So so so sorry that this has taken so long, I promise that if I could I would have got it here sooner. Thank you for all of your reviews they make me so very happy. Uh, I apologise for this chapter, it's a bit of a filler, showing Rose's reaction to the Doctor.

Chapter 3: Rose Tyler

Rose looked him up and down twice, her brow furrowed and relaxed several times before she was able to even open her mouth; "I'm dreaming." She whispered and the Doctor smirked looking down at his converse shoes. He shook his head.

"I'm very real, this time you can touch." He said reaching out for her hand that had remained firmly by her side the contact made her shiver, she let him lift her hand to his cheek, there were tears in her eyes now and the Doctor could feel his own heart breaking. "It's ok I'm here." He whispered pulling her into a hug her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. A feeling of safety that she hadn't felt for a long time. After a short while she pulled away looking into his eyes, there was a longing in them that she hadn't seen before. She smiled weakly not sure what she should say, but when she looked over his shoulder there was only one thing.

"JACK!" the shock and joy in her face now evident, and had anyone been watching the Doctor they would have most certainly seen a flash of the green eyed monster as she ran to him and threw her arms around him. "The Doctor, said…you…I'm sorry we left you." She stuttered, Jack smiled kindly down at her, he knew it wasn't her fault. Indeed he had quite enjoyed getting back to earth without a TARDIS.

"Right, well, we've got the girl can we go now? This place gives me the creeps." Owen asked butting in, it was then that Rose realised that there was a whole group of people surrounding them she swallowed hard wondering if this was the Doctor's new entourage.

"Got the girl?" Rose repeated his words and looked back at the Doctor. "What's going on?" she asked she was now frowning.

The Doctor shot Owen a dirty look; "Don't listen to him Rose, he's Torchwood…one of Jack's." Rose now looked more than a little confused.

"Torchwood?" she asked turning to look at Jack who shrank away from her glare. Jack nodded slowly a sheepish look in his eyes; "But Doctor…Torchwood…" she paused as the Doctor nodded.

"Was destroyed…they," he paused pointing at the group behind him; "are based in Wales." Rose nodded, though it was quite clear from the look in her eyes that she did not trust any of them, in fact her trust for Jack had dropped several notches as well. The Doctor could tell that she was having serious doubts about them and he smiled reassuringly at her. "We can trust them Rose." He said calmly, in the slightly patronising nature in which he sometimes spoke to her.

She looked over at him, re-living the moment on Bad Wolf Bay when he told her that he would never see her again; "We have a lot of catching up to do." She said unable to hide the slightly bitter tone in her voice. The Doctor swallowed hard and watched her; "Well come on then, it's cold out here, Mickey and I will give you the grand tour." She said smiling a fake smile. The Doctor cast a nervous look at Jack who was scratching the back of his head clearly unsure how to react to this new, knowledgeable Rose. Last time he saw her she was a naive child who knew nothing about the universe. This was not the same girl. She had grown up considerably and was now equipped with knowledge that would astound even himself. Jackie Tyler watched as the large group of people pilled into her house, she looked over at Pete who looked less than amused.

"Making a mess I see." He commented as the Doctor walked in. The Doctor smiled sheepishly. He knew that he was for it, Rose was really going to give him a piece of her mind, after the whole; 'you can't see me ever again.' Then suddenly turning up without even calling ahead, it was rather unexpected to say the least. Lore was hanging at the back of the group looking even more sheepish than the Doctor was; he smiled slightly and took her arm as Mickey led everyone else on the 'grand tour'. Rose was standing in the entrance hall arms crossed, and she looked less than amused. Pete was still watching from above and the Doctor heard him chuckle and then mutter; "Someone's in trouble." The Doctor glanced up at him and took a deep breath.

"Right, so…" the Doctor began looking at Rose nervously.

She began nodding, whilst watching Lore who looked a lot less than comfortable; "And her?" she asked raising her eyebrows. The Doctor bit his lip and nodded slowly.

"Yes her, she is, umm, an well…an Elemental," he paused and watched as she tilted her head to one side; "and well, she is 348 years old." He said grinning. Rose's face lightened slightly and she looked slightly more forgiving. "and well, because she is an Elemental…that means that she can flit…err walk, across," he paused moving his hands strangely as he held his breath.

"Across, space and time?" Rose suggested. He nodded glad that she was accepting his answers and explanations. "well, that is a lot more than what I would have expected." She said calmly. He swallowed hard; "You not going to produce a rabbit out of your hat now are you? 'Cause once you have told someone that you are never going to see them again and that it would be impossible to see them…well it's surprising to say the least when they just…just appear." She was close to tears now and the Doctor could tell that Lore was getting slightly uncomfortable.

"Well, I could blame it all on Jack." The Doctor said sighing slightly. "He's the one who found Lore here, told her to bring me here, gave me little choice to the contrary…I couldn't stop him Rose, I'm sorry." He said sighing as he finished with those classic words. She watched him carefully, the amount of times she had dreamt of this moment, the moment when he would finally come back to her. "I really don't know what else to say." The Doctor muttered, and for the first time in all of his generations he was speechless, Rose smiled.

"Good, then it gives me a chance to talk." She said smiling slightly as she took a small step towards him, she was still debating with herself about whether or not she was dreaming and it was all a trick of her mind. But then again not even her mind could be this accurate. She was fighting with herself, she wanted to slap him but she also wanted to kiss him senseless. There was a war raging in her mind, also in her heart. He was watching her, waiting for her to do or say something. "You know…I always hoped…well…I say always it hasn't been all that long…" she paused as tears welled up in her eyes; "I felt like…like Sarah Jane, you left me…" she accused, the Doctor winced slightly as her tone became harsher. Next to him Lore looked a little more that uncomfortable, she didn't want to be there, that was very clear. "You got yourself a new 'assistant'?" she asked the question clearly pained her.

He took a breath and looked at her; "I have, as it happens, her name is Martha, she's off on that tour of the house with Mickey boy…she's nothing like you." He added onto the end glancing up into her eyes. He watched her frown and try and hide her tears.

"Well, I suppose that's nice…" she paused remembering what Sarah Jane had said to her about the Doctor, how he was worth getting your heart broken for, worth every single monster. She smiled sadly. "…you know they'll be wonder…wondering where we are." She whispered now finding speech difficult, the Doctor smiled his same boyish smile.

"Let them wonder." He whispered as he felt his hand let go of Lore as she slipped from his grasp and walked silently away. They were left looking deeply into each other's eyes, quite unable to utter a sound, both afraid to ruin the perfect moment that they were sharing. Reunited. They had missed each other more that they dared to believe, Rose could see every worry line on the Doctor's face and a small scar on his chin. Memories etched into him. She could read him like a book, could anticipate his every move and know what he meant with a single look. They were broken without the other, but obstacles now stood in the way. The Doctor couldn't leave Martha, but it wasn't like Jackie would let Rose leave without a fight. There were many things to think about now. Martha, Jackie…Lore. All things that would mean another complication for them, Jackie wouldn't want her daughter to leave, the Doctor wouldn't be able to just leave Martha without giving her an explanation, also, there was little reason for him to leave her. It was hard for both of them, being so close knowing that they had a rather bumpy road ahead of themselves.

"You know." Rose said breaking the perfect silence that had fallen between them; "I think that we should start over…" she said slowly, the Doctor looked down and nodded slowly knowing that she was right, it wouldn't be fair to go back to where they were.

He looked up at her after a moment and whispered; "I love you Rose Tyler." And in that moment she felt her heart shatter, he said it, those three perfect words that she would have given the world to hear…8 months ago, but now, now she wasn't so sure, she'd got on with her life and fallen for Mickey all over again it wasn't fair for him to do this to her.

"I don't believe you." She whispered turning away from him. He frowned as he felt the words hit him, he couldn't help feel that she had just knocked all of the wind out of him. "You broke my heart…now I've moved on, and I'm breaking yours." She said looking him in the eye; "How does it feel Doctor? 'Cause I know I've had my fair share!" she spat a look of hate in her eyes that startled the Doctor to say the least.

He licked his lips and watched her; "It feels like you just ripped out both of my hearts Rose…" he paused and watched as a look of pain crossed into her eyes, she could tell that he was close to tears; "but I know you don't mean it…" he paused again setting the bate for her to take.

"Are you trying to test me?" she asked scathingly.

He shrugged; "You'll just have to wait and see won't you." He replied trying not to give the game away just yet. She eyed his suspiciously but didn't ask him again, she was trying to be so very cold when in fact the whole act was hurting her a lot more that he ever had, she wasn't sure how long she would be able to hold it up for.

"Like you said before eh?" The Doctor said smiling; "They'll be wondering where we are, and you know I don't want to give Jack the wrong sort of idea…'cause I don't know what you think, but I seem to remember that he has a very dirty mind." The Doctor smirked at her slightly before he noticed the war raging behind her eyes, her head and heart were fighting and her head and rational mind seemed to be wining.

"You know it'll be a lot easier for you to take it back now than later when we aren't alone." He prompted watching her carefully, she looked at him pain and fear shining in her eyes, she had no idea how much she would still love him, she didn't know that he would be exactly the same, all she could think of now was how much she had missed him and how horrible it had been on that beach when he faded away without saying those three little words, she didn't prepare herself for what it would be like if she saw him again. Mainly because she didn't think she ever would get that chance. She had tried pushing him away but that only ended up hurting her more, so maybe she could let him in and go back to what they where they were 8 months ago, teetering on the edge of being that little bit more than just friends.

"I'm sorry." She whispered stepping into his waiting arms as tears began to slide down her cheeks. The Doctor smiled stroking her hair, maybe it would all be ok.


A/N: Ooooo, lol, I hope you enjoyed that. Reviews are very nice. Please don't flame