The Doctor was bored. He had never, in his life, ever been bored. He always had something to do, someone to talk to, somewhere to travel. But now? He was stuck alone in Rose's flat while she was at Torchwood. She had left without waking him, leaving a note on the fridge to inform him that she would be back around 4. He still had 5 hours, 7 minutes and 53 seconds until then.

And he was bored.

The notion startled him to be sure. He didn't like the feeling nor did he want to become one of those humans who sat around all day watching the Telly, working in a cubicle, and repeating. The thought literally disgusted him. So, against all hope, he marched to his closet and dug around in his blue coat until he found what he was looking for; the Tardis coral.

He refused to set himself up for disappointment by making "growing the Tardis" a fulltime project. No, he would just view it as...a hobby. He could work on the Tardis in his spare time, when he wasn't adjusting to being human or trying to win Rose's favor all over again.

Rose.

He wouldn't tell her, not just yet. The way he saw it, if everything worked out it would be a wonderful surprise, and if he failed miserably, she wouldn't have the chance to be disappointed, again. Yes, so for now, she would be kept unaware.

He placed the coral on the ground, pulled out his sonic screwdriver, and went at it.

"Doctor?" Rose called, closing the door with her foot and placing her keys on the country. There was no response. In a moment of panic, Rose called his name again. Again there was no reply. She plopped down her bag and jogged down the hall to his bedroom, half expecting it to be empty and having to deal with the fact that he left her again. But when she threw open the door, he was gently closing his closet.

"You're here." She breathed, relief fully evident in her voice.

"Where else would I be?" The Doctor replied, his face scrunching up in confusion.

"I…I don't know. You didn't answer and I thought-"

"You thought I left you." It wasn't a question. She didn't answer. "Rose, I'm not going to do that to you." She wasn't so sure.

He must have sensed her doubt because he stepped toward her cautiously, like someone approaching a scared animal that might bolt at the slightest moment. When he finally reached her he pulled her into a hug. Rose checked her memory banks and realized this was the first time since Bad Wolf Bay that they had fully embraced. It took her a moment, but soon enough she was nearly squeezing the life out of the skinny alien/man, taking deep breathes of his familiar scent and trying hard not to cry. One of his hands gently cradled her head into his shoulder, and the other arm wrapped around her shoulders. The Doctor laid his chin on top of her head, as Rose inhaled steadily, calming the shake of her shoulders.

It seemed like they stood there like that for eternity, though Rose knew the Doctor's sense of time would say otherwise, until Rose finally pulled away. The Doctor reluctantly let go, looking down at her with an encouraging grin.

"I want to show you something." Rose finally said, noting proudly there was no tremble in her voice. "Grab your coat." And with that, she strode out of the room, leaving the Doctor to wonder what exactly had just transpired.

Soon enough the Doctor found himself in the passenger seat of Rose's car, fiddling with the radio. Apparently, the music in this universe was not much better than the present day music in the other universe. "Ahh! The House Martins! I love the House Martins, I saw their concert you know, best concert of my life. We should take advantage of the fact that they're still together in this universe. Have you ever been to a House Martins' concert, Rose? Oh, you'll love it."

Rose just smiled in way of response, and turned off the road onto a narrow dirt path. "I come here all the time," Rose explained, "to think." The Doctor didn't say anything in reply, he was studying her face. Rose shifted under his gaze, once again getting the feeling that he could see right into her.

The road ended and Rose pulled on to a patch of grass at the bottom of a hill. "Come on," she said, rather unnecessarily, as she climbed out of the car. She reached over to the Doctor, and wiggled her fingers in the way she had seen him do so many times. He grinned and grabbed her hand, allowing her to lead him up the hill to a small tree. Letting go, Rose reached up to one of the branches and pulled out a blanket, then threw it onto the ground before them.

"You keep a blanket up here?"

Rose grinned, "For those times when I don't expect to end up here."

"When would coming here be a surprise? You have to make an effort to get in the car and come down that, frankly rather disconcerting, dirt path."

"Shut up and sit down." Rose grinned and plopped down, motioning for the Doctor to do the same. His long, gangly legs stretched past the reach of the blanket, but he didn't seem to take notice as he sidled up next to her. After a moment's hesitation, Rose leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I would come up here nearly every night after…..well, after." The sky was just being drained of the last traces of sunlight, and the brightest stars were already visible. "Back home…in the other universe…before we started travelling I used to just look at the stars, and wonder. Then, it was like I knew what was out there so I didn't bother to look. But here…everything's new again. At first that just made me upset but…but now I just want to explore it all over again."

The Doctor started to say something, but Rose wouldn't let him. "I know it's not possible. You said it yourself; the Tardis won't be ready in our lifetime. But, I don't know, it just gives me this sense of hope I guess. This is one of the few places the Zepplins don't get in the way."

The Doctor realized now would be a perfect time to tell her about the Tardis in the works, but he didn't. He had to wait.

He looked up at the clear night sky, now much darker which allowed the stars to become more defined. He could locate quite a few familiar stars in the darkening sky, but he saw even more strange, new ones. It had been such a long time since the night sky looked so unfamiliar to him, and it both excited and frightened him.

"Hey."

Her voice dragged him out of his trance. He looked down at her and found her smiling in his direction. "I know the feeling." She said simply, nudging his shoulder playfully, though he could see the sympathy sketched across her features.

"I'm sorry."

Her smile turned into a frown of confusion. "For what?"

"For leaving you. If I had seen any way to get you back I would have-"

"I know." She turned her face away from him, her shoulders slumping.

"No, Rose, you don't. If I, or the other me, however you want to look at it, had any other choice-"

"Then why did you…he…whoever leave me again?" She turned her gaze to him again and he could clearly see the hurt in her eyes.

"He didn't think there was another way."

"Bullshit!" She stood up quicker than the Doctor could react, and she glared down accusingly at him. "Ever since I met you, all you do is run! You can face down a fleet of hostile aliens but you can't face yourself."

He recoiled as if she had actually hit him. The second the words left her mouth, Rose regretted them. It seemed like every time they made an ounce of progress she threw them ten steps backwards.

"You're right."

Rose's head snapped up. "I am?"

The Doctor pushed himself up and dusted off his jeans. She still wasn't used to seeing him in normal clothing. "Yes, Rose Tyler, you're right, I was wrong, wow never thought I'd hear myself say that." He ventured a slight grin that wasn't quite convincing.

"Listen, Rose, when you were trapped…I…well I wasn't very proud of who I became. Donna…she reminded me that I needed someone around to ground me, a fact that I've never really liked. But it was always more than that with you. You came on board right after the Time War; you helped me see the wonder in the universe again. I needed that. But after you were gone…well I nearly killed myself and Donna, along with the alien threat. I was ready to die."

"Doctor, I-"

"Let me finish. So I took Martha on, she fancied me you know. But once she realized I wasn't about to get over you anytime soon, she left. Then Donna…she became my best mate. But no one came close to making me feel what you did. I didn't know if you were ok, living a happy life, and not knowing, worrying, wishing was turning me into someone that I don't want to be, that I can't be. I can promise you when I…he left, it was the hardest thing he has ever had to do. In a way, it was selfish, by giving you me, he was giving you himself. I get to live the life he…I…we always wanted to with you, without the complications of having to lose you again when you grow old. But now he can also help the universe knowing that you're ok, that he, or me, however you want to look at it, is giving you the life you deserve. It's all I want to do Rose. I love you. We both do."

The Doctor took a deep breath. During his entire speech he had been staring up at the sky. Apparently being human came with an inherent shyness that made no sense since he could not recall a time Donna had ever been shy. He stood there in silence, waiting for a response, and when he got none he finally ventured a glance at Rose.

She was looking at him with an expression he couldn't quite decipher. He was pondering taking it all back when she marched up to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I'm sorry…I didn't know." She whispered. She started to pull away, but stopped when she got far enough away to look him in the eyes. She seemed like she was contemplating something. He was about to speak up when he suddenly felt the wonderfully new sensation of her lips against his.

It once again took him a moment to respond, it seemed like every time she kissed him it was a surprise. Granted one of those times it was Cassandra but-

No, Doctor, focus.

This kiss was much different than the one (technically two) before. He would not later feel like his mouth was going to bruise from the pressure, though that had never been an unpleasant feeling. This time, it was almost as if she were afraid to kiss him too hard, like he would break if she did. The Doctor finally regained control of himself and let his hands drop to her waist, kissing her back slightly more eagerly, doing all he could not to snog her senseless. He made a mental note to tell her his feeling more often since it seemed to result in her lips on his.

Before he knew it, the Doctor was moving his hands to her scalp and steadily leaning more into her kiss. Just as he as getting carried away, he felt her pulling away. He stood there for a moment too long, lips still puckered and hands in mid air before he finally opened his eyes. He didn't know what he was expecting to see; maybe something along the lines of Rose grinning wildly up at him and proclaiming her love. That would have been ideal.

"I'm sorry. I don't think I was quite ready for that." And that was why the Doctor did not think in ideals. Instead of that winning smile a small frown played on her lips, and her eyes were slightly damp. That was definitely not the reaction he had been looking for.

"Come on, let's go home." The Doctor didn't even try to mask the disappointment in his voice.

The ride back to the flat was deafeningly silent. The Doctor spent the entire time sulking and staring out the window. Rose hardly noticed between trying to focus on the road and figuring out what exactly had just transpired.

She finally decided that hearing the Doctor's voice saying he loves her triggers some automatic, Pavlovian response in her system that makes her snog him senseless. She dared a glance over at his slumped form and sighed. She knew it was too early for this.

Shaking her head she pulled into the drive and shut off the car. They both climbed wordlessly out of the car. He still said nothing as they walked up to the door to the flat and she fumbled for her keys. She decided that this silent streak was not a new trait that she was a fan of.

She finally opened the door and was about to break the silence when someone did it for her.

"ROSE! YOU CAME BACK!" Before she knew it, Rose was being swept up into a bone crushing hug and being twirled around in the air. Before she could get her feet situated on the ground, she felt another pair of lips grazing hers briefly. "I didn't think I was going to see you again! Oh…you have company." Rose was finally able to regain enough of her senses to make the proper formalities.

"Doctor…you remember Jake?"

A/N: How is THAT for a speedy update, eh? Eh?

So...yeah...bit of a cliffhanger? I'm dabbling in suspense XD Please forgive any typos, I have yet to find a beta and really just wanted to post this tonight.

Reviews always brighten my day when I check my email during AP History :)