A gun. A thing he'd sworn never to hold in anger again. And he'd pointed it at Rose. He threw it away as if it burned, and perhaps it did. Maybe not his hands, but his soul. Rose flung herself into his arms, and he clutched at her as if she were the last handhold at the edge of the abyss. And perhaps she was just that. She was warmth, and light, and sweetness - all the things that he wasn't. All the things that he needed. His fingers dug into her, tangling in her hair and pressing through the thin material of her shirt, but she didn't protest; just hung on tighter, burrowing her face into the crook of his neck.

"Oh, Rose…"

"Shh…it's OK," she soothed. "I've got you." Then, "I'm sorry."

"Rose - what?"

"That thing, the Dalek…that's what killed your people, yeah? And I woke it up. I'm sorry."

The Doctor pulled back slightly, staring at her in disbelief. There were tears glistening in her eyes, and he simply could not allow that. "No, Rose, no. There was no way for you to know what it was. You saw a creature chained up in a cell and reached out to help it. It's what you do." He pulled Rose close again and kissed her forehead, then nestled his cheek into her golden hair. "It was my fault. I should have killed it before you got anywhere near it."

Rose didn't know what chilled her more, the matter of fact way the Doctor spoke of killing, or the sobs that were wracking his body. Both behaviors were completely alien to her. She pulled him as close as she could, locking her arms around his waist. "Take me home," she whispered.

The Doctor froze, one hand fisted into her hair, the other splayed across her back. Of course she'd want to go home. Bad enough to be threatened by the damn Dalek, but then he'd had to go and point a gun at her. Not too much difference between them, after all. A few more tears slid down his cheeks, wetting her hair. "Of course, Rose," he mumbled, "whatever you want."

"We don't want this lot mucking about with the TARDIS, right? And then, could we go…I dunno…someplace pretty, and quiet? A lake or a beach or somethin'? Just for a few days?"

The wave of relief that flooded his system was so overpowering that for a moment, Rose was all that kept him on his feet.

"Doctor?" she asked, staggering under his weight, "You all right?"

"I'm fine, Rose. Just fine. And I'll take you anywhere you want."

She smiled up at him, and reached for his hand, but today, he needed more than that, so he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, tucking her in close against his side. Rose slid her arms around his waist again, and rested her head on his shoulder. It slowed their pace to a slightly drunken amble, but just then, they both needed contact more than speed.

"Let's go home," the Doctor murmured.