"Where to next?"

The question didn't hold its normal energy as he dreaded what he knew would be the answer.

Rose crossed her legs on the captain's seat and glared at him a you-know-what-I-want look.

"I'm not going back to London so don't even ask!" he grumbled flicking a few switches on the Tardis console.

"Then I don't care," Rose murmured angrily and she turned the chair away from his direction.

"Stop being so whiny, I didn't offer you all of the stars so you could drag me back to London every second trip." He growled throwing his arms around in exasperation.

She ignored him and started to pick invisible fluff off her coat. The Doctor gritted his teeth and silently slammed his fist down on the side of the console. He wasn't going back there just to get humiliated and abused by Rose's Mother so she'd just have to live with it. Guilt settled uncomfortably at the bottom of his gut.

"I'm going to bed, believe it or not some people have to sleep," she coldly replied and shoved past him on the way to her bedroom.

She couldn't believe him. All she asked was the occasional visit to her Mother and it wasn't like he had to walk her to the door but no he had to go and have a big hissy fit over it. It wasn't her who almost got them killed half an hour ago so she didn't understand why he couldn't spare a couple of hours.

She slammed the door of her room and threw herself onto her bed without even bothering to get changed. She closed her eyes and a jumble of thoughts overwhelmed her, angry and self pity tears streaming down her face but most overpowering was the homesickness. She let them take over her for awhile but eventually decided sleep was more urgent. A dip on the bed next to her indicated the Doctor was there.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to tell him to get lost he did a curious thing. He leant over and stroked her hair gently off her face and cooed softly. What is he doing? She thought, trying to clutch onto her anger but despite it finding herself relaxing at his touch.

"I'll take you home, I'm sorry..." he whispered.

The stroking continued and Rose felt all the emotions well up inside her. I am not going to cry! She told herself angrily and bit into her lip to stop the tears. Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! The shame of having a breakdown kept her holding on although the fight was pointless, she had to break sometime.

Defeated, she turned her face into the pillow and let the tears come and found once they started coming she couldn't stop them.

"There, there..." he whispered awkwardly, massaging the back of her shoulder.

Her sobs rang out around the room.

He felt he was obliged to do something but this wasn't his expertise and he felt his own emotions cramped up inside him like a great weight. Is this what people do when the pain is too much? He shoved the thought down, another weight balled up tightly but it unravelled itself and surfaced again But what happens when they don't? What happens then? He knew the answer.

Rose sat up sniffing and broke his line of thoughts.

"Hmmn, you okay now Rose?" he said with his well practised pleasant fake smile.

She cuddled up against him and he felt like keeping her there, safely in his arms forever.

"You know Doctor..." she whispered softly as not to break the quiet.

"Yes, Rose?" he said, keeping her firmly in his arms.

"It's okay to cry sometimes..."

He just held her closer to him, so close he could smell the soft fragrance of her hair, so close that he could feel her heart beating, so close he could feel her breath and he let just one perfect tear fall down his cheek. A tear for his planet, for the pain, for his loneliness, for everything he lost and for everyone lost themselves for him.

"I know Rose, I know..."