No Rose Without Thorn

Part Four

Here's the last part to No Rose Without Thorn. Hope you've enjoyed it and many thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me

The next day things were thankfully back to normal. Well, when I say normal I mean that the Doctor and I actually looked at one another and held proper conversations. It wasn't the same as before my mistake and I missed that easy flirtatious banter we had but I knew it was my fault. To be honest, in the first few days after he forgave me, I was a little cautious of what I said to the Doctor, not wanting to say the wrong thing and I was nowhere near as cheeky as I can usually be. It would come back though, I was sure of that.

Jack was delighted that we were talking again and I privately thanked him for his help and being there for me. I gave him a brief hug, not wanting the Doctor to see in case he came to the wrong conclusion. I knew I had to be very careful around Jack now. That didn't stop him though. He was still as outrageously flirtatious as ever to both me and the Doctor but the Doctor didn't seem to mind as much now and let him do it. I wondered if Jack had said something else to him that the Doctor hadn't told me in that conversation the two men had had. I put it out my mind, however, and concentrated on having lots of fun.

The days passed in a blur of happiness with a hint of sadness for what could have been mixed in with it. I'd been so happy being the lover of the last Time Lord but that was all over now. Probably what hurt me the most was that he couldn't trust me with his hearts anymore and I hated that. I would do anything to help him trust me again but I didn't know how or even if I could.

About a week after the end of our spat, the Doctor told me that we would be visiting Cardiff briefly the next day to refuel the TARDIS at the Rift- it took both the Doctor and Jack to explain exactly why to me but it left me wondering. I spent about half an hour lying on my bed, thinking before making a decision and going to find the Doctor.

"Doctor?" I asked.

He grunted back to show he was listening while busily 'fixing' the TARDIS. Again.

"I was wondering, when we go to Cardiff tomorrow, can we go during my time period?" I said,

"Why?"

I moistened my lips before continuing. "I was gonna call Mickey up and get him to bring me my passport."

The Doctor stopped what he was doing and rolled out from underneath the console to stare at me. "What do you need your passport for?"

"Just in case," I said, starting to see the flaw in the plan,

"Rose, you don't need a passport," the Doctor told me seriously, "Trust me. But yeah, we can go to your time. Suppose it might be nice to see old Rickey again,"

"It's Mickey," I stressed, "Thanks Doctor. I'm going to bed now. See you tomorrow."

"Pleasant dreams," he mumbled, before disappearing underneath the console again.

I walked quickly to my room, smothering a smile. The plan was working. Little did I know how horribly wrong it was going to go.

The Doctor found me sitting on my bed, staring into space the next day after our adventure in Cardiff but before we took the Slitheen egg to its home planet. I was feeling completely numb inside and I didn't actually realise he was in the room with me until he sat down next to me.

"Go on then. Can you still say it?" he asked, being deliberately cheery,

"Hmm, what?" I muttered, looking at him,

"You know- the word you managed to say today," he encouraged me,

"Oh," I said, thinking hard, "Raxi… Raxicoricofallapatorius… right?"

"Perfect," he grinned.

I smiled back weakly, still hurting inside. Those few moments today were brilliant when he'd held me close, celebrating my triumph with me while the Slitheen, Mickey and Jack looked bemused.

"Rose, what happened with Mickey?" he suddenly asked me, all playfulness gone,

"He… he's gone," I said quietly, looking down, "Like I said earlier,"

"Back to London?"

"I guess," I muttered, "Probably back to Trisha Delaney."

I felt the Doctor move as he worked it out before placing a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it slightly. I felt weird, not accustomed to talking about my relationship with Mickey with him. I felt wretched. I'd basically lost two boyfriends in the space of a week. I wondered what was wrong with me.

"He's been cheating on you?" the Doctor asked, directly.

I nodded unhappily. "I wasn't there," I murmured, repeating Mickey's words of earlier, "I can't expect him to hang around and wait for me,"

"But it still hurts?"

I nodded again, and suddenly realised that this is how the Doctor must have felt after I effectively cheated on him with Jack. I sighed slightly. "I didn't really need my passport," I admitted to my knees so I didn't have to look at him; "I wanted to see Mickey and rekindle our relationship. I know it's dead and has been ever since I started travelling with you but I just… I just wanted to… to…" I couldn't say it 'cause I didn't really know what I wanted from Mickey. "I've just used him, haven't I?" I stated eventually.

I saw the Doctor briefly nod out of the corner of my eye and sighed to myself.

"You used him because you wanted to feel that someone loved you?" the Doctor guessed intelligently,

"Yeah," I admitted in a whisper, "Since I messed things up with you, I just wanted to know I was still loved despite what I've done and thought Mickey could do that for me…"

I heard the Doctor exhale deeply behind me as if he was coming to some conclusion before his arms suddenly slid around my waist, hugging me to him. "You are still loved, Rose," he murmured, pressing a delicate kiss to my hair, "You don't need to go back to Mickey for that. Come to me."

I could feel my heart beating wildly as I shifted slightly in his arms to rest my head against his chest. "You said you couldn't trust me with your hearts," I whispered sadly,

"I'm going to try it," he responded, "We'll take things slowly- one step at a day rather than rushing into it like we did last time. I just need you, Rose."

I tilted my face up to look at him, hoping this wasn't all some mean trick or misunderstanding. But I could see the truth in his eyes- a mixture of love and hesitation swirling in those blue orbs. "You sure?" I whispered.

He nodded. "If you are."

I smiled my answer and his lips slowly met mine like two lost people finding one another again. It was… fantastic.

We're back in a relationship now and I couldn't be happier, no matter how slowly we take things. After all, we've got my forever to share together. Me and the Doctor in the TARDIS, lovers forever.

Right?

Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received