A/N. Thank you all so very much! :3

Love and Medicine: Chapter Two

Martha met the murderous glare the Doctor sent her as soon as the question, either naïve or one supposed to have confirmed her doubts - escaped her lips. She shuddered, having turned her eyes away at once, suddenly feeling utterly mortified to have as much as dared to ask such a personal question.

"How… how are you here, Rose?" the Doctor asked, choosing to deliberately ignore the other companion for the time being.

Rose sighed, responding to the other companion on board first. "I can't answer this just yet, Martha."

She was not certain if the relationship between the Doctor and herself was ever going to progress, but pushing things in any way did not feel right. Discussing it with a person she did not know yet was out of the question.

"None of my business, I understand," Martha Jones hurried to assure them. It was true she had secretly hoped the blonde would begin telling her there was nothing going on between the two… especially since the Time Lord seemed ready to deny everything, no matter the self-explicatory almost-kissing scene she was unlucky enough to have witnessed.

"As for my re-appearance, Doctor… this is kind of complicated."

Not 'I must leave you again' kind of complicated, I hope… "I have all the time in the world, Rose." We both do.

The blonde shrugged at him hopelessly, thankful for the encouraging smile the other companion sent her way. "The walls of Time, they- they can be overcome… apparently." Of course, she had to take the difficult route, instead of just telling him-

I can see as much, Rose. "How?" The Doctor's interest was getting the better of him.

"As far as this universe is concerned, we tried our best not to damage anything," Rose whispered at him. "We haven't damaged anyone, but-"

The Doctor clenched his teeth. Torchwood. "Anyone but-? Rose?"

"Anyone but me," the final word was but breathed out. Both of the two other passengers could easily see the pain in her eyes – her wicked headache was far from over. The mere idea of giving her more of the aspirin pills made the Gallifreyan shudder inwardly. However, he knew that was the most likely step to take. Especially since even seeing her in pain was breaking his hearts.

Without a moment's hesitation, he sat down beside her onto the bed and found her hand.

"Rose- I'm afraid I could hurt you by even asking," he muttered, "but do you feel well enough to tell me something more about it?"

"I think I could, but-" she bit her lip, eyeing the dark-skinned companion worriedly. Whatever she was about to tell the Doctor did not have to be heard by anyone else.

"Hey, I can always leave!" Martha shrugged, managing to hide her disappointment well. "Personal things don't interest me," she assured them.

Of course they don't. The Doctor fought the wish to glare at the more recent companion again. No matter his feigned ignorance, the Time Lord knew it was quite the opposite. "Actually, Martha…"

The dark-skinned companion did not lose hope until the last moment. Say 'I think you could stay', say it!

"I believe it would indeed be better if you left us. We have quite a lot to discuss, and she might want to make some changes in her room after all this time-" Fine. This one was both stupid and incredible.

For a moment, he believed Rose would object, but all she did was stare straight in front of her.

"Okay, so I'm going… I'd be in my room, if you need me, yeah?" Martha was visibly waiting for an invitation to stay with them, but none came, so she headed straight to her room, the way to which the TARDIS seemed eager to show her this time.

As soon as she was out of sight, the Doctor breathed out in relief, his voice soft. "I'd like to know as much as you can tell me, Rose."

"It was… painful. Everything. This new universe… Everything in it only brought more and more pain. Sorrow… grief. Sadness- because you weren't in it-

No, the young woman decided. This was not the right time to simply pour everything out just like that. Rose was looking for words, which was rather hard, as either the medicine was not of a sufficient consistency or some part in her mind had not fully registered she was finally back in her home universe… and was there to stay.

Noticing the concerned look on the Doctor's face, the Londoner winced. "The headache won't go away completely just yet. Sorry," she muttered apologetically.

"I'm not thoroughly experienced with the correct dosage of this. Do you think you need another pill, or has the medicine not worked yet?"

"I don't know." I don't care.

"Should I fetch Martha?"

"No!" Rose realised she must have sounded hysterical, and bit her lip. "No need. Really. Have you read the indications properly?"

"Indications? Ah, yes, indications! I-"

"Don't worry, Doctor," she smiled at him. "Everything should be written in the instructions, or on the package, at least…"

"Yes, of course! I'll run and read it-"

The girl sighed. Her Doctor, missing the obvious. "It's on the table on your left," she smirked.

"Oh." He focused on the package. The instructions were of no help. Studying how to poison himself was never his thing. "One pill, one and a half, or two? How serious is this?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm quite- quite used to it, and-"

"You, Rose Tyler, won't need to go through any more of this, for as long as you are here with me. I promise," he squeezed her hand tightly. "I only need to call Martha, she must know how to-"

Stupid Time Lord. "No!" she begged. "She cannot help me with this, trust me. Nobody from that parallel universe could. Not even Jack."

"But Martha is from our- your original universe! This universe, and she is certainly experienced enough in dealing with this, and I'm sure she could-"

Daft, even. "I don't need Martha. I need you," she said simply. "I am generally capable of taking care of myself, but, now that the universe is different again… I need to re-adjust, yeah?"

The Doctor peered at Rose, the sudden realisation hitting him hard. "Rose- how often have you been crossing different parallels?" If the companion herself had told him, albeit with some reluctance, that she had been the one having had to face some damage… The incessant headache must have been related to her experience. My Rose.

"I have stopped counting after the sixth unsuccessful attempt of reaching this universe," she sighed. "Someone else was doing the counting afterwards. According to Jack, this is the fourteenth," the companion was slightly uneasy. "But what does it matter now?"

The Doctor pressed her hand. "You have returned, because of me," he whispered, incredulous. "Because you, after all this time, still wanted to?"

Rose did not lower her eyes, and was presented with a variety of conflicting emotions in his. "You know why."

He nodded, a small smile on his face. The hazel eyes could not lie. "And because I know, my dear Rose, that you are not going anywhere this time… You'd have to allow me into your brilliant human mind, so that I could-"

"Maybe later?"

The Time Lord was honestly surprised.

"Are you certain? I could simply-"

There was nothing simply about it. Her mind, her thoughts, her feelings were the things Rose was ready to share with the Doctor eventually. But eventually did not mean now.

"I had to flee," she spoke in a small voice instead. "They were after me. I had nowhere to go. Jack was too busy to constantly keep an eye on me, the Torchwood team were getting suspicious-" Rose took a deep breath. "We had to make a decision, him and me. And we've decided the only thing I could do was try and find you," she shrugged. No matter the risk. No matter the cost. "As simple as that. Not that there was ever an option of not doing that, mind you," she sent him the familiar grin.

"Fourteen attempts." This definitely explained the headache. "Are you sure those working in that wretched place weren't misleading you intentionally?"

Her response startled him. "Now that I think of it, yeah. All some of them wanted was to finally get rid of me." Rose has been the unwelcome addition to the team, however experienced and reasonable. What was even worse, the blonde was a dear friend of the Captain's. The fact she would not allow anyone but Jack run any of the needed tests on her did not help her acquire any of the sometimes-needed support. She was regarded as a strange specimen, protected by her powerful father and the head of Torchwood. "I have spent so much time working on and toying with the Torchwood equipment, that-" she did not succeed in suppressing a sob.

"Surely, you must know I-" would have done everything in my power to get to you. But I was too stupid. Too much at a loss. Then, Donna came…

"Forgive me."

The Londoner eyed him searchingly. "You've done no harm to me. You have nothing to apologise for, Doctor."

While the Time Lord did not share her approach, he decided to let it slide. "You are not mad at me, then? Not even for travelling with someone else?"

"It depends," she teased. "But I wouldn't be able to leave now, even if you-"

"Even if I did not want you here? Don't be silly, Rose Tyler. You are all-"

"Even if you were in love with somebody else. Martha Jones, for example."

"You realise you are indeed being downright silly, Rose?" he placed his hands on her shoulders. "The only person whose well-being was, and is, my main concern, is a certain blonde currently watching me."

The said blonde rolled her eyes at him playfully. "I guess I should be flattered?"

"I think you should be, yes. In what way should I tell you-"

That you love me, Doctor? "You don't have to say anything, remember?"

The Doctor seemed lost for a moment, holding her firmly by the shoulders.

"She likes you, you know," Rose gave him a small smile. "Martha, I mean."

"Well, don't they all?"

The companion rolled her eyes at him. "I don't know where this conversation is going, but I'd like another pill first, yeah?"

The Doctor believed to have known exactly where it would have taken them, had the human not changed the subject… And he knew for sure the relief after having let go of her to fetch a glass of water was not something he was happy about…

"I think you should really allow me in, Rose. I won't be prying, just removing the cause of your pain – without the need of medicine."

"I don't think so, my Doctor."

The Time Lord was watching her, suddenly remembering something. Apparently, Rose Tyler could see the unmistakeable dread in his eyes, as she gave him an intense, yet calming look. She was still Rose, always his. Rose Marion Tyler… always.

"There are things I'm not ready to show you, Doctor. Not just yet, yeah?"

"Of course. You have told me so much already, Rose." Probably too much for one day. The Gallifreyan could not help but wondered if these were only her human secrets she was unwilling to share… It looked and felt anything but that. He had to find out as much as he could, without causing suspicion…

"You do remind me of someone, and it frightens me," the Doctor spoke, after a momentary thought. After all, this might have just been a stupid idea…

"Yes?"

"You might not remember… I hope you don't. There was this Bad Wolf entity once-"

A/N. Thoughts? :)