Rose woke up in a strange bed, in a strange room. She didn't immediately remember where she was, until she heard the little gurgling noise coming from a dark wooden cot next to the bed.

“Oh, hi there little man. So I wasn't dreaming then, eh? You hungry?”

She climbed out from under the duvet and quickly got dressed. Judging by the look of the crib, the Doctor had been in the room after she went to sleep and she didn't want to be in her nothings, should he wish to visit the room again.

She searched through the basket, finding nothing other than a handful of diapers, one set of clean clothes and a plastic toy that very much resembled the Doctor's sonic.

“Right, so here's what we'll do: First we'll try to find a kitchen and some milk, and then a bathroom with an actual bath.”

They were not two steps out of the room, when Storm began to cry. It was a sudden outburst and even Rose with her limited knowledge as a mum, knew this was not just a cry for food. The little boy was in pain. Running back into the room, Rose frantically began to search for anything that could be the cause of the hurt. She found nothing, picked the baby up again and took a sprint down the corridor. Lights went on in front of her and off behind her, so she knew which way to go and while she was running, she hollered: “Doctor!”

She kept on yelling until she reached the console room and found no one there. Standing still to regain control over her breathing, her eyes caught sight of movement on a screen above the console. Storm hadn't stopped crying, but his screams had turned into soft wails by now.

Reaching the view screen, Rose's face contorted in shock when she saw what was shown.

The Doctor was being held by two... they were men, but there was something off. She looked closer until she recognized them. A shriek escaped her when she realized the men holding the Doctor were none other than two living plastic dolls. The same ones she had seen beneath Hendrik's.

“No, please.”

A silent plea left her trembling lips when she saw how hopeless the situation was. And then all of a sudden the Doctor was staring at her.

No, not at her. He was looking at something a little lower. His face showed complete panic and when realization dawned, Rose understood he was looking at the TARDIS and she was only a few steps away from the same peril he was in.

“There must be something we can do, I must get help. Where are the controls for the camera, I need to see the surroundings.”

She put the baby down next to her. He was wrapped up in his blanket and there was nowhere he could fall, so Rose focused her attention on the controls in front of her.

“What are these things? What is this? Old junk? There aren't any proper controls any where, how does he fly this thing?”

She was vehemently screaming by now, until suddenly a soothing, chime-like voice resounded in her head.

“Look up.”

Rose did and saw the camera view change from left to right, showing her the surroundings of the hall where the Doctor was held.

“Who is doing this? Is there anyone else on board?”

There came no reply and Rose shook her head to clear her mind until she saw it. There.

She bit her lip, crouched down, kissed the baby and whispered: “Don't worry, I'll be back. Gotta safe the Doctor.”

Then she made for the doors and burst through.

In one go she ran for the chains, hanging from the ceiling.

“Rose!”

She stood still but a mere second, then reached, took a chain in hand and flung herself over the railing. Over the pit with the moving, talking liquid.

To afraid to be thinking about consequences, she breathed: “I've got no A-levels, no job. No future. But I'll tell you what I have got. Jericho Street Junior School Under-7s gymnastic team. I got the bronze!”

She swung, rammed one of the dolls and tossed him over the side and the Doctor quickly took care of the other one.

As she swung back, exhilaration was written all over her face and as he caught her, awe was written on his.

Hurriedly they bolted back through the doors.

Inside, Rose ran to pick up the baby and she hugged him as if she hadn't seen him in ages.

“That was one utterly stupid thing you went and done there, Rose Tyler. Leaving him, almost getting yourself killed.”

Rose opened her mouth to protest, but before she could say a word, the Doctor beamed at her and said: “But, you were fantastic! Saved my life, saved the world. Now it's my turn. Hold on.”

He pulled the lever and inside the centre cylinder, a pumping mechanism began its work to take them away from danger.

The Doctor parked the TARDIS back on its previous spot, next to the council estate where Rose lived.

“So, what 're we gonna do now?”

Storm made himself heard and the Doctor laughed.

“He's hungry, so we'll eat.”

“What time is it?”

“Early morning, four AM. All still as an owl out there.”

“An owl?”

“Yeah, incredibly quiet creatures. Don't hear them flapping cause of the soft feathers an' all.”

“Right. So, where's the kitchen?”

“Galley; this 's a ship. Follow me.”

They walked to the galley. The Doctor soniced an other bottle to the exact same temperature as before and Rose sat down to feed the hungry baby, while the Doctor made breakfast.

“Usually don't make breakfast, me. Just peel a banana, grab some food along the way here and there. Cup of tea.”

“You drink tea?”

“Of course I do. You lot didn't invent tea, if that's what you think. The whole universe is full of tea. All kinds of flavours, none so good as the English Blend mind ya. Reminds me to stock up a load, before I go.”

“You're going?”

“Never stick around in one place me; lots of places out there to visit. Things to fix, mysteries to unravel.”

He set a plate of food before her and took over the baby so she could eat.

Rose was famished and emptied her plate in what had to be a record. She set aside the words he had just spoken about leaving, until her stomach made her feel a little more human again.

Since he had his hands full, she got up to pour her own tea from the old-fashioned tea kettle that stood upon a sci-fi looking hot plate. They sat and drank their tea in silence.

“So, you're just gonna leave?”

“No one to say goodbye to, so yes. That's me, I come and go.”

“As you please.”

“Yep.”

“What about us?”

“What about you?”

“You promised me some answers, all I got is more questions.”

“Plenty of time to cover those.”

“You'll be back, then?”

“Back where? Here? Not until I find myself in an other disaster-waiting-to-happen scenario. Right here, smack in the middle of London.”

“Then how on Earth are you going to give me answers? Over e-mail?”

“E-mail? Why would I e-mail you when you're in the same room.”

“Are you intentionally being thick or is this some alien communication disorder?”

The Doctor's eyebrows quirked up.

“I'll spell it out for you: How will you give me answers about the baby, when you are in your blue box and I am here in London, England, Earth?”

“Well that's easy now is it, you won't be here in London, England, Earth. You're coming with me. This box isn't just a London hopper, you know. It goes anywhere in the universe. Free of charge.”

“I'm coming with you?”

“No choice really, destiny chose for us. You see, there's no way I'm leaving without him and he's going nowhere without you, so it's settled.”

“No, it's not.”

“Well, of course, you could... stay here. Fill your life with work and food and sleep. He'll be devastated, completely lost without his mother, but we'll manage in the end.”

“I'm not leaving him.”

Rose reached for the boy, but the Doctor stood up before she could take him.

“He needs me Rose. I'm the only one who could link with him, teach him, tutor him. He's not human, he will be different than any other kid you've ever known.”

“He doesn't need a tutor, he needs a mother, he's just a baby!”

Rose felt her heart racing as fear took over. Twenty four hours ago, she could not have imagined that a baby could have such a hold on her, but there was no way she could ever give him up now.

“You can't do this, you can't just decide for all of us. What about my mum? My friends? They'll never believe me. You've changed everything. My whole life's upside down and now you want to take him. You can't do that. Look at the picture, read the note. You don't have the right, he's my son!”

Seeing how she came close to freaking out, the Doctor quickly stepped up and placed the baby in her arms. She calmed down instantly, as if a switch had been flipped and the threat was eliminated.

“I'm not trying to take him from you, he needs you just as much. I just want you to come with me. I don't do the house and mortgage stuff, this is my home and I'm inviting you on board. You can visit your mum when ever you need. This is not just a space ship, it travels in time as well. You just have to understand that how confusing this might be for you, it's scaring the hell outta me as well. DNA might prove that you are his mother, but it also tells something else.”

“What's that, then?”

“He's not just the son of any Time Lord, he's my son.”

Rose stood dumbfounded. At a total loss for words. She looked at the child, then back at his face and once more at the baby.

“He doesn't look anything like you.”

The Doctor heaved a sigh.

“Well, I don't look like my mother either. That's not how it works with a Time Lord.”

“Explain to me.”

“Time Lords have this little trick. It's, er... sort of a way of cheating death.”

“What has that got to do with it?”

“It means I can change. I wasn't born in this body, physical body's such as these only last so long. When I die, I change; regenerate. Every cell in my body alters.”

“And you've done this before?”

“Yes, eight times.”

“Eight?!” Rose squealed. “You mean to tell me you died eight times?”

“Yeah, well. I tend to get in a lot of difficult situations, we've only met yesterday and I've been in a life or death situation twice already.”

“Think that's gonna change now that he's on board?”

The Doctor didn't give a reply.

Rose looked down and saw the baby had fallen asleep, she walked over to the jumpseat and sat down. Then she frowned.

Thinking over their conversation she said: “Was there a point you were getting to with this reger... reneger...”

“Regeneration,” he offered.

“This regeneration thing?”

“I was trying to explain that I don't necessarily have to look like him to be his father.”

“You mean you'll die, somewhere in the future. You'll die while I...”

She could not finish the sentence. She wasn't even sure how that sentence was supposed to end. She only knew that the idea of him dying gave her a dreadful feeling.

His voice had softened when he spoke next.

“It doesn't have to go that way, their reality could have been completely different. They changed ours by entrusting us with Storm over here. Maybe we weren't even supposed to meet.”

“You don't know that.”

“No, I don't. I can see everything. All that is, all that was, all that ever could be. And that last one, that's the tricky part. There are millions of possibilities. If I concentrate, I can see their future for us, but there are also a million more options. The time line shifted, just by his being here.”

The Doctor gently brushed one the little cheeks of the sleeping baby. Rose could smell the leather of his jacket, the sweat of his body after all the danger of the past few days. It was masculine, rough and in a strange way enticing. He moved away and she could breath again.

Making her decision, Rose stood up and handed the sleeping baby over to the Doctor.

“We'll both stay with you, but let me get some stuff from home and... somehow inform my mum that I'll be... travelling.”

He nodded, clearly relieved after her concession.

However when she immediately made for the door, he objected: “You might want to wait a few hours. It's still rather early out there.”

“Right. Don't wanna wake up mum. Won't be easy telling her even a small portion of what I've been through, let alone do it when she's grumpy. Better wait till she's had her first cup of tea.”

“Shall I put him to bed?”

Rose suddenly smiled at this little sign of awkward family life they were thrown into. It was weird, utterly and completely weird and scary. But there was also a side to it that made Rose feel exhilarated. Like there was nothing in the world she couldn't handle right now. The stars could fall down, but with the Doctor in the TARDIS, she would be safe.