Chapter 2

The moment they landed, Rose was at the doors. It'd been so long since she'd had a simple adventure with the Doctor, right out of the TARDIS. All that time in a different universe, the craving for explorations had eaten at her. Now, so quickly after she'd gotten back to him, she was about to fulfill that yearning.

Her hand reached out for the handle, but she hesitated. She looked back at the Doctor and he was instantly reminded of her first trip in the TARDIS.

She'd done the same thing then as she'd done now.

Her eyes had been so bright as she'd asked what were outside those doors. She'd been so excited and carefree and so young—well, she was still young, considering the fact that she was no older than twenty-four and he was nine-hundred-and-six.

But now that previous brightness to her eyes was gone, washed away from heartache. They still carried their kindness and love, but were dull in a way which reflected her grief. He could see the forced attempt to make him believe she was alright.

He nodded at her, signaling it was all right for her to go out. "What're you waiting for?" he asked. She shook head and shrugged. "Just thinkin'." She pulled open the doors and stepped outside, the Doctor right behind her. She took in a sharp breath and exhaled as she said, "It's beautiful."

Tall green grass went on for what seemed like forever, purple and blue flowers sprouting up through it. Trees with multicolored leaves stood in the distance, bright neon-like colors annoying her eyes. She couldn't exactly tell from where she was standing, but it looked like there was fruit hanging on the trees. And it—the planet—smelt wonderful. There was no way to describe it.

It was simply breathtaking.

The Doctor stepped beside her, shoulders centimeters apart. He nudged her a little and waggled his eyebrows, nodding his head in the direction of small buildings. "What do you say we explore a bit? See if there's any sirs or damsels in distress?"

She nudged him back. "Certainly."

Up close, Rose noticed there were only a few buildings here and none of which were very big. Slight amusement bubbled in her. She'd asked to run for her life, but she had known the Doctor wouldn't give her that. Not yet. He was too protective.

Except…there was the fact that he was the Doctor. What were the chances that they were actually on a completely peaceful planet. He drew trouble wherever he went.

She looked at him as they walked, hands entwined. When she had been stuck in the other universe, she had had nothing. No pictures of him, no souvenirs from previous adventures, nothing but her memories of him. She'd kept his face in her mind, but over the years it had faded. Little things had slipped her mind. And that scared her.

So she looked at him, trying to memorize everything down to the tiniest freckle.

Then he turned his head and caught her staring. "What?" he asked.

"You're just so…different," she told him.

"So are you."

She smirked. "In a good or bad way?"

He pretended to think for a moment, and she pushed him. "Definitely good, I think."

Her smirk turned into a genuine smile a moment before her face fell and looked away.

His already concern increased, but he changed the subject. "I hear they have great food in Bo's Shop. You—"

"Boe? As in the Face of Boe's shop?" she said jokingly.

"No, not at all. They're even spelt differently. See? Look at the sign." He pointed at the shop. He gave her look of mock concern and placed the back of his against her forehead. "You feeling all right, Rose?"

She shooed his hand away, trying to suppress a smile. "Oi! I'm fine! Let's go get something to eat."

He grinned at her and led her into the shop. Her face instantly filled with distaste. "What is it?" he asked her.

She scoffed. The shop was full of bagged food placed in rows and rows of shelves. She walked over to the closest one and held up a bag full of disgusting-looking green "food". "This is great food?"

He snatched it out of her hands and opened it, dipping two long fingers in the green. He scooped some up and slopped it on his tongue. A moment later he was gagging and she couldn't suppress a giggle. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and made a face at her.

"That's what you get for licking everything." She gave him a tongue-in-tooth smile, and he gave her a dirty look, though a fighting smile was quickly becoming more visible.

"Hey! You gonna pay for that?" A man with gray-speckled hair appeared. He looked to be around his late fifties, but for all Rose knew, he could age differently than her and could be hundreds of years old. He did have a suspicious looking mustache…

"Oh yes, of course," the Doctor answered. He patted his pockets and pulled out a silver coin, handing it to the clerk. The man snatched it and plastered a fake smile to his face.

"Anything I can help you with?" he asked.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at the man's rudeness, and flashed Rose a glance. He gave her a slightly expected look, which signaled he was wondering if she wanted anything. She shook her head. "No thanks," he replied, turning back to the clerk.

The man's eyes flashed with what looked like annoyance, despite the "smile" on his face. Then he stalked off.

The Doctor looked a bit annoyed himself. "Some people…" he muttered.

"I guess it's the same here as anywhere." Rose shrugged, looking after the man. Then she turned back to the Time Lord. "I'm not hungry anyways. We can eat later."

Briefly—oh so briefly—concern appeared on his face, but it was hidden so quickly by his carefree words. "I have an idea."

He grabbed her hand and they ran back to the TARDIS. He made Rose stay right outside, where she gripped her key to the ship ever so tightly. It was on a chain around her neck. She hardly ever took it off.

Moments later, the door was open and the Doctor wobbled out with a blanket and a basket. "If you don't want to have this here planet's delightful food, you shall have the lunch of a queen with a picnic on this beautiful day!" he declared.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at his ridiculousness, but he'd put a large smile on her face.

They laid the blanket down not too far from the TARDIS—she was sure the Doctor had done that on purpose. Quite unlike him, considering the joy he found in running.

"So…" the Doctor said, a bit awkwardly as if not knowing how to start the conversation as they sat down and began to eat (the basket bigger on the inside, of course).

"Yeah?" Rose responded.

He looked as though he wanted to ask her something, but didn't know how to. But Rose already knew what he wanted to ask. He wanted to talk about Donna and the meta-crisis. And she knew she would have to eventually, but right now, it was really a beautiful day and didn't want to be overcome by grief.

She reached out for his left hand and squeezed with a slight shake over her head. He nodded, understanding. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment—a moment too long for Rose to handle at the given time. She retracted her hand and rolled onto her back, gazing up at the sky, and tried to ignore the hurt look that briefly flashed on his face, before saying, "I told you it was a wonderful day."

Awe lit up her face. "It seems so much like Earth."

The Doctor shrugged. "Maybe in physical appearance, but it actually has a whole different cycle than Earth."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, lots of things. The two suns rotate around us. Plants and animals develop better in autumn and winter."

"Wait—so those fruit on those trees aren't ripe yet?" Rose turned to her side with a questioning look.

"Nope. It's mid-summer here! The fruit is actually still rather good to outsiders, because it's so much richer than most planets' agriculture," he stated.

"Hmm." She was interested. An old familiar tingling feeling of excitement was building up inside her. She loved learning about the universe in ways very few people from her time period would ever experience. And she loved the sound of the Doctor rambling on at fifty words per minute about things she could barely understand. She loved how he would grip her hand as they ran, running for their lives. A pang hit her, making her realize how she'd taken their past time together for granted.

She felt guilty for it, but she was almost grateful for the separation at Canary Wharf just for that realization. But now she wasn't going to let him go. Never. Because she knew her life with him was limited.

She pushed the thoughts away. "But with two suns in midsummer, shouldn't it be pretty hot here?" The weather felt perfect. It wasn't too cold, but it wasn't too hot either.

"Simple. The suns are a lot further away from here. Though, the planet does have a greater magnetic force…and the amount of radiation received is greater, as well, which is why the agriculture is so rich, considering the fact that they feed off of radiation. But the radiation given off is greater during winter…" Then the Doctor paused and looked at Rose, mischeif gleaming in his brown eyes. "Humans tend to get a ton of freckles the suns, too. In fact, I think I'm starting to see a few…" He leaned over and poked Rose's cheek.

"Oi!" She swatted his hand away. "Look who's talking!"

His eyes widened mockingly. "Whatever do you mean?"

She leaned over to him this time and grabbed his face. Then she poked each of his freckles, counting them aloud. "One, two, three…"

He pulled back and glared at her. "For your information, those have always been there."

"What about when you had those big ears and that leather jacket? I can't recall any freckles," she pointed out.

"I mean in this regeneration, Rose," he replied with dignity.

She shrugged. "You should've been more specific."

He was about to make a retort when there was a loud noise—a really loud noise. It sounded like a choking spaceship. And sure enough, they both looked to the sky and coming straight toward them a big white ship.

"Up, up, up!" The Doctor jumped up and pulled Rose with him. She stumbled, her ankle giving away with the sudden lurch and lost her balance, crying out in pain. He grabbed her around the waist before she could fall. "Run for the TARDIS!"

She gritted her teeth, ignoring the pain as he took her hand and they ran. The big white shape was coming closer. The Doctor fumbled for the key and then pushed the door open, nudging Rose in first. She stumbled again, her ankle aching, but she caught herself this time. The Doctor slammed the door shut behind him.

Rose leaned against the consol for support, while the Doctor stayed by the door. Then there was a large crash. He gripped the door handle tightly, and she knew he wanted so badly to rush out there to see if the passengers were all right. She knew that partially because she knew him, but also because that was her own concern.

Then, after what seemed like forever, he burst out the door. Rose rushed after him as quickly as she could with her almost certainly sprained ankle.

Right outside the TARDIS, where the picnic had originally been was now crushed by the ship. Flames encased parts of it. From where Rose was standing, it looked as if it was only a single-seater. She did her best to hide her limp as she reached the Doctor.

He was sonicing open the door. Then he pulled it off its hinges and peaked inside the wreckage. She heard his breath catch. "Doctor, what is it?" she asked.

He didn't respond. His body moved in a way which told her that he had gotten hold of a body. He backed up and lifted up a teenage girl. Blood trickled out of a gash in her head, staining her shirt.

"Is she…" Dead.

He shook his head and rushed into the TARDIS, Rose hobbling after him. He laid the girl down on the med table in the medical room. He took out a bunch of supplies and immediately began working. He worked with such determination. She'd seen this side of him before. In his body language and in his facial expression, it was written all over. She's not going to die, she's not going to die.

And that was exactly what the Doctor was thinking. Because he knew this girl and she was so very precious to him. He didn't know how she could be here, but here she lay, unmistakenly his daughter.

Jenny.