Author's Note: Ok. I'm an asshole. I hoped to get this done and post it last night, since I hadn't intended to split it into two chapters in the first place. But I got caught up with work and errands. Being an adult is highly overrated… If you've enjoyed Episode I, feel free to check out Episode II:

Doctor Who: Parallax - Counting Stars Rose and The Doctor are united once more; off to take on the universe – starting with Florence in the 1600s. The "Father of Modern Physics," having been found suspect of heresy, is under house arrest. During those final years of his life, he will complete one of his most important works, but something is out to stop him.

As stated before, I do not own the characters, themes, or ideas from Doctor Who. I just sneak them out on occasion and return them through the night drop with as little bruising as possible.

royslady51: Is… is the horse's name 'Wildfire' per chance? Vaylyn: *points at own eyes with two fingers, points at your eyes, points back at own* Amorous Erised: Thanks so much! I worry that I tend to get to wordy and cram in too much exposition. The "episodes" will be separate stories. Partly because it makes me feel better about myself to mark something "complete", partly because different episodes may feature different tertiary characters, and partly because, eventually, the second category will change to "Romance" instead of "Sci-Fi". Although "Sci-Fi will still certainly apply, they only let you have 2 categories. I figure that allows anyone who wants to avoid mush to cut and run. artsoccer: We're all mad here. katydidtoo: Well, if you water balloon me at the computer, nobody's getting anything for a good, long while. aly: So, this is where I say "There, I fixed it." Yippee: I had a note to you in the last chapter, and the note was still there, but your name was missing. A bit about stick figures. {see also: artsoccer's note} rose9vamp1414: Nope, Tom Milligan is that resistance fighter who met Martha on the beach when she returned to England after walking the earth for a year. They were later engaged on the show, then she ended up marrying Mickey. But I liked Tom. Tom was cute. The MetaCrisis 10th Doctor doesn't exist in my version of all this. Nothing against 10, but he had a good run, and I'm perfectly content with his story as-is. I like 9 best, he deserved a longer run, and I frankly feel he belongs with Rose. So, I's a gonna make it happen! :D LadaHathaway: Not to be a total twat, but… NINE AND ROSE 4EVAS! TK: I agree. Nine struck a good balance between trusting Rose to make her own decisions and mess up and making sure it didn't end in death, dismemberment, or anyone losing an eye.

"Or," The Doctor began, his voice was strangled a touch from being forced, but he recovered, "Or you could come with me." The offer was nonchalant. Or, at least, he hoped it was. He realized, then, that if she said no; no after saying yes to another version of himself in another world however long ago; it would break some small part in him that had held on to hope in spite of his best efforts to snuff it out. Rose appeared truly surprised, and he forgot to breath as he awaited her answer.

"I…" she looked at her parents, standing in the doorway. Pete was smiling, but Jackie was crying. Behind them, a small blond head peeked through, "Tony!" Rose fell to her knees and the boy rushed into her arms. The Doctor exhaled heavily and closed his eyes. After a moment, watching the child cling to her, he swallowed hard and he walked toward the TARDIS.

"Little monster," Rose grinned, letting go of him and looking at his face, "Holding down the fort, yeah?" Tony nodded silently and pushed something into her hands. It was an old Polaroid camera.

"Take pictures," he said.

"What?" Rose was perplexed, but the nine-year-old threw his arms around her neck once more.

"You're supposed to go with him," Tony whispered, "She said so. She told me she'd keep you safe." Knowing immediately who he meant, Rose turned to look at the TARDIS just as The Doctor started through the door.

"Oi!" she shouted, releasing Tony's grip around her neck and standing up. The Doctor stopped and looked back at her, making a concerted effort to mask his surprise.

"I was just…"

"You ask me to come with you and then try to just swan off without me answerin'."

"Well, technically, I didn't ask you anything," he pointed out, "I simply suggested an alternative." He was wearing that sardonic smile, that mask he utilized so frequently, and she saw straight through it. She hadn't seriously considered this moment until just now. It had taken everything she had to rebuild and find purpose in her life after she was forced to stop traveling with The Doctor, and she had no illusions that she could just pick up where she left off with this new Doctor. But, she realized in that moment, that was a good thing. A fantastic thing, even.

"Suggested?" she crossed her arms, eyes challenging and the corner of her mouth curved in a smile. She wasn't the same person she was at nineteen. She was stronger, more resilient. She realized, then, that she could survive. That when next she inevitably had to let him go, she would carry on. Moreover, she got the feeling he needed her; that she had a job to do.

"Well, you clearly aren't going to stay out of trouble," he postulated, leaning against the TARDIS's door frame and crossing his arms, "I thought, probably better if someone's keepin' an eye on you."

"An eye? On me?" Rose scoffed, "I think you're the one who requires adult supervision."

"I believe I've done just fine for the last nine centuries," he defended, tilting his chin up and looking down at her over his nose.

"Wait, what?" Jackie chimed in.

"Doctor, if you've had nine hundred years to travel all of time and space and the only words you can think of to describe it all is 'just fine,' you're doin' it wrong."

"He's nine hundred years old?" Jackie was aghast.

"And I suppose you think you can do better?" The Doctor challenged, ignoring Jackie's very open turmoil.

"I know I can," Rose beamed, "That is, if the 'suggestion' remains on the table."

"You can't…" her mum began to step forward, but Pete put his arm out.

"Jackie, shut it," he said, though lovingly. Then, he looked at Rose, "She's grown up, dear. She knows what she's doin', and when she doesn't," he paused and a smile spread across his face, "she figures it out." Rose was speechless a moment as Pete approached her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"He'd be proud of you, sweetheart," he said softly, "I know, because I couldn't be any prouder if you were my own." With that, he folded his arms around her and Rose released a choked laugh as she held tight and buried her face in his shoulder. No sooner had he let go than Jackie was there, face contorted with incipient tears. She threw her arms around her daughter, nearly choking her.

"Mum, mum it's all right." Rose chuckled, patting her sobbing mother's back. Pete exited the closet only to return seconds later, her full rucksack in hand, dirty pink converse hanging by their laces from the attached carabiner. Jackie wasn't done sobbing, and Rose stood patiently, waiting for her to finish. In the midst of it all, they heard the thrum of a hover copter passing low over the house. Only then did Jackie let go and everyone but Pete looked upward, fearing the worst.

"That'll be your ride, then" Pete noted, "Too late, now." He looked at The Doctor, standing in the open doorway of his TARDIS and regarding all this with barely contained impatience. "You're stuck with 'er, now." He tossed the rucksack and The Doctor, though taken off guard a bit, caught it.

"Travels light, doesn't she?" he commented, weighing her lone bag in his hand.

"You!" Jackie cut in, storming toward The Doctor with all the righteous determination of Admiral Lord Nelson himself, "You'll take care of her, hear me? Cause if anythin' happens, it's me you'll answer to." At the moment, it looked like The Doctor was the one who needed taking care of.

"Dear…" Pete started.

"I mean it. I smacked 'im once, I'm not afraid to do it again." The Doctor glanced at Rose, his brow furrowed.

"Is she always like this?"

"Only with The Doctor," Rose laughed, "Come on, mum. I got to go." Jackie was sad, but resigned.

"All right, sweetheart. But don't let him talk you in to anythin' untoward. Dirty old man," she shot a scathing look at The Doctor who looked horrified.

"Mum…" Rose hung her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"S'not like that!" The Doctor protested.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Save it, mister." Jackie retorted, but she stepped back away just the same. The Tylers stood together, crammed in that walk-in closet with a blue phone box.

"Right. Ta, then." The Doctor grinned and retreated into the TARDIS. Rose shook her head.

"I love you all," she said, her hand on the door. Tony waved at her, grinning wide, while Jackie hid her face in Pete's shoulder, and Pete just smiled and nodded. "You'll be all right, yeah? With Torchwood…"

"Oh, I suspect things will pan out just fine," Pete dismissed, "In fact, come back in a few months and you might find there's been a change in management." He winked, and Rose grinned.

"Right, then." Looking at them, standing there in a line, she couldn't bring herself to say 'goodbye.' Instead, she waved her fingers, retreated into the TARDIS, and shut the door gently behind her. Once inside, she leaned against the closed doors and took a deep breath.

"Oh, good. You're done. Where to first?" The Doctor asked, cheerfully. He was pacing busily around the console, readying the old ship for departure. He didn't notice at first that Rose hadn't answered, not until it came time to plug in coordinates and he realized he had no destination. He glanced toward the door and saw she was still standing there, gazing up into the ceiling with a look of utter awe and joy on her face. His twin hearts paused a beat in succession. "Rose?"

"She's beautiful," Rose breathed, "She's exactly the same. She's – perfect."

"Well, that's good. With this ship, flattery will get you everywhere," The Doctor commented with a sly grin. Rose made no indication of hearing him, and instead a wild grin spread across her face. Pushing away from the doors, she sprinted up the ramp, feet pounding on the grating, and banked around the control hub to launch herself, sprawling, onto the jump seat. Laughing giddily, she stretched out across all three seats, arms and legs splayed in every which direction.

"Comfortable?" he asked, busily piloting the craft into the Time Vortex.

"Mmmhmm," she cooed.

"Can I get you anything? Tea? Crumpets? A seven course turkey dinner?" his smile belied his sardonic tone, or would have, if she were paying any attention.

"S'good," she murmured.

"Oh, good. There's no staff today. Cutbacks, you see. Had to sack the personal chef and the valet entirely. Shame, they were quality people. Cleaning staff is only here every third millennia, if it doesn't fall on a bank holiday, mind. So, you may find you'll need to take your bag to your room yourself. Apologies – aaand you're asleep, aren't you?" As the TARDIS's course in the Time Vortex stabilized, he finally glanced at his new companion and saw that she'd gone completely limp, her eyelids shut. His terribly clever riff was wasted on the utterly exhausted. Still, he couldn't stop a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

He considered waking her, showing her where to go to find a room, but as quickly as she nodded off, he found he couldn't bring himself to disturb her. Instead, he went to the controls and settled his ship into autopilot. They could stay in the Vortex for a time, allow his ship and his new companion to rest up. In fact, he realized, he could get on some of the repairs he'd been meaning to make. He grabbed a pull-hook and removed a section of grating near the base of the console. Just as he was about to lower himself down, a mass of white feathers came clucking madly out of the crawl space.

"What the hell you doin' in here?" The Doctor looked askance at the hen, glanced into the crawl space, then back at the hen. "How many of you are there?" The chicken, predictably, failed to answer. Shaking his head, The Doctor slammed down a switch on the controls, pulling the TARDIS out of the Vortex. Hastily, he flew around the console, making adjustments to the flight path, keeping an eye on the hen lest it wander off into the depths of the ship. Finally, the ship settled down, and he stepped back from the controls, eying the hen critically.

"Now, I'm bein' kind. Found a nice little field to set you loose in. But if you run from me, I'll turn you into a meat pie, got that?" Slowly, he wandered toward the chicken, trying to appear as non-threatening as a time-traveling alien with a binary circulatory system could. Luckily, he was able to capture the stowaway fowl with little fuss and minimal flapping.

"There, not so bad." The Doctor smiled. He tucked the hen under one arm and walked to the doors. Wherever they'd landed it was evening, and a bit chill. The Doctor made to set the chicken down in the long grass just outside the door, but froze when he heard something odd. Music. It was distant, perhaps a mile away, but he could hear it. Keeping hold of the chicken, he stood upright and took a better look at his surroundings. He recognized it instantly. It was the field beyond the woods surrounding the Tylers' house he'd passed through earlier that day with Rose. The music, he judged, must be coming from the house. It seemed strange they'd be throwing a party after he took their daughter away.

A thought occurred to him, and he glanced at his watch. He'd landed a mile from the mansion nearly twenty four hours before they left. It was a strange coincidence, but as he rolled the fact over in his mind, a problem that had been bothering him for hours bubbled to the surface. Given that the TARDIS had landed in Rose's closet, and he'd not made it outside with the hen before he ran into her in the kitchen and subsequently got arrested, how had Mickey the Idiot's surveillance team known he was there? How had they gotten there so quickly? Still standing in the doorway, he looked back at the control column skeptically.

"Is this you?" he asked, tone dark with warning. He waited a moment, and the lack of concrete response was telling. He knew, then, she was giving him a chance; a chance to change the timeline, keep from being arrested. Also, a chance to leave Rose safely back with her family. He'd still have run into her, certainly, but that brief interaction, no matter how puzzling, would not have led to this moment, now, and her sprawled out asleep on the jump seat. The Doctor looked down at the hen under his arm, clucking calmly and darting its head around. He could set the bird down now, undo what he was sure was one of the most foolish decisions he'd ever made, but as he thought of watching as Rose shimmered in gold and disappeared from his life, his decision was made.

"Go for a bit of a walk, shall we?" The Doctor asked the hen. Again, no response. He smiled to himself and stepped outside, and as he turned to lock the door he pointed at the control center, "We'll discuss this later."

Footnote:

"I won't dance, don't ask me

I won't dance, don't ask me

I won't dance, Madame with you

My heart won't let my feet do things that they should do"

-Frank Sinatra: I Won't Dance