The Doctor awoke before the sun rose. He hadn't intended to fall asleep, far from it, but he hadn't had much choice. He couldn't have kept his eyes open to save his life.

His first thought was that something had been put in their food, and it angered him. He then realized that something wanted to keep them here far more than that family downstairs did. The wolves must have made them sleep, trying to keep him from finding the TARDIS.

He didn't need the conformation, but it came all the same.

What could he do? It wasn't as if he could yell at the wolf inside his brain.

He pulled himself gently from Rose's arms.

He kissed her head, covered her up carefully, and left the room.

It was better that she slept, he needed time to think.

He wasn't in search of anything but answers, and even then only from his own mind. He wasn't seeking out the TARDIS and this seemed to make all the difference. No one stopped him at the door, and no one seemed to care he was walking the streets.

It would be the perfect time to go, but he wasn't sure that he wanted to now. At least not yet.

He made his way down the street, the smell of early morning bread making his mouth water but he didn't stop. He continued on, not sure what he was looking for until he saw the old woman from the flower shop.

In the sunrise he could see her sitting in a rocking chair, with an empty one next to her. He didn't know how but he understood that while he was seeking her, she was waiting on him. That chair was just for him.

She motioned for him to sit, but he was already doing it.

"You look troubled, child," she told him.

He almost laughed. He hadn't been a child in so very long, but somehow it was nice to pretend. For a few moments he let her be the eldest.

"That's a bit of an understatement," he told her, not unkindly.

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

Her voice was old, comforting, but also young. He wasn't sure if this was the wolf in her, or the woman. Or maybe both. He wondered whose council he was actually seeking.

He didn't want to tell either about it. Didn't want to give the wolf the satisfaction or admit his destructive thoughts to the woman.

The truth was that he hadn't been lying when he told Rose that he didn't want to go back to the way things were before. And that wasn't just their relationship he was talking about. At least not now.

He couldn't give Rose forever, he just couldn't, but that didn't mean that he didn't want to spend it with her. A large part of him had already decided that this change was worth it. On his part there wasn't a level of pain he wasn't willing to endure to have that time.

But then there was Rose. She would have to do the same, and he couldn't make that decision for her. It was his job to protect her. He took it seriously. From anything in the universe that he could, he would stand in their way.

Not getting the TARDIS, not changing them, meant letting Rose suffer.

They could avoid moons, but it was going to happen from time to time. And he hadn't even experienced a full change yet. What if he had no control of himself, what if he hurt someone? What if he hurt Rose?

"Do you want to see what it is like?"

The voice carried a strange timber. It wasn't an offer from the woman alone. The Doctor looked over at her, and felt himself nodding.

She reached out, and though instinct was to pull back, he fought it. She touched his cheek and he fell into darkness.

He felt his eyes open and his lungs fill with air. A million thoughts were running through his mind, but it wasn't like his normal thoughts.

Oh, he was there. He was in charge, but he also wasn't. It was like he was the boss, but he was letting the wolf move forward.

He looked around, down and up, eyes seeing detail that he just couldn't in Time Lord form. He could smell so many things, warm and soft scents that pleased him. Rose?

He could smell blood, different types. His mind was struggling to determine which ones were okay to eat and which weren't but it seemed to be getting a hold on it.

He was so warm, warmer than he had ever been in all his lives. He heard a faint howl, that was a language he didn't quite understand but he knew that it would come. He howled his own response, and knew that it too spoke.

A soft snuffle beside him made him turn. There was another wolf with him, light brown fur, and those bright blue eyes. But inside of them he could see the woman he loved.

Rose.

She sniffed him, and nuzzled into him.

They were together and he wasn't hurting her.

Even in this form she was his everything.

He felt desire and protection and he was flying with his paws secured to the planet.

He could see stars and galaxies and the universe at once, and it was better than anything he had ever felt. He moved closer to her, wanting to express what he felt, and then…he opened his eyes.

He sat, breathing rapidly, trying to adjust to the body he hadn't actually left.

"How did…" he finally managed. It wasn't like him to be at a loss for words but he was still living in the stars. More than seeing them, less than being them, but just perfect.

"I am the pack leader, the eldest wolf. I am Ona."

The Doctor nodded, "Is that what it is like?"

Ona nodded, "For you, Time Lord. Each brings something to the pack. You bring stars, she brings love."

The Doctor was so torn. The sun was up, Rose would be waking, and he was confused.

They wouldn't stay, he didn't want that, but would they still be connected to the pack on a distant world?

"Bonds know no distance Time Lord," Ona spoke wisely. "Talk to your Rose. Maybe she is thinking the same thing?"

The Doctor rose at once. He knew things he couldn't. Rose was waking now, yawing and looking for him. Her heartbeat was strong, and her desire to be in his sight was stronger.

He was rushing back to her. Rushing back home.