"I've been so lucky, I am the girl with the golden hair, I wanna sing it out to everybody…"

The Doctor joined me in the song, "What a joy, what a life, what a chance."

Then together with arms wrapped around each other we walked into the TARDIS, "Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing…"

The Doctor spun me in his arms and I let out a laugh as he dipped me. I put my arms around his neck as I kept humming to the Abba song.

"Told you I'd take you to the Abba concert."

"Thank you, Doctor. It was brilliant!"

The ring of my cell phone caused us to part, a reluctant look in both our eyes.

I looked at the caller id, "It's Mickey."

I answered, "What's up lil bro?"

I grinned over at the Doctor as Mickey retorted, I pulled the phone from my ear with a roll of my eyes before putting the phone to my ear.

"How about you come back here? There's been some odd UFO sightings here."

"Where and when do you want us to meet you?"

"Deffry Vale High School. April 29th, 2007. Jack is already undercover, but you might be able to get in too if the Doc works some of his timey wimeyness."

"Timey wimeyness?"

Mickey chuckled, "Sounds like him."

We got off the line with each other.

I turned to look at the Doctor and I found him already gazing at me.

"Trouble in London?"

"We've got to save some kids from aliens."

"Know which ones?"

After the wolf adventure I was a little more ready to open a Mind Palace door.

"All of us will have to be careful."

"Alrighty then."

Lunch lady wasn't a job I ever wanted but it was what I got for my undercover. I didn't have the credentials to be a teacher. Even with psychic paper, all they would need to do is check my background.

The smell of chips and gravy permeated my clothes.

We had been at the high school already for a couple of days.

The Doctor posed as a physics professor.

Jack was already a well-liked P.E. teacher.

The staff were very careful, eyes wary and I kept my head down but my eyes and ears open.

When the Doctor and Jack arrived for lunch I wiped their table down.

"Smart kids, right?" I asked the Doctor head down as I cleaned. I couldn't have the other staff on to us so early.

"Beyond this world."

I wiped an area near Jack, "Find or see anything off?"

"They are all too well-behaved. Even in the Academy we would get in fights during training. Here its too 'yes sir' for my liking."

I barely held back a comment.

Jack caught the twinkle in my eye and let out a laugh.

The other lunch ladies looked our way and I nodded toward the Doctor and Jack before continuing to wipe down other tables.

The oddest thing were the extra classes some students were to attend, but even that wasn't too odd except for the intense looks of the teachers…according to Jack.

Then there was the instance when I was prepping for the next day in the kitchen.

The oil, 'Krillitane' the door whispered, was transported carefully as if it were some dangerous acid.

One of the lunch ladies had some slip onto her exposed skin. She was quickly taken away into a locked room where her screams could be heard coming from within.

One of the main staff looked out the door and glared at me, "Get along with your work." Before going back into the room with the screams.

While they were distracted I checked for cameras, hidden and not, before pulling a vial from my pocket. I took a cotton swab from it and swiped some of the oil before placing it in the vial and screwing it shut.

When the school ended and night fell, we met up with Mickey.

"Excellent, the adventure squad is back together. I've got my boys and got my Doctor, all set."

The Doctor soniced a door open, "Rose, get a sample from…" His voice tapered off, when I showed him the vial I grabbed from my pocket.

"Right. You come with me then. Jack and Mickey check out the maths department. All the new teachers were maths. We'll check the headmaster's office. Meet back here in 10."

"Stay safe, boys. Don't get eaten."

"Don't get eaten?" Mickey retorted.

I didn't answer as I ran after the Doctor.

Sounds of screeching came from down the hall.

"Sounds kind of like bats," I whispered.

Thudding sounds had us running in the direction we parked the TARDIS.

Sexy whispered, 'Just wait.'

We went through a doorway to see the back of a woman seemingly stunned by our blue box.

It was dark but the moonlight showed dark hair and a frame that reminded me of someone.

The woman turned her eyes widening as she first took in the Doctor.

"It's you."

"Hello Sarah Jane."

"Aunt Jane?"

The Doctor and I spoke at the same time.

'Aunt Jane's eyes widened, "Rose?"

The Doctor turned his head, cocking it looking absolutely lost. "Aunt Jane?"

"Oh shush…" I ran forward. "Aunt Jane, you are investigating too?"

She nodded, "And you're with the Doctor."

I hummed and nodded before turning toward the Doctor,

"So he was the missing piece in all your adventure stories."

Sarah Jane looked at the Doctor, her face cold and a hint of anger flitting through her eyes.

"I thought you died, Doctor. You didn't come back and I thought…"

The Doctor's face was drawn.

I stepped back letting them share this moment.

He gazed at her with such intensity, an intensity I'd only seen before directed at me.

"I lived, everyone else died."

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone died Sarah." His arms folded over his chest, as if trying to protect his hearts from the pain of the past.

I fiddled with the corner of my leather jacket as they talked.

A yell that I knew well echoed from down the hall.

"That would be Mickey."

The three of us sprinted down the hallway and arrived to see the tiled ground covered in vacuum packed rats.

I winced. Mickey was terrified of rodents after a bad experience when he was little. He had to get both tetanus and rabie shots.

"You scream for me, Mickey?" Jack arrived at the same time as us.

"Don't you start," I let out an awkward chuckle but it seemed to get rid of the odd tension for now.

"We still need to check Mr Finch's office."

We walked over to the office. The Doctor opened the door with a slow crack only for us to see thirteen alien bats hanging from the ceiling.

The Doctor quietly closed the door and Mickey sprinted out of the school like he was chased.

"Remember what you said about bats. Not bats but…" He looked toward me, "So who are they?"

"I believe Aunt…" I cleared my throat, a blush upon my cheeks. "I mean Sarah Jane might have someone that can test the oil."

Sarah Jane looked surprised, "How did you know?"

"Much has changed since my last visit."

Sarah directed us to her car, opened the trunk and moved a cloth over to show…

"K9!" The Doctor's wide goofy grin lit up his features.

A shiver went down my spine as I felt the familiar feeling of something watching me. I looked behind and across the way an old church stood, beside each of its stained glass windows were stone angels. They looked far too similar to my stalker in 1869.

Jack wrapped his arm around my shoulders, "We are going to the eatery nearby."

I nodded, "Ok."

My eyes are still upon the statues.

"What's up sweet cheeks?"

I pointed toward the church, "Do you see the statues?"

I looked at him as he looked behind me.

"What statues?"

Oh no…

Sarah Jane and the Doctor sat chatting intimately as he repaired the metal dog, K9.

I gazed over at them, the fear from before fading slightly as another feeling took its place. I felt almost queasy as I looked at how close the Doctor and Sarah Jane were.

"I'm sure, its not the same." Jack spoke in my ear.

"What?" Mickey looked behind where we sat at our own table. "Oh yeah, definitely an ex." He gave me a cheeky grin, "How does it feel to be the newer model?"

Mickey winced when Jack kicked him under the table.

"Ow, what was that for?"

Sometimes Mickey would say things that made me want to smack him.

I looked at Jack instead, "I know he must have loved before. I mean he's over 900 years old but…" I rubbed my sternum, my heart almost ached. "It's still…" I swallowed and looked back at the two sitting by the window.

"Wait what? Over 900?" Mickey's jaw dropped.

"Keep up Mickey boy." Jack looked at me, "You didn't expect it to hurt so bad."

I nodded.

Sound of whirring.

"Master?" An electronic sounding voice spoke up across the room.

The Doctor jumped up from where he was sitting, a wide grin on his lips.

"You remember me?"

"Affirmative."

The Doctor called back to us, "Rose the oil."

I walked up and handed it to him. He unscrewed the lid and then smelled it before wiping the cotton swab on K9's nozzle.

"Here we go, come on ol' boy you can do it."

"Oil extract…extract…analysing." The dog stuttered.

Mickey laughed at it.

I smacked him on the arm, "Oy I taught you better than that."

"Oy that's my dog," Sarah Jane said at the same time.

"Confirmation of analysis, subject is Krillitane oil."

"No wonder you told us to be careful Rose." Jack spoke up from behind.

"That bad then?" Mickey looked at the Doctor then me.

"They're a composite race. They take attributes from those they've invaded, they are an amalgam of the races they've conquered."

I looked outside and gasped as I saw the statues again. There were more hiding all gathered around the building across the way.

"Doctor…" I whispered.

"They take physical aspects as well." The Doctor interrupted.

I placed a hand on his arm.

"They pick and choose the aspects and qualities of each person they destroy. Last time I saw them they looked like us except with very long necks."

I couldn't help as I began to subtly shake, the statues hid each time someone other than me would see them. They were playing with me, like it was some sort of sick game.

We had all made our way outside, heading towards Sarah's car, when the Doctor hung back with me.

I stood frozen outside the shop staring at the building across the way.

"Rose, what's wrong?"

I shook my head.

"It won't matter will it? You'll think me mad. Then one day you'll leave me and you won't come back."

"Rose."

I looked at him and he picked up the hand that was shaking at my side.

"I won't."

"Rule 1, the Doctor lies." I whispered, before looking him in the eye. "You loved her once, Sarah Jane, but you left her behind."

"Not you, Rose, I'll always find my way back to you."

"Will you?" My throat felt clogged.

The Doctor looked down before his gaze connected with mine, a fire lit within that reminded me of his TARDIS's flame.

"I don't age. I regenerate, but humans you wither and decay. Imagine watching someone you…" He looked away, "You can live your whole life with me but I can't live mine with you. I'll live on alone, that's the curse of the Time Lords."

I took his other hand in mine, giving it a squeeze.

"Have you already forgotten Doctor? I'm no longer fully human."

A screech was heard overhead and we ducked low as a Krillitane swooped down above us.

It flew away and the rest of the team rejoined us.

"A warning?" Sarah Jane spoke.

"That or a message." I looked after the Krillitane that flew away into the night.

The next morning we arrived at the school bright and early.

The Doctor focused on the task at hand but I was distracted by the statues that continued to hide and stalk.

"We need to look in those computers, up to the task Rose?" The Doctor caught my attention, an eyebrow raised and I nodded. "Sarah Jane, here." He tossed her his screwdriver before turning to Jack and Mickey, "Keep watch on both sides of the school. Keep an ear out for one of us calling you." The Doctor looked at the school, his brow furrowed, "It's about time I had a word with Mr Finch."

"Rose, can I give you a bit of advice?"

"Of course Aunt Jane…" I paused and looked at her at my side trying to sonic the computer tower, "Or would you prefer Sarah Jane?"

She gave a wry smile, "It's a bit awkward isn't it?"

I laughed, "This all feels…" I drifted off.

"Rose, be careful with your heart around the Doctor. A relationship with the Doctor can be intense."

I smiled, "Sometimes I wish I could know what he is thinking but then I get scared." I looked at Sarah Jane remembering the adventures she'd tell me about. I'd looked behind her door in my Mind Palace last night.

"It was so hard to readjust after coming back to Earth. That's what happens when you've seen the wondrous things with the Doctor."

I stood, "If you somehow were able to stay with him would you have?"

"Yes, back then I would have in a heartbeat. But the point is he didn't give me the choice."

I sighed, "Yeah he does that sometimes."

I could feel her searching my features before she inquired,

"I heard what you said about no longer being human."

"In theory I can live as long as him. But what if one day I just become a burden to him. Then he'll…" My eyes filled with tears, "I know its silly."

Sarah Jane pulled me into a hug, "You are not silly at all."

"Am I interrupting?"

I sat back clearing my throat and wiped my eyes as discreetly as I could as Sarah distracted the Doctor.

"What did you find out?"

I sobered up, I knew what I had to do to save the most lives.

I took out my mobile and pressed the speed dial for Jack's new cell.

As soon as the ringing ended I spoke up, "We need to get the staff members out, they are going to eat them."

"On it!" Jack hung up.

I looked back to see the Doctor's raised eyebrow.

All the computer screens turned on, a green code flickering on the screens.

"Rose what is it?"

"The Skasus Paradigm."

"The Skasus what?" Sarah asked.

The Doctor answered his arms folded across his chest, his brow ridge low as he thought.

"The universal theory. Crack the code and you'll have access to the building blocks of the universe. Time and space and matter, yours to control."

I turned to Sarah Jane, "They are using the children like a large computer. It wouldn't work with adults since most don't have imaginations anymore."

"And their learning power is being accelerated by the oil on the chips." The Doctor continued.

The headmaster, Mr. Finch walked in. He monologued and offering to join forces with the Doctor.

His gaze swivelled and looked at me, "Think of the changes in the hands of someone good, like you? No longer hunted, you could save planets, galaxies. You could give back your precious Doctor his people."

I stared at him, "Why me?"

"Girl with eyes like golden suns, you have seen much."

"I wish people would stop assuming things about me."

I stepped forward, "I would never make such a deal with you. Such deals always come with a too costly price."

He changed tactics and turned back to the Doctor,

"How lonely you must be, Doctor? Join us and anything is possible."

I stepped forward and slipped my arm around the Doctor's.

"Doctor, you have me."

The fire alarm sounded and my cell rang, I stepped back keeping an eye on the Krillitane while answering.

"Here."

Mickey's voice came through, "Most teachers went out, some went to get the children."

"Great and they know what to do?"

"Evacuation as planned. We are coming in to get the rest."

"Be careful. The Krillitane will be on the hunt."

I needed a distraction. I looked around before picking up a nearby chair and threw it at the wide screen at the front of the room.

"Run!"

As we ran we were soon joined by Mickey, Jack and K9.

"All the kids are out. Even had K9 check the water closets."

"Good," I nodded, "We are going to blow up the school."

When all was said and done, Sarah and I stood in front of the TARDIS parked in her front yard.

"Have you told him?"

I shook my head.

Sarah placed her hands on my shoulders, "Tell him before its too late."

The Doctor came out of the TARDIS with a brand new K9.

Sarah's eyes filled with tears, "Doctor, you didn't."

I stepped back to let them have their good-byes again.

Something moved in the corner of my eye, I looked but nothing was there.

I looked back at Sarah, only to see her reaching out to me shouting, "Rose!"

Another thing in the corner of my eye, I moved and heard flapping and grinding like something across stone.

I blinked and found myself surrounded by the strange statues, each with their hands reaching out toward me a look of greed in their eyes.

I gasped stumbling back only to feel something grab onto me, my eyes fluttering shut as I felt a heavy weight fall against me from behind.