"Never mind what happened, you're freezing! Where are you staying tonight?" It's suddenly hit him how long they've been out here, and while it doesn't really affect him, Rose is frighteningly cold. Without waiting for a reply, the Doctor hoists her up and looks around for any sign of life.

"In a house just over that hill. Don't be daft! I can walk…"

Only she's so cold that she can't, and he has to physically carry her back to the house. She studies the Doctor's face in the silence that follows, and all the grief seems to be gone now, replaced by concern for her.

Back at the house, Rose is trying to get answers from the Doctor about what's just happened, but she can barely get a word in as Jackie takes over, wrapping her in blankets, thrusting a steaming mug into her hands and all the time muttering about 'what the Hell was he thinking, keeping her out in the cold like that?'

By the time it's over, he's disappeared, and the last thing she hears of him is an earnest apology from the other side of the bedroom door. Rose smiles at the thought of her mum's face as he says sorry, and his worried glances at her hand.

-

She's awake again. Damn it. It's the third time tonight, and a glance at her mobile tells Rose it's still only four o' clock. Somewhere outside the door, there are footsteps — it could only be the Doctor at this hour and, wrapped in her duvet, she goes out to investigate.

Whatever had been holding his grief back before, it's gone now, and he's pacing the corridor, crying again, his hand over his face. She's never seen him like this, and it scares her. He turns again, and looks straight up at her; bleary-eyed, mussed-up hair and wrapped in an old Care Bears duvet, watching him intently. And damn it…
"You're beautiful." The Doctor smiles briefly, wiping away tears. She walks over and rests her hands on his face, looking him straight in the eye.

"It's not your fault. She chose this." Her quilt falls to the floor and she shivers, so he pulls her closer and wraps his suit jacket around her.

"I know. But all that time…I can't help wishing I could've done something. Anything, I don't know, just…something."

"Doctor?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened? On the beach, I mean."

"The TARDIS — she spoke through you, somehow. Like she possessed you, I suppose. Just said goodbye, and that she was okay."

"I heard a voice telling me to look after you." Rose decides to leave out the part about the pain. She knows what that was. The vortex, or at least a little piece of it, because it didn't burn all the time this time round, is back in her again, somehow. But she doesn't know why, and although she wants to know, this isn't the time to try and find out. Asking the Doctor will probably only make him feel worse.

So she looks up at him, their faces a hair's breadth apart.
"I mean it. I'm not leaving you. Ever."
And she kisses him.

-

It's morning, and Rose doesn't know quite how she got here, but she's back in her bed, and the Doctor's nowhere to be seen. Outside, there's noise as her Mum, Pete and Mickey get ready to leave for home.

Sitting up in bed, she rubs her eyes and looks around for some clothes, but is quickly interrupted by the slamming of one door and her own being opened.
"Rose! Look what I found! Look-" The Doctor bounds in, and she can't tell whether he's happy or sad. He holds something out to her, and she takes it, surprised by its weight. Blue on one side and grey on the other, it appears to be and feels like wood, but it's far heavier. There's a crack down the middle and it's a bit splintered, and although anyone else would take it for a piece of driftwood, Rose knows otherwise.

"Found it on the beach," grins the Doctor, tears in his eyes. She hands it back to him with a smile, and watches as he examines it more closely. As he looks at the back, his eyes widen, and she jumps up to see what's wrong.

On the grey side, there are marks — round shapes that make no sense to her, but that obviously mean something to him.
"That," he smiles and points at the marks, "is Gallifreyan for 'goodbye'."