A/N: If anyone is looking at this and thinking "Hey! What about I am a Soldier!" I do apologize. I am kind of stuck with the plot, so I've moved on to get my Doctor Who feels out through fanfiction.

To anyone about to run away because this sounds so boring, trust me, it's not just a re-write of the transcript. I don't go through the whole episodes line by line, just the important parts. I've gone through and added parts, and tried to get into Rose's head a bit with this. Anyway, gimme a chance here :)

I have yet to decide whether to take this beyond Season 2, so that's up in the air. Convince me through reviews! ;)

Introduction & the Parting of Ways

Rose Tyler had always been a terrible at telling lies. When she was little, it only took one look at her for her mother to immediately catch her and call her on it. Thus, Rose didn't lie. Until she knew the Doctor.

It hadn't been necessary when she first met him. He was a strange man-alien, and she had nothing to hide from him. But then things began changing.

Rose Tyler began keeping secrets.

By nature, the Doctor was secretive. Especially concerning his past. When it came to the present, however, he was notorious for speaking his mind at all times, no matter how rude he was. He didn't really lie. Until he knew Rose Tyler.

It had been necessary from the first time he met her. It would be dangerous to let her too close, not that keeping secrets helped that from developing. But he could try.

The Doctor began keeping secrets.

The throbbing song was pulling her through the vortex. She could feel it whirling about her, twisting her mind until all she had left was the single, focused thought.

Save the Doctor.

After that it was a blur. She destroyed, she killed. She brought life, she saved. It wasn't her, but it was her. Bad Wolf.

"It's killing me," she whimpered.

The Doctor said something, and then he was in front of her. Blackness came, and the next thing Rose knew, she was on the floor of the TARDIS.

"What happened?" Rose asked immediately.

"Don't you remember?" The Doctor asked.

Rose paused. The memory was hidden, but still there. If she could just reach it . . . "It's like there was this singing."

"That's right. I sang a song and the Daleks ran away."

Rose didn't like being patronized. She ignored his comment, focusing on her clearing memories. "I was at home. No, I wasn't, I was in the Tardis, and there was this light." She paused, considering the Doctor. "I can't remember anything else," she lied.

He didn't notice the lie. Rose lost track of what he was saying, only noticing the past tense as he described he had planned on taking her.

"Then, why can't we go?" she asked, leaving her returning memories and focusing on the Doctor.

"Maybe you will, and maybe I will. But not like this."

"You're not making any sense."

He spouted more nonsense at her. Rose felt like screaming in frustration, but then he bent over in pain.

"Doctor!" she cried, reaching for him.

"Stay away!"

"Doctor, tell me what's going on."

"I absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex, and no one's meant to do that. Every cell in my body's dying."

At his words, the memory became complete. The Bad Wolf, the singing. She could remember everything. The Time Vortex, the pain, the light. It was overwhelming. But it wasn't important, not if the Doctor was dying. Oh, he had kissed her. Rose stored that memory for later consideration.

He changed. Her Doctor had changed, and it didn't make sense. The headache made everything that much worse.

"What happened?" she managed to get out. The Doctor . . . or not the Doctor? seemed embarrassed.

"I'm sorry I never told you about this, Rose. It's only that in an emergency . . . well I've regenerated. Cheated death, you could say."

"Ah," Rose said inadequately.

The new Doctor stumbled and clutched his chest.

"Are you . . .?"

"Just fine. Now, where did you want to go? Barcelona?"

"Maybe, home," Rose whispered. She caught a look in his eyes that was a bit of pain, maybe fear that she was going to leave him before he nodded, grin flitting across his face.

"Maybe Jackie won't slap me, now that she won't recognize me!" he said cheerfully, messing with the controls.

The headache was pounding dully. Rose managed to grip the railing before they were spinning towards earth, twisting through the vortex. The Doctor was thrown off balance, and seemed to collapse against a column.

"Doctor!" Rose shouted.

The landing was terrible, the TARDIS spinning and landing so violently that Rose thought they had broken down.

It didn't stop the Doctor from getting up and throwing himself through the door.

Rose hesitated. Vaguely she could feel the singing. The TARDIS singing . . . or maybe the Time Vortex, she realized. Looking to the door, Rose bit her lip. Whatever was going on, she knew she'd have to figure it out without the Doctor. It would only make things more complicated if she told him. She walked out the door.

Rose Tyler's secret was the Bad Wolf.

The Doctor looked at himself in the mirror. New man. Not really, but in a lot of ways he was. Rose was waiting for him-Christmas dinner. So domestic of him, maybe something was changing. That wasn't a bad thing, no, in fact it felt like a really great thing, judging from the several small looks Rose had given him, and her smile.

Rose. A wave of fear washed over the Doctor, even as he grabbed a tie. After Bad Wolf had happened, he had wanted to run some tests on her, just as precaution, but now that it had been so long, it would only worry her. Or bring up memories, and he did not want to do that. Even so, maybe he would try and do some scans while she was asleep. But then again, there had been no sign of Bad Wolf, and it wasn't something to hide.

He was worrying unnecessarily. He would make sure there was no mention of the Game Station. If something triggered memories, there was the slightest possibility that Bad Wolf would return and kill her. And he could not let anything happen to her. Ever.

He would distract her. Trip to New Earth should do it. The Doctor grabbed his coat, and headed out of the TARDIS.

The Doctor's secret was the Bad Wolf.