"You're worried," Rose commented.

The Doctor had returned to her and made telepathic connection. He'd informed her that another being was trapped, and that was her reply.

"No, everything's going well," he told her.

"Our minds are connected. Your emotions are as loud as your projected thoughts. You're worried."

The Doctor sighed. "I won't claim that it's not difficult. It's a real challenge, but I'm still very sure I'll succeed. I'm only worried because you and your mum have had a good look at me. I'm afraid you'll recognize me in the future. If you keep wondering about me… What if you figure out I'm an alien? It might completely change how you react when we meet for the first time. When I first met you, you didn't believe in aliens. If-"

"Don't worry, love. I won't come to that conclusion," Rose assured him.

"But how do you know?"

"Because it's my mind and my memories. I remember my mum and I talking after you caught me from that fall. We have a different theory." She was able to feel his emotions, but he could feel hers also. She was laughing at him.

"What theories? And what do you mean you remember that?"

"It's my past. I remember you saving me. I remember having fears of lifts for awhile after that day, too."

"There's still three more days that you're going to see me. What if you figure me out?"

"I'm certain it will be alright. I trust you. In this, you have to trust me. The only suggestion I have is that you keep your gadgets and sonic screwdriver out of sight."

"Alright. I'm going to be ready soon, but I need to grab a little bite to eat first."

"Have you slept?" Rose asked.

"No, but I'm fine. I'll be back soon."

The Doctor pulled out of her mind and placed a kiss on her forehead. He wasn't tired, but he was overwhelmed. A meal was what he needed, just a short break to pull himself together. It was relaxing in that he didn't have to be on guard, but he couldn't lose the heavy feeling inside and the image of Rose in her comatose state.

When he had finished eating, he put a couple protein bars and an apple into his canvas bag. If he was going to have to do more waiting around, he wasn't going to do it hungry again. There was one other thing he thought about while he was waiting outside the Powell Estate. He didn't like that he couldn't keep an eye on them while they were inside, so he brought along another gadget that could assist him.

He was anxious about putting young Rose in danger again, but every time he thought about Rose's future as it was now, he knew he had to. The Doctor spoke briefly with Rose and returned to the console to get ready. As soon as the shadow being escaped, the Doctor locked on.

The monitor informed him that it was summer of 1996. Rose was ten years old.

The Doctor stepped outside and stood on a street corner. He began searching for Rose right away, but found trouble before he found her. The large lighted sign that hung above a local restaurant began flashing erratically. He looked below it and there he found Rose, walking along with a friend.

"Rose! Move!" The Doctor shouted as he ran across the road, ignoring the screeching brakes of the cars around him. Everyone near her took notice of the sign because of the Doctor's shout, but Rose was in search of the person that called her name. She heard a cracking sound above her and realized the danger too late. She put her arms above her head to protect her from the falling sign, but she was hit around her middle instead. The force propelled her back and she was suddenly horizontal. A loud noise that sounded much like an explosion boomed behind her. When she came to a stop, she was lying on the pavement, trapped between a brick wall and a heavy body protecting her side and back.

"Rose!" a woman and child were shouting from a short distance.

"Alright?" the Doctor asked her. He pushed himself back so his weight was no longer pressing on her. "No head injuries?"

Rose rolled over and looked at him and her eyes widened. "Angel?"

The Doctor looked her over quickly and when he saw no blood, he jumped to his feet. "Keep your eyes open and stay safe," he ordered.

The Doctor spotted a man on the run back on the other side of the road and started running after.

"Wait!" Rose shouted after him.

"Rose!" the woman she was with shouted again.

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder and saw Rose stop just before she stepped in front of a moving car. When it passed, she rushed across the street after him.

The Doctor stopped and watched as she ran up to him.

"I just finished telling you to keep your eyes peeled and be careful and you run out into traffic?" he scolded.

"You remembered my name." She was positively beaming.

"That's it? That's your response? You nearly died twice in five minutes and you're only thinking about me remembering your name?"

"Well, it's been so long. I wasn't sure I'd see you again. I thought you'd forgotten about me." She tucked her hair behind her ear and he could see her wide smile even better.

The Doctor sighed. "You shouldn't be happy to see me. Every time you see me, you're nearly killed. If you see me about, you should be on guard, not trying to follow."

"But how do I know what to watch out for? Things just happen."

"And I try to be there, but you have to watch out for yourself, too. Today is going to be a bad day. Things aren't over."

"How do you know?" she asked curiously.

"I just do. I don't know what's going to happen, but today, you're the most unlucky person in the world. Be careful."

"Does that mean I should just stay at home?" she asked miserably.

"I'm not saying that. Home is filled with many dangers, too. You-"

"Then you should come home with me!" she said excitedly. "If you want to keep me safe, you can come to my place and have dinner with me and Mum."

"That's not the way it works. I'm not supposed to talk to you. This right now is not good."

"Is that like a rule? Is that why you always run away?"

"Well…" the Doctor said uncomfortably. "Hey, that woman you're with is still calling for you. You should get going."

"You'll be watching out for me though, right?"

"Rose Tyler, you're exhausting. Now run along."

The Doctor turned and walked away. He completely lost the shadow being because of his little chat with Rose. Just as horrible, if not worse, she had just run past his TARDIS. She hadn't taken any notice of it, but if she ever did, it would certainly ruin everything. But he couldn't help where it landed. He needed to land near her. The Doctor walked a short distance further and ducked out of sight, waiting for her to get moving again so he could follow after.

Rose carefully crossed the street and stopped to look at the sign lying on the pavement. It was large and heavy and, considering the horrible sound it made when it hit the walk, she was sure it would have killed her. She'd realized that right away, but was too concerned about her angel to really think about it. Looking at the sign, it was suddenly very scary.

"Rose?" Stacy's mum, Caroline, asked as she approached. She turned Rose to face her. "Are you alright? Are you really alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No, I'm okay," Rose assured her.

"I was scared to death when the sign fell like that. I was sure... Oh I can't even think about it. And then you ran out into the road nearly giving me a heart attack all over again. You're sure you're alright? No cuts or sore spots?" Caroline pressed.

"I'm okay, I swear."

"Alright. Let's just get you home to your mum. I know you wanted to come over, but your mum needs to know what happened."

Caroline started walking and Rose and Stacy followed beside.

"So who was that guy?" Stacy asked excitedly. "He was like a superhero. It's crazy."

Rose felt uncomfortable talking about him so just shrugged in reply.

"What's that mean?" asked Stacy. "He called your name, didn't he?"

"Well, I talked to him before, but I really don't know him," she answered truthfully.

"Then what were you doing talking to him?" Caroline scolded.

"Well, I thought I should thank him." As soon as she said it, Rose realized that she hadn't thanked him at all and felt rotten about it.

"What did he say?" Stacy asked.

"He just told me to be careful."

"That's it? Rose, that's crazy. It's just all crazy! I can't believe how fast and brave he was. He's kinda cute, too. Do you know his name?"

"No." Rose sighed. Maybe next time she'd think to ask him. "He is kind of cute though, isn't he?"

"You girls are far too young to be thinking about boys in that way, let alone grown men," Caroline said sternly.

The two girls just giggled.

"Mum! Mum!" Rose shouted as she ran into the flat. Jackie came around the corner and Rose ran up to her. "You'll never believe what just happened! I almost died again today and-"

"What?!" Jackie looked down at Rose and up at Caroline who had followed Rose in.

"I don't know what to say. It's true. I don't know if I've ever been so scared in my life."

"What happened?" Jackie asked fearfully.

"You know Nathan's Grill? That big sign of theirs started flickering and then just fell down. Rose was standing right underneath it."

"And then this guy rushed all the way from the other side of the road and tackled her to the ground!" Stacy said excitedly. "They both crashed into the wall and the sign fell behind them!"

"It was him, Mum! It was him!" Rose gave Jackie a very meaningful look.

Jackie was completely overwhelmed and wasn't sure what to say.

"I gave the restaurant Rose's name and yours," Caroline continued. "I told them you might be by to file a report. You might get compensation for it."

"Thanks," Jackie said blankly, still trying to take everything in.

"Well, Stacy and I should probably be going. You take care of yourself, Rose." Caroline and Stacy saw themselves out.

Jackie looked down at Rose and took her daughter's face in her hands. "Are you alright? Are you really alright?"

"I'm fine, Mum. Well... If I'm really honest, I guess I'm a bit sore from being thrown to the ground, but he protected me the whole way down. You should have seen it." Rose was still smiling and Jackie wasn't sure what to make of her.

"I might be glad I didn't see it. I'm terrified just hearing about it."

"It was him though! It was my guardian angel! He looked just the same. Same voice. Same floppy hair. He even had the same blue t-shirt and canvas bag. And he knew my name! I swear it was him!"

"Voice? He talked to you?" Jackie asked.

"Well, he ran away again, but I ran after him. He told me I had to be extra careful today," her smile faded as she remembered his warnings. "He said more bad things are going to happen to me today. He said that today I've got more bad luck than anyone."

"Oh god," Jackie worried. "What are we supposed to do then? What do I...? I don't know what to do. Should I just keep you home? Should I take you to a church or something?"

"We don't need to go to a church if I've got an angel protecting me. But I think staying home is the worst thing we could do. The angel said himself that home is just as dangerous. And when you think about it, it is. Electric stuff, fire, knives, drowning, choking-"

"Stop! Just stop!"

"That's why I think we should go out though. He seemed like he couldn't come inside. If we're out there, he could protect me. Don't you think?"

"I don't know what I think. This is mad. This shouldn't be happening."

"I'm not worried," Rose said seriously. "He'll look out for me. So what do you say we go out for dinner?"

"We don't have the money for something like that right now," Jackie answered automatically. Her mind was buzzing. It'd been so long since she'd seen this 'angel' that she was starting to think she might have just made him up. Now her daughter said he saved her again and warned her of more possible deathly accidents. She just couldn't cope.

"I bet if we went to Nathan's Grill they'd give us free dinner," Rose grinned.

"No, absolutely not. We're never eating there again after that sign-"

"It wasn't their fault. It's my fault. It's my bad luck. It's kind of sad that their shop had to suffer 'cause of me. I never even thought of it... What if bad luck does happen here? What if the flat gets ruined 'cause of me? Like the ceiling collapses or something?" Rose was becoming truly worried for the first time. "Maybe I should sit outside."

"No, I'm not going to let you do that. You're sticking with me for the rest of the day. You might be right though. Maybe we should go out for dinner. How's pizza sound?"

Rose was smiling again when they arrived at the pizzeria. It was her favorite place. The kitchen ran along the side of the restaurant instead of hidden in the back. A glass partition stood between the kitchen and dining room so you could actually watch them prepare the pizzas and put them in the ovens. If you kept your eye on it enough, you could see exactly when your pizza would be pulled out.

Rose headed to the open table closet to the kitchen window, but Jackie took her by the arm and pulled her back.

"I don't think so," Jackie said sternly. "We're supposed to be keeping you away from dangerous things like kitchens."

"It's got a glass divider," Rose protested.

"Yeah and just watch a knife jump over top that divider or something. We're sitting near the door," Jackie insisted.

Rose sighed and plopped down at the table her mum had dragged her to. "Can we get wings, too?" she asked hopefully.

"You're lucky we're here," Jackie reminded her.

Once their pizza was ordered, Rose craned her neck to watch the cooks the best she could. It was hard to tell which pizza was theirs, but she thought she figured it out. It was the next to go in the oven. The pizza currently in the oven was being taken out and Rose got a sick feeling in her stomach when she caught sight of the small fire. The towel that was used to take the pizza out had caught fire at the end. It was just a tiny flame, but the person holding it seemed unsure of what to do. By the time he decided to take it to the sink, it was starting to burn his fingers.

"Mum," Rose said anxiously.

Jackie's gaze followed Rose's and Jackie stood up slowly, taking Rose by the hand, just in case. The cook's fingers burned and he quickly pulled his hand away. Instead of falling, the flaming cloth flew to the side and fell directly into a boiling vat of cooking grease. The grease immediately caught fire and the flames burst toward the ceiling. The grease spattered angrily, throwing flames wherever it landed. The cooks were screaming, some in fright and others because the flames had leapt onto their clothing. The patrons began screaming, too. Finally, Jackie chimed in. She had run to the door with Rose, but the door was locked. She'd tried the lock again and again, but it wouldn't turn. That's when her cries started. They were trapped.

There was a crowd of people behind Jackie, demanding she open the door. When she explained that she couldn't, people started trying to push her back to have a go themselves. Jackie beat them off and repeated banged on the door, praying that Rose's angel was near. And then she saw him. He was crouched down at the door's lock and just a second later, the door popped open.

Rose was nearly trampled as everyone pushed through, but Jackie and the Doctor both pulled her to the side.

"Alright?" the Doctor asked. "Both of you, are you alright? No burns? Lungs alright?"

Rose nodded dumbly but Jackie whacked him across the arm.

"What took you so long?!" she demanded.

The Doctor chuckled. "You're welcome, Jackie."

And then he ran off.

"He knew my name!" Jackie said in surprise. "It was really actually him. And he knew my name."

Rose sighed as she watched the fire progress and cause thick black smoke to flood out of the open door. "And this was my favorite pizza place."

The Doctor missed the shadow being yet again. He was terribly frustrated as he followed Rose and Jackie home. He knew they wouldn't leave the flat for the rest of the evening and it was hardest to keep an eye on them when they were inside. He thought about Rose's offer to go inside and stay with them for awhile. Jackie would agree to it, too. It was a bad idea to spend any more time with them than he had to, but waiting outside was just as bad.

The Doctor took the same spot in the shadows as he had the time before. This time he brought a new gadget with him. He pulled out a small touchscreen monitor and brought up a program that allowed him to view the building layout. He scrolled to the fourth floor and highlighted their flat. Two cardiographs appeared on the screen. He could tell by their heart rates which was Jackie and which was Rose. If something happened that would affect either of them, he would know instantly. It made him feel like he was watching them more, but it really didn't make him feel much better. If something happened to change their heart rates, it was likely that they were already injured.

Hours passed. The Doctor watched as the lights in the flat turned off. A short time later, he saw a change in their heart rates. They were sleeping. Still more hours passed. The Doctor kept a watchful eye out for any person at all. It was late and he hadn't seen a single soul for more than an hour. And then he saw it. There was a faint silhouette of a man standing in the shadows across the lot. He just stood there. How long had he been there? The Doctor took out the antiverse portal and moved the mirror in the man's direction. It was dark out and the man was difficult to see, but the red eyes that appeared in the mirror were vivid. That was him.

The shadow being was a great distance from him, but the Doctor was sure he could do it. He took aim and saw the man vanish. He watched it disappear into the mirror, but still had a sick feeling inside. Why had it just been standing there? Was it waiting for Rose to appear… or was it waiting for something else? The Doctor looked at his monitor again. Their heart rates looked normal… Normal for if they were awake, which they weren't. If they were sleeping, then their hearts were going faster than they should.

The Doctor took off running, taking stairs two at a time and running to Jackie and Rose's flat. He was taking a chance by barging in, but he was taking a bigger risk if he didn't check on them. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and let himself in. He smelled it, felt it, the moment he stepped in. Carbon Monoxide might be odorless to humans, but not to him. It was high levels and they were quickly being poisoned by it.

"Rose? Jackie?" he called out.

The Doctor checked Rose's room first, but it was empty. He entered Jackie's next and found them both in her bed.

"Jackie. Rose. You have to get up now. Come on, out of bed," the Doctor ordered. He saw them turn their heads to look about, but they were both extremely confused.

"Come on, you have to get up now," he said again as he tried to rouse Rose.

"Angel?" she asked groggily.

"Time to get up." He didn't wait for her to wake further. He scooped her up and took her outside where he set her down near the door. He went right back in for Jackie.

"Jackie. Jackie, you have to wake up." The Doctor tried shaking her, but she just looked up at him quizzically.

"Jackie, you're being poisoned and we need to get you outside," he told her as he assisted her in sitting up. "Come on. I'm not carrying you; you've got to walk. Up you get."

The Doctor forced her to stand and slipped his arm under hers to help her walk. She was extremely weak, but step by step, they managed it. The Doctor set her down on the other side of Rose.

"Alright, girls, any better? Are you feeling more awake? Just a bit?" he asked.

"What's going on?" Rose looked slightly more awake, but still terribly dizzy, weak, and confused. Jackie was a little worse, but Rose had had a couple more minutes of fresh air.

"Something in your house has made you very ill. I have a little something I want you to take." The Doctor reached in his bag and pulled out a small vial. "I need you to open up so I can give you some of this medicine. It will help you get better much faster, alright?"

Rose nodded, but the small motion made her even dizzier and she had a hard time keeping her eyes focused on him. The Doctor tipped her head back gently and poured a small amount of liquid into her mouth. He moved on to Jackie.

"Jackie, I'm going to give you something to make you better. I need you to trust me and open your mouth."

Jackie looked at him warily.

"I'm trying to help you, Jackie. You've been poisoned quite badly. If you don't take this, there might be lasting effects. Now trust me."

Jackie did as she was told and the Doctor administered the same dose he'd given Rose.

"I'm going to get you help. Whatever you do, don't go back into the flat. I mean it. Absolutely no going back inside." After giving his warning, the Doctor went into the flat himself and called 999. They tried to keep him on the phone, but he simply stated it was Carbon Monoxide and gave the address.

"Alright, ambulance is on the way and someone will find the problem in your flat. You two, stay safe."

The Doctor was about to go when Rose took hold of his leg.

"Don't go. Please don't go," she pleaded.

"The danger's done now, love. Tomorrow will be better. Take care of yourself." The Doctor leaned down and gave her a light kiss on the head.

"I still don't want you to go." She looked like she might cry, but the Doctor forced himself to move on. He was ready to round the corner when she called out one last time. "Thank you!"

"Anything for you, Rose Tyler."

Thank you to those who reviewed. This is where I plead again: please, please review.

Also, I've been posting every other day, but I think I'm going to start posting daily now. I've been on a writing frenzy and already have three more completed stories to post after this. ^_^