Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters, settings or plots.

11.

'Dad? Dad! I'm so glad to see you!' Immy wanted to run to him, to hug him, to jump into his arms like she used to when she was little, but she knew she couldn't. He was just an image, like she was to him. She felt like crying, and she blinked fast so her vision wouldn't get blurry.

'Immy!' her father said, completely stunned. 'Immy, where are you?' He turned around and called: 'Rose! Rose, come quickly!'

'I've missed you so much,' Immy stuttered, drawing his attention back to her.

'I have to get your mother,' he said, and he took a step and the opposite direction.

'Can't you just call her?'

'She won't come.'

'But, dad… I only have a few minutes. Don't go.' She was crying now.

'I know, I'll be back in a second.' The image of her father disappeared. Immy could hear her own quick, shallow breaths. They seemed to resonate through her mind, much louder than normal. What was taking her father so long? The Doctor had explained that it took a lot of power to make a connection like this to another universe, and that the connection might break at any moment, and would certainly not last any longer than a few minutes.

She listened intently. She could hear her father's voice, but she didn't hear her mother's. Why was it taking so long?

'Mum!' she called. 'Mum!' she screamed even louder now, sobs leaking through her voice. She couldn't hear anything anymore, and was terrified the connection had broken.

Then she suddenly heard movement. Footsteps came closer, and her mother appeared in the spot where her dad had just been standing. She didn't look good at all; her hair was a mess, her skin was pale and she had bags under her eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

'Imogen,' she whispered. They both stretched their hands out towards each other, but they couldn't touch.

'Mum, this call won't last long,' Immy said quickly. 'I'm trapped in another dimension. He says you can and get me, mum, with a cannon or something. You've got to come and get me.'

'Who says that?'

'That bloke, the Doctor he calls himself, but that's not the point, Mum–'

'You're with the Doctor?' Immy wondered why she looked so shocked.

'Please–' Immy began, but suddenly her parents disappeared. She stared at the empty spot for a few seconds, and then she pressed her hands to her face and started crying quietly.

The Doctor sat cross-legged on the floor with his back to the console, and listened to Immy talk to her mother. To Rose. He didn't know how he felt about it. He hadn't heard her voice for such a long time, but now that he heard her, it didn't sound the same to him. Was it because she had been worried about her daughter? Was it because she'd grown older? He didn't know. He only knew that the voice that he'd remembered all those years had been different. Not flat and tired, but full of life.

He tried to focus on what she was saying. You're with the Doctor? Het felt strange as she said his name. He missed her, but for the first time he noticed that he didn't miss her the same way he had missed her when he'd just lost her. He missed her like she was a little sister, or a best friend.

He frowned. When had his love for her changed? He couldn't remember suddenly not being in love with her anymore.

He heard footsteps, and River took his hand. 'Come on,' she said under her breath. She led him away, but he didn't pay attention to where they were going. He just followed her, trying to make sense of the thoughts and emotions going through his mind.

He sat down in a comfy armchair and looked around. They seemed to have ended up in one of the smaller sitting rooms. River sat down, a glass of wine in her hand.

'Where did you get that?' he started, but then he shook his mind. 'Never mind. Isn't it a bit early for wine?'

'It's probably lunchtime somewhere… You know, I think the Tardis has a few different time zones scattered around, but I don't know how that works…' River contemplated. 'You want one?' she asked, holding up her glass.

The Doctor wrinkled his nose. He didn't like wine, and he wasn't in the mood for anything to drink anyway.

'You all right?' River asked seriously.

He shrugged. 'I don't know.' He looked at River again, but she looked away. Was she… hurt? Jealous? 'What about you?' he asked. She shrugged as well, still not looking at him.

'This is very confusing for me!' he complained.

'What is?'

'All of it! You not telling me what's wrong, of course, but seeing Rose as well. I don't know how I feel about it. It's – its – upsetting… unsettling… I don't know.'

'Do you… Do you still love her?' she asked. Her gaze met his.

'I don't know. I don't think so, not really. You know what it's like, regenerating. I remember loving her, but I'm not in love with her. And it doesn't mean I love you any less.'

River shrugged again.

'Could you stop shrugging?' he exclaimed. 'It's not an adequate answer for any of my questions! It doesn't help either of us!'

River let out an agitated sigh and turned back to him. 'I haven't regenerated since I was a girl, and I don't have any regenerations left, so no; I don't know what it's like. I don't know what you mean.'

The Doctor sighed and let his head fall into his hands. 'I'm sorry, River. You are my wife. I love you, and I don't feel that way about anyone else. But you have to understand that I still have a lot of affection for Rose. I loved her, but that was a different version of me. My hearts, these hearts,' he straightened up and pointed at his chest, 'haven't felt that way about Rose, not ever. These hearts belong only to you.'

She looked a bit mollified, but didn't say anything. The Doctor stood up. 'I – I think I need to be alone for a while. I'm sorry.' He walked out of the room and turned right, into one of the corridors. He had no idea where he was going; he just knew he wanted to walk for a while.

'Doctor?'

He stopped. For how long had he been walking? He'd lost track of time. He heard footsteps behind him, and he looked over his shoulder. Immy hurried towards him. She didn't look as upset as she'd looked after she'd spoken to her parents, but he could still tell she'd been crying. He didn't mention it.

'Immy!' he greeted her. He smiled at her. He didn't know why, because he wasn't exactly in the mood to smile. But he just couldn't help it.

'Hi,' she said a bit breathless. She came to a halt when she reached him. 'I'm so glad I found you. I can't find the way back.'

'Can't you just go back the same way you came?'

'I don't remember. I just wanted to walk, to clear my mind, and I didn't pay attention to where I was going.'

'Really? Because I did the exact same thing.'

Immy laughed. 'But you do know where you are, don't you?'

'Well, as a matter of fact…' He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. 'I don't. Hmm, this is new.'

Immy looked at him in apprehension. 'Do you mean we're lost?'

'Yeah!' the Doctor replied enthusiastically. He smiled wider.

'But – but – how are we going to get back?'

'Oh, don't worry. We'll turn up somewhere, probably. You don't have to be scared. Getting lost is just a surprise adventure!'