room but what laid behind them, made them both come to an abrupt stop. As soon as Trish went inside, she rushed towards the table where the girl had her head laying still on the table, her forehead drenched in sweat.

"Oh, my baby. I told you to stop drawing." She patted her back and it seemed to rouse the girl. She blinked a few times, shook her head and started drawing again. "Sweetheart, please, stop it." Trish tried to take the pencil away but was swatted away.

"I need to keep drawing," Chloe only said.

The Doctor's forehead wrinkled at the disturbing sight. "How long has she been like this?"

Trish continued to pat her daughter's back, as she answered. "She had a fever two weeks ago. I thought it was gone. But then she started drawing day and night. She barely eats or sleeps. Just... drawing. It was only time before her fever returned."

The Doctor knowing full well that nothing would pull her out of her trance so easily, came to stand on one side of the girl. His gaze lingered on the drawing, half-buried by others, but still visible. His other incarnation standing in the middle of drawing paper. He swallowed.

"When did her fever start?" he asked instead. "For the second time."

Trish folded her hands against her chest, finally standing up. "Um... two days ago. I tried calling for a doctor but nobody can stop her from drawing." She shook her head. "And I don't want them to lock her up."

The Doctor looked up at her sharply. "Nobody is taking her from you," he assured and she could only nod.

"Doctor... she looks very pale," Rose said from the other side of the room.

The Doctor frowned in thought. "Isolus is already taking her strength out of her body, add fever to that and it's almost impossible on a fragile child's body."

"Isolus? Is that what caused my daughter to get sick?"

The Doctor turned to look at Trish, giving her a nod.

"Yeh. It's a name of the species. A living thing has settled down inside Chloe's body."

Trish didn't seem to understand so tried her best in guessing. "What, like a virus?"

"Weeell... technically, a virus is not a living thing. Bacteria on the other hand-"

"Doctor..." Rose shook her head at him. "I don't think she needs to know that now."

"Right, yes. Where was I?"

Rose took a few deep breaths in. "What're we gonna do?"

The Doctor looked Chloe up and down carefully. "I need to speak to it." He gently gathered Chloe in his arms and put her down on the bed. The mother was silently looking at the exchange, not sure if she should start calling for help or let them help her. As if feeling her dilemma, Rose turned to look at her and gave her a reassuring smile.

"It's alright. She's going to be all right."

The Doctor knelt in front of Chloe, holding her head in his hands, fingers on her temples. Her eyes started to roll in her head for a moment before closing. He closed his own eyes before suddenly Chloe fell backwards onto the bed.

"There we go..." he slowly eased her on the bed.

"I can't let him do this..." Trish started moving towards them in her concern, until Rose stopped her.

"Shh, it's okay. Trust him."

The Doctor straightened up. "Now we can talk."

"I want Chloe," a strange whisper came out instead of Chloe's normal voice. "Wake her up. I want Chloe."

"I know," the Doctor agreed in a soft voice. "I also know, that you're Isolus. Am I right?"

After a moment of pause, it spoke again. "Yes."

"This child is sick. You're hurting her by staying inside," the Doctor continued.

"I'm also sick," it said.

"What d'you mean?" Rose asked from the sidelines. The Doctor had a concerned expression on his face.

"I'm dying. Chloe stays unconscious more than awake. I can't breathe."

The Doctor's eyebrows rose up. "You need help."

"Doctor," Rose started, her voice slightly shaking. "If it's sick. What does that mean for us? For... everyone?"

The Doctor only stood there with a grim expression on his face.

"I need another body," Isolus talked on.

"Oh, dear, please, release my girl. She's suffered long enough," Trish cried.

"If it leaves her, it dies," the Doctor said.

"And so will my little girl if that thing doesn't release her," Trish insisted, holding herself together with her arms around herself. "You said you could help me. So help!"

The Doctor came around the bed. "Release everyone from your pictures and I'll find you a body until we can take you back to your spaceship."

"I can't. I don't have enough energy. I need a body."

Rose's eyes light up at once. "The spaceship! We can just get it to her and she'll release Chloe, yeh?"

"No. It's too weak. It needs to stay for a few minutes at least in a strong host to recover before flying out on its own."

"Give me another body. You have one. I'll take her."

The Doctor frowned, not yet following. "What body?" He then turned around to look around the room and met Rose's gaze, his eyes widened at once.

"No," came out a flat reply.

"I need a body or I'll perish soon."

"Well, then. You seem to be in a bit of a pinch," the Doctor shrugged half-heartedly.

"Doctor..." Rose looked at him warily, taking a step forward. "It's all right. I agree-"

"No."

Rose stopped in her tracks, her mouth slightly agape. "What?"

"You're not having her and that's final," the Doctor said in a voice which held no arguments, while still looking at the laying still Chloe.

A silent cry echoed in the room, as the girl's mother started to shake. "What will happen to Chloe then?" she asked shakily.

The Doctor barely blinked. He rested his knee on the mattress as he put his fingers on her temples and pulled her back from the trance. He then stood up, his expression blank.

"I'm sorry. But we can't help you this time." He swallowed. "It's too late," he whispered and the mother nearly collapsed.

Rose took a deep breath in. "Doctor, what-" she didn't finish the sentence when she was grabbed by the hand and pulled outside.

As soon as they were outside, the Doctor was on a mission of getting away from that place. He still had a firm grip on Rose's hand and she frowned at his back.

"So, what's the plan?"

"No idea. But they're not having you."

Rose let out a humorless laugh escape her lips. "You're kidding me, yeh?"

"Not one bit."

"Hold on... no, seriously, stop." She stopped in her tracks, releasing her hand from his. Something she never thoughts would be necessary.

"What?" He turned to look at her, seemingly annoyed.

Her forehead wrinkled at that. "You're telling me you don't have a plan but simply refused for me to make the deal?"

"Rose, there's no question on that deal. You're not taking it."

"You do realize that it's possibly our only chance of getting the Doctor back, right?"

The Doctor only kept silent, not looking at her. Oh, she was having none of that. "Well, do you?" she pressed on.

"Yeh, I do." He turned to look at her with aloof eyes and she just stared at him, shocked.

"I can't believe we're even having this conversation right now," she muttered and averted her eyes, ready to march back inside. She only took two steps before she was propelled backwards by a firm hand on her wrist.

He turned her around, hands on her shoulders. "Rose, you can't. I can't let you. That's not what happened in the timeline. You're messing with things."

"You said so yourself. Time is a flux. Things can change. Besides, they need my help."

"It's not your place to do anything."

Rose felt like it was finally enough. "Oh, yeh? Then what is my place? Am I expected to do nothing? What's wrong with you, really, Doctor? They need help, so we're helping them. That's what we do." She stared at him deeply in the eyes, desperately trying to find where had his sense gone to. They were the Doctor and Rose. Stuff of Legends. Living off saving the universe on daily basis. So what the hell was going on here?

"You know better than that! You interfering now could mean radical changes in the following events."

"Well, is there a risk of the Reapers coming?" she asked. He only bit his lip. "Well, is there?" she insisted and he spat out a "No."

"Then we'll deal with the consequences as they come," Rose said back simply. "I know my own timeline and I'm not walking away from this." She huffed a laugh. "Besides, I still need to get back my Doctor. And this's the only way."

She relented a bit when she saw the Doctor swallowing tightly and look downwards, although, still gripping her shoulders firmly

"Doctor you should know me better than this," she whispered softly in desperation. "There's no way I'm ever leaving you behind."

He glanced up, clenching his jaw. His eyes glistened in pain. "You're doing so. Right now," he said in a hoarse voice.

"That's not fair." She finally stepped outside of his strong grip, looking at him with uneasy eyes.

"It never is."

to be continued...

Haa... I thought, why not make a part more, right? Ha haa... right, I know, not funny. I'm sure you wanted this to be the last part before Doomsday but... well... anyway, see you soon, I hope, and leave me your thoughts below~