CHAPTER 3: Connections

"No, no wait…let me guess" Rose giggled before taking another large mouthful of her dessert and pausing to chew over the murder mystery which, despite his exhaustion, the Doctor told with a style and enthusiasm that would have rivaled Agatha Christie herself. In her mind's eye she could see the giant wasp, a 20s garden party and flapper dresses as clearly and vividly as if she had been there herself.

The Doctor pushed his empty plates aside, having demolished the best part of three-quarters of the hotel menu, which had prompted Rose to ask if, like his ship, his stomach was also bigger on the inside. Crossed legged on one of the single beds and with his elbows on his knees he leaned towards Rose who was sat directly opposite him, crossed-legged, on the same bed. "Go on Lewis, tell me what it is you can deduce?", he said in a low voice filled with challenge.

"Well it wasn't Lady Eddison but she has a big secret that has something to do with it, right? I mean it was the two closest people to her that were killed by the wasp. What was it called again?"

"What…oh uh…a Vespiform", the Doctor replied nearly missing the question distracted by the way the nightlight fell on her face and hair which was still wet from the shower she had taken not long after they had arrived in the room.

"Okay", she continued with her eyebrows furrowing in concentration. "Oh, that room…the one where she recovered from Malaria, was she hiding someone in it, like a family member, alien, secret lover…. ooooh I know, I know, the husband was secretly a Vespiform and found out about an affair or something. No…No otherwise he would have killed her not his son. And then there's also the thief, don't tell me it was Agatha. It wasn't, was it, Doctor?

"Nope!" he said popping the P.

"Right think, so she was quarantined with Malaria…Can I have another clue?"

"Come here then", replied the Doctor rolling his eyes.

"Why, what's the clue?"

"I'm going give you a telepathic clue by projecting an image in your mind, think of it as virtual reality, plus it evens out the playing field if you can see what I saw", he teased.

"You can still do that, the walking through the mind thing?"

"Of course I can, timelord brain remember"

"I just thought – okay ready", Rose said crawling on the bed towards him. He placed his middle and index fingers on her temples and she instinctively closed her eyes. All of a sudden visions of people the Doctor had described swirled in her visual cortex along with a glowing necklace, a teddy bear in a dusty room and a scrap of paper with the word 'Maid..' written on it. The images swirled and faded as if spinning down an ethereal plughole as the Doctor withdrew his hands from her face. Her temples tingled with the memory of where his hands had been, the effect he had on her body screaming out to be noticed and vying for her mental attention.

The Doctor sat eyes narrowed staring at her expectantly, a wave of relief flooding through his body that he was at least still telepathic. His sense of timelines and telepathy were beginning to return and he was confident that after a good 6 hours sleep they would be restored to their full capacity. He could not have imagined a life without them, for they were as much a part of him as his sight or hearing and were necessary for him to be able to grow and operate a new TARDIS.

Meanwhile, Rose sat chewing her bottom lip deep in thought. "The necklace", she finally said with her deep caramel eyes meeting the Doctor's. "It's tied up with whatever she brought back from India and the alien I know it; I'm right aren't I?!".

"Oh Miss Tyler, what did I do without you?", grinned the Doctor before launching into explanations of firestones, illegitimate alien children, thieves, a car-chase, death and the final act of mercy. As he finished telling the story of Agatha Christie's disappearance, he cleared their dishes from the bed and bounced around the room. 'Still physically incapable of sitting still' thought Rose as she listened to the tale, hanging on his every word. He eventually settled himself on the bed against the headboard and Rose leaned into him, Rose was just about to ask about Lady Eddison, for whom she felt the sorriest - the poor woman had lost both of her children. Suddenly the Doctor yawned in her ear. She turned around in surprise realising the late hour.

"Time for your forty winks I think", she said tapping his nose affectionately.

"You're probably right, I don't think I've ever felt so tired". For a moment they both sat silently neither wanting to move when Rose suddenly jumped up and began moving the furniture, lifting the bedside table and walking it across the room, then pulling the other single bed towards the other. The Doctor, quietly pleased, got up and went to help her. Unable to meet his eyes she could feel them burning into the side of her face which was getting steadily warmer. Once the beds were pressed together she stole a glance at him, seeing a knowing smirk on his face she replied, "Shut-up and get into bed".

The Doctor was knelt on a doorstep with an unconscious Donna in his arms, staring up at her Grandfather, pleading for his help. Then he was stood over her watching her sleep. After what could have been seconds or hours he was suddenly on a sofa before Sylvia and Wilfred who stared in horror as he explained how he had removed Donna's memories to save her and stop her mind burning up. He swallowed the lump in his throat. 'And for one shining moment she was the most important woman in the whole of creation'. Sylvia's mouth moved as she responded, a steely look of hatred on her face, but no noise came with it. An icy sensation came over the Doctor, as if his veins had frozen, the air surrounding them moved in slow motion and for a moment the Doctor was sure he could see a grey figure in the mirror across the room. He blinked and it was gone, replaced by the feeling of being watched. That uncomfortable sensation that raises your heartbeats and prickles the flesh…a waiting…a watching. Then as soon as it had come, it was passed and he was left on the doorstep in the rain and the blackness with Wilf's figure fading out of view. 'They've all got someone else', was the thought that closed in around him while the familiar feeling of loneliness pressed heavily on his shoulders. He turned to open the TARDIS door which should have been behind him, instead, there was only darkness and the sound of wings behind him.

He sat bolt upright, staring into the darkness that was a becoming a dim light, according to his time-sense, which was now much clearer, it was 7 am and this wasn't his universe or his body – he had been dreaming. He turned to see a terrified expression and deep hazel eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay, you were having a nightmare". She stroked the wild hair that evidenced his restless tossing and turning. In the relief of seeing her and sudden freedom from the loneliness he had carried as his timelord self in the dream moments before, he placed his hands on her face and kissed her passionately, weaving his other hand into the back of her hair. Rose moaned deep in the back of her throat, all ability to reason or consider the situation lost in the scent of him, the taste, his hair, his tongue. His hands wandered to her hip and the small of her back, tentatively grazing her breast before heading up her pyjama blouse. Intoxicated by her own hormones she grabbed his hair, his shoulders, drowning in a deep need to be closer to him. She was about to straddle his waist when all of a sudden the Doctor broke the kiss. Breathing heavily, he turned to sit on the edge of the bed facing away from her. He was thinking about everything and nothing, scrabbling to hold onto the little control that wasn't overcome by the cocktail of male human hormones pulsing through his veins. This was not a sensation that he would ever get used to, now understanding the biology of teenage human boys on a far too practical level. "I'm sorry, I… er..I'm just not used to feeling so...well human". He turned to her "how do you deal with all these hormones?".

Realising the problem Rose chuckled internally, she rolled onto her side propping up her head with her hand and replied "Badly", smiling with her tongue caught in her teeth. The Doctor threw back his head like a melodramatic teenager, the clear view of her cleavage and tongue between her teeth was not helping to abate his erection. "You're right though, we should probably take it slow, my Mother is in the next room after all" Rose added the frustration in her voice almost tangible. The mention of Jackie and idea of her hearing that was more than a sufficient replacement for a cold shower, 'so that's how you deal with these hormones'he thought and shuddered. "Can we agree that you never mention your mother when we're in bed together again?" his said with a look of disgust. Rose giggled, "Yeah probably for the best...so I take it that means you'll be giving into your hormones", she replied the frustration transforming into hopeful promise. The Doctor wiggled his eyebrows and climbed back into bed putting his arm around her as she snuggled in to lay on his chest.

"How are you feeling?", she asked tentatively now becoming more serious.

"Much better, I think I can see the timelines again and my time sense feels back to normal –well as normal as it's going to in this body, and my telepathic senses don't seem to be too weakened".

"Just how telepathic are you?", asked Rose.

"Well, I can't hear what your thinking, if that's what you're getting at. I can sense what you're feeling a lot of the time. But your thoughts are safe don't worry, well unless there's physical contact and you grant me access to your mind. I wouldn't do it without permission, that's extremely rude and illegal in at least seven galaxies in our home universe, so you don't have to wor…"

"I wasn't worried" she replied quietly, "I just wondered how much it works both ways, like last night you showed me those memories from the 1920s, do you have to concentrate to do that or could you do it like accidentally".

"What makes you ask that?", the Doctor already guessing at the answer to his question.

"It's just when you were dreaming, I could see some things that weren't my thoughts, Wilf and Donna… and I felt things, things he was feeling. He was so…so alone", her voice broke with emotion.

"Rose…I'm so sorry, I think our minds are somehow still connected – me and the other him I mean. Though I don't understand how when the walls of reality are sealed, or at least they should be. But…NO … wait was it, no it wasn't a pure memory it seemed corrupted somehow…the mirror…" he trailed off in thought before adding "your mind must be well, ehem.."

"What Doctor?"

"Relationships among my people can be more than just physical or emotional, they often involve a form of psychic bond…I wasn't sure if I would still be y'know this psychic in this form and I didn't have a chance to explain..."

"Oh," said Rose turning over this new information in her mind. "It was a memory, but how, hang on you said corrupted"… she was suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door and the arrival of a staff member bearing breakfast. She cursed and was about to quiz him further when her Mother also appeared in the doorway. "C'mon you two we have a zeppelin to catch unless you were planning on traveling in ya PJs?", exclaimed Jackie deciding not to comment on the rearrangement of the furniture but very relieved to see they were at least both still wearing their pyjamas.

Within the hour they were down in the hotel lobby where half a dozen people in beautiful designer suits were coming and going and chatting frantically on their phones. Rose eyed the Doctor speculatively who was back in his blue suit from the previous day just as she was back in her burgundy tee and blue leather jacket, which although had all been cleaned and pressed by the hotel services, was looking a little worse for wear she had to admit. The Doctor spotted her looking him up and down. "Take a picture it'll last longer", 'ooh that was rude and very Donna-ish' he thought, 'have to try and train myself out of that before it becomes a habit', he felt a pang of sadness for his former companion.

"Sorry" smiled Rose a bit embarrassed at being caught staring, "I just noticed your blue suit properly…we match", she inspected her own attire which was identical in colour to the burgundy t-shirt and blue jacket which he was wearing.

"I know, is that outfit new?", asked the Doctor. Rose tilted her head bemused, 'was the Doctor trying to make human small talk?' "No, I've been wearing it for quite a while, its kind of like my uniform for the dimension jumping, I just liked it, can probably get rid of it now", she added with a hint of sadness. "Why do you ask, I presume yours is, did you not have another brown one? Not like you to expand your wardrobe or is it a new human thing?". Her tone was light-hearted but the Doctor could see that it didn't reach her eyes, the memory of his other self in brown flashed before his eyes and he could taste the worry radiating from her. He reached out and took her hand in his giving it a squeeze. Nope, I actually wore this a lot even as a timelord, fancied a change after"… he trailed off at the memory of losing her. She squeezed his hand back and nodded.

"Kinda cringey though wearing matching clothes, even if it is by accident", said Rose.

"Weeeeellll that's the thing," said the Doctor pulling on his right ear, "maybe it wasn't by accident". As he gripped her hand Rose could feel a familiar presence at the edges of her mind, it was such an odd but amazing sensation, like she had a part of herself that had previously been missing without her realising. "Oh", she grinned and stared into the starlight which still filled his gaze, human or timelord. "So we were connected still all that time, even when…"

"It shouldn't have been possible, the walls were sealed but…", he shrugged. "When have you ever let a little thing like impossible stop you, some of the details must have kept bleeding through".

"So am I connected to just you or both of you you?", Rose mumbled looking at her feet.

"He is me and I am him…well at least in terms of our mind and soul, so for all psychic purposes", said the Doctor defiantly, self-doubt stirring a feeling almost akin to jealousy, of his other self.

'I know that I just feel … well you know how when were separated it was like a part of me was missing and if you're right about this connection then maybe it really was. Well for him – you, the other you that is still missing. I can't stand the idea of him…you, any version of you feeling that way. He doesn't even have Donna anymore", her words tumbled along with the pent up thoughts and emotion that had been held back by the flood barrier of adrenaline since the beach. The lump rose in her throat and tears pooled in her eyes, the Doctor got up and came to sit on the sofa next to her. He pulled her into a hug.

"I know and he will feel that, he always will … to an extent but very soon he'll be another man which will make it easier, and then there's…". An image of Professor River Song flashed in the Doctor's mind, the memory of her voice as she spoke his name made his skin prickle with goose-bumps.

"He's going to change soon", said Rose the words sounding hollow and bereft.

"I've, I mean we've been running from it, but it's coming", the Doctor could see Rose was overwhelmed with this information and suddenly thought better of mentioning the Professor, he didn't want to add jealousy to the battlefield of emotions which were currently warring for precedence.

Rose suddenly gathered herself, sniffed and sat up straight, "Well since he gave it up for us to be happy we best make the most of it". The Doctor mirrored her and smiled. Her optimism always had been infectious. It was then that they both turned towards the unmissable sound that was Jaqueline Tyler, who was heading towards them, a couple of bags from the hotel gift shop in hand. "Oi, you two get over here and give me a hand with these, had to get something for your Dad and Tony! May have to remortgage the summer house though, the prices in there were bleedin' extortionate... Ooh crikey, the car will be here any minute. Doctor go hand in the keys and meet us outside, Rose I need your opinion on these".

"Yes Maam," said the Doctor giving a mock salute. But Jackie didn't hear she had already launched into talking at Rose, giving her a detailed description of the gifts and her reasoning in selecting them, as they headed out of the front of the hotel.

The Doctor joined them outside just as their car pulled up. Long, sleek and black it would have looked conspicuous anywhere else but outside a hotel such as this, other than perhaps a red-carpet premier or maybe the home of a government official. His mind flashed back to 2006 and the car which transported him and Rose to Downing Street as it was being taken over by Slitheen, even though he had regenerated technically twice since then, he didn't know which of them was more different now. He felt so much like his 9th self, so young and full of fire, though he could feel the things he had in his 10th incarnation, he saw them as if through a tinted lense, the view of those memories coloured by his human emotion and the small but growing number of memories and experiences that were unique to him. Rose on the other hand had matured into herself, still herself just more-so – more determined, more independent, even more intuitive (though he hadn't thought it possible) and more knowledgeable…just more. He noticed as she climbed into the car that she seemed more at home with affluence, not even making a comment about the swanky nature of their transport. This led the Doctor to another line of thought which he was surprised hadn't come to his attention before now.

"I've not asked, where do you live now? I've not even thought about where I'll live… I mean I didn't presume", he trailed off as she turned to stare at him as if he had dribbled on his shirt so to speak.

"It depends really", she said seriously.

"On what", he said incredulously thinking she meant about him living with her.

"No, where I live depends on where I'm working", she giggled. "If I'm in London I stay with Mum and Dad more for convenience than anything else and to spend time with Tony".

"Why are you not usually in London?", said the Doctor confused.

She turned her body around and edged across the back seat three inches closer to the Doctor, her eyes alight with enthusiasm. "You know how in our universe there's that weak spot on the Rift in Cardiff, well we have one here too it's just not in Cardiff its in Sheffield. Apparently, Torchwood had always had a small team there to deal with the things that came through it but it was under a lot more government control, until just after I arrived there was a coalition with the 'realist party'. Mostly a lot of far-right nutters and alien hoax conspiracy theorists to be honest, but it helped Dad take it back out of Government control, so now me and my team run it and sort out the stuff that comes through it. I spend most of my time there so I suppose I, well until your new TARDIS is ready, we, live in Sheffield. Plus, the base being under the Uni was convenient and the rift energy boosted the dimension cannon. Basically what Jack was doing, minus the dimension cannon. I was chatting to him yesterday, we even have some of the same people in our teams, how odd is that. Even weirder that I'm this universes version of him…sort of". Her eyebrows knitted together as she mused on this.

The Doctor's chest fluttered a little when she said 'we'. "Ha, Rose Tyler saving Yorkshire from aliens", he said in a mock Yorkshire accent. Rose rolled her eyes. Jackie then joined the conversation, "more like working herself to death to build dimension cannons and occasionally risking her life in her spare time, I'd hate her living so far away if the alternative wasn't keeping herself cooped up in the mansion". Rose looked down guiltily after glaring in her mother's direction. "I suppose you prefer that I just let the world end then", she snapped.

"Don't give me that, you know I'm proud of you, I would just prefer that it wasn't so dangerous for you especially since his Lordship hasn't been here", she motioned her head in the Doctor's direction. The Doctor felt guilt and panic as his mind raced through potentially life-threatening scenarios that she must have faced without him. He then snapped his head round. "Wait you were using the rift to boost the Dimension hopper, Rose that's so dangerous. I mean void travel without an anti-matter infused ship is dangerous enough but unprotected exposure to rift energies and potential time travel can be deadly without the right shields and tech. I want to see exactly what you were using when we get back".

"Why, deadly in what way, how!", Jackie exclaimed.

"I'm fine, look still here", sighed Rose.

The Doctor pulled out a sonic screwdriver from his top pocket and quickly scanned Rose, immensely thankful that his timelord self had given him his spare. "Hmmmm, as I expected some cell decay but no mutation beyond that from standard rift or void exposure, still want to check you over properly when we get back", he looked her up and down, his deep brown eyes filled with doubt and concern.

Jackie having seemed to calm down marginally looked the Doctor square in the eyes, reflecting his worry, "but if anything's wrong you'll be able to reverse it right?".

"I'm FINE", Rose protested.

"Then you'll let me show that to your mother", said the Doctor in a tone of voice which signalled that it was not a discussion. "Plus, once we're back in the TARDIS I need you in peak condition – can't have you calling in sick", he winked in an attempt to flirt away the animosity.

Rose still sulking "You don't employ me", she said with a hint of a smile.

The Doctor thankful that the argument hadn't escalated and that the Zeppelin-port was signalled on their next left, replied: "it's a good job, I probably couldn't afford you".