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"What d'you mean, 'not you'?"
Rose was sitting on the pilot's chair in front of the TARDIS's core. On the other side of the core, the Doctor was standing, piloting the ship to a planet nearby, in which they could stay for that night. Mickey had just retired to sleep, as Rose had wanted him to do for the past hour.
"What?" The Doctor looked up in surprise, still holding the handle he grabbed.
"When we were outside the school, I asked you if you're going to do to me the same thing you did to Sarah Jane-" The Doctor looked down, seemingly uncomfortable. "-and you said, 'no, not you'. What did you mean, 'not you'?"
"I think it's pretty clear." He continued navigating the ship, still not looking up.
"Doctor…" He stopped in his place again, looking back up at her. His brown eyes were completely focused on her. "What did you mean?"
"That usually I don't leave my companions behind." He once again tried to not answer the question.
"If that were true, you would have said you don't do that to most people. Or that you don't do that anymore. Or that there was a time you used to do that but you stopped long ago." She got up and walked towards him, stopping right by his side. His eyes followed her wherever she went. "What did you mean, Doctor?"
"What difference does it make?" His voice was soft and his eyes glued to hers.
"Doctor."
He remained silent for a moment before finally speaking. His voice was still soft. "There are some people I could never do that to. There are some people I could never leave behind. I could never lose them."
"Why not?"
"Because I care too much," his answer was simple. "Because even though you die and I have to continue alone, I still get attached. I still love and care. The pain of losing you is billion times stronger, but I still love the few of you more than I could ever describe."
"Do you love me, Doctor?" Her voice was soft and quiet.
"Yes."
"The way you loved Sarah Jane?"
He hesitated. "Not quite." He saw she was trying to pretend she didn't care and it didn't hurt her, and immediately added, "No, not in a bad way. Look." He turned to her and then put his hands on her shoulders, holding her. "You changed me, Rose. Look at the man I was the day I met you and look at the man I am now. You make me a better person. I think of you the way I could never think of Sarah Jane. I see you differently."
She continued looking at him quietly, not saying anything.
"What did I tell you before I regenerated?" He asked quietly then.
"That we were fantastic," She replied, also speaking quietly. "Both of us."
"We were. We still are. Look at all we've done. We're brilliant together, aren't we?" She nodded. "And you, Rose Tyler, you…" A hint of admiration glittered in his eyes. "You are absolutely, one hundred per cent brilliant. I mean it."
She stared at him quietly, and for the first time since he'd met her, he couldn't quite understand what she felt from the look in her eyes.
"What I mean is… You're not like any other companion I've had," He finished quietly. "Or ever will have."
She stared at him for another moment before gently pressing her lips against his. She lingered there for a long moment before stepping back. The Doctor just stared at her, unable to talk.
"I'll see you tomorrow," was all she said before leaving him behind, still staring forward at the spot where she stood.