I know I know, I took ages again. Still, here's that last chapter - enjoy!

5th November

Rose sat on a bench in the park. Alone. She was completely and utterly worn out, sure that the rings under her eyes and her messy hair were completely visible to the occasional passer-by, but unable to care. Last night had been like something from a dream, a nightmare, a film. Not a scenario she had ever thought she would find herself in.

It was about four o'clock, getting to the point in the afternoon when the sun was starting to set, casting long shadows.

She had been sat there for a long time – at least an hour. She and the Doctor had arranged to meet at about four, once she had been reassured that he would be fine. Rose had found herself sitting on the bench an hour early, just to give herself a bit of time to think. She was still mulling over the events of the last evening: the perfection of the fireworks, the fight, the Doctor's limp body lying on the ground, the frantic trip to the hospital once she had managed to get someone to call an ambulance, the endless waiting.

Rose had been terrified. She did not want to admit it to herself, but she had been truly scared by what had happened. The extent to which the Doctor being incapacitated had frightened her was faintly ridiculous, but the fact was that seeing him like that and being unable to do anything about it seemed fundamentally wrong. She might have known him for less than a week, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that, whenever she closed her eyes, she could see him lying prone on the concrete, not responding to anything, appearing dead even if he was only unconscious. The only good side was that her training had kicked in, and she had been able, reasonably swiftly, to take on the thugs who had tried to mug them, sending them on their way. To be honest, she was certain that she had dealt with them much more effectively than the Doctor could have – he would have either been unable to fight or unwilling to hurt them. Fool.

"Anyone sitting there?" Rose looked up, shaken abruptly out of her thoughts by the sight of the Doctor, looking down at her and smiling.

"Actually I was waiting for someone," she replied smoothly, "but he's not here, so take a seat."

The Doctor grinned in a ridiculous grin and sat himself next to her, with just a little distance between them. He winced slightly, and Rose looked around at the back of his head. There was no visible sign of any injury.

"There wasn't even a cut." He had seen her scrutinising, checking for wounds. "I'll just have a bit of a headache for a while. They kept me in for observation but there wasn't even any concussion. Looks like you got the raw end of the deal on this one."

Rose smiled a little at this. "To be fair, I did do all the work." She raised her right hand in front of her, stretching out her arm so they could both admire the white bandage that covered her hand and wrist. She tilted her head to one side. "I think I'll get a blue cast when I go back in a couple of days."

"Why blue?"

Rose shrugged. "It's my favourite colour."

"Mine too." The Doctor was looking at her, so she kept staring straight ahead, choosing the grass rather than the face of the man next to her to focus on. She sensed the exact moment that his happiness changed to confusion, and his confusion changed to concern. "Rose?"

Well that was that. There was no way she could avoid his gaze now without directly ignoring him. She turned her head slowly, putting off the moment when she had to look at him. Their eyes locked.

"Are you angry with me?"

Rose laughed. It felt good to laugh, nice and normal. "No, no, of course I'm not." She reached out and put her hand over his. "I'm not cross I'm... I don't know what I am." She fell silent, and the Doctor did not break the silence, choosing to hold her hand and keep his gaze on her, letting her have time to get her thoughts together. She loved him for that.

"I suppose I'm still in shock," she blurted out. "I mean, I meet you and it's suddenly like we've known each other for years, and you're weird and exciting and it's just great, and then one second we're having fun and the next I'm fighting off people while you're lying on the floor nearly dead, surely you can understand that that is a lot to take in at once."

The Doctor didn't answer, and Rose bit her lip. She had said too much again. More than anything she did not want the Doctor to blame himself, and yet it seemed that she had.

"It's not your fault," she said slowly, waiting until he was looking at her before continuing, holding onto his hand all the time, "it's just... seeing you lying there and not being able to do anything, it scared me." Rose allowed herself another laugh.

Before she knew it she was leaning against his shoulder. She wished that his arm would slide around her shoulders, and it was a few agonisingly awkward seconds before that wish was granted. Feeling his body next to her, warm and solid and so alive, comforted her and made her feel a great deal better than she had all day.

"You were fantastic, absolutely fantastic, Rose." He barely spoke above a whisper, but she heard the words, felt them as he murmured them into her hair.

She snorted. "You weren't even awake."

"Yes, exactly, I got knocked out by one of those guys - hell of a right hook, I can tell you. But you saw them off. Just brilliant."

"Well at least one of us is." This earned her a poke in the side from the Doctor, and she grinned, sliding an arm around his waist and hugging him tightly. "God, I'm cold, where's your scarf?"

"Well I can't remember it all the time! You're a grown person, get your own scarf. Better yet, make one!"

Rose raised an eyebrow and, seeing as the Doctor couldn't actually see it from where he was sitting, turned and looked him in the face, so he could appreciate the level to which she thought his suggestion was ridiculous.

The Doctor changed tack. "I'll get you one for Christmas! It's not that far away now, less than 2 months!"

"Do I detect a hint of excitement?" Rose smirked.

"Not just a hint, Rose. You should probably be aware – I really love Christmas."

"I wouldn't imagine anything less from you, Doctor." She stared into his eyes for a few moments – the sadness and confusion that she had felt earlier had lifted slightly, and she was starting to feel a sense of contentment creeping in.

"What's the matter?" The Doctor was worried about her.

"Nothing," Rose replied. Then, without thought or intention, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. Just as she had suspected: good lips, knows how to use them. He was kissing her back almost immediately (could he read her mind?) and it felt better than she had dared to hope it would.

"That was not nothing," the Doctor spluttered as soon as they had broken apart, "that was most definitely something."

"A very good something, I'd say."

"Well, I think I had something to do with that..."

"Oh shut up!" Rose laughed, smacking the Doctor on the arm.

Following that there was some wriggling and tickling and play-fighting, culminating in the Doctor lying on the bench, feet dangling over the end and head in Rose's lap. He looked up at her with an expression somewhere between amusement and confusion. "You know what? I have no idea how I got in this position."

Rose laughed and tweaked his nose. "Me neither."

She let her hand drift to his hair and stroked it gently. They sat there (well, lay there in the Doctor's case) for a long while, happy in each other's company, watching until the last rays of the sun had disappeared and the stars had faded into sight all across the sky.

The feeling of contentment had completely overtaken Rose by this point. So much so, in fact, that she didn't even notice how cold she was.

Well now it's finished - I feel sad, I enjoyed writing it. Thankyou for reading and reviewing so kindly, I love all of you. I should be posting some more fic soon - something with the Doctor, Rose and the Master I think. If that sounds like your cup of tea then keep an eye out. My tumblr url is donna-and-her-spaceman, just in case you want to keep track :P