Ok so it was all her fault. She could admit it. She was the one who had broken the rules. Though in all fairness, he had never verbally set these rules. She didn't see why he was so angry with her.

It all started when she awoke feeling rather strange. They had just returned from some blue planet on the edges of the Andromeda Galaxy, where she had had a rather lovely time. They had gone to the mayor's wedding right after saving the planet from flesh eating butterflies. She had had some very tasty purple cookies there that had left her feeling odd, so she went to her room to sleep it off. It appears that the cookies had been more than just tasty.

She went to the console room to discuss her strange symptoms with the Doctor when it happened.

She saw him standing there, his beautiful brown eyes and big hair. His brows knit together in concentration as he tried to read something off of the console monitor. She completely forgot about everything but him in the moment. And she couldn't hold it in anymore. Oh, how she loved this man.

She ignored his look of surprise when she pulled his hands form the console and placed them around her waist. She ignored his protests as she pulled his face down to hers. She silenced his surprised squeak with her lips. And she kissed him for all she was worth.

His lips were warm under hers. They were soft and damp and perfect. He tasted like time and warmth, all together with a hint of tea. It wasn't long before she noticed that he wasn't kissing her back. She didn't want to pull away, she wanted him to kiss her back and to love her the same way that she loved him. She continued to kiss him, trying to make him see how much she loved him, how she would never ever let him go. Finally, his mouth moved under hers and his hands drew her closer. She could still feel his hesitation, but his sigh of contentment told her that he was quite enjoying the recent turn of events. He licked her bottom lip and she opened for him, and he turned the sweet kiss into an absolutely passionate snog.

This wasn't supposed to happen this way, he thought. He was the one who would lose control one day, not Rose. He never dreamed that she would be the one to break his rule. His rule of 'no snogging the companion' was one that no other had dared test. He didn't even test it, and he lived under the 'rules were made to be broken' concept. But he was caring less and less about those stupid rules, as her lips moved against his. Why was he denying himself her love? Why was he denying her his love? Every second up until now had just been wasted time, and now he felt his long life had just begun. She was in his arms, and doing rather brilliant things with her tongue. He best return the favor.

His mouth was hot, much hotter than she had expected. His cool right arm snaked around her back and his left hand reached up to cup her cheek, to angle her head and kiss her deeper. She was astounded with the intensity of his kiss, the passion she could feel in just the press of his mouth to hers. Though it was far past an innocent press of lips now. She felt him pull away, keeping their mouths connected, and remove his jacket and tie. He pulled her back to him and just feeling his back through the thin shirt was enough to cause her to gasp. It was possibly even more intimate than being naked, as he never allowed anyone to see him without his jacket or tie. She had never seen him like that, and she lived with him.

He removed her denim jacket, leaving her in only a sleeveless white top. His hands ran over her bare shoulders and caused shivers to run down her spine. She moved her hands from behind his back and snaked them up around his neck as he kissed her deeper. She had never felt this much love in a kiss before, not even from Mickey. It was the first moment of her time with the Doctor in which she truly believed that he loved her as much as she loved him. It was the best feeling in the universe.

It was actually him who had to pull back first. They were both breathing heavily, foreheads pressed together as their breath mingled in the air between them. She couldn't help but notice that he was trembling. He could feel her heartbeat from where his hands had moved to her back. He decided that he had better speak sometime soon.

"Rose…I…" she cut him off by pulling him to her, wrapping her arms around his back and pressing her face into his chest. They were as close as they could possibly be. He doubted that there was room for a sheet of paper between them. And he liked it.

This was when he began to notice that something was wrong. She tasted funny…like Rose but with something else there. It was something he had never sensed in her scent before. It was…oh dear….

She had eaten those purple cookies. So this hadn't been her intentions upon entering the room. Although, with the movement of her lips against his being so lovely, he was beginning not to care. Why should he? All those cookies did was encourage desires that were already there. It was like alcohol, but without the nasty hangover.

But if she had needed something to lower her inhibitions, it meant that she hadn't wanted this in the first place. Her kiss was perfect, but it wasn't right if she hadn't wanted it from the beginning. That kiss was what he had wanted for the longest time. He had just experienced the greatest love in his life and now he felt the greatest disappointment. He pushed her away.

He could see the worry in her eyes. He could feel anger well up in his heart. How could she do this to him? He had specifically told her not to eat anything at that wedding and she goes and eats the most powerful substance on the planet! She had said she felt odd. Now he knew why. And he could feel the storm brewing. It was all he could do to let her go and get away, but not before his mouth had its moment.

He yelled at her for disobeying him. He yelled at her for all the mistakes she had made in the past few weeks. He yelled at her until she was a sobbing mess on the floor, and then his guilt took over him. He walked briskly to his room before she could see the tears falling from his eyes. She hadn't meant that kiss. It was just the cookies talking.

So here she was, two hours later. The tears were finally slowing and her head was clearing. She no longer felt strange. She was just plain miserable now. Rose was still sitting on the grating in the console room, her back up against the jump seat. The Doctor's words had been harsh, but not untrue. She did run off too much and she really should start listening to him when he tells her not to eat stuff.

He had yelled at her before, but it was never in anger. This was the first time that she had seen the Oncoming Storm in all its anger directed at her. What really scared Rose was the fact that she could tell he was holding back. He had used words like 'stupid ape' before, but she thought his opinion had changed with his face. She had been wrong, and she felt wretched for not knowing it. How could she be so in love with a man that she clearly didn't know?

She heard footsteps in the hallway and quickly hid in the cupboard. She wasn't ready to face him. She didn't know if she would ever be able to look him in the eye again. She felt a jolt as he took the TARDIS into the vortex. She felt a stab at her heart when she thought he might be sending her home.

His hearts were heavy as he replayed his words. How could he be so cruel? How could he sit here and say (even if it was only to himself) that he loved this woman when he had just insulted and disrespected her so greatly? She would surely leave him now. He had called her names. A stupid ape with no value or intelligence. No place in the universe. An insignificant little speck with no regard for the needs of higher beings.

Basically an unfeeling bitch.

It wasn't her fault. She HAD wanted that kiss she gave him, there was not a single drug he could think of that would make her do that if she hadn't wanted it in the first place. He had been hurt and as a result had hurt her. All he could do now was hope that he could make up with her. If only she wouldn't leave him.

He couldn't survive without her now. He had tasted her mouth, felt her hand against his face and formed a bond with her heart in that kiss. She didn't know that she had initiated the first step of the bonding process. She didn't know that he would never be able to be with another. From that one passionate kiss he had formed more of an attachment to her than he had in years of married life with his wife on Gallifrey.

He had to tell her that he couldn't go on without her. He wanted a relationship with her that was far more than 'just friends', a desire that had begun to form during their first adventure. He had to form a mind link with her. For a time lord there was no other way; there could not be a relationship without the link. There could not be the link without marriage.

He had to propose to Rose Tyler.

In her hiding place, Rose had made a decision. What was she doing hiding from the Doctor? This was her best friend, the man she was in love with. She knew him better than this and there was something going on that he wasn't telling her. No matter what he said to her, she would never leave him if she had a choice. There must be an explanation for his sudden anger. She pushed open the cupboard and stepped out of it, meeting his surprised gaze with more than a little trepidation.

She was surprised to feel his arms around her. She didn't know what she had expected, but it certainly wasn't this. His chest was shaking as she returned his embrace. Warm tears were falling down his face as he pulled away, muttering apologies for his words. She held him closer, comforting him in his pain. Her heart leapt with relief as she now knew that he didn't want her to leave. He hadn't meant the horrible things he had said. She pushed him back enough to look him in the eye.

"Doctor, I'm sorry."

Judging by the look on his face, he was certainly not expecting this response.

"I should start listening to you when you tell me not to eat things. I shouldn't wander off so much. And I shouldn't have gone about things the way I did earlier."

He remained silent, his face pensive. Then he pulled her into a hug. "You should start listening to me. There are things out there that are poisonous to humans- they won't just make you kiss me, they could make you attack me or they could just make you dead. You certainly shouldn't wander off so much. My hand gets cold when you're not there. And you should most definitely go about things that way again."

She pulled away and looked at him, surprised. "I always thought it would be me that would break first. I thought it would be me that broke the rules and-"

He was cut off as she went about things that way again. This time, it didn't end in a fight. It ended in the Doctor's bedroom.

She lay against his bare chest, their hands intertwined and his chin on the top of her head. She looked up into his eyes.

"I love you, Doctor."

He smiled back at her and she knew he felt the same. "Love you too. How long are you gonna stay with me?" he asked.

She kissed him softly "Forever." His smile faltered.

"But how long is that going to be?"

She closed her eyes, letting her head fall back to his chest. She really didn't want to think about this right now. "I don't know."

Suddenly, a grin spread across his face, and he nudged her until she turned to look at him.

"I know a way. How do you feel about the fountain of youth?" he asked.

She smiled up at him. "It's a myth?"

His smile grew into a smirk. "That's what everyone thinks. I'm willing to bet ten quid that it's real. And that by this time tomorrow, you'll be immortal."

She jumped out of bed, searching for her clothes. "Why wait until tomorrow? You've got a bet."

So off they went.