A/N I don't own DW or the BBC.

Book of the Update: Paper Towns by John Green

Chapter 22

They watched her step into the TARDIS and look around, eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

"Well?" the Doctor asked her. "Anything you want to say? Any passing remarks? I've heard them all." His voice was calm, but Rose could practically feel the excitement radiating from him as he bounced on the balls of his feet, watching Amy for a reaction.

Amy, however, was in no state to be answering questions. She was still wearing her nightie; must've just woken up. Her eyes were wide and her jaw was hanging open as she looked around, trying to take it all in.

"Ye alright?" Rose asked, standing up and walking over to her. "It's a lot to take in, I know," she told her sympathetically, but the girl didn't even seem to process what she'd said.

"I…..I'm in my nightie," she said finally, faintly.

Rose threw her head back and laughed, rubbing Amy's arm consolingly. "S'alright. You can borrow something of mine. Or go looking through the TARDIS's wardrobe, there's plenty of clothes in there."

"And," the Doctor said loudly from up by the console, "possibly, a swimming pool."

"A swimming pool!" Donna cried out, making Amy jump, startled. "What's a swimming pool doin' in the wardrobe?"

"Who're you?" Amy asked, looking quite a lot like a scared deer looking right into someone's headlights.

Donna stood up and offered her hand for Amy to shake. "Donna Noble."

Amy took it, looking a bit dazed. "Amy Pond."

"Donna's the friend I had to go back for," the Doctor piped up, a bit sheepishly, "why I was a tad bit late."

"A tad bit? How late are we?" Rose asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

He rubbed the back of his neck, the wiring on the console suddenly seeming very interesting. "Ohhh, two years….? I mean, not really that bad, if you think, last time it was 12. Lost ten this time."

Rose's mouth hung open, her eyes sad. "Oh Amy," she told her, "I'm so sorry."

"Yeah," she said, "It's not really…..yeah."

"So! All of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will…where do you want to start?"

At that, Amy seemed to recover her powers of speech. She marched up the steps to the console and stopped right in from of the Doctor, hands on her hips. "You are so sure that I'm coming. Why?" She demanded, and he only laughed, twirling around the console and pulling levers.

"Cause you're the Scottish girl in the English village, and I know how that feels."

"Oh, do you?" she asked, leaning against the railing, her arms crossed.

"All of these years living here most of your life, and you've still got that accent? Yeah, you're coming," he crooned, pointing at her. He spun around 360* and dinged a bell on the console in front of him, smiling with glee.

Rose couldn't help but laugh at how much fun he was having.

"Could you get me back for tomorrow morning?"

"It's a time machine," Rose said at the same time the Doctor said, "I can get you back for five minutes ago." They both said "Why?" simultaneously and their eyes met, eyebrows raised.

Amy looked back and forth between the two of them before she answered, "Nothing. Nothing! Just, you know…stuff," she said a bit too innocently.

Donna elbowed Rose, a silent question in her eyes. Rose shrugged, looking back at Amy and the Doctor.

"All right," he said slowly, "back in time for stuff."

There was a warbly beeping noise and something popped up from the console, unnoticed by the Doctor, who was messing around with the bell again.

"Doctor, your sonic," Rose prodded, hopping over and plucking it out herself, playing with it for a moment. "Ooh, I like it. Green. 'S a nice color," she said, tossing it to him.

He caught it deftly with his left hand – so this Doctor was left handed, was he? – and switched a button, scanning the air beside him. "Lovely. Thanks, dear," he added, patting the console.

Rose looked down and saw an array of new gadgets and buttons on the console; lots of things she didn't recognize.

"Is that a typewriter?" Donna asked from behind her and Rose looked down.

Sure enough, a black typewriter was fastened to the metal of the console, paper included. Rose laughed as the Doctor let out an exuberant "Yes!" and used his hip to push her out of the way, pressing all of the keys and smiling at the beepy noises they made.

Amy looked up at the ceiling – or rather, lack of, since the TARDIS had conveniently set up a seemingly endless view of the stars above them – and gasped, turning sharply on her heel. "Why me?"

"Why not?"

"No seriously. It's a fair question," she said, "since you're asking me to run away with you in the middle of the night. Why?"

"Do I have to have a reason?"

"People always have a reason."

"Do I look like people?"

"Yes," she answered sharply, and the Doctor's face fell. That was not what little Amelia had answered.

"You seem nice enough. Good in a crisis. And Rose certainly has taken a liking to you."

"I would have, Doctor, in twelve years," Rose said indignantly, hands on her hips. He flinched, and she immediately felt bad. That had crossed a line. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, but he acted as if he hadn't heard a thing she'd said, fiddling with the new console.

"You're taking me anywhere in time and space because you think I'm nice enough and because someone I've known since I was 7 has befriended me?" Amy asked incredulously and the Doctor ran his teeth over his lip, his eyes darting to Rose briefly.

"Err…yes?" he answered, though it sounded more like a question.

"Just that?"

"Just that. Promise."

She studied him for a minute, and Rose found herself anxiously biting her lip before Amy replied. "Okay."

"Lovely," the Doctor said, smiling broadly. He took a few steps to the right and hooked his arm around Rose's elbow, leading her down the steps, saying over his shoulder, "I've got to do a few scans on Rose – won't take a moment," he finished with a cheery smile, heading down the corridor with Rose latched onto his arm, leaving Amy and Donna alone, an awkward silence looming between them.

"So…." Donna said after a while, walking over to stand by Amy, who was looking up at the starry ceiling. "Are you okay?" she asked softly, watching the girl for a reaction. "I know it can be….it makes your head feel all wobbly for a while, and His Lordship back there," she nodded toward the corridor, snickering, "hasn't been taking notice of anyone besides Rose lately."

Amy laughed, breathily, but she still looked like an asthmatic child who'd lost their inhaler. "Are they….?" She trailed off, raising her eyebrows meaningfully.

Donna smirked. "I don't think so, but I caught him coming out of her room once or twice. Not like this, mind you. Back when he was all…" she waved her hand in the air, looking for a word. After a second or two, she gave up. "D'ya want to get some clothes from the wardrobe?"

"The wardrobe with the pool in it?"

"Didn't have a pool the las time I was here," Donna muttered, already headed down the corridor, Amy quickly running to catch up with her. She didn't want to get lost in the seemingly endless hallways and rooms on this thing.

DOCTOR WHO

"No, no, no!" the Doctor shouted, frustrated. "Why won't you do as I say?" he demanded, pounding the wall with his fist. "I'm trying to help her! You love Rose too; don't you want me to help!"

The machine in front of him sparked in answer and he groaned, rubbing his forehead.

"Everything all right in here?" Rose asked, popping her head around the doorway. "I heard shouting."

"She won't tell me anything!"

"You know she doesn't like it when you yell at her," Rose told him, ever the voice of reason.

"Well I don't like it when she can't give me a straight answer," he said stubbornly, crossing his arms and glaring at the futuristic DNA scanner thingy that Rose knew next to nothing about.

"Doctor," she said firmly, "It's fine. I'm fine. You'll figure it out later, yeah?"

"No, Rose," he said, and his eyes were truly troubled and dark. "It's not alright. What if this is harming you? What if it's…..I can't let you get hurt," he admitted in a choked voice, "I cannot lose you again, Rose Tyler."

She stepped fully into the room and took his hands in hers. "You won't. I promise. I said forever, yeah? Nothing's gonna change that. You're stuck with me," she said playfully, bopping him on the nose with each word.

He didn't smile.

Her face fell and her hands reached up to cup his face, thumbs tugging the corners of his mouth upward until he finally smiled, laughing. "There. That's better," she said, reaching up and pressing a small kiss to his smiling mouth.

"Rose," he said quietly, "Rose Marion Tyler."

"Yes?" she breathed, looking up at him, still just inches away.

"Do you love me?"

She blinked, taken aback. "Yes, I-"

"Why?" he demanded, his eyes cold and hard.

"'Scuse me?" she asked, bewildered.

"Why do you love me? How can you love me? I left you behind, Rose. I left you behind for twelve years. All alone. I'm the reason you've got no one left in this universe. It was my fault. Everything. Everything was my fault. I…..I go and change my face on you, again, and you just accept it. I've ruined your life, Rose, don't deny it. I've ruined your life and you've fallen in love with me. How? That's not possible," his voice cracked as he broke down, eyes still hard and unrelenting, but now more raw and broken. She'd seen those eyes before. Just not on this face.

"Shhh," she soothed, reaching up to stroke his face. "It's alright, Doctor. Yeah, you left me behind. S'not like you've never done that before. Twelve years. I'm upset, I really am, but it's not like I just sat around and moped, waiting for you. I had a life, I …I went back to school, I had a job, I rented a house…..ate beans on toast," she joked, smiling with her tongue in her teeth, getting a weak grin out of him. "And I knew, when I left," she continued, serious again, "I knew when I left that parallel world that I wouldn't be going back. I said my goodbyes. I hadn't planned on mum following me. But she did, and….that's alright. A last chance to see her. But I'm not a kid anymore; I'm all grown up now. I'm gonna miss her, yeah, but she's better off with Pete and Tony. And I've got you. All of you. Big ears or fluffy hair or bowties, I've got you. It's just a part of who I am. I am Rose Tyler, and I am in love with a daft alien who runs around in a blue box. I am Rose Tyler, and I am in love with the Doctor. I'm in love with you."

She smiled up at him with stars in her eyes and he knew. He knew that she meant every word she said and she always would. Just as she'd said.

And she looked so perfect, gazing up at him as if he were the entire world to her, as if he were the best thing in existence, so could anyone blame him when he had her backed against the sleek metallic walls of the medbay, peppering her face with kisses and letting his lips roam down her neck and his hips press tightly against hers, telling her how much he loved her and how amazing she was with every touch of his lips. And when he ran out of words in her language, he began to use his own, to use enchanting words that rolled off of his tongue like silk and curled around her body, bringing love and awe to one Rose Tyler.

And then his mouth was on hers, kissing, biting, sucking, tasting, loving. And she whimpered and twirled her fingers deeper into his hair, nails raking against his scalp and he had to reach around her back and hold her up when the wall was no longer enough. And he was curved over her, every inch of his body pressed along hers, and then she moaned and wrapped one leg around his waist and his ears turned scarlet, so could anyone blame him when he brushed his mind against hers lightly, shivering at the emotions the contact awoke deep in his soul. And she whimpered, holding him tighter, and he completely lost control, diving into her mind, letting her essence surround him and it was absolutely fantastic. Brilliant. Molto bene. Wonderful.

But then she gasped and pulled her mouth away from his, and reality came crashing back and he shot back into his own mind faster than lightning, stammering apologies and excuses and-

"Were you inside my head?" Rose asked, still panting from their heated kiss.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been…I mean, I just got carried away, and it really should not have-"

"Why?"

"I'm sorry?" he asked, meeting her eyes for the first time since she'd broken the kiss.

"Why? Why did you want to?" She didn't look angry, he noted. Just…curious. Given her reaction when she'd found out that the TARDIS was inside her head, he'd expected fury. Instead, he got adorable curious eyes that made it hard to think straight.

"Well, it's sort of like a…err, on Gallifrey, we….there was this thing, a sort of….bond, and it was….." he trailed off, looking at her lips, still red and swollen. Her leg was still wrapped around his waist and her fingers were still twisted in his hair. It was rather distracting, all put together. He hastily looked away and cleared his throat. Let's not encourage thoughts of that nature right now, Doctor. "Never mind. It's nothing," he lied, kissing the top of her head.

"Doctor?" Rose asked quietly after a moment.

"Mmm?"

"Could you tell me about Gallifrey?"

He gently pushed her leg down to the floor and moved his hands away from her back, setting her firmly on the ground once more. "Donna and Amy are probably waiting for us. We'd better go."

He walked out of the room and she sighed, straightened her clothes and smoothed down her hair. "Right." And she followed him.

A/N Okay, this really sucks and I am literally crying right now, because this was like the one file that my computer didn't save. The first time I wrote this chapter, I would not have hesitated to say that it was one of the best things I've ever written, fanfiction or otherwise. It was 3,750 something words of absolute brilliance. It wasn't copied from the episode. It wasn't a bunch of useless fluff. It wasn't obnoxiously OOC and inexplicable. There was substance to it and it made sense and flowed beautifully and I was crying and laughing and making noises as I wrote it. I f***ing did research to make this the best possible chapter and it was, and it resolved like 75% of y'all's questions and there was cute-but-serious Doctor/Rose conversations and a few really good kisses and there was character development for Donna and there was even vague mentions of telepathic bonds and an entire conversation about the Doctor's family on Gallifrey and there was a fantastic kiss pressed up against the wall of the medbay and there was the TARDIS being sassy to the Doctor and I tried to recreate it but I failed; I absolutely, completely, incorrigibly failed. Now, it's short and shit and I'm sorry. And pissed. Sorry, pissed, and crying.

And also I am extremely sorry about that whole 'how do you love me' conversation; that really sucks. It's cliché and OOC this time around. I tried to make it like it was the first time, but it sucks now. And I didn't want to just take it out, y'know?

If I somehow manage to miraculously recover the file, I will notify y'all at once and replace this. Because I hate this. This is like comparing a rock to the sun, the sun being the original file and the rock being this one. I hate this one. You have no idea how much it kills me to post this.