A/N: The Tenth Doctor always reminded me of quotes from A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, not sure why, but after reading the book again, I just heard the lines being spoken by him. Like: "Humans are not proud of their ancestors, and rarely invite them around to dinner."

It was late, well relatively speaking. Of course, time was not something that meant much in the vortex. But, the Doctor had been monitoring Rose's sleeping habits and by her biorhythmic standard, it was late. So, it should have been safe to enter the console room. It should have been.

But Rose was onto the Doctor. It didn't take her long to realize he was running, hiding from her. She really thought this time would be different, that they crossed that bridge already and burned it. Apparently not. So even though it was late and she was exhausted, she waited for him, knowing that eventually he'd make his way to the console, knowing he'd be unable to stay away forever. Eventually they'd have to leave the vortex, and when he finally made his way to the controls, she'd be there, waiting for him.

The lights were low in the console room when he walked in and he didn't see her at first. AS he entered something tickled his nose. He stopped, sniffed the air and looked around. It felt like Rose was here. But he was sure she'd already be in her room, in her bed. Shaking his head to clear it, he continued toward the console to tinker and soon was sliding underneath.

Rose made her move. "Doctor." She called, standing over his twitching feet.

The Doctor, startled, nearly concussed himself by banging his head into the console. "Ouch. Damn that hurt." His senses were accurate, she was here. "Rose, you should be sleeping, what are you doing in here?"

"Why are you running from me?"

"I'm not running." Deciding to try the ignorant route, he continued, "The TARDIS has been acting strangely, you probably haven't noticed, but she's been needing my attention."

"Is this how it's going to be between us now?"

"Rose, please, I just need to fix the TARDIS." The last thing he wanted was to be confronted, especially unexpectedly. He still hadn't adjusted to the bond, still wasn't totally in control, and he really wished she'd just step away from him so that he could climb out from under this hunk of celestial metal without whacking himself in the head again and run for the safety of, well, anywhere Rose wasn't. "Go get some sleep; you're still not recovered completely."

For a second he thought she was going to listen to him. The Rose he knew before the incident at Torchwood would have. The Rose before she spent time in the parallel universe would have nodded her head, maybe even crying silent tears, would have walked away. But this Rose, this Rose who risked her life, crossed a universe and even stared death right in the eye, she stood firm.

"I'm not going anywhere. If you're not running, come out here and talk to me."

"Rose-"

"Fine." She huffed, and then climbed under the console with him.

He banged his head again. "Bloody hell, I'll be brain damaged before long."

She laughed, "You should have come out."

"It's not funny."

"Let me see what you did to your head." She reached out to him and he recoiled. "Come on Doctor, those were two solid knocks, let me see if you're ok."

"I'm fine Rose." There was no way he was going to let her get any closer to him. The quarters were too close for his piece of mind already.

"Doctor." She reached out again, this time, she managed to get her hands into his hair.

Her touch felt so good, he gasped. Remembering himself, he tried to pull away even though all he wanted to do was lean into her touch.

"See, you're in pain," mistaking his quick inhale for hurt, she tried to move closer.

"No Rose, please," he closed his eyes tightly; "please don't touch me."

"Doctor, what's going on? What's wrong?"

The situation was getting worse and worse, "Just leave me alone, please." He was begging her.

She stayed under the console for another few seconds; then he heard a short inhale and could almost feel her tears before she quickly climbed out. He sighed deeply, "Rose wait."

She stopped near the hallway, but didn't turn around. He made his way out from under the console carefully trying not to hit his head again.

"Do you know what the one though running through my mind standing on that damn beach was?" She was crying, her voice was choppy, broken.

He didn't respond.

She turned around. "That I'd never get to look into your eyes again, that this was going to be the last time I ever got to see you, to see them. That some grainy image was going to be the last time I ever got to look into them."

"Rose-"

"Then you find this way, this fantastic wish comes true and I realize that I'm going to get to look into your eyes again. So I follow your instructions, I wait and wait. I leave my family and hope like hell that somehow this crazy idea works, and then this portal opens and I run as fast as I can toward it, but something wasn't right and then I'm dying right in your arms. But it was okay. It was okay Doctor because it was your arms and I was looking into your eyes." She looked at him, "But somehow, by some miracle I came back to you and I got to look into your eyes again."

"Rose," he began but couldn't finish.

"And now, after all this, you run from me, avoid me. Tell me Doctor, did something change? Why work so hard to bring me here if you so obviously don't want to be around me."

"Rose, it's not that. It's not that at all. I just… I just can't be around you right now." Even to his ears that sounded ridiculous. And the hurt look on her face confirmed it. "No, that's not right. Rose, it's just complicated." He started pulling on his ear. "It's hard to explain, you see, I don't know how it happened, but it did, and I can't seem to undo it, I…" He looked at her, she seemed confused. "I'm not making sense am I?"

"I feel like such a fool."

"Rose, no, I'm just not explaining this well."

She shook her head, "I don't know you at all do I?"

Now he was confused, and his head really hurt. "Rose, you know me better than anyone, ever."

She laughed a little. "Maybe, but that doesn't mean I know you."

"Rose, you do know me-"

"No, I really don't. In fact, I don't even know your name, not your real name."

"Rose, I can't." She looked down and away from him. "You don't understand what you're asking, what you're committing to."

At this she looked up and at him, into him. "Then tell me."

"Rose…" He wasn't going to. He knew he had no right to impose this on her, just like he had no right to inflict this bond on her, but he saw a divergence in the future, and he knew he needed her, and while she might turn away anyway, she definitely wouldn't stay if he didn't tell her what was going on. "Rose, I have no right, and I promise I'll try to fix this, as soon as I figure out how.

"Fix what Doctor?"

"I've imposed on you, I didn't mean to, I couldn't help it." He was trying to explain while still not actually saying it, not admit that he couldn't control himself when she touched him, that even being near her was wreaking havoc on him emotionally.

"Doctor," she moved closer to him, invading his space and trying to look into his eyes. "Stop avoiding this, avoiding me. Just tell me." Finally he allowed her to look at him and see, really see and what she saw in his eyes was fear. "You're scared."

He was going to brush it off, going to deny it, but having her near him, after everything they went through, he just couldn't, he wasn't strong enough to spare her any longer, he needed her too much. "I've bonded to you Rose." He hung his head, defeated, waiting for her reaction, placing himself at her mercy.

Rose knew that this was important, that it was significant, but she really didn't know exactly what that meant. "I don't understand." He sighed. "I don't understand, but I want to."

He looked up, a little startled that she was still willing to hear him, to let him explain. "It means that we…" he swallowed, gathering himself, "that I joined with you, emotionally." He stopped, waiting for her reaction. She continued to look at him, processing. "It gets worse, you see," He grabbed at the back of his neck and started pacing, "I've been bonded before, but not like this, never this strong, and never spontaneously. There's usually a whole ritual, a ceremony, mutual participation." Then he stopped, in front of her, "And I can't reverse it."

"Why?"

"I don't know how it happened Rose-"

"No Doctor. Why do you want to?"

He was stunned, completely shocked, dumbfounded. All he could muster was, "Huh?"

" I've told you before, but you never believe me. I'm never going to leave you."

"Rose, you can't mean… you can't possibly feel-"

"What do you know of how I feel?" Pointing to her chest she asks, "Are you in here?" then to her head "or here? You play at knowing everything but you've got no idea have you? The lonely god, never able to hold onto those he loves. Well maybe that's partly because you never try to hold onto them. Maybe it's not that you love them enough to let them go, maybe you don't love them enough for them to want to stay. Maybe you never show it. I'm not the mind reader Doctor, you are. And I need the words."

He thought he knew how this would go. Thought of the possibilities, but even in the best outcomes he considered, he never even dreamt it could go this way. "Rose, are you sure?"

"Just tell me Doctor, after all, I told you." The bond was pulling on him so strongly he could barely stand it. But actually telling her how he felt, saying it out loud, was still hard for him. But then she upped the ante and closed the distance between them and placed her hand on his cheek. "It's okay, I promise."

He shivered at her touch and the words poured out of him, "Rose, I missed you so much, and I really didn't mean for this to happen." He looked into her eyes before continuing. Rose gasped at what she saw there. "But I can't hide it anymore, and I can't stop it. I need you Rose, so badly, and, he paused, taking a deep breath, "I love you."

"About time you said it." Slowly she slid even closer to him, her hands moving to the back of his neck and playing in the hair at his nape.

He closed his eyes, anticipating her kiss. Every nerve in his body was acutely attuned to her, waiting for her touch, aching for it with an overwhelming intensity. Nothing could have prepared him for the feel of her though. It nearly brought him to his knees and suddenly he was terrified again, afraid of embarrassing them both with this need, with this want. Just as her lips were a breath away from his, he whispered, "This is going to be a disaster."

Rose recoiled abruptly, hurt. "What?"

"No Rose, it's not you. You're perfect. It's me." Mortified, he continued, "This body, it's so sensitive, nothing like my others, and you're driving me so crazy with the slightest touches that we're in imminent danger of… well, having the top of my head blow off in about ten seconds flat."

"Figure of speech right?" She looked a bit scared herself.

"What?"

"You don't mean this is actually going to end with the top of your head coming off, do you?"

"Rose, no, don't be ridiculous." He started blushing, the tips of his ears turning bright red.

"Well how am I supposed to know? You point out all the time that you're an alien. How am I supposed to know what it's going to… what it's like when… you know." She paused, then she turned a little red too, "I mean we're headed that way right?"

"Oh, I hope so." Then he half smiled. "But promise me we'll go slowly. I don't think I'd survive the completion of the bond if we don't."

"Completion? I thought you said we were already bonded."

"I am, but it's not whole yet. You… well, you have to umm, participate too, I mean, if you want to."

"Oh, I want to Doctor." She grinned mischievously. "What do I have to do?"

"You can start by kissing me."

"Thought you'd never ask." She started moving toward him again, with intent.

"Please, be gentle with me."

"I promise."

They moved together, almost smashing noses, mouths meeting finally, both softly moaning at the contact, at the feeling of coming home, finally.

A/N: Well, that's it I think. I hope I haven't totally ruined the characters. I have gotten a couple of reviews saying that the Doctor is pretty true to character, but with this chapter I may have bungled it, and I know Rose is off . The story started writing itself after a while, I simply kept writing because I wanted to know what was going to happen. Also, I have to credit Susan Elizabeth Phillips for a line or two from the book "Heaven Texas."