"Alone at last," the Doctor sighed, taking Rose's hand in his as soon as they had walked through the door.
"Surrounded by aliens?" Rose confirmed with a smile, squeezing his hand.
He grinned back at her. "More alone than we are with your mum."
Rose shook her head, though she couldn't help but continue to smile. "When are you ever going to stop having a row with her every time you look a her?"
"When she stops doing it to me." He looked over at her and winked, eliciting a chuckle from both of them. "But you know we're all right, me and your mum."
Rose glanced at his expression but he was staring straight ahead, navigating them through the ship's hallways. "What do you mean?"
"I care about her, and Pete and Tony. I…" His Adam's apple bobbed up and down with his swallow. "Anyway, I'll take care of you. All of you." He scratched the back of his head absently, nodding to one of the Vespiforms as they walked by.
Rose knew the Doctor's body language to mean that he was uncomfortable. She wondered if he was still concerned about her worries for her family and trying to comfort her, but his manner wasn't right. "What is it, Doctor?"
He opened his mouth to reply, but just then a Vespiform came around the corner and skidded to a stop just in time to avoid collision with Rose.
"My apologies!" The alien's reptile-like purple skin furrowed together where eyebrows would be, and his eight eyes widened. "Forgive me, I-I didn't see you-"
"No harm done," the Doctor assured, reaching out his free hand to steady the stammering Vespiform. "I'm the Doctor. This is Rose, daughter of the Queen."
The alien's expression remained unchanged. "Of course. My name is Skrikdor. I have been sent to be of service to anyone in the party of the Queen, so if you have need of anything, you may ask me."
"Ah, is that so?" He glanced down at Rose and raised his eyebrows, silently asking for permission. She nodded, assenting to whatever he wanted Skrikdor for, and he continued. "Well, I have a feeling the Queen might not need you right now, but I think there is a way you can help me."
Skrikdor bowed his head. "Whatever you wish, Doctor."
"I want to know about you. Your race, your planet, any details you can tell me."
"Of course. Shall I take you to a lab so I may show you some facts about our biology?"
The Doctor broke into a huge, boyish grin. "That would be brilliant!"
Skrikdor seemed incapable of smiling, for his mouth stayed in a hard line. "If you will follow me."
"I couldn't pass up the chance," the Doctor murmured as they followed the Vespiform down the hallway.
Rose chuckled silently. "I know, Doctor. It's okay, I'm curious too."
Skrikdor paused at a door labeled "Lab 1." He gestured for them to step through, and Rose steeled herself as she gazed at the solid white wall, outlined in black like a door. She had walked through several of these "doors" by now, but she hated the suffocating feeling it gave her, even if it was only for a second.
The Doctor walked through first, letting go of her hand and stepping forward like it was nothing. Rose sighed and held her breath, walking into the wall. It rippled around her, allowing her to go through, but she could feel pressure on all sides pushing down on her body.
Rose came out on the other side with a gasp, shaking her head to dispel the feeling. The room was white, like the rest of the ship, and there was a large piece of glass about the length of her body on the wall. Another smaller glass panel was attached vertically to the wall, and other than that there was nothing else in the room.
"Are you all right?" the Doctor asked, his hands deep in the pockets of his trench coat.
"Yeah, just don't like the doors."
Skrikdor seemed to materialize from the wall, his two pairs of arms folded. He reached out and touched the small glass panel, which glowed red and then showed a keypad on its surface.
"That's some sort of tablet, then?" the Doctor asked from behind Rose.
"Yes. They are very useful to us and come in all sizes. You have some things similar to them on Earth." With another tap of Skrikdor's finger, the bigger glass panel shifted from horizontal to vertical, and the outline of a Vespiform showed on it.
"Very well," Skrikdor said, clasping all his hands together, "shall we begin?"