The Doctor knocked on Roses door. No answer. He went searching in places he thought he would find her and still no Rose. For a minute there he thought he would have to shout for Mickey to find him as he kept going through corridors and rooms he had forgotten were part of the TARDIS. He headed back to Roses room, thinking that perhaps she was still there and for some reason refused to come out. At this point he couldn't blame her if she never wanted to speak to him again.

"Rose, I'm coming in," he called out after he kept knocking with no answer. "I'm serious, Rose, here I go!"

He let himself in and noticed the scattered clothes about the room. Apart from that, her bed looked untouched. It wasn't the most neatly made up bed, but it appeared as though she hadn't slept inside it. He even walked into her bathroom and found it as empty as her bedroom. However he desisted leaving because he felt that she was there somewhere. He then noticed the door of her closet slightly ajar and reached over to open the door. To his surprise, he found Rose curled up in the corner of the closet clutching her dressing robe close to her chest. She seemed as though she had fallen asleep, her eyes and nose looked red and puffy. She seemed like a little girl, curled up, hiding from the rest of the world in an attempt to escape it. The Doctor's hearts melted at the sight of her and reached over to sweep tendrils of her hair away from her perfect oval face. He became shocked as he noticed how hot Roses skin felt to the touch. "Rose!" he cried out. "Rose, answer me!"

Rose made a whimper as the Doctor tried to gather her in his arms. "Please, Rose, answer me!"

Rose could manage to barely open her eyes. Her whole body felt as though she were on fire, her throat felt raw as though it was burning up.

"Forgot me," she managed to whisper, before closing her eyes. "Forgot me…"

The Doctor never felt such shame in his life. Tears blinded his eyes as he realized that he had put Roses life in jeopardy because it was safer to love Madame de Pompadour than even consider his feelings for Rose.

Carefully he picked her up and made his way to the medical lab. He would take care of Rose and hoped that she wouldn't leave him because he was foolish enough to have left her to her fate without thinking about the consequences of his actions.

Rose woke up to find herself in the medical lab of the TARDIS. Mickey's face was the first to greet her, his somber expression breaking up in a huge grin as he saw her wake up. Rose smiled back, relieved to see that he at least was still around. She promised herself that no matter what happened, she would never take Mickey for granted again.

"How are you, Rose?" she heard the Doctor ask on the opposite side.

"Better, I guess," she replied, turning to see him. He appeared tired, almost haggard in appearance. "What happened?"

"You were sick," Mickey answered. "You had a fever. Gave us quite a scare."

"My throat feels a bit parched," Rose said, her voice sounding hoarse. Mickey quickly filled a glass of water and gave it to her to drink. Again Rose made a mental note to thank him later. She couldn't believe that he was still with her after everything she made him go through. She let her hand reach up to caress his cheek on impulse and smiled warmly at him as she handed the glass back.

The Doctor saw the exchange and sensed that he might have pushed Rose away from him. She had given Mickey a look that he never saw before and for a split second, jealousy coursed through him. He instantly regretted having Mickey come along. He sensed the TARDIS mock him. 'It's what you deserve,' she seemed to say.

"Thank you, Doctor," Rose said suddenly as he started to walk away.

The Doctor merely nodded and left them. His leaving only confirmed to Rose that he was still mourning the loss of Madame de Pompadour and felt a great void inside and suddenly wondered why she didn't die as well. Only Mickey witnessed the heartbreaking look crossing over Roses face at the Doctor's departure and realized that Rose never came close to feeling for him a fraction of what she now felt for the Doctor.