Thanks to all who have followed, favourited, and reviewed (I adore reviews! They are absolutely golden to fanfic writers. They truly are!)

I know that the "Tentoo / Rose after Bad Wolf Bay" trope has been done hundreds of times. I just feel that I need to write it on my own terms sometimes... and I might as well share. Please forgive my lack of originality...

So on with the angst... and a good dose of fluff, too!

Part 2 of 2

These Two Hearts

Chapter 2

Her warmth surrounded him, delved deep into his mind, seeking, seeking… My Doctor. Her thoughts hummed through his, caressing him, swirling golden. He opened his mind to her, trusting her, craving her. Then, their bond flared to life, stimulated from its stasis by their mutual yearning. A sense of peace washed over him, a feeling of belonging and fulfilment that had been missing for… weeell, for a while now. It was Rose. It was home.

0 days; 0 hours; 0 minutes; 0 seconds: the beginning of forever.

His eyelashes fluttered over gritty eyes, and even the pale light was too painful for him to endure. He coughed, the jarring motion sending stabbing pain into his skull above his eyes. His mouth, parched from disuse, opened to release a guttural sound of protest. Then a gentle breath on his face, the press of pillowy lips against his forehead, and familiar fingers carding through his hair compelled the agony to subside to a dull, throbbing ache. Despite his desperation to see her face, he decided to keep his eyes shut.

"Shhhh," her voice crooned, "I'll bring some tea… not too strong, yeah, but full of all those tannins and free radicals that you're always goin' on about."

As he felt her move to leave his side, he panicked, desperately scrabbling at her with numb arms. His heart was pounding out of his chest in anxiety, his lungs gasping for air, sending him into another fit of convulsive coughs. And then their bond flared to life in his mind and she was within him, all rosy and golden and welcoming. 'M right here. Never gonna leave ya. Jus' goin' to get you that tea. But I'll stay in here, she wound around his frightened thoughts, calming him, in your big ol' Time Lord brain.

The tea was warm and milky and sweet and she fed it to him patiently from a spoon. And when he had finished it all, he felt himself sinking into the softness of the bed and the pillows, contented and sleepy. He reached out to stroke her mind before he drifted back to unconsciousness.

5 days; 16 hours; 31 minutes; 23 seconds since the beginning of forever.

The next time he awoke, he was able to open his eyes without pain. Her golden head was the first thing he saw, slumped over her arms, on the side of his bed. A gentle touch of their bond told him that she was asleep. In her unguarded state, he could sense her lingering worry, and roiling guilt. He pulled back, unwilling to intrude. They would have plenty of time to talk things over later.

He tried to touch her hair and found his fingers stiff, and restrained. Looking around him, he realized that he was hooked up to a variety of monitors with wires and tubes. And an I.V. drip: that was what kept his hand from moving.

"You're awake, are ya?" Pete's voice startled him slightly.

"I am." He tried to smile, but it took a lot of effort. He looked around him and realized he wasn't in a hospital. "Where am I?"

"Rose's flat. Her bedroom. She refused to allow you to be taken anywhere else. Wanted to look after you herself." He shook his head in something akin to disbelief or awe. "Had Torchwood bring all the equipment here! And she's been doing it all, 'round the clock. She's a force to be reckoned with, no doubt about it," he chuckled fondly.

"That she certainly is!" The Doctor's smile came more easily this time.

"Can I get you anything?"

"I wouldn't turn down a cuppa. And maybe… I think I might like to sit up."

Rose was stirring by the time Pete came back with the tea: a full pot with two mugs. Her eyes locked onto the Doctor's, conflicting emotions whirling in her expression. He smiled supportively at her, and wiggled his bound fingers, inviting her to hold his hand. With a grin, she did, and he released an internal sigh of relief at her touch.

It took several tries to get him sitting upright, as vertigo and nausea took their toll, but soon he was comfortably propped with several fluffy pillows.

"You sure had us worried." Pete handed him his mug of tea which he accepted with a weak and shaking hand. Rose hovered anxiously, ready to assist if she was needed.

"Yeah, sorry, 'bout that," he winced apologetically.

"You seem to be mostly out of the woods now, anyway. Jus' take it easy, yeah. Don't rush it."

He nodded grimly in agreement.

"If you're up to it, Jackie would probably like to see you… Mind, I don't think the entire armed forces of Great Britain could keep her away once she gets the news that you're properly awake, whether you feel up to it or not. I'll try to call ahead to give you fair warning, though."

"Just as long as she doesn't slap me for scaring her to death or something," the Doctor grinned cheekily.

"No guarantees, mate," Pete quipped back. "But for now, I'll leave you two," he gestured meaningfully between the Doctor and Rose, "to spend some time alone, yeah?"

"Thanks, Dad!" Rose spoke up as Pete left the room.

She didn't look at the Doctor for several long moments, fiddling with the tea cozy and straightening the covers on the bed. He reached out to her through their bond, a tender touch to soothe her fractious thoughts. She turned to him, her eyes brimming with unshed tears, and sucked in her bottom lip nervously.

"C'mon, up here, you." He patted the bed beside his free hand. "There's oodles of room. Oh, I quite like that word, 'oodles'. Never used that one before! Brilliant word, though! 'Oodles'! Anyway, like I said, oodles of space, Rose Tyler. And I would very much like to have all that space occupied by you."

6 days; 2 hours; 15 minutes; 1 second since the beginning of forever. The first of oodles of snuggles with one Rose Tyler.

"Ewww, bedside manner of a Cramulian Trofang, that one!" The Doctor curled his lip as Dr. Owen Harper left the room. "Still, he agreed to take out the I.V. and the…" he gestured self-consciously to his groin.

"The catheter?" Rose smirked at him.

"Yeah, that."

"Well, you can start walkin' around more easily now then. You could even have a bath and freshen up. Shave, if you like."

"Oi! Rose Tyler, are you saying I smell bad? And I thought you quite liked the scruff! I saw your thoughts: you thought it was… sexy." He waggled his eyebrows at her, earning him a soft smack on the arm."

"Shut up! It is sexy." She reached up to scratch his beard gently and planted a chaste kiss at the corner of his mouth. "But it is getting a little out of control. I quite like the short, stubbly look, though. And, Doctor, you could use a shower. You were in a right state when I found you, and I did my best, but…"

"Say no more! Bath time, it is!"

7 days; 14 hours; 28 minutes; 58 seconds since the beginning of forever and, he hoped, the first of many hair washes and back scrubs courtesy Rose Tyler.

They sat across from one another at Rose's tiny kitchen table that evening, both in their jimjams, as the Doctor devoured the hot, rich soup that she had made for him.

"Slow down, Doctor," she placed hand over his. "You'll make yourself sick."

"Oh, but this is soooo good, Rose," he enthused around a soup-dipped piece of soft bread. "Brilliant! Your cooking skills have improved!"

"Oi…! Wait, that was supposed to be some kind of back-handed compliment, wasn't it?"

He smirked at her in response. "Weeeell, Rose, no offense, but after that time you basically poisoned me with that roobig-root stew, I have to admit that I preferred to do the cooking."

She began to laugh out loud, and he closed his eyes just so he could let the precious sound wash over him. "You broke out in all those green hives! And I had to… Doctor? You alright, then, mate?" Her laughing had stopped.

"Oh, better than, Rose." He opened his eyes and smiled at her, sending her his love through the bond. "It's been a very, very, extremely long time since I heard you laugh. I never thought I would ever hear that sound again."

"Oh…"

"Rose…"

"I'm sorry. I am. I'm so sorry…" She stood up abruptly, knocking the table and sloshing the soup out of the bowls. "Oh, God! Now look what I've done! I've ruined supper and… and… ruined… well, everything…" Tears rushed over her cheeks in torrents.

He stood up, moving toward her, and suddenly she propelled herself into his outstretched arms, tucking her nose into the crook of his neck, burrowing herself into him. His hands wrapped around her back and tugged her even closer, pressing her to him until her heaving sobs settled into sporadic snuffles and hiccoughs. He guided her over to the sofa, where they reclined, she sitting between his legs with her back against him and he with his arms coiled protectively around her.

They remained quiet for several long moments, before Rose nervously broke the intimate silence. "On… on… on Christmas day…" she stammered out, "I… erm… Anyway, Mum and me, we had a row. She said things to me…"

He nodded quietly into her hair. "I heard," he whispered.

"Oh…" She gulped back a huge sob. "What she said… she was right."

"No."

"How can you say that? It was true… all of it! I was being… God I don't know where to start."

"She was wrong…"

She huffed through her nose in response, with a negative twitch of her head.

"She said that I'd be better off without you."

She turned herself to look at him, eyes glistening and sad.

"Now, clearly, Rose Tyler, if these last few weeks have taught us anything, it's that I cannot survive without you. I need you."

She was now sitting sidewise in his lap, her head pressed against his throbbing heart. "When I left the mansion, I drove for about five minutes before I realized I had made a wrong turn. I was so angry at her, at me…, at you… Guess I wasn't payin' attention."

He stroked her back and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Anyway, I pulled over. And I saw the gift on the seat beside me… your gift. I had thrown it away… before. Never opened it. Mum was furious."

He chuckled quietly, stroking her cheek with his thumb. "So I gathered. She was on quite a roll, was Jackie."

"Yeah, that's my Mum! Can't believe I didn't get a smack." He felt the muscles of her cheek tremble into a little smile under his caress. She picked up his other hand in both her own, and played with the fingers absently as she began to speak again. "I opened it, the gift. Oh, Doctor!" She started to cry again.

"Shhhh." He cradled her against him, rocking slightly, the movement soothing to both of them. He reached out with his mind to touch their bond, but she nudged him away.

"I need to say all this first, Doctor. The bond, it muddles things."

"Rose, it makes things clear."

"For you, yeah, but… these are things I need to say. Out loud. The human way. Then we can share your way, Time Lord. Alright? Yeah?"

"Yeah."

She sat up, reached around her neck, and pulled a necklace out from under her tank top. "I've never taken it off since that day. Drove straight back to Mum's, but you were already gone. I looked for you everywhere! Dad kept an eye on the airports, in case you left the country. He had Torchwood operatives across the world on the look-out."

He was stunned. He had never intended to cause them so much worry. But, of course they would have worried... "It was time to leave. My presence was… weeeell, you know me: trouble does tend to follow. And it seems this new body is no different. I didn't want to hurt you or your family anymore."

"If I hadn't found you when I did… God, Doctor, I don't think I could've lived with myself."

He released a humourless chuckle, and firmly gripping her chin, turned her face up toward him rather more roughly than he had intended, forcing her to meet his troubled gaze. "Don't. Say. That."

"Doctor…"

"Just… just don't."

"So, it's alright for you to give up on life, but not me? Hypocrite!" She stood up from his lap and flopped down angrily at the opposite end of the sofa from him.

He ran a hand through his hair, and launched himself from the sofa. He paced the room a few times, desperate for something to tinker with, something to do. He could feel her eyes following his every movement. Finally, he stormed into the kitchen, feeling a sense of order settle into his mind as he went through the process of making tea. It wasn't as complex as a TARDIS console, but it kept his hands busy and his mind regulated: measuring out the tea; boiling the water; preheating the pot; pouring the water in; setting the timer for the correct brewing time.

As he stood leaning over the counter waiting for the tea to steep, he felt her small hand on his arm, and a comforting touch of their bond. "May I have a cup too?"

"Of course."

"We've both changed… a lot."

"Bit of an understatement, that. New, new, new body…"

"I don't just mean that. We've both been through a lot, yeah, over the last three years. I'm sure you had some pretty intense adventures; maybe things that changed you. I know I've changed: I've grown up. 'Course, hard to tell, the way I've been carryin' on. But I'm not just a little shop-girl off the estate anymore. I finished my A-levels and I've been goin' to Uni. I have my own team at Torchwood. And I've seen… so many things, horrible things…" She rolled her eyes closed, blinking back more tears.

"You're still you."

"And you… you're still the same man, yeah. I knew… I did! It jus' hurt so much. After everything…"

She held out an open hand toward him. In her palm was nestled the necklace he had given her for Christmas: a cheap trinket, purchased at one of those little shops that specialized in selling accessories to silly preteen girls (and, apparently, 906-year-old mostly-Time Lords.) It was two necklaces in one: two little silvery hearts, magnetically attached to one another, each with the letters "BFF" engraved below an imitation pink gem. Once separated, each heart had its own chain.

He traced the outline of the dual pendant. Picking it up he pulled the two hearts apart, and spreading the chain, placed it reverently around Rose's neck. "I may only have one heart now, Rose. But as long as I have yours too…" He placed the other necklace over his own head, and gestured between their chests: "Weeell… with these two hearts, I'll be complete."

"Blimey!" she uttered breathily. He found himself drowning in her watery gaze, and seconds later her lips were crushed against his, wet and salty with her tears. Passionate longing surged through their bond as they stumbled, entangled in their embrace, back toward the sofa.

The tea was left forgotten on the counter.

7 days; 19 hours; 4 minutes; and 56 seconds since the beginning of forever. The first time his new, new, new body made love to Rose. Now, this, he thought, was what it meant to truly be complete.

"Do you feel that, Rose? That little tingling just in the back of your mind?"

"Yeah… I think so… maybe… Err, no, not as such…"

"Right there, Rose." His voice carried a hint of desperate impatience as he tapped a spot on the back of her head.

"Alright, then! Gimme a mo'! This is all new to me."

He took a repentant step back.

"Look, I know you want this to happen, but–"

"I wanted her to be ours, together."

"It'll come, Doctor. I was able to speak to her Mum. So eventually…"

"You're probably right…" He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his hoodie and walked dejectedly away toward the kitchen. Elated as he was to sense the first murmurs of the baby TARDIS, he was devastated that Rose was unable to sense her too. With the changes that Bad Wolf had imposed on her mind, the heightened telepathic abilities, he had thought…

"I'm sorry you're disappointed."

He stopped when he heard her trot to catch up to him and pulled his hands from his pockets, offering one of them for Rose to take.

She squeezed it in reassurance. "I'll do my best, I promise. Okay?"

He nodded glumly.

"And I'll love her, just the same. I mean, look at her! What's not to love?" She turned back to observe the newly shatterfried TARDIS coral, glowing golden from within a small glass container filled with a nutrient bath. It shuddered for a moment, the golden light pulsing brilliantly, and the Doctor felt a surge of energy through his connection with the little coral.

Rose gasped. "Oi! Was that you? No… it's her! I can feel her!" she squealed.

He found himself flung around, as Rose tugged him into an ecstatic dance of joy. "Ha!" he chirped, "I knew you could do it! Never doubted it for a second… weeell, maybe for one second… weeell, for a minute. But only for a–" Whatever pointless words he thought would spout out of his gob next were smothered by Rose's mouth pressing over his, and her hands in his hair, drawing him enthusiastically ever closer against her body.

24 days, 16 hours; 5 minutes; 46 seconds since the beginning of forever: a forever that would most assuredly include the Doctor and Rose Tyler in the TARDIS (their TARDIS), just as it should be!