Rose watched the Doctor like a hawk. His face was crumpled, like the piece of paper in his hand. He stared at it blankly, and then as if he was aware he had the two of them in his company, he looked up, putting a fake smile on his face.
Those stupid specs of his were still perched on the tip of his nose as he stared at Rose, a little more watery-eyed than when they had come into the TARDIS. She opened her mouth to say something harsh, something to undermine whatever was written on that centuries old paper crumpled in the Doctor's hand, but then she felt Mickey grip her arm. She closed her mouth just as quickly, and spun around to face him.
"I think it's about time you showed me around the rest of this place," he said, giving her a knowing look.
Oh yes, that'd be just what he wanted, wouldn't it? Let the Time Lord grieve in place for the smarter, prettier, better version of her.
She was just a foolish girl anyways.
"Quite right!" the Doctor piped up irritatingly, gesturing at Mickey. "Show the man the ropes, Rose. Tomorrow we'll go somewhere extra special, promise." With the last word, he looked right into her eyes, making her more irritated that she almost forgave him right there.
She nodded tersely, not trusting her words at the moment, and without another glance at him, she grabbed Mickey by the hand and marched out of the console room.
"I know you're upset, babe-" he started as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Please, save it," Rose said tiredly, holding up a hand. "I'm just goin' to wander for a bit. Don't get into trouble, alright?" She fixed him with a purposeful look, before grinning.
Mickey clapped her shoulder before pulling her into a hug. "You know where I am, if you need me."
She nodded. "Yeah, see you in the morning, Micks."
With one last wave, she took off down the hallway opposite them, not really sure where she was going. She just wanted to get far away from the two of them, she wanted-
Before she had finished her train of thought, a doorway appeared in front of her. Curious, Rose crossed over towards it, placing her palm on the knob. It was pure crystal, the door itself an old, weathered teak emblazoned with some type of tree.
Thinking perhaps she'd find a garden or something of that type to lie down and be alone with her thoughts, Rose pushed it open gratefully.
However, what she found on the other side was stone walls, and the biggest assortment of mismatched and miscellanious objects she'd ever seen.
"What is all this?" she mused out loud, walking towards a low wooden table in front of her, picking up a small gadget and shaking it by her ear.
A shaky and grainy hologram appeared out of it, a monotonous voice coming from the figure.
"A baby boy is born to Lady and Lord Anwar. The moon was high, showing proclivity towards emotional imbalance. The clock near the stand sped up a few seconds, showing proclivity towards time sense." The hologram disappeared back into the little gadget.
Rose frowned at it, turning it over and over until she saw a small label attached to it, circles and dots etched into the label.
She sighed, placing it back onto the table and walking further into the room. This time there was a small cradle, the same circle and dot pattern on the gadget, with a star and moon mobile. It was also made of old, weathered wood, looking like something that had been passed down centuries.
Rose ran her fingers along it, wondering if this had been the Doctor's as a baby. Abandoning all anger she had, letting her curiousity take over, she walked over towards some red and gold robes hanging from the shelves.
Rose picked them up carefully, holding them in her arms and testing the weight of them, which was surprisingly light for such heavy looking fabric. She placed her arms inside of them, twirling back and forth and wondering how she looked. As she glanced down at the floor, she saw a small paper-machie looking TARDIS.
She bent over, picking it up and twirling it in her hands. It looked much like the Doctor's, blue police box shape and all. She turned it upside down, and was rewarded with writing that said: Property of Theta-Sigma, age 10.
She was so absorbed in looking at the TARDIS in miniature, that she didn't notice the door had opened until she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She jumped five inches in the air and spun around quickly.
"I'm sorry, Doctor!" she exclaimed, apologizing. Her hands immediately went to the robes, attempting to rip them off, until his own covered hers, stilling them.
"Rose," he began, looking at her sincerely.
She frowned, noticing he didn't look angry, as she expected. His hair was ruffled, like he'd been running his hands through it. His specs had made it back into his pocket. His brown eyes were looking at her in his usual way.
"How did you find this room?" he asked.
"The TARDIS showed me it," she answered honestly.
His lips pursed and his hands moved to her shoulders. "I guess you're wondering about it?" he asked.
"It looks like some sort of storage room," she answered honestly.
"It is," he said, "for my old life."
"So, your old-"
"Leather jacket is in here, yeah." Had that sounded harsh? He watched her curiously.
Rose looked at him. "Where?" she asked.
"Why?" he asked tiredly.
"You know why," she spat.
"Yes,"the Doctor said. "That's why I brought Mickey along."
"Exact- wait, what?"
"I tried, Rose, I really did. But you kept looking at me with these big, sad eyes, and I didn't know how to make it better anymore. So, I tried to get someone that could."
And as mad as she was at him, suddenly Rose understood. "Oh, Doctor," she held out her arms for him.
"No," he said, sounding like he was close to breaking. He spun on his heel, away from her. "I don't want your pity."
"Doctor," she said softly, "it's not pity. But I think we're both mad here for two very similar things, because we've both been acting like prats."
"We are?" he asked, sounding confused. And then, "Reinette? Why are you jealous of her?"
"Who wouldn't be?" Rose asked. "She was everything I'm not, Doctor! Pretty, smart, accomplished, men droolin' out of her hand...even you, and I thought- never mind, doesn't matter now." She shrugged out of the robes, searching for the comforting familiarity of the Doctors leather jacket and when this all made sense.
"Oh, Rose." The Doctor sighed, turning back to face her. "I have failed you if you don't think any of those things about yourself. You are the most brilliant, wonderful, beautiful human I have ever-"
Whatever he had been about say was cut off by Rose Tyler throwing herself at him and smashing her lips into his. He pulled her towards him enthusiastically, grabbing her hips firmly and making a noise of deep appreciation. His ran his tongue along her llips and pulled back with a satisfied "I was right."
"I hope you didn't do that with Madame de Pompadour," Rose said, slightly dazed.
"Oh, no. Very clinical. I was surprised and it wasn't- the same. You taste like strawberries and honey and tea like I thought!" he announced triumphantly, pulling her back towards him once more.
Mickey smirked when the Doctor and Rose appeared much more rumpled than he had ever seen from the room two hours later, a faint blush accompanying their cheeks.