Hey readers: ) Yep, another chapter already : ) I'm focusing a lot on this story right now because to be perfectly honest, I feel like this project has been hanging over me for way too long, and I want it finished so I can move onto other stories set with this AU universe ; )

Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed the last chapter or PMed me about it. The support always shown is fantastic, so please keep it up : )

Anyway, please remember that Doctor Who is not owned by me, but Craig Tyler is.

I hope you enjoy his chapter : )

Chips for Tea

The bell above the door dinged loudly as the Doctor, Rose and Craig all entered the shabby little London chippy.

The Doctor looked around in distain as the overwhelming odour of salt and vinegar assaulted his nostrils. The place was in need of a good cleaning, and probably fumigation, the Time Lord quickly decided.

"Right – you two get a table… I'll get the chips" Craig said quietly, still looking very down in the dumps.

Rose quickly pressed some notes into his hand and he nodded his gratitude at her.

Once he had headed over to the counter and joined the queue, Rose turned to the Doctor, sighing sadly.

"He blames himself, doesn't he? For the Moxx of Balhoon?" she asked quietly.

The Doctor nodded grimly.

"I tried telling him that it wasn't his fault, but it'll take him time to accept that. Killing someone... it's not as easy as people think" he shook his head, a pensive look in his eyes.

Rose didn't need to be a genius to know he was talking from experience.

Both of them heaved another heavy sigh.

They silently agreed that there was nothing they could do for Craig right now, other than give him a supportive ear if he needed it. If he didn't want to talk, or forgive himself yet, they couldn't force him after all.

And even if they could, the place for such a conversation was hardly a grotty old chippy.

Eventually the pair just sat at a small round table by the window.

A few minutes passed in silence.

The Doctor looked completely content with the quietness, whilst Rose on the other hand felt extremely uncomfortable. When she couldn't take it anymore, she eventually worked up the nerve to break it.

"So…" she said as her oh-so-sophisticated ice breaker.

The Doctor looked up at her, having previously been staring at the table, extremely thoughtful. It was obvious Rose had just disturbed him from his reflection.

"So…" he mimicked her.

Rose looked around for a choice of subject to discuss.

She glanced over at Craig, who had his back to them, and she shook her head. That wasn't a conversation for public. She looked back at the Doctor, and then the answer hit her.

"What was it like?" she asked carefully, "Your home planet?"

The Doctor pulled a face, and Rose winced.

Clearly it was far too painful, too raw for him to talk about. He'd mentioned a war, but he hadn't said when it had been. This reaction made Rose think that it was only recent for the man before her.

"Why does it matter?" he immediately went on the defensive.

Rose quickly looked down.

She wasn't trying to pry. Earlier she had seen just how volatile his anger could be and she wasn't keen for another round in the ring, thank you very much.

"It doesn't, I was just curious" she said quickly, looking down shyly.

Silence fell between the two of them again.

Only this time, even the Doctor was extremely uncomfortable with it. It was so thick, even a knife wouldn't cut it.

The Doctor eventually let out a suffering sigh.

"It was called Gallifrey…" he said stiffly, and Rose's shocked eyes snapped up to meet his, "And it was beautiful… so, so beautiful".

He trailed off, clearly looking at something in his mind's eye.

Rose sat there silently, allowing the ball to be in the Doctor's court. She wouldn't push him or he'd clam up, and she could tell, despite not knowing him for very long, he really needed to open up a bit more.

"They used to call it the Shining World of the Seven Systems. Oh, you should have seen it Rose, that old planet" the Doctor shook his head wistfully, "The sky was burnt orange, and the second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine".

Rose listened intently, eager to hear more.

"The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire" the Doctor continued, "When the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song…".

As Rose listened to his description of his home, she imagined it in her own mind.

The picture he was painting was amazing, and so beautiful, and she was so completely enthralled by the images in her mind and the Doctor's voice that she didn't even notice as a tear trickled down from his eye.

"And on the continent of Wild Endeavour, in the Mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords" he said, his face darkening a notch as he spoke of his people, "The oldest and most mighty race in the universe. Looking down on the galaxies below. Sworn never to interfere, only to watch… the bastards" he finished bitterly.

Rose blinked, the beautiful image she's painted for herself shattered by the bluntness of his tone.

It was quickly becoming rather obvious that whilst he seemed to regret the loss of his people, he also seemed to despise them.

"Why's that bad?" she asked cautiously, "Not getting involved?"

The Doctor looked at her darkly and Rose nervously suppressed a shiver.

She immediately regretted asking him that question. Something told her she was better off not knowing.

"Because they didn't interfere when they should have. So many worlds burned because of them, because they didn't act sooner" he growled darkly.

Rose felt a small spark of fear ignite in her, just by the look on his face.

And yet, even though in that moment she would admit she was actually afraid of him, and the untold things he had done, Rose bravely reached across the table, and gently placed her hand over his.

Surprisingly to Rose, and even to the Doctor, this seemed to actually calm him down.

"I know it sounds pathetic, but I truly am so sorry" Rose said softly, genuinely meaning it.

The Doctor barely resisted the urge to scoff in her face.

This little human was right.

It did sound pathetic.

The things he had seen, the things he had done, the misery and destruction and all the death he had caused, and Rose Tyler was sorry for it.

What right did she have to be sorry about things outside of her own trivial little existence?!

But instead of saying all this, the Doctor did what he did best, and swallowed his own pain to the back.

"Thanks" he said with unmistakable bitterness.

"No I mean it. What you did today, what you did for the Earth with the Autons… you didn't have too. You did it because you could" she said, but the Doctor just stared at her, not really sure what to make of her statement.

"What's your point?" he asked gruffly.

"My point is that, because of who you are, someone who gets involved to save everyone else… you don't deserve to feel so lonely" she said compassionately.

This time the Doctor couldn't help it.

He leaned back in his chair and laughed bitterly.

There wasn't a trace of mirth in his eyes. Everything about him was chilling in that moment, and again, Rose couldn't help but stare at him, almost afraid.

"Oh Rose… you have no idea who I really am. Don't go fooling yourself into thinking you do… it'll only burn you" he said harshly, wanting her to back off and let the matter lie.

Rose looked down, a little hurt by his words.

She swallowed deeply, before looking back up at him. There was a hint of fear in her eyes still, but it was mostly outweighed by defiance now.

It was obvious that she wanted to help him to help himself, and she was going to fight him on it to ensure that it happened.

Because like she had said, she genuinely believed that the Doctor didn't deserve such misery.

"Well then… maybe I should know" she said bravely.

The Doctor stared at her for a moment, before shaking his head in disbelief.

Neither this girl in front of him nor her brother made the slightest bit of sense to him. She was a nineteen year old girl, and here she was sat trying to make him, someone who was the last member of a proud and ancient race and so far above a little mongrel human, feel better about crimes she couldn't even begin to understand.

She should be just like any other teenager.

Girls her age should be out getting drunk, playing with their hair and makeup, talking about boys… but Rose had just helped him save a whole horde of aliens from being turned into an ash pile. She'd Tarzan-Swung across a pit, just to save him.

How was that in anyway normal?

It was him, he realised.

It all led back to him.

He had caused this.

He was supposed to have shown them the wonders of the universe, and instead he'd turned Craig into a victim and a murderer, and Rose into some sort of self-idealistic martyr, on the first bleeding trip no less.

And now she believed that she could help him!

The very notion was ludicrous.

He should have known better.

He should have just accepted their answer as no.

No, better yet, he should never have asked them in the first place. Now they could never revert back to the normal people they had once been.

And it was entirely his fault.

"If you learnt the truth about me Rose, you would run as far and as fast as you possibly could from me. You and Craig both would" he eventually replied solemnly.

And yet despite all the reasons why she and Craig should try and escape him, even the thought of either of them leaving injected a bit of terror into his hearts.

It was almost like he knew if he did, terrible things would happen, for all of them…

For the whole universe…

Rose shook her head defiantly.

The Doctor felt a bit of irritation pass over him.

He was a Time Lord, the last Time Lord, and she was a dime-a-dozen human. What right did she have to refuse him?

"And you should. If I was half as brave as you think I am, I'd leave you and Craig in this chippy and leave you to get on with your lives… instead, because I'm so selfish, I won't. I'll keep you both with me until I get one of you killed…" he said bluntly.

Rose recoiled in her chair.

"No…" she tried to start but he just spoke over her.

"Do you see what I mean? That's the sort of coward I am. I'll keep you with me, even though it will one day cause your death, simply because I don't…" he cut himself off and looked away.

He had almost exposed himself. He had almost revealed too much.

"Because you don't want to be on your own" Rose supplied timidly.

The Doctor sighed.

With unease written all over him, he turned back to her with a simple nod.

"You know something… if you wanted to be on your own you would be, and if you really wanted to die, you would have found a way" she suddenly sounded annoyed and the Doctor stared at her in bewilderment.

"Excuse me?" he blinked.

"Well, you blew up the shop knowing full well you might die, but you didn't. You got yourself out in time. You could have just stayed there and burned but you didn't. And you came back to ask twice, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you've done that before" she challenged.

The Doctor merely shrugged in response.

"So, you asked twice. For the first time, you asked twice. And that proves that you don't think you deserve to be alone" she said knowingly.

The Doctor's temper finally snapped.

"Do not sit there and try to psychoanalyse me, Rose Tyler" he growled at her like a feral beast, attracting rather a lot of attention from the other people in the chippy, "I've seen and done things you'd never believe in a million years. I've seen stars being born and I've seen them die, caused them to die. I've fought in a war for many agonising years, long before you, your brother or even your great grandparents were even tiny specks of dust in existence" he ranted, his voice almost cracking with emotion the longer he went on.

Rose looked around the chippy. Everyone was staring at them. Many of them were throwing the Doctor strange looks, but most just seemed content to watch a 'couple's-drama' unfolding.

"And you think you have the right to forgive the things I've done? I assure you right now Rose Tyler that you do not. Only the people I've wronged get to do that, and I'm sorry to say that they're all in a place even I can never return too" he glared at her.

For a moment, Rose looked down, ashamed that she had pushed him to far. Then suddenly, before she knew it, she felt something inside her snap too.

"If you really think you deserve isolation, why do you care?" she challenged bluntly, surprising the Doctor quite a lot. It had been quite some time since he'd ever met someone that he drawn him into three separate arguments in less than twenty-fours of knowing them.

"Care about what?" he demanded hotly.

"Saving people. You saved London, and everyone on Platform One. You lied and cheated to get Craig back and you ran down into a cellar with dummies to save us! Why? If you don't care about anything, why do it?" she barked.

The Doctor looked utterly bewildered.

"Because I'm the only one that could!" he eventually retorted.

Rose just smiled sadly at him in response, confusing him to no end.

"Exactly. And it's for that reason you don't deserve to be on your own" she said simply.

The Doctor's jaw dropped.

Who did this girl think she was?!

Making assumptions and drawing parallels about him?

God... she was infuriating, and yet a very small part of him couldn't help but be impressed by her wits, not to mention her gumption.

"Everyone deserves company Doctor, even you" Rose said gently.

The Doctor huffed and folded his arms so tightly he was almost afraid he wouldn't be able to unknot them later. He leaned back in his chair, feeling the anger and tension draining out of him.

"You're good" he begrudgingly grumbled.

Rose looked at him in shock for a moment, before a wide grin split across her face.

"What was that?" she asked teasingly.

The Doctor couldn't help but smile a little.

"You heard" he shook his head.

At that moment, Craig came over to their table with three polystyrene boxes of chips in his hands. As he placed them on the table, he looked between the Doctor and Rose rather tensely, clearly wondering what they had been discussing.

"Everything alright over here?" He asked cautiously.

"Everything's fine, thank you" the Doctor said stiffly.

"Good… great" Rose shrugged nonchalantly.

"Riiight…" Craig drew the word in obvious disbelief.

He sank into a chair between the two of them, and after a moment of silence, he adopted a fake smile.

The Doctor immediately realised what his game was.

Craig was trying to hide his emotions, the guilt he felt over the Moxx of Balhoon. And the Doctor knew that Craig was far too sweet and innocent to be able to keep it up for long.

This tactic could only end badly for the blonde.

But still, pushing him was also a bad idea, and the Doctor knew that. So until Craig was ready to accept that it wasn't his fault, the Doctor wasn't going to approach the subject again.

Craig would talk, but only in his own time.

"So, what were you talking about?" he asked curiously.

The Doctor closed his eyes, supressing a groan.

Rose glanced over at the Time Lord and saw his reaction. And whilst she didn't regret a single word that she had said to him, she could see that the Doctor wasn't up to going through that conversation again.

Plus Craig really didn't need to hear all that, not after the day he'd just had.

She could give both the men a bit of time before broaching either of their forbidden subjects again.

"Oh, the Doctor was just telling me about a planet he once visited, it sounds lovely" she adopted a cheery voice and a bright smile.

The Doctor smiled in her direction, silently thanking her.

"And you were shouting about that because…?" Craig tilted his head in confusion.

Both Rose and the Doctor looked caught out by that.

"Oh… err… well I want to go visit it… but the Doctor says that he won't take us because he's already been there and it'll be boring for him" she quickly lied.

The Doctor immediately played along.

"It will be! There's so many out there I've never been too!" he mock-pouted.

It was enough to convince Craig that they were both being truthful.

"Oh, I see… What's this planet like then?" he asked, clearly trying to distract himself more than either of them.

The Doctor and Rose shared a concerned glance, but they shook it off.

They couldn't do much for Craig right now anyway.

"It's called Caefoo. It's so beautiful Craig. The third moon shines over the black oceans, and the sand glows under the sunlight. The leaves on the palm trees are crimson, and in the Huadi, that's their equivalent of Summer, these fruits grow… nothing like you'd ever taste on earth…" he immediately started telling them about a random planet he'd once visited, and it seemed to do the trick.

Rose and Craig both listened in enthrallment, whilst the Doctor smirked inwardly, pleased to have diverted the attention away from his own home planet, himself AND the argument.

By the time that the Doctor had finished his little speech about Caefoo, the trio had all finished their chips, and the Doctor and Rose were both grinning.

Craig still looked very mopey, but was smiling ever-so-slightly at them.

"That planet, it definitely sounds like somewhere we should go. Can't you reconsider?" he asked pleadingly.

"Be a good boy and I'll think about it" the Doctor shrugged and Craig pouted.

"I'm always a good boy!" he cried indignantly, before he frowned and sighed, remembering exactly what he had done earlier and that that was in no terms 'Good'.

He immediately felt sick again, and he was suddenly worried his chips might make a reappearance.

"Your ex-boyfriends say different" Rose smirked teasingly.

Craig scowled at her, his attention diverted from his guilt once more.

He playfully swotted her over the back of the head. She laughed and rubbed the spot he'd hit, whilst the Doctor fondly shook his head.

"Right, if we're all done taking the mickey out of me, let's be getting back to the box, shall we?" Craig asked, rising to his feet.

Rose and the Doctor stood up too.

The trio left the chippy and headed out the door, back onto the street.

The Doctor still couldn't help but still be confused by the pair of them, and why they'd want to be anywhere near him after everything they'd been through because of him.

But he was sure he'd figure it out some day, he reasoned as they approached the Tardis.

At least, he really hoped he would.

Not knowing would probably drive them all insane.

And that's another one : )

I know this was a bit of a short chapter, but I really wanted to include this scene, and it didn't seem to fit 'The End of the World', so I figured it would serve as an interval chapter. Interval chapters will always be shorter than actual 'episode' chapters anyway : )

A little more Rose and Doctor orientated this time, but that's not a bad thing. They are one of the two main pairings I'm heading towards. Some people seem to think this with be a OC/Doctor story, but it won't. It's Rose/Doctor all the way. Craig's going to get a pairing too, but it won't be for a while yet : )

I don't have much else to say, so I hope you all enjoyed this little interval chapter, and thank you so much for reading. Please don't forget to leave a review before you go : )

Until the next time, keep on reading : )