I just got back from a con. I hugged the Tenth Doctor. Multiple times. And the 11th Doctor. And the Fourth Doctor. And the TARDIS. And I - dressed as a moogle - became the temporary imaginary friend of Christopher Sabat (for any of you Dragon Ball Z or FMA fans...)

Here's the chapter.

Someone was singing. A woman, she thought. She knew this song. It was in her dreams. It reminded her of time and power and intense love that made her want to fight and kill and die to preserve it. A song that made her think of a pack of wolves running through the night with stars in their fur. A song that reminded her of her family: a blonde woman who actually had dark hair and a ginger man with tears in his eyes; a young man with dark skin and a handsome man with a charming smile; a man with two faces, one with big ears and blue eyes, and the other with big hair and brown eyes. This was the one she loved the most.

The singing voice slowly deepened from feminine to masculine, garbled and wordless, but just as familiar and made her feel calm, safe, and loved. "Ro…Ro…se… Rose…Rose? Rose!"

She opened her eyes and stared at the unidentifiable mass above her. Her vision was hazy and unfocused. She blinked several times and a pair of concerned brown eyes came into focus.

"Doctor?" she mumbled.

The Doctor ducked his head to press his lips against her forehead. "You're alright," he whispered, relief coloring his tone. "You're alright. Oh, thank Rassilon."

She smiled, reaching up with her unbroken arm to touch his cheek and her vision was blurred again, this time with tears. "You were dead…you'd…I thought you'd left me."

The Doctor exhaled and cradled her to his chest protectively. "I'm sorry. It was the only thing I could think of. If we'd had more time I could've come up with something else, I'm sure, but—"

"And if I'd been there…"

"She might've gone for you instead or just simply killed you." His grip on her tightened at the thought. She hissed in pain as her wrist was shifted and he drew back. "What is it?"

She lifted her wrist gingerly, showing him the bruised skin. "That Judoon Chief. I think he might've broken it when he grabbed me."

The Doctor's eyes darkened with anger. He looked ready to chase after the Judoon ships and rain down hell upon them—and he probably would have if she didn't need medical attention. He stood up, still holding her and she smiled weakly. "It's my arm, Doctor, not my legs. I can walk."

A muscle in his jaw twitched and he reluctantly set her on her feet. She swayed a bit but stayed upright, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

"We've got air," she observed.

"Yup. While you were out they popped us back to Earth."

Rose's eyes widened. "Martha?"

"She's fine," he assured her. "She was unconscious, I took her out into the ward then I came back for you. She'll be all right; the emergency crews are here sorting it all out. And UNIT will probably be here soon if they're not already, so we should probably get moving before they find us or we'll never get out here and I need to get a look at that." He nodded to her wrist, then as an afterthought, he reached up and pulled his tie off, wrapping it around her arm as a makeshift splint.

They took the elevator so her arm wouldn't be jolted around too much and Rose protested about Martha the entire way down.

"It's been a while since we had someone else onboard," she reminded him. "And not that I don't mind it bein' just the two of us, but don't you think she deserves to at least to know? We don't have to make her a permanent resident, but she saved your life, Doctor. I thought it was too late for CPR, I was just hopin' you'd regenerate…but she tried anyway."

He raised his eyebrows. "But that was you at the end."

"Didn't believe me when I said you had two hearts. But it was her idea, yeah."

"Well, then, I suppose we do owe her at least a round trip." He decided after a moment. "If she wants to come."

Rose grinned. They walked with practiced confidence past the emergency crews examining people and no one bothered them. There were more people outside the hospital and what appeared to be every ambulance this side of the Thames. The police were there and it looked like the military was starting to turn up as well. The TARDIS was where they'd parked her across from the hospital, unnoticed and undisturbed, waiting anxiously for them.

Rose looked back at the hospital and movement near one of the ambulances caught her eye. Two black women were standing there, one of them speaking frantically to the other, who was wearing the white coat of a doctor. It was Martha and she was looking over the woman's shoulder at them. Rose smiled and the Doctor waved his free hand at her.

The Doctor opened up the door to the TARDIS and ushered Rose in quickly, shutting the door behind them, and ran towards the console. The TARDIS hummed welcomingly and Rose felt her relief at having them back safe and sound. Rose stroked the closest coral branch and smiled. The Doctor danced around the console and the rotor pumped up and down and they left London behind.

"Alright, Miss Tyler, to the infirmary with you!"

A few minutes later they'd located the infirmary deep within the TARDIS, a lot further than it normally was, as if she wanted to keep them safe deep within. Rose recalled the fear she'd felt from the TARDIS before the scoop had taken them, and knew the TARDIS must have felt it when the Doctor had died, and wasn't bothered in the slightest by their ship's protectiveness. The Doctor scanned her arm with one of the machines, muttering to himself about making another sonic screwdriver. Her wrist was broken, but it wasn't the first time and it certainly wouldn't be the last. He gave her something to dull the pain as he set the bone, and gave her an injection to speed the healing process.

"I'll give it another boost once it get a new screwdriver up and running. In the mean time you're wearing a brace." He opened a drawer and pulled out one of the bright pink braces Rose wore whenever she injured her arm. He rolled his eyes at it but his expression was fond as he fastened it around her arm.

Rose held it up for examination and smiled at fond memories of visiting different times and planets while times wearing it. The surface of that brace and its twin were covered in scrawling text from people who'd signed them. Some of the signatures weren't even in English, written by many different hands, claws, paws, and other various prehensile extremities from across time and space. Her favorite was a tiny, messy name near her thumb written by a little elflike girl named Lilah who'd been fascinated the color of her cast, not found anywhere on her planet, and the story of why Rose needed it to begin with.

We should go back, Rose thought. Lilah would love to hear this one. Now if only she could convince the Doctor. He seemed to have something against going back to places once he'd been there that century, with the exception of 21st century Earth. Though that probably had something to do with the threat of multiple Tyler slaps hanging over his head if he kept her away from home and her mum. She didn't suppose that would be an issue anymore, unless, of course, they took on another passenger from that era.

"So. Martha?" Rose tilted her head.

"I suppose so," he nodded, straightening up the counter and putting everything back into its place. "But the minute she gets a door to her brain in her forehead, she's goin' right back home."

"Deal," she agreed.

"But, we'll have to wait until tomorrow. I need to get a screwdriver up and working before we head anywhere."

"Alright, then, I'm gonna shower and go to bed. You go make a new screwdriver and when you're done with that, get some sleep. You nearly died today. That's not somethin' you can just bounce back from."

Rose slid off the bed and set off in search of her room. The TARDIS had rearranged things in their absence so there was no telling where it'd gotten to.

The next morning, Rose stood in the console room wearing a purple tank top under her favorite denim jacket and a pair of jeans with a fresh coat of makeup applied. She felt like herself again, all the appropriate layers in place. In her hands she held two steaming cups of tea. The Doctor was fiddling around a panel on the console. She couldn't tell if he'd slept at all, but he was wearing his old brown pinstriped suit, so that was something.

"Good morning. Fancy a cuppa?" She asked, holding out the mug.

He smiled and took it from her. "Thanks. I was about to come ask if you wanted one."

Rose grinned, her tongue poking out, and she sat down in the chair. "So, how's it comin'?"

"Almost done," he said, taking a sip of the tea as he sat beside her. "Just getting the settings reprogrammed and trying to convince the TARDIS to land us later that evening. She's convinced that 2008 is a bad year. Apparently some interesting things happen, besides the hospital getting taken to the moon."

"Ooh…do you think we should check it out?" Rose asked.

In response, the rotor made an angry sound and the ever-present hum of the TARDIS seemed to deepen, the lights flickering ominously.

"Okay, okay," she said. "We'll behave, promise. But we just want to go back for Martha. She did save the Doctor, after all. He'd be dead without her and so would I."

The angry vibe in the air diminished and the hum lightened happily. The Doctor put his arm around Rose's shoulders and she leaned into him.

"That's the spirit," he said cheerfully then asked Rose, "How'd you sleep?"

"Good. Surprisingly good, actually, considering." She frowned at him. "What about you or did you even sleep?"

"I was in there with you for about five hours," he assured her. "I was careful not to wake you. No nightmares?"

"No nightmares." Rose confirmed with a satisfied nod. "I was too tired for nightmares."

Something on the console dinged and a small, narrow cylinder popped out of a hole she hadn't noticed before. He stood up with an "Ah!" of triumph. Downing the rest of his tea in a few gulps, he handed the mug to Rose, and pressed a few more buttons on the panel, then pulled the new screwdriver out. He held it up for examination. "Look at you," he crooned. "Nice and shiny, all the old settings with a few new ones. Hold on, let me see—Rose, present arms!"

Rose held up her wounded arm. He shined the sonic on it and the new screwdriver emitted the same sound as its predecessor. She felt a peculiar but familiar sliding sensation inside her arm as he gave her cells a regenerative boost.

"There! Shouldn't be long before you're out of it." He held it out proudly. "What do you think, Rose?"

She peered at the Doctor's new toy. "Looks almost the same as the old one."

"I know. I liked that screwdriver. Three bodies that went through, I'll have you know. Why mess with perfection?"

It suddenly occurred to Rose that she didn't know what regeneration the Doctor was on. She'd thought about it when he first regenerated, and again with Sarah Jane, but hadn't felt comfortable enough to ask after each instance, and she'd eventually forgotten. She knew he was over nine hundred years old and his bodies could last for centuries if he let them.

"What number are you on?" she asked.

"This makes my sixth screwdriver," he said, still examining it closely.

"No, I mean, what body are you on?"

He froze for a second, then looked up, all giddiness forgotten. "What?"

"Which regeneration are you on?" Rose asked. "Sarah Jane said you'd been different when she knew you—I showed her a picture of the old you last time we were there an' she didn't recognize you. And what you just said about that bein' your sixth your screwdriver…"

"Tenth," he said.

She blinked. "But you just said—"

"No, I mean, I'm on my tenth reincarnation." He said, sitting down next to her. "My eighth body died at the end of the Time War after I…" He trailed off, swallowing once, and cleared his throat. "Then you met me not long after in my ninth. I'm barely over nine hundred years old and I'm on my tenth body." He shook his head ruefully. "I'm going through them rather quickly."

"Well, I guess that happens when you can't stay out of trouble for five minutes." She said lightly and he gave her an impish smile. "So, is there a limit on how many times you can regenerate or is it just never ending?"

"Twelve regenerations, thirteen lives."

Rose's eyes widened. "And…what happens after you run out of regenerations?"

"I die," he said simply. Rose looked at the mugs in her hands, trying to process that. He was on his tenth body, so he could only have three more and then he'd be dead. Finished. His life extinguished from the universe, along with the legacy of the Time Lords. And what about her? His ninth body had apparently lasted about a year or so. What happened if he ran out before she died?

He could probably tell where her thoughts had gone, because he spoke again in a cheerful tone, "But don't worry! I quite like this body. I plan on keeping it for a while. Now, let's go get Miss Martha Jones."

Rose ran the mugs back to the kitchen, which was closer to the console room than it had been earlier, then hurried back, arriving just as the TARDIS touched down. "Here we are!" he said happily. "The night we left, isn't that right?" he glanced up.

The TARDIS hummed happily.

"Good enough for me!" Rose said, heading for the doors. The Doctor grabbed his coat and followed her. Rose peeked outside. It was nighttime, and definitely 21st century or thereabouts. But the TARDIS had seemed pretty content to let them pick up Martha, so she had to hope they were in the right place.

"Well, go on, then. She can't be too far. Ooh," the Doctor furrowed his brow. "That sounds interesting."

Rose listened. From somewhere beyond the alleyway, she could hear several voices raised in anger, one of which was annoyingly high and nasally.

"Humans," he muttered.

Rose followed the voices out of the alley and down the street. She paused at the corner, glancing back to make sure the Doctor was behind her, then peered around to see what the fuss was about. A blonde woman in heels and a glitzy dress was in the street, saying something about drugs and the news, while an older black woman insulted her intelligence. A black man stood between them, one hand on his forehead, and behind the woman were two young women and one young man. The girls she recognized. One of them was Martha, the bloke was probably her brother, and she reckoned the girl, the one who'd been with Martha near the ambulance, was their sister. They seemed to be having a go at each other with Martha caught in the middle looking weary.

"I'm never talking to your family again!" the blonde declared, whirling around and storming away in a huff.

"Annalise!" The man called.

"Oh, stay!" The black woman shouted. "Have a nice party, Clive!"

"Don't you dare!" The man, Clive, shouted after Annalise, "I'm putting my foot down."

"Make a fool of yourself!" The woman who must've been Martha's mother hollered at him.

"This is me putting my foot down!" But Clive ended up chasing after the blonde anyway. "Annaliese!"

"Dad!"

"GOD KNOWS YOU'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR THE LAST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS, WHY STOP NOW?!"

"Mum, don't!"

"Annalise, come back!"

"I asked the DJ and he's playing that song that you love!"

"Dad! Come on!"

The group scattered their own ways, leaving Martha alone on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant looking miserable and resigned. She looked around for a moment, as if deciding what the hell she should do now, but then she noticed Rose standing at the corner, arms folded, smiling lightly with her eyebrows raised. Martha tilted her head to the side. Rose's smile widened into a grin and she jerked her head the way she came and walked back down the sidewalk, grabbing the Doctor's arm as she passed him. The two of them retreated to the TARDIS as the sound of heels against concrete drew closer.

When Martha looked around the corner she couldn't help but grin as she saw the duo from the hospital leaning against a giant blue box with the words Police Public Call Box at the top. She sighed, smiling, and they smiled back. They both appeared calm and healthy like they all hadn't nearly died earlier, like it was just another ordinary day. The only evidence to the contrary was the bright pink cast on Rose's arm.

"I went to the moon today." She said, not seeing how they could be so relaxed about it. Her entire body was still thrumming with excitement.

"Bit more peaceful than down here." the Doctor said.

She started towards them. "You never even told me who you are."

"Sure we did." He replied. "The Doctor and Rose Tyler. 'S nothing more to it, really."

"But what sort of species? It's not every day I get to ask that."

"She's human, like I said." He nodded to Rose. "And I'm a Time Lord."

"Right," she made a face. "Not pompous at all then."

"Oh, not at all," Rose snickered.

The Doctor smiled. "Rose tells me that you saved my life earlier."

"Well, I guess so. But if she hadn't known about you having two hearts I wouldn't have—"

"But you still tried," Rose interrupted. She felt like she had to make Martha understand the enormity of what she'd done. Rose had given up, resigned herself to die beside the man she loved more than anything else in the universe, but Martha had seen a tiny shred of hope, seized it, and gave them all their lives back. "I thought it was already too late. If you hadn't tried, we'd all be dead. Everyone in that hospital."

"Everyone on this half of the planet, actually." The Doctor said. "Now how many people can say that?"

Martha smiled, embarrassed.

"Well, we just thought, since you saved my life and I've got a brand new sonic screwdriver which needs road-testing, you might fancy a trip."

"What, into space?" she asked doubtfully.

"Well."

"But I can't. I've got exams. I've got things to do. I have to go into town first thing and pay the rent. I've got my family going mad."

"It's alright to be scared, you know. I had to go find my mum, pay off my debts, and take care of my useless lump of a boyfriend." Rose told her. "I was afraid, too. I told him no."

Martha frowned. "But you're here now."

"Yeah, 'cause first time he asked, he forgot to mention one tiny little detail about our ship here."

The Doctor leaned forward, smiling. "It can travel in time."

Martha shook her head. "Get out of here."

"It can."

"Come on, now that is going too far."

"I'll prove it." The Doctor said. "Rose, do you fancy a bite to eat?"

"Uh, sure?" She frowned, confused, not seeing how food would help.

He pushed open the door for her and the two of them stepped inside. She closed the door behind her and he bounded towards the console. "Doctor, what are you—?"

"Remember what she said earlier?" he asked, fiddling with a dial. "She saw you on Chancellor this morning with chips. Can you think of a better way to prove we time travel?"

Rose grinned, "Oh, you're brilliant, you are."

The Doctor quickly set the TARDIS for this morning near the chippy on Chancellor street and dug out a fiver from his pocket, handing it to Rose. "Hurry up," he said. "Can't miss her or it's a paradox. She should be coming on the other side of the street in a few minutes."

"Are you coming?"

"Nah. She only saw you, not me."

"Don't you disappear," she warned playfully and Rose raced out of the TARDIS. She weaved expertly through the throngs of people who were blissfully unaware of the event about to take place at the nearby hospital in just a few hours.

She emerged from the chippy a few minutes later and munched on her favorite food while waited for Martha. She tried to go easy on them because apparently she had to offer some to Martha, but dammit she was hungry, and the delicious smell wafting up to her nose was not helping. Five minutes passed, Rose scanned the crowds of people heading towards the hospital intently, and then she spotted her nearing the corner, her hair pulled back the way it had been when they'd met, wearing a denim jacket much like the one Rose currently had on, with a cell phone pressed to her ear. Rose crossed the street quickly, careful not to spill the chips, and reached her just as she was closing her phone with a scoff.

"Want some chips?" She asked, holding up the carton to Martha.

The woman who would become her friend in a few hours blinked, completely baffled. "Uh…um…n-no thank you."

Rose shrugged. "Suit yourself."

She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Martha staring after her in astonishment. Mission complete. Later that evening, the TARDIS rematerialized mere seconds after it vanished before Martha's incredulous eyes, and Rose emerged from the TARDIS, holding a cup of chips.

"Sure you don't want some chips?" she asked, holding out one. Martha gaped at her, realizing suddenly why Rose's outfit had looked so familiar a few minutes ago.

The Doctor poked his head out. "Told you."

Martha shook her head. "No but…that was this morning. But…did you? Oh my God, you can travel in time!" She breathed the last word, her eyes wide with amazement.

Rose grinned and popped the chip in her mouth. The Doctor reached over her shoulder and snatched a chip for himself, earning a light smack on the hand. "Hey, I paid for those!" He protested.

"But hold on—if you could see me this morning, why didn't you tell me not to go into work?" She asked.

Rose looked at her like she was mad. "You mean besides the fact that havin' you there saved half the bloody planet?"

"Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden." The Doctor deadpanned. "Except for chips."

Martha grinned at the pair, unable to believe what was standing right in front of her, and praying that it wasn't some insane dream. That this wasn't Oz and she'd wake up tomorrow back in her flat. "And that's your space ship?"

The Doctor nodded, stepping out of the doorway, and pulling it shut behind him. "It's called the TARDIS."

Martha took a few steps forward, reaching out to touch the big blue box. It looked like wood, it felt like wood, but what kind of spaceships were made of wood and shaped like phone boxes?

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space." Rose explained.

"Your space ship is made of wood." She stated and they just smiled at her. "There's not much room. Isn't it a bit intimate?"

"Oh, you think so?" The Doctor pushed open the door and stepped out of the way. "Take a look."

Rose walked around him, stepping into the TARDIS, and motioned for Martha to follow. She did and her eyes widened in wonder as she took in the giant console room with strange holes in the wall, a round control pane in the center surrounding a glowing green cylinder in the middle of the room, lights at the top, and coral-like structures supporting the whole thing. The TARDIS hummed a welcome.

The Doctor stepped inside behind her, sharing an amused look with Rose. "Welcome to the TARDIS." Rose said, sweeping her arms out wide.

"No, no, no, no." The smile faded from Martha's face and she retreated out the door. "But it's just a box!"

The Doctor rubbed his eye with a finger and, laughing, Rose asked, "Was I like that?"

He nodded. "Yep."

"But it's huge!" Martha reappeared in the doorway. "How does it do that?" She knocked on the side again to confirm, "It's wood. …It's like a box with that room just rammed in." She walked back inside and looked around again.

"More than just this room," Rose muttered.

"It's…it's…bigger on the inside!" She exclaimed and the Doctor, predicting this, mouthed along with her.

"Is it? I hadn't noticed." He said sarcastically and shut the door behind her. He pulled off his coat and tossed it unceremoniously onto the coral. He strode over to the console and immediately began preparing to take them into the Vortex.

"But, is there a crew, like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?"

"Just me and Rose," the Doctor said. "Sometimes we have guests. I mean, some friends, traveling alongside. But usually it's just us"

"I've been with him for about two years now," Rose smiled. "Best two years of my life. But we haven't had anyone else since…well, since my mate, Mickey, but that was a bit ago."

"Where's he now?" Martha asked, noting the pain in her voice.

Rose swallowed. "He lives in a parallel word, with my mum and my—Pete…and…their baby, by now, I s'pose." She looked down at the empty chip container in her hand then folded it as small as she could and shoved it her pocket to dispose of later.

"Why aren't you with them?"

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other simultaneously and Martha didn't miss the flurry of unasked questions and answers and emotions that passed between them before the Doctor turned back to the console and Rose looked at Martha again. "Someone's got to look after this idiot. He's completely hopeless without me."

"I'll have you know survived nine hundred years without your help."

"And every day I wonder how," she shot back.

Nine hundred years? Now they really had to be joking.

"Here we go!" He shouted, dancing around the TARDIS pressing buttons and flicking switches. "Close down the gravitic anomalizer… Rose, fire up the helmic regulator. The red one." Rose turned around and grabbed one of the many handles, turning it quickly. "And finally…" he paused for dramatic effect. "The hand brake."

He stepped around, grabbing onto the lever that would send them off. "Ready?" he asked Martha.

"No."

"Off we go." And he pulled the lever down. The TARDIS, annoyed at the Doctor's dramatics, made sure to give her occupants a good jolting as she took off. The three of them fell to the floor, or the pilot's seat in the Doctor's case. They quickly recovered, though, holding onto the console for support.

"It's a bit bumpy!" Martha noted over the engines.

The Doctor grinned. "Welcome aboard, Miss Jones!"

Well, there's that, then. Now I gotta dash...things happening. Well, four things. Well, four things and a lizard.

Drop a review on the way out!