Author's Note: How I hate this story to end, but it must! This chapter has humour, and a last bit of angst and emotional distance that I think will help slip this little piece of mine into what's seen between Rose and the Doctor near the end of Season 2. This will be the last note from me on the story as well. Songs used for inspiration throughout the writing of these chapters: Stay (Shakespeare's Sister), Run (Snow Patrol), and Private Emotion (Meja and Ricky Martin—don't laugh, the video rocks and fits the story theme too). Hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Thanks for coming along on the journey.

"You know, Jedi knights don't really exist, but right now you do look like one," said the Doctor.

"What?"

Rose and the Doctor had found another meditation garden, one that was next to the scriptorium in the underground complex. The scriptorium was decidedly quite impressive, being both the Bohdins' library and the space where they did their reading and manuscript illumination. The Doctor had taken a couple of tomes from their shelves and had his glasses perched on his nose as he browsed through the pages. He sat casually on a rock in the garden while Rose peered into the ice pond for signs of life within. Specks of ice fell gently around them down from a weakening ice storm far above them on the planet surface.

"The cape, the hood. The robes. All very swishy. All you need now is that light sword thing. And maybe an old man to call you 'apprentice'."

"How old did you say you were? You probably qualify, many times over!"

"Oi," said the Doctor, affronted. "At least I look good for my age."

"Well, you cheat, don't you."

"Uppity young apprentice."

"Cradle robber."

Rose laughed as the Doctor gaped for words to say and found none. She then looked at him in incredulity when he remained speechless after long moments. Had she embarrassed the time lord? Could he blush?

"Oh don't worry, Doctor," she said lightly. "At least it was all legal by Earth standards." She sat next to him on the rock and smiled at him before looking up at the sky. How many different skies on different worlds had she seen, with him? She had lost count, yet she would never grow bored of this.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Yes. Well. All right then." He looked down again at the book in his hands. Truth be told, though, he could not concentrate. He made a show of reading, then asked, casually, "Where do you want to go after this?"

"Oh, I don't know," came Rose's answer. "I actually do like it here. The heated swimming pools make it worth it."

The Doctor smiled. The thing about Rose was... she always had something nice to say about every place they'd been to. "And maybe if you asked, the Bohdins here could teach you sword skills. You could become a real Jedi."

"Oh, I don't think so," said Rose. She looked behind them at the scriptorium, then whispered to him conspiratorially, "I think they're pacifists."

The Doctor pretended shock, after which he and his companion exchanged grins. The Doctor had to admit, this place did have its bright side. Refuge. Sanctuary. He felt that they did have that here. But they could not stay here forever. Just one more night... And then it was back to the rest of time and space. Odd that the rest of time and space always seemed to have danger in store for them. He never used to be worried, but now...

"Anyway," said Rose. "Anywhere we go next, I'm sure it'll be fantastic!" She jumped off the rock they had been sitting on. "I'm going for a dip in the hot springs. Would you like to come?"

The Doctor could not recall the last time he'd tried to swim. He waved Rose along. "I'll come later. Need to put these back on the shelves."

Rose had a look of mischief on her face. "Can time lords even swim?"

"What?"

Rose was very, very slippery under the water. The Doctor found this out as a series of water skirmishes broke out between them at the hot springs and Rose found to her disappointment that the Doctor's lung capacity vastly outstripped hers. But her failure to keep him underwater did not take away from her ability to elude the Doctor's attempts at holding her underwater. Something about Rose's smoothness made holding on to her as difficult as grabbing an eel.

They grinned at each other now, panting from behind their show of teeth as they circled each other cautiously in the shoulder-deep hot water, four feet apart. The Doctor lunged. Rose dodged, then splashed water in his face. She laughed as he growled and lunged unsuccessfully again. Her voice echoed in the large underground chamber that housed the springs.

"Doctor, are you even trying?" She paddled backwards away from him, keeping him within her sight. She had been laughing so hard that her cheeks and sides ached. The sight of floundering, wet, half-naked time lord was just too much. She kicked water at the direction of him, then stopped when he disappeared under the milky water.

Uh oh. Rose stopped paddling and stood up in the water, looking around. Mineral hot water was damnably opaque ... but the Doctor would not be able to dunk her if he could not see her. She started inching slowly away from where she'd last seen him. To no avail.

Hands reached for her, grabbing her arms and pulling her down into the water so she was quite completely dunked. Even underwater, she laughed as she struggled against the Doctor's grip. But he had two handholds on her this time and it was hard to escape. She changed tactics—instead of struggling to escape his hold, she reached to tickle him, and was rewarded as his surprised reaction gave her a chance to stand up and breathe above the water. A second later, a peeved Doctor emerged from the water beside her.

"Oh, that wasn't very fair," he said.

"I didn't know there was a rule that I had to let you win."

"Oh, there is," said the Doctor seriously. "Especially if you want to keep riding in the TARDIS."

Rose laughed. The Doctor maintained his sombre look a moment longer before flashing a grin and wrapping his arms around Rose. Before she could try to get away, he kissed her on the lips. It wasn't a very long kiss, and the Doctor withdrew to see Rose regarding him with suspicion.

"What?" he said.

"Nothing. I just thought that might have been a trick..."

"Oh, how you doubt me..." Though, he had meant it as a trick when it started...

Rose shook her head at him, trying to get out of his arms, but she felt good where she was and he did not let go. Funny... he had a feeling that he ought to do that more while he still could.

Rose stopped struggling against him after a while and surrendered tiredly into his hug.

"You know what?" she said, after a moment, against his shoulder. "These quiet times with you, they are a little strange. I feel as if we should be running away from something in order to feel normal."

Couldn't she tell? He was. But he tried to smile.

"If it makes you feel better we could have a race back to our room."

Ding. The Night Bell sounded on cue like a starter's pistol going off.

Rose and the Doctor exchanged a look, and then they were both scrambling out of the water as fast as they could.

The Doctor won that race, but Rose didn't mind. The view of the Doctor's back, clad only in a flapping white shirt and wet boxers, running barefoot through the hallways with his coat, trousers and jacket in one hand and his trainers in the other was a sight she doubted she would behold all that often, if ever again. She lost time getting her robes and shoes back on (losing all her toes to frostbite was not her idea of fun) and by the time she caught up to the Doctor in their room, he was bent over the fireplace, poking at the fire; his jacket, trousers, coat and shoes scattered haphazardly all around the room.

Rose flopped onto the floor cushions and threw the Doctor's tie at his head. He'd dropped it somewhere in the hallway, about two hallways back... The Doctor caught the tie and flashed her a grin. She rolled her eyes, lay back on the cushions next to him and tried to catch her breath.

You have much to learn, my young apprentice.

Shut up. Rose tried to shake the Doctor's hand off hers. The time lord always had to think he was so impressive.

The Doctor's grin could not be suppressed. Turning away from the fire, he lay down on the cushions beside her, resting his head on his other hand. Suddenly she was aware he had his eyes and his full attention upon her, and it was a bit disconcerting.

Yes? she asked.

You're fantastic.

That took Rose a bit by surprise. She tried to hide it. Did you want something?

My prize, of course.

Before she could react, the Doctor was closing the distance between their lips and giving her a deep kiss. Rose's heart was speeding up again, beating hard now than it'd been during their race from the hot springs. She panted faintly into their kiss, fighting excitement and confusion at the same time. Since they'd come to this planet, the Doctor's behaviour had been odd—well, odder than usual. Not that she wanted to complain. Almost anything he wanted, she was willing to give to him. Her Doctor. She gave her all into the kiss, enjoying the feel of his tongue against hers, his body against hers, and his mind—which was as the night before, close to hers again. She had no idea what normal was, nothing was around him, but maybe this was what was supposed to happen when one got close to a time lord.

She found that thought very intriguing.

I'm trying this thing called 'seduction', said the Doctor to her, interrupting her thoughts. All this attempts at analysis are very rude.

Oh, sorry. The Doctor was kissing down her neck, his breath and mouth warm on her skin, sending waves of pleasure down her body through to her toes. Rose wrapped her arms around the Doctor, just as her mind touched his and felt his full, utter concentration on her. She had to smile. Odd and alien as the Doctor was, being able to touch his thoughts and feelings like this made him a little more easy to understand. He loved her, in his own way that felt both human and alien to Rose, loved her even if he had never said it, would not ever need to say it. The knowledge of that made Rose shiver.

Rose... The Doctor's tone was admonishing again.

All right, all right, I'm being seduced. Rose pressed herself against the time lord, snaking her hands under his shirt. His hands was exploring her body, had already opened her upper robe and pushed her pants down to her knees; she helped by kicking them off. His need for her was obvious and getting stronger by the second; she could feel his hearts pounding hard, his body aching with want. She knew everything that he wanted to do to her, knew everything he wanted her to do. When she touched her tongue to his neck just beneath his ear, she heard him groaning into her mind, all his defences down. She felt him. He wanted—needed—to lose himself in her, just as she wanted to envelop him completely. She would heal the Doctor, take away and heal his hurts, forever. She could just feel the presence of his painful memories, just under the surface of his thoughts. She'd always known they were there, and now she could almost see them as her own. Pain gripped her heart, for him. Her arms tightened around him. Every kiss she planted down on his neck, she gave it like a salve to a cut or bruise... this kiss for the time he thought he'd lost her on the GameStation, this one for the loss of Madam de Pompadour, this one for his sorrow at being the last of the time lords, this one for what he'd been forced to do in the time war...

Stop.

What he had been forced to do in the time war... the knowledge beckoned to Rose, and, almost unaware she was doing it, she reached to touch the memory again.

Stop! Rose!

Without thinking Rose had been on the verge of seeing his memory like it was her own, and suddenly the link with him was broken from his side, as if he'd slammed a door shut. The silence was so sudden and complete that it took Rose a while to realize that she was now alone in her mind.

Doctor?

There was no answer. Rose froze, ice gripping her heart, as, lucid now, she looked into the Doctor's eyes and saw fear. His body was rigid, his hands holding her arms like twin vices. Shock was on his face. And fear... of her.

Stop, mouthed his lips.

Too late, Rose realized that without meaning to she had gone too far, had somehow touched parts of his mind that had not been for her to even see. Involuntarily she raised her hands to her mouth in shock. No...nonono no... I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But she was alone in her head, could not even hear his reply, if he was giving one. In his eyes, she saw his barriers up, back up, like steel walls. Hard. Impenetrable. Rose felt cold, colder now than she had ever been in her life, alone and hollow.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

His grip on her arms loosened slowly and finally broke their contact with her. The Doctor's eyes were dark. Silently, he rose from the floor cushions and finally looked away. He avoided Rose's gaze as he quietly picked up his clothing and put on his trousers and shirt. Then he sat down, knees up, his arms wrapped around them. Not touching her.

"No more mind tricks," he said softly. The words were deafening in the silence. The Doctor kept his eyes on the fire. His stance was tense and defensive.

"I didn't mean to—" Rose whispered.

"I know."

He knew, he had to know. His words comforted Rose just a little, but her accidental trespass and the loss of the mind-to-mind communication with him felt like more than she could bear. The time lord in front of her now was back to the one she had known almost from the very start—quiet, brooding, aloof. He was sitting only two feet away, but with the silence and darkness around him, they could have been light years apart. Rose didn't know how to bridge the distance. It felt like they were back to how they'd been when started—no, not really. Her feelings toward him would not change. She would stay with him, as long as he still wanted her to.

Rose lifted her chin.

"Whatever you did not want me to see, Doctor, I would not have judged you anyway," she said.

The Doctor gave no answer. She thought she saw his eyes shine for a quick moment before he blinked, still steadfastly not looking at her, but into the fire.

Rose was overcome with tiredness, and now with cold. She pulled her clothing back on, and her winter coat as well, foreseeing a cold night ahead. She whispered a silent goodnight to the Doctor before lying down on the sleeping pallet, pulling the blankets over herself, and reluctantly closing her eyes.

Minutes later, she was sleepily aware of the Doctor laying himself down beside her, behind her. Warmth flooded her body and she felt her heart starting again as she felt his breath on her hair, and his arms wrapping around her, pulling her close. No words were needed for this.

It felt like forgiveness and home.

"What do you think?"

The Doctor and Rose stood in the Temple of Love and Emptiness. In front of the two of them, the recently formed relief sculpture of rose vines and Gallifreyan script glittered on the wall of ice. It was morning, and the twin suns shone low in the sky. The ice storm had passed.

Rose's gloved hand was in the Doctor's, and he held on to her tightly as he beheld the wall that Palzin had made.

"I think the word is beautiful," said the Doctor, with a nod to Palzin, who was standing to their side, along with Kinny. The two Bohdins had followed the Doctor and Rose to the surface in the glass elevator, to see them off. The weather and the view from the temple was so clear, they could see the TARDIS from the temple, a blue box that contrasted sharply to the white of the ice plain that surrounded it. As Palzin had promised, the TARDIS was free of snow and ice. It was ready and waiting for their next adventure, wherever that may be...

"So what does the time lord writing say?" Rose asked the Doctor.

Out of habit, the Doctor opened his mouth to start a long exposition about the writing on the wall, but he got the feeling this message was personal, and just for him.

"Ah... I'll tell you later," the Doctor said. (He never would.) He turned toward the Bohdins and gave them a polite bow. "Thank you for the hospitality you've shown us."

Rose bowed as well, as did the Bohdins. Straightening, they had huge smiles on their blue-green faces.

"We are happy and honoured to have had you here, Rose and the Doctor," said Palzin. For Rose, the Teacher came forward and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. As the Bohdin withdrew, surprise and the lightest blush coloured Rose's face. The Doctor suspected that something had been conveyed telepathically.

"I will, Teacher. Thank you," Rose murmured. (She would never tell him what was said, either.)

"This is goodbye," said Kinny. "At least for those who see space and the flow of time as the only reality." The smile on Kinny's face was wide and infectious. "We do not."

"Nothing dies or ends. It only changes," said the Teacher. "Fare thee well, Rose and the Doctor."

The Doctor was already walking down the steps of the Temple, towards the TARDIS. He was rubbish at goodbyes. Rose, pulled along by the grip of his hand, followed, but she looked back. She smiled and waved at the Bohdins, who followed them to the edge of the temple steps. The Teacher returned her wave, and both Rose and the Doctor heard the Bohdin's voice—

Never forget your time here.

The Doctor smiled. When he looked over at his companion, Rose was already smiling back at him.

"We won't," she said.

She squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back.

The two Bohdins watched from the temple steps as the tiny figures of the human and the time lord finally reached the TARDIS and stepped inside. It wasn't too long before the blue box faded from their view. Kinny and Palzin turned around to walk back into the temple of ice, and to return to their refuge, the House of Love and Emptiness.

"What does it say?" Kinny asked, they walked side by side past the wall with curling rose vines and Gallifreyan script.

"Advice you'd think a time lord shouldn't need," said Palzin. "'Always leave time enough for love.'"

END