Chapter 2- The Consequences

Rose's lips were on his. Her lips were on his and it was of her own accord. The last time he had kissed her, he remembered, was to save her from the time vortex burning inside her. He was worried she would never have another day of life, and now he could spend the rest of his life with her properly.

Wait. Rose's lips were on his. What was he doing? He disentangled himself from her grasp on his lapels gently, so as not to offend her and looked at her. She was breathing heavily and her lips were red.

He heard the familiar sound of the TARDIS dematerializing, and Rose rushed out on the sand, towards the spot where it had been.

Was she aching for the TARDIS or for the other him? He was a pretty boy, after all. Everything he wished his regeneration would be, just for Rose Tyler. So, he did the only thing he knew how to do. He took her hand, and he squeezed it gently. Rose looked away from the empty spot and at their entwined hands instead. Then she looked at him.

The Doctor was uneasy, and that was because he couldn't read Rose's expressions anymore. He couldn't tell if it was because she had grown up, and learned to mask them, or if it was because he had been without her for a long time, and he had forgotten how to read them. Both options were terrifying to him, and the Doctor never admitted when he was.

"Sweetheart?" Jackie called gently behind them. He could feel her presence, and Rose's mother put her hand on her shoulder. "You alright?"

Rose dropped his hand and turned to face her mother. "Not really, mum, no." She sighed. "You know how hard we all worked on that dimension cannon, and now…"

Jackie pulled her into a tight hug. "I know, love. Your father wasn't too happy either, believe me. He's goin' to come get us in the mornin', in the mean time, we gotta find a place to stay."

Rose nodded. She turned to him finally, and said, "Right then, Doctor, let's go."

The Doctor gulped and nodded. He walked behind them quietly, until they reached a cab.

"Your father arranged to have one drive us around to look for a hotel," Jackie said.

The Doctor had so many questions about this father business. How did that happen? And how did Rose and her mother end up here anyways? But, he supposed, there was plenty of times for questions later.

He opened the door for Jackie and Rose, and Jackie expressed surprise that he had opened a door for her. Rose didn't even look at him.

They climbed into the car, Rose leaning against her mother as much as possible. He had the vague sense that she was trying to ignore him, or she was afraid of him.

The cab drove slowly through the winding beach village until they reached a small inn. Jackie climbed out, and said, "I'll be right back, you two. Just gotta check if they have some rooms."

Rose nodded. With one last weird glance at the pair of them, Jackie left.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Did I do somethin' to offend ya?" he asked.

She looked over at him. "No."

"Then why are ya avoidin' me?" he asked her point blank.

She sighed. "I don't wanna talk about it right now, alright?"

"Then when would ya like to talk about it? In case ya haven't noticed, I'm not the one who stranded you here!" the Doctor roared, his post War temper flaring up.

Rose slapped him, almost as if she did it without thinking. Then she covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I didn't mean to-"

"Save it," he said tiredly, holding up his hand. "I shouldn't have yelled at ya. I shouldn't have said that." He pulled her into his arms, and she tensed up before relaxing. "I missed you," he said quietly.

"I missed you, too," she said seriously. "Even after the regeneration."

They broke apart at the sound of someone rapping on the window. The Doctor looked up to see Jackie glaring at them.

"If you two are quite done, I got us some rooms. And don't ya go gettin' ideas in your head, Doctor," she waggled her finger at him. "There's three rooms, not two."

He couldn't help the sinking feeling in his chest. He used to cuddle with Rose sometimes on the TARDIS, why was that such a crime here?

But then he remembered Rose's reaction to him just a few moments earlier, and thought maybe it was a good idea for some space for now.

"Course ya did," he rolled his eyes. "Like a Time Lord would even have those thoughts in his head."

"Part Time Lord," Jackie said.

His mood darkened at the reminder. Almost as if she sensed his mood shift, Rose took his hand briefly and squeezed it before she dropped it once more.

She climbed out to stand next to her mother, and the Doctor followed. Jackie paid the cab driver and they walked into the hotel.

The woman in the front gave them three little keys. "Enjoy your stay, dears," she said kindly, and they thanked her.

Jackie distributed the keys, and he silently thanked her that she at least gave him the room next to Rose.

They set off for their rooms, muttering a "Goodnight."

The Doctor walked into his room. It was quite small. Definitely smaller than his room on the TARDIS. But it was cozy, the furnishings were nice, and it smelled pleasant, at least. Better than a lot of places he had stayed before. He sighed, ready to lay back on the bed and pass out.

He pulled off his boots, laid down on the bed, and closed his eyes.

…

He was awoken by a light knocking on his door. He looked out his window and saw it was still night. He wondered if it was Rose, ready to talk at last.

The Doctor stood up and opened the door. It was Rose. She looked at him shyly, a tentative smile on her face.

"I couldn't sleep," she said. "I wondered if I might come in here and talk?"

He yawned in spite of himself. "Sure."

"Did I wake you?" she asked, biting her lip in worry.

"It's fine," he assured her, and motioned for her to come in.

She sat gingerly at the edge of his bed. "So, a lot happened today," she said.

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed.

"Are you...okay that I kissed you?" she asked him.

He looked at her strangely, and sat next to her, gathering her hands to his chest. "Silly, daft, fantastic girl, why would I say I loved you, and then not wanted to kiss you?"

"Well," she began, but it seemed she couldn't finish. Rose burst into tears, leaning into his jacket, and clutching onto him for support.

He pulled her into his arms like he used to, and rubbed small circles on her back. "Well, what?" he asked quietly.

"Apparently the other you loved me, too, but he couldn't say it, could he? Then he left me…" Rose trailed off. "More than once."

"What d'you mean more than once?" the Doctor growled.

"It's nothin'," she said.

"Obviously not if it's got ya upset," he pointed out.

"At the beginnin' of your new regeneration," she started, "ya took Mickey along with us on the TARDIS."

The Doctor scoffed. "That's where he messed up already."

"We landed on a spaceship that belonged to clock droids. They created portals from their ship to periods in history to harvest human parts and make them compatible to the ship. When we got there, it was pre-Revolutionary France. They were goin' to use Madame de Pompadour's brain, but they couldn't find the right maturity, so they had these windows all throughout the ship. She...fell in love with you. You kissed her. And then to to top it all off, you jumped through the last time window on a horse, with no chance to come back, and you left me and Mickey stranded. You would never live the slow path with me, but you were just fine to do it with her."

"Rose," the Doctor pleaded. "I know that was a stupid thing of him to do. But you know he loved ya. I know he tried everythin' to get back to ya. Madame de Pompadour meant nothin' to him."

She turned away from him. "You weren't there. You don't know. You were a wreck for weeks. I desperately wished for ya to come back as this you."

"But don't ya see?" the Doctor asked. "That's why I did."

"What are ya talkin' about?" she asked.

"I'm goin' to explain to ya why I came out like this," the Doctor gestured to himself. "See, I can dictate how I want my metacrisis to look, just like with regeneration. He musta seen ya cryin' over me, Rose. He musta known ya wanted me back, and so he did it for ya again. Just like I made myself a pretty boy, he did this for you."

"You did?" Rose gasped.

He nodded.

She touched his cheek. "You didn't have to do that, ya know."

He turned away and shrugged. "I did anyways. Thought ya liked pretty boys."

She laughed. "You really are daft. I like you! Whatever you look like."

"You do?" he beamed.

"Yeah," she said sincerely.

But his heart fell, because she didn't say I love you.

"I'm tired now," she announced.

"Are ya gonna stay in here?" he asked.

"Nah." She shook her head. "I think that's a bit too fast. 'sides, I don't think you want two Tyler slaps in two days."

He shuddered at the thought.

"Didn't think so," Rose smiled. "See ya in the mornin', Doctor."

"And you, Miss Tyler."