A/N: And here's yet another chapter! I'm surprised I managed to get this done so fast. :D Considering I start work at 4 am now and I'm very tired by the time I get home, I'm so happy I didn't run out of creative juices!

Special thanks goes out to SwingingOnAStar for all her helpful comments, reviews, and the nerding back and forth we've done over the past week. It's helped me stay on track and reminded me to keep writing no matter what!

Any reviews will be helpful and very much appreciated! Thanks and enjoy!

My Own Little Adventure

Part Two

"Ow," I grumbled, lurching to my feet. I pressed my hand to the sore spot on the back of my head, wincing as the dull ache intensified. "A little warning next time, please, girl?"

All I sensed from the TARDIS was intense satisfaction and more than a little hint of mischief. No apologies whatsoever. Figures.

"Jessica…."

I inhaled sharply as the Doctor's worry-filled mind jabbed at my own. My gaze drew to the new wall between us and I gently touched the weird texture with my hand. An instinct probably connected with his mind in mine or just my empathy told me that our hands would be touching had that wall not been there. Right, how did telepathy work again?

"Ouch, Doctor. I'm okay, but can you just knock a little quieter next time?" Just think the thoughts, then. Kind of like talking to myself in my own head, but directed towards something that was definitely not me. "I think the TARDIS isn't done with whatever we started."

The Doctor's grumble brought a grin to my face. "I thought the game was messing with the controls, not rearranging the dimensions of the TARDIS. Are you sure you don't remember what you did?" Although I knew he tried to keep his emotions under the usual control, I could feel the strength of his worry beneath the mask of annoyance. At least he hadn't gotten really mad at me yet.

I rested my forehead against the wall. "Sorry. I'm afraid I'm Miss Useless over here. Don't even know where in the TARDIS I am right now."

"Just stop it right there." The vehemence in the Doctor's rebuke almost stopped my heart in surprise. Such a strong reaction from him didn't bother me, but to have that fierceness like that…about me…. "You're hardly useless. Tell me what the TARDIS looks like and I might be able to talk you back here. Hopefully in one piece."

"What about Rose? She's got to be worried sick"

I could hear the Doctor's snort as clearly as if he stood in the room. "She's most likely stuck in her room. She's fine."

"Doctor…."

"Oh, fine. I'll go get her. Let me see if I can get the intercom working. That way none of you can get into trouble without me knowing." As irritated as his voice had become, I didn't need to be an expert to hear that worry directed towards Rose. Just a little bit and with no small amount of stubbornness, but he would apologize to Rose in his own way. "Will you be all right until then?"

My furious blush rekindled and I thanked the TARDIS for putting a wall between us so the Doctor couldn't see it. As best as I could, I gave his mind a gentle, friendly push away like a nudge. "Doctor, I'm on the TARDIS. I couldn't be safer. Thanks for asking, though."

A spike of emotion left a warm, spicy taste in my mouth before the Doctor's mind left. One emotion that I couldn't untangle yet it still left me short of breath and warm all over.

Well, the Doctor did have a soft spot beneath that crusty exterior. I'd always known he had one, but he had never willingly shown it that much. A happy sigh rushed out of me as I turned to rest my back against the wall. All the Doctor and Rose needed was a sticky situation to fix their relationship and all would be well with the universe again.

"Way to go, sexy old girl," I ended up giggling.

"Uh, excuse me?" Rose's indignant yelp blasted into existence. "What did you call me?"

Unable to hide a squeak of my own, I briefly entertained the idea of beating the Doctor's head for his lousy timing. "Not you, Rose, the TARDIS," I hastily reassured the invisible blonde. "I didn't know the Doctor had the intercom fixed already!"

"Oi!" Will you two shut it for one minute!" Even shouting himself, the Doctor couldn't come near our female decibels. "If you want to screech at each other, can you save it until after I fix the TARDIS? It's hard enough to think when the two of you are quiet."

Rose huffed loud enough to carry throughout the ship. "So you managed to break our ride. Why am I not surprised? I could've sworn you locked me in my room on purpose." Okay, she definitely had some bitterness left over.

"For your information, Rose Tyler, I happened to be asleep when Jessica worked her mischief."

"Jessie? What?"

"Well, to be honest, it was the TARDIS' idea the whole time," I cringed even though I knew they couldn't reach me. It felt just like I'd stepped into the middle of a crossfire. "We got fed up with you arguing—well, not talking at all, in this case—and she…um…told me what to do. And no, I don't remember what we did or how to fix it."

"Ah, there I can help." With the energy filling the Doctor's voice, I could just see him running around with his screwdriver like a madman. He made a very, very irritated noise on the other end a few seconds later, though. "Well congratulations, Jessica Gale, you've rearranged the entire layout of the TARDIS. I can barely recognize her now, thank you very much."

"Rearranged? What do you mean, rearranged?" There, that curiosity that made Rose join the Doctor in the first place completely overwhelmed the anger she still had. Well, that and a healthy dose of concern, of course. "How can the TARDIS get rearranged just like that?"

"Easy. Well, not really easy if you think about the science involved, but the TARDIS does it all the time. How else do you get from your room to the kitchen so quickly? Normally she does that in a way you won't notice but this?" The image that flashed in my mind at that tone involved a very serious expression and maybe rubbing his hands over his face.

"So…what happens if I step out my door now?"

"You'd be in the library, I think. Ah," the Doctor paused. I could almost feel the anxiety through the wall behind me. "You're technically safe for now, Rose. Jessica, where did the TARDIS send you?"

Right. Why hadn't I taken a look around earlier? I finally focused on my surroundings and grinned as another wave of relief took me. "Well, the lights could be brighter, but I think I'm in a…closet?" I risked a few steps forward and nearly had my eyes pop out of my head and my jaw hit the floor. As far as I could see, both up and down, the "closet" seemed to go on forever. "Correction; a closet that could swallow a jet liner whole and have room for I don't know how many more. Jeez, Doctor, how many clothes does a Time Lord need, anyway?"

"Seriously?" I could almost see the mischievous look on Rose's face. "He's got a whole wardrobe and didn't say anything?"

"Oi! Remember that dress you wore for Charles Dickens? The TARDIS plucked it from there." A little annoyed by clothes-talk, maybe, but at least the Doctor sounded calmer now. "Jessica, whatever you do, do not leave that room until I get Rose back here. No exploring, got it?"

"Why, Doctor? What happens?"

"And don't sugar-coat it," I added sternly. My mind, however, had already started imagining all sorts of things outside the room I'd ended up in. How I could get indefinitely lost if the TARDIS had a mind to do that.

The Doctor sighed. "As fantastic as the TARDIS is, there are plenty of places even I don't know about. The ones I do are mostly harmless for humans so there's no problem there. A few though…." When he trailed off, I could hear the dead-seriousness beneath those words. "A few aren't even safe for a Time Lord, let alone a couple of simple, fragile humans. I don't want you or Rose to walk into those on accident, Jessica. That's not a risk I'm willing to take. Neither should you."

I bit my lip, the urge to look around dying a horrible death. The Doctor had never sounded so scared of his own ship, his only companion till Rose and I. While it made me somewhat reassured that he didn't know anything, it didn't make me feel any safer, either. None of those thoughts made their way out, though. "Okay, in other words, stay away from bright, shiny objects and hallways. Got it. Mind if I at least browse the infinite closet while I'm waiting? I'll be bored otherwise."

"Fine, just don't make a mess."

I laughed a little. "I think you beat me to that, Doctor, this place seriously needs a maid or something."

"Jessica…."

"I know, I know. Shutting up now." I shrugged and just wandered through the mounds and isles of clothes. Rose and the Doctor started jabbering at each other, washing over me as I browsed the insane amounts of clothes from every era. I couldn't even see them all clearly, so many colors and shapes pulled at my attention. What did the Doctor need with so many things? Sure, he lived for a long time, but did he really need an infinite amount? I could see more than a few female clothes scattered around, so I knew they weren't his. How many women had he traveled with in the past?

~Doctor!~

A sudden mental scream had me tripping over an absurdly long, multi-colored scarf. The garishness didn't bother me. I could barely think past the disorienting muck that the scream left in its wake.

"Ow," I muttered, barely remembering to keep my voice down so the Doctor wouldn't get concerned.

Too late. "Jessica? What happened?" The Doctor's concern reached out to my own mind. That comforting touch blew away the muck like it didn't exist in the first place.

I frowned. Hadn't he heard that? His mind was so much more advanced than my own, surely that hadn't slipped his notice. Well, if he didn't notice it, I wouldn't worry him more than I had to. "Oh, just tripped over some stupid scarf you left lying around." I forced a chuckle, holding that thick scarf in my hands for a little bit. The sensations I felt coming off of it didn't feel like the Doctor I knew. Someone more quirky, perhaps, and a lot younger. "How in the heck did you wear this thing? It's, like, ten feet long!"

I could clearly hear Rose's giggle.

The Doctor gave a frustrated growl. "Put that down, please and be more careful. Don't wander off, either!"

"Yessir, mister Time Lord, sir!"

Once I knew the Doctor and Rose were busy navigating once again, I dropped that fake smile. Quivering hands folded up that scarf before I regained my feet. My curiosity had been triggered no matter what the Doctor warned. Where had that mental voice come from?

~Don't try and stop me, Doctor, please. I can't go back there and I don't want to hurt you.~

So much heart-ripping agony saturated me, I felt tears burning in my eyes. My gut twisted, either with that woman's emotions or my own, I couldn't tell. A breath of air on my cheek made me turn around. The TARDIS had opened a hallway that led to a pulsing room. One that drew me forward step by slow step. I didn't put any thought into walking forward, either. The pull I felt within my chest throbbed and slowly overcame my common sense. I didn't want to go back, to stay put like the Doctor wanted. I had to know more.

~I know, Em, I know. I'm not here to stop you. Not like that.~ Although the voice didn't sound familiar, I knew without a doubt that the second voice belonged to the Doctor. He still felt the same no matter what he probably looked or sounded like back then. ~Why are you doing this?~

~They…they want me dead, Doctor. It's the Council, they tried to kill me.~

~They wouldn't dare,~ came a growl I knew all too well. A sound that threatened great harm to anyone who crossed him. ~Forcing you to regenerate….~

~No, you don't get it, Doctor.~ The woman took a pain-filled breath, one that I could almost feel as my own. I could almost sense how much effort it took for her to remain on her two feet. ~If you hadn't crashed into the building, they…with what they had planned, I would never regenerate again.~

I froze, becoming aware of the river of tears cascading down my face. I didn't know what she meant by regeneration, but the way she said it…Could the Time Lords have wanted her dead that much? What had that woman, Em, done to deserve being killed by a race billions of years older than humans?

Wait, 'Em?' My eyes widened as that name finally registered. The Doctor had called me that once. Back when he tried to shield me from the Dalek. Could the woman I'd been hearing be that same person?

"Jessica, I've got Rose and the TARDIS is starting to behave again. And by 'behave' I mean she's realigning herself back to a safer configuration." The Doctor's present voice sounded muffled and far away, like trying to hear someone when both ears had been plugged up. "There should be a door a floor down that'll take you to the kitchen."

I shook my head slowly. A half-hearted attempt to clear it. How did words work again? Somehow, I'd forgotten how to speak for a minute.

My pause caught the Doctor's attention. "Jessica? Did you hear that?" His worry became a sour tingle in my mouth. Enough to pull me loose from the bog around my mind.

"Um…yeah. Went through a door already. I think." Words came slow and my tongue felt thick but at least I made sense.

"What happened to staying put? I told you not to go wandering off."

"TARDIS opened one," I mumbled, feeling as if I'd just gotten out of bed. Still more than three-quarters asleep and the bog pulling my mind back under with each passing second. "Voices in my head. Followed them. Can't…."

"Doctor, what's wrong with her?"

Something—perhaps the Doctor—pounded heavily against my mind. Demanding to get in. I ignored it, the draw taking me towards a room of blinding white light.

"Damn, her mind's closed off. I can't reach her that way." Fear gave a new kind of life to his words. "Jessica! Jessica you stop listening to those voices right now. Block them out of your mind until I get there, please!"

Why did his voice sound so far away?

"I…I can't, I…."

Pain, but not my own sliced through me. I gasped as the woman cried out in my mind.

"Doctor, she's hurt."

"No, no, no! Jessica, don't loose yourself in it!" Now fear morphed into pure panic. "Listen to my voice, Jessica, fight it!"

"Oh my God, Doctor, she's dying. You need to…." My voice was stolen away as ghost hands caught me in their embrace.