A yell rent the silence of their little flat. The Doctor shot bolt upright in bed, Rose jolting into a heart-pounding wakefulness at the shock of his scream. "Doctor? What is it, what's wrong?"

She reached for his hand and found his skin was clammy and cold. The moment her skin touched his, he whipped around and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her fiercely.

"We've got to go, Rose. They're coming."

"What? Who's coming? What're you on about?"

"They're coming! All of them, they're coming back, and they're going to find me – you have to go, Rose, you can't be here, you'll be hurt - "

His skin was white as the stars in the sky, and she had never seen such an expression before, sadness and desperation and dread traced into every line of his face, making him look far older than an ordinary person might assume. Anger fueled his fear, making his body shake; Rose recognized that much. His grip around her arms tightened painfully, so fierce that she knew it would leave a bruise.

"I'll kill them if they hurt you, Rose. I'll kill them all. I'll protect you. I'll destroy entire planets, if that's what it takes to save your life."

She took a deep breath and forced her voice to be calm and even.

"Doctor, I don't know what you're seeing, or hearing, or whatever, but it's not real. Remember? We're in an alternate reality. There's no one coming. No one can come."

He simply stared. The anger drained out of him at the sound of her voice, if not her words. "But they'll kill you, Rose," he said, and he sounded like a little boy, he was so scared. And ashamed. "They'll kill you to get to me. Because I killed them. All of them. I thought I did, I meant to - "

"Shh, shh." Rose placed her hand on his lips, and watched him close his eyes, still shaking. "I promise you, Doctor. We're safe here. I'm safe. All those things you did… It's over. This darkness inside of you… you can beat it, Doctor. Because I'm here, remember? And I love you. I'm right here. It's okay."

"I can't get away from it, Rose. It's my fault. I can't do it."

"You can, Doctor. If I believe in one thing, I believe in you."

He stared, his mouth open. He blinked rapidly, and she thought she glimpsed a tear; he immediately looked down and away, shaking his head.

Rose gasped as he hugged her so suddenly, so tightly, it almost knocked the breath right out of her. She laughed a little and hugged him back, resting her head over his racing heart, feeling his fingers tangle in her hair. His face was buried in her shoulder, but she still heard his muffled words.

"Thank you, Rose…"