"Rose," the Doctor groaned as she squeezed him far too tightly. When had she gotten that strong?

"Mmmm," she hummed against his neck where her face was buried. "I love you too. You know that, though, yeah? 'Course you do."

Mickey snickered and the Doctor shot him a deadly glare. "Rose, if you love me, you have to let me get a cure for you."

She quirked an eyebrow. "A cure?"

He nodded. "Yep. You do trust me, don't you?"

Rose looked troubled. "Yeah, I trust you."

"Then let me leave in the TARDIS for just a few minutes."

Her grip on him tightened and she shook her head. "What if you leave me?"

The Doctor stared at her, wanting to be filled with anger but instead feeling sadness at the desperate look in her eyes. He realized, then, that this wasn't made up. Sure, it was exaggerated, she wouldn't do any of this in reality... But the fear of him leaving her just like he left Sarah Jane, that was something that she had to deal with every time he left in the TARDIS without her.

Sometimes he underestimated how strong she was.

"I'm never going to leave you," he assured her with a small smile, wanting to believe he was talking to Rose instead of... Other Rose.

She licked her lips. "Do you promise?"

"Five minutes. Please, Rose?"

Could he finally be getting through to her.

She bit her bottom lip. "Why can't I come with you? I want to come."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I can't... It won't..." the Doctor sighed.

"She's not gonna let you leave," Mickey said after a while. "Why do you bother?"

"I don't know," the Doctor admitted.

Mickey ran a hand over his face. "Isn't there some way you can get through to her, even for a while?"

Rose's bum digging into the Doctor's more private areas was getting rather distracting, so he lifted her off of his lap and plopped her next to him on the couch. Immediately she placed her head on his lap instead and smiled up at him. At least this was a bit less sexual. Just a bit.

"Well, the only ways to wake her up are, A: a cure, or, B: some sort of triggering of primal human instincts. So, basically, I need a cure," the Doctor complained, watching Rose as she reached up a hand and began running it through his hair. "Rose, now is really not the time."

"I love your hair," she countered quietly, snuggling into him.

"Triggering of primal instincts?" Mickey asked, eyebrows raised. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Immediate danger or, er, sexual arousal," the Doctor explained, shrugging.

Mickey stared at Rose. "Well I'd say she's pretty sexual aroused. Has been. Why is she not herself, then?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Not just, um, sexual arousal. More like intercourse."

"Yeah, that's not happening," Mickey said immediately. "What about the immediate danger, then?"

"We can't just put her in immediate danger. Besides, that solution would be temporary anyways. She needs a cure, which I could find, if she would STOP RUNNING HER FINGERS THROUGH MY HAIR!" his voice increased to an angry level as he stared down at her.

Rose frowned and withdrew her hand, settling to place it on his thigh and stroke lightly there instead. It wasn't an improvement."

Mickey stared at him. "Doc, calm down. You're going to wake Jackie."

"Sorry, this is all just very frustrating."

"How about I come with you in the TARDIS? You get a cure, I keep Rose busy."

The Doctor's mouth dropped open in horror.

"No!" Mickey said, waving his hands. "Not like that! Not that kind of busy! Just, you know, away from you! Not thinking about you!"

"That's hardly possible," the Doctor claimed. "Rose, can you please stop... Er... Touching me?"

Her hand had been moving slowly higher for the past minute. She removed her hand from his thigh and placed it on his bum instead. He rolled his eyes and lifted her off of him again, placing her back on the couch.

"See? She's insatiable!" the Doctor huffed.

"God knows why. You're not even that attractive," Mickey complained.

"OI!"

Mickey laughed. "Okay, listen, listen. I'll go on the TARDIS with you two. I promise I'll keep her distracted while you find a cure. But Jackie won't like it, so we're just going to have to go now and leave her a note."

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah, okay. You write the note, I'll get Rose into the TARDIS."

When they were all in the ship, the Doctor sent them into the vortex and stared at Mickey, a mission set in his eyes. "It should take me about a day or so to get the cure. I'm going to go to a few planets and ask around, maybe gather a few things. Probably be in the lab for a while if it turns out I'm going to have to make it myself. Anyways, you just keep Rose busy, yeah?"

Mickey nodded. "Got it, boss."

"But, er, one small problem," the Doctor rubbed the back of his neck. "The Cupid Fly causes separation anxiety. Like, very bad separation anxiety. It'll probably occur faster in her than other species because she's human. Here's a sedative," he said, handing him a small needle, "and some ropes just in case."

"You that worried about the separation anxiety?"

"She might get a bit violent," the Doctor admitted, "if she doesn't get to see me for a while. Just something to look out for. And, also, don't take anything she says to heart."

Mickey scoffed, "I think I can handle her, Doctor. Don't worry about me. Just find her a cure as fast as you can, yeah? I won't let her hurt herself."

The Doctor shrugged, "Alright. But I'd worry more about her hurting you than herself..."

With that, he walked farther down the hallway.

Rose made to follow him immediately, but Mickey scooped her up in his arms and carried her into a random room. She squealed and kicked but not too hard, and eventually he plopped her down in what appeared to be a pink bedroom (probably her own) and stood in front of the door with his hands on his hips. "Listen, Rose, you're going to stay in this room with me, yeah? I'll restrain you if I have to, but it's only for a day."

She blinked. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope."

Rose rolled her eyes, attempting to shove him out of the way. "I want to see the Doctor."

Mickey shook his head. "Rose, you can't."

"I want to see him!" she shouted, narrowing her eyebrows at Mickey. "I want to see the Doctor," she repeated after a moment as if to make sure Mickey understood her.

"I can't let you," Mickey said apologetically. Then he got an idea. "You know what he told me a little while ago? In private?"

Rose's eyes bulged. "Was it about me? What did he say?"

"I'll tell you if you stay put for an hour," he decided.

Evidently, she was too overcome by the bite to think anything through. "An hour? One hour and you'll tell me?"

He nodded, and she sat down on the pink duvet, swinging her legs.

Mickey remembered the sedative the Doctor had given him earlier. If Rose got crazed to see him, Mickey would use it. He just wasn't sure if he had the guts. She was his best friend, after all. Bitten or not.

"Can you tell me now?" Rose said after about two minutes.

"I said an hour," Mickey claimed, folding his arms across his chest.

Five minutes later she spoke again, "How about now?"

God, he really hoped the Doctor would hurry up with that cure.

A/N: Sorry for another dialogue filled chapter haha. Next chapter the Doctor will finally find the cure and repercussions will begin to set in...