Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor who. Those rights belong to the BBC and Russell T Davis. –Sob–

Rating: K+

Pairing: 10/Rose as always.

Spoilers: Nothing past Doomsday.

Possibly slightly AU here after. Somewhere between The Runaway Bride, and Smith and Jones, although it may not run onto Smith and Jones…BUT set in 2004, therefore Rose is aged 18.

Her hand was on the small of his back, her right cheek centimetres from his own. As the side of their faces touched the Doctor closed his eyes, lips slightly parted. Rose took her head back, losing their contact, and resting it on the crook of his neck. She kept her eyes open, staring at the brown hair bristles on his neck. He leaned down and brushed his lips against the top of her forehead. Their eyes met and she smiled.

He looked away.

A slight groan escaped him, as he stared at the cobbled ground. "Ah, this is wrong," he murmured.

"Somethin' that's wrong's never stopped me before," Rose stated.

He continued to stare at the floor.

Rose lifted her head and brushed her hand over the Doctor's chin. "Sometimes… the thing you think is wrong is actually right."

The Doctor looked up at her, deep regret playing his face. "You don't know me, Rose."

"You know me," she said softly.

He nodded, but then he stilled and his head shook gently. "How can you be so calm? How can you…? How can -?" He stopped, eyes begging her to understand. "You have no idea who I am yet."

He saw her swallow and her hand raised up to his cheek, trailing her finger from the bottom of his brown eye to around his nose. "I want to know you though," she whispered. "You're like no one I've ever met before, and you're mixed with things I never knew existed. Incredible things. I've always wished there was… somethin' more. And now, you're tellin' me there is."

He put his hands around her back and pulled her close. She eased into the hug gently. His eyes shut tight as he felt her warm human body against his chest. "Tell me this isn't your way of sayin' goodbye," he heard her whisper into his ear.

"No," he said gently. "I can't say goodbye now; that would be impossible in more ways than one."

Her eyes closed gently and she smiled, as his eyes opened. He watched the trees sway nearby as her vanilla smelling hair tickled his chin and swam its aroma into his nostrils. His hands held the woman tight and he tried hard to memorise the feeling of being so close to her, not knowing when it would disappear from him all over again.

Then something caught his attention through the trees that made him go rigid.

Rose seemed not to notice, holding him just as warmly. But she couldn't see it. The Doctor was facing the park gates, where of which a stocky man was standing, leaning against the railings, and staring straight at the Doctor and Rose as they embraced.

He wasn't human. The Doctor knew that. In fact, it was the same man he saved Rose from earlier that day. It was the same man who had turned into the foul, giant monster intent on hurting Rose.

The Doctor swallowed, and the eyes of the two men met. Neither knew what the other was thinking, but they both knew they wanted opposite things. It was just a matter now of who would make the first move.

The Doctor spoke, trying not to move his lips as he did so. His voice was strained and quiet. "Rose, is there another exit the way you're facing?"

Rose paused. "Yeah," she said, and he could hear the frown in her voice. "A gate."

"Are there many people between us and the gate?" he muttered, his eyes still on the still figure thirty meters from him.

"Not really, just a few," she replied. "Why?" She tried to pull back from the hug, but he held her firm.

"Do you trust me?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she said, the answer almost as automatic as it would be when he asked her in a year's time… if that were still going to end up happening, he reminded himself.

"When I say run, we need to run to those gates as fast as possible, okay?" the Doctor brought his mouth closer to her ear, his eyes still focused on the alien at the park railings.

"Okay." Her voice was small but determined.

The Doctor stared ahead, and the figure moved forwards. He acted instinctively, "Run!"

Untwining themselves from one another and leaping from the bench, Rose and the Doctor took a sprint away from the main gates. The Doctor took her hand, squeezing it tight and urging her faster. She was right, he saw when he looked up; there was a side exit, which they raced through without thinking. As they did so, the Doctor heard shouting and heavy footfalls coming from behind him.

They ran down the quiet street next to the park, and the metal railings surrounding the play area flashed against their eyes as their speed increased. The blurred shapes of people whizzed past without meaning for all three running, like they were playing cat and mice, with no intruders to penetrate their game.

The Doctor and Rose turned left, running across the road, their feet pounding the ground in time with their laboured breath. The Doctor risked a look back and saw exactly what he expected to see. The alien had transformed, and now stood out, fearsome and roaring, scaring those around it into dropping shopping bags and screaming in terror.

His hand squeezed Rose's hand even tighter as they ran. He didn't know where they were going, but the Tardis seemed the safest place right about now – forget trying to keep the time line in order; if they died now, then everything would be ruined.

Just as he was trying to imagine where they were in comparison with the Tardis, a bark from above sent the Doctor's eyes searching the roofs above the street they were sprinting along. The creature was on all fours; pounding along the top of the roofs of the semi-detached houses they were running past. It was right above them, looming over, until it suddenly threw itself down to the ground in front of them, making them both skid to a stop, as it advanced.

The Doctor turned, all intent on running the other way until he felt a push against his back and was thrown towards the wall, Rose being pulled with him by the still entwined hands. The creature cocked in front, trapping them.

It raised it sharp teeth into a wicked grin. "Me thinks you cannot run now," it rasped in a wheeze that sent a shiver up the Doctor's spine.

The Doctor stood in front of Rose, sending a protective arm back to put has much distance between her and the creature as possible. "What is it you want?" he asked in dangerous voice.

"Flesh for the feed," the monster hissed, it's scaly body moving slightly closer. It's eyes darted to Rose.

"Well, you're not getting any here!" the Doctor said hotly, moving Rose further back, so she was flat against the wall, her breath shallow, face pale and shocked. "How did you get here?" the Doctor asked in menace. "Your people live light years away, how did you reach earth, hmm?" His voice became more dangerous. "Answer me!"

The creature simply laughed at his anger. "Me thinks you are knowing little. Such a small knowledge of my world. How defenceless you must feel, me thinks. But not as much as the child," Its eyes darted to Rose again. "Such a pretty child. Such warm blood. How it tastes, me is wondering."

The Doctor felt his hearts choking his throat as the creature swayed nearer and nearer to them. His hand reached in his pocket for the sonic screwdriver.

But its yellow eyes glinted black, and it suddenly lunged. Its hand flew out and threw the Doctor aside in one fluid motion, sending his body to the floor, and grabbing Rose as she screamed. The Doctor raised his head and watched in alarm as the monsters teeth glinted next to Rose's neck, inches from her skin.

"What you'sa think, Mister?" the creature called to the Doctor as he stared up at them in horror. "How fast will the child's warm blood pour from the neck when its skin is ripped open in giant holes?"

Reviews are loved, as always. And thank you for those who have reviewed previous chapters.