AN: So, another chapter….I've just started with Season 7, but I still think that Rose and the 10th Doctor are the best pairing so far. Romantically and platonically. Anyway, I hope you'll like this chapter!

Chapter 2

The silence lasted for three days. Three days of absolute silence and doing nothing. They didn't land anywhere, they merely drifted through space and time, desperately trying to avoid any contact with each other. Needless to say the tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife. All the things they said to each other, but more especially the things they didn't say. The Doctor kept Rose well fed and hydrated, but other than preparing her three meals a day he mostly fled the room as soon as she entered. Rose on the other hand tried her best to get a moment to talk to the Doctor, but her effort was in vain. So she simply slept a lot of time, spent the rest in her room and read some of the books she found in the library. Stuff on other planets, exotic people and long lost civilizations. She learned a great deal in these three years, but it wasn't enough for her. She wanted the Doctor, she wanted to talk to him, she wanted to make up with him and she wanted him now. So she made up a plan to trap him, to get him to open up to her. Granted, the plan was everything but waterproof, but it was the only plan she got.

Rose waited till the Doctor went to his bedroom to go to sleep. Now, the Doctor didn't sleep a lot. Maybe a few hours every other day or all three, four, five days. But never longer than four hours. Yet, he would always look completely awake and aware. Never even had bags under his eyes. How did he do that? Must be a Time Lord thing. So she waited till he went to sleep after three days of being awake, hoping that he'd sleep for at least three hours, and got in bed next to him. The Doctor was only dressed in his TARDIS-Blue boxers, the rest of his clothes were thrown carelessly across the room. His skin was slightly cooler than hers, making him the perfect pillow. Not too hot so that she was sweating and not too cold so that she was freezing. In fact, it felt simply right. Carefully she put her hand on his chest, feeling his two heartbeats oddly calming and comforting beneath her fingertips.

"What are you doing?" he suddenly asked, making her jump a little but not deserting her post.

"I thought I'd trap you and make you talk. And since you are a very hard man to trap, I sorta locked us into your bedroom. Your sonic screwdriver won't help you this time, I took care of that. And now talk. You've been avoiding me."

"That is not a question."

"No. The question is a big fat why. Why are you avoiding me and why are you mad at me. I thought coming back for you would change us for the best, but it only tore us apart. Why?"

He didn't say anything, he just put an arm around her and stared at the ceiling as if he was trying to figure out what to say next. This was so not his typical behavior. Not talking was never happening with him. Finally he answered.

"I'm pulling back and avoiding you, Rose Tyler, because the Void opened my eyes and I'm scared of what I saw."

"And what did you see, Doctor?" Rose asked, interfering one of her hands with his.

"I saw you. A little, ordinary, extraordinary, brilliant and gorgeous human being that drives me completely mad. I can't lose you, Rose, but being around me is the ultimate source of danger. People die, people get lost in nothingness and people are hurt so much that they lose their mind. I can't let that happen to you, not ever. But I'm scared of losing you and I'm scared of having you around me. So what I've been doing the last three days is thinking. A lot of confusing thinking. Now, I'm not sure how ordinary people do it, but it's incredibly hard to concentrate on one line of thought."

"And what did your….line of thought lead to? Shutting me out? Dropping me off somewhere and leaving me behind?"

"No, never! I promised you, I'd NEVER leave you behind. But maybe you should want to be left behind. Maybe you should want to go back to your mother and Pete and just live a happy life. You know, marry Mickey and have some kids and grandkids. Motherhood would look good on you."

"And fatherhood would look good on you. Still, I'm staying here."

His eyes clouded and he turned his head away from her.

"I used to be a father. I used to have a wife and children and grandchildren. They all died in the Time War, my whole family did. But I didn't have so far was a chance with a human, a life with a human that will die after only a few years. All the pain, the suffering…I wonder if it's worth it. Only a few years of extraordinary love and passion that leaves a hole the size of Manhattan in my heart. What do you think, is it worth the trouble? Is it worth the pain?"

What could she possibly say to that? The selfless thing would be to ask him to drop her off somewhere and continue his journey alone so that his heart would be spared all the heartbreak. He cared for her, that much he had told her. Maybe she should stop this before he fell in love with her. Or she could be selfish and ask the Doctor to spend her life in his company. They would probably fall in love and stay together. But one day she would die and he would feel the pain for the rest of his existence. The choice was obvious, there wasn't really a choice to make.

"Doctor, I would never ask you to put your heart on the line like that. I love you, and I want you to be happy. One night, that's all I'm asking of you. Give me one night with you and then let me go. I want just one memory with you, is that okay? Or is that too much? If it's too much for you, then just forget about it and drop me off at home. I'd be…" she couldn't finish whatever she was saying before the Doctor had turned her around and kissed her with all the love and passion he could find in him. Hungry lips and wandering hands started exploring each other, pushing clothes away and exploring each other. It was a passion Rose had never felt before. Not with Mickey or her first boyfriend. It was something new, something amazing and something she wanted to experience time over time again.