The Doctor stepped out of the shadows and locked the TARDIS. "Rose? I'm sorry I'm late." His face held that infinite sadness. She looked up and stopped in her tracks, the moonlight glinting off of her skin. He noticed the tattoo adorning her upper left arm and the bright pink ribbon tied in her hair. A speck of color and a bit of hope that his Rose hadn't changed that much.
"Doctor?" She sighed in relief. "I knew you wouldn't be much longer. Though you said three days, not three months." She walked over and stopped before she could hug him. Looking up into his eyes, almost as if for permission, she planted a small kiss on his lips. He sank in relief. Whoever this bloke was, he didn't steal Rose's love for him. The Doctor deepened the kiss.
When they broke apart, the Doctor was the first to speak. "Three months is too long to be away from you, Miss Tyler. Now, what's happened?"
"I honestly don't know, love. Ben and I woke up together like this. We've pieced together that we've changed, but we've no idea who did it or why. We woke up starving. But food made us sick. Then there was an incident… Just walking along the streets one morning feeling tired and weak, and Ben jumped some older man… and Doctor… I smelled the blood and I couldn't… I just… I drank with him. We killed him." Rose looked distressed.
"Now, Rose. Don't. Don't beat yourself up. You had no idea. I can't believe that the one who turned you both didn't stick around to explain things." The Doctor glanced at Ben, sizing him up.
"You're just changed, then Ben?" The vampire nodded.
"Yeah, same as Rose. We've been figuring things out. We don't need to kill to feed anymore. And we've rented a small flat, got night jobs."
The Doctor rounded on him. "That so?" The sonic screwdriver appeared in the Doctor's grasp. He did a quick scan. "Nope, Benny-boy. I'd say you've been around the vampire block. Three hundred or so years." He consulted the screwdriver again. "And your core DNA is human, augmented by the vampire virus… you turned my Rose. Why?"
Rose stepped back toward the Doctor, looking at her friend with shock. Ben had the sense to look shamed, not that the Doctor gave him much credit.
"Haven't you read Stephanie Meyer?" He laughed. "Vampires get lonely. I met Rose outside the pub and liked her instantly. She thought I was sick. She offered help, but all I needed was blood. I turned her and wiped her memories, pretending that I was turned too. Like our attacker escaped." He sighed. "She was kind, and a good friend. She's smart. I was starving because every time I fed, I drained the human. I was feeling guilty. She figured out that if we feed often, we can only take a little and leave the human alive. She's saved my life." He said that last looking into Rose's eyes, beseeching forgiveness. She looked away.
"Doctor? Can we go?" she asked. "I wanna see my mum, and I think she'll listen if you're there to buffer things." The Doctor glanced at Ben, and back at Rose.
"Do you still have your key?" he asked her.
"'Course, Doctor," she replied.
He nodded off toward the TARDIS. "I'll join you in a minute then."
Rose walked toward the TARDIS without looking back. The Doctor walked to Ben. "I'm unhappy with you. Rose is the most important part of my world, and you could have killed her. You couldn't have known that she was spoken for when you did this, but you have to know that it's unethical to change ANYONE without their consent. That being said, you may have done me a favor. For that, I forgive the rest. Eventually she will too." He handed the vampire a blue business card. "That's the phone number that will reach my ship. You call if you need anything. Be well."
The Doctor turned to leave. "Wait, Doctor," Ben said. "Rose told me you'd come for her. And I'm sorry I acted so hastily. I know what you mean, about the favor. She thought so, too. She loves you, and you're a lucky man."
The Doctor nodded. "That I am, Benny-boy. That I am."