They landed at the airport and got into the rental car that the Master had reserved and headed to the hotel. They checked into their room and the Master started rummaging in his bag for the things he would need.

"Did the device give an exact location?" she asked, praying that it would not be that beach.

"Not really. I've estimated that it's about forty miles from here. I checked on the map and it's in the country."

She nodded, relief flooding her. Anticipation suddenly washed over her, the feeling she always got when she was heading into a mystery or adventure. She couldn't help but get excited.

He stood, all his bits and bobs shoved deep down into the abyss of his pockets. "Ready to go exploring?" he asked, his eyes alight.

She grinned back and took his proffered hand. His whole attitude and demeanor had been lighter since they had made love, as though he had been reassured of her love for him. And she realised that she had indeed grown to love him.

They drove until the device started beeping insistently. He pulled up to the side of the road and parked the car. "We'll have to walk the rest of the way."

She got out the car and looked around at the scenery. The countryside truly was spectacular, with the snow-capped mountains in the background and the lush green fields with thick copse of trees surrounding them. The air was chilly and she zipped her jacket right up to her neck. The Master stood there in his suit, looking impervious to the cold, looked down at the device in his hand.

"Not too far from here. I'd say past that field and beyond that forest."

She smirked. "Are you sure you can handle getting your shoes muddied?" she teased.

He sighed dramatically. "It's a sacrifice. But I have plenty more," he said, flashing her a grin.

She shook her head, still smiling. "I really don't want to know. Come on, let's go solve this mystery."

They walked through the field that was thick and dense with the brightest green grass Rose had ever seen. They came to the outskirts of the forest and the Master stopped, turning to her with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Not afraid of the dark, are you, Rose?"

"Depends. Are you afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?"

"Terrified," he replied in mock terror.

She grinned and took his hand. "Don't worry. I'll protect you."

He chuckled. "I've gone soft in my old age. Never thought that I would need protecting." Then he became serious as the beeping started getting louder as they made their way through the dark forest. It was eerily quiet, all noise hushed by the dense growth. They weaved their way through trees, stepping gingerly over roots. Soon light started pouring through the trees as the denseness thinned out and they suddenly found themselves in a clearing. There in the middle of the clearing stood a dilapidated cottage, the roof covered in lime green moss and a tree even growing through the roof.

The Master looked at the cottage and then at the device. "In there, would be my guess."

Rose frowned. "I wonder what the significance of the tear being in that house is?"

"Things like this don't usually have a significant meaning behind them," he commented as they made their way to the cottage.

"Oh, I don't know. Has been known to happen."

He glanced over at her with a sharp gaze. "Elaborate, please."

"When the Doctor left me on that beach, the name of that beach was Darlig ulv stranden, which translates to Bad Wolf Bay. That was where the tear opened up the last time."

"So you're thinking that this time it has to have some importance to it?" he asked, his attention now on the door that was rotted down to almost nothing. What was left of it was also covered in moss.

"Only one way to find out," she replied. She pulled at the door, a big chunk of rotted wood coming away in her hand. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. She threw the wood to the side and ducked down as she entered the house. He pulled a flashlight out of his pocket and followed her.

The cottage looked like it was about to fall down. The floor was covered in leaves and dust and animal droppings. It was a small cottage, with a little kitchen to their left. The door they came in led them to the lounge, where the tree was growing. They made their way around the tree and there were two closed doors to their right.

"Where's the bathroom?" Rose asked.

"Something this old, they didn't have bathrooms. Bed pans were the things back in the day."

Rose crinkled her nose. "So which door?"

He shrugged. "Just pick one." She chose the one on the left, the wooden door surprisingly intact. The Master stayed close behind her, flashing the light around the room. Pieces of broken furniture littered the floor. Where there had once been a window was now covered in moss and ivy. Rose shivered at how cold it felt in this room, an ominous foreboding emanating through the walls.

"I wonder what happened here?" she whispered.

The Master was carefully surveying the room. "Abandoned with time. Like everything, it had its time and it came to an end."

She looked around one last time and they walked out, the Master closing the door behind them. He then went to the next room. "Ready?" he asked.

She nodded. He opened the door and they stepped in and froze. On the wall opposite them was a crack in the wall, glowing golden and white, lighting up the room, chasing away the shadows.

"What is that?" Rose asked in awe.

The Master moved forward and knelt by the crack. "It's a crack. A split in the skin of reality. Two parts of time and space that should never have touched, pressed together. You knock down the wall and the crack would still be there."

She came over to him, kneeling by his side. "Is it bad?"

"Hard to say," he said, peering closer at the crack. "Some cracks act as a wormhole. Other cracks can wipe a person from existence."

She bit at her bottom lip. She stared at the crack, the swirling light from within seeming to call to her. And she heard something. Almost like the tendrils of a dying song. "Do you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" he asked, turning his ear toward the crack.

She knew that song. It was a song from so long, long ago. A song embedded into her memory, but she just couldn't recall from when she had heard it. It was calling to her, urging her.

"A song," she whispered. And before he could stop her, she plunged her arm into the crack.

"Rose! What are you doing?" the Master shouted, panic lacing his voice.

"It's Ok. It won't hurt me," she answered as she felt around.

"You don't know that for sure. You could have been wiped from memory."

She furrowed her brow in concentration as her fingertips brushed against something. "I think I found something," she said. She shifted to reach further, the crack almost up to her shoulder. She got a hold of it and pulled it out. It was a bit bigger than her hand and wooden. She slowly flipped it over and felt her heart stutter.

"What is it?" the Master asked.

"It's a piece of the Tardis," she whispered, showing him the wooden piece of the Tardis with the words 'POLICE TE' written on the white paint and bordered with the Tardis blue. The rest of the word was cut off. But she knew it was part of the Doctor's Tardis. The Master took it and studied it.

"What do you think happened?" she asked, her voice slightly shaky.

"The Tardis exploded."

"And...the Doctor?" she asked.

He looked up at her sharply. "Why do you ask? You still care about him?" His voice had taken on a bitterness.

"Of course I do." Hurt flashed through his brown eyes. "I loved him once, but our time is over. Doesn't mean I have to stop caring about him."

He blinked at her words, his eyes still uncertain. She clasped his hand that wasn't holding the piece of Tardis. "I love you, Master. Get that in your thick skull."

He smiled slowly and softly at her and nodded.

"So, the Doctor. Do you think he got himself blown up as well?"

"Well, I'm certainly not rummaging in there for a body, if that's what you want."

She bit her bottom lip. She reached for the piece of Tardis and he handed it to her without a word. She stroked the piece affectionately. "The poor Tardis. She truly was beautiful." She sighed and put the piece back in the crack, watching it disappear into the light. Then she gingerly reached back in.

"Are you seriously looking for the body?" the Master asked.

"No. I thought I felt something else," she replied. Her fingers brushed against it and she grinned in triumph. She pulled it out and opened up her palm. He was instantly by her side.

"Do you know what that is?" he asked in wonderment.

She stroked the piece and it glowed golden at her touch. She looked up at him. "No. What is it?"

"That is a Tardis coral. Do you know what that means?" he asked, his voice rising in excitement.

She shook her head.

He clasped her on her shoulders. "It means, Rose, that we can grow our own Tardis."

Her eyes widened. She looked back down at the glowing coral and then she looked back up at him. "How?"

He gave her a knowing grin. "We have an exceptional energy source. Perfect for growing a Tardis."

"We do?" she asked.

"Oh, yes," he said and then placed his index finger on her chest.

Her eyes widened in understanding. "You mean to tell me that my power can make a Tardis grow?"

"You are full of Atron and Vortex energy. Just the fuel a Tardis needs."

"How long?" she asked, giddy with the implications.

"She should be up and running in a year."

She felt like her face was going to split from grinning so much. "Oh. That's brilliant."

Suddenly the crack flashed a brilliant white and they both scampered back, watching as the crack grew bigger.

"What's happening?" she asked.

"My guess is that the Doctor is closing the cracks."

She watched as the crack widened and then snapped shut, the light and crack disappearing. All that could be heard now was their breathing in the suddenly dark room.

"At least he's still out there, alive and kicking about," she said with finality. "Let's go."

Once they exited the house, back into the bright daylight, she handed him the Tardis coral. She didn't know whether to feel relieved that she hadn't seen the Doctor. Part of her suspected that this anomaly was his doing. But had she really been hoping to see him again? She remembered the hurt that flashed through the Master's eyes when she had enquired about the Doctor. She never wanted to see that hurt in his eyes again, nor did she want to be the one to place that hurt there. He had come into her world and had settled himself in her heart.

He put the coral in his jacket pocket and took a deep breath. Then he turned to her and grinned. "So you love me?"

She rolled her eyes and bumped his shoulder with her own. "You know I do."

He was silent for a moment and the he replied. "Yes, yes I do."

They made their way back through the woods and back to the car, each lost in their own thoughts.

"So, we're going to have our own Tardis," she stated as they started driving back to the hotel.

"All of time and space at our disposal," he agreed, his eyes on the road.

"Yeah," she said softly, staring out the window. It had started to rain lightly, almost like a fine misty rain.

"What's wrong, Rose?" he asked, placing a hand on her upper thigh, though he still kept his eyes on the road.

"You have a way to escape now. Do you really want to stay with me, knowing that you now have a way to leave this world, maybe even find a way back to the Prime Universe?"

He was silent for a moment. "Let me ask you something. If that crack had been a way for you to go back to him, would you have gone?"

She blinked and looked over at him. "No. Like I said, my time with him is over. By your side is where I want to be now."

He nodded. "So to throw your words back in your face, I love you, Rose. Get that into your thick skull."

She laughed out loud.

His face softened as he smiled back at her. "We, and I put emphasis on 'we', are going to have the whole of time and space at our disposal. If you think that I'm going to leave you behind, then you are being exceptionally daft."

"That's what I like about you," she murmured.

"What's that?" he asked, his thumb rubbing over her thigh.

"You don't mince your words. You mean what you say. You're bluntly honest. It's...refreshing."

"I'll always be honest with you, Rose. Even if the truth hurts."

She lifted his hand off her thigh and he made a sound of protest. She kissed the back of his hand. "Thank-you."

"You're welcome. Now can I put my hand back on your thigh? I was rather enjoying feeling you up."

She chuckled, but did what he asked. "Get us back to the hotel and we'll be doing more than feeling each other up."

He glanced at her and then increased his speed, suddenly eager to get back to the hotel.

She awoke to the dark room. She had fallen asleep curled up in his arms, but now the bed was empty. She rolled over and saw him sitting at the desk, the lamp turned down to a soft glow. He had his laptop on and was sitting there, turning the coral piece over in his hand.

"What you thinking about?" she asked softly, resting her weight on her elbows.

He looked up at her, his eyes looking almost black in the dull light of the room. He placed the coral piece gently down on the desk and came over to her, sitting on the bed. He traced his fingers down her arm and then up again, making her shiver. She was completely naked, the sheet only covering her bottom half.

"I was thinking about the future."

She sat up properly now and he swiftly scooped her onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he looked up into her eyes, his expression soft and tender.

"And what about the future?" she whispered.

"We've got two weeks leave."

She nuzzled against his neck. "Two weeks all to ourselves."

"You're making it hard to concentrate," he growled.

"That's kinda the point, Master," she said.

"Hmm. I love it when you say my name. I especially loved it when you screamed it out earlier on."

She kissed along his neck and then nibbled on his earlobe, causing him to groan. He swiftly flipped her on the bed, making her squeal in surprise. "I can never get enough of you," he growled before his lips crashed against her own.

They made love, a lovemaking that was filled with passion and urgency and ardor.

Afterwards, she lay in his arms, sated, and idly caressing his chest with her fingertips. His own fingers were tracing along her spine. His face looked peaceful and content as he lay there and she thought that he looked so perfect, right in this moment.

"So what about the future?" she asked.

He looked down at her and quirked an eyebrow. "So now you want to talk about the future?"

She grinned. "Yup, now that I've had my way with you."

"I beg to differ. I definitely think I had my way with you."

"Let's meet in the middle and say we had our way with each other."

"Sounds about right," he murmured.

"So?" she pressed.

"I was thinking that when we get back we should find another place."

"Really?" she asked amused.

"Yes. I really dislike that house. So boring and bland. Why did you choose it in the first place?"

She bit her bottom lip. "I chose it mainly because it is so secluded. If I lost control again, I wouldn't risk hurting neighbors."

"Hmm. I'll find us something." He was now looking up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

"So, once we get the Tardis up and running, are you going to try and find a way back to the Prime Universe?"

"No. The tears have been sealed. If we even try to attempt it, it could destroy both universes."

"Yeah, that's what the Doctor said. That's why he couldn't come back to get me the first time."

He was silent for a moment, then he said softly, "I would have. I would have destroyed both Universes to get you back."

She snuggled in closer to him. "I might have just let you."

He kissed the top of her head, his arm around her pulling her closer. "Let me clean that wound and change the bandages."

She sighed, but sat up as he went to get the supplies. Funny enough, her shoulder hadn't bothered her since they had left the cottage. He sat beside her and gently pried the patch off her shoulder. She could sense something was wrong when he froze and just stared.

"What's wrong?"

His eyes flickered up to her. "I think you should take a look in the mirror."

She jumped up and quickly made her way to the bathroom, flicking on the lights. She went to the mirror over the sink and froze. Her shoulder was completely healed. Not even a scar.

She saw the Master enter the bathroom. "How?" she asked.

He rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. "Honestly, I don't know. It might have been when you put your arm in that crack. The time energy in there might have healed you. Maybe it has something to do with you being a creature of time."

She looked back in the mirror, her eyes wide in amazement. Coming to Norway hadn't been a coincidence. Just like the Master coming in to her life hadn't been coincidental. It felt like everything had been leading up to them finding each other.