As soon as the Doctor was through the door, Rose whirled on him. Her breath caught at the sight of him. While her hair and clothes were dirty and disheveled, he still looked perfect, his hair standing perfectly on end. Then she remembered her anger.
"You could have gotten yourself killed," she said glaring at him.
"But Rose, I didn't. I'm here. See." He spread his hands out as if to prove his point.
"That's not the point, Doctor. I was the team leader and you defied a direct order." She struggled to keep her voice even.
"Your direct order," he said taking a step towards her "could have gotten people killed. I think I know a little more about these things then you do."
Rose's eyes widened in shock and anger. "Is that what this is about?" She hissed. "You know it all, and we are just stupid little apes?"
The Doctor stepped back as if he had been slapped. "No, Rose. Of course not, I would never…. I didn't mean… it's just I've been dealing with this type of thing for centuries."
"Yeah, well I did OK without you for five years. Five years of learning and leading teams, and protecting this world without you."
"Really?" the Doctor snapped, his eyes darkening. "Then why did you have to come find me when the stars started going out. Doesn't seem like you had it all figured out, does it?" He crossed his arms in front of him.
Now it was Rose's turn to step back.
"How dare you throw that in my face. Do you really think that's the only reason I came to find you? Do you really think I wouldn't have done everything to get back to you, even if the stars hadn't been going out?"
The doctor sighed.
"I'm sorry Rose." He cupped his hand against her cheek. "You know I love you, don't you?"
"Yeah," she whispered. "I've always known that. But sometimes, love's not enough, yeah? Because no matter what, you'll always be the Doctor with the great big Time Lord brain, and I'll always be the little shop girl from the Estate. It's never gonna be equal between us. And I don't think I can live like that anymore."
The Doctor's shoulders slumped. He opened his mouth as if to speak. A large part of Rose hoped he would. She wanted him to use his gob to tell her how wrong she was. But he didn't. He simply closed his mouth, nodded his head, and turned towards the door. It wasn't until he had opened the door that he stopped, standing completely motionless. Rose waited, wondering if he would at least turn around to say goodbye. But instead he walked through the door, closing it softly behind him.