The Emissary looked up from her book as Rose bounced into the TARDIS. She dropped her pack on the floor and practically skipped up to the console.
"You're awfully excited," the Emissary remarked as she stood and approached the console. Rose grinned at her, tongue-in-teeth.
"Can't help it," she laughed as the Time Lords started to send them off. "So where are we going?"
The Doctor grinned as he flipped the final switch. "Further than we've ever gone before."
~~~
Rose was the first one out the doors when they landed. She stopped a few feet away, staring in awe at the massive city across the river. Above her head, flying cars zipped by. The Time Lords stopped on either side of her.
"Welcome to the year 5 billion and twenty three," the Emissary said.
"We're in the galaxy M87," the Doctor picked up, "and this? This is New Earth."
"That's just.." Rose trailed off. "That's just..."
"Not bad," the Doctor finished for her. "Not bad at all."
"That's amazing," she corrected. She bounced in place a little. "I'll never get used to this. Never. Different ground beneath my feet, different sky." She inhaled deeply. "What's that smell?"
The Emissary took a breath. "Apple grass," she answered.
Rose blinked. "Apple grass."
"Yes," the Emissary confirmed, inhaling deeper, enjoying the crisp apple scent.
"It's beautiful. Oh, I love this," Rose gushed. She grinned, looking between the two Time Lords. "Can I just say, traveling with you two, I love it."
"Us, too," the Doctor answered, smiling. "Come on." He started to walk away, taking the Emissary's hand as he went.
A few minutes later, Rose and the Doctor were sitting on his coat, the Emissary laying in the grass at their feet.
"So the year five billion, the sun expands, the Earth gets roasted," the Doctor was explaining.
"That was our first trip," Rose remembered. He grinned.
"We had chips," he agreed. "So anyway, planet gone, all rocks and dust, but the human race lives on, spread out across the stars. Soon as the Earth burns up, oh yeah, they get all nostalgic, big revival movement, but then they find this place." He gestured around them. "Same size as the Earth, same air, same orbit. Lovely. Call goes out, the humans move in."
"What's the city called?" Rose asked.
"New New York," the Emissary answered. Rose looked down at her, eyebrows raised.
"Oh, come on," she snorted disbelievingly.
"It's true," the Emissary insisted, sitting up to face Rose properly. "City of New New York." She tilted her head, considering. "Well, technically, it's the fifteenth New York since the original, which would make it—"
"New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York," the Doctor rattled off. Both girls just stared at him in amusement. He blinked. "What?"
"How long have you been waiting to say that?" The Emissary asked.
"Since we got here," he admitted, grinning.
"You're so different," Rose mused as she stared at him.
"New new Doctor," he quipped.
Rose stood, brushing off her pants. "Well, can we go visit New New York, so good they named it twice?"
"Well," the Doctor said as he stood up, offering a hand to the Emissary and pulling her to her feet. "I thought we might go there first."
He waved a hand at a set of skyscrapers on their side of the river. The Emissary looked up and blinked at the green crescent moon on the sides of the buildings.
"A hospital?" she asked. "Why?"
"How do you know it's a hospital?" Rose asked them.
"Green moon on the side. Universal symbol for hospitals," the Doctor explained as he pulled out his psychic paper. He showed it to the two girls. "I got this. A message on the psychic paper."
The Emissary stared at the words 'Ward 26 - Please Come' before looking back up at the Doctor. "Someone wants to see you."
"Hmm," Rose hummed as she walked. "And I thought we were just sightseeing."
"You should know by now, Rose," the Emissary joked. "It's never just sightseeing."
"Good point," Rose nodded, laughing. "Come on, then. Let's go and buy some grapes."
~~~
As they reached the hospital, the Emissary couldn't not notice how uncomfortable the Doctor had become. Evidently, Rose had picked up on it, too.
"Bit rich coming from you," the blonde teased the Doctor.
He shuddered. "Can't help it. I don't like hospitals. They give me the creeps."
The intercom crackled to life. "The Pleasure Gardens will now take visitors carrying green or blue identification cards for the next fifteen minutes. Visitors are reminded that cuttings from the gardens are not permitted."
Rose looked up at the announcement. "Very smart. Not exactly NHS."
"No shop," the Doctor complained, ignoring the Emissary's incredulous look. "I like the little shop."
"I thought this far into the future, they'd have cured everything," Rose said.
The Emissary shook her head. "As the human race moves on, so do the viruses. It never really ends."
At that moment, a nurse walked by the trio. Rose stared after her.
"They're cats," she said. The Emissary hummed a confirmation.
"Now don't stare," the Doctor told Rose. "Think what you look like to them, all pink and yellow." He pointed at a spot near the lifts. "That's where I'd put the shop. Right there."
"I don't think they need a shop," the Emissary said as she pulled him by the hand into a lift. She didn't notice Rose wasn't with them before she called up to the ceiling. "Ward 26, please!"
~~~
"Hold on, hold on!" Rose called. Before she could get on, the lift doors shut in her face. They started to move.
"Oh, too late," the Doctor called, "we're going up."
She looked around for another way up. "It's alright," she shouted to the Time Lords. "There's another lift." She pushed the call button impatiently.
"Ward 26!" she heard the Emissary shout. "And watch out for the disinfectant!"
"Watch out for what?" Rose yelled back, sure she'd heard wrong.
"The disin—" The Doctor's voice faded out as their lift moved too far away. Rose shrugged and stepped into her own lift.
"Er, Ward 26, thanks," she said awkwardly. Not paying any attention, she didn't notice when her lift moved down and not up.
"Commence stage one disinfection," the speaker announced. Rose looked up sharply at the words.
"Wha—AAAH," she cut off with a shriek, jumping as a cold spray drenched her. As soon as the spray stopped, hot air blew around the small lift. Rose did her best to dry off.
When the lift doors opened, Rose paused, confused. This was not the pristine hospital ward she'd been expecting, but rather a dark, dirty corridor. She stepped out cautiously.
"The human child is clean." Rose startled as a pale man covered in patterns approached her.
"Er, I'm looking for Ward 26," she told him. He nodded quickly.
"This way, Rose Tyler." The patterned man turned and walked off down the hall. Frowning, Rose bent and picked up a metal bar before she followed him.
She hadn't told him her name.
~~~
The Emissary followed the Doctor off the lift, retying her hair in a ponytail.
"So, any idea who we're here to see?" she asked as they walked over to the reception desk.
He shrugged. "Nope."
She shook her head fondly, looking around the ward as he spoke to a cat nurse. It was nice, as far as hospitals went, all sleekness and white. The Doctor came back a few moments later, led by a nurse. He took her hand as they walked, making her smile slightly. She'd noticed him doing that more lately, but she couldn't find it in herself to mind.
"Nice place," the Doctor mused to the nurse. "No shop, downstairs? I'd have a shop." The Emissary rolled her eyes fondly. "Not a big one. Just a shop, so people can shop."
The nurse removed her veil to give him a withering look. "The hospital is a place of healing."
The Doctor just shrugged. "A shop does some people a world of good." At the Emissary's snort, he clarified. "Not me. Other people."
"The Sisters of Plentitude take a lifelong vow to help, and to mend," the nurse said as they passed an open cubicle.
The Emissary stopped, making the Doctor stop as well. The man in the bed was turning to stone. The blond woman with him gave them a stern look.
"Excuse me!" she snapped. "Members of the public may only gaze upon the Duke of Manhattan with written permission from the Senate of New New York."
"That's Petrifold Regression, right?" the Doctor asked.
"I'm dying, sir," the Duke confirmed. "A lifetime of charity and abstinence and it ends like this."
The blonde spoke up immediately. "Any statements made by the Duke of Manhattan may not be made public without official clearance."
Politics, the Emissary scoffed to the Doctor. He nodded, much agreeing with her.
"Frau Clovis!" the Duke cried. "I'm so weak."
Clovis glared at the Time Lords and turned to the nurse. "Sister Jatt. A little privacy, please."
Jatt nodded and pulled the curtain closed before leading the Time Lords away. "He'll be up and about in no time," she reassured them.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow, sharing a disbelieving look with the Emissary. "I doubt it," he said to Jatt. "Petrifold Regression? He's turning to stone."
"And there isn't going to be a cure for at least a thousand years," the Emissary added. "The only way he's going to be up and about is as a statue."
Jatt simply looked at them calmly. "Have faith in the Sisterhood," she said. "But is there no one here you recognize? It's rather unusual to visit without knowing the patient."
The Emissary looked around the ward, but she couldn't see anyone who looked even remotely familiar. She was about to answer Jatt when the Doctor squeezed her hand. She looked up at him.
"No," he said softly, staring towards the back of the ward. "I think I've found him." He led the Emissary and Jatt over to a large tank with a face in it.
"Novice Hame," Jatt said to the nurse there. "If I can leave this gentleman and lady in your care?" Hame nodded and Jatt turned to walk away. The Emissary stopped her.
"I think our friend got lost," she said. "Rose Tyler. Could you ask at reception, please?"
"Certainly, ma'am." Jatt left.
"Ali, meet the Face of Boe," the Doctor said as the Emissary came back up to his side. She slipped her hand into his, making a faint smile ghost across his face.
"I'm afraid the Face of Boe's asleep," Novice Hame told them sadly. "That's all he tends to do these days. Are you a friend, or..."
"We met just the once on Platform One," the Doctor replied. "What's wrong with him?"
Hame looked between them. "I'm so sorry," she said quietly. "I thought you knew. The Face of Boe is dying."
The Doctor looked at her, hand tightening around the Emissary's. "Of what?"
"Old age," Hame answered. "The one thing we can't cure. He's thousands of years old. Some people say millions, although that's impossible."
"Oh, I don't know," the Emissary countered softly. "I like impossible."
"I'm here," the Doctor said to the Face. He kneeled down in front of the tank, laying one hand on the glass. The Emissary kneeled next to him. "I look a bit different, but it's me. It's the Doctor."
~~~
Rose followed the pattern man into an open room. In a corner, a screen was playing a video, and she went over to watch.
"I mean, you never know what your life is going to be like, ever," a blonde woman was saying. She was at some fancy party, dressed to the nines. She handed a drink to someone off screen. "I'm bored with this drink. Anyway. Oh, hello darling! Now, don't. Stop it."
Rose frowned as she watched. The blonde's voice was familiar. She thought for a second before her eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute, that's—"
"Peekaboo!" Rose whipped around as a dark corner lit up, revealing the flap of skin she knew as Cassandra. Rose brandished the metal bar threateningly.
"Don't come anywhere near me, Cassandra," she snapped.
Cassandra's eyes rolled. "Why? What do you think I'm going to do? Flap you to death?"
"Yeah, but what about Gollum?" Rose waved the bar at the patterned man she'd followed.
"Oh, that's just Chip," Cassandra dismissed. "He's my pet."
Chip nodded quickly, staring at Cassandra adoringly. "I worship the mistress."
"Moisturize me, moisturize me," Cassandra ordered. Chip obliged, spraying Cassandra down. Cassandra continued speaking to Rose. "He's not even a proper life form. He's a force grown clone. I modeled him on my favorite pattern. But he's so faithful. Chip sees to my physical needs."
"I hope that means food," Rose said, disgusted. She glared at Cassandra. "How come you're still alive?"
Cassandra sighed dramatically. "After you murdered me—"
"That was your own fault," Rose interrupted, rolling her eyes. Cassandra sniffed.
"The brain of my mistress survived," Chip told Rose. "And her pretty blue eyes were salvaged from the bin."
Rose eyed him weirdly. "What about the skin?" she asked Cassandra. "I saw it." She laughed a bit. "You, you got ripped apart."
"That piece of skin was taken from the front of my body," Cassandra said delicately. "This piece is the back."
"Right," Rose laughed. "So you're talking out of your a—"
"Ask not," Cassandra cut her off sharply.
"The mistress was lucky to survive," Chip said. "Chip secreted m'lady into the hospital."
"So they don't know you're here?" Rose clarified.
"Chip steals medicine," Chip confirmed. Rose scrunched her nose in disgust when Chip leaned over Cassandra, muttering lovingly. "Helps m'lady. Soothes her, strokes her."
"You can stop right there, Chip," Rose said quickly, before he actually started stroking.
"But I'm so alone, hidden down here," Cassandra whined. "The last human in existence."
"Oh, don't start that again," Rose sighed, rolling her eyes. "They've called this planet New Earth."
"A vegetable patch."
"And there's millions of humans out there," Rose continued. "Millions of them."
"Mutant stock," Cassandra sniffed.
"They evolved, Cassandra," Rose snapped. "They just evolved, like they should. You stayed still." She waved a hand around the room. "You got yourself all pickled and preserved, and what good did it do you?"
Cassandra ignored her, looking past her at the video playing. "Oh, I remember that night," she said, voice sounding nostalgic. "Drinks for the Ambassador of Thrace. That was the last time anyone told me I was beautiful." She sighed sadly. "After that, it all became such hard work."
"Well, you've got a knack for survival," Rose said, "I'll give you that."
"But I've not been idle, Rose, tucked away underneath this hospital," Cassandra told her. "I've been listening. The Sisters are hiding something."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, these cats have secrets," Cassandra said. "Hush, let me whisper. Come close."
"You must be joking if you think I'm coming anywhere near you," Rose snorted, taking a step back down the hall. Energy shot out from the walls on either side of her, grabbing her hands. Rose jerked, panic rising when she couldn't move. "I can't move. Cassandra, let me go!" A cage of light descended around her. "What're you doing?"
"Chip, activate the psychograft," Cassandra was ordering. She leered at Rose. "The lady's moving on. It's goodbye trampoline, and hello blondie."
Rose couldn't do anything but watch, panicked, as a wave of energy flew from Cassandra, right at her.
Everything went black.
~~~
The Doctor handed a Hame a cup of water before joining the Emissary at the window.
"That's very kind," Hame said gratefully. "There's no need."
"You're the one working," he shrugged.
"There's not much to do," Hame confessed. "Just maintain his smoke." She sighed. "And I suppose I'm company. I can hear him singing, sometimes, in my mind. Such ancient songs."
"Are we the only visitors?" the Emissary asked. Hame nodded.
"The rest of Boe-kind became extinct long ago," she answered. "He's the only one left." She looked up at the Time Lords. "Legend says that the Face of Boe has watched the universe grow old. There's all sorts of superstitions around him. One story says that just before his death, the Face of Boe will impart his great secret, that he will speak those words only to ones like himself."
The Doctor exchanged a curious glance with the Emissary. "What does that mean?"
"It's just a story," Hame shook her head.
"Tell us the rest," the Emissary encouraged.
"It's said he'll talk to a pair of wanderers," Hame sighed. "To the ones without a home. The lonely God and his Goddess."
The Emissary looked up at the Doctor at the epithet. He looked resigned, but just as surprised. She looked away, thinking. If the Doctor was meant to be the lonely god, who was his goddess? Was it meant to be her? She shook the idea out of her mind. That was ridiculous.
Instead of addressing the epithet, she turned, looking around. The Doctor looked up at her, confused. "I'm gonna call Rose," she told him. "She should be here by now."
He nodded, watching her walk off. He was the lonely god, he knew that, which could only mean Ali was his goddess. He smiled softly. She was certainly the only goddess he'd ever want. He followed after her.
"Rose, where are you?" Ali was asking as he walked up. She looked up when he stopped, then put the phone on speaker.
"Er, wotcha," Rose's voice answered. The Emissary frowned. Something was off.
"Where've you been?" the Doctor asked. "How long does it take to get to Ward 26?"
"I'm on my way, gov'na," Rose quipped. "I shall proceed up the apples and pears."
That doesn't sound like Rose, the Emissary said, locking concerned eyes with the Doctor.
No, it doesn't, he replied, frowning.
"You'll never guess who we're with," the Emissary said, injecting cheer into her voice. "The Face of Boe!"
"Remember him?" the Doctor added.
"Of course I do," Not-Rose said, voice tense. "That big old... boat... face."
The Doctor caught sight of something behind the Emissary and took the phone out of her hand. "We'd better go," he said quickly. "See you in a minute."
He hung up and pulled the Emissary along, crossing the ward quickly.
"Where's the fire?" she huffed. He just stopped in front of the Duke's cubicle. She blinked. "Oh. That's not right."
"Didn't think I was going to make it," the Duke was saying happily. He grinned widely when he saw the Time Lords. "It's that couple again! They're my good luck charm!" He waved them forward. "Come in. Don't be shy."
"Oh. We're not, we-we're not together... like that," the Emissary stammered, even as she let the Doctor lead her forward by the hand. Clovis raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her. The Emissary dropped the Doctor's hand and stepped to the side, putting a bit of space between them, shifting awkwardly. She completely missed the Doctor's frown as she did.
"Any friendship expressed by the Duke of Manhattan does not constitute a form of legal contract," Clovis informed them both.
"Winch me up. Up!" the Duke ordered. When he was fully sitting up, he spread his arms jovially. "Look at me! No sign of infection."
"But... you had Petrifold Regression, didn't you?" the Emissary asked.
"Had being the operative word," the Duke confirmed. "Past tense. Completely cured."
"But that's impossible," the Doctor said. A nearby nurse smiled serenely at the Time Lords.
"Primitive species would accuse us of magic," she said, "but it's merely the tender application of science."
Sure it is, the Emissary scoffed in the Doctor's mind.
He agreed, asking out loud, "How on Earth did you cure him?"
"How on New Earth, you might say," the nurse quipped.
"Oh, cats being clever, that's all we need," the Emissary grumbled under her breath. She looked up at the nurse. "What's in that solution?"
"A simple remedy," she brushed off.
"Then tell us what it is," the Doctor tried.
"I'm sorry. Patient confidentiality," she said firmly. She eyed them warily. "I don't believe we've met. My name is Matron Casp."
"I'm the Doctor, she's the Emissary," the Doctor introduced. The Emissary waved a little.
'I think you'll find that we're the doctors here," Casp told him, before turning to the Emissary. "And there is no need of diplomats in this hospital."
Before either one could answer, Jatt came up. "Matron, you're needed in Intensive Care."
Casp smiled politely. "If you'll excuse me." She and Jatt walked off.
"I'm starting to see why you don't like hospitals," the Emissary said to the Doctor, watching the cats walk off.
"Told you," he quipped. "Hospitals are creepy."
~~~
When Rose finally showed up, the Emissary met her at the elevator. She gave Rose a once-over, eyebrows raising at the outfit. The shirt was unbuttoned quite a bit lower than the Emissary knew Rose typically would leave it. She shook her head, then took her by the wrist and led her over to the Doctor.
"There you are," he said when they reached him. "Look at this patient. Marconi's Disease. Should take years to recover. Two days." He shook his head in amazement. "Never seen anything like it. They've invented a cell washing cascaded. It's amazing."
"Their medical science is advanced way beyond where it should be," the Emissary cut in. She pulled Rose over to another cubicle. "Like this man, he had Pallidome Pancrosis. Terminal in ten minutes, and he's completely fine." She frowned at the Doctor when Rose still didn't say anything. He nodded back, having noticed the same thing.
"We need to find a terminal," he said, walking off down a hall. The two girls followed. "I've got to see how they do this. Because if they've got the best medicine in the world, why is it such a secret?"
"I can't Adam and Eve it," Rose said, stopping in front of the Doctor.
He frowned down at her. "What's, what's... what's with the voice?"
"Oh, I don't know," Rose mused, checking him out. "Just... larking about. New Earth, new me."
The Doctor nodded slowly. "Well, I can talk. New new Doctor."
"Mmm, aren't you just." Rose pulled him down by the tie and kissed him, hard. Her hands found their way into his hair, holding him in place when he tried to pull away.
Behind them, the Emissary watched, jaw dropped. As Not-Rose — because this definitely confirmed that this was not Rose — finally pulled away, the Emissary shoved down the spark of jealousy that had lit in her chest.
Not-Rose adjusted her shirt and turned decisively down the hall, blowing out a breath. "Terminal's this way."
The Emissary came up beside the Doctor, who looked over at her with one eyebrow raised, grinning slightly. "Don't look at me, I'm not kissing you," she told him. His tie was still crooked and she reached over, straightening it. "Come on. We can't let her just wander."
He watched her go, still a little breathless. He ran a hand through his hair. "Yep," he breathed. "Still got it."
He wiped a hand over his mouth, trying to brush away how wrong the kiss had felt.
~~~
"Nope, nothing odd," the Doctor remarked, scanning the blueprints the Emissary had pulled up. "Surgery, post-op, nano-dentistry." He frowned. "No sign of a shop. They should have a shop."
"Oh, let it go," the Emissary sighed. From her other side, Not-Rose shook her head.
"No, it's missing something," she insisted. "When I was downstairs, those Nurse Cat Nuns were talking about Intensive Care. Where is it?"
"You're right," the Emissary said slowly, nodding. "Well done."
She held her sonic against the terminal, searching for the ICU. Nothing came up. She tried again. Nothing. Not-Rose frowned.
"Why would they hide a whole department?" She glanced at the Time Lords. "It's got to be there somewhere. Search the sub-frame."
The Doctor frowned. "What if the sub-frame's locked?"
"Try the installation protocol," came the immediate answer.
"Yeah, of course," he nodded. "Sorry, hold on." As he lifted his sonic up to the terminal, the Doctor caught the Emissary's eye.
That is not Rose, he said to her.
Really? she drawled. What gave it away?
He shrugged mentally, pressing the button on his sonic. A few seconds later, the entire wall slid into the floor.
"Intensive Care," the Emissary mused as she looked into the dark room that was revealed.
"Certainly looks intensive," the Doctor agreed.
Not-Rose pushed past them and went down the stairs. The Time Lords followed more warily. The room was large, filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of glowing green doors. The Emissary stopped in front of one, pulling it open. The man inside was horribly infected, shackled in a standing position in the center of the cell. Her hearts sank at the sight. The Doctor laid a hand on her shoulder as Not-Rose came up to their side.
"That's disgusting," she breathed. "What's wrong with him?"
"He's sick," the Emissary told her simply.
"I'm sorry," the Doctor said to the man. He gently pulled the Emissary back and closed the cell door. "I'm so sorry."
He moved to the next door and opened it to see a young woman in the same state as the previous man.
"What disease is that?" Not-Rose asked.
The Emissary's eyes were dark. "It's all of them."
"Every single disease in the galaxy," the Doctor confirmed. "They've been infected with everything."
Not-Rose blanched, looking between the Time Lords. "What about us? Are we safe?"
"The air is sterile," the Emissary told her. "We just can't touch them." She closed the cell door softly. This explains the miraculous cures, she said to the Doctor, glancing at him. I wonder how many they have here.
"How many patients are there?" Not-Rose unknowingly echoed. The Doctor shook his head.
"They're not patients," he corrected.
"But they're sick," Not-Rose pointed out.
"They were born that way," the Emissary replied. "They were born to be sick."
"Lab rats," he spat as he led them further down the walkway. "No wonder the Sisters have got a cure for everything. They've built the ultimate research laboratory. A human farm."
Not-Rose frowned. "Why don't they just die?"
"Plague carriers are the last to go," the Emissary said. She turned when she saw Novice Hame approaching them and mentally nudged the Doctor, making him look up. His eyes narrowed at Hame.
"It's for the greater cause," Hame told the angry Time Lords.
"Novice Hame," the Emissary hissed. "When you took your vows, did you agree to this?"
Hame avoided the question. "The Sisterhood has sworn to help."
"What, by killing?"
"But they're not real people," Hame insisted. "They're specially grown. They have no proper existence."
"What's the turnover, hmm?" the Doctor snarled quietly. "Thousand a day? Thousand the next? Thousand the next? How many thousands? For how many years?" His voice rose angrily. "How many!"
"Mankind needed us," Hame defended. "They came to this planet with so many illnesses. We couldn't cope." She looked at them pleadingly. "We did try. We tried everything. We tried using clone-meat and bio-cattle, but the results were too slow, so the Sisterhood grew its own flesh. That's all they are. Flesh."
"They're alive," the Emissary said. She could feel the Doctor tensing angrily, and slipped her hand into his, hoping to keep him from losing his temper completely. "You can't just... grow people and claim they're not deserving of basic decency."
"But think of those Humans out there, healthy and happy, because of us," Hame said.
"If they live because of this, then life is worthless," the Doctor snapped.
Hame smiled a little condescendingly. "But who are you to decide that?"
"I'm the Doctor," he said, hand pulling the Emissary closer to him. "She's the Emissary. And if you don't like it, if you want to take it to a higher authority, then there isn't one. It stops with us." Hame flinched back a little.
Not-Rose chose that moment to remind them of her presence. "Just to confirm," she piped up. All three of them turned to look at her. She twirled a finger to encompass the ICU. "None of the humans in the city actually know about this?"
"We thought it best not," Hame said delicately.
The Time Lords paused, considering the blonde.
"Hold on," the Doctor said, turning back to Hame. "I can understand the bodies. I can understand your vows. One thing I can't understand. What have you done to Rose?"
Hame looked genuinely surprised. "I don't know what you mean."
"And I'm being very, very calm," he said slowly. "You want to be aware of that. Very, very calm." The fury that was beginning to spill over their mental link told a different story. "And the only reason I'm being so very, very calm is that the brain is a delicate thing. Whatever you've done to Rose's head, I want it reversed."
Hame shook her head. "We haven't done anything."
"I'm perfectly fine," Not-Rose agreed.
"People are dying," the Emissary replied, "and Rose would care."
"Oh, all right, clever clogs," Not-Rose sighed, glaring at the Emissary. She stepped closer to the Doctor and pulled on his tie. "Smarty pants. Lady-killer."
The Doctor eyed her warily. "What's happened to you?"
"I knew something was going on in this hospital," Not-Rose told them, "but I needed this body and your mind to find it out." She glanced dismissively at the Emissary. "Well, his mind, anyway. Don't know who you are."
"Who are you?" the Doctor asked as the Emissary blinked. Not-Rose pressed right up against the Doctor and leaned her mouth close to his ear.
"The last human," she whispered.
He jerked away from her in shock. "Cassandra?"
"Wake up and smell the perfume," she quipped. From her bra, she pulled out a vial and spritzed it in the Doctor's face. He went limp instantly, completely knocked out. The Emissary caught him as he fell, his dead weight leaning on her shoulder.
"What the hell is your problem?" she snapped at Cassandra. "What did you spray him with?"
Cassandra didn't answer, simply raising the vial a spritzing the Emissary with it. Before the Time Lady could even blink, the world went dark.
~~~
When the Doctor came to, he realized two things very quickly. One, the cell Cassandra had shoved him into was not meant for two people, and the Emissary was pressed right against him. Two, the Emissary was still out cold. Her head was resting on his chest, one of her wrists shackled. He pulled his own cuffed wrist experimentally, huffing when the shackle held firm.
"Let us out!" he demanded loudly. "Let us out!" Rose's face popped up in the window, smirking.
"Aren't you lucky there was a spare?" she drawled. "Standing room only, just barely got the both of you in there."
"You've stolen Rose's body," he growled.
"Over the years, I've thought of a thousand ways to kill you, Doctor," Cassandra said. "And now, that's exactly what I've got."
Oh, Rassilon, is she monologuing? The Doctor glanced down at the Emissary when her voice rang in his mind. She lifted her head, looking around the cell.
Welcome back, he said. She tugged on her cuffed wrist, before huffing and turning her attention back to Cassandra.
"One thousand diseases," Cassandra was saying. "They pump the patients with a top-up every ten minutes. You've got about three minutes left." She sneered in at them, the expression looking out of place on Rose's face. "Enjoy."
"Just let Rose go, Cassandra," the Doctor ordered.
Cassandra nodded. "I will. As soon as I've found someone younger—"
"Younger?!" The Emissary scoffed. "She's nineteen, Cassandra, how young do you need to be?"
"And less common," Cassandra continued, ignoring the Emissary. "Then I'll junk her with the waste." She looked off to the side. "Now hushaby. It's showtime."
Cassandra left their view.
The Emissary shifted, making the Doctor glance down at her.
What, what are you doing? he asked. She glanced up at him.
I can't reach my sonic, she answered. Which pocket is yours in?
Left, he said. Inside pocket. She thanked the gods that her left hand was free and reached into the Doctor's coat, humming triumphantly when she found the sonic. Quickly, she pressed it against her cuff, and then the Doctor's.
When they were both free, she handed his sonic back, pulling her own out as they approached the door. Think we could unlock it from this side? she mused.
He didn't need to answer. The door suddenly unlocked by itself and the Emissary pushed it all the way open, shoving her sonic into the back pocket of her jeans. Her eyes widened as they stepped out into pandemonium. Their entire row of cells were open, infected people staggering out.
"What've you done?" the Doctor asked Cassandra.
She looked around, a bit nervously. "Gave the system a shot of adrenaline, just to wake them up." She backed away. "See you!"
The Time Lords took off after her, dodging the infected.
"Don't touch them," the Emissary shouted behind her to the cats. "Whatever you do, don't let them touch you!"
They caught up to Cassandra and Chip on a catwalk above the stairs, staring in horror down the way they'd come. The Emissary sighed as Jatt screamed, dying almost instantly as one of the infected got to her. Another infected man blew the fuse box. All around the group, cell door swung open and infected people were set free.
"Oh, my god," Cassandra breathed in horror.
"What the hell did you do?" the Emissary asked her, staring at the chaos.
Cassandra shook her head immediately. "It wasn't me."
Looking up at the door they'd entered the ICU through, the Emissary shook her head. "We have to go down."
Cassandra started to protest, but the Doctor cut her off angrily. "One touch and you get every disease in the world, and I want that body safe, Cassandra." He pointed to the nearby stairs. "We're going down."
"But there's thousands of them!" Cassandra pointed out.
"Best start running, then!" the Emissary snapped, leading the way downstairs. "Come on, down! And be quick about it!"
As they ran further and further downstairs, the intercom crackled to life. "This building is under quarantine. Repeat, this building is under quarantine."
"Keep going," the Doctor ordered when Cassandra paused at the announcement. "Go down!"
When they reached the bottom, Cassandra ran for a lift. The Emissary shook her head.
"No good, the lifts are closed," she told her. "We're under quarantine, nothing's moving."
Cassandra looked around for a moment before nodding decisively and moving off towards a corridor. "This way!"
The Time Lords started to follow when the Doctor noticed Chip getting cut off by the infected. He looked back at Cassandra.
"Someone will touch him," he told her, starting to go back.
Cassandra kept moving. "Leave him," she said. "He's just a clone thing. He's got a half life. Come on!"
She kept going. The Doctor hesitated.
Doctor, the Emissary said, watching from the hallway entrance. He didn't react, still inching towards Chip. She sighed. Theta, we can't let her get away, she said softly and urgently. The Doctor's head snapped round to look at her. She's got Rose.
He nodded, looking back at Chip even as he backed towards the Emissary. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "We can't let her escape."
As they ran down the hall, he looked at the Emissary. Theta? he asked. She never called him that. His question made her wince.
Heat of the moment? she said awkwardly. I needed to get your attention. Sorry, it won't happen again.
He shook his head, grinning despite their current situation. No, I like it when you call me Theta, he said, smirking faintly. You should call me that more often.
They caught up to Cassandra quickly. She led them into a wide room, a video screen at one end, a burnt out frame at the other. Cassandra ran to the opposite door, only to slam it shut and locked when infected people tried to break through. She turned around to see the Doctor watching her as the Emissary examined the equipment in the room.
"We're trapped!" she wailed. "What am I going to do?"
"Well, for starters, you're going to leave that body," the Doctor told her.
"This psychograft is banned on every civilized planet," the Emissary said. Her arms were crossed. "You're compressing Rose to death."
Cassandra walked past them to stand in front of her old frame. "But I've got nowhere to go," she said. "My original skin's dead."
"Should've thought of that before you left it," the Emissary shrugged.
"It's not our problem," the Doctor agreed. "You can float as atoms in the air. Now, get out." He leveled his sonic at Cassandra. "Give her back to us."
Cassandra looked between the two Time Lords consideringly, before she shrugged. "You asked for it."
She took a deep breath and blew out. A wave of pink energy flew from her mouth and into the Emissary. The Doctor winced as he felt her mind disappear completely.
Next to him, Rose stumbled, and would have fallen if the Doctor hadn't caught her. She raised a shaky hand to her head, looking around.
"Blimey, my head," she muttered. She straightened up, looking between the Emissary and the Doctor. "Where'd she go?" Looking between her friends again, Rose noted the furious expression the Doctor wore.
"Oh, my," the Emissary said suddenly. Rose snapped her attention back to the Time Lady, eyes narrowing at the tone of voice. "This is different. Oh, I'm French!"
"Cassandra?" Rose asked, eyes wide.
"Get out of her," the Doctor snarled. Rose blinked at him, the dark tone of his voice surprising her. "I'm warning you, Cassandra!"
Cassandra ignored him, running her hands over the Emissary's body. "I like this body much better," she mused, looking in a mirror. She pulled the hair tie out of the Emissary's hair and shook her hair out. "Not such a chav, now." She took the Emissary's jacket off and dropped it to the ground, pulling the white tank down a little. "That's more like it." She turned to the other two, smiling, when her body suddenly jerked oddly. "Oh. Oh, two hearts!" It almost looked like Cassandra was dancing. "Oh, baby, I'm beating out a samba!"
"Get out!" the Doctor nearly shouted. Cassandra rolled her eyes, but straightened up. She looked like she was preparing to transfer again, when the door was forced open with a crash. The infected began to pour into the room.
"What do we do?" Cassandra asked, nearly hysterical. "What do we do?!"
The Doctor looked like he wanted to argue some more, but the urgency of the situation won. Looking around, he pushed Rose towards a ladder behind them. "Up," he ordered.
"Out of the way, Blondie!" Cassandra pushed past Rose and started to climb. The Doctor rolled his eyes, ushering Rose onto the ladder before him.
"Get out of the Emissary's body," Rose told Cassandra as they climbed. "She can help us."
"Yap, yap, yap," Cassandra groaned, rolling her eyes as she looked down at Rose. "God, it was tedious inside your head. Hormone city!"
"If you don't leave her body," the Doctor started to threaten. He cut off, looking down. Matron Casp had grabbed his ankle, holding him in place. "Let go of me!"
Rose stopped climbing, looking down. Matron Casp was glaring up at them. "All our good work," the cat hissed. "All that healing. The good name of the Sisterhood." The Doctor rolled his eyes angrily. "You have destroyed everything!"
"Go and play with a ball of string," Cassandra spat from above Rose. Casp glared up at her.
"Everywhere, disease," she snapped. "This is the human world! Sickness!" Rose stared, horrified, as an infected woman got a hand around Casp's ankle and the cat fell from the ladder, screaming. The Doctor swallowed, then looked up.
"Move!" he ordered.
They got as far as the next set of doors before a problem presented itself. The doors wouldn't open.
"Use her sonic screwdriver," Rose told Cassandra.
Cassandra huffed, pulling the bronze sonic from her back pocket. "This thing?" she asked, waving it.
"Yes," the Doctor confirmed. "Hold it against the doors and activate it!"
"Well, I don't know how," Cassandra told him. "That Emissary's hidden away all her thoughts."
Rose looked down at the Doctor. "Can you open the doors?"
He shook his head. "Not until Cassandra leaves the Emissary."
Rose rolled her eyes. "Not sure this is the time to be arguing that," she muttered, before addressing Cassandra. "Cassandra, just go back into me, so that one of them can open it. Do it!"
"Don't you dare, Cassandra," the Doctor growled. Cassandra sighed exasperatedly.
"Hold on tight," she said before blowing out and into the Doctor. She groaned. "And now I'm a man!" She looked up at the Emissary. "Open it!"
The Emissary swayed above Rose, just managing to get a tight grip before she fell. When she was steady, she glared down at Cassandra. "I'm not doing anything until you get out of him," she snapped. She leveled her sonic at the Doctor's body. "Leave him!"
Rose had a strong urge to smack someone. "We do not have time for this!" she cried. "Just open the doors!"
The Emissary ignored her, shouting down at Cassandra. "Cassandra, get out of his head!"
Cassandra sighed, swapping bodies back into Rose. "No matter how difficult the situation," she drawled, "there is no need to shout." She looked around to see two irate aliens glaring at her.
"Cassandra, get out of her," the Doctor ordered.
Cassandra rolled her eyes at them. "But I can't go into either of you," she pointed out, waving a hand between them. "You both simply refuse. You're so rude."
"Not my problem," the Emissary snapped. "Go somewhere else."
"Oh, I'm so going to regret this," Cassandra sighed, before whooshing into the first infected woman. She made a face. "Oh, sweet lord, I look disgusting."
Less than a minute later, the Emissary had the doors open. She climbed in, then helped Rose. "Nice to have you back," she said to Rose, smiling. Her smile faltered at the blonde's flat face. "What?"
"You are both ridiculous," Rose snapped as the Doctor climbed up. "We had bigger problems." The Emissary opened her mouth to respond, when there was a whoosh and she fell. "Oh, here we go again," Rose muttered under her breath.
"That was your last warning, Cassandra!" the Doctor snarled, stalking towards her. Rose held a hand up to his chest, stopping him, and nodded towards Cassandra. She was sat on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest, staring vacantly into space.
"Inside her head," she whispered hollowly. "They're so alone. They keep reaching out, just to hold us." She looked up at the two time travelers, eyes tearing up. "All their lives and they've never been touched."
Rose smiled gently at her and offered her a hand up.
~~~
Almost as soon as they entered Ward 26, Frau Clovis was lunging at them, waving a metal chair. The Doctor pulled Rose and Cassandra out of the way.
"We're safe!" he said quickly. Clovis didn't back down. "We're safe! We're safe! We're clean!" He gestured between them. "Look, look."
"Show me your skin," Clovis demanded.
"Look, clean," the Doctor reassured. He raised his hands, nodding for Rose and Cassandra to do the same. "Look, if we'd been touched, we'd be dead." Clovis dropped the chair at that. "So how's it going up here? What's the status?"
"There's been nothing but silence from the other wards," Clovis informed him. "I think we're the only ones left. And I've been trying to override the quarantine." The Doctor frowned at her. "If I can trip a signal over to New New York, they can send a private executive squad."
"But you can't do that," Rose said, frowning. "Wouldn't that break the quarantine?"
Clovis sneered at her. "I am not dying in here."
"We can't let a single particle of disease get out," the Doctor snapped. "There are ten million people in that city. They'd all be at risk. Now, turn that off!"
Clovis shook her head. "Not if it gets me out."
The Doctor nodded, irritated. "Alright, fine. So I have to stop you lot as well. Suits me." He stepped past Clovis to address the entire ward. "Rose, Novice Hame, Cassandra, everyone! Excuse me, Your Grace." Rose snapped to attention immediately. "Get me intravenous solutions for every single disease." Rose was the only one who moved. He sighed. "Move it!"
As the others gathered drip bags, the Doctor took the braided silk curtain rope and wrapped it around his torso. From the Duke's cubicle, he snatched the winch, giving the man an apologetic look.
He clipped drip bags all along the rope. When he'd gotten all of the solutions, he looked up at the Emissary's face.
"How's that?" he asked. "Will that do?" He sighed when all he got was a shrug. For a second, he'd forgotten that the Emissary was currently Cassandra.
"I don't know," Cassandra said. "Will it do for what?"
He waved her off as he ran over to the lift and pried open the doors. Rose and Cassandra followed.
"The lifts aren't working," Rose reminded him.
"Not moving," he corrected. "Different thing." He looked back at Clovis, then turned to Rose. "Stay up here, and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." Rose nodded and walked away. The Doctor shook himself quickly. "Right. Here we go."
He stuck his sonic in between his teeth.
Cassandra started. "Wait, you're not going to—" He jumped, grabbing onto the lift cable. "What do you think you're doing?!"
He took his sonic out of his mouth and attached the winch to the cable. "I'm going down. Come on!"
Cassandra shook her head, backing a step away. "Not in a million years."
He glanced back at her. "I need another pair of hands," he said. "What do you think? If you're so desperate to live, why don't you live a little?"
Behind him, he heard Clovis yelling for the doors to be sealed. Cassandra looked back at the ward, hesitating, then jumped onto the Doctor's back.
"You're completely mad," she informed him. "I can see why the Emissary likes you."
He grinned at her words. "Going down!"
He pressed the sonic against the winch and they dropped like rocks. He winced as Cassandra screamed right in his ear. After a minute of falling, he pulled the brake handle. Sparks flew from the winch as they slowed to a gentle landing on top of the lift.
Cassandra let go of him quickly, trying to catch her breath. "Well, that's one way to lose weight."
"Now, listen," the Doctor told her. He pointed to a nearby lever. "When I say so, take hold of that lever."
Cassandra frowned. "There's still a quarantine down there, we can't—"
"Hold that lever!" the Doctor ordered. She shut her mouth and went over to the lever. He sonicked the disinfectant tank open and started ripping bags open with his teeth. "I'm cooking up a cocktail," he explained as he poured. "I know a bit about medicine myself. Now, that lever's going to resist. But keep it in position." He glanced at her. "You've got the Emissary's strength right now, so it shouldn't be too hard."
Cassandra nodded. "What about you?"
He opened up the lift's hatch, grinning up at her. "I've got an appointment. The Doctor is in!"
He dropped down into the lift. One buzz of his sonic and the doors slid open, revealing a lobby full of infected people. They all turned to look at him.
"I'm in here," he called out. "Come on!"
"Don't tell them!" Cassandra groaned from above him.
He ignored her, ushering the infected people closer. As they entered the lift, he shouted up to the ceiling. "Pull that lever!"
Cold solution sprayed down, dousing him and the infected people in the lift. He grinned as the solution cured them almost instantly.
"I'm in here! Come on" he called, getting the attention of other infected people, as the cured shuffled out. He smiled, watching them hug each other, the cure transferring. "All they want to do is pass it one. Pass it on!"
"Pass on what?" Cassandra asked as the tank emptied. "Pass on what?" The Doctor reached up and helped her down into the lift. "What did they pass on? Did you kill them? All of them?"
"No," he said, still smiling as he watched the humans mingle. "That's your way of doing things. I'm the Doctor, and I cured them." An infected woman came up to him and he hugged her gently, passing on the cure. "That's right. Hey, there we go, sweetheart. go to him. Go on, that's it." He pushed her gently towards another infected man, before smiling at Cassandra. "It's a new sub-species, Cassandra. A brand new form of life. New humans! Look at them. Look!" She stared around the lobby. "Grown by cats, kept in the dark, fed by tubes, completely, completely alive! You can't deny them, because you helped create them." He laughed. "Life will out! Ha!"
~~~
Rose hugged the Doctor happily when they returned to Ward 26.
"Knew you could do it," she told him, smiling. "And look who I found!" She pointed her thumb over her shoulder, towards the end of the ward.
"The Face of Boe!" the Doctor said. "I'd nearly forgotten he was here." He led the two girls over to Boe's tank. "You were supposed to be dying."
There are better things to do today, Boe said. Rose gasped at hearing his voice in her head. Dying can wait.
"Oh, I hate telepathy," Cassandra complained. "Just what I need, a head full of big face."
"Shush," the Doctor said.
~~~
Her mind felt like a vice was tightening around it. The Emissary had managed to keep Cassandra out of her memories, but even a Time Lord's brain couldn't handle the weight of two minds. It was starting to burn.
She could just tell she'd have a migraine when this was over.
Dying can wait. A flash of surprise ran through her mind when she heard the words. That wasn't Cassandra's voice.
She heard herself respond. "Oh, I hate telepathy. Just what I need, a head full of big face."
It was the Face of Boe, then. She smirked mentally when the Doctor shushed Cassandra.
I have grown tired with the universe, Doctor, the Face of Boe continued, but you and Em have taught me to look at it anew.
The Emissary's mind raced, shocked, at the nickname. Only one person had ever called her Em.
She realized suddenly that she had no idea what had happened to Jack. She'd meant to ask Rose after the Game Station, but everything with the Sycorax had pushed it out of her mind. Guilt ran through her. How could she have forgotten Jack?
She sighed mentally, tuning back into the conversation around her. She could ask about Jack later.
"...got the impression there was something you wanted to tell us," the Doctor was saying.
A great secret, Boe confirmed.
"So the legend says," the Doctor agreed.
It can wait.
"Oh, does it have to?" the Doctor nearly whined.
We shall meet again, Doctor, Emissary, for the third time, for the last time, and the truth shall be told. Until that day.
~~~
The Face of Boe disappeared in a flash of light.
"That is enigmatic," the Doctor grumbled. "That, that is, that is textbook enigmatic."
Rose bit her lip. "He said the Emissary's name," she remarked, eyeing Cassandra. "D'you think she could hear him?"
The Doctor shrugged. "Maybe." He glared at Cassandra. "And now for you."
Cassandra smiled nervously at him. "But everything's happy," she said. "Everything's fine. Can't you just leave me?"
"That's not your body," Rose pointed out. Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Why would we let you keep our friend's body?"
"You lived long enough," the Doctor told her, not unkindly. "Leave that body and end it, Cassandra."
Cassandra's eyes watered. "I don't want to die."
"No one does," the Doctor said softly.
"Help me," Cassandra pleaded.
The Doctor shook his head. "I can't."
"Mistress!" All three turned to look as Chip came running in.
"Oh, you're alive," Cassandra said dismissively. Chip nodded eagerly.
"I kept myself safe for you, mistress."
Cassandra considered him thoughtfully. "A body," she mused. "And not just that, a volunteer."
"Cassandra, you can't," Rose protested.
"Don't you dare," the Doctor added. "He's got a life of his own."
"But I worship the mistress," Chip told them, staring at Cassandra adoringly.
"Yeah, I remember," Rose mumbled, scrunching her nose in distaste at the memory.
"I welcome her," Chip finished.
"You can't, Cassandra, you—" The Doctor cut off as the whoosh of energy left the Emissary and entered Chip. The Emissary collapsed into the Doctor's arms as Rose watched worriedly. He looked down at her. "You alright?" She nodded and tried to stand, only to fall into him again. He steadied her carefully. "Whoa. Okay?"
"Oh, this is gonna be a special kind of hangover," she breathed shakily. She smiled at the Doctor and Rose. "Hello."
"Hello," Rose greeted happily, hugging the Time Lady.
"Welcome back," the Doctor added. He wrapped a steadying arm around the Emissary's waist, noting the pain in her eyes. She leaned into him gratefully.
"Oh, sweet lord," Cassandra cut in. She held up her arms for the trio to see. "I'm a walking doodle."
"You can't stay in there," the Doctor told her. "I'm sorry, Cassandra, but that's not fair. I can take you to the city. They'll build you a skin tank and you can stand trial for what you've done."
"Well, that would be rather dramatic," Cassandra snorted. "Possibly my finest hour, and certainly my finest hat, but I'm afraid we don't have time." She smiled a little sadly. "Poor little Chip is only a half-life, and he's been through so much. His heart is racing so. He's failing. I don't think he's going to last..." She trailed off, collapsing to her knees.
"Oh, are you alright?" Rose asked, helping her stand.
"I'm fine," Cassandra answered. "I'm dying, but... that's fine."
"We can take you to the city," the Emissary told her.
"No, you won't," Cassandra shook her head. "Everything's new on this planet. There's no place for me and Chip anymore." She looked at the Doctor. "You were right, Doctor. It's time to die, and that's good."
The Doctor sighed. "Come on. There's one last thing we can do."
~~~
Cassandra stepped out of the TARDIS and gasped when she saw where they were. The party she'd been watching on the video earlier was going on ahead of her.
She looked back at the Doctor and Rose. "Thank you."
"Just go," the Doctor said. "And don't look back."
"Good luck," Rose added.
As Cassandra walked up to her past self, the two of them reentered the TARDIS. The Emissary looked up at them from her seat on the captain's chair, before she stood to help the Doctor send them into the Vortex. The Doctor eyed her worriedly the whole time. When they were in steady flight, the Emissary sat back down, placing her head in her hands, fighting back the pain in her head.
"Come with me to the medbay," the Doctor ordered softly, worried. When he reached out mentally, he could feel the sharp ache in her mind.
She shook her head, looking up at him. "It'll pass, eventually." She waved a hand at Rose. "If you want to examine someone, examine Rose, or even yourself. You both hosted Cassandra."
"All three of us are going," he said simply. He walked over to the Emissary and picked her up easily. Rose frowned. It was a testament to how much the Emissary was hurting that she didn't even protest. The Doctor called out to her over his shoulder. "Come on, Rose."
Rose followed them down the maze of corridors, wondering, not for the first time, how no one ever got lost. The Doctor led her into a room not unlike the ward at the hospital. The room was all white, with two beds against the walls. The Doctor nodded to one and deposited the Emissary on the other. Rose hopped up.
"I didn't know the TARDIS had a medbay," she said. The Doctor pulled a wide, almost see-through screen over to her.
"Why wouldn't it?" he asked simply. "Now just sit still, it's just a quick scan."
Rose held perfectly still. True enough, a laser scanned down her head quickly and the screen lit up with writing. She squinted, frowning. She couldn't read it. All it looked like to her was a bunch of circles.
The Doctor read the screen quickly, then smiled at her. "You're in perfect health. Still, get some rest." He turned away, a clear dismissal, all of his attention now on the Emissary.
Rose rolled her eyes as she left the medbay. Those two so obviously liked each other, and it had never been more clear to her than on this adventure.
Now she just had to get them to realize it.
~~~
"I'm telling you, I'm fine," the Emissary insisted the second the door closed behind Rose.
The Doctor gave her a look as he scanned her. "Ali, you look like you're about to pass out," he told her flatly. "Rose hosted Cassandra for about the same time as you, and she's fine. Forgive me if I'm worried."
"Rose also isn't a telepathic person," the Emissary pointed out. "I was actively keeping Cassandra out of my memories. The weight of the mental barriers and hosting Cassandra's mind all at once, it just..." She shrugged. "It was a mental strain I haven't dealt with in a while. It was just barely starting to burn, and then she left." She rubbed at her temples. "It will be fine. It's just a migraine. You're overreacting."
"I am not overreacting," he protested. "You got hurt, and you're still hurting, I can see it in your eyes. I can feel it."
"When did you become such a mother hen?"
"Ali." She looked up at him, his face serious. "I don't like to see you in pain, ok? Just let me help you."
"Theta," she said, equally as serious. "I swear to you, this will fade in a couple hours." She tilted her head. "It's not your fault that Cassandra possessed me. No one could have predicted that."
"I should have forced her out of you," he denied, shaking his head.
"And what, have her go back into Rose? Or you?" the Emissary scoffed. "No. Not happening." He opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "And before you try it, there was nowhere else for her to go. We needed your mind for the cure, and my brain is better equipped to handle a psychograft than Rose's."
He sighed defeatedly. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."
She slid off the bed. "If it makes you feel better, I'll drink some tea, get a jumpstart on making the migraine go away."
"It would, actually," he agreed, following her down the hall towards the kitchen. "Maybe you should also take a nap."
She rolled her eyes as she spun to face him. "I don't need a nap." They were nearly to the kitchen when she spoke again. "Where's my jacket?"