I'M SUPPOSED TO BE DOING HOMEWORK BUT-

The Doctor and Rose considered Martha a friend, a travelling companion. The TARDIS considered her a pet. Even without her strong link to the sentient ship, Rose could tell and she was pretty sure the Doctor knew it, too. The TARDIS had given Martha a comfortable bed, the appropriate food, and the appropriate toys, like any proper owner should, and she liked to play with her.

Early in the morning after breakfast, Martha went looking for the library and ended up in the console room. Four times. Rose went to help her and promptly located the library. Later in the afternoon, Martha went looking for Rose to help her find the library again, and wound up in the swimming pool. She took her jacket off and hung it from the door then quickly located the console room where the Doctor and Rose were to tell him she'd found it. Except, when they opened the door, they found themselves in a back entrance to the library.

"She likes you," the Doctor assured Martha on their way back to the console room. The medical student was glaring at him with her arms folded across her chest. "Honestly; she's just having a bit of fun. You're not the first, believe me, and I doubt you'll be the last."

"Did she do that to you?" Martha asked Rose.

"Er, no," Rose admitted. "She's always, um…liked me?"

She rolled her eyes pointedly.

"Do you have a pretty room?" the Doctor asked.

"What?"

"Your room. Is it pretty?"

"I guess so, yeah."

"Well, then. If she didn't like you she wouldn't have given you a pretty room," the Doctor said. "Last one she didn't like got a generic hotel room, and he ended up nearly getting us killed."

They arrived in the console room. Rose immediately returned to her perch in the pilot's seat and the Doctor went back to fiddling with the console. Martha leaned against the railing and watched them for a moment. Nothing was going on and she felt oddly like she was intruding. She wondered if she would ever truly be welcomed onboard. The ship didn't seem to view her on the same level as her other two occupants. The two of them seemed relatively comfortable with the silence, but to Martha it was awkward.

"So, um, what happened to him?" she asked. "That guy who nearly got you killed?"

"His name was Adam," Rose explained. "We picked him up from Utah in 2012."

"He wanted to make a mint by stealing secrets from the future. So, he got a door to his brain in the middle of his forehead to access it all. Ended up giving invaluable information about us and we nearly died." The Doctor sounded a little too cheerful, looking at something on the monitor. "I only take the best and he didn't quite reach the mark. So I dropped him back at home, brain door in all. Though, I do wonder how it went with his mother…"

"So," Martha held up her hand. "When you say 'don't get a brain door,' you're talking about him?"

"Yep. So, keep that in mind next time you're tempted to do something like record Shakespeare."

"Yessir."

"Oh, that reminds me!" The Doctor stepped away from the console and clasped his hands behind his back. "We haven't explained the rules to you, have we?"

"Rules?" Martha blinked. "There're rules? You mean besides 'don't ruin history?'"

"Oh, of course." Martha frowned. He was using that tone that made her feel like an idiot for not knowing something already. "Rule one: don't wander off."

"Except in the event of boredom," Rose interjected. "Or when presented with an opportunity to discover something important."

He shot her a look. "Rule two: always do what you're told."

"Unless what he tells you to do involves him dying or a bunch of people dying, then ignore 'im."

"Rule four—no, wait a minute—three: no pets. This includes dogs, cats, birds, raccoons, or humans."

"Or horses. But dogs with no noses from Barcelona are perfectly fine. Riiiight, Doctor?"

"No. If I can't go back for Arthur, you can't have one of those dogs."

"Rude."

"And still not ginger. Rule four: if we are in the past or the future and you see yourself, do not get close unless you absolutely have to, and under no circumstances should you touch. That's a paradox and paradoxes can mean reapers and, trust me, you never want to find out what a reaper is."

Rose didn't have a retort for that one.

"Rule five—oh, wait. Do you like pears?"

Martha blinked. "Uh, yeah. They're alright."

The Doctor made a face. "Well, rule five: no pears allowed onboard. You can eat those vile things all you like, but you'll do it on a planet and not on my ship."

"Why? Do they mess up the TARDIS or something?"

"No, I just hate them. Disgusting fruits trying to be apples and failing. Now apples, apples are fine, and you can bring an apple tree on board and we'll plant it in the garden."

"You have a garden?"

"And bananas! Bananas are good. One of the best fruits in the universe and you can bring as many of them as you like onboard. Oh, I should take you two to Vilengard."

"There was a factory there once," Rose explained. "It made sonic blasters and he didn't like that too much, so he took it upon himself to blow it up and plant a banana grove there."

"Bananas are good," was all he had to say in defense.

"Do you like blowing things up?" Martha asked.

"No! Well, when I say 'no', I mean not exactly. Well…by 'not exactly' I mean…it's kind of fun…."

Martha asked if they were going anywhere today and the Doctor shook his head, claiming repairs needed doing and suggested she explore the TARDIS. Walking without a destination was the best way to discover rooms; the TARDIS was more inclined to impress. With their companion occupied, the Doctor and Rose retreated to the infirmary to go over what he'd found last night.

Rose stood beside him as he explained and compared scan results. "Look here? This is the first one I took, and here's the second when the particles were active. Do you see? It's like they were asleep and then they woke up. That must be why we've never seen any signs until now—they're dormant. They've been dormant for months. Like they were dormant in Donna until her wedding."

"But you said they woke up in her because of all the—the nerves and stress about her wedding. I'm stressed all the time."

"Good point," he muttered, combing his fingers through his hair in thought. "What were you feeling? When you absorbed the Vortex, I mean. What were your emotions?"

Rose swallowed, her eyes growing distant as she tried to remember. Her memories of the final minutes before Bad Wolf were fuzzy at best. "A bit of everything, I s'pose. I was…I was angry and scared. Determined, obviously…and desperate."

"Lots of adrenaline and cortisol, then?"

"I guess."

"So since you were really worked up when they were first introduced to your system, it could be that they're used to living in a chemical warzone. Just a theory."

Rose bit the inside of her lip and considered that. She walked over to the bed and pulled herself up, sitting on the edge. "So they're used to a stressed environment and it's never bothered them. That means they must've woken up 'cos of what happened in the lab, being around other active particles."

"It might have even been Donna's arrival that started it," the Doctor mused, sitting beside her. "Or else the TARDIS should've woken them up long ago."

"But they came from the TARDIS, so maybe…never mind."

"No, what were you going to say?"

She exhaled loudly. "Maybe since they're from the TARDIS, being near the source is normal to them, too. The particles from the lab were different and being near them sort of stirred up the ones in me."

The Doctor blinked and a grin stretched across his face. "Brilliant," he murmured.

"But what about me?" Rose looked up at him. "I mean…they're not killin' me, are they?"

"No sign of cellular degeneration, or atomic structures unraveling, or DNA morphing…nothing. You're as healthy as always. Well, except for…" he gestured to her arm.

"So I'm fine?"

"You've got huon particles fused with about half the cells in your body. You are far from fine."

"I meant they're not just gonna make me drop dead one day?"

The Doctor didn't respond, returning to the counter, and piled the scans altogether into one neat stack, sliding a rubber band around them. Rose slid off the bed and reached out, placing her good hand on his shoulder. He stopped moving for a moment, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, then opened a drawer and set the stack inside, pushing it shut, before he finally turned to face her. They stared at each other in silence. Rose moved her hand up to his cheek and she felt his jaw twitch beneath her hand. He opened his mouth to say something then changed his mind, sighing and pursing his lips.

"I don't know," he finally murmured. "I have no idea. There's no precedent. …You are unique, Rose Tyler, in more ways than one."

Rose smiled.

"So, we'll just have to keep an eye on you. If you feel anything change, anything new that you can't explain, you have to let me know, and if you ever feel like you're burning, even for a second—because that's what it will feel like—I don't care where we are or what we're doing; you have to tell me immediately. Do you understand me? Immediately. A single second could be the difference between surviving and…and dying. And I can't lose you, Rose, I can't."

"You will, though, you know." She told him softly and he flinched, trying to turn away, but she put her other hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at her. "One day I'm gonna die. It's going to happen, no matter what, and when it does, you can't just stop and give up. The universe needs you."

The Doctor covered her uninjured hand with his and placed a soft kiss on her palm, staring somberly into her eyes. Then abruptly his mood changed and he was grinning. He took a step back and clasped both hands over hers. "Well, I'll tell you what, you're not dying today so let's go somewhere! How about we take Martha to dinner? I know this excellent tavern in 1870. I saved the owner's life a few centuries ago. Nice bloke, beautiful singing voice."

"I'm not gonna ask how you know that."

"Yeah, probably better that way," he agreed with a nod. "Well, what do you think? Sound like fun?"

"I s'pose, but Doctor—"

"Excellent! 1870s, here we come! You go find Martha and tell her the plan and find something to wear."

"Alright, then. Change your clothes, Doctor."

He looked down at his ensemble. "What's wrong?"

"You haven't changed since we got back from 1599 and your suit smells. So better add a shower in there, too. Don't look at me like that and don't think you can get by just' changing your shirt. Look at it this way," she added when he started to protest. "Now you won't be bored while she an' I are getting dressed."

He glowered at her but knew better than to argue. Privately he agreed with her but between his time in the infirmary and the work the TARDIS needed done this morning, he'd been too busy to stop by his room for a fresh change of clothes. So he let go of her hand, giving her a soft kiss on her forehead.

"And let's try not to land somewhere that needs saving, yeah? She might be starting to think that's all we do."

Rose located Martha fairly quickly, in the antigravity room of all places. Martha was drifting through the air lazily, her arms folded behind her head. Rose smiled, kicking off her shoes in the hallway, and stepped into the room. Her foot touched the ground for a second before the zero gravity registered and she pushed herself into the air. Martha rolled over and waved at her.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself," Rose smiled, kicking her legs to propel herself upwards. "You're not stuck or anything, are you?"

"Nope. Scared me at first but this is actually pretty fun. I'm flying!"

"How'd you find this place?"

"Well, I was just walking and opening doors at random, but then I started thinking about rockets and spaceships," she said. "Whenever you see footage of astronauts in space, they're always floating because there's no gravity. I opened a door, found this place, next thing I knew I was floating! Mind you, it feels really weird."

Rose looked around the blank white walls of the room. "Do you know how this room works?"

"It just cancels gravity, right? Like we're floating in outer space."

"That's not what I meant. This room is—you know how in films they use those green screens to add in backgrounds and stuff?"

"Yeah."

"Well, this room is like that. Give me a push, will ya?" She leaned towards the control panel on the wall and Martha gave her a shove. Rose glided over to the panel, grabbing onto the handle next to it so she wouldn't float off.

"Oh, I didn't notice that before." Martha squinted. "What's it do?"

Rose pressed one of the buttons and the room darkened. A second passed and the room was illuminated with thousands of stars twinkling around them. Martha flipped upright, gazing around in wonder. Rose smiled at the expression on her face. Usually she was the one being amazed at things, it was nice to get to do the amazing once in a while. No wonder the Doctor liked traveling with humans.

"We're in space," Martha exclaimed quietly. "Oh, my God…it's beautiful."

"This is my favorite setting," Rose told her. "It's as close to the real thing as you can get. Remind me later and I'll have the Doctor take us into space and you can sit on the edge of the TARDIS and look out."

Martha didn't appear to be listening, gazing at the ceiling in astonishment. Her mouth was open in a smile and there were tears in her eyes reflecting the starlight. Some of them spilled over the edge and trickled down her cheeks. Rose fell silent, allowing her a few minutes to enjoy the beauty of space.

"They all have names," Rose said quietly. "The stars. Each and every one of them and the Doctor knows 'em all."

"I'm dreaming, aren't I?" Martha asked. "I mean…I have to be. You an' him, you can't be real. This whole place just can't be real."

"Feels too good to be true, don't it?"

"Yeah."

"It's got its ups and downs. The universe is beautiful but it's ugly, too. When you're with the Doctor you get both. Oh, I almost forgot. There was a reason I came and found you. We were gonna take you to dinner. The Doctor says he knows this good place in in 1870. It should be nice and boring."

Martha looked at her, one eyebrow arched. "And what do you two consider boring? Saving a city instead of the world?"

"Boring as in 'absolutely nothing happens.' 'Cos, believe it or not, we don't just hop from one crisis to another. So, what do you say?"

"Yeah, sounds good to me. Um…how do we get out of here?"

Rose pressed the button to bring the lights back up and the stars disappeared, replaced by the white walls again. Martha looked a bit disappointed. Rose braced her feet against the wall then pushed off and rocketed towards the door, flipping over so she was going feet-first and would be able to land when gravity was reintroduced. Her body regained its weight as she passed through the door and her feet dropped a foot to the floor. Her momentum sent her stumbling forward and she caught herself on the wall.

"You alright?" Martha called.

"Yep. Come on, your turn!"

Martha flipped herself so her head was closest to the door and frog-kicked towards the door. Rose stood on the threshold, just beyond the antigravity field and held out her hands for Martha to grab.

"Alright, now just flip yourself so your feet—yep, like that." She pulled Martha out of the room and, unprepared for the sensation, Martha very nearly lost her footing, but managed to stay upright. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Martha nodded, letting go. "Just feels weird. I'm alright now, so which way's the wardrobe?"

A half an hour later, Martha and Rose were in the console room with the Doctor, all of them dressed and ready. The Time Lord had indeed showered and changed into his blue suit. His hair was down and fluffy like it was when he left it to it's own devices, and more suited to the time they were heading to this way. Rose thought he looked adorable like that.

"Ladies, you look lovely," he told them, his eyes lingering on Rose, who was wearing an off-shoulder white shirt and a cream skirt.

The Doctor managed to actually land them in the right time and place for once. They stepped out of the TARDIS at to find themselves looking at a scene from an American western film. Lots of wooden double-story houses and buildings, horses tied to posts, people strolling down the street enjoying the dusk air. A man on a horse galloped past them on their way out of town. He looked down at them and if he noticed something odd about the box behind them he didn't react, simply tipping his hat politely and continuing on.

"Was that guy wearing a cowboy hat?" Rose asked when he was gone.

"Yep," the Doctor said cheerfully. "I like those hats. I've got a few in the wardrobe somewhere. Well, Miss Tyler, Miss Jones—shall we?" He offered his arms to them and they headed into town.

"Are we in the Wild West?" Martha asked curiously. "Like in the films?"

"Well, the West wasn't really all that wild. Hollywood over exaggerated things, I'm afraid. That being said, I don't think we have to worry about getting hit by a stray bullet in an epic, violent gunfight in front of a saloon or caught up in an evil bank scandal."

"Blimey, you're like the ultimate tour guide to the universe, aren't you?"

"Actually, yes, yes, I am."

"Alright, then, where and when are we exactly?"

"We're in Haven, Utah in 1876." He told them. "This place started as an inn and a store built next to a creek. Settlers starting coming through heading west, they'd stop here to rest and resupply and water their animals in the creek. Word spread and soon the little homestead became an outpost, and now it's a town! Population stands at about three hundred people who live here and anywhere from a dozen to a hundred travelers. New people always coming and going—we'll blend right in.

"Lovely year, 1876," he went on cheerfully. "The very first Kentucky Derby this year—that's a horse race, if you didn't know—Alexander Graham Bell makes the first phone call—I was there, it was brilliant—and George Green patents the dental drill. Just over a decade out of the Civil War, the people are still expanding westward. There's a gold rush going on in the Dakotas right now and the former slaves are starting to earn their rights to vote."

"So I'm not going to get carted off, am I?" Martha glanced around nervously.

"Oh will you stop worrying about that?" He admonished with a frown. "People didn't randomly go around grabbing anyone with dark skin and forcing them to work. Not here, anyway. Besides, if anyone tried, they'd have to deal with me, and that is not something they'd like."

"So, where's the place, Doctor?" Rose asked.

"'s just ahead. Look, there it is. The Yellow Moon," he said proudly. "I helped name it after I saved his life."

"Do they know?" Rose asked. "The owner and his wife, do they know what you are?"

"Not entirely," he admitted. "They know I'm an alien but nothing else, so don't mention it. I'm already going to have one hell of a job convincing him it's me."

A man was just leaving when they arrived so he held the door open for them, tipping his hat respectfully to them. The Doctor looked around the room with interest, quietly noting changes to the décor. Almost entire first floor was one room supported by posts throughout. Tables were spread all throughout, about half of them occupied by men and women alike. One table in the corner seemed to be hosting a card game, and another had a group of smokers around it laughing at what must have been a damn good joke. A wide staircase to the right of the room that led upstairs was roped off with a sign hanging from it that said Keep Down. The bar was on the left side of the room. A shiny counter with a selection of drinks and a single menu of what was offered on the wall, and a door just to the side that, presumably, led to the kitchen. A middle-aged man with a shock of curly red hair stood behind the counter talking with one of the patrons at the bar.

"Is that him?" Rose pointed to the bar and the Doctor followed her gaze, a grin stretching across his face.

"Yeah, that's him. Joel Byrd. He used to have a beard. Must've taken my advice."

The man in question raised his head and noticed them. "Evening, strangers!"

"Hello, Joel," the Doctor replied cheerfully, guiding them to the bar. "Good to see you again."

Joel cocked his head to the side. "Do I know you?"

"Well, I should hope so, it's only been a couple of years. I'm the Doctor."

Joel Byrd's eyes registered perhaps the slightest bit of shock before he snorted. "I've met a few doctors passing through. You'll have to be a bit more specific."

"No, I'm not a doctor, I'm the Doctor."

"Like hell you are." Joel frowned, putting his hands on the counter. "See, everyone 'round here knows a man called the Doctor helped save us three years back, but I actually knew him. You, sir, are not him, so why don't y'all run along?"

"The Yellow Moon," the Doctor said evenly. "I was just joking when I suggested it but you thought it was brilliant."

Joel frowned. "Sure, everyone around here knows I saved the town from something but you and I know the truth about what that something was, don't we? Visitors from the stars, white tall humanoids with no hair and snake tongues: the Wartyxians. I was above the planet in my ship and I accidentally collided with theirs. It went down, landing just outside the town and they blamed you lot so they released a gas that night and would have killed everyone within ten miles if we hadn't intervened. They refused to allow me to negotiate since I'm not from around here, so you had to do the negotiations yourself. But the Wartyxian's communicate through song so you had to sing and after you mentioned it was my ship they hit, the lot of us had to sing back and forth to negotiate an antidote and repairs. The antidote released into the air that night made the moon appear yellow, 's why you chose to name the place The Yellow Moon."

By the time the Doctor was finished, Joel's jaw had dropped and his eyes were as round as saucers. "Doctor?"

The Doctor grinned. "Hello."

"What in the name of God happened to you?" He gestured to the Doctor's body. "You look…well you look…different."

"Same man, new face. It's an alien thing," the Doctor waved his hand. "Don't worry about it but, yes, it's still me. And this is Rose Tyler and Martha Jones." He nodded to each of them in turn. "They travel with me now."

Joel looked between Rose and Martha, smiling. "Pleasure to meet you both. Welcome to Haven. Though, Doctor, what happened to that charming young lady you were with? Peri, wasn't it?"

Rose raised her eyebrows and looked at the Doctor curiously. He'd mentioned some of his previous companions after running into Sarah Jane but this was the first she'd heard of anyone named Peri. A shadow flitted across the Doctor's face and she knew that whatever had happened to Peri, it was something he regretted deeply.

"Ohn she's…she's not with me anymore, I'm afraid. She…" he swallowed and changed topics quickly. "But, ah, Rose has been with me for a while and Martha's just joined us, actually. We were hoping we could have dinner here."

"Certainly." Joel smiled. "Have a seat at a table and I'll send Evangeline out. She'll be pleased to see you."

"How is she?"

"She's doing fine and recovering nicely. She insists she's well enough to work the kitchen again, but we've hired on some help."

"What happened?"

"She had a difficult pregnancy…" Joel's eyes darkened with the memory. "It was a miracle she survived giving birth, but she did, and now we have a little girl. Isabelle."

The Doctor's smile was blinding. "That's wonderful!"

A few minutes later they were seated at a table near the kitchen with Joel's wife, a slender blonde woman named Evangeline, while another young man minded the bar so Joel could join them. Evangeline's gray eyes scrutinized the Doctor intently for a moment and she said nothing, then she smiled and her gaze lost its intensity.

"It's good to see you again, Doctor. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"It's only been three years."

"A long time for you, I mean. …Pardon my rudeness, but what are you doing here? Last time you turned up, you kicked the sky-ship out of the stars and nearly killed us all."

The Doctor looked sheepish. "I am sorry about that. In my defense, they hit me."

"There's a shock," Rose muttered. "Doctor, your driving is rubbish."

"It wasn't my fault that time. Honest."

"We didn't bump into any ships on the way in." She assured Evangeline. "We're here for dinner and then we'll be on our way. And if he hits a ship on the way out, I'll have 'im."

Evangeline regarded the blonde woman and the new-Doctor, noting the way the way they sat close together, arms touching. Then she turned her attention away from the Doctor entirely and focused on his two companions. "Rose Tyler and Martha Jones. You're from far away, though not as far as him, I should think. So many strange things where you're from…we must look so simple to you." Her voice softened, her eyes becoming distant. "Haven is unimportant—you did not mark it when you sang."

"I apologize," Joel said after a moment of silence. "She's…sometimes she says things that are a bit odd…she doesn't mean anything by it."

Evangeline looked down, blushing.

"No it's alright. You're a low-level psychic, I told you that," the Doctor assured her, then to Rose and Martha he explained, "One person in about every million is. It's not like witchcraft or anything; she's just a bit more psychically aware than the average human. Clairvoyance is the most common."

She stood up abruptly and smiled. "Well, you came for a meal, so that's what you'll get. I'll let you up to meet Isabelle after."

"Actually, Mrs. Byrd." Martha held up her hand. "Um, in London, I'm a doctor. Your husband said you had complications during your pregnancy. If you'd like, I can give Isabelle an examination, see if she's healthy."

"You are not a doctor, miss, not quite yet, but I would be grateful if you would. We have no doctor in this town, the nearest one is five miles away." Evangeline cocked her head to the side, gazing at them almost dreamily. "When I last saw you, Doctor, you were one of many, now you are the last. And you, little Wolf, you have all of time in your eyes…" She walked away then, her curly hair bouncing with each step, and disappeared into the kitchen.

I am proud to say I have converted three of my friends to the fandom. They are all addicted, two of them WTFed about the Face of Boe, one of them I recorded watching Doomsday and Blink, and one of them hates me and my roommate because apparently Doctor Who is ruining her life. How odd. I have no idea what she's talking about. Doctor Who ruin someone's life? Of all the ridiculous...

Drop a review on the way out! I have back to back classes on Tuesdays. Gimmie somethinggood to read while I get distracted during the lectures.