A Rose By Any Other Name

A Rose By Any Other Name

And once more, the Tardis was hurtling through the star-strewn galaxies, to no known destination. The trip hadn't ended as happy as Rose would have liked, and she and the Doctor had barely spoken since leaving Cassandra to her fate. With the Tardis making its own way, the Doctor turned from the control panel in the centre to look towards Rose. She was sat a short distance away, on the floor with her back supported against one of the organic-looking beams.

"I want to check you out."

She was snapped out of her ponderings, "You what?"

The Doctor made his way closer, crouching down before her on the balls of his feet. "I am a Doctor, you know." Rose managed to hitch a weak smile at his joke. "The brain is a delicate thing, it can't have helped having Cassandra yo-yoing in and out of there. Mind's fragile enough without her going in and messing around - might have some after-effects. Could have harmed a few brain cells."

"Oi! My mind's not fragile! What do you mean harmed a few brain cells?!"

"It's nothing to get too worried about. The brain is delicate but resilient in its power. You just need to make sure you rest."

Rose frowned somewhat as she watched him, lifting a hand to absently tug blonde locks behind an ear. "Well, what about you? She kept going in and out of your head too."

"I can afford to lose a few brain cells," the Doctor replied with a mischievous smile.

She couldn't help but give a small giggle at this, shyly glancing back down into her lap. It was hard to think back over the day's events, with so many blank spaces during which Cassandra had possessed her body. It was hard to piece together the proceedings during own consciousness, but all in all, she was glad they were both out and alive.

As if the Doctor knew what she was thinking, he spoke up quietly. "Do you remember anything of when Cassandra inhabited your body?"

Quickly, Rose shook her head. "No. I keep trying to, but it just makes my head hurt - literally."

"Yeah, that's not a good thing. It might be best if you stop trying to remember."

"Do you remember when she inhabited you?"

The Doctor scratched the side of his neck, "No, not really. And the bit where she kept jumping between us is a pretty bizarre experience to try and recall. A few seconds of consciousness amongst all that empty void.

"It was pretty funny," Rose said, smirking towards him now.

An eyebrow raised sceptically on the Doctor's face. "Oh, yeah?"

"She said it was different being in a man's body."

"Well, I can imagine it is."

Rose's smile turned bashful, "She seemed to enjoy it."

"I'm not surprised!" the Doctor laughed, slouching down off his feet so he could sit down on the floor in front of her. "Anyway, I'm glad my bodily violation amused you."

"What did she do when she was inside me?"

The Doctor's smile faded a little, "Well, lot's of things really. Can't find anything that stands out.. in particular."

"Did she like it?" persisted Rose, wanting to know the woman's opinion.

"Er, I can safely say yes, she did like it."

"Did you like it?"

Just as the Doctor was about to respond, he frowned at Rose, realising that her accent had just gone a little bit off. "Rose?" He recognised the look she was giving him. It was similar to Cassandra's when she had taken to eyeing him up and down. "Are you alright?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Doctor."

"Ok, well, that's good. But you really ought to rest. These, er, side-effects seem to be manifesting."

Rose lifted a hand and pushed her hair back over a shoulder in a way that seemed to be entirely beneficial to him. "What side-effects are those?"

"Because of Cassandra going in and out and all that, I assume, and it seems I'm right, that a little bit of her personality has been left behind. It'll go off, so don't worry about that. You'll be right as rain in a few hours. But, until then.."

"Until then.. ?" repeated Rose, watching him closely.

But the Doctor was taking no chances. This time around, he knew it wasn't Cassandra behind her eyes, only her influence. He couldn't tell Cassandra to stop and so he couldn't tell Rose to stop. "Bed," he said simply, as a stern order. He'd said the word before he could rephrase himself and was rewarded with a suggestive smile alighting Rose's lips. "You know what I mean!" he added quickly, pointing a warning finger at her.

The Doctor proceeded to stand to his feet, pulling her up with him. He knew this wasn't her fault, but it certainly made him feel rather uncomfortable - particularly because there was one fundamental event that did stand out during Cassandra's possession of Rose's body.

"Come on, up you get," he said as he helped her upright, ensuring to keep hold of her as he turned and navigated her towards the staircase. She travelled rather willingly, still with a smile across her face that put him at slight unease. With Cassandra gone, Rose was still working on her own emotions, which just so happened to be influenced by the remnants of Cassandra's personality. Entering Rose's room, he led her towards the bed and sat her down in front of him. "I know, inside, this is probably rather confusing, but trust me, it's better if you just sleep."