The Doctor could swear that he felt his heart stop beating as he heard Jackie say those words. He suddenly felt numb and the pit of his stomach was twisting and turning causing him to feel as if he was about to vomit. Jackie remained quietly crying in his arms, feeling the same pain as she had during those two years was an excruciating emotion to relive.

"Wh…what?" The doctor finally asked.

Jackie could tell that he was heartbroken by the faintness of his croaky voice. She managed to calm herself down; wiping away the tears she took the Doctor's hand in hers.

"She was just depressed Doctor. But it's over now, she's better." She tried to reassure him.

She noticed how much the Doctor was crying, silent tears were streaming down his burning cheeks.

"So what, she was just wanted to die, no thought for anyone else, no thought that she could build a life here?" he began questioning her through gritted teeth.

He began to feel angry again, but he couldn't figure out whether it was himself he was angry with or Rose.

"She needed you Doctor!"

She was starting to raise her voice at him, she knew this wasn't really his fault, but she feared that after knowing about this he might leave her and she knew that Rose couldn't cope with that. She couldn't cope with that.

"She loved you so much that she felt she just couldn't live her life without you in it, what is wrong with that?" she continued.

He stood up his eyes were wide and his breathing had become quicker and deeper.

"She could have died Jackie, that's what's wrong with it" he spat.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to stop the constant flow of tears. He sat back down next to her and tried to put his hand on her shoulder. She moved away, unable to look at him.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have yelled at you. It's just… you get told something like that about someone you love and…"

He placed his head in his hands, unable to find the words to finish his sentence. After a few moments had passed he felt a hand wrap around the top of his arm. He turned to Jackie to find her faintly smiling at him, her eyes glazed.

"So, what made her so determined to find me?" he eventually asked.

"Well, once she got out of hospital and her health improved, she started working for Torchwood. And then…"

"What Jackie? What happened?

"You came to say goodbye." She smiled.

The Doctor thought for a moment, before his eyes widened in understanding.

"Bad Wolf Bay"

"Once you said that you couldn't see each other again, she decided to disagree." She began to chuckle lightly.

The Doctor chuckled too.

"Rose Tyler, the most stubborn person I know."

There was a comfortable silence between the two of them for a moment as they reflected on the way things had planned out for The Doctor and Rose.

"I just can't believe she found you again. But I guess that's love for ya." Jackie began to chuckle again.

The Doctor nodded his head in agreement.

"What you going to do now?" she asked him, waiting in anticipation for his reply.

"I think I'll go and see her, let her know that it's ok."

"You still love her then?"

He turned his head to face her and gave her a wide smile.

"How could I not?"

She returned his smile and gave him a peck on the cheek before walking back towards the house.

The Doctor took a few moments to gather his thoughts and take a few deep breaths. His anger had subsided, all he wanted to do now was hold Rose and tell her that nothing she could ever do will stop him being in love with her.

He walked back towards the house, trying to think how he was going to put his words. He walked through the empty kitchen, assuming that the rest of the family had retreated to the living room. He walked through to the living room door and slowly opened it. Pete and Jackie were sat quietly snuggled up on the coach watching Tony play with his toy cars.

"Do you know where…?"

"In her old room." Pete interrupted him.

He walked out leaving them in silence. As he reached the top of the staircase he began to feel nervous, and an ocean of questions was swirling through his mind. What if she rejected him? What if she thought that they couldn't make it through this? What if she became depresses again? He tried to ignore these nagging thoughts and carried on until he stopped outside Rose's bedroom door. He leant forwards and gently knocked on the smooth wood. There was not reply.

"Rose?"

It sounded as if she was shuffling around slightly, but she still hadn't answered the Doctor's knock.

"Rose I'm coming in." he told her, waiting a moment thinking that she might protest.

As he gradually opened the door he saw Rose's tear soaked face glance up at him from the bed she was sat on, before looking away again. He went over to her and knelt by her side, placing his hands on her knees. He studied her face for a moment before he broke the silence.

"I wish I could erase the last two years and replace them with happy memories. I wish I could tell you that I love you and that would make everything all right."

He took another deep breath before saying what he truly felt.

"I wish I could be the man you want me to be."

Rose roughly turned her head to face him, taken aback at what he had just said. She leant closer to him and hooked him by the back of his neck to pull him closer to her.

"You are what I want," she whispered to him forcefully.

"And just for the record I'm glad it happened, 'coz if it hadn't I might not have found you again."

She pressed her head against his and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I may have gone through all of that, but what I gained was so worth it."

The Doctor faintly smiled up at her, placing his arms around her waist and gently caressing her back.

"I just don't understand why you couldn't have told me." He sighed.

"And say what? Oh I love you Doctor and hope we can share a life together, but oh did I mention that I tried to kill myself?"

Her tone was sarcastic and light hearted, she wanted to lift the atmosphere within the household and she knew that she was the only one who could do that. The Doctor chuckled gently, moving closer to her and tightening his hold around her waist.

"But why Rose?"

She looked intensely at him for a moment, before a petite smile emerged from the sides of her mouth.

"Because I love you."

"That's what your mum said."

"I think that's why she's accepted us so easily, 'coz she knows."

There was a moments silence before the Doctor began to talk again.

"Do… do you think it'll happen again?" he stuttered slightly.

"No!" she answered without hesitation, a sense of certainty in her voice.

She cheekily poked her tongue out between her teeth in a sweet smile.

"Not unless you're planning on leaving me."

The Doctor looked up at her returning a mischievous smirk and raising one eyebrow slightly. He lifted himself up a little, softly pushing Rose back so she was lay down on the bed. He tenderly positioned himself so that he was hovering slightly above her.

"Mmm… never." He said, resting a firm smile shaped kiss on her lips.

The kiss was a relief for both of them, they had been through so much together, and they could make it through this too.

Rose ran her fingers through his hair as she pulled his lips harder against hers, eventually opening her mouth a little to let him in. The Doctor grabbed Rose's free hand and entwined his fingers with hers. The kiss became passionate and needy. They needed this time to be close to each other to explore each other's mind and body. However, what they had forgotten was that this is nearly impossible when at the parents place, as they were soon to learn. It seemed that they were too engaged in the moment to hear the creak of the door opening, and too infatuated with each other to hear the sound of Jackie's voice whispering their names.

"Rose? Doctor? Everything ok?" she asked creeping through the door.

She was met with a sight of their intertwined bodies, hands feeling every inch of each other's upper torsos and snogging furiously like it was their last time.

"Oh my… sorry." She squealed as she rushed out of the room, unsure of how to handle the situation.

The Doctor and Rose stopped at the sound of her squeal and looked at each other, before bursting out into fits of giggles. They tried to keep as quite as possible so not to annoy Jackie further. Jackie stood by the wall outside of the room, debating with herself whether to walk away or go back in and confront them. It was only when she heard the door creaking open again that she realised she had waited too long to make her decision. She heard the Doctor and Rose quietly bickering with each other.

"Well go on then." The Doctor urged.

"What? Why should I go first?" Rose questioned him.

There was a moment of silence, Jackie found herself getting annoyed with the pair of them. One minute it was devastation and tears and the next they were all over each other, and in her house!

"She's your mother"

"Oh just go" she ordered him, pushing him out of the door.

His eyes met Jackie's, he could see she was wound up by the tense and cross-armed posture she was presenting. The disapproving frown on her face scared him slightly. Rose quickly followed him out and was confronted by the same glare. They looked at each other, trying to mentally decide who was going to talk first.

"Sorry Jackie" the Doctor mumbled dropping his head slightly.

"Sorry mum" Rose followed.

"You two are unbelievable. Here I am worried sick about the pair of you, coming to see if you are ok. And what do I find? The pair of you snogging like randy teenagers." She bellowed to them.

The Doctor and Rose glanced sideways to each other trying not to laugh.

"It's not funny!" Jackie insisted.

They immediately straightened their faces and looked back at the floor. They heard the sound of Pete's voice calling from the stairs; he had heard the commotion and was coming to see if everything was all right.

"Jacks what's going on?" he asked reaching the top of the stairs and finding them all stood looking at him.

"What?" he asked uncomfortable by the stares he was receiving.

"It's him" she exclaimed.

They Doctor screwed up his face and shaped his lips as if he was about to say 'what?'

"What's he done?"

"He was smothering Rose with his tongue down her throat." She explained.

"Mum!" Rose shouted at her annoyed.

"Well Jacks they are a couple now, come on leave them be they're not kids."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the stairs, she struggled away before turning back to them.

"So are you ok now?"

"We're fine mum." Rose smiled.

"And what about the travelling?" she asked with a look of sorrow in her eyes.

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other before moving towards her.

"We're still gonna go mum." She told her

"But… what if…" she began.

The Doctor leant forward and gently clutched her shoulders; he leant in closer to her ear and whispered something to her. Pete and Rose looked at each other, wondering what he was saying. As he pulled away Jackie smiled gave him a faint vague smile.

"Ok" she said, taking his hand and squeezing it.

Pete and Rose looked at each other again in confusion. Pete found himself being gently pushed so that he'd walk down the stairs. The Doctor turned back to Rose and gave her his signature grin.

"What was that all about?" she asked him.

"Ah, just working my charm Miss Tyler."

She laughed at him before he roughly pulled her close to him and kissed the top of her head.

"Listen Doctor, I … I just want you to know that you're not second best and that I do really love you"

"I know" he smiled down at her.

"So, when can we start travelling again?" he asked her, bobbing up and down slightly like a child on a sugar high.

She giggled at him slightly.

"We've got things to sort out first."

"Like what?"

She rolled her eyes at his naivety. He still needed to grasp the full throttle of human life, bills, families and jobs.

"Well, we've got our jobs for starters, then there's mum and dad and not forgetting Tony. We've got bills and that to pay before we go anywhere."

He held his hand up to stop her from speaking.

"Rose I think you're forgetting that the TARDIS travels in time, we'll just come back when the bills are due. Simple"

"Not with you piloting it it's not, have you forgotten all of the trouble you've gotten us into because you've got it wrong." She exclaimed, poking his chest.

The Doctor rubbed the spot where she poked him.

"Well…" he began, not quite sure where he was going with the rest of his protest.

Rose laughed at him again. He shook his head and pulled her in capturing her lips in a lighthearted kiss.

"Can we at least go and see what it's like on the inside?" he begged her, as he pulled away.

A huge grin spread across Rose's face as she grabbed his hand and headed towards the stairs.

"Come on then."