There's an author's note at the bottom, so I don't spoil too much of the story.

Charge me your day rate
I'll turn you out in kind
When the moon is round and full
Gonna teach you tricks that'll blow your mind

- Wolf Like Me; Lera Lynn

Moments after the alarms and howling began, it ended. The gold glow subsided as well, even though it wasn't completely gone, and the TARDIS had steadied herself. They were drifting through the vortex, according to the TARDIS, but Rose was still clinging to the Doctor. They were both looking around the console room, trying to see what had happened. They watched as the golden energy flowed around them until it began to form one solid figure. When it was finally corporeal, Rose almost fainted at what she saw.

She felt the Doctor stiffen next to her. Standing in front of them was… her. Granted, this her had a vague golden glow about her, and her eyes were golden – even if they weren't glowing – so it was easy to tell them apart. She had on the same outfit – dark jeans and red top – that Rose was wearing when she became the Bad Wolf so long ago. She was staring at Rose and the Doctor and smiling.

The Doctor moved forward and put an arm out in front of Rose. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked.

Bad Wolf raised an eyebrow. "Well hello to you too," she said. "Is it possible he's gotten ruder with this regeneration?" she asked Rose.

"You almost killed Rose; you don't deserve pleasantries," the Doctor replied, and then added; "And you're certainly not entering her mind again."

"It was never my intention to harm Rose, and I don't wish to use her as my host again. I have no need to do so," Bad Wolf said. She turned her attention to her lookalike. "I promise Rose. It was always my intention to leave your body exactly as I found it… mostly."

"I don't understand," Rose said. "I don't remember what happened that day. All I remember is that… there was a singing, and golden light."

Bad Wolf nodded. "Your memories of that day were locked away. It was a rash decision made by someone who loves you, and needed to make sure you were safe. He couldn't have known I intended to make sure you survived," she finished by glancing towards the Doctor.

"Okay," the Doctor said. "Let's begin again – at the beginning this time. Who, or what, are you exactly?"

"I am the Bad Wolf," she said.

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah, I get that, but I thought you said you create yourself. Why would you create yourself and then want to leave again? Moreover, where did you come from in the first place?"

Bad Wolf sighed crossed her arms in front of her chest. "It's a very long story, and I can assure you that you won't like it Doctor. However, you're determined to know, so I'll tell you anyway. I originated on Gallifrey," she said. The Doctor's eyes widened at this information, but he remained silent. "Time Lords were the most intelligent race in the universe. Even as intelligent as they were, they couldn't find a way to avoid weapons, so they created me. To the ancients of Gallifrey, I was known as The Galaxy Eater; the others who knew me, called me The Moment."

Rose looked to the Doctor, who looked very much like he was trying not to be sick. She looked to Bad Wolf, who had sympathy in her gaze. "You were a weapon?" Rose asked.

Bad Wolf nodded solemnly. "During the final days of the Time War, things were getting… bad. That's putting it mildly, really. They were getting catastrophic. It took one man – one very brave man – to stand up and say no more. He stole me away, and set out to use me to end the war."

"Don't," the Doctor said. His voice was barely a whisper.

Rose's heart broke for him. She was making him relive all of the pain he had so desperately tried to forget. In that moment, Rose didn't care who the hell Bad Wolf was; she was getting a piece of her mind. Rose rolled her shoulders back and looked Bad Wolf in the eye. "So they made a weapon with a conscience, yeah?" she asked. Bad Wolf nodded, so Rose continued. "Then how dare you judge him. You had a conscience, so why didn't you stop it? Why didn't you say no and tell him to bugger off? It was his planet, or the universe: that's an impossible decision. That's a decision no one should be forced to make. How could you judge someone who was forced to make that decision because no one else would?"

Bad Wolf looked confused, and when Rose looked to the Doctor he looked shocked – if not a little misty eyed – at her outburst. "Rose," Bad Wolf said, "I was not judging him. He told me to start at the beginning, and that was my beginning."

"How do you mean?" the Doctor asked with a soft voice, stepping forward to take Rose's hand.

"When you activated The Moment, I didn't just go away. I became a consciousness without a purpose, so I escaped to the only place I knew I could survive – the heart of your TARDIS. She gave me a small space in a corner of her heart to live, and that's where I was for a very long time," she explained.

The Doctor nodded. "And that's where Rose comes in," he said.

"Yes," Bad Wolf said. "You wanted me to end the time war, but it wasn't over. When I sensed the Dalek Emperor and his fleet close by, I did what I could to get back to you, but I couldn't fly the TARDIS without a form."

"So when I looked into the TARDIS, I absorbed you into my head. You were the golden light?" Rose asked.

"Exactly. It was a lot for your mind to handle, but it was a fixed point. It had to happen. The moment I entered your mind, we became one. The Doctor took me from your mind – which is okay. I won't enter again. I don't need to, but I still have part of you with me," she explained.

The Doctor took Bad Wolf from her mind? When did that happen; she couldn't remember. "How did he do that?" she asked.

"That's a story for you and him to discuss another time. The reason I'm here is because everything is about to change for you both," she said. "There were many different ways your roads could have gone in the past few months, but I have foreseen this path."

"Are we in danger?" Rose asked.

Bad Wolf shook her head. "Not as of now, no. But I don't give it very long before something happens," she said with a grin.

"Then why are you here?" The Doctor asked.

"There are things you need to know; important things," she replied. The Doctor motioned for her to continue, and she said; "First thing: This is the last time you'll see me for a long while. You'll have many adventures ahead of you – stretching on forever, your names written across the stars – but I won't be there for them. It takes incredible energy for me to speak with you like this – I asked the TARDIS to find as much energy as she could, somewhere energy is plentiful."

The Doctor moved to the scanner and looked at the screen. "We're orbiting a supernova."

Bad Wolf nodded. "And I won't enter Rose's mind again unless it's a situation of the highest emergency or if the situation is hopeless."

"So you just came to say goodbye?" Rose asked.

Bad Wolf smiled. "Not goodbye; perhaps see you later, depending on your choices in the future. But I also have to tell you something. Rose… you're different now."

"How d'you mean?" she asked.

"I'm sure you've realized by now that your mind is… expanding. You're able to keep up with the Doctor a little better, and you're able to communicate with TARDIS…" she said.

The Doctor cut her off. "That was you?" he asked. "What did you do to her?"

Bad Wolf looked to him. "I modified her," she explained. "Like you do with every appliance you come across."

"Rose isn't bloody toaster!" he shouted.

"Do not shout at me, Doctor. You will respect your elders," she ordered as her eyes glowed a little more. "My energy killed you Doctor – you with your superior Time Lord biology. I invite you to mull over the possibilities of what it would have done to her had I not helped. Rose's mind was completely human when I entered it. She was dead the moment the light hit her eyes. I preserved it – and her body – to make sure she would be okay."

"Why would you do that, then?" Rose asked. "Not that I'm not grateful – I mean, I am. But why would you care what happened to me?"

Bad Wolf gave her a little smile. "I told you – you became part of me when you absorbed my energy. To preserve your mind, I had to meld your consciousness with my own. In that moment, everything you loved became everything I loved. Your fears became my own. I stopped being The Moment and became Bad Wolf. I would not leave you to die, Rose. I knew what the Doctor would do to save your life – I saw it. It had to happen, so I let it. I modified your mind and body, and when I was taken from you, you were perfectly fine."

This was all too much. Rose was getting the worst possible headache, and she just wanted to take a long hot shower and go to sleep. "Okay, so you modified me. What does that mean exactly? What does it mean for me?" she asked.

"In addition to expanding your mind – and subsequently opening you up to telepathy – tying not only your consciousness but your physical being as well with my own changed you physically. You won't age; not really. That means your lifespan is significantly longer than the average humans – maybe even longer than the average Time Lord's."

"Excuse me?"

"What?"

Rose and the Doctor looked to each other; their eyes both displayed confusion and fear. "What do you mean?" Rose asked.

"You created me, Rose. You took The Moment and turned it into Bad Wolf. That doesn't just happen without consequences. You promised the Doctor forever. What you didn't know is that you can actually give it to him," Bad Wolf explained.

Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was basically invincible, if what Bad Wolf were saying was true. That's not just a bomb you can drop and expect someone to be okay with. What do you do when someone says they've given you forever? Somehow thank you didn't seem like enough, and she also kind of wanted to smack Bad Wolf into the next century for messing with her body and mind like that. Still, it wasn't all confusing. She could give the Doctor forever now – really and truly, forever. That was amazing. But, how would he react? Would forever be too domestic for him? Did he even want forever with her now that he could have it? She was wrong; it was most certainly all confusing.

Rose sighed. "Okay, I'm exhausted. I thought the Doctor was going to die, and I slept sitting up all night. I have dried sea water all over my body, and this swimsuit is very uncomfortable. I'm going to shower and go to sleep. I just…" She didn't finish her sentence. Instead, she just walked away as quickly as she could, leaving Doctor and Bad Wolf standing behind her.

The Doctor was left behind with Bad Wolf. Rose wasn't taking this well. She was probably extremely confused by the entire thing. Even he didn't fully understand. He turned back to face Bad Wolf once Rose was completely out of sight and hearing range. She was looking at him like she knew all of his questions before he even asked; maybe she did.

He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. "So Rose is no longer human?" he asked.

Bad Wolf turned her head to the side. "She's human," she said. "She's just… enhanced. Her DNA structure will be a bit different to humans, and she'll still have a few huon particles leftover from me. It's nothing too serious. They're quite benign."

"What do we do now?" he asked.

"What do you do… in reference to what?" Bad Wolf asked.

"What's in our future? Are we always together? What happens to us?" he asked. He knew her answer, but he had to try.

She smiled. "Oh Doctor – my Doctor – you know I can't tell you that," she said.

He nodded. "It was worth a try though," he said.

She laughed and moved towards him. "Doctor, you and Rose are a story written across the stars. You're loved and feared in equal measure. You're the poster children for destiny," she said.

"I don't believe in destiny," he said.

"Destiny is something you create on your own, Doctor, and you have. You and Rose together have made your destiny, and it is magnificent," she beamed.

There was a brief silence between them. "She'll be okay, right?"

"Yes." There was another pause, and then Bad Wolf got a questioning look on her face. "Do you love her?"

The Doctor was taken aback. "What?" he asked.

"I asked if you loved her. Rose, I mean," she said.

Who else would she be talking about? "That's none of your concern," he said proudly. This was approaching dangerous emotional-talk territory. When Bad Wolf leveled him with a look, he let out a breath. "Yes," he whispered.

"I'm sorry?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, louder this time. "Yes! I do. I bloody well love her, okay?"

"Then what's the problem?" she asked.

"I'm not good at this, you know – the domestics," he explained.

Bad Wolf gave a light chuckle and looked him straight in the eyes. "Then allow me to help you out. I'll get your started on the right foot. Don't let her be alone tonight. Lie next to her and let her know that – even though you're faced with the permanence of forever – you're not going anywhere. Then, when she wakes, talk to her. I know you don't do domestics, but sometimes you'll have to, for her. Tell her everything that you're feeling. Get it all out in the open. Then, go from there."

Was she really suggesting that he lay himself bare before Rose without any barriers or walls between them? Could he do that? Rose knew more about him than any other companion had before. Still, did he want to face the possible rejection? Did she want a relationship, or was she just interested in friendship and adventure? On the other hand, could he live with wondering what she would have said? Could he take the suspense? He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Okay," he said. "I'll talk to her. She deserves at least that much."

Bad Wolf smiled. "Good."

"I'm just not very good at this sort of thing," he said.

"Don't worry, Doctor. Rose will help you," she replied. "I know, sooner or later, you'll crack it."

He nodded, and gave her a small smile. She waved goodbye and said she had to go, and that she hoped she'd never have to see him again. He laughed and waved goodbye, and then sat down on the jumpseat. He'd give Rose time to shower and dress before he went to check on her. It was going to be a long night.

When Rose finally made it to her room – had it always been so far down the hallway? – she took the blanket that she'd wrapped around her and tossed it onto the bed. She looked around the room; the blanket was the only thing out of place. After her mom had been trapped in the other universe, she had gone on a cleaning spree to try and focus on something – anything – other than her feelings. It didn't look lived-in anymore.

Rose walked into the bathroom and began peeling off the swimsuit that had dried to her skin. She turned on the water and hopped into the shower, closing her eyes as the hot water warmed her body and turned her skin pink. She needed to organize her thoughts. She'd just received more information than she should have in one sitting. She took a deep breath and went through the motions of washing her hair and her body, as she tried to make sense of the information she'd just received.

First thing's first: she was apparently going to live a long time now. Did she believe that? Did she really think she would never age again? That was one theory she didn't really want to test out. Still, now that she thought about it, when she looked in the mirror she didn't look a day over twenty. Her hair was shorter – and it did age her – but that was really the only difference. Maybe Bad Wolf wasn't lying. Rose didn't know whether that thought thrilled her or terrified her.

On the one hand, she could travel with the Doctor forever, saving planets and entire races of people and other aliens. On the other hand, he had always thought travel with her would be temporary. That's how he functioned. Would the fact that she could be a permanent fixture in his life drive him away? Would it all be too domestic? She couldn't bear the thought of just staying on Earth in a monotonous lifestyle from beginning to end.

She had finished washing and rinsing, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the hot and steamy shower. She sat on the edge of the tub and rested her elbows on her knees. This was all too much. She hadn't bargained for this when she joined him. Her mind was already thinking over words her mother had said to her, what seemed like ages ago.

And you'll keep on changing. And in forty years' time, fifty, there'll be this woman, this strange woman, walking through the marketplace on some planet a billion miles from Earth. But she's not Rose Tyler. Not anymore. She's not even human.

A sob escaped her throat. Was her mum right? If Rose wasn't really human – not a normal human, anyway – and she wasn't alien… what was she? What should she call herself? Was she human 2.0? She shook her head and wiped her eyes. She'd have to come back to that one, so she filed it away for a later date. Something else stuck out in her mind. My energy killed you Doctor…

What had Bad Wolf meant? Rose didn't have much recollection of what had happened during her Bad Wolf episode. All she knew is that the Doctor regenerated afterwards. With everything that happened at Christmas, she forgot to ask, but now the curiosity was killing her.

She finally turned the water off and toweled herself dry. She was shivering as she crawled into her bed and wrapped herself into a cocoon of blankets. She was exhausted, and she thought as soon as her head hit the pillow she was out like a light, but her dreams were anything but comforting.

Rose couldn't escape the gold light, no matter how much she tried. It was just… there. It was everywhere all at once, and it seemed to follow her as she walked out of the TARDIS and towards the Doctor; her first Doctor, with big ears and leather. He was lying backwards on the ground, looking absolutely terrified and in awe of what stood before him. Why was he afraid of her – she'd never hurt him, not in a million years!

She could see everything – the entirety of time and space stretched out before her – and it hurt. It hurt so badly. She felt like she were burning completely from the inside out. There was a song in her ears, but it was quickly fading.

"My head," she managed to say, "it's killin' me…"

"I think you need a Doctor," she heard, in the harsh northern accent she loved so much.

The moment she felt someone's lips on hers, she felt the pain subsiding. It burned through her eyes, and once it was gone, the relief made her lose consciousness.

"Rose…" She could feel someone shaking her shoulder, trying to wake her up. "Rose!"

She gasped and sat up straight in the bed, looking into the deep brown eyes of the Doctor. The eyes that had only turned brown after what happened at the game station – after he kissed her and absorbed the time energy. It was her fault he had regenerated; it was her fault he died. She had been so focused on saving the Doctor, and instead, she had ended his life. He came back – through regeneration – but that wasn't the point.

"Rose, are you okay?" he asked.

She wasn't okay at all. "You died…" she said.

He looked confused. "No…" he replied. "I'm right here. I'm not dead."

"The game station," she said. "You died, and it's my fault."

He sighed and shook his head. "Rose, that wasn't your fault." She frowned at him, and she knew he could tell she wasn't buying it. "Rose, listen to me; the energy was killing you. I did what I had to do. I knew what would happen."

"Why would you do that to yourself?" she asked. "I wasn't worth it, Doctor!"

"Don't say that," the Doctor said with a hard voice. "Don't you ever think that you're not worth it, Rose, because you are. I'd do it over again if I had to – a million times, if need be." She shook her head and let it fall into her hands. She felt his arms wrap around her, and she leaned into his touch. "You're tired," he said.

"I'm fine," she lied.

"C'mon, it's time to go back to sleep," he said.

"No, we still need to talk about earlier…"

"And we will, once you're not exhausted anymore, okay? I promise," he said. "Now, time for humans to sleep."

He tried to get her to lay back down, but she couldn't. "No, I'll dream about it again. I'll dream that you've died and it's my fault," she said.

"What if I stayed right here?" he asked. "That way you'll know that I'm not going anywhere."

She thought for a moment; she hadn't slept any better than when she was sleeping against him on the beach. Maybe he was right. Maybe he could help. She nodded, and he moved so she could lean against his chest. She didn't fall asleep right away. She was content with just lying there against his chest, but the steady beat of his hearts and his fingers running through her hair quickly put her in a trance, and she was asleep within minutes.

A/N: Okay, so here's the next chapter. It took forever to write because Rose wasn't cooperating, plus I've got the worst sinus infection in the world, and I'm just having the worst day ever. Happy mother's day to you all. I hope you're all picking up what I'm putting down with the whole Bad Wolf thing. This is probably one of the only times she'll make an appearance in the story and its subsequent sequels. I don't want to use her as a scapegoat for every challenge they face.