John hadn't seen Rose since she'd run off, since he'd kissed her. It had only been two days, but those two days felt much longer. As much as he wanted to understand why she ran away, he wasn't in the mood to ask the one person that would know. Whether it was because he knew it was most likely his fault or maybe because it wasn't, he didn't want to ask Donna. Instead, as soon as the work was done he took off on his horse and began making his way through the thick snow towards the woods, quickly deciding he was completely justified in his sulking.

He'd finally given in to his feelings and he'd given Rose something she'd wanted ten years ago; his heart. Why then, did she not want it? Maybe she was still bitter about him rejecting her all those years ago? No, that's not like Rose - She's got to have a good reason. Maybe she doesn't love him anymore? He couldn't blame her if that was the case. She'd been through so much because of him and it was ridiculous to think that after ten years she'd still feel the same.

Not knowing what was eating him up. He needed to know why and he needed to know if there was anything he could do to fix this. If he couldn't love her, he still wanted their friendship back. He'd have to talk to Donna: there was no other option.

Sighing heavily, he quickly turned his horse around and headed back towards the ranch.

-

"I tried to tell you! I tried to tell you to take is slow, to be gentle about it but you cut me off! Now look what's happened! I swear you are so damn stupid. Did you honestly think you haulin' off and kissin' her was going to work?" Donna asked, pacing around her room, finally feeling well enough to move around a bit. Doctor Whitman had come by that morning to tell Donna that the virus had run its course and she was in the clear.

"Well… yes? It's not like I meant for it to happen that way - it was an accident."

"Oh? So you tripped and your lips feel into hers passionately?" Donna asked, smacking the back of his head as she passed behind him. "This ain't a damn romance novel John and you sure as hell aren't a Prince Charming."

John didn't let her smack phase him. "Donna, I just want to know what I'm supposed to do now. Do I forget about her? She's been successfully avoiding me these last two days. I haven't even seen her and I've tried! She's always out of the house riding her horse or God knows where. I don't understand why she's avoiding me."

"If I had to guess, I'd say it has something to do with the fact you rejected her ten years ago. Maybe the fact you kissing her probably confused the hell out of her," Donna said with an eye roll. "Listen to me John, that girl loved you her whole life. She adored you and she was willing to spend the rest of her life here on this ranch with you and you rejected her. She's been tellin' herself since she came back that things between the two of you were going to be nothin' but friendly. She's convinced you could never love her. Can you blame her? You're goin' to have to do something big to prove you're serious. You want her right?"

"Of course I do! I always have."

"Then you're going to have to prove that to her."

"Right. I can do that. Right?"

Donna smiled softly at him, "Yeah, I think you can."

-

Now that Donna was on the mend, it wasn't long after John left that Rose was running into the redhead's room and straight into her arms. "Oh Donna! I've missed you. Wilf told me this morning it was safe for me to visit."

Donna laughed softly and hugged her friend back, "Oh I've missed you too Rosie. I hope you didn't have too much trouble managing without me."

"No, it was fine. It was great, John was…" Rose began but stopped herself.

"He was great right? Things were going really well?"

"Yeah."

"Then why did you run away from him?"

"You don't waste any time do you? You just got better and I've been here for ten seconds and you want to talk about John?" Rose asked, taking a seat on the end of Donna's bed.

"Yes actually. Now answer the question."

"He kissed me Donna. First he was yelling at me and then the next thing I know he's got his arms around me and I can't yell back at him because he's kissin' me. Why would he do that?"

"You could always ask him," Donna asked, sitting down next to her.

"No, no. I can't do that. I'm not sure I want to know. I'm sure it was a mistake."

Donna knew then she had a choice. She could tell Rose the truth - she could tell her what John had been in here telling her only minutes before, or she could let the two of them figure it out for themselves. "Rose, the only way you're going to know is if you talk to him. Listen to him."

"Donna, even if he is interested, I don't know if I would want to risk it again."

"Risk what?"

"My heart. It took me such a long time to get over him, for the hurt he caused to fade into something manageable. This is what happened ten years ago. Our relationship on the one line of being something more and the second I stepped over it he pushed me away. He may have kissed me but that doesn't mean he won't push again," Rose said, running a hand through her loose blonde locks.

"I only have one bit of advice left for you, Rosie. Sometimes you can't control what your heart does and if you find John's already got it, don't take it back and don't resist him. You may find that this time things might end a bit differently."

Rose let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and nodded slowly.

As the days passed, Rose found it harder and harder to avoid John and she discovered more often than not that she didn't want to. She missed the friendship that had been building between them, but she was afraid that if she let it continue she wouldn't be able to resist trying to move it forward again, not after that kiss. She couldn't let that happen as long as there was a doubt in her mind.

He always seemed to find her now, whether she was in the barn brushing Applegrass down after a ride or cleaning out the stalls. Those moments were mostly silent, though she didn't miss the longing glances coming when he thought she wasn't looking. It was almost like he was waiting for something — she just couldn't figure out what.

-

She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen and it seemed she only got more beautiful every time he saw her, whether it was watching her walk around in the falling snow or covered in dust and hay as she cleaned out the barn. His heart soared every time his eyes fell on her golden hair, her full lips or her whiskey colored eyes. He loved her and he was more sure of that than he'd ever been. He just wasn't sure how to convince her of it.

He thought that if he spent more time with her, she'd get the idea that he was serious and wasn't giving up, even if she wasn't much for talking these days. But after a few days spent helping her clean the stalls of the barn, he realized it wasn't quite doing the trick.

John finally grew tired of his idea to wait for her to come around and eventually went to Jack for help.

"So you thought waiting would work? Women don't want time - they want to be wooed," Jack said, sitting across from John, as they shared a drink in the kitchen late one night.

"Wooed? She wants me to woo her?"

"Of course! She wants romantic gestures; she wants to know you're capable of doing nice things. You're kind of an asshole and it would be nice to show her you're not an asshole all the time."

John chuckled and finished off his drink. "How do I go about wooing her? She never showed interest in romantic things before. I wouldn't even know where to start."

"Cook her dinner. Give her wine and chocolates. it's not difficult - They're women, they like to be spoiled and treated nice."

"Yeah, it's just getting her to agree to have dinner with me that's going to be the problem."

"Yes well, I'm sure you'll figure something out."

-

John started his attempts at wooing the next day. That afternoon, he brought her some hot cocoa he's made himself and found that her sitting at the picnic table where they had been sitting together nearly every day before he kissed her. She looked beautiful as she watched the snow fall gently over the fields that he almost didn't want to disturb her, but she sensed his presence and looked over at him and the cups he held in his hands. The color in her cheeks deepened and he hopes that is was in response to him and not the cold chill of the wind.

"Rose, I just wanted to apologize for… kissing you the other day. I was out of line and wrapped up in worry and I shouldn't have done it."

"No, it's okay… I should have known it wasn't, that it didn't mean anything. I'm sorry for running away."

"No Rose, it did mean something. I'm not sorry we kissed. I'm sorry that's how it happened."

Rose's eyes widened in shock and she had to remind herself to breathe. She couldn't believe what she was hearing: It was as if the dreams of her younger self were coming true. "Oh… that's…oh," she said, her cheeks warming as she blushed furiously.

"I just want you to know that I would love to do things the right way, if you'd let me. I know romantically things between us have always ended rather terribly, but I was young and foolish and I pushed you away when I should have pulled you closer. Rose, I would like to show you how much I care about you. I'd like to make you dinner, take you on picnics. I'd like to take you to town. I want to do things the right way. Would you… Do you want that too?"

Rose looked down at the cup of hot cocoa in her hands and began to think. This was the turning point. If she said no, she'd be giving up the one thing she'd always wanted but she'd also be protecting her heart that had never been handled with care. If she said yes, she had a chance at a life with John but she also left room for heartbreak.

"John, I… What happens if you realize I'm not what you want?"

John grinned and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Not possible, you've always been what I've wanted. If you want, take time to think about it. I'm not pushing you for an answer and I'm not going anywhere, just promise me you'll think about it?"

"Yeah, I promise."

-

Two days later, a massive blizzard hit and no one was able to safely leave the house. John and the rest of the household could only hope the cattle would make it through the storm.

Several hours after the blizzard started, John was working on the last bit of paperwork of the day, when there was a soft knock at his door.

"Okay," she said from the doorway.

"Okay?" he asked moving around his desk to perch on the front of it.

Rose grinned. "Okay, woo me."

John's grin matched hers in an instant. "Well hold on to your hat Rose Tyler."